Injuries Force Blazers to Alter Tradition

ORLANDO -- This is not Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors we're talking about here.

It just looks that way.

The Portland Trail Blazers aren't built to play like this. They don't draft for this. And Nate McMillan (pictured) doesn't like coaching to this.

But sometimes, it just happens.

The Blazers (16-12) have been wracked by injuries, yet they have stayed in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture because of their ability to adjust, using whatever means it takes to win games.

They were beaten Saturday night by the Magic in Orlando, 92-83, but not before they went to a four-guard lineup, used a forward as center, a point guard to defend a small forward and an assistant coach to walk up and down the sidelines because McMillan can't get out of his seat.

"Sometimes you just don't have a choice,'' said McMillan, who is still recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. "We'll do what we have to do.''

Portland players have lost 111 games already this season to injuries. They are without center Greg Oden (fracture left patella), forward Travis Outlaw (broken foot), guard/forward Rudy Fernandez (back surgery), and forward Nicolas Batum (shoulder surgery), all of whom were expected to play a key role this season. They also are without rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph (left hip) and guard Patrick Mills (right foot).

"It's a lot tougher to win this way,'' said Blazers shooting guard Brandon Roy, who scored a game-high 33 points. "Guys have been resilient. It's what Nate preaches: 'One man's pain is another man's gain.'''

Roy scored more than 20 points for the ninth consecutive game, the longest-active streak in the NBA. One of the reasons is that with Portland missing so many key guys, he is shooting more than he ever did, now averaging 22 points this season.

"We're more of a traditional team. We've never played like this. Golden State, they draft for this kind of style. We don't,'' Roy said. "But it just show how much guys are sacrificing and making it work.''

Through much of the fourth quarter, Roy was playing with guards Andre Miller and Steve Blake -- both point guards -- and Jerryd Bayless, a combo guard, along with power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

"We're just trying to manufacture points any way we can,'' McMillan said. "We have to play small at times to get back into a game. It was successful in the first three quarters and it wasn't in the fourth.''
The Blazers led throughout different parts of the game. The lead changed hands 15 times. They led by six points in the third quarter. It was tied at 76 midway in the fourth before the game got away from them. The Magic finished with a 54-35 rebound advantage. Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds because neither center Joel Przybilla nor power forward LaMarcus Aldridge could keep him away. The Blazers didn't have enough big bodies to waste fouls and keep sending him to the free throw line like many teams do.

"A lot of teams play small, but this franchise just isn't used to it,'' said Miller, who joined the Blazers as a free agent this summer. "They're used to the more traditional big guys. It's a tough thing to adjust to.''

The Blazers beat Phoenix Thursday night when Bayless exploded for a career-high 29 points and 16 in the fourth quarter. He didn't have the same pop Saturday with 10 points. They managed just seven assists. Their starting frontcourt of Przybilla, Aldridge and Martell Webster combined to score only nine points. Their only available front-court backup was Juwan Howard, who played 10 minutes, and Anthony Tolliver, who arrived from the D-League Wednesday and didn't play.

"What we're doing is not traditional, but it has been effective at times,'' McMillan said. "More teams are going to smaller lineups now, so it's not that unusual. At this point, though, we're kind of forced into it.''