Portland 96, Phoenix 87 (Series tied 2-2)

Wow B-Roy, you shocked us all with this move.

Nine days after knee surgery, Brandon Roy was activated to play in tonight’s game to try and jump start Rip City after being embarrassed 2 games in a row. Honestly, when I first heard this, I thought it was a ploy to try and alter Phoenix’s game plan and mind set. It’s farfetched, but it holds water. It’s an interesting angle and the city of Portland would give up anything to keep the series alive. B-Roy had agreed and changed the entire complexion of this series.

Roy didn’t start, but came off the bench with about 6 minutes left in the first and the ovation sent goosebumps down my spine. I love Brandon Roy, he is a top 5 favorite player of mine and hold the utmost respect for him. However, Portland didn’t need him tonight. Not to say, the Trailblazers don’t need him at all. This is just not the right time and his coach had a pretty good alternative to shake up things. Nate McMillan made a great adjustment. After Andre Miller dropped 31 points in Game 1, Alvin Gentry put Grant Hill on Miller to slow him down. Andre has scored a combined 38 points since that game. Furthermore, McMillan realizing that Phoenix’s worst defender, Steve Nash, is getting free pass and not exerting any energy in the series guarding Martell Webster, starts Jerryd Bayless. Boy, what a difference. Bayless finished with only 11 points, but had 6 assists and caused Nash to be a factor on defense, which he isn’t, so it opened open the floor for LaMarcus Aldridge. He did not waste the opportunity.

Aldridge was a beast, nailing jumpers, being a factor on the boards, and causing Phoenix to run rapid. A great performance from the young stud. This could be big, because he has played less than stellar this series. Another factor for Portland winning this game was defense. DEFENSE. Going into the final quarter, I was worried for Trailblazer nation. Phoenix always has the ability to go off. Jason Richardson, Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Jared Dudley were all quiet at this point. I thought one of them would go off.

No, I was completely wrong. Portland held everybody in check and only allowed 15 points. That’s amazing. They played great team D and shut the Suns down. Phoenix looked lost and couldn’t recuperate. The game was still in check though, well, until B-Roy stepped up. With 4:55 left to play, Roy hit a huge 3 to push the score to 85-79, and altered the momentum entirely for the home team. Phoenix attempted a rebuttal but had nothing worthwhile. Roy’s emotional lift was too much and the Portland crowd was not going to allow the Suns to get comfortable. The series is tied 2-2 and I can’t tell anything that is going to happen. This series in entirely in the air. Who wants it more? Who is going to step up and go big? If not, home is more suitable. This series just got extremely interesting.

This is The Ref and I am not signaling out just yet. Later tonight, check back for the Thunder/Lakers recap. Peace, Love, Happiness

Oklahoma City, LA Lakers (Series tied 2-2)

LA, are you ready to wake up now? Has it hit you now the way it should have hit Seattle (irony) and Dallas? What are you going to do to step up?

The Thunder are for real, and they are not afraid. Oklahoma City has LA not only shocked, but worried.

Every analyst, every fan, and everybody part of the Thunder franchise needed the team to come out of the gate fast. Boy, did they do that. They took over the game with 10:30 left in the 1st and didn’t look back. Kevin Durant was making easy fast break buckets, Russell Westbrook was draining jumpers left and right, and Nenad Krstic was blocking shots (yes, that is not a typo, Nenad effin Krstic was swatting b-balls). The youngest team in the league was running circles around the Lakers as if they were riding the carousel, and LA was dizzy. Phil Jackson could not come up with a counter attack, and to be honest, didn’t seem like he tried.

There was no fight in the Lakers. Kobe Bryant was docile and the team conveyed zero emotion, as if they accepted their fate in the game early. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum came to play, but only in the first half. The second half was owned by…Lamar Odom? He has done nothing all series. Ironic, he would start to play well in a blowout. Anyway, what is LA going to do back in the Staples Center? They have to realize by now that the Thunder can play well away from Ford. Hell, they had the 5th best road record in the NBA.

One starts to question the Lakers bench at this point. The Thunder were supposed to have that weakness, but with Odom, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Luke Walton playing inconsistently compared to the solid play of Serge Ibaka, who is becoming quite the stud lately, James Harden, Eric Maynor, and Nick Collison, people start to think differently. Anytime Kobe, Gasol, or Bynum is on the bench, the Lakers are worse. Well, so are the Thunder if Durant, Westbrook, and Jeff Green are out, but the Thunder have an advantage on them in this category now. The bench has energy, purpose, and a motive to provide an element the starters couldn’t provide. The alternatives can totally change the outcome of a game (cue last night’s Jazz/Denver game), and I don’t think the Lakers bench can do that all. On the other hand, the Thunder do all of that extremely well. Ibaka is overflowing with talent. His jumper looks solid and his defense is of a Ben Wallace type. Can you imagine that? Big Ben type D with a jumper. So much possibility, but for right now, he provides solid minutes and ignites a spark in the Thunder’s ass.

The big thing for the Thunder going back to LA is how well is James Harden going to play away from Ford. He scored 0 points in Games 1 and 2 and 33 points combined in Games 3 & 4. He is the X-factor, the person that can tip the scale for the Thunder to shock the basketball world. Harden is that important. We all know Westbrook is the huge advantage over Fisher and Farmar, Durant is going to get his points, and Green is going to contain whoever he guards, but it’s not enough. The Thunder need that extra component; the variable to unbalance the equation. It’s going to be interesting.

Just like the Suns/Trailblazers series, this is up in the air now. Anything can happen and I cannot be anymore elated. The playoffs are starting to get good.

Before I sign off, I have a question and would really enjoy some feedback on: How much does LA miss Trevor Ariza?

This is The Ref finally signaling I’m out until next time and remember: We miss calls, you miss lay ups.