With the NBA lockout looking like it's going to last a while and me wondering if there's even going to be a season at all, I was thinking of the status of Brandon Roy and Greg Oden and the possibilities of both of them playing somewhere else next season. Whenever next season begins.

I'll start off first with Brandon and a couple of ideas I've been pondering. It seems that most people agree that Brandon won't ever be the player he was 2 to 3 years ago because of his knees. But there are a couple things I wanna address about that. First, I wanna go back to game 4 Vs Dallas and the 4th quarter comeback (unfortunately I turned the game off near the end of the 3rd and I'm still kicking myself for it.) that he lead and what he said after the game about his performance. These are the quotes from after the game.

Interviewer: "This one feels a lot more emotional tonight Brandon. Why?"

B-Roy: "Just with everything I've been through this year. I mean, there were times where I didn't know if I'd play basketball again. In the minutes situation, we were down 20 points and I just said I'm gonna play i got nothing to lose."

What I'm getting out of this quote from Brandon is that he just decided to go out there and try to be the all star Brandon Roy. He went out there and decided to carry the team on his back because he had nothing to lose. Here's my problem with that. What does he have to lose when he goes out there every night? Brandon is losing a lot more by not being aggressive than he is by playing like he did against Dallas in game 4. Maybe in that game he was just feeling a lot better than he did in previous games or even all of last season. Or maybe he's capable of this all the time but he just doesn't go after it because he feels like he has something to lose. In my opinion he has everything to gain. I know he's really hurt and his knees are in bad shape. But that quote just got me thinking about that if what he said was really the case, then he needs to play like he has nothing to lose every time he steps out there because he really doesn't have anything to lose.

Last season when everyone finally found out what was going on with Brandon's knees there was the option to have a meniscus or cartilage replacement in both of his knees. But it was decided that he didn't want to do that because it could end his career. Now if game 4 was one of those days where Brandon was feeling good and the Brandon Roy we're gonna get on a regular basis is someone who comes off the bench and averages 8 to 10 points per game then in my opinion he may as well hang it up. Also with the lockout going on he could have gotten the surgery early last season and had time to heal up and see how he felt. Even if he missed a shortened season this year because of the surgery I'd be okay with it. But I guess we'll just have to see how it plays out with him. I hope he can be back to what he used to be. But I understand that it's very doubtful that he will be. If the Blazers could have the old Brandon Roy, the new LaMarcus Aldridge, and a healthy Greg Oden. Who knows how good this team could be?!

Speaking of Greg Oden I wanted to talk briefly about him. I'm not sure how he's doing and what the Blazers plans are for him. But I hope they re sign him. Mostly because of the fear that he may go somewhere else and become what everyone always thought he would be when he got drafted. But also because last year he said that the knee he got the micro fracture surgery on just before his rookie year is stronger than ever. So I'm only assuming that would be the case with the knee that he just got operated on last season. As of right now, in my opinion, Oden is the only hope the Blazers have to getting anywhere near an NBA title. Him and LaMarcus would be quite the front court. If I were the Blazers I'd pay Oden whatever he wanted for 2 seasons. If he's still not healthy after 2 more seasons then you cut him loose. But not now. After briefly seeing what he was capable of a couple of years ago when he only played 21 games I don't wanna see the Blazers let him go.

While watching the finals and seeing that LeBron wasn't playing his best I started to wonder if the Heat would trade him this off season. To me it looked like LeBron didn't even want to win that series while it looked like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were doing everything they could. After seeing the finals I thought of a trade that I would do in a heartbeat if I were the GM of the Heat.

It seems that Dwight Howard will be traded this off season. Most people think that he'll end up with the Lakers. But I think Miami should send LeBron to Orlando in exchange for Dwight Howard. This would give them a more balanced lineup and I think Howard would work well alongside Chris Bosh in the front court. I don't know if the salaries would match up for a straight up trade so they might have to throw in some extra guys to make this happen.

Most teams don't like to trade superstars within the same conference. But I feel that Orlando would do just that to acquire LeBron. If that trade were to happen it'd make me extremely happy because I'm a huge Dwyane Wade fan. But I found myself rooting against Miami because I hate LeBron James so much. Sending LeBron to Orlando where he would pretty much have no help around him would make me a very happy person. To me this trade makes all the sense in the world.

While watching the finals and seeing that LeBron wasn't playing his best I started to wonder if the Heat would trade him this off season. To me it looked like LeBron didn't even want to win that series while it looked like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were doing everything they could. I'm not about to suggest that the Blazers are going to somehow make a deal with the Heat for LeBron. That would pretty much be impossible. But I have another trade idea that I would do in a heartbeat if I were the Heat GM.

It seems that Dwight Howard will be traded this off season. Most people think that he'll end up with the Lakers. But I think Miami should send LeBron to Orlando in exchange for Dwight Howard. This would give them a more balanced lineup and I think Howard would work well alongside Chris Bosh in the front court. I'd like to see this trade happen for one because I'm a Blazers fan and if the Lakers got Dwight then that would insure that the Lakers would remain a power in the west for the next decade. Second of all, I hate LeBron James. I've always hated him ever since he first came into the league. I hope he never wins a title. If I were to wish that LeBron would never win a championship and the only way that would be granted is if the Blazers either never made the playoffs or got eliminated in the first round for the rest of LeBron's career... I'd agree to that. I hate him that much.

Maybe less fans over value Batum than I think. But I hate hearing fans say that trading Batum for someone like Monta Ellis or Andre Iguodola is giving up too much. If the Blazers want to get better they're likely going to have to trade Batum. 

When Portland got Gerald Wallace their was actually a debate as to who should be the starting small forward when their really shouldn't have been. If I'm not mistaken, Wallace was an all star last year. Also if I'm not mistaken, Batum has never been anywhere close to being an all star. 

Throughout this season I continued to hear the Scottie Pippen comparison. Am I the only one who doesn't see that? I'm no expert but Batum has reached his peak as far as production on the court. He's not better than a sixth man that can potentially be a starter. I'm not saying he's as good as he's going to be. I'm sure he'll get better because he's still young. But as far as production he's been as good as he'll ever be. Trust me. 

Fans continue to listen to guys like Mike Barrett and sometimes Mike Rice who compare Batum to Pippen. Then they get excited because they think that Barrett and Rice must know what they're talking about because they're professionaly analysts. Let me give you a few other comparisons they've made just to show how inaccurate they've been.

Brandon Roy - Oscar Robertson

LaMarcus Aldridge - Karl Malone

Greg Oden - Bill Russell, David Robinson, Shaq

Patty Mills - Tony Parker

Rudy Fernandez - Manu Ginobili

So since those comparisons they've made have been sooooo accurate I guess we should listen to them about Batum. I mean these are the same guys who thought Sergio Rodriguez was the point guard of the future. This team has a history of keeping guys too long and not trading them for real talent when they could have. Yet after the 2000 season they get rid of Jermaine O'Neal who actually had real talent. Sure you wouldn't have known it then. But it seems like they're scared to deal these guys.

As constructed this team isn't getting out of the first round. They're not getting better. As a matter of fact over the last 3 seasons they've gotten worse. A trade I've been pondering is a trade for Danny Granger. He's an all star caliber player and one hell of a scorer. It'd probably take Wallace and Batum to get him. I mean I don't even know if Indiana would want to give him up. But lest just pretend he's on the table. I'd trade Wallace and Batum for Granger in a heartbeat.

Will Danny Granger win the Blazers a championship? Probably not. Will he make them better? Absolutely. If Greg Oden is healthy next season and is still a Blazer and the Blazers don't make any changes they'll maybe get out of the first round. But I doubt it. They don't have a consistent big time perimeter scorer. But if they make a deal for someone like Granger and Oden is healthy and Aldridge is able to continue playing like he did this season who knows.... Maybe they could make it to the western conference finals.

I was thinking the other night about the NBA all star game and how some fans say that they'd much rather see some players rest than play in the all star game or be part of all star weekend. While I don't agree with that just because nobody tries in the all star game until the 4th quarter and nobody's going to be playing a great deal of minutes. I am of the thought also that these are professional athletes and they should be prepared for anything. Nobody should be whining about getting rest. Especially if you're a young star in the league.

Having an all star game after the NBA finals conclude wouldn't increase the game's relevance, nor would it decrease it I don't think. But as far as coaches and fans whining about their players needing rest I think having the all star game after the NBA playoffs conclude would put all of that to bed. You could also still have the 4 or 5 day break in the middle of the season just to give players a bit of rest.

Putting the game at the end of the season also makes sense because I fell like we wouldn't have as many snubs. We probably would still have some. But one of the arguments I've heard against LaMarcus Aldridge is that he's only been playing this well for 6 weeks or whatever. While that is a solid argument. I don't think 6 weeks or 8 weeks makes an all star even though I do believe LaMarcus should be in there instead of Tim Duncan. But I think putting it after the NBA finals would show the true all stars of the league. Of course their are a few defined and true all stars who we know are going to be there every year. Kevin Durant, Kobe, D-Wade, LeBron. You know, the regulars. But as far as the guys who don't and probably won't make it on a consistent basis I think it would separate them from the pack. Also you'd know who's healthy and who's not so an injured guy won't get selected to the team.

They should eliminated fan voting. The starting lineups to this years all star game are pretty hard to argue with. But Derrick Rose should not be starting over Rondo and when Yao Ming makes the all star game even though he hasn't really played in 2 years. That's a little ridiculous. I know that's largely due to the voting from the fans in China but c'mon. David Stern shouldn't have to name a replacement for a guy who hasn't played in 2 years. If coaches were voting in all the players then we'd have a more legitimate all star game.

One last thing. Tim Duncan should give up his all star spot. Kinda like Allen Iverson did last year I think. It's just absolutely ridiculous that he made it over much more talented players. If this were Tim Duncan in his prime then yes he makes it. But right now, he's not better than either LaMarcus Aldridge or Zach Randolph. Also, the fact that the only reason Kevin Love is in the game is because he's replacing an injured player is absolutely ridiculous. I know I just said that coaches should vote for everything and they did vote for Duncan. I guess coaches occasionally make mistakes (not as much as fans do though). But Duncan has no business being in this years game and he should give up his spot. He won't though. But he should!

Anyway, what do you think of the post season all star game idea? Good? Bad? Does it not matter when it happens? Let me know!

I've been thinking about this for quite some time. Every since I've known about Brandon Roy's knees I've brainstormed and thought about players that would be a better fit for this team than Brandon. Though I love Brandon and I appreciate all that he's done in a Blazer uniform, his career is going down the toilet.

When thinking about players that would be a better fit I thought back to the last two seasons and a player that I watched quite a bit (when he was healthy). One of my good friends is a huge Sacramento Kings fan. Those two seasons I watched a lot of Kings basketball with him. The only bright spot on that entire roster was Kevin Martin (and Tyreke Evans last season).

Kevin would fit in great here I think. He's an efficient scorer and gets to the foul line a lot, he makes his foul shots, he moves without the ball exceptionally well, can come off of screens and score, and he can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. He's a player that doesn't need that ball in his hands to be successful. In the last 3 or 4 season he's been the most underrated player in the NBA because he's been stuck on a bad team in Sacramento. He's averaged over 20 points each of the last 5 seasons. In his career he's shooting 45% from the floor and 38% from behind the 3 point line. He averages only 15 attempts from the field a game but he gets to the foul line 8 times per game. So again, he knows how to get to the foul line. At the foul line, he's a career 86% free throw shooter.

With Kevin playing off the ball the Blazers can start the offense with Andre Miller which would be a huge plus. It's something they really can't do with Brandon in the game. Also if you have a lineup with Camby, Aldridge, Matthews, K-Mart, and Andre you can play a much more up tempo game because you won't have Brandon slowing everything down.

If you've never seen Kevin Martin play, I encourage you to watch him. It's a real treat! Like I said before, I love Brandon Roy and all he's done. But it's time to move on. I know the likeliness of Brandon being traded with a combination of a couple players for K-Mart is really unlikely. But if it happened, it'd definitely be an explosion in the trousers!  

Blazer fans & Brandon Roy: There's a certain percentage of Blazer fan that really bothers me. I started to notice this a little bit last season. Some Blazer fans are over-reactors. It gets ridiculous sometimes. I guess everyone has opinions and I can respect that but some of the things that are said at times are just ridiculous.

After Brandon left the game tonight with the knee injury I saw some people reacting to it.. I read stuff like "Portland made a mistake by giving him a max contract. They should just buy him out and let him go." Stuff like that really angers me. At the time Brandon was singed no Blazer fan questioned it. At least no Blazer fan that I know of. Now he's hurt and he's all of the sudden the worst player on the team. Everyone is killing him. I'll agree with some fans to a point. It does get a bit frustrating seeing him settling for tough jumpers and not attacking the paint but at the same time I can understand why he's being less aggressive. Anyone who's played sports on a regular basis at any level has been injured at one point or another. Sometimes we play through the injuries. Whether it's a pick up game of basketball, a city league game, high school or even college basketball. If you have an injury and you try to play through it you're a different player. You tend to be less aggressive. At least that's what I've experienced.

Fans just need to be patient with Brandon. He'll come around. He's still the best player on the team. If Brandon feels like he has to make a change in the way he plays then that's the way it's going to be. No matter how many fans whine or complain he's going to play how he feels comfortable playing. I am worried about the future of this team and Brandon's health but I understand that he needs to make a change to his game. He'll get better as the season goes on.

Mike Barrett: Maybe a month or two ago I posted something on here somewhat bashing Mike Barrett and Mike Rice. Someone commented on it and said to me that Mike Barrett is always making excuses for the team. Ever since I read that I've been paying a lot more attention to the excuse making by Barrett and it's getting annoying. When I posted about Barrett and Rice most of the bashing was toward Mike Barrett. Now pretty much all of it is going toward him. I love listening to Mike Rice. The only thing that has bothered me lately about Rice is that he's always saying "there was another good workout today by Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden." That gets annoying. I don't care if they had a good workout. That's not news to me. Get them back out on the court!

Barrett complains about things during games that I never hear anyone else on any other teams broadcast complain about. Before tonights game he said "The Blazers are on the second game of another back to back set." I never hear any other play by play guys talk or complain about playing back to backs or 5 games in 7 nights. Maybe it's because a lot of other teams don't really play 5 games in 7 nights but I never hear anyone else complain about playing back to backs. Also when the Blazers were down early he said "you can tell on some nights before games when a team is tired mentally or physically. I could tell before tonights game that the Blazers just were mentally fatigued." But what if the Blazers would have jumped out to a 20 to 8 lead. He wouldn't have made that comment. He wouldn't have said something like "boy before tonight's game it looked like the Blazers were just mentally fatigued. But they really look sharp out there right now!" He has to make an excuse for everything. Also every time Nate pulls out a starter Barrett is saying "Nate is thinking about getting these guys rest and keeping them rested for later in the season." I'm sure that's not what Nate is thinking during the game. I'm sure he wants to get his guys as much rest as possible but you don't go into games thinking about how much you should rest your star players. You go in thinking about what it's going to take to win!!!

I don't know if any other Blazer fan feels the same way about Barrett but I can't handle the excuse making. It's really annoying me. Like to the point where I wish I had the choice to watch it with the other teams play by play and color guys calling the action. It used to be that I would watch every game on CSN or KGW. Then last year I was starting to get annoyed so occasionally if I had the choice to watch it on ESPN I would but not every time. This year so far the I think 2 games that have been on ESPN I have watched on ESPN. I just can't handle Barrett's excuse making anymore. But the one thing I do miss is Mike Rice! But I don't really care for Barrett.

I read a fan post earlier today by letusrun about Greg Oden not trying hard enough. I read that on the John Lund show he commented on the issue of Oden not trying hard enough. I listened to it and now I'm really mad! I hear that Oden is nowhere near ready and that he's still limping. Hasn't it been almost a year since he's gotten hurt? Didn't Joel Pryzbilla have a way worse injury a few weeks later in the season and didn't he re injure it a few months later? And he's going to be back before Oden. I don't understand. Don't the people that speak negatively of Oden motivate Oden? Does he not care? Any true Blazer fan has supported Oden and believed that he could come back and be a force. They believed that he could shut the people up that have criticized the Blazers for picking him over Kevin Durant. I may be overreacting to all of this but I believe if he isn't really working hard to recover than he's taking a dump on the entire organization and fans.

Most Blazer fans including myself expected Oden to be back by now. I expected him to be back if not on opening night, a few weeks later. If Oden isn't back by December I'm going to really be mad. People in the Blazer organization are making excuses for Oden saying that some people's body's are slower at recovering than others. While that's true, isn't having micro fracture surgery worse than fracturing your patella? And Oden was back on the court in less than a year after his surgery. He missed his entire rookie season but he wasn't out for a full calendar year. He's pushing that now and from what I hear he's not even close to being back.

If Oden ends up missing the entire year I won't know what to do. From what all of us saw last season we know that if Oden is on the court healthy he could be a top 3 center in the league and if he stays healthy and progresses he just may be the best center in the NBA. I'm starting to doubt Oden. I want to see him succeed and shut people up. I've been arguing in his favor on the Oden vs Durant topic since they drafted him. On draft day I wanted them to take Oden. I was going to be mad if they didn't. But if he keeps being lazy with his rehab than he's truly spitting in the faces of the entire Blazer organization and fans.

About a week ago or so Mike Barrett was hosting "Wheels At Work". I'm sure most Blazer fans heard this, but he was talking about potentially trading for Chris Paul or some other superstar in the league. We all know that Nic Batum's name was thrown out there as a player that Portland would sent to New Orleans for Paul. Barrett went on to say that he wasn't sure that he'd trade Nicolas for anyone in the league. Then he said if it were a top 5 player in the NBA he may think about it but even then he probably wouldn't. This frustrated me. Basically what he said right there is that this upcoming season Nic Batum is going to be a top 5 player in the NBA. Either that or he'll be a top 5 player in the future.

A little while after I heard that I thought to myself "If someone offered LeBron James for Nic Batum he'd have to think about it. I'd pull the trigger on that deal in a heartbeat." As I think most fans would. Obviously you couldn't trade Nic for LeBron straight up, you'd have to match salaries and all that good stuff. But if Miami just said "take LeBron and we'll take Batum and a couple of insignificant players off your team and maybe a draft pick." Barrett would really have to think about that?!?! I know he doesn't make the decisions in the front office but that still bothers me. And I know that the Trail Blazers would pull the trigger on that deal without thinking about it.

It's not just trading for LeBron either. What about if the Blazers could trade Nic for Kevin Durant? How sweet would that be? But then again like Barrett said, he'd have to think about it. What about CP3? Deron Williams? What about those guys? Would he have to think about it then? I'm not going to say that Barrett is right or wrong when he says that he probably wouldn't trade Batum for anyone. But it just seems absurd to have to think about it.

On to Mike Rice. We all know that Rice is a homer and I love it. I think most Blazer fans are too. I think that's what we love about our announce team. They're passionate about their team while other teams announcers seem like they don't care.

Along with Barrett, Rice is constantly overrating players. Some Blazer fans may know what I'm talking about here. Last season when Patty Mills was hurt Barrett said something like Mills was able to start practicing with the team and he looks good. Rice said that the end to end speed that Patty had was amazing. He went on to say that he was looking like Tony Parker. I just shook my head. He may look like Tony Parker in a scrimmage or in practice when players aren't trying and he is. But if he really is Tony Parker then why are we talking about bringing in a better point guard? The Blazers already have one that's warming the bench! Rice has also gone on to say that LaMarcus looks like Karl Malone out there on the court, he compared Brandon Roy to Oscar Robertson, and depending on the game Greg Oden can be either Shaq, David Robinson, or Bill Russell. I don't know if I'm alone in thinking this but I'm really sick of hearing it. If the Blazers really have players that are just as good as Shaq, Russell, Robinson, Malone, Robertson, or Parker than they should have been winning championships a long time ago. So come on Mike and Mike. Lets be realistic!!!

By the way, I do love listening to Barrett on play by play and I for sure love Rice on color. But I can't stand it when they say that the current Blazers play and look like some of the all time greats. But other than that there's no better duo in the league to listen to. But I'm probably being a bit of a homer,

I've been thinking over the last few days about the upcoming season. Thinking about the future of this team and where they could be if healthy excites me. But as we've seen over the last 3 years being healthy for an entire season may be too much to ask. Sometimes I get caught up in the what ifs when it comes to the Blazers. Stuff like "what if Greg Oden never got hurt his rookie year?" Things like that. I do think that if Oden had stayed healthy not only for that season but for every season after that (meaning he played at least 65 to 70 games) the Blazers would have made the playoffs that season. I think in Oden's second year we would have seen what we saw this season in his brief time on the court. Also I think Nate would give him more minutes instead of the 22 to 25 he gets and that's when he's not in foul trouble. I'm not going to say that Oden would be Bill Russell by now if he would have remained healthy. To tell the truth, he probably wouldn't have and will never be.

What do we have to look forward to this season? I think every Blazer fan is looking forward to the same things. The return of Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and Nic Batum being 100%, who the Blazers will get when they deal Rudy, LaMarcus taking the next step toward being an all star, and maybe a couple other things like Wesley Matthews being a Blazer, the return of Joel Pryzbilla (even though he probably won't be near 100%), and how well the new assistant coaches do. I'm excited that Buck Williams is on the staff. I think he'll really help the big men.

But with all that said, I'm also worried about the same things I'm excited about. Whenever I watch a game this season I'll be saying the same thing to myself that I did in the 08-09 season when Greg Oden was on the floor. I'll be saying "please don't get hurt, please don't get hurt!" I'll be hoping that Roy and Batum can stay healthy. Though that's the least of my worries because I believe they will. The Rudy deal I am somewhat worried about. I understand that the Blazers won't get back a game changer when they deal Rudy but I'm hoping they can get someone that can impact a game off the bench the way Rudy did his rookie year. I don't want them to deal Rudy just to get a 2nd round draft pick or some guy who's never going to see the floor. But we'll see. This next thing I'm really worried about. It's a close second next to Greg Oden's health and that's LaMarcus's development. I know he's pretty good but he hasn't been what we expected him to be. I never thought he'd be Karl Malone, but I think he could be as good as Amare and Bosh. But I'm not sure LaMarcus has that fire, if he has the drive to be the best at his position. But we'll find that out this season.

So everything I'm excited about, I'm also worried about. But overall I think the Blazers will end up a top 3 team in the west. I also think that if healthy, they're the only team in the west that can beat the Lakers in the playoffs. Not saying they will but they could.

Just a little side note... I'm sick of hearing about Oklahoma City. What have they done that the Blazers haven't done? If the Blazers met them in the playoffs they'd smoke the Thunder.

This next season is probably the biggest season for this group of Trail Blazers. Of course, you could say that about each of the last 3 seasons. As a life long Blazer fan I've had my doubts about this team. When I saw them lose in the first round to the Rockets it was clear to me that they weren't as good as I thought they were. Maybe that had to do with Greg Oden not being able to stay on the floor, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez completely disappearing, or Nic Batum being only a rookie and being ineffective. I guess my point is, it was that groups first time in the playoffs. We all had our hopes high that year and we ended up disappointed.

Last season was the most fired up I'd been about a season in quite some time. It was the year that Portland was going to be a top 3 team in the west. They were going to make it to the Western Conference Finals at least. Greg Oden was going to silence the critics who say that the Blazers should have taken Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy was going to be an MVP candidate, LaMarcus Aldridge was going to be an all star, Nic Batum was going to have a breakout season, and Outlaw and Rudy were going to light it up off the bench and one of them was going to be the NBA's 6th man of the year. Batum unfortunately starts out the season injured, Rudy isn't what we thought he'd be, and Outlaw gets injured early in the year.

After we knew the severity of the Outlaw injury and we knew that Batum was going to be out for a while it didn't matter. Greg Oden was playing the best basketball of his career. He couldn't be stopped. He was confident, dominant, and despite the fact that he was still getting screwed over by the refs he was probably the best player on the Blazers in the first quarter of the season. So all the injuries were covered up by the play of Oden. Then, Aaron Brooks drives and goes for a layup, Oden jumps and the next thing we know he's rolling around on the ground holding his knee. Honestly when I was watching it live I thought it was Martell Webster who went down. I don't know why but I did. When I realized it was Greg Oden I got really quiet and sat there in disbelief. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!?!?!

We all know how last season went. All the injuries, it was horrible. I remember watching the Blazers play at LA against the Lakers late in the season and beat them without Brandon Roy. I felt good about that win. When they went in to the playoffs I believed that they could beat Phoenix. Though they didn't, I felt good about the team at the end of the season as most Trail Blazer fans did.

As the summer winds down I've heard all the rumors and all the opinions of Blazer fans. I was as mad about the KP firing as anyone else was. It didn't make sense to me. But in a way it's a good thing because the new GM doesn't have the attachment to the players that KP did. Now Rudy is going to be moved a year later than he should have been but still at least it's going to get done. But here's the thing people...

THIS TEAM WON 50 GAMES LAST YEAR!!!!!!

People are saying they'd trade Brandon Roy for Chris Paul.... Why? I get that Paul is a better player than Roy but you'd still be in the same situation you're in. One star. Trading Roy for Paul won't make the Blazers the best team in the west. They'd still be from that 2 to 6 range which isn't bad. But Paul for Roy doesn't make them a championship contender.

If the Blazers could get one season with everyone completely healthy think about how sweet that would be. If Oden could play anywhere from 60 to 75 games, Aldridge is the all star caliber player we thought he'd be, and Brandon Roy's knee is okay then you're looking at a 55 to 60 win team.

Last season was the worst it could get right? There's no way it could happen again is there? Oden can't get hurt again. There's no way! I'm looking forward to the Blazers being a force this season. LOOK OUT LA!!!!

So there's one thing that annoys me. I get on this site and I see that "The Blazers are talking with Roger Mason" and I see a question posed to Blazer fans if they'd like it if either Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar singed with the Blazers. Also I've read numerous posts from fans hoping the Blazers bring in another player to come off the bench.

What Blazer fans should be talking about is bringing another star to this team. In my opinion, I'd trade everyone on the roster except for Brandon Roy and Greg Oden to get another top 10 player in the league. The only way I'd trade Oden is if the Blazers could get back a game changing big man. But I think you should try to hold on to Oden and if you can get Chris Paul then think about what he could do for Greg Oden. I mean, look what he did for Tyson Chandler.

I also heard something like... On draft night the Blazers could have traded Bayless, Miller, Batum, and Pryzbilla for Chris Paul... AND THEY DIDN'T!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! Is Bayless going to win you a championship? Hell no. Is Andre Miller? Absolutely not. Is Joel Pryzbilla? If he were healthy he could be a very good player to have in a title run but he isn't and he probably will never be what he was. The only guy in this package that could be huge in a title run is Nic Batum. But like all young players you can only speculate on what they could become. Yeah we've seen great things out of Nic but what if he never gets to the level we think he can? What if he gets nowhere close to that? I realize that the fans don't have control over who gets traded and who doesn't. But it seems like so many Portland fans are against trading Batum even for a player like Chris Paul. Plus if the Blazers would have pulled the trigger on that deal they probably wouldn't have traded Martell so they'd still have him and he'd be good enough at the 3 with a lineup like: PG. Chris Paul, SG. Brandon Roy, SF. Martell Webster, PF. LaMarcus Aldridge, C. Greg Oden.

I don't know what stars the Blazers could get at this point but I'd like to see them bring in another star to play with Brandon Roy. You're not gonna do it in free agency. No one will want to come to Portland if they could go to Chicago, Miami, New York, or LA (even if it's the Clippers).

In closing, I do think role players are important and your 6th man can be a pivotal piece in helping you win a title. Marcus Camby will probably be that guy next season but I'd like to see the Blazers bring in J.J. Redick. He would be good for the Blazers. He won't win you a title but he'll give you consistent outside shooting. Something the Blazers haven't had since Rudy's rookie year.

So yesterday I read an interview with Tim Donaghy. He was asked if Portland fans were stupid to think that the Blazers have any real chance to win a championship in the next few years, or ever again. He pretty much said yes. Unless they get a huge name like LeBron or something or maybe draft a big name player.

I'm one of those Blazer fans who thinks that the Blazers are always playing against the refs on top of their opponent that night. If the Blazers played the Lakers in a 7 game series they'd have to be damn near perfect throughout the series to actually have a shot at winning it, and even if they were perfect they still may not win it.

3 years from now I think the Blazers should be the best team in the west by default. Kobe will be close to done if not done all together, the Spurs and Suns won't be a factor, and Denver I think will be a middle of the road team in the west. I think the best 2 teams in the west will be OKC and Portland. If Sacramento can get another potential superstar or a big name guy then they may be up there too 3 years from now. With that said, Portland and OKC are both small market teams who don't get any help from the refs in the playoffs like the Lakers or the Cavs do. You may be thinking "we have a superstar.... WE HAVE BRANDON ROY!!!" Unfortunately the league doesn't look at Brandon Roy as a superstar. By all means they should. But they don't. Also, all Blazer fans know how the refs constantly screw Greg Oden. If he's healthy and able to play 30+ minutes a night, the Blazers would be the best team in the west. Even this year. You look at the improved play of Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless, Greg Oden, and the addition of Marcus Camby. If they were all healthy then they would be hard to beat. But of course if they were all healthy they may not have traded for Camby.

I guess as the years pass we'll have to see if the Blazers can get it done. If Oden is healthy then they'll be a contender. But will they be able to win a championship? It'll be really hard especially if they meet up against Kobe in the WCF or if they face LeBron, Dwight Howard, or Dwyane Wade in the finals. But who knows... Maybe I'm completely wrong and maybe, just maybe the refs always call it right down the middle. But I honestly doubt they do. 

After the Blazers defeated the Suns last night Charles Barkley said, aside from what he always says about Portland needing a post presence which will come next year when Oden is back. But he said something like "it really takes this many injuries to find Jerryd Bayless some minutes?" And he's never been more right. I've been saying for the last 2 years that Bayless needs to be in the rotation regularly. I'm an Arizona Wildcats basketball fan and I watched a lot of his college games and I knew he would potentially be a star in the NBA. I thought he was the second best point guard in that draft other then Derrick Rose.

I've heard people talking about showing off Bayless this year then trading him next season. I say no. Keep Bayless. Think about it this way. Bayless can be a highly productive 6th man much like Jason Terry in Dallas. Terry is one of the more talented players on that Dallas roster and he doesn't start. He comes off the bench and gives them good minutes and high energy. If Bayless comes off the bench then you won't need him to be a traditional point guard. If you run a 9 man rotation this is how you could look at it. First you trade Outlaw for a power forward like maybe Tyrus Thomas though I don't know if their contacts match up for a trade. But say you get Tyrus Thomas to be your backup power forward, Joel is obviously your backup center, Rudy can play the 3 and the 2, Bayless can play the 2 and the 1. You give Bayless 23 to 25 minutes a game and he'll be solid. Find a way to get rid of either Blake or Miller for an insurance policy at the center or maybe you can throw one of them in a trade with Outlaw for a power forward. Also find a way to get rid of Webster too. Not Batum. I don't know what they would get back or who would want Webster. I haven't looked into it that much.

Here's the rotation:

PG: Blake or Miller/Bayless

SG: Roy/Fernandez/Bayless

SF: Batum/Fernandez

PF: Aldridge/Thomas

C:Oden/Pryzbilla/Aldridge/Thomas

As a Blazer fan, I'm disappointed, I'm upset, and I'm pissed off. I was so excited about this season as well as any other Blazer fan. But everything that could go wrong has gone wrong this season. This was suppose to be the year where the Blazers established themselves as a power in the west. This was the year they were suppose to show that they can challenge the Lakers, Nuggets, and Spurs for the western conference championship.

Though I am disappointed about what has happened this season there are some positives about all these guys going down. The obvious one is that it opens the door for new faces to get some significant minutes such as Jerryd Bayless, Dante Cunningham, and when they're healthy Jeff Pendergraph and Patty Mills. These guys wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to play if all the Blazers were healthy. Clearly I'd give anything to have Batum, Outlaw, and Oden back this season but Oden is clearly not going to happen, Outlaw probably won't come back, and Batum might and that is something to look forward to. But if both Outlaw and Batum come back this season then I think the Blazers will be in good shape for a late season run to maybe push for the 6th seed in the west depending on if they trade some of their young pieces for a really solid player who can fit in right away. But DON'T trade Andre Miller.

Now to the positive that some fans may not realize. I think the Blazers will end up with the 8 seed at worst, the 6th seed at best and that's only if what I just said happens. But if the Blazers end up with the 8 they'll most likely play the Lakers. That would be great experience for the Blazers. Though I do think playoff experience is the most overrated thing in all of sports. At the end of the day basketball is basketball. But if the Blazers played the Lakers in a 1 Vs 8 match up the Blazers would gain experience on how to play the Lakers in a 7 game series and how to beat them. I don't think the Lakers would sweep Portland in a 1-8 match up. It would probably go 6 games. But the Blazers would get some very good experience against a team that will probably be the best team in the west for the next 2 to 4 years.

If the Blazers get the 7 they could play a team like Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, or maybe even San Antonio. All of those teams the Blazers will probably have to see in the playoffs for the next 4 seasons to get to the finals. Maybe not the Suns but who knows. Though Greg won't get any experience out of this the Blazers core players Aldridge and Roy will. The experience the Blazers got against Houston last season was good but I doubt that they're going to see Houston in the playoffs that much in the next couple years. As much as Yao is praised he's an injury prone guy and the only reason he's not talked about like Oden is because he's made the all star team every season and has shown that he's a very good big man. Oden will get there when he comes back. When McGrady comes back he won't be near the player he once was. The Rockets won't be a team you'll have to worry about. But the teams you could potentially face in a 1-8 or 2-7 or even a 3-6 match up will be great experience for the Blazers and they'll come in next year focused and ready to go.

I know this has been covered by a lot of people on here. I've read fanpost after fanpost on this. I also know that I could comment on someone's fanpost. But I guess I just feel the need to do my own thing here.

When I saw Oden go down last night at first I honestly thought it was Martell Webster. But then I heard Mike Barrett say "oh no, Greg. The Blazers don't need this."

I saw Greg go down and I saw him start rolling around. Then I said to myself "maybe he just tweaked it." A couple times when I've played I landed wrong and tweaked my knee and it HURT. But there was no serious injury. But this injury comes right when I stopped worrying about him getting hurt and right when I could just watch him play without really worrying about anything.

This was the first time since the 2000 western conference finals game 7 against the Lakers that I felt like crying. That's no joke. Before this year started I felt like this was the year. That this was finally time for the Blazers to rise to the top of the NBA. When I saw Oden go down I felt the season was over. I think this team will make the playoffs but they won't be a high seed. It just seems as though everything that could go wrong for the Blazers has. If Roy or Aldridge sustains a serious injury then that will really kill any chance of the Blazers making the playoffs.

Another negative about the Oden injury other then the team effect is that now the believers that Durant should have been picked over Oden will continue to come forward. Which is still ridiculous. Roy is having trouble playing off the ball with Andre Miller. Brandon needs the ball in his hands. So does Durant. It wouldn't have worked.

But what pisses me off even more is the people who feel like the Blazers should give up on Oden. I say give him one more year. If he goes down next season then start looking elsewhere. Oden is the key to the Blazers winning a championship. I think all Blazer fans know that.

The Blazers clearly won't give Greg a huge contract extension and if they do then they're stupid. Not saying Greg is going to be a bad player. I think we have all seen in the first 20 games what he can be. Also he didn't tear an ACL or something like that. He fractured a bone which is probably out of all the season ending knee injuries, the best that could happen to him.

I still believe Oden is the Blazers future. I believe the team knows that. Now this being a contract year for Oden and if the Blazers don't choose to re sign him they can still match any offer that a team could make. But I don't think they should do that. I think that would ruin Greg's morale. But on the flip side it could really inspire and motivate him. But I think they should just sign him to a 2 year deal and not for a lot of money. But Oden can do everything to come back. But the problem is that injuries are something you can't control. They just happen. I think people forget that. It's not like Oden is out there trying to get hurt.

I think that something like this is what the Blazers needed to bring them together this season. It sucks that this is what it would take but it is what it is. Also a positive to this is that you have Pendergraph and Mills getting healthy. Maybe you can give them some minutes and see what they've got. Show them to the rest of the league and see what you can get for them. Maybe you can bring Freeland over finally and see what he's got. I know it's hard to see now but there are positives to the Oden injury. They just may not add up to wins.

But with all that said, I will continue to believe Greg is the future of this team until he comes back next year and is either a flop or he gets hurt again. Watching Greg play this season was a treat for me. It sucks that all of us have to wait until next October to see him play again. But I really hope and pray that Greg bounces back from this. I can't stand all of my friends and the media calling him the wrong pick and that he's a bust. I want to see him succeed not only because he's the Blazers ticket to an NBA title. But because he's a great guy and he's just hit a stream of bad luck. But so have the Blazers. Without Oden, the Blazers may not make the playoffs and if they do they won't get out of the first round. But look at it this way. If the Blazers get the 8 or 7 seed they may play the Lakers in the first round. They may not beat them but they'll give them a tough test and I'd love to see it. But when Oden comes back next year he'll be just fine. While this year seems like it's over as far as title hopes or advancing in the playoffs remember Oden is only 21, LaMarcus is only like 24.... I'm not sure, and Brandon is what like 26??? They have plenty of time to make it work and I have faith that it will. Don't panic Blazer fans. Everything will be just fine.

Well, first I'll admit that I'm writing this because I'm bored and I just watched Michael Jordan's Hall Of Fame speech for the first time. He said at the end of it "hey maybe you'll see me playing at 50. Don't laugh." then in an interview with Michael Wilbon he said "I can still run with the young horses."

MJ is 46 now. But in my mind, if there's any player that can be a very good player at that age it's Michael. His first season back with the Wizards he was 38 and was turning 39 during the season. He played in 60 games and averaged 22.9 points per game. In his second season with Washington he was 39 and going to turn 40 during the season. He played in all 82 games and averaged 20.0 points per game. I can't think of any guard at that age that's ever done that.

I know that when MJ was with Washington he wasn't near the player he was in the 80's and 90's but he could still play. Also I know that being 40 in the NBA and being 46 in the NBA would probably be a whole different thing. But I think that MJ could do it. I don't know what team he would go to if he would come back which I doubt he will. I really doubt that he would want to play for the Charlotte Bobcats.

But also think of it like this. If MJ came back the match ups that he would have a couple times a year would be huge. Think about a Kobe Vs Michael, LeBron Vs Michael, Dwyane Wade Vs Michael, and even Brandon Roy Vs Michael. But I doubt if Michael came back at 46 or 50 like he said he "might" do that he would guard any one of those players. But he would probably want to because of his competitiveness. But who says you can't play at 50? If anyone can do it I think Jordan can. Will he? I doubt it. But I would love to see it. Unless he's wearing a Bobcats uniform then that would just kill it. But maybe even then I would love to see it.

I was a bit surprised when I logged on here just a little bit ago to see a couple of posts saying "FIRE NATE!"

 Here's why you shouldn't. Who else would you hire if you fire Nate? Only one name comes to mind when I think of who else they would hire and that's Avery Johnson. But I doubt he would come to Portland.

I know Nate wants to keep everybody happy with minutes and that needs to stop. I do get pissed when he takes out Greg when he's dominating inside. I'm not here to say you should play Greg all 48 minutes. That would probably kill him. But if he's scoring and blocking shots and effecting shots, leave him in there. I doubt Joel will get pissed if you play Greg a little longer.

If Roy is cold and Rudy is hot play Rudy. Who cares about if Roy gets mad. He's the star of the team yeah but if he's hurting the Blazers and Rudy is helping then give Rudy the minutes for that particular game.

With all that being said, Nate should still be the coach of this team. Firing Nate now wouldn't do the team any good. Also it's not Nate's fault that he team has lost these last 3 games. After all it's up to the players to go out and win not the coach.

I hope Brandon and LaMarcus aren't the 2 players that are the type to get the big contract and then quit. If they are then what Portland has done in the last 4 years doesn't matter.

Another reason why the players are struggling is because they're under so much pressure from the fans. The fans want a championship and they want it now. Hell I want a championship this year. But the players are feeling that for the first time in their NBA career. When you're playing under tremendous pressure and expectations then it's no fun to be out there.

One final thought is that obviously the Blazers are banged up. They may not get Travis back this season and maybe not even Nicolas. The Blazers need to go out and sign somebody to their roster. I know their roster is full but they have to do something if Travis and Batum don't come back at all this season. The Blazers can't win in the playoffs with the team being the way it is and I think if Portland lost in the first round again this season that fans would go crazy.

So what I'm saying is firing the coach isn't the answer. Actually it's almost never the answer. Coach's coach and players play to win the game for that coach. If the players aren't playing well it's not the coaches fault. If Blazer fans want this season to be a monumental failure then I guess fire Nate right now. But if not then keep him. Let him coach. If they can't show significant progress and by that I mean advancing in the playoffs then I'll say fire him. Find someone who can get it done like an Avery Johnson who took Dallas to the finals a couple years ago. But don't fire Nate now. It's just a 3 game losing streak and people are ready to jump off a bridge. Give it a break people. Everything will be just fine.

Pretty much every season for the last 3 seasons we've heard trade rumors around this Trail Blazer team. Who should they trade? Who should they not. With the Outlaw and Batum injuries you really don't need to trade any key pieces. Especially since you don't really know what you have in Nicolas Batum and how he's developed.

I understand that Batum is out 3 to 5 months and so is Outlaw. I think that if Outlaw and Batum are both going to be out 5 months that they should both sit out for the rest of the season and get ready for next season. If they come back in late March or April I think that it would disrupt the Blazers chemistry. One goal for the Blazers, and the biggest goal for the Blazers is to not only make the playoffs but get out of the first round. If late in the season the Blazers chemistry is disrupted then it will make it tough for them to win in the playoffs. Depending on the matchup.

Now lets say Outlaw and Batum don't come back for this season. A name that I thought of that could come in with the second unit and be instant offense would be... Not Allen Iverson. But Jerry Stackhouse. He's someone who can score, he's been in the league for a long time, and he wouldn't want a boat load of minutes. I think he'd be a great fit. You could have him as the backup small forward. Cunningham as the backup 4, Rudy the backup 2, Miller at the point, and of course Joel inside.

Now I don't want to hear the crap "Oh no, Jerry Stackhouse is a shooting guard not  a small forward." If you say that, give me a break. Rudy can play the 3, so can Brandon, and so can almost any other 2 in the NBA. Stack could play the 3. He's 6'7. A veteran which is what the Blazers have been looking for. A good 3 point shooter. I think he'd be a great fit.

So, today I heard something about the backup 4 spot for the Trail Blazers. The question was asked "why didn't the Trail Blazers draft DeJuan Blair?" Well I guess the answer is that the Blazers really weren't expecting the players they drafted this season to have any kind of impact on the team this season. Nobody thought, clearly, that Outlaw and Batum would be hurt. Donte Cunningham is a nice player but he's not a post up guy. I think Jeff Pendergraph will be a better backup 4 then Cunningham but we'll see. Cunningham looked good in the minutes he played against Chicago but long term, I think, along with everyone else probably that the Blazers need a backup 4 who can get physical inside for 10 to 15 minutes a game. DeJuan Blair fits that and Pendergraph may fit that when he gets back from his injury.

Now to Greg Oden. I was going crazy when I watched the Chicago game. To me, nothing is better when Greg Oden is just dominating. I love it. I just want Oden to do that for the rest of the season, though I know he won't. But I want him to do that every game because I'm getting sick of the people calling Oden a bust. HE'S ONLY PLAYED ONE YEAR AND HE WASN'T EVEN 100%!!! He's just 21. Dwight Howard wasn't consistently dominant until his 3rd or 4th year. People didn't kill Howard when he wasn't dominating though I know that he did average a double double every season. Also he was the number 1 pick like Oden and the second pick Emeka Okafor won rookie of the year that year. But nobody killed Howard then.

Andrew Bynum wasn't consistent until this season and I have doubts that it will keep up with him. Bynum is way more injury prone then Oden. If you look at Oden's history, the broken wrist while he was at Ohio State and the knee injury after he got drafted are really the only injuries he's had in his career. Though they're significant but that seems to be the focus on Oden that he's injury prone. Give Oden 3 or 4 seasons to determine that.

Also, can someone give me an answer to why is it that when Greg Oden does well he gets no recognition for it by ESPN and the national guys, but when he does bad everyone talks about it? I guess that's how the media is.

One last thing. After watching the Blazers beat Chicago I looked at the box score and I was surprised to see Oden only played 27 minutes. For whatever reason to me it seemed like he played more. So what I want to see is if Oden is going like he was against Chicago last night and he's not in foul trouble Nate should leave him out there. Give him 30 to 35 minutes. Sometimes leave him in there with fouls. He needs to learn how to play with fouls. Shaq, Howard, they both know how to play with fouls. Oden will never know unless he's in there. It's like Nate is scared he's going to foul. As soon as the clock hits 6:00 in that first quarter he puts Joel right in there. He's scared that Oden is going to get into early foul trouble so when it hits 6:00 Nate says "oh thank God" and gets Oden out of there. LET HIM GO!!! LEAVE HIM IN!!! You can't beat the big boys in the NBA if Oden is only playing 27 minutes. I understand you don't want to wear him out early in the season and you don't want him to pick up fouls but damn Nate. LEAVE HIM IN THERE!!! 

I don't know if anyone else notices this but it's something that I've seen. It seems like the Blazer guards don't want to shoot the ball. Well, most of them anyway. It seems like the only Blazer guard that looks to shoot is Andre Miller and he's the worst shooter out of all the guards.

I always see the Blazer guards passing up the first open shot and sometimes even the second open shot. That's why it seems like Portland is constantly battling the shot clock. Like in the game against Atlanta I think it was where Brandon Roy had the ball at the top of the key with a wide open shot. He looked like he was going to take the shot and at the last second he passed the ball inside to Rudy Fernandez with 2 defenders on him. Rudy made the shot but it looked like a difficult pass Roy made when he had a wide open jumper.

I see this with Blake, though he is getting better at taking the first look he gets. I see it constantly with Roy. I see it with Rudy too. But Miller will take a shot no problem and he's not that good of a shooter.

LaMarcus has no problem putting the ball up. Neither does Greg. But Greg should just because he's in the post and they're playing him 1 on 1. But it just seems like the Blazer guards are trying too hard to be unselfish and it does frustrate me sometimes. But hopefully they'll start taking the first shot available.

I know their have been way too many posts about trades, but this is one that came to my mind last night. I don't think this name had ever come up for the Blazers and with good reason. He's got a monster contract and he's clearly on the downside of his career. But with that being said Elton Brand is, with the right attitude, exactly what the Blazers need. If Elton would be willing to take 20 to 25 minutes a game he would be perfect for the Blazers.

After watching 4 or so Sixer games on NBA league pass I saw that he's clearly not the player he once was. I looked at his numbers and he's only scoring about 10 points per game while getting 6 rebounds. That's clearly nowhere near his 20/10 that he used to get on a nightly basis. I know the knee injury is a bit of a bummer and he may be a bit injury prone and miss a few games. But then again maybe not.

Everybody knows Antonio McDyess. He used to be a 20/10 guy in his Denver days. He was even an all star. But after his knee injury he was never the same. He went to the Knicks and they made a big deal about getting him. But he wasn't what he used to be. He went to the Pistons and found that he could contribute while coming off the bench with limited minutes.

If Elton Brand could accept the fact that he's not a star player anymore. If he could accept the fact that he has to come off the bench and only play 20 to 25 minutes a night then I would be all for the Blazers trading for him. After all the Sixers want to go with a younger team. Brand is 30 or 31 I think. So he's not what the Sixers want. Especially with the contract he has. But Brand could be what the Blazers need with the right attitude. He can play both power forward and the center position. He can score inside, block shots, and rebound. I think he would be productive in a 20 to 25 minute period. The Blazers have that cap space so they could take on his contract. Though I don't know if they'd want to or if Brand would want to come off the bench. But if all is perfect he, in my opinion would be a perfect fit for the Trail Blazers.

So before I get started this isn't a recap. I know many people told me to start my own blog and I'll be doing that really soon. I'll post the link when I get started on it. Also I noticed that two of my other fan posts are still on the sidebar. I'm not meaning to clutter it all up. But I had a chat with a buddy of mine the other day and he said something that the Blazers should do that I completely disagree with. But I'd like to get some feedback on it.

So my friends said that the Blazers play a lot better when they're out on the break and looking to push the tempo. Therefore he said that Brandon Roy isn't good for that style. He just ruins it. Which I do agree with. Brandon isn't going to push the tempo. But he suggested trading Brandon Roy for Chris Paul. He said that would make the Blazers way more successful. Which it would make the Blazers more successful out on the break. But the point I have is that no running teams win the championship. Roy can slow a game down where if the team feels they need to push it they have Rudy and Andre. Andre's smarts are underrated I think. He has a great feel for what tempo the game needs to be played at.

Also, not saying the Blazers should trade Roy. But they could probably trade Roy for any player they wanted except for Kobe, Wade, LeBron, and Howard. Not considering contracts of course. But this was an interesting opinion.

After the game tonight I feel that people should be getting excited about Greg Oden. Oden is looking a lot better then he ever has. He's learning how to score in the low post, he's learning how to not foul. He's already a force on defense and on the glass. I believe Oden will keep this up. Doing what he's doing now is so great for the team. It takes pressure off of everyone.

Another point I want to make is that I was watching Mike & Mike in the morning the morning after the Denver game. They talked about Oden missing the free throws and losing the game for the Blazers. They said he was the reason they had lost. So now that Oden is doing well, why doesn't the national media praise him for it? Why do they only kill him when he does bad? That's the only time he gets noticed for anything it seems. I guess the answer is that he plays in Portland and the national media doesn't care about Portland. Even if the Trail Blazers win the NBA title the national media will pay no attention to it.

But the play of Oden of late has gotten me excited. Nothing gets me more excited during a Blazers game then seeing Greg Oden dominate it. I just want to see him do well after getting killed for being not so great last season. I want him to shut everyone up who says the Blazers should have taken Durant over him. Most of all I want Oden to be the most dominant center the NBA has ever seen. He has that potential. I also can't wait for when they play the Magic and he matches up against Dwight Howard or when they play Cleveland and he matches up against Shaq. Those will be the real tests. Oden didn't play too well against Howard and Shaq last season but it looks like Oden finally has it figured out and I'm interested to see how he plays against the two best centers in the NBA. I think whenever Yao comes back next year that Oden will have no problem with him either. Oden can not only out muscle Yao, but he can out quick him too. Yao will be nothing to Oden next season.

But I guess my message is that Blazer fans need to start getting excited for the possibilities. I understand they Blazers haven't played against any good teams besides Denver and Atlanta and they lost both. But the Blazers are starting to get it figured out now and if they played those teams again I bet it would be a different result. So get excited Blazer fans. I think the championship window is now open.

Tonight I was pleased with the balanced scoring. I didn't get too excited though because the Trail Blazers were playing the Timberwolves and I expected a blowout. I would be worried if the Blazers won by any less then 10.

Greg Oden shined brighter tonight then anyone of the other Trail Blazers finishing with a double double and ZERO FOULS. It looks like what Nate said to him worked. Greg probably doesn't want to get into early foul trouble and sit for the entire fist half. This was the best offensive showing from Oden so far in his career. When he played against the Spurs last week was previously the best in my opinion. But this one now tops it. I understand that the Timberwolves are horrible and they don't really have a great defensive center who could potentially stop Oden. But you always have to be encouraged when you see Oden dominate a game offensively, on the glass, and defensively. Oden did it all tonight while not fouling once. Just a great performance.

Brandon Roy didn't have great numbers but he didn't need to have great numbers. He's still getting better on coming off of picks and catching and shooting. Though I would like to see Roy with the ball in his hands more and be slightly more aggressive then he's been in the last couple games. But the team is winning and that's all that matters. As the season goes on Roy will score more then 14 points. But Blazer fans need to be patient with this team. It's still a work in progress. Also the Blazers are extremely lucky that they're being able to work out the kinks against bad competition. So when they play the Lakers in January, Portland should be ready to go.

LaMarcus didn't get it going until late in the game. But it's okay. In a game like this against a team like the Timberwolves LaMarcus didn't need to get it going. But with Oden finding himself offensively the Blazers have a number of threats on offense. Brandon and LaMarcus don't have to have big games every night for the Trail Blazers to win. They just have to be productive and efficient.

The Blazer bench played well tonight as well. They got off to a slow start but got it going late. Rudy had his best game this season in my opinion and Martell looked good.

One last observation of tonight was that the Blazers finally are looking inside to Greg Oden. If that continues and Greg continues to stay out of foul trouble then the Blazers will be extremely tough to beat.

The Trail Blazers have way too much talent on their roster. They have a great young player in Jerryd Bayless who isn't getting on the floor. Though he did get some minutes in the San Antonio game and he looked good. I think if the Blazers continue to keep Bayless on the bench then they'll have trouble keeping him happy and eventually they'll have to get rid of him. Which, I think would be a big loss because I think someday Bayless is going to be a star in the NBA.

But at the deadline or before they'll have to move somebody. I would prefer it to be Blake or Outlaw. Not because I don't like those two. I love them. But it would make the most sense to get rid of one of those guys. I think you could trade Outlaw for a good veteran power forward who can bang inside. If the Blazers can get a backup 4 who can play with his back to the basket then I think that will help the Blazers tremendously. If you could team a banger at the 4 spot with Pryzbilla at the 5 I think you could potentially have a very good second unit. Outlaw is a jump shooter who should be a slasher because he's a great athlete. If Travis wanted to he could average 7 to 9 rebounds a game but he neglects to crash the boards. Portland doesn't need any more shooters on that second unit. Especially if you're thinking long term. When Batum comes back you'll have Martell and Rudy on that second unit. They're great shooters. If you team them up with a post presence they could be dangerous.

One of the main reasons I say the Blazers need to make a move is to keep Rudy happy. Rudy is an extremely talented player and in the long run I think he'll help the Trail Blazers much more then Outlaw will. You don't want to make Rudy unhappy to the point where he contemplates going back to Spain. Rudy could be starting on most of the teams in the NBA and I'll bet he knows that. If Nate only plans to play him 20 minutes a night then that will cause trouble. Rudy is too talented to only play 20 minutes a night. If you trade away Blake or Outlaw you could open up more minutes for Rudy, Martell, and Andre Miller. The Blazers can't mess around with a 10 man rotation in the later stages of the season and in the playoffs because people won't know their role. If your players don't know their role by the postseason then you're in big trouble.

To sum in up I think the Blazers will be in big trouble if they don't make a move. It won't show up on their win/loss total but it will cause trouble in the locker room. If they could package Bayless and Outlaw or Bayless and Blake for a good strong power forward that doesn't need a bunch of minutes then they'll be in great shape. But if not, their could be trouble in Portland.

I wasn't sure what to expect tonight with the change in the starting lineup. But I did like what I saw. Though I don't think you can continue to start both Blake and Miller all season, it clearly worked against San Antonio. Having Blake, Miller, and Roy on the floor is a good lineup if they want to push tempo which is what they should do against a team like San Antonio. The Spurs are old and they won't want to run all game. Though the Spurs made it close. I don't think the Blazers ever lost control of this contest.

While pushing the tempo tonight the Blazers finally did what I've wanted them to do since the season started and that's pound the ball inside to the big guys. It seemed like every night Portland had a mismatch on the inside that they didn't take advantage of. Though tonight they fed the ball inside to Oden and Aldridge. Though Duncan on Oden is not a mismatch, Oden did way better then I expected. He made a couple great power moves to the basket and had those two jump hooks. He even hit a nice face up jump shot.

I'm not going to get too excited over Oden's performance, though I really want to. Oden will have games like this here and there but I don't think the Blazers will continue giving him touches. I don't think there's a big man in the NBA that can guard Oden 1 on 1 and that got shown tonight as the Spurs didn't double team Oden.

Another positive for Oden is that other then the first couple minutes, he stayed out of foul trouble. He looked like he figured out how to not foul. Nate should sit Oden down, show him the tape of that game and say "you see what you did. Do that every game for the rest of your career." If Oden plays defense like he did tonight he'll really help the Blazers. If he goes back to fouling, it will really hurt them. I think Oden was the reason the Blazers won tonight. Maybe I'm wrong. But from what I was watching it looked like Oden was controlling the game in the second half.

The guards played well tonight. Andre Miller had his best game as a Trail Blazer tonight I think and Steve Blake made shots he needs to make. Brandon shot the ball well and I hope he can continue to do so. But I did want more production out of Rudy. But I guess I can't get greedy. Portland did win so I'm happy.

One last thing. I know Oden may not need help defending in the post but I noticed something on a couple of possessions that I'd like to see the Blazers do more on defense. When Oden had 2 fouls and he came in late in the 2nd quarter, Duncan was looking to go right at him but the Blazers doubled Timmy. They did it a couple more times throughout the rest of the game. I think if you want to keep Oden out of foul trouble you should double whoever he's guarding in the post to get the ball out of their hands so they can't attack Oden. Even though Oden did a spectacular job tonight on Tim Duncan.

Overall it was a great win and I hope this will get Portland back on track.

The Trail Blazers played a good first quarter in this game. But after the first quarter it seemed to me that the momentum was in Atlanta's favor. The Blazers caught a break in the first half with Joe Johnson not shooting the ball well and they couldn't take advantage of it. If the Blazers are going to have trouble taking advantage of other teams mistakes then they're going to have trouble winning in the west.

I'm not ready to panic yet though. I did believe before the season started that the Blazers would get off to a slow start. I just didn't think they would lose 2 of their first 3 at home. I figured they'd struggle more on the road. But nevertheless they're 2 and 3 and they have plenty of room to improve.

One is that Greg Oden needs to keep a handle on the ball in the post. He's leading all centers in turnovers. He can't do that if he wants to be effective in the post. I've been critical of the Blazers thus far because they haven't been pounding the ball inside to Oden where it seems he has a mismatch every night. But it won't matter if they pound the ball to him if he keeps turning it over.

In my opinion they need better point guard play from both Miller and Blake. These are both starting caliber point guards who aren't playing like starting caliber point guards. I don't put a lot of blame on Miller though. He's a smart veteran who knows what the Blazers offense should be doing and they don't do it.

Travis Outlaw needs to be more aggressive and attack the basket. He seems like he always wants to take tough jump shots much like Tracy McGrady did when he was healthy. Outlaw has the ability, I think to be an effective slasher. When he takes the ball inside then it will open up the 3's that he loves so much.

Martell needs more minutes. He's such a spark for this team and I don't understand why he's almost always on the bench (it seems to me). Martell is an improved defender and maybe the Blazers best perimeter defender. He needs to be on the floor more. I understand you have to get Rudy and Travis their minutes but Martell doesn't need to be sitting on the bench as much as he has been.

One last thing. At the end of the game, why wasn't Joel in? The Blazers it seemed like were getting out hustled in the last couple of minutes. It also seemed like when the Blazers went with the small lineup that they couldn't grab a single rebound. It's not like Joel was in foul trouble. Even if he was you still have to take the chance and put him in the game. Either him or Oden. And if they foul out in the last 3 minutes so what. it's not like you're losing them for the entire half or something.

But if you're a Blazer fan and you're panicking you shouldn't be. Once Nate figures out who works best with who and he gets the right rotations set. Which shouldn't take more then 20 games. This team will be just fine. They're the 3rd best team in the west I think and they'll be just fine. Just give it some time Blazer fans. Everything will be okay.

Someone gave me an argument today that the Trail Blazers should have taken Durant over Oden in the '07 draft. When I heard it I realized that there are still people out there that think that. I've kind of forgotten about it over the last several months because I haven't hear anyone say anything about it. But it got brought back to my mind today.

I think everyone knows by now that Durant is an all star caliber player and Oden is not. People that think that Portland should have taken Durant live off of that point. But the problem with most NBA fans is that they think you can take 12 all stars, put them on a team, and that team will win the NBA title. People think that the more all stars you have on your team the better.

I've always believed that you have to have two all star caliber players to have a chance at the NBA title. The Bulls had that in the 90's, the Spurs in the 2000's, and the Lakers last season. The Trail Blazers have one all star in Brandon Roy and another all start caliber player in LaMarcus Aldridge. Now Oden in the future could very well be an all star. But the point is, the Blazers built their team right. They got their leader in Brandon Roy, the all star guard. They got LaMarcus Aldridge, their potential all star power forward. They also got Greg Oden, the dominant force in the middle. If you look at history, with the exception of the Bulls in the 90's with Jordan and the Pistons in '04 who still had a damn good front line. No team has won a title without a big man. But yet fans seem to ignore that.

Think about this. If the Blazers would have drafted Durant they would have gotten another scorer. They don't need that. They don't need someone else who can potentially score 25 to 30 a game for you. They have their leader in Brandon Roy and also LaMarcus Aldridge who can score 20 to 30 every night. They needed a defensive presence. Someone who can take up a lot of space on the floor and someone who can be effective on the boards. That's Greg Oden. People can make the argument that Oden and Pryzbilla are pretty much the same player because all they do is block shots and rebound and that they could have Durant and have Pryzbilla be that force in the middle. While that is a good point Joel doesn't have the offensive game that Greg does. Greg potentially can be the best center in the NBA. Joel, not so much. I think by the end of this season Greg will be amongst the best centers in the NBA. In two years from now, he'll be better then Dwight Howard.

The final thought I have is this. Durant is a volume scorer. Oden is someone who can control a game on both ends of the court while Durant can only control it on the offensive end. When it's all said and done, Durant will win scoring titles. Hell he may even win an MVP or two. The Thunder will be a good team and they'll make the playoffs a couple times. But they'll always be that team that always seems like they're on the rise but they can never seem to get the job done. As for Oden, he may not win all the individual awards and have all the all star appearances that Durant has. And I think it's safe to say he'll never win a scoring title or an MVP. But Oden will win championships. Unless of course the Blazers play the Lakers or any large market team in the playoffs then the refs will screw them out of the chance to be champions or play for an NBA title. But that's another story. But to sum it all up, Oden will win championships. Durant will win scoring titles. The Blazers did it right and if you don't believe that then in my opinion you know absolutely nothing about building a championship team or what it takes to be a championship team.

Tonight the Trail Blazers won but it wasn't a nice looking win. Though the Thunder are better this year and I think they'll grab the 8 seed in the west, the Blazers shouldn't have had as many problems with them as they did tonight. Though some of the problems the Trail Blazers had are out of their control.

One of the problems is Greg Oden getting into foul trouble. I've seen this since the season has started and I saw it again tonight. The referees are giving Greg Oden fouls based on a reputation not because he's fouling anyone. This needs to stop and stop soon otherwise it will hurt the Blazers in the long run. They need Oden on the floor.

I was pleased with Greg's performance though. 12 points and 10 rebounds is right where he needs to be. I think for the season he'll average right around that but maybe a rebound more. I also believe when the season is over Greg Oden will lead the league in blocks and be amongst the leaders in defensive and offensive rebounds per game. I don't think Oden will contend for the defensive player of the year, that will come in the next year or two.

Steve Blake stepped his game up tonight leading the Trail Blazers in scoring. I finally saw him not pass up on shots that he would normally take and that's what he needs to do. The Blazers need him out there shooting 3's. That's how he'll be effective.

Tonight was the first night I felt Andre Miller wasn't looking to score. I've been feeling in the first 3 games that he's just been looking to score and he hasn't been looking to penetrate and free up the 3 point shooters. The game against the Rockets on Halloween his shot selection was good for the first time in the young season. Tonight, I think, he had a decent performance. He didn't win the game for them, but he also didn't lose the game for them.

Brandon and LaMarcus didn't have huge numbers tonight. Obviously LA didn't because of the injury but Brandon just had one of those games where he, like Andre tonight, didn't lose the game but he didn't win it either. Brandon had a solid performance... Well, good enough to get them the win.

One player I'm surprised with and excited to keep watching is Martell Webster. He seems like he brings a lot of energy to the court and he can score now in more ways then just shooting 3's. I liked the dunk he had in the 3rd quarter I think and I would have gone nuts if that one he missed went down. He looks good and I hope he continues to play this way.

I also liked that Juwan Howard got some minutes. I really like Juwan. Though he didn't have an outstanding performance he didn't do anything stupid either. He's just that guy you can put in when you need him and he won't disrupt anything. He's a great fit for this team.

Overall, the Blazers won but I think they can play a lot better. But at least they got the win. But one criticism I still have of them is that they're not looking for the big guys enough. THEY NEED TO LOOK INSIDE MORE!!!!