Blazers vs Nuggets – Hot Live (Preseason) Blog Action

Live from the Rose Garden as the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Denver Nuggets for a game of mildly competitive preseason basketball. Limited effort! Bench players! Exclamation marks! It’s all after the jump.

PRE-GAME:
So this is it, the final preseason game. Next time you read this blog it’ll be opening night, which is a good thing since the Blazers have labored through this preseason, winning just a pair of games. I’m not worried—hence my crazy prediction of 57 wins—yet it seems like most the Portland faithful is losing sleep about the team’s supposed lack of chemistry and their lackluster start to the preseason. But, after all, it’s not for real. Plenty of teams trudge through this part of the season before turning it on for the opening tip.

Marcus Camby and Wesley Matthews were both scratched from the game, but Camby has been added to the starting five—unscratched!—meaning his hip injury isn’t too bad.

The Nuggets have lost a bit of their sheen lately, as star player Carmelo Anthony is being shopped and the team has lost control of the Northwest Divisional reigns. But Birdman is here. As is wee birdman. Someone should call child protective services.

FIRST QUARTER:
11:54 – Nene with a pair of points under the basket. If only the Blazers had a center to prevent such an easy layup. 2-0 Nuggets.

10:16 – Vital mid-game hair update: LaMarcus Aldridge has trimmed his beard—now 70% less Amish—while Andre Miller has shaved his head. 7-2 Nuggets.

7:54 – Batum with a telegraphed pass and turnover. The Blazers look terrible. It’s like they are treating this meaningless game as if it had no meaning. 13-6 Nuggets.

4:44 – Dante Cunningham picks up some hustle points (actual scoreboard value: zero) with a looseball rebound that results in a Miller jumper. 18-10 Nuggets.

3:21 – Nicolas Batum is tripped up on the drive and stays down on the floor for a few seconds. Maybe less, but after witnessing so many players splayed out on the hardwood, it felt like a lifetime. He’s fine, and hits both foul shots as well. 18-14 Nuggets.

3:00 – Rudy Fernandez enters the game to more cheers than boos. Plus no hecklers. That’s a step in the right direction. 21-16 Nuggets.

1:43 – Aldridge exploits a mismatch against Chauncey Billups and finishes with an alley-oop dunk. Jerryd Bayless on the assist. 22-18 Nuggets.

0:00 – Roy clanks on a three at the buzzer, but the Blazers bench brings them back into the game. 22-20 Nuggets.

SECOND QUARTER:
10:43 – Roy with his first points of the game, from the line. He finished the first quarter with a terrible 0-5 effort. 24-24 tie.

9:36 – Finally Roy doesn’t force a shot and buries a three. 27-26 Blazers.

8:14 – Armon Johnson leads a fastbreak triggered by a Camby block, Rudy finishes at the rim. 31-29 Nuggets.

7:37 – When Rudy takes the ball to the basket, good things happen. I think I’ve been typing that line for three years now. It’s my “you’ve gotta make your freethrows.” Rudy to the hoop, dishes to Aldridge, points, two of ’em. 33-33 tie.

5:34 – Johnson with a one-man fastbreak that results with him hitting the floor, but thankfully picking up the foul. I’m a fan. 35-35 tie.

3:38 – Cunningham with a nice cut and left-handed layup, plus a foul. Three point play, plus hustle points, equals—once sec, gotta get out my abacus—three points. 41-38 Blazers.

1:19 – Aldridge flails widely but picks up the foul in the process. Time to put Luke Babbitt in the game. Pasty! 44-39 Blazers.

0:24 – After missing a three, Batum strips the ball and takes it in for a fastbreak dunk. Was that “Air France” Rose Garden PA catch phrase a new thing? I don’t remember it from last year. 46-42 Blazers.

Halftime score: 46-43 Blazers. Gymnastic halftime show! Jealous?

THIRD QUARTER:
11:09 – Batum for three. Just like the end of the first half. 49-43 Blazers.

7:41 – Wow. That was the play of the preseason. Batum pesters Billips the length of the court, forces a loose ball, which the Nuggets guard tries to throw off Batum. But Frenchy 88 dodges the ball, recovers it, and takes it in for a dunk. 55-45 Blazers.

5:06 – I just realized that Marcus Camby and Chris Dudley were teammates on the ’99-00 Knicks. That is so weird. I’d still rather have Camby in Salem than Duds. But then who would play center? 59-47 Blazers.

3:01 – Rudy misses a pair of threes. I guess that would explain the team’s 14% three-point percentage. 59-55 Blazers.

0:55 – Oh, preseason basketball. So real, yet so fake. The Blazers will reel off a few minutes of “real” play then sort of mess around—at least, I hope that’s what they are doing—for a few more minutes. Then I get distracted and watch the Ducks football game on TV. 64-59 Blazers.

FOURTH QUARTER:
10:53 – Eleven more minutes until the regular season starts. Hurry up. 65-62 Blazers.

8:58 – Denver just stopped bothering to cover Cunningham. I think they suspect he’s a fan in a replica jersey. Or a ballboy. 72-65 Blazers.

8:43 – The crowd just roared for video footage of the Ducks scoring their 60th point tonight. That was a better response than any moment of this game. Since no one likes rubbing in blowouts like us Oregonians do. 72-67 Blazers.

6:44 – Camby to Aldridge for an alley-oop?! Really? That just happened. Camby can run the point. Bayless, you are now the center. 77-67 Blazers.

5:25 – Camby is not taking this as a preseason game. He fouls Arron Afflalo like his life depended on it. Take it easy, Camby Man. This is not real. 77-68 Blazers.

3:38 – Anthony rims in a three. We might have a close finish. Oh, and it seems like Batum hurt his shoulder. He won’t be returning. 79-77 Blazers.

2:11 – Aldridge hits a contested jumper, but Ty Lawson answers right back. Into the homestretch we go. 83-81 Blazers.

1:09 – Roy at the line and hits them both. That should do it. 87-81 Blazers.

0:13 – Goodnight, Nuggets. Rudy for three and that does it. A nice fake win for the home team. 90-83 Blazers is your final score. See you Tuesday when the real blogging begins.