Blazers-Raptors Recap and Going Forward

First of all, I have to give some serious credit to the Blazers for the work they've done over the last seven days. Following a disappointing loss in Denver last Sunday, the Blazers went on to beat the Kings at home, then Golden State and Sacramento on the road, and finished off the stretch with a win tonight at home against Toronto. Sophia recapped the first three wins here , here and here . I'll discuss tonight's victory and a few other home stretch topics.

Tonight, a struggling but always dangerous Raptors team entered the Rose Garden to end their four-game road trip. Toronto had lost all three of the previous games which always seems to be a recipe for heightened play against Portland. I figured the Blazers would be in for a high scoring game and potentially a disappointing one if things didn't go our way.

The game started out very strangely; Toronto couldn't miss a shot but they also couldn't get a defensive rebound. LaMarcus Aldridge had six rebounds in the first 3:30 and had 10 points and seven rebounds soon after. LA got it going early and the Blazers capitalized on poor Raptor defense. Despite Toronto shooting lights out all night, including 62% in the first half, The Blazers still held a sizable lead thanks to epic 3-point shooting by the whole team. Portland ended up 12 of 20 from deep but were something like 9 of 12 at one point. Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez were red hot from deep, and against a team like Toronto who wants to outscore their opponents, this was a good night for our three balls to go in.

Rudy and LaMarcus were huge in the first half, really setting the tone for the game and helping get the big lead. At one point, Rudy had assisted on multiple shots in a row, including an alley oop to Aldridge that was a thing of beauty. The third quarter had it's typical lull allowing Toronto back in the game, but in the 4th quarter, Nicolas Batum came alive offensively and defensively, helping Portland seal the deal at home.

I was really impressed with LaMarcus' activity early. He did exactly what he needed to do against this Raptor squad, by going inside, getting easy baskets and creating opportunities to score. Although he disappeared for stretches of the game, which is perfectly acceptable considering other contributors, I thought he did what he needed to do early on. Rudy also showed a lot of confidence and control with his shooting and passing in the first half. When Rudy is confident like he's been for the last few games, he can be a dangerous wild card coming off the bench.

Another way to look at the last week; the Blazers won four games they were supposed to win. They won four games against below .500 teams but got dominated by the Northwest Division's best team just last Sunday. Should we be worried or just happy where we are? It's difficult to gauge this team, but obviously we need wins right now to move up in the standings. The question that really plagues me when Portland wins 2-3-4 games in a row is; are they improving as a unit or just piecing together wins against bad teams?

This last stretch of games was more than just four victories. I think roles are getting defined, guys are getting comfortable, and everyone knows it's time to finish the regular season strong. There are a couple reasons for my decision. First off, Brandon Roy appears to be 100 percent healthy and back to full strength in every way. The damage he did on the road against Golden State and Sacramento proved that he's ready to regain his closer status. I also think that it's become overwhelmingly clear that Nicolas Batum is our best option at small forward and Nate McMillan knows it. Webster is maxing out at 15 minutes a game off the bench while Nic is flourishing as a starter. Batum may not put up offensive numbers every game, but he's out there for his shot blocking and playmaking abilities on defense. He also showed once again tonight that he has a sweet jumper that spreads the floor for Brandon Roy to do his thing late in games.

Now the question remains for me, is this a team that can do anything in the playoffs? We have a great starting 5 and a couple excellent options off the bench, but will this team pose any threat to the Lakers, Nuggets, Jazz or Mavericks come playoff time? There are still a handful of games left to determine seeding, with Portland having a lot of rest, as they've played more games than most teams in the league. Without getting into hypotheticals too much, is a team with veterans like Andre Miller, Juwan Howard and Marcus Camby going to actually fare better in the playoffs? Last year told us a lot about what to expect in the playoffs for our young team. Roy and Aldridge gathered some experience, as did a few other Blazer players. Does this team have what it takes to improve on what happened last year against Houston?

The West has 8 very good teams jockeying for position in the playoffs. Four of them happen to be from the Northwest division. We've seen a lot of them multiple times this season and know how we're supposed to play them. But can the Blazers expect a different outcome against Utah or Denver in a playoff series? I'd like to believe that this nucleus of players has enough firepower to scare any first round opponent. But we still don't really know yet.

The bottom line for me is that we see this same sense of urgency out of the team for the rest of the season. That's all we can really hope for right? As long as the team realizes what's at stake, and plays with high intensity every game, they'll have a shot at moving up in the standings and even winning a first round match-up. Let's hope there's no let down and this resilient bunch continues to prove they can persevere even with all the injuries, turmoil and drama that plagued them throughout the season. It's time to make a real playoff push. Let's go Blazers!