Portland Trail Blazers Game Nine: Hornets' Sting Is Filled With VENOM

Tonight Greg Oden played important minutes in his developement as a future great NBA center. He shot well, blocked a few shots, and got some PIVOTAL rebounds.  Also, he really made Tyson Chandler look like a frustrated infant. 

Too bad he played those minutse against the New Orleans Hornets.

The dangerous truth about hornets is this: They do not die when they sting you.  Instead, they can keep stinging you over, and over, and over...

Which is exactly what the Hornets did tonight.  No matter how much Portland swatted the pesky bugs away, no matter what anti-wasp repellent was sprayed in the air, no matter what exterminator was chosen to get rid of the hive...the Hornets would not stop stinging.

No sting more painful than the three they dropped to go up four with less than a minute remaining.  The aquisition of three point marksman James Posey makes their sting weight heavy with VENOM.

Still, Portland cut the lead to three and had the last possession. 

We had a chance to tie the game.

Brandon Roy was forced to take a regrettably poor three point shot. 

Of course, the reason he took the shot is because the Hornets defenders were stinging him left and right, making it impossible for him to get a decent three in the air.  What shot he did take will certainly not end up on You Tube as one of B-Roy's finest game ending thrillers.  No, that shot belongs in the garbage can.

But take leave, wary Blazer fans.  The New Orleans Hornets were going to be the hardest team we face on this road trip, and we only lost by five points. 

We played well.

There are those games in the season where the odds of winning are slim.

Entering the Hornets nest and expecting to make it out with a victory is wish-full thinking at best.

But for the last couple of years this has been a home court advantage match up.

See you in Portland, Hornets. 

See you soon...