Triple Double

The question was this:

How would Brandon Roy perform, on national television, the day after being selected for the all-star team?

The answer:

He fought his way past a bad shooting night, a surprisingly scrappy Knicks team, Nate McMillan being outcoached by Isiah Thomas, and absolutely atrocious referees to notch the first triple double of his short career.

It was a relatively quiet triple double, as far as triple doubles go. I went to the game last night and didn't realize he was close until two minutes into overtime. That's one thing that seperates him from guys like Baron Davis and Deron Williams - guys who can't sneak their way up the boxscores without making a racket and waking everybody up. Roy's numbers are so entwined with the overall flow and pace of the game that it makes it difficult - and pointless - to compare him with players like Davis and Williams. While those two players are probably the two toughest omissions from the all-star lineup, it is obvious that the coaches made the right decision in choosing Roy over them. Last night made it crystal clear.

Other observations from the game:

- While Zach Randolph was warming up before the game, he was hitting at least 80% of his shots. 90% is more like it. It was genuinely amazing, and it led to a pretty typical game for him. Typical Randolph games, of course, we are all unfortunately used to at this point. He got his 20 and 10, but looking at a close-up of his face on the JumboTron during the fourth quarter revealed not a drop of sweat on his face.

- He was soundly booed during pre-game introductions, and half-heartedly jeered every time he touched the ball in the first half. I would have joined in, save for the fact that he never spoke badly of Portland, and was genuinely disappointed when the Blazers traded him for, what it seemed to be at the time, fifty cents on the dollar. Look, on the court Randolph was selfish, lazy, and dumb. He's the only player to lead the club in scoring and rebounding four seasons in a row, but those seasons just happen to be the worst stretch in franchise history. He will never be a winner, will never be anything more than a cog in an inefficient, unsuccessful machine. But he didn't deserve to be booed.

- Yesterday was Pet Appreciation Day at the Rose Garden, and the highlight was some lady singing the national anthem holding the microphone in one hand and a scared little dog in the other. She even put the microphone up to the dog's mouth at one point during the song. I can't think of any joke or putdown that would even give this lady her just due.

- I have never seen more evidence of corrupt referees than last night. Ever. The fact that those three - Mike Callahan, Kevin Fehr, and Bill Kennedy - are at the top of their profession sickens me. I would call them incompetent, blind, and a general menace to society if it weren't for the plain and simple fact that the league pressures referees to determine outcomes of games. Calls favor the large market teams over small market teams 85% of the time. That is no coincidence. Also, you have to understand that Portland having a successful team, whether or not they have good citizens on their team or whatever their level of chemistry is, would be an outright disaster for the league. Plain and simple. Nobody outside of Portland cares about the Blazers, just like nobody outside of San Antonio cares about the Spurs.

- LaMarcus Aldridge already has more of a complete than Zach Randolph, and LMA is only 21. Randolph's a slightly better shooter, and he has a keen sense of angles and proper positioning for grabbing defensive rebounds. That's it. Aldridge was on pace to outplay Zach until he picked up a second stupid foul in the first.

- Jarrett Jack had his best game since early December, which leads me to believe that now would be the perfect time to trade him. Now, as in this second. Don't let him on the floor again. We have fifteen players under contract this season and next. This is the same team that has three European prospects waiting in the wings, plus two draft picks coming up this summer. The recent trade talk involving Portland has been ludicrous at best, but it's obvious why Portland would be engaged with teams in trade talks to begin with. Outlaw is not expendable, and absolutely should not be traded now or next summer. But Jack, Frye, and even Martell Webster might not be Blazers in a couple weeks. Who knows what will happen.

TJH