As John Townsend sat behind Portland’s bench in the final minutes of Thursday night's loss to Denver, he had to hate writing those numbers in his black game binder.

The astute shooting coach for the Blazers keeps tabs on everything that leaves his players’ hands – field goals, three-pointers, free-throws, made, attempts and percentages – and then evaluates those numbers on a month to month basis in order to gauge where improvement remain or struggles rest.

Down the stretch, zeros filled the free-throw column: Andre Miller, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Greg Oden all missed from the line; a lack of focus the main culprit.

For the past couple of days, Nate McMillan preached and Portland prepared to commit less turnovers. And they did (7 total, down from 26 against Houston). They knew Denver would play physical, even after their back-to-back against Utah the previous night. So the Blazers muscled-up (44 total rebounds and 5 blocked shots) in response. They wanted to keep Ty Lawson from running all over the place. And they did. They wanted energy guys like Kenyon Martin (my feature story on Martin runnng now at SLAM online - "Don't Hate Kenyon Martin") and Chris Anderson stationary. And they were, combining for only 12 points.

They knew they’d have to live with Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups going big. Real big in Melo’s case (41 points).

Yet all along with the game on the line Portland aimed for poise and drew iron instead.

In a matter of seconds, gone was the outstanding performance of Martell Webster in the first half and Rudy Fernandez in the third quarter. Remember that three-pointer by Roy to end the third? It would have that much sweeter for Portland in a win. That much sweeter.

But as any head coach or player around the league will tell you, the season isn’t won or lost in October or November. On a night when Portland matched Denver’s toughness and energy, they essentially inserted a typical sports cliché with their first loss on this young season: they beat themselves in a game they should have won. No, it’s not cause for panic in Portland or swan dives from the Morrison Bridge, but it certainly will be one of those games the Blazers will look back on for the next two months – and maybe all season long - as a motivational tool.

Sure, that sounds like another familiar sports cliché. Guilty. But next time these two teams meet on Christmas Day at the Rose Garden, you think the likes of Roy, Aldridge, Miller and Oden won’t soon forget going clank and tank on TNT?

Time to move forward.

Time to take on Houston.

Time to grow among the pain.

Time to use this quick two-game road trip to begin building a tighter chemistry.

And it’s time to file that stat sheet in the black game binder.

photo: bleacherreport

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