Around The World: April 19

04/19/12

Written by: DHawes22 / avg. rating: 4.0

April 19

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Trail Blazers 91, Jazz 112

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Thabeet Drops The Hammer

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Coach Canales Post-Game Interview

Trail Blazers: Trail Blazers Slide Reaches Four With Loss The Jazz
"They hit 10 threes. I think that extended our defense and we started concerning ourselves with the three point line which allowed them to get their post ups. I thought their post up positions for the most part, they got easy catches. We tried to scramble our defense there," Canales said. "They’re a good team playing good basketball. You have to give them credit."

Trail Blazers: Wesley Matthews Receives Second Annual Maurice Lucas Award
"Wesley has been a consistent representation of what it takes to be a Trail Blazer this season," said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. "Luke would have been proud of the toughness and resilience Wesley has shown, and would have wanted him to receive this award."

Trail Blazers: Bittersweet Rose Garden Finale
“I feel bad with the way we lost tonight and coming out with these fans out here,” J.J. Hickson said. “They’re definitely our sixth man and even when we’re losing, they’re still cheering and they’re yelling at the top of their lungs. That’s something you can’t buy and that’s something you can’t take for granted. I’ve played for other teams where it’s not like that. That’s something I definitely look forward to when I come to the arena.”

Trail Blazers: Paul's "All In"
"He has lost millions of dollars on this franchise, but a day does not go by that he is not e-mailing and texting Team President Larry Miller and General Manager Chad Buchanan on how they can improve this team."

Oregon Live: Blazers notes: Wesley Matthews headed to Summer League; LaMarcus Aldridge surgery date targeted
“I’m playing. I’m playing. Dead serious,’’ Matthews said after Wednesday’s home finale, a 112-91 loss to Utah."

Oregon Live: Utah 112, Portland 91: Undermanned Blazers can't reward fans with win in home finale
“My rookie year, we won 55 (and lost) 27, they were the best in the NBA,” forward Nicolas Batum said. “This year we’re 28-35, and they’re still the best fans in the NBA. So disappointed because we wanted to finish in a good way.”

Columbian: Blazers Fizzle In Home Finale
“Since I’ve been here, this is the worst season we’ve had in four years,” said Blazers forward Nicolas Batum, adding that, despite his team’s futility, the fans’ support has not wavered. “It’s frustrating because when I came back in December from France and I took my flight ticket to come over and people asked me, ‘When are you going to fly back?’ I said not before June because I knew we would make the playoffs.”

Portland Tribune: Luke Babbitt gives fans a glimpse – now young Blazers forward has to show more, starting this summer
“Luke is ready to help an NBA team,” acting general manager Chad Buchanan said on draft day. “Luke is going to be able to get his own shot. There’s some Travis Outlaw in how he shoots the ball.”

Portland Tribune: Crawford's call: ‘I want long-term security’
"I honestly don't know. But if I do opt out, it doesn't mean I want to leave Portland. It just means I want long-term security instead of playing on a one-year deal."

Portland Tribune: For Blazers, optimism rings hollow
“We need to go out there, lace it up and compete every night,” said Matthews, who led the Blazers with 21 points. “Not just compete and play just because it’s a game on the schedule, but want to win. There are a lot of pissed-off guys in here right now.”

CSNNW: The Rhino (Craig Smith) roars his displeasure with role as a Blazer
“Yeah, it's frustrating. It's real frustrating just to see it unfold how it did,” Smith tells CSNNW.com “I don't think I got a fair shot. To see the situation end how it did, it's tough.”

Rip City Project: Game 63 Recap: Blazers 91, Jazz 112
"In the NBA, unless you are seven feet tall or over, you have to be a shooter. Maybe Nolan will figure out how to run the point and show improvement in his assist numbers, but if he can’t knock down an uncontested 17-footer, he’ll never have a real effect on a game. Nolan’s line Wednesday night: 7-of-16 from the field, 1-of-5 from three. Not confidence inspiring."

Blazersedge: Media Row Report: Jazz 112, Blazers 91
"For everyone involved, "Make It Better" transformed into "Make It Stop" over the last two months. There's nothing in the world I enjoy more than writing about basketball and yet the words just aren't there right now. I can only conclude that, regarding the 2011-2012 Blazers, there is nothing left to say."

Ball Don't Lie: Kevin Garnett thanks media for ‘pathetic articles,’ ‘lousy analysis’ after Celtics clinch division (VIDEO)
"You know, I read some of your pathetic articles and some of your lousy analysis," Garnett continued, pausing to slowly look back and forth over the faces of each member of the media surrounding him. "It's opinion. I mean, obviously, you don't know what drive is. We thank y'all for those articles. Appreciate it. Because it lit a fire under us."

Ball Don't Lie: Blazers owner Paul Allen posts a strange, octopus-themed reply to a columnist’s criticism
"On April 18th, 2012, Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen took to his personal website to post four pictures of a creepy-looking octopus (links that were promptly tweeted by Allen, and re-tweeted by the Trail Blazers' official account), with the sea creature in question purportedly going through "the four stages of reading a John Canzano column about the Portland Trail Blazers." Canzano is The Oregonian's top columnist, a scribe who dared question in print on whether or not Allen was "in or out" when it came to aggressively rebuilding a Blazer team that appears to be on his backburner."

The Basketball Jones: Charlotte Bobcats set most depressing goal of the season
"What a bummer. Not only have the Bobcats failed to reach most of their goals that they have set this season, the one goal they are most desperate to meet is another one that they probably won’t achieve. They still need one more win to best the 1972-73 Sixers and not go down in history as the team with the league’s worst winning percentage ever. Considering that of their five remaining games, three come against playoff teams and two come against the Kings and Wizards (5-0 against the Bobcats), things aren’t looking good."

DIME: Daily Fantasy Basketball Diagnosis: 4.19
"James Harden ruined the Suns last night, dropping a line of 40 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and five treys. He shot 71 percent (12-17) from the floor and 100 percent (11-11) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over three times. For the season, Harden has been a top 30 asset, which is in line with rosier expectations heading into the season. Coming off the bench or not, Harden is a fantasy basketball stud."

SLAM: Post Up: Fear The Beard
"Trying to sort out the total mess that is the back end of the Western Conference Playoff race is going to be a nightly chore from now on. Houston, Phoenix and Utah are all currently fighting for the 8-seed, and after last night’s results, the Jazz (33-30) has a half-game lead over the Suns and Rockets (both 32-30). That follows, since Utah was the only one of the 3 teams to pick up a win last night. Then again, the Jazz were facing the least resistant opponent, too—Devin Harris scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the first half as Utah built a double-digit lead and cruised to a win over the bumbling Blazers. Phoenix and Houston both ran up against monster games from opposing stars. In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 of his 35 points in the second half and the Mavs closed out the Rocks with 39-point fourth quarter. And in Phoenix, James Harden put on an absolute show—actually, it was more like a clinic on efficiency (shout out to the NERD rankings!). The Bearded Wonder had himself a Hardy Party, scoring a career-high 40 points on 12-17 field goal shooting (5 threes), 11-11 free throw shooting and still found time to grab 7 rebounds, drop 3 dimes and get 4 steals. Playoff beards, anyone?"

ESPN: Report: Dwight Howard Won't Play For Van Gundy
"Magic center Dwight Howard has called team owner Rich DeVos to tell him that he won't play for coach Stan Van Gundy anymore, WKMG in Orlando reported. But multiple league sources directly affiliated with the Magic and Howard disputed the television report to ESPN.com's Michael Wallace."