The Afterparty: Blazers/Hawks Game 12

A party full of post-game links and coverage to give you every over-analyzed angle in hopes of making your Blazers IQ that much greater.

Choke? Collapse? Fold? Crumple? Wilt? Buckle? Any other words to describe last night's Blazers loss to the Atlanta Hawks? Sure there were a half dozen questionable calls or no calls down the stretch, but that's not really the storyline here is it? Had Portland closed out a full four quarters, those calls or missed calls wouldn't have even been a factor. One or two makes from a wide open Steve Blake, a few less bonehead fouls by Martell Webster, someone deciding to guard a guy that's going off for 20+ in a half, or actually putting a body on Josh Smith who's beasting anyone would have helped save this game.

On a side note...anyone miss Travis Outlaw last night? I didn't. I'm sure we have Outlaw fans out there preaching "Well he's 'Mr. 4th Quarter' and could have sparked a stagnant offense!" OK, let's be real here. The guy has a 4th quarter worthy of talking about probably 10 times a year yet the talking heads have dubbed him with such a catchy nickname. Before you all get ahead of yourselves, here is a look at Outlaw's recent past. The 5 previous games before the injury, Travis was 16 of 46 from the field which included rebounding efforts of 5, 0, 5, 1, and 3. Outlaw was not a factor in the outcome of this game.

What I saw last night, was a team that looked as poised and confident for 3 quarters as any team in this league even with a shortened roster. I saw the Rudy Fernandez we've been waiting for. I saw the starters really starting to form one hell of a unit. And Greg Oden at times transforming into a franchise center.

No worries about the game especially with the team returning home. An 8-4 record and the attention of the nation is enough for now.

Recap. Box Score...

Lowlights...

Tweet of the Game...

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