A Wasted Opportunity

To simply say Portland played bad yesterday against the unimpressive Golden State Warriors is like saying election coverage is getting a little annoying.

Where do I begin?

- Was there some kind of wax applied to the surface of the ball before the game or something? We weren't just dropping easy passes; we were diving around on the ground batting the ball to teammates with outstretched fists, which made it seem like some sort of futuristic East Asian amalgam of soccer, handball, and grab-ass. I kept looking over at my dad throughout the game, and judging from his expression you would assume he was watching a slaughterhouse documentary or something.

- Stephen Jackson was on fire the whole night. He made four three pointers in the first half. So you would think there would be some kind of effort to pressure him on the perimeter, right? Wrong. Of his six three pointers, he had a guy in his face maybe once. With the game on the line, and with the ball in Jackson's hands, you know he's gonna shoot it. Doesn't matter if someone's in his face or not - he's not giving the ball up. Everybody in the building knows that. Might as well pressure him into taking a bad shot, right? Wrong again. Curse me and my dependance, and borderline obsession, with logic.

- Monta Ellis had 10 rebounds. He is 6-foot-3.

- How many times did Golden State just rip the ball out of a Blazer's hands? Even the normally mild-mannered Mike Barrett said the Blazers were playing with intensity befitting a pickup game, and even said at one point that they were playing like "a bunch of weak pussies". OK, he didn't say that. But it was implied.

There was no fire, no drive, and no passion to Portland's game, which doesn't bode well if the team if still ostensibly competing for a playoff position.

TJH