Thoughts from the 300 Level, Game 38: Blazers 107, Lakers 98

In the grand scheme of things, last night's victory was just one more win in the regular season for the Blazers.

It may not determine much of anything in the post-season or the future, but if you're living in the now and paying close attention, this was a huge win for Portland.

On paper, Lakers vs. Blazers seems like it should be a one-sided affair with so many injuries for Portland. L.A. has more talent and more of the most annoying fans infecting every city in the United States.

But whenever the Lakers come to Portland, it's just not happening, no matter what the circumstances.

If there was ever a game where the city would understand a home loss, it was last night. Handfuls of players sidelined, alleged turmoil internally, and overall inconsistent play of late.

None of that seemed to be a problem. The Blazers played a complete game, one of the most fun to watch this year. They basically choked out the Lakers in the Rose Garden down the stretch.

Every guy who played brought high energy and left it all out on the floor. Despite a major size disadvantage, Portland still out rebounded L.A. 42 to 38.

Laker fan will have told you prior to this game, that it means nothing. They'll tell you about the championships and the rings and the history.

But not everyone feels the need to jump on a bandwagon team: one that is the equivalent of being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

Laker fan is insanely arrogant and most of the time lacking of any contributions with substance. Even though they'll try to convince us last night didn't matter, it still hurt a little bit for the fans and I guarantee Kobe was upset.

You know how I know Kobe really wanted to win? When he gets desperate to win, he takes over the game and jacks up every thing he can. 37 shot attempts is unheard of and asinine.

That is not basketball, that is selfish professional sports at it's worst, and I loved it.

Box Score

The Good

Brandon Roy was incredible tonight. It's too bad this game wasn't on ESPN to show the nation what an NBA superstar should be like.

Brandon was better than Kobe Bryant tonight in a lot of ways, especially as it pertained to getting the win. Kobe was frustrated with Brandon all night; Roy's "slow it down and explode game caught Kobe off guard and looking like a rookie defender.

As far as Kobe vs. Brandon goes, the average ESPN viewer may have just seen the points, rebounds and assists of each player, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Both players had 32 points, but Brandon got his on 26 less field goal attempts. That is flat-out ridiculous.

Roy also had zero turnovers to Kobe's five. But the bottom line is that Roy was the most valuable player last night and he continues to make a case for why he could be the MVP in the true sense of the phrase.

Bayless and Miller were also tremendous, especially in the first half. Jerryd's hot shooting and Andre's overall aggressiveness, really helped keep Portland in the game.

Cunningham and Howard were brilliant. Both guys did their jobs offensively and they kept Bynum in check for most of the game. Even physically out-matched, our "mediums" got the job done defensively.

Martell Webster did everything he could to lock up Kobe Bryant, and besides a hot start, Martell did a pretty dang good job.

He frustrated Kobe to the point that it broke down the whole Laker gameplan. Kobe stopped passing, started throwing up more shots, and Portland came out victorious. Martell's last four games have been much needed for the Blazers.

The Bad

The Blazers perimeter defense was bad in the first half. The Lakers were in the game because they were getting wide open jumpers. Fortunately, Portland shored that up in the second half. Besides that, it was ALL good!

The Ugly

No Comment.