SB Nation - Travis Outlaw

Who's To Blame?

Dave — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:14:03 -0000

Click through to find the answer.

So here we are, in the midst of a three-game losing streak...a total case of shock and "awwww" for Blazer fans across the globe. This team hasn't seen a three-game losing streak since December 9^th-12^th of last season when we lost to the Magic at home, the Jazz on the road, and the Clippers again at home in overtime. And before that we hadn't seen a three-game losing streak since the first three games of the previous season, one in which we ended up 41-41. Well, I suppose we should probably mention that in between those latter two three-game streaks the Blazers lost five straight to a lineup of opponents including the Sixers, Wizards, Bobcats, and Nets. After that they won a game versus the Kings before dropping four more straight. Then later that year they dropped five in a row again. And then they did it again towards the end of the year. And oops! In all of those other losing streaks I managed to miss another three-gamer that technically did occur after the one I just cited. In that .500 season we saw so many losing streaks I can't keep them straight.

Nevertheless, in the quest to get to the bottom of this one a single question has repeated in various forms in numerous forums, including this one. It's a question that's repeated after nearly every loss, streaky or not: Who is to blame for this?!?

The question has its roots in our culture, I believe. I remember when the news about the Columbine shootings broke the story wasn't twenty minutes old before people were calling in to radio stations pinning the blame on the parents. I've learned since to avoid reading the comment section of any online news source when they report a story where something goes wrong. You'll read a laundry list of posts blaming the situation on Bush or the Demmycrats or the mayor or the police or liberals or the ACLU or judges or Outer Mongolians whether or not any of those individuals, groups, or philosophical outlooks address the matter in any way. It's human nature. If we can pin the blame for something on Subset A of society while identifying ourselves firmly as being outside of that subset (us being good parents or having the right political leanings or what have you) then the laws of simple cause and effect guarantee that said wrong will never happen to us. Now what was I doing before that story inconvenienced me? Ah yes...

"Gilligan!" "Sorry, Skipper."

I must admit that I see a fair amount of this phenomenon in my day job in the church. It's present in the occasional bout of parochialism, of course, but it imbues even the positive aspects of the church-pastor relationship. What do you suppose people want in a sermon? Along with the God-stuff comes this mantra: Keep it simple, keep it short, and bring it to a level I can understand. And indeed I try. But even as I do so I am aware of the cosmic folly of trying to reduce what is for those who follow this calling (and I'm not saying you have to or should in order to understand this example) the most complex subject in the universe. Dealing with something both overarching and foundational at once and well beyond the capacity of our minds to comprehend we are compelled to distill it into what amounts to an easily accessible, memorable, palatable sound bite. Too often it's inadequate despite our best efforts. This is one of the reasons that I have disliked every single religious billboard I've ever seen. As someone who trades in the written word myself I feel for God as he experiences that kind of editing.

"I'm curious to see what you did with that manuscript I left you. I thought maybe it was coming across a little preachy so I hoped you would...WHOA! FOUR WORDS??? You left in FOUR WORDS??? Do you know how long it took me to write that?!?"

When approaching something esoteric our instinct is to reduce a matter to the simplest explanation possible. If something in that esoteric field is going wrong we then find somebody to be the fall guy in our explanation...someone outside of the circle which includes us and the people we know and care about.

This works really well in the abstract. Most real-life situations are more complex, though. And most real-life people have far more depth than just being "The Guy Who Did It" (duh-duh-duuuuuummmmm). But that reality demands of us more than we're willing to give to most causes so we settle for the obvious, efficient solution.

Circling around to the topic again, who is to blame for the terrible predicament we find ourselves in as Blazer fans, having lost three straight games?

Perhaps it's Brandon Roy? His offensive game hasn't looked as sharp as usual this year and he's pretty much forced the team to play good defenders around him...a commodity we're currently fresh out of. On the other hand he's also playing with a bunch of guys in new roles who don't yet have the understanding to play alongside him or the tools to match him.

Maybe it's LaMarcus Aldridge then. His offense has looked even spottier than Roy's, certainly shy of the clear #1A option we're used to. His rebounding has been intermittent and he's stayed out of the lane like he's allergic to paint. On the other hand the Blazers have set him up to take mid-range jumpers because they have a true post-player now and keep clogging the lane with him and with cutters. They've also relied on their forwards to rotate to perimeter players which tends to cut down on rebounding opportunities.

Maybe it's Greg Oden. He's been doing well compared to his progress last year but he's still not at first-overall-pick level and his transformation of the team has been a disruption offensively in addition to being an aid defensively. Then again if he's not a transformational presence then he's not doing what we brought him here for.

Maybe Steve Blake is the one. His shooting has been sub-par and he's not been able to stop people individually. His forays into attack dribbling have been disastrous more often than not. But he's also been asked to play out of position with the same kind of altered lineup that his backcourt partner Roy is facing. Plus he's been yanked around by the organization and his position and/or future here isn't clear.

Could it be Martell Webster? He's been up and down like a roller coaster. But he's also all but mandated to play because he can shoot outside and has the body to absorb punishment from small forwards and both of those are attributes this lineup needs. We'd certainly be worse off without him playing.

Perhaps we should blame Rudy Fernandez. He started the season poorly, perhaps fatigued from international play. He's made some exciting plays and had some nice games but he's not found a rhythm yet and he's another guy who has hurt as well as helped. But then again if you don't let Rudy make some mistakes you lose the aggression and daredevil nature from his game...the very things which make him special.

Maybe it's Andre Miller. He was supposed to man the helm for this team, provide veteran experience, be another coach on the floor. Instead he's struggling with the coach, taking odd shots, and looking as confused as anybody. Of course he's coming into a strange situation where he's not been given the keys to the car by the coach or his teammates, so how is he supposed to drive?

Could Joel Przybilla be the culprit? He plays hard every night but his contributions are limited to rebounding and defense. Plus when he's pressed too hard defensively he has a hard time covering the floor without fouling which takes away much of the advantage he gives us. And his offense allows opposing defenders to devote extra men to the true scorers. But he's Joel Przybilla! His rebounding and lane-watching have been our silent security blanket and the already-decimated frontcourt would be all but obliterated without him.

Maybe Jerryd Bayless is to blame. He's showing more energy and compact play this year but he's still not in the flow of the offense and his shot is still kind of ugly. Maybe he should have worked harder on the jumper in the off-season. But he, too, has been asked to do things he's not naturally suited for. Plus the things he does do well he does very well.

Perhaps it's Dante Cunningham. He's a rookie and it's good to blame rookies. They have a hard time arguing back when they're hauling veteran luggage up the stairs. He suffers from plenty of rookie mistakes. But then again he brings an energy and confidence--brashness, even--that the team needs. And he's just a rookie!

If you don't like blaming rookies, how about Juwan Howard then? He's 36. He should know this league inside-out. But he's never been able to bring extra wins to teams he's played for. Plus he's having a hard time defending. But he's also one guy on the team who seems aware of his role and is willing to fill it, be that 25 minutes or zero. Besides he hasn't really played enough to blame things on.

Well maybe it's the Fates, then. They injured Nic Batum, Travis Outlaw, Jeff Pendergraph, Patty Mills. They even got in a shot at LaMarcus the other night. Those Fates are a cursed plague! Except that every NBA team deals with injuries at one time or another and if you have to blame them consistently you're sunk before you start.

OK, who put this mess together then? Kevin Pritchard, front and center please! You have to answer for the draft choices, the trades, for building this roster that can't withstand its forward corps being blown to smithereens and still win 70% of its games! How could you possibly leave us with only Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, and Andre Miller? I mean, what NBA GM would be satisfied with that?

Ahhh...I can hear you out there. We're getting warmer, aren't we? Hmmm...maybe it's...THE COACH! YES! The coach did it! We love the players. We can't really blame them because we want them to be part of the "us" circle. We love KP too, if nothing else for the team he's put together on paper. No championship dreams without him. But coaches? They're disposable. Every decision they make is arguable. Everything they do to advantage one player disadvantages another...a player who is sure to be somebody's favorite. And the criteria for evaluating them is as nebulous as the answer to the question: "What makes good basketball?" Good luck coming up with an answer that will satisfy everyone. Not even wins will do it! You can still win and be playing far below your "potential", whatever that is. If we win at a .666 pace it should be .700. If we win at .700 it should be .750. Best of all, nobody really knows what's being said or done behind closed doors so we can make up whichever explanation suits us best. Reduce! Simplify! Explain! Pin! It's perfect!

So yes, maybe it is the coach. I assume he's going to make mistakes, have good and bad games just like his players do. 10-year NBA veterans still commit errors out on the floor. 10-year veteran coaches do too. Greg Oden probably hasn't been featured (or left out there) enough. The Andre Miller situation has slipped too far. Brandon Roy was forced into a high-pressure situation against Miami the minute he was put out there with four other guys who can't create their own shots. Like many, I'd like to see what a Miller, Roy, Fernandez, Aldridge, Oden lineup could do, especially since we're not defending the perimeter that well anyway. I could go on, just as I could have with any of the above people.

On the other hand, what's the guy going to do? He's sailing a ship with the midsection blown out right now. Everybody's bailing water. He's calling for people off the bench who aren't there. He's starting people who aren't ideally suited for the tasks in front of them. And realistically no matter what he does people are going to complain. How many times have you read, "Why isn't he playing [Player X] more?!?" and "I can't believe he's playing [Player X}!!!" in the same comment thread? Oden stays in and gets fouls? Nate's not managing his minutes right. Oden comes out before he can get fouls? Nate's stifling his progress. Losses...every one his fault. Wins? Not to his credit. Getting blamed sometimes can be fair. But it's different when there's no way you're not going to get blamed.

Here's something to think about. Maybe it's us. Lord knows we tend to anticipate more than evaluate when we assess the Blazers' chances. I had people two years ago telling me for sure that this was a playoff team, probably destined for some success. I had people last year telling me we were a Western Conference Finals team. I've had people telling me this year that we have a shot a title when that's clearly among the longest of long shots for exactly the reasons we're seeing. Every team undergoes difficulties. Teams such as we--young-ish, not a ton of experience with each other, without a track record of legitimate success--take longer to recover from their difficulties and restore their confidence and groove than do teams who have been pressure-cooked longer. The difference might ultimately be only a few games, but those few games usually spell the difference between good and great.

Or maybe it's us because we're impatient. 2 games out of the division lead with 62 to go isn't enough. Like the lovely and enchanting Veruca Salt we want our golden goose egg NOW!

Or maybe it's us because secretly in our heart of hearts hides a part that would rather be an "expert" than just a fan of a winning team along with everyone else...a part that loves the sound of its own voice...a part which would rather be right than happy.

Ahhh...but then we can also blame those Blazer teams of yore for stirring this longing for success in us: Walton for kindling the championship flame, Drexler for leaving us just short and longing, Wallace and company for dashing our souls after coming so close. And we can blame the marketing department for those catchy slogans that enticed us into dreaming. And we can blame David Stern for keeping us down. And we can blame refs for screwing us. And we can blame opposing teams for their luck against us. And we can blame the media for distorting our vision. And we can blame Dr. James Naismith for hanging up that peach basket in the first place. Anything as long as it's quick, easy, and preferably cathartic for us.

This is not to say that all criticism is illegitimate, nor that we lack good analysis among Blazer fans. You can read a bunch of it around here and I appreciate those posts greatly. But it's generally true that the level of illumination in a post is inversely proportional to the level of blame cast within it.

Who's to blame? In truth, all of the above. The Fates have hit this roster at spots where it doesn't have the right kind of depth which has forced everyone to scramble in unfamiliar territory which has lengthened the adjustment process for everyone, coaching staff included, and left certain situations in which there just have not been right answers sufficient enough to ensure the level of play which heightened expectations for the season demanded.

Brandon Roy was pressing hard on offense in the last game because of a combination of the skills of the players around him and the perceptions of his role put upon him by himself, the coaching staff, and the fans. The players around him were not able to respond in such a fashion as to alleviate said pressure nor was the coaching staff in a position to find new ones. The more Roy plays the role of savior the less involved in the offense his teammates feel and the more they're inclined to stand and watch and/or force attempts, making Brandon's role seem even more necessary.

Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla have been getting in foul trouble because of the lack of lateral quickness and appropriate size among the perimeter defenders which in itself is caused by the team accumulating players for whom that is not a forte. In response said defenders have sagged off to help protect the lane and their centers which in turn has allowed the opponent easier jumpers. When made, these make the defense look even weaker, causing the centers to drift out of position in anticipation or rescue, exacerbating the problem.

We could go on. Lamarcus' offense, pick and roll defense, playing time and development of younger guys, starting lineups, trades...there are answers for all of these things but none of them are foolproof and none are simple. Decisions will be made, imperfection will ensue, blame will be assigned, eyes (and perhaps heads) will roll. That's the way of things, for better or worse.

The truth as far as I can see it is this: The Blazers are in a less-than-ideal situation right now...certainly not the one they envisioned themselves in. There's no quick fix to make that situation ideal. We don't even know for sure if it would be more ideal if they had the full roster available. They haven't had enough time together to show that yet.

In this kind of situation only one question matters: How well do you deal with the less-than-ideal? Will you fall apart, point fingers, check out mentally, give up? Or do you pull together, grab every win you can, take the losses you have to, but always work to put the best game together that's humanly possible given your circumstances? Your answer to that question doesn't just determine your success during the rough times. It's also the same resolve that's going to be tested as you approach the pinnacle and very good opposing teams make life very tough on you for seven games straight.

And you see, that question can't be answered by one person. It can't be answered by one person for another either. It can't be done by a coach or a GM. You can't do it with half your roster. It's something that everyone has to answer together and live up to or it's meaningless. The blame falls on everybody or on nobody because you either do it or you don't as a team.

Many defensive schemes can succeed. Many kinds of offensive players can have great nights. Most teams can find multiple lineups that work together well enough to give a chance at victory. Without that team commitment, though, none of it is any good. Without everybody together--in praise and in blame--you quickly get carved apart as every opponent you meet drives a wedge right through the crack that you showed them.

Maybe everybody is to blame. Maybe nobody is. Some nights it might really be one person or another. But when it comes down to it, the question of blame means less than we make of it. The game is bigger than that. The team needs to be bigger than that. So should we be.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Travis Outlaw Has Successful Foot Surgery, Out 3-5 Months

Ben. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:51:57 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Bummer.

Browse more photos »

From the Blazers' twitter...

Travis Outlaw undergoes successful surgery on his left foot. Expected out 3 to 5 months.

When it comes to foot injuries there is all sorts of variability in terms of recovery times based on the severity of the stress fracture.

If you're rushing to the conclusion that the Blazers are setting a longer recovery timeline for Outlaw because they got burned by rushing Martell Webster back last year, I would urge caution. Two different players, two different feet, two different injuries, two different timelines, two different surgeries. As simple as that.

Now, with that said, 3-5 months puts Travis Outlaw out a long time: from the middle of February (3 months) until the middle of April (5 months). That's a long freaking time. That's until after the All Star break; 40 plus games from today at the minimum.

Obviously, there are some changes to come. Reminder: here is Dave's analysis on how the minutes will shake out in Travis Outlaw's absence.

Some notes on that subject as tweeted by Joe Freeman...

Coach Mac will have to abandon his "small" second unit w/o Outlaw and Mac says the Blazers "style of play has to change."

That means Mac can't play "spread basketball" anymore and beat teams with athleticism and shooting in the 2nd unit.

Instead, with Howard and Joel, the 2nd unit will be bigger and more rugged.

Another negative to keep in mind with all the injuries. Mac says he'll have to significantly cut back on practicing to keep bodies fresh.

Brian T. Smith on the same subject...

McMillan said the Blazers will primarily turn to Juwan Howard to replace Outlaw. McMillan added that rookie Dante Cunningham is unlikely to see much of an increase in playing time, even though he is slated as a back up power forward on the team's roster.

When asked whether the Blazers will try to add a new player through a trade or signing, McMillan said Portland's roster is filled with 15 players at the moment, and that the only way the Blazers could pick up a new player would be by trading or cutting someone currently in uniform. "We're going to go with the guys we got," McMillan said.

Here's a nice piece from Casey Holdahl with what Outlaw makes of his injury.

"Things happen for a reason, that's my thing," said Outlaw. "That's how I'm looking at it. I feel like I got a lot of things to be thankful for, you know?"
...
"We've got a lot of players stepping up. When I get back there's not going to be some big rush to get mine. I'm just going to try to make sure I fit in. Do what is needed for the team to win."

The big issues to watch here are, in order of importance...

Will Nate McMillan continue to ride his small starting lineup indefinitely? If so, can he keep all of his personalities happy and can he keep an undersized starting unit healthy?
Is Rudy Fernandez ready to stay on track offensively? Injuries, carry-over fatigue from the summer, and inconsistency from Rudy are no longer allowable. There's no margin of error from him.
Is Juwan Howard actually serviceable? All pleasantries aside, is he able to fill minutes adequately? If not, that's a big problem.
Is Dante Cunningham -- 4 year college guy, good hustle, smart player -- ready to step up? Will Nate McMillan trust him to play rotation minutes?

Playoff teams respond to adversity. Make no mistake, the loss of Travis Outlaw, on the heels of the loss of Nicolas Batum, is adversity.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

PS Thanks to The Thinker for getting to this news first in the fanshots.

Full Court Press

Ben. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:40:12 -0000

The big story this morning: Golden State's Stephen Jackson and Acie Law were traded to Charlotte for Vladimir Radmanovich and Raja Bell. The timing is ideal for the Blazers, who beat Charlotte on Saturday (Dave's game recap here) and are set to play the Warriors on Friday. In his last four games against the Blazers, Jackson put up 20/8/8, 20/4/6, 24/5/2 & 29/9/1. The Warriors went 4-0 in those games.

If you spent the weekend taking off-balance jumpers and missed the news, Travis Outlaw suffered a stress fracture in his left foot and is expected out for a lengthy period of time. Full details here.

A Blazers-themed art show from artist Anna Fidler is running on weekends for the next month or so here in Portland. Too cool. I'll be there. Full details here. A short snippet...

The Game, a new series of vibrant basketball scenes inspired by the Portland Trail Blazers, highlights artist Anna Fidler at her creative peak. Driven by her passion for basketball, she has assembled large-scale, labor-intensive works rendered in glittery mica-enriched acrylic washes and deftly applied pastels, colored pencils and airbrush.

Click through for the rest!

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

Some quick hitters...

An awesome new Blazers/Cooking hybrid blog from Corvid that provides an opponent-specific culinary complement to each Blazers game.
The Blazers are doing a tweet up. (Not nearly as sketch as that term implies.) You should go.
A YouTube channel dedicated entirely to protesting foul calls against Greg Oden.
Good news and bad news: the Blazers have surged to #4 on NBA.com's Power Rankings, but they face #1 Atlanta tomorrow night.
Timbo put together his own comprehensive power rankings.
A really nice photo-heavy Blazers tumblr page with a PG-13 URL from Tim Brown.
Update: An important follow-up to this item: Fox 12 News reports that Portland AAU Coach Kumbeno Memory's criminal charges (sex charge and burglary charge) do not stem from his work as a youth basketball coach and do not involve any of his players.

And around the internet we go...

In case you missed this last week, the Blazers topped ESPN's "Future Power Rankings."

On paper, no other team possesses as bright a future as the Portland Trail Blazers. It all starts with the players. Nobody, not even Oklahoma City, can match the stable of young talent the Blazers have built.Brandon Roy is already a superstar, and joining him are potential stars like LaMarcus Aldridge (24), Greg Oden (21, even if he looks more like 51), Nicolas Batum (20) and Martell Webster (22). That doesn't even count the other assets the Blazers have that could eventually pan out, such as talented second-year benchwarmer Jerryd Bayless and a veritable farm team in Europe that includes Joel Freeland, Petteri Koponen and Victor Claver.

Mike Barrett blogs from the road...

Watching this team warm up before this game, you could tell this team was dragging. This was the fourth game in five nights, which is always worse than just a simple back-to-back scenario. Joel Przybilla told me his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and that he was fighting a cold. Jerryd Bayless, who twisted his ankle walking off the court before the game, told me he didn't think he'd play. Nothing felt very good

....

As for the void left by the loss of Outlaw, I would think what we saw at the end of this game is what we'll see more of- Rudy Fernandez. It'll take a combination of players to step up, but my guess is that we'll see Rudy get more minutes, and a much larger role late in games, where Outlaw usually plays. We'll also see more of Juwan Howard, and will probably even see some time given to rookie Dante Cunningham.

Jason Quick on Brandon Roy and Joe Johnson...

But what makes this matchup even more special is the striking similarities between the two, on and off the court. Both players discovered those parallels during a bus ride in Phoenix last February after the All-Star Game when, fittingly, they were the only participants who didn't leave with an entourage or head to an after-party.

"After the game, everyone leaves with their entourage," Roy recalled. "And I'm the only dude leaving the game on the bus. Literally. Like, there's some assistants and some kids, and then me in the back.

"And then he walks on," Roy said of Johnson.

Bill Simmons did a promotional Q and A with Ian Ruder in advance of his Thursday book tour (more on this tomorrow).

The Blazer fans are crazy. They're like the crazy dude at the bar who's just so irrational you don't want to get into a full argument with them because you might get a beer bottle smashed into your head. It's because they're on the team, so it's like they're arguing about their kids almost.

I picked the Blazers to go 41-41 this year and it wasn't like I had an axe to grind against them. It was just every year there's one team that there are high expectations for and then they start slow and (have a) big spiral. They just seemed like a logical pick for that spot.

Blazer fans went ballistic. They became really, really super, super crazy upset about it. (Saying stuff like,) "You're crazy! You're the biggest idiot! Don't come here for your book tour!"
It's like whoa settle down! I just picked you to go 41-41, it's not like I built a Brandon Roy voodoo doll or something.

That's the passion that makes it great.

An interesting observation from Coup over at Rip City Project regarding the Bobcats game...

It was a little more concerning that Portland only scored 26 points in the paint, most of which could be credited to Roy and Oden. Oden being in foul trouble most of the night didn't help, but from 5:48 in the third, when Portland was up 12, until the end of the period, the Blazers attempted seven jumpers, one layup (a Miller attempt blocked) and one Aldridge hook shot. At the end of that stretch, the Blazers were only up four. Coincidence?

Dwight Jaynes on Travis Outlaw...

I don't think this one has a huge impact on the Trail Blazers' wins and losses this season. Yes, Outlaw is a proven off-the-bench scorer who has made big shots. But he's not improved much on the defensive end and isn't a particularly energetic rebounder. In the long run, this should mean more minutes for Webster, Rudy Fernandez and even Juwan Howard - which is a good thing.

Sheed from BustaBucket.com on Travis Outlaw...

It's not an attack, it's just the truth. Whenever Outlaw plays within himself, he's a great contributor. But shooting 1 for 9 or 2 for 13 from the field is devastating against good teams. Bad missed shots are like turnovers. I hope Travis heals quickly, but my internal jury is still out on whether it's good or bad losing him in the rotation.

I may end up being totally wrong about this, and in some ways I hope I am. It could be, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

Stu Holdren of Oregon Sports Live on Travis Outlaw...

This loss stings for the Blazers, but ultimately I think they will be able to compensate for Outlaw's (and Batum's) injury. This is precisely why teams should stockpile talent and ignore potential logjams and the conflicts that these could provide. Since the core of Roy, Aldridge and Greg Oden is still in tact, I'm confident that they'll still be able to take care of business as usual.

Kevin Pelton breaks down Brandon Jennings' 55 point night.

If we define 50 percent as replacement-level True Shooting Percentage, we can see which player contributed the most points above the expectation of a replacement-level player using the same number of possessions. A replacement player would be expected to score about 38 points on Jennings' possessions, so he contributed a little more than 17 points (17.5, to be exact). That ranks 44th out of those 160 modern 50-point games, which is pretty impressive.

The best of these games by this measure, by the way? Naturally, it's Kobe Bryant's 81-point outing against Toronto in January 2006 (+26.2), but four other players are close; Dana Barros, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Glen Rice were all +23 or better.

El Blog Ilusorio de Rudy Fernandez writes...

But sadly, in our recent Charlotte match, two of my bench-mates fell victim to the injury. Travis Outlaw suffered a broken foot bone while busting a routine move. And in a manner most bizarre, Jerryd Bayless tripped over a hump in a hallway carpet and nearly killed himself!

His bello ws of pain filled the coliseum, and I had to assist him to assistance. (This was no easy matter; Jerryd is a most dense 200 pounds (195 without his cologne). How to explain such a sad conjunction of misfortunes in Charlotte?

An entertaining new feature from Joe Freeman, a video mailbag where he takes questions. Hilarious that the first question is, "Fire Nate?"

runyon from Trail Post wasn't exactly impressed by the Charlotte game...

It's scary how bad we're playing right now and winning. I almost want the Blazers to lose just in order to wake up and come back to their senses. They are cruising against these bad teams. On the flip side, the criticism "they are cruising" is something that you can only say about good teams. The only story from this game was Travis' injury, and you can see those thoughts in the last post. (Basic gist: Travis has improved, and our lack of depth from Batum's injury makes this sting.) When the only highlight of the game is LaMarcus Aldridge getting elbowed in the back of the head, you're not really playing a gem.

jetcity at Blazerstrail.com is happy...

I don't mean to sound like the growing pains are already over. They aren't. There's still going to be duds from Oden, and there's still going to be stretches where Miller and Roy grind the gears trying to play the same role. Still, we've seen that Portland can be a better team this year when they click. We've seen more than flashes of potential from Greg Oden, who is one contested game away from a true monster statistical performance if he can continue his improvement at avoiding stupid fouls. And, we're seeing this in week 3. It stands to reason that Portland can have this honed by April. Go ahead and smile.

Drop anything I missed in the comments. And be sure to Frequent the FanShots.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

Travis Outlaw's Injury: What Now?

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:41:23 -0000

No rest for the wicked and/or weary. The inbox is jammed again with people offering questions and suggestions about what to do now that Travis Outlaw is down for the next couple of months. Is Juwan Howard the answer? Should the Blazers have kept Ime Udoka or Jarron Collins? Are we now to rain curses upon the Kings and Suns for snatching them up after we dumped them? Should Portland make a trade to address this situation? How badly will/does this mess things up? Are the Blazers snakebit?

OK...stop. Deep breath. Go to your happy space. 8-3...8-3... There. Better? Now, let's talk.

There's no doubt the Blazers will miss Travis. Nicolas Batum's injury cost them their best individual defender. Now couple that with losing their best offensive player off the bench, their clear 6^th man, and the loss is significant. Best defensive player, one of your best offensive players...no matter how your roster is built that's going to reverberate. You might not see it on a nightly basis, but over time you're going to miss those players.

The Blazers are in a position to mitigate much of the potential loss of Outlaw's injury because they have one of the best reserve power forwards in the league waiting in the wings. Perhaps you've heard of him. His name is LaMarcus Aldridge. Sure he's the starter, but he's a starter averaging a shade over 31 minutes per game right now. He's young, he's fit, and despite the relatively slow start to the season he's awesome. You could easily bump those minutes up to 40 for the next six weeks without crimping his style too much. If you can't rely on Howard or Przybilla to fill 8 minutes per game between them then what are they doing on an NBA team? Plus, what is Outlaw's job description? If you said, "Score, baby!" you're onto at least two-thirds of it. What would LaMarcus dearly love the chance to do more of? If you said, "Score, baby!" then you've just quoted my first six girlfriends after we...uhhh...I mean you've just described Aldridge's Christmas Wish List. He's averaging 12.3 attempts per game right now. Give him two-thirds of Travis' shots and he's still only at 18. Granted they score in different fashions but nobody said you were going to be able to dig up an exact Outlaw clone. You probably have to run a few more set plays and you have to run them through LaMarcus, but that's a legitimate option for the Blazers. The key here will be the centers keeping out of foul trouble, as the Blazers no longer have the luxury of filling with a scoring power forward if Aldridge has to slide to center. As long as you can keep Oden or Przybilla on the floor LaMarcus is going to remain your best option at power forward no matter what time of the game it is. No matter what the coaching staff says they're going to try, my guess is they're going to end up calling on LaMarcus in this situation and sticking with him.

The same argument could be made for Martell Webster covering whatever small portion of the small forward minutes Travis was taking. Martell should get a little rub and more chances to drive to the hoop if he's so inclined. But I think a hidden beneficiary of the injury could be Rudy Fernandez. Rudy has come on strong in the last week in every area but scoring, where he's still basically an afterthought. If the Blazers are forced to run a small lineup Rudy will probably get time in one of the wing positions. The Blazers will also need somebody to initiate the offense. Neither Fernandez nor Webster has proven great off the dribble but Rudy appears to have more options with the ball in his hands than Martell does right now. Also if you tell Rudy to get aggressive he's probably going to respond. Again it's not a one-for-one correlation to Travis but the overall effect could be similar.

I don't see a lot of other options that make sense right now. I believe J. Howard can still contribute to this team but he hasn't shown a lot with the minutes he's been given so far. He's probably not a reliable 15-minute-per-game guy. You're not going to find guys on the free agent market who will make a difference either, especially when you consider they have to acclimate to the team. Dante Cunningham probably isn't ready yet. Making a trade specifically to address this situation seems the most unlikely option of all. You don't make a permanent move to address a six-week situation. Plus anyone you bring in will have that learning curve as well. Most importantly, who are you going to send? The most likely names are Outlaw himself, Webster, Blake, and Bayless. Outlaw's injured. Who are you going to get with Webster or Blake? If you send the two of them together...BOOM goes the rotation. That's practically the apocalypse right now, not because of their respective talents, rather the roles they're occupying. You don't move Jerryd for a stopgap either...partially because he wouldn't bring back enough right now to warrant the risk of him being good later and partially because you'd create another roster hole if another injury occurred. The only way a trade would make sense is if it were for a clear starting small forward or a strong combo-forward off the bench. Either of those moves would have been planned long before this and would have nothing to do with this injury (except perhaps being ruined by it if Travis was part of the deal).

In the end the Outlaw and Batum injuries may cost us a couple games. On the other hand maybe they provide opportunities for players to shine who otherwise may have been overshadowed. Either way they aren't season-derailing events. It ain't good but it ain't the end of the world either.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 11 Recap: Blazers 80, Bobcats 74

Dave — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Rick Havner - AP

BOOOOO!!! You STINK! I've scored more than that in a game all by myself! A blind man could have put this team togeth...oh wait.

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As reported below Travis Outlaw has suffered a stress fracture in his left foot. Updates as they become available.

This was another nice win by the Blazers on a much less than perfect night. They're starting to make a habit of this. I don't know whether that's good or bad, but I'm quite pleased that they won.

The game started out with the Blazers making a concerted effort to go to their stars. Roy, Aldridge, and Oden took the shots coming out of the gate. Only Oden was successful initially. Charlotte, on the other hand, did everything they could to get the ball inside. Unfortunately they came face to face with the Block Ness Monster in the form of Greg Oden, who swiftly taught them that jumpers are the better part of valor. They hung with the Blazers in the first quarter from the perimeter as both sides took mostly outside shots (almost universally missed) peppered with a few layups. The score was knotted at 18 after one.

The second period started with Portland's offense DOA as again they took the easy way out and lofted it over the top. With Oden having been out since the 7:22 mark of the first quarter with foul trouble there was nobody to buck the trend. Charlotte simply packed the inside on defense, waited for the rebound, then tried to run out. They had a fair amount of success but their attack wasn't explosive enough to get them up by more than 8. Finally after a painful series of turnovers and 20+ foot misses Andre Miller broke the ice, getting fouled on his way to the bucket and converting the free throws. Then Roy drove for a layup. All of a sudden the light went on and it was time to administer the spankings. Every point after was either at the rim, at the foul line, or off of a clear (and much closer) jumper. The Blazers went on an 18-2 run to finish the quarter up 8, having been down by the same amount halfway through.

One of the nice things about the Blazers in this winning stretch is that they've taken starts and ends of periods seriously, especially the start of the third. Tonight was no exception. They repeated the attack from the top of the game, going to Oden, Aldridge, and Roy with one Miller jumper thrown in. The big three ballooned the lead to 16 in less than 5 minutes. At that point Oden left the game and again the interior offense came to a halt. Had every fan in Charlotte simultaneously left their lights on in the parking lot the Blazers still could have provided them all jumpers. On the other hand it might not have worked as they couldn't find the post to save their lives. On the other end Charlotte started getting layups and tip-ins. Lo and behold, it's a four-point game after three.

Oden scored the first four points of the final period but by that time Charlotte was in no mood to cede the game. They scrapped hard, hit some jumpers, grabbed some rebounds, and tried to wrest it away. At this point Rudy Fernandez came in and provided some energy play to keep the Blazers in it, jumping dribblers and grabbing rebounds. Charlotte hit some threes but not enough to put them over the top. The Blazers made their free throws, weathered the obligatory Tyson Chandler whiny-soft-tough-guy temper tantrum (he wisely made sure Przybilla wasn't in the game this time), watched the refs miss a second-foul-in-the-last-two-minutes call, and still came out ahead 80-74 in a game filled with mistakes for everyone.

In a game featuring 8 assists for the Blazers (yikes!) you know this one was about individual efforts. Credit the Big Three, Miller, and Fernandez. Portland again held the opponent to sub-37% shooting. Gerald Wallace was held to 12 points on the strength of Portland's interior defenders and nobody else outside of Boris Diaw could make a difference. After they were thwarted early on the Bobcats stayed out of the middle for far too long and ended up paying the price. Portland made 21 foul shots to Charlotte's 8. The Blazers also moderated their turnovers. The only area where Charlotte did what they wanted was offensive rebounds, of which they collected 16, likely due to Oden being limited to 17 minutes of play.

Individual Notes

Greg Oden was a game-changer again, as should be evident by his name coming up every second sentence heretofore. He finished a perfect 4-4 from the field, confounding Charlotte defenders, tallying 8 points. He added 4 rebounds and 4 blocks. The 17 minutes were all about foul trouble. He ended up fouling out too, providing some justification for Nate's "Two fouls and you're down" rule. The perimeter defenders left him exposed on a couple drives. It wasn't that obnoxious, but all you need is two whistles to turn a 30-minute, 4-foul night into a 15-minute ejection.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a rough offensive night at 4-11 and 11 points, losing the scoring duel to Diaw. It didn't matter because the guys surrounding him were better and because he kept active despite missing. I like the energy LaMarcus has been putting out during this streak. He's a guy who could be demanding 18-20 shots per game but he's working for the team. Don't lose sight of that despite the rocky offensive start to the season.

Brandon Roy was on tonight and played a fairly complete game. You never noticed him taking over. He pretty much did it in the flow. 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers. His teammates helped him with Wallace too.

Andre Miller played an aggressive game tonight, doing everything from driving to hitting baseline jumpers to taking D.J. Augustin in the post and making him look about 4'9" tall. He helped spearhead the much-needed lane attack. 5-12, 5-5 from the line, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist. Don't let the assist worry you. It wasn't that kind of night.

Steve Blake shot 10 three-pointers tonight and hit 2. Every field goal attempt was from beyond the arc. He did dribble-penetrate though and he picked up a couple of assists to go along with his 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez provided a lift in the fourth when everybody else looked tired. The game almost looked like it was going south until he stepped in. Like Blake, every field goal attempt came from beyond the arc but he hit 2-5 instead of 2-10. 10 points, 7 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Joel Przybilla tried to keep the middle safe and picked up 6 boards in 26 minutes. It wasn't his greatest game but he didn't hurt us either.

Martell Webster missed all three of his shot attempts in 11 minutes. At least he collected 2 rebounds. Juwon Howard played 12 minutes, hit a shot and a free throw, and got 0 rebounds...same as Charlotte's DeSagana Diop. Except Diop didn't dress tonight.

Final Thoughts and Links

4-0 on a five-game road swing. 4-1 is the worst that can happen. I don't care who you are, that's fine work. I'd give equal chances for a Blazer win or a huge blowout in Atlanta's favor Monday. Portland also has to watch on that first game back home as the tendency will be to relax. But none of that takes away 4-0 on a five-game road swing.

Boxscore

See what they thought of us at RufusonFire

See your Jersey Contest scores here and enter Monday's game at the form page. NOTE that we have a TRAVIS OUTLAW'S MINUTES QUESTION in that form. Just put "0" and take your 10 points.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Media Row Report: Blazers 96, Rockets 87

Ben. — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:34:45 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, right, runs with a basketball glued to his hand while Travis Outlaw, left, sets a screen on Houston Rockets guard Trevor Ariza during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009.

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Tonight's game could serve as exhibit 1A for those who dismiss the preseason as meaningless.

Many things we saw during the preseason -- offense from Greg Oden, dominant stretches from LaMarcus Aldridge, a passive Brandon Roy, a clueless Travis Outlaw -- disappeared into thin air. Other things missing during the preseason -- team defensive effort, cohesive play from the second unit, an under-control Martell Webster -- suddenly appeared. Other than reports of problems with the Blazers.com online stream -- with multiple fans demanding a refund due to choppy video play, lack of audio and a host of other problems -- it was a positive opening night for the Blazers thanks to solid game plan execution on both ends.

A 20 point second half lead withered to single digits thanks to a hot-shooting 4th quarter from the Rockets, but Portland wound up victorious over Houston 96 to 87 in the Rose Garden.

The Blazers weren't truly tested. To put it bluntly: the Rockets are not an overly talented or overly deep group. They compete hard because they have to. Tonight they competed hard and still got drilled. The Rockets looked like exactly what they are, a team missing three dependable scoring options. The Blazers did a much-better-than-expected job of containing Luis Scola and, despite giving up regular penetration to Aaron Brooks, made life difficult by committing to their defensive rotations and helping aggressively from the weakside. With no real, hot shooters to spread the floor for the Rockets, seven Blazers managed a blocked shot, many coming from behind the play on shooters who thought they were single-covered.

The team defense tonight roughly resembled what Nate McMillan promised at the beginning of training camp, guards looking to pinch angles when the ball was moved out to the wings and quickly closing out when the ball was swung from side to side. It wasn't perfect, but it was leaps and bounds above anything the Blazers showed during the preseason. The Blazers held the Rockets to 37 percent shooting, just 28 percent from distance, and won the rebounding differential by nearly 20 (51-33), grabbing 39 defensive rebounds. All numbers Nate will be happy with.

The obvious red flag: 26 turnovers. Last year's high for the entire year was 23 in a February loss to the Golden State Warriros. All 9 Blazers that played committed at least one turnover; Greg Oden led the way with 7. Oden's miscues were so regular in the second half that Kevin Pelton took to databasing games looking for a similar combination of scoring impotence, rebounding prowess and ball-handling sloppiness. Needless to say, there weren't many comparables.

As Nate commented succintly during his post-game session: "That's probably the last game we win with 26 turnovers." In theory, yes, but this group has every characteristic that you need to overcome that kind of night: a significant talent advantage, outside shooters, offensive rebounders, good ball movement (23 assists on 33 field goals), etc. For most teams, on most nights, 26 turnovers is a deal breaker. For the Blazers tonight, it was an after-thought. Kind of crazy to write that.

A few of the major storylines and post-game conversations...

Greg Oden

With the Rose Garden (nearly) full, the television cameras rolling, all four local television stations in the house, and the games counting, Greg Oden played nervously. Period. Frustratingly so. He got called for offensive fouls, had the ball poked out of his hands, threw a bad pass, traveled, the list goes on. It was unfortunate to see because, in most people's minds, his solid preseason offensively (which no one saw) gets wiped away just like that.

But after the game, Greg "Giggles" Oden seemed more concerned about whether fashion paragon Jerryd Bayless approved of Oden's unusual aviator-esque sport coat than he did about his offensive struggles. For the record, Bayless didn't approve, prompting LaMarcus Aldridge to jump to Greg's defense, joking that Oden's one-of-a-kind jacket was "Changing the game!" This cut everybody up, Oden included.

When asked, Oden admitted that he was subject to opening night jitters. "But it's the first game of the season, everybody has nerves." As if to remind himself, he continued, "You can't get nervous every game, you have to go out there and play and be ready." Oden went on to describe feeling differently on offense and defense. "Tonight it was a lot easier [to play with confidence] on defense." His reason for playing with confidence on defense surprised me. "I thought it was all of us playing help side, playing with a lot of energy," Oden told me. "Helping each other. It was good for all of us. One guy comes over, gets a help side block, you know all those guys see how excited everyone gets, how it brings up the energy of the team."

That answer was quite revealing. First, it reinforces that Oden grasps the team's defensive principles and buys in. I hadn't questioned that but, in a mess of fouls and weird mismatches against smaller players, that can get lost. Second it seemed to hint that Oden feels like he's part of a unit on defense whereas he might not have been part of a unit on offense. Indeed, it felt like the Blazers forced it awkwardly to Oden when posting him up and his catches were further from the basket than you would like (Credit Houston's defense). The ball moved for the Blazers but it didn't seem to move to Oden, he wasn't making catches on the move, he wasn't making catches in space, the easy finishes that were prevalent all preseason (and so necessary to get him going) were simply not there. Rather than find new ways to get Oden involved, the team reverted to what it's more comfortable with: hitting jumpshots, getting Brandon Roy to the free throw line, and allowing Travis Outlaw to get his own shot. Those things worked tonight swimmingly and Oden's offensive struggles were rendered irrelevant.

Over the course of 82 games, it will be interesting to see if the team continues with this strategy. Oden seemed perfectly fine finishing with 2 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. And for that, despite the sloppy play, you've got to love him if you are Blazers coach or management.

Roy, Miller and Blake

Nate McMillan acknowledged during the post-game session that he more or less was winging it when it came to his rotation. A number of factors influenced this: Nic Batum's absence, Martell Webster's first regular season game back, Travis Outlaw's strong play on both ends, and Rudy Fernandez's fatigue after coming back from some time off due to back spasms. That left the Blazers playing some interesting lineups: Blake, Roy and Miller saw time together, even late in the fourth quarter. Roy's response to the question about that trio, a group I can't remember seeing together during the preseason, was also quite interesting. Roy told me, "It worked fine for me. I'll play just about anywhere. The biggest adjustment is probably going to come from [Blake and Miller] a little bit, just when I have the basketball [they're] playing off the ball. Two point guards off the ball. We'll learn it. We'll figure it out."

The sense from Roy when discussing his playing with Miller seems to be a one way street. Things revolve around Roy. The ball is in Roy's hands. Other players need to know their spacing in relation to Roy. Ballhandlers will not handle the ball and will instead play off the ball. Roy speaks honestly about these things and I believe his statements reflect not only his own point of view, but Nate McMillan's as well. McMillan has also stated repeatedly that the ball goes to Roy late in games and everyone else works off of that.

It's funny, though, that Roy seems to have a blind spot in relation to how that strategy worked (or failed to work) in the playoffs. Stagnant, ugly, forced play was often the result.

For the time being, expecting other players to "play off him" protects Roy's status quo: he likely continues to be paired with Blake, he continues to get maximum touches, and he continues to do what he does best, score and create. But is sticking so firmly to this philosophy the best long-term and post-season strategy? Is there a better, hybrid approach that more actively includes Miller late in games?

That's a top question I'll track as the season develops.

The Lineup Who Finishes

The saying has been, "It's not who starts but who finishes," right? Well, guess who finished the game?

Steve Blake not Andre Miller.

McMillan subbed Miller out with roughly 2 minutes to play putting Oden in for a slightly bigger closing lineup. Aside from the positive sign of getting Oden some run during late-game minutes that really counted (Oden responded with his only bucket of the game in the final minute), the move showed a continued comfort level with the game in Blake's hands. When asked about the move to keep Blake over Miller, Roy told me, "I think Coach wanted to go that last two minutes with the lineup he was comfortable with, the lineup he felt we were comfortable with, just trying to secure the win."

Indeed, one can make a strong case for playing Steve Blake over Andre Miller when protecting a lead. Blake shoots the ball better and he is a less risky player. Generally speaking, he can hit his free throws too (tonight he missed one of two when fouled late). Roy did go out of his way not to exclude Miller from late-game scenarios, though, telling me, "Dre came in and gave us some big baskets, especially in that fourth quarter. He's going to be a big part of what we do." The answer was generic -- and accurate -- but nice to hear from Roy as it seems to signal an open mind about how the closing lineups might come together. It appears from both his substitutions and his post-game comments that McMillan has not yet made any firm decisions on this front. Another very interesting thing to track. For example, will McMillan opt for Miller over Blake when trying to mount a late-game comeback?

Outlaw

Hats off to Travis Outlaw. The shot was falling. The effort was there on defense. The mental mistakes were reduced. If any single player flipped a switch tonight, it was Outlaw. After enduring a bunch of criticism from fans during the preseason, Outlaw had his night tonight. Batum's absence requires much more from Outlaw and, as we know from his "get paid like out of this world" summer declaration, he's on board with that.

Positive indicators across the board tonight. Consistency is the name of the game.

Tonight's Random Interaction with an NBA Player

On the way to the team bus after the loss, Trevor Ariza was moving arduously, taking slow step after slow step, as if weighted down by the road loss.

He looked over as I rushed by and, to break the silence, I offered the first thought that came into my head, "Nice Dre Headphones!"

Ariza replied, quietly, "Thank you."

You can now forgive him for fouling Rudy Fernandez last year.

The Line of the Night

Grabbing a Gatorade from the locker room fridge, Hersey Hawkins smiled and said aloud, "We're tied for first place."

Indeed. We shared a chuckle. What's next, Hawk, "82-0!!!!"

It's nice to have the first one out of the way, for everybody.

Nate's Postgame Comments

First game

I saw some good stuff. We did a good job of running our offense and defensively trying to control this team. Other than the turnovers, we fouled early, which they marched to the free throw line in that first quarter. After that we made our adjustments, we kept them off the line, 26 turnovers, you're not going to win... that's probably the last game we win with 26 turnovers. We had control of the game and we lost the ball and turned it over and they were able to create some points off of that.

Defense in first half

It's still a work in progress with our guys. That's a commitment. Defensively, getting involved in the game on the defensive end of the floor, not the offensive end of the floor. Some teams have a tendency, offensive players want to see that ball go in the basket before they get into the game. We want to change that thought process this year and get into the game on the defensive end of the floor. I thought our guys did that. Early we got into foul trouble. That second group came in, made some adjustments, didn't turn the ball over and was able to create some points off some misses.

Travis

Thought it was good. I wanted to get him in at that four position, he had his shot going tonight. Defensively I thought he did some good things, working hard on the defensive end of the floor. Playing the 3 and the 4. We'll be able to use him like that. We'll be able to score as long as we play defense. I thought that group came in and forced some misses and was able to get out and get some easy baskets.

Nic's Absence

We have a lot of guys that we'll rotate. Tonight I didn't know exactly how that rotation would go. A couple of times we had Blake and Miller and Brandon on the floor and that wasn't a bad lineup. Miller and Rudy and Travis and Martell on the floor was a pretty good lineup. We just want to go in and outwork teams. Keep the pressure on for 48 minutes.

Rudy handling the ball

He wasn't at point, we just move him around. We move him around and give him the ball some. Miller was at the point when he was in the game. We will mix it up and give him some opportunities to handle the ball. He was a little fatigued, his wind, his conditioning, he h asn't played in over a week, he got winded, turned the ball over once or twice but I like what I saw today.

Greg Oden

He got in foul trouble. Those guys are small but they are good defenders. They are smart defenders. Hayes, Scola, Landry, they do a nice job, they baited our bigs. Our bigs I thought rushed at times, turned the ball over. That will come. We got a good opportunity to look at some film tomorrow, look at how that team played us and a lot of our turnovers came on our bigs. They'll learn.

Second Unit

We'll see. I didn't know exactly how I was going to rotate tonight. [Andre] came in and I thought the tempo was exactly what I was hoping for with that group. Rudy, Travis, Joel, I got Martell back in the lineup with that group. They forced some turnovers, some quick shots, got some steals, were able to turn that into points. That was a 31 point quarter and it started when that group came into the game.

Offense

You have some options. Tonight we let Miller run the group when he was out there. Rudy had the ball a little bit. Brandon. We couldn't get anything going in the paint so we ran Martell off some screens. He was able to make Battier work. We have some options, as long as we defend, we'll find a way to score. Because we have some guys that we can go to. We just gotta commit to defending this year and we'll eventually find a way to score.

Turnovers

I thought it was ok. Brooks is quick, does a good job. They pounded us in the paint, a lot of that came from turnovers. Other than that we did a good job of recovering, getting out to their shooters, they didn't hurt us there and we take care of the ball. 26 turnovers is a lot of turnovers. My goodness. We take care of the ball I think the score is a lot different.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Game 1 Recap: Outlaw's offense, Oden's defense lead to 96-87 victory over Rockets

Tom Martin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:04:04 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

about 1 month ago: Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, right, towers over Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowry as he shoots during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. Oden had 12 blocked shots as the Blazers beat the Rockets 96-87. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Boxscore

Game Analysis

Ladies and gents, your beloved Houston Rockets have returned. Notice anything different? Okay, notice a whole lot different? Yeah, me too.

Many NBA teams discuss shifting to an up-tempo offense throughout the course of an offseason. Few teams, if any, actually do it. Based off last night's game against the Portland Trailblazers, it's clear that the Rockets intend to put their money where their mouth is; they will be off and running in 2009-2010. Not so much due to choice, but rather due to necessity. Feeding it to Yao Ming is no longer an option, and feeding it to Luis Scola will not suffice in the same manner.

Last night, in stepped a pair of new cast members at the center position: Chuck Hayes and David Andersen. Hayes played his role brilliantly, virtually eliminating the hype surrounding Greg Oden's supposedly drastic improvement on the offensive end during the summer. He was one step ahead of Oden each time Portland fed their big man the ball, forcing Greg to throw up awkward hook shots eerily reminiscent of his underwhelming rookie season (and that's when he even got a shot off - other times Chuck knocked the ball loose or forced a travel). On the other end, Chuck made lay-ups. That is -- and should be -- 100% of his offensive production.

Where Chuck wisely chose not to contribute on the offensive end, Big Dave Andersen thrived. It's time that Houston fans embrace Big Dave's "Mehmet-ness." He's much quicker than I had imagined, though Gersson Rosas, of the Rockets front office, once called him "a less athletic [Andrea] Bargnani." That seems accurate enough. Dave won't drive through the lane like Andrea, but he showed that he's a lethal pick-and-pop shooter and can post up comfortably on the block. Andersen provided a much-needed spark in the second half, prompting a Rockets comeback that fell just short in the final five minutes.

Much of the blame for the Blazers enormous second-half lead can be placed squarely on the shoulders of one Travis Outlaw. Imagine how excited Outlaw was to see Trevor Ariza matched up against him at tip-off, as opposed to Shane Battier, who shut down Outlaw in last year's playoffs while Ron Artest guarded Brandon Roy. Outlaw didn't do much different than what he usually does; he simply made the same pull-up jumper that he has been perfecting for years now. A 23-point output in about 25 minutes (he didn't shoot much at the end) isn't going to manifest itself often - he just happened to play well tonight. Luckily for the Blazers, Outlaw and Martell Webster were able to step up, as Roy was held in check by Battier, shooting 5-18 from the field. Typical numbers for a Battier foe.

Unlike Portland's pair of young forwards, the Rockets wings weren't able to get it going. Trevor Ariza was able to knock down two three-pointers early, but soon after began to dribble his way into turnovers. That's not Trevor's game, and it, that being usage, is one of the reasons why the Rockets let go of Ron Artest in order to obtain Ariza. Ron constantly wasted Rocket possessions last season - Ariza doesn't need to fall into the same mold. However, I was certainly impressed by Trevor's driving ability. His ball-handling skills aren't great, but he can sure blow by a defender without exerting much effort. Hopefully he will utilize his quickness when in isolation, as opposed to taking on the entire defense.

Carl Landry had a tough night. We'll leave it at that. He didn't make his jumpers, and he couldn't finish inside. In other words, the bread and butter was never brought to the table. Quite unusual for Carl indeed. Yet, there's got to be some concern regarding number of blocked shots that Landry and the Rockets yielded to Portland.

As Dave has constantly pointed out, the Rockets are undersized. It's not a problem that is fixable in any way, at least not for this season. At the end of the day, point-blank shots are going to have to be converted. Yes, Portland is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the NBA, but it's not going to get much easier. It will be a process of adaptation. Brooks will have to learn to avoid driving head-on against big guys like Oden, and Landry will have to work the pump-fake and draw a foul if he can't convert the bucket. As an undersized team, if the Rockets aren't going to convert inside shots easily, they should at least draw contact and make frequent visits to the free throw line, as they did tonight. Free throws are going to be a huge chunk of the Rockets' scoring production - they must be made.

It should be intriguing to see how an up-tempo offense affects Houston's defensive numbers as the season progresses. Not only will running the break prevent players from getting a short breather on the offensive end, but it will also lead to more turnovers and subsequently more fast break points for the other team. Stamina will obviously be an issue, but so will ball control.

Lastly, the most prominent reason why the Blazers came out victorious was quite basic: they made shots, and Houston didn't. Portland wen't 10-21 from behind the arc, whereas the Rockets went 5-18 from deep. In all, the Rockets shot 37%. It's easy to say, "Well, Aaron Brooks won't go 0-6 from three, Landry won't go 3-12, and Scola won't shoot 1-6 again." However, with this team, and with the new roles that each player is embracing, you just don't know that to be true yet. The Rockets only have one or two "pure" shooters in Chase Budinger and possibly Andersen. Brooks has never shown much consistency from deep - he's not going to suddenly become reliable because McGrady and Yao are on the bench.

Despite the negatives, the Rockets were able to turn a piss-poor start into a decent opening night. Needless to say, Portland is very good, and for Houston to hang with them was quite impressive. It certainly helps for the Rockets to be free of lofty expectations going into games. You have to think it will play into their favor.

Three Up

Kyle Lowry -- Had arguably his best game as a Rocket, going 12/8 with 2 steals and 1-1 from three.

Chuck Hayes -- Made Greg Oden look softer than usual, which is saying something. Had three steals, but contributed to six or seven forced turnovers.

Aaron Brooks -- Inside the arc, he was very effective. 19/5 is a good start to 09-10.

Three Down

Luis Scola -- Got into foul trouble early and was never able to get going. He's going to have to continue to learn to adjust post moves on the run, as opposed to spinning regardless of the help defense that is likely to be present.

Carl Landry -- The jump shots will fall. It's only opening night.

Shane Battier's Offense -- Yeah, he guarded Kobe well, but it's not time for Shane to attempt to echo Kobe on the offensive end. Keep the acrobatic aerials to a minimum, buddy.

Next Game: Tonight @ Golden State

Blazersedge Recap -- Just realized Dave and I chose the same picture to summarize the contest. Sometimes, there's no escaping the sad reality that is Greg Oden's defensive dominance against midgets.

Game 1 Recap: Blazers 96, Rockets 87

Dave — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:59:01 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

No. Try it again against Golden State tomorrow.

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One down, 81 to go.

General Observations

This game was decent by opening night standards. The Blazers were sloppy, somewhat inconsistent, and seem to get distracted for stretches but they executed the basics on both ends of the court, they kept their heads, and they never came anywhere close to falling apart or even getting rattled. They looked like a team that was finding itself but they also looked more mature than in years past. It was the kind of win you'd hope to see on an imperfect night.

The evening began decently enough with Portland relying on LaMarcus Aldridge for early offense while trying to make the Rockets work hard for outside looks on the other end. LaMarcus came through, scoring 7 points in the first three minutes of the game. Brandon Roy bolstered him with a couple of buckets off of nice passes from teammates and the offense was rolling. On the other end the Blazers did a nice job of shutting down the middle but they had to rotate and swing so much that they left the perimeter wide open. The Rockets took advantage by hitting threes. When Portland tried to get out and cover those they couldn't recover back to the middle quick enough when the Rockets drove. Houston didn't get actual buckets off of penetration as much as free throws. Houston had 12 free throw attempts in the first quarter to go along with their 7 three-point attempts. Between the two ranges they hit enough shots to stay even with the Blazers. Neither team was ecstatic with their start but both survived it just fine.

The pivotal moment of the first half came when LaMarcus Aldridge picked up his second foul with 7:30 left in the first quarter. That's when he came out in favor of Travis Outlaw. At first this looked like a bad deal for the Blazers, as Aldridge was their main scoring threat to that point. But Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody as soon as he hit the court. You could see it in his step as he walked out there and in his early defensive movement. He looked assured. And then he started hitting. And hitting. And hitting. These weren't Travis Specials from years past either. There was little dribbling involved and almost no spinning. It was catch, step, shoot OR catch, drive, float OR catch, hit that three all night long. Nobody on Houston's end had an answer for him. When Andre Miller came in and pushed the pace right on through the second quarter everybody started scoring. For a while it didn't look fair. Houston wanted to run but Portland wanted to run A LOT. The Blazers never sat with the ball and seldom walked it up. The extra time allowed them to run more cuts and screens, leading to some nice, easy points even when the fast break wasn't producing. They balanced that by draining multiple threes, stretching the defense and opening up the lane even more. After being tied at the end of the first quarter Portland found themselves up 13 at the half. Everybody who had hit the floor outside of the centers had scored a bunch. It was happy time.

The third quarter saw the Blazers attack the rim even harder. They eschewed the outside game and generated points in the paint. They even drew a few foul shots, which was the only part of the arsenal that had been silent (providing Houston a lifeline). They continued to protect the lane on the other end, daring the Rockets to generate points any other way they could. Houston ended the quarter down 19 and would fall to the full 20 points behind early in the fourth.

At that point the Blazers let up. They started walking the ball up, going one-on-one, and letting the Rockets get to balls first. Defending single players and hustling are two of Houston's strong points this year. The Rockets kept chipping away at the lead and the Blazers failed to respond consistently. Houston cut the lead to 9 with seven minutes to go before Andre Miller stepped in and hit a couple of nice shots, one an open three. Everyone figured the game was in the bag at that point but again the Rockets refused to fold. They trimmed the margin to 6 with two minutes left but at that point everything had to go right for them. Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, and Greg Oden scoring wasn't right for them. Even with the let up the Blazers ended up with a 9-point victory.

Several things looked good on the Portland side of the ledger tonight. Chief among those was the rebounding. Houston can bang and board but the Blazers obliterated them, finishing with a 51-33 edge. Portland also patrolled the middle with intensity. The Rockets never got uncontested shots close to the basket unless they were on a flat-out break. And they didn't even get that many of those. The offense looked good on the run and when the ball was moving. The Blazers looked like they knew each other and they played unselfishly. You didn't see very many forced shots nor did it look like Houston could contain the Blazers to a certain area or type of shot. As mentioned above, cuts through the lane were pretty. Portland also set picks and used them pretty well, especially when compared to years past. The offense as a whole looked more professional as well as coming easier to the players. Everybody seemed to have confidence in everybody else. Obviously the team depended on Brandon and LaMarcus more than anybody else but it didn't look like it was a stars-or-bust affair. In fact the bench players carried the night for much of the game. The Blazers made their second unit count...working around Houston's defensive strong points and wearing them down. Finally I'll mention again the complete lack of panic, desperation, or rattling. Composure was the order of the night.

On the other hand, some things raised concerns...or at least left unanswered questions. Much of the masterful paint defense came down to the centers. This is certainly part of the Portland game plan and has been for some time. But let's face it...the big guys had a night off against the Houston centers and had defensive attention to spare. The individual defense on the perimeter wasn't consistent and the Blazers never were able to stop the ball moving or contain the dribble for long. If that doesn't change more accomplished offensive teams are going to bring us woe. In general, and especially in the early part of the game, Portland seemed content to start their plays outside. It looked like everything from the post to the perimeter would be more effective if started 3-5 feet closer to the hoop. But few of the Blazers were able to muscle into position. Until the game neared its conclusion and Brandon Roy started driving the Blazers lacked strong finishes around the hoop. Yes there were a couple dunks but in general aggression at the rim was lacking. This also contributed to the relatively low foul rate compared to decent shots generated. And, of course, Game 1 is a little too early to be assuming wins after three quarters, even for a good team. That's not likely to be repeated, but it does show how composure can sometimes slip into complacency.

This was a nice shakedown cruise for the team. Most things worked well. Whatever bugs showed up can be worked out. There's no reason for overconfidence and even less for disappointment. It was right down the middle which is just where this team needs to be right now. You don't want to stumble out of the gate but you can't complete an entire season on October 27^th either.

Individual Notes

Brandon Roy had a 5-18 shooting night but he was also the only Blazer scoring from the foul line, hitting 10-11. It wasn't the perfect game for him but he didn't overcompensate either. He played solidly within the team framework for the early part of the game, asserting himself only to provide some scoring support for LaMarcus. Later in the game he took over the ball more and drove hard. That's mostly what you want to see out of your star.

LaMarcus Aldridge seemed to relish the early scoring role and owned his matchup until fouls took him to the bench. He's the spike that the Blazers are going to try to hammer in to crack the opponent's façade. After that his teammates will exploit those cracks. It's a good enough battle plan and he's more than capable. He shot 5-10 on the night for 11 points. He started grabbing some rebounds late and ended up with 6. He also had 4 turnovers but it's not like he was killing the team with them. He played only 24 minutes.

Travis Outlaw was the superstar of the evening. The Rockets just didn't know what to do with his compact, efficient, yet deadly-athletic offense. He ended up 9-14 for 23 points in 33 minutes. He also played some decent defense, grabbed 4 rebounds, and notched 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

One of the big questions of the evening was how well Greg Oden would do. It depends on which end of the court you were watching. He really played a controlled (and controlling) game defensively. He looks so much lighter on his feet than he did last year. He's quicker to jump and quicker moving sideways. His arms and feet are moving but poised. That increased mobility makes him look a ton more experienced, as he's able to hit his spots on time. He earned 5 fouls in 26 minutes but only one of them was a head-scratcher. He intimidated the Rockets with 5 blocks. The was also a Hoover on the boards. Anything he was near he grabbed, finishing with 8 defensive rebounds and 12 total. His offense was timid, however. On the good side he set some strong picks, which is great to see. On the other hand he's still not accomplished at getting position in the post. He's setting up farther out than he needs to and it leads to harder shots than he should be taking. When he did really grind down low he was never able to stand still long enough to make a pass possible. All night he was radiating that "don't pass it to me, please" vibe, which is not what you want to see out of your low post trigger guy. When he did receive the ball he got it stripped as often as he got a shot up. He ended up with 7 turnovers on the night. Not all of them were in post situations but enough were. He scored 2 points on a dunk off of an offensive rebound. There's little doubt he was a net positive for the team, though. They didn't need his missing offense but they sure prospered from his lane patrol. They'll take 12 boards and 5 blocks any night.

Martell Webster looked pretty good tonight. You could tell he was shaky at the start of the game, but he had the wisdom not to do too much. He played respectable defense, made a couple nice passes, and hit the three when he was open. In fact he hit a couple shots that Nicolas Batum would not have been able to make in his place. He looked smarter than the Martell we remember from years back. He doesn't look like he's going to hurt you a bit and his shooting can sure help. 14 points on 4-7 shooting, 4-4 from the free throw line, 2-4 from the arc, 3 manly rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a couple turnovers. Welcome back, Martell!

You can pretty much ignore Andre Miller's 3-11 shooting night. Two of those three shots stifled the Houston run in the fourth quarter. The misses didn't matter as much as the way he pushed the pace and found his teammates diving down the lane. He made a couple of Tivo passes tonight...as in, "Rewind it so I can see how that happened!" He was the second-unit catalyst, affecting the game almost as much as Outlaw but in a different way. 9 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Steve Blake had a good night with the set-up three, hitting 2-5 from distance to earn 7 points overall. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. But when he wasn't draining it his game looked pedestrian. You know Blake well enough not to judge based on a single outing but on the other hand you also know that once he puts the ball on the floor his part of the possession is essentially done. Blake got some time with Miller as well as Roy. I wonder how long that will last.

Joel Przybilla spent 16 minutes cleaning up after Oden. He did a good job in the interior and snagged 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. (That's 22 rebounds and 7 blocks for our center tandem if you're counting.) He had some trouble catching the ball and collected 6 fouls, but what the hey. Like Oden, his defensive work more than compensated for brief moments of consternation elsewhere.

Rudy Fernandez looked rusty but managed a nice 8 points on 2-3 shooting from distance (quick-draw style too) and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. He looked pretty much like the Rudy you expect: a little out of position on defense, a serious knack for being in the right position on offense, a couple of inspired plays plus one or two that should have been more basic. Between him and Webster, though, the shooting was deadly. Teams are going to have a hard time covering them while still watching the main guys. Rudy tried bringing the ball up the court and setting the offense a couple times to mixed results. It's early though. You could tell he hadn't seen time in the pre-season.

Final Thoughts

You expected the Blazers to win this game. They should be able to win again Saturday in Houston but I am curious to see if they actually will. Games like that are going to be the test of the season.

Boxscore

Don't forget to read the other side of the story at TheDreamShake. And don't forget Ben's report from press row is forthcoming.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Season Preview: The L.A. Lakers

Phillip Baggett — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:49:50 -0000

Who will the Mavericks have to go through in order to make their goal of being NBA Champion? Well the list must begin with none other than 2008-09 defending champion LosAngeles Lakers. So we got together with Brian Kamenetzky at the LA Times Lakers Blog, to see what we can expect from the Lakers in 2009-10.

We also answered some questions from them on the Mavericks so please head over there and check out our answers.

The Western conference for years now has been the strongest conference, and by a pretty steep margin. With all the changes to the top tier teams in the east, do the Lakers still feel that the team most likely to stand in their way for another championship lives in the west?

They'll never say it, but I think the Lakers believe they're still the best team in the West, and in basketball for that matter. Conference be damned. It's a reasonable position to take, too, since they just won a title. But I also believe they have a very healthy and appropriate respect for the other elite teams in the NBA, including a couple teams on this side of the Mississippi, Portland and San Antonio being the most likely to threaten them over the course of the season. LA is too smart to ignore the Spurs, especially given the depth San Antonio added, and understand that last season a healthy Spurs squad would have been far closer to the top of the conference. As for the Blazers, the Lakers have struggled mightily in Portland over the last few seasons, which really drives the point home. In my opinion (for whatever it's worth) they match up better against the Lakers than any team in the league.

Do they think the E.C. teams are a greater threat? Hard to say. One benefit to adding Ron Artest is that he matches up well against LeBron, something most forwards obviously can't. I'm not saying that's why they made the deal, but I'm sure someone mentioned it when formulating the plan. I'm sure they'd love to get another crack at Boston, too. Certainly they know those teams are good, but the flip side is that it's harder to anticipate who they might see in the playoffs.

The Lakers this off season basically traded Trevor Ariza to Houston for Ron Artest. Some say that the Rockets got the better end of the deal, what is the perception among Lakers fans?

Initially, there were a lot of fans who worried about the changes. Ariza was extremely popular, and had some very important moments in the playoff run. And he doesn't have any of the baggage Artest brings. (Did you hear? Artest has something of a history...) A healthy portion of the populace, fans and media alike, wondered why the Lakers would screw with a good thing. Since then, most have warmed up to the idea. Some of that is almost certainly because fans tend to rally around the guys who are actually on the team. Ariza is gone, Artest is here. Root for the guy in the Lakers jersey. Also, the way Ariza left, with some unnecessarily contentious contract negotiations, didn't help his case. People blame his agent, for sure, and that David Lee made it adversarial from the beginning gave the Lakers some cover to make the move. I believe the Lakers when they say the first choice was to bring Trevor back, but interest in Artest goes back a long way, so it was a very viable Plan B, and one they were very willing to go with quickly.

Finally, Artest's attitude has won over a lot of fans. He's been incredibly honest and forthcoming about previous mistakes and character flaws, talking about how he was a bad teammate earlier in his career, displaying a high level of deference and admiration for Kobe (always a solid strategy for getting on the good side of fans), and displaying a strong and genuine obsession with winning a ring. If he plays well and the team is successful, it'll be fine. He'll end up very popular.

How have things changed for Kobe this year after finally kicking the stigma that he could not win without Shaq? Did that perception ever really bother him?

I think it did. He's not necessarily been explicit about it, but will often make reference to that knock on him, that he couldn't lead a team, that O'Neal was the reason he won, and all that. That kind of thing ticks him off, no question. I don't think it was a fair criticism, either. Sure, those Lakers teams had a dominant Shaq, but Shaq doesn't win either without Kobe (or a dominant D-Wade a few years later). No star wins without a great team around him. That's just not how the world works. A lot was written on this point after the Lakers won, but I haven't been able to really sense a big shift in how Kobe is perceived. I think we'll get some of that this year, where the coverage of the team and his leadership will be different. It may end up being pretty subtle, but I think it'll be there. Hopefully the Kobe vs. The World/Selfish Kobe vs. Team Kobe storylines can die off. They're fairly tired at this point.

Is there one team in the league that causes a little shake in the Lakers shoes? Why?

I mentioned the Blazers above, and think they're that team. Portland is one of the few groups that can go toe to toe with LA and help neutralize their advantages. They're long and athletic, with the frontcourt defenders to combat guys like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom. Przybilla and Oden are both strong defensively and can rebound. The whole team is strong on the glass, for that matter. On the other end, between Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, plus guys like Batum, Webster, and now Andre Miller, Portland has a ton of weapons that can, like the Lakers, can be put to work in a variety of ways. They may not play fast, but the Blazers are still a strong offensive unit.

Add in a history of defeat up in the Rose Garden- I don't remember exactly, but I don't think the Lakers have won more than once up there over the past five or six seasons- and the Blazers definitely become a threat. Given how the career arcs of guys like Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, and Oden point to continued improvement, it was reasonable to think the Blazers would be better, even before they added Miller. Since they were already a tough matchup for the Lakers, that only makes them tougher.

Are there any concerns in LA with Ron Artest being too comfortable in LA and going back to his old ways?

In terms of behavior, not really. I don't think it's something the organization is concerned about. Some question whether or not he's a little too wrapped up in social media (or media generally). He was a Twitter sensation over the summer, did an interview with practically every outlet under the sun, basically became his own YouTube franchise, and so on. Since the season started, though, he's kept a lower profile, which is a good thing. There's always the prospect of him doing something goofy, going off the rails and damaging team chemistry, but the fear is overstated by the media. I've maintained since they signed him that the biggest questions are how he'll fit on the court. Will he shoot too much? Will the ball stick and disrupt the offense? Did they lose too much speed on the wing? That sort of thing.

Early returns say they won't be a problem- Artest has racked up assists and if anything hasn't been assertive enough offensively in the preseason- but the idea that he'll come unglued and start another brawl? I don't see it. The Lakers have a strong coach, leadership in Kobe Bryant that Artest deeply respects, a friend of Artest's going back to their days in New York in Lamar Odom, a great chance to win titles, and so on. It's ideal of him. I think it'll help the Lakers, as well, assuming Artest understands his role. In the end, he's a better player than Ariza. That matters.

Portland Trail Blazers Previews

Jeff Clark — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:49:04 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Will Oden finally live up to the hype?

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Consider this an understatement: Portland fans are over the top passionate about their team. The bloggers are no different. When the C's play the Blazers, our comments blow up because the Portland fans stop by to chat. They typically don't cause trouble, but they just descend upon the blog like a swam of bees. Not a complaint, just an observation. Anyway, here's the preview links (a couple days late).

Blog Season Preview - Blazersedge

It was a relatively quiet offseason for Kevin Pritchard, quieter than many fans had hoped for. No splashy draft day trades, unless you count the Sergio Rodriguez dump to Sacramento. The true excitement came in a trio of moves and non-moves: the failed courtship of Hedo Turkoglu, the cap-busting toxic offering of Paul Millsap, and the rebound relationship scoop up of Andre Miller.

Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview 2009-10 | Blaze of Love

Last season, Portland was one of, if not the most, efficient teams in the NBA. This season, they should be as efficient plus even more explosive. Andre Miller adds something the team has been lacking for years and that's a point guard who is a match-up nightmare for the opposition. And with Oden showing mass improvements in preseason contests and a lack of proven centers in the west, the Blazers should find buckets coming even easier.

RCP Blazers 2009-10 Season Preview | Rip City Project | A Portland Trailblazers blog

If you haven’t heard, Oden is having a fantastic preseason. He’s in good shape, staying on the floor, displayed better offensive skills and playing more mobile defense. The consensus is that he looks like a completely different player.

NBA 2009/10 Season Preview : Portland Trail Blazers

As with many teams on the rise, some of the Blazers' biggest strengths are also their biggest weaknesses. Unhappiness with lack of minutes may become an issue as the season wears on. This all comes down to how well coach McMillan can manage his players and their expectations. He has a bevy of fine young players who all want to win, but who will also have one eye on their future careers, whilst the other eye is on the road to the title. The key areas for concern: Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw.

Portland Trail Blazers Preview 2009-10

The most significant move of the off-season had to be the acquisition of Andre Miller. The Blazers needed a pass first point guard with experience and Andre Miller provides that. Portland also signed him to a relatively short term deal (two years with a third year option). At 33 years old, Miller is reaching the decline of his career but he hasn't shown any signs of declining numbers yet. His impact will be more than just numbers though, it's his ability to run a team and contribute to an already stacked roster. Andre comes in with a ton of experience on a team dominated by youth.

NBA Blog Preview: Portland Trail Blazers - Trail Post

What are the team’s biggest weaknesses? Youth and inexperience. This has been the main weakness for the last half of the decade (aside from that 20-win team, whose weakness was probably just sucking really, really bad), and it continues going forward. Our season depends on the development of guys like Aldridge and Greg Oden. Sure, Oden’s been tearing it up in the preseason, but we still have to see if he’ll do it when it counts. We just don’t know what we’re going to get. If Oden doesn’t play like we hope he can, we’ll be a continual good-but-not-great team, much like the Utah Jazz.