Wednesday, January 4, 2012

BLAZER M.O WORKING by ST

How about the Trailblazers taking out Oklahoma City at their place? This team has been fantastic in the 2nd half during the early part of this season. They regularly put up more than 50 points over the final 24 minutes and seem to clamp down defensively. Outscored the Thunder 52-40 during that stretch last night. I really like what we're seeing from Gerald Wallace. It appears he's now settled as a Blazer. Upon arriving in Portland at last season's trade deadline, at times you got the sense he wasn't comfortable. The welcoming nature of the fans and the understanding he has a key role on a pretty solid team appears to have worked wonders. In this particular win he did not allow an off night shooting to spill over into the other critical areas of his all around game. His defense on Kevin Durant was nothing shy of spectacular. GW was on KD from the opening bell torturing him into an 8 of 26 shooting performance. One of my new obsessive stats is plus/minus. For years it was primarily used in discussing hockey, but Wallace had the highest positive number on the court with LeMarcus Aldridge at +11. The worst? Durant at -11. Wallace also pulled down a team high 10 boards.
I know all have expressed their opinion, but I think Peyton Manning is done in Indy. Like Dennis Leary says, "life is tough, wear a helmet". The Colts owe Peyton nothing. They just paid him nearly 30 million dollars for a season they knew he'd produce nothing. In a cap driven league like the NFL it's harsh but if you're not forward thinking you are dead. With that top pick they must select Andrew Luck and rebuild a horrifying defense. Even with #18 under center, they're not a contender in the very tough AFC. Another key fact is with the nature of Manning's neck injury, it's no lock he ever takes the field in an NFL game again.
Look forward to chatting you all up this afternoon.

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