Portland Trail Blazers Blog – Page 82 – NBA Blog

Grandma in Przybilla family mad at fine

Now this is awesome. As you know, Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla is having a terrific season and contributes more to his team than his stats (6.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.15 bpg on amazing 75.2% shooting) would suggest.

Przybilla is a pretty level-headed guy. But his grandmother-in-law Stella is mad and not gonna take it anymore.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Paul Walsh) reports:

An 80-something in-law of Portland Trail Blazer Joel Przybilla is mad at NBA Commissioner David Stern because the league fined her 7-foot-tall relative for his role in a shoving match with an opposing player last week. Stella Stawski, whose granddaughter is married to Przybilla, said this morning that it’s unfair that the former Gopher and Monticello (Minn.) High School center has to pay the league $7,500 for the physical to-do he had Friday with New Orleans center Tyson Chandler. Stawski, 83 and just a few inches over 5 feet tall, said she mentioned to a friend that she had a mind to fire off a letter to Stern but now concedes that it probably wouldn’t do much good… “The altercation started with the other young man,” Stawski, who lives in suburban Milwaukee, said this morning. “The first punch was done to Joel, not the other way around. … That was a totally flagrant foul.”

I say Stella should challenge David Stern to a game of one-on-one. Winner gets to decide whether the fine stays or goes.

Grizzlies waive Darius Miles

The Memphis Grizzlies have waived forward Darius Miles, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action. The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.

Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee. The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.

The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.

The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Memphis will play the New Jersey Nets tonight at 6:30 p.m. CST at the IZOD Center. The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 13 players.

Lakers beat Blazers 100-86 for 15th straight home win

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19 and Los Angeles beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday night for its sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home… LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double figures. But the Blazers shot only 39 percent overall… Vujacic, playing despite a case of tonsillitis, had 11 points in 26 minutes. Vladimir Radmanovic had 16 points off the bench for the Lakers, 12 of them in the fourth quarter. Portland made only three of 14 shots during the first 6:06 of the quarter, all of them 3-pointers, and never got closer than 14 points.

Did not play: Brandon Roy

Tyson Chandler suspended, Joel Przybilla fined

Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and striking Portland’s Joel Przybilla in the neck. In addition, Przybilla has been fined $7,500 for his role in the incident and assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for a forearm to the chest of Chandler, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Chandler was also assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two and ejected from the game, occurred with 6:16 remaining in the third period of New Orleans’ 92-77 win over the Trail Blazers last night at the Rose Garden.

Chandler will serve his suspension tonight when the Hornets visit the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center.

Blake, short-handed Trail Blazers beat Celtics

The AP reports: Even without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, the Portland Trail Blazers earned an impressive win Tuesday night. Steve Blake had 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and the short-handed Blazers beat the Boston Celtics 91-86, sending the NBA champions to their third loss in four games… Reserve forward Travis Outlaw had 17 points for Portland and Greg Oden added 13 points and 11 rebounds despite injuring his ankle in practice Monday. Paul Pierce scored 28 points, making 14 of 15 foul shots, and Kevin Garnett had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics (28-5), who were at the end of a four-game road trip and have more losses since Dec. 25 than in the previous two months of the season… Rajon Rondo had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Boston.

There was a controversial play late in the second quarter when the Trail Blazers scored while using six players on the court. The basket counted, but a technical foul resulted in a free throw for the Celtics. More details here.

Blazers score with six players on court

Tuesday night in Portland the Trail Blazers are hosting the Boston Celtics and late in the second quarter were losing to the visitors 44-38. But they got a late first half basket using six players on the court.

A video clip of this has been added below (scroll down).

With 10 seconds left in the half, Portland took a 20-second timeout. A Blazers substitution brought Jerryd Bayless into the game. Greg Oden was supposed to leave the game, but he didn’t.

So, after the timeout, Bayless inbounded the basketball to Steve Blake. With time ticking down, Blake lobbed it down to Oden outside the left paint near the rim, who quickly flipped it to Travis Outlaw on the right side of the paint, who threw down an open dunk.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez were also on the court for the Blazers, giving them six players versus Boston’s five.

At this point I’m leering at the 200-inch 1080P 120mhz InsideHoops.com home office HD LCD television (valued at $75,000) and laughing.

On the court for the Celtics was their starting lineup: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins

Before Blake threw the pass, Kevin Garnett was guarding Aldridge at the left free throw corner. Oden was unguarded behind KG near the basket just outside the left paint. When Garnett spotted Oden he yelled/motioned for help (or was yelling that there are six Blazers men on the floor). Perkins, who was around the right side of the paint, responded.

Perkins switched over to guard Oden as Blake lobbed it inside, so Oden quickly flipped it to the now wide-open Outlaw, who crammed home the easy dunk with 3 seconds left, making it 44-40.

InsideHoops.com is 95 percent certain it was Oden who should have come out.

The Celtics went wild protesting. But the amazing result was that the referees, who did not notice the problem until after the dunk, actually counted the basket for the Blazers but issued a technical foul on them, putting Ray Allen on the line for a free throw, which he hit, putting Boston up 45-40, the score going into halftime.

Is this the rule? Did the referees handle this correctly? If so, the Blazers actually benefitted from this!

What if a team intentionally put six men on the floor, almost always scored as a result, and only gives up a single technical foul free throw each time. Right? Of course, that would only work if they managed to score before the refs noticed there were too many players on the court, so they’d have to get it done very quickly before the tech gets called. It could work, for a few plays every now and then!

This was wild.

–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum thread.

Blazers sideline reporter needs a hug

I’m watching the Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers game on NBA League Pass right now.

Boston is up big early in the second quarter, up 25-13. I think it was their worst first quarter of the season. Not sure, though.

They’re playing without Brandon Roy, and clearly still adjusting to it.

A very key observation: The Blazers sideline reporter is Rebecca Haarlow, a beautiful young blond woman who has done a perfectly good job so far.

But one thing: She seems bummed out! Maybe it’s that Brandon Roy is out. But even early in the game when it was close, she sounded a bit too low-key. Pick up the enthusiasm, Rebecca!

As for the Blazers, they’re getting pushed around and look all shook up. The Celtics are assassins out there.

I’ll be glued to the game for the evening.

Dec 27: Blazers 102, Raptors 89

The AP reports: This time, Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t need any late-game heroics to beat the Toronto Raptors. Roy had 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Portland beat the Raptors 102-89 Saturday night, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2002-03. Greg Oden broke out of a slump with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Travis Outlaw added 12 points for the Blazers. Chris Bosh had 29 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, which had a two-game winning streak stopped. Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 points, Andrea Bargnani added 13, and Jose Calderon had 11 points and eight assists.

Dec 25: Mavs 102, Blazers 94

The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and Jason Terry had 19 to help the surging Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 102-94 on Thursday night. Nowitzki was 12-of-18 from the field and scored on power moves and jumpers despite playing the second half in foul trouble. Josh Howard added 15 points for Dallas, 15-4 in its last 19 games after opening 2-7. Portland’s Brandon Roy had 22 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Steve Blake added 14 points and seven assists, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez had 13 points each, and LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 12… Josh Howard was ejected after picking up a flagrant foul and two technical fouls in the third quarter.

Dec 23: Blazers 101, Nuggets 92

The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, Brandon Roy added 19 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-92 on Tuesday night. Joel Przybilla had 19 rebounds and 10 points, going 4-of-4 on free throws in the final 2:40 to help Portland (18-11) tie the Nuggets atop the Northwest Division… Linas Kleiza had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Nuggets, who lost three in a row before beating Portland 97-89 on Monday night in Denver. Nene had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Chauncey Billups added 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.