Why are we bringing in Hedo? What are we going to do with all of that talent on the wing? Why did we get rid of Sergio if we aren't going after another point guard?

From the report today about Rudy wanting out, I would think that this isn't the direction the team is headed, but I would argue it should be. That being that as much as Roy argues against playing point guard, he would be the perfect point guard for our system. His concern about playing the position full time has been about it tiring him out. But with Hedo on board, this is not as much of a concern. They can alternate turns bringing the ball up the court, and if Rudy continues to improve his ball handling he can also help with this duty.

This gives us three wing players who collectively share the point guard load, and gives us a starting lineup of

Brandon Roy

Rudy Fernandez

Hedo Turkglu

LaMarcus Aldridge

Greg Oden

That is a dangerous lineup by itself, but our depth chart is even more ridiculous

Roy/Blake/Bayless

Rudy/Martell/Outlaw

Hedo/Batum/Outlaw

LaMarcus/Outlaw/Pendergraph

Oden/Pryzbilla

This allows us to swing Martell back to his natural position, and play SF by committee, depending on what group of skills we need in that position against a particular team.

The main issue with this lineup would be defense. Would they be able to stop opposing teams pgs? This is debateable, but with the help defense and length of the whole unit we should be able to close down the interior and force bad shots.

This is all dependent upon Roy embracing the idea of running the "point." But he has stated that he wants to be in the hunt for a title, and I believe that this is the shortest route to that goal.

This is from a truehoop post last fall.

But all I can think about is: Teams aren't allowed to play games at home on consecutive nights?

The Clippers had a home game tonight, and we will play them tomorrow at home. How are they allowed to bypass this rule? Can we complain to the league? I want justice.

PS How sweet does tonights victory feel?

PPS And I know we will win tomorrow, but I still want justice.

I don't know if I should be directing this criticism at Nate or Blake, but last night was another instance of us wasting a timeout trying to inbound the ball. This seems very common for this team, when it should be a rare occurence.

It appears as though Blake is hesitant to inbound the ball, I understand being cautious, but it is something that has hurt our team this season (think Orlando game). But I don't think you can blame Blake for this because he has been put in this situation by Nate.

Why would we want our second best free throw shooter throwing the ball in? Wouldn't it make more sense for a big like Aldridge to throw the ball in? Not only does he have more size and a greater wing span, but he is also a mediocre free throw shooter and a decent passer.

Another positive is that it would probably pull a big out of the middle to contest the inbounds play; which could lead to more positive outcomes in end of game situations. I wouldn't want Outlaw or Oden to do this because of penchant for errors, but Aldridge is a capable inbounder. If he were out with foul trouble, then Blake is a good second choice.

Am I the only one who is bothered by this? Let's start discussing something other than trades (thank goodness). Go Blazers!

Like the new administration, Nancy Pelosi has tried to incorporate modern technology into her political domain, check it out.

Nancy Pelosi actually posted that.

So I figured, it's Friday, I'm stuck at work, what can I do to entertain myself? Thus this post on the Dream Shake. Check out the link.

That's right. I just RoyRoll'd the Dream Shake. I know I probably shouldn't have, but it felt so good. I've been thinking about other teams to do this too, but I wanted to get BEdge perspective on this first.

Now that Amar'e is on the trading block, why don't we make a run at him? I would be willing to part with either McGrady or Artest to get him.

here is the trade: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=25~976~3217~592~1727~2750~454&teams=21~21~22~22~10~10~21&te=&cash=

basically, we give up Ron Artest (crazy), Shane Battier, and Carl Landry, and get back Amare and Ike Diogu's expiring contract.

This would give a real third option besides McGrady and Yao. Let me know what you guys think.

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No, not Oden. I'm talking about Joel Pryzbilla. This season, before Oden returned in the Miami game, Joel was his normal ineffective self on offense, but since Oden's return Joel's offensive stats have been on the rise.

Here are the numbers (I've translated them to per 40 minutes):

In first seven games (including LA) without Greg: 6.4

In the last five games with Greg: 14.0

Joel has doubled his offensive output with Greg Oden in the lineup. And even when you compare it to Joel's career marks of 8 points per 40 minutes you can see a significant increase.

The major disclaimer is that this has been over a very small sample size, and as the season goes along we will be able to tell if his offensive output regresses towards the mean.

I would argue the opposite though, I think Pryzbilla's offensive output will increase as the season progresses. The main reason: Greg Oden. As the Blazers incorporate their new center into the offense, more and more opportunities will be developed to get the ball to Greg in the post. These same opportunities will exist with Pryzbilla in the game. Other Blazer players are learning how to play with a dominant center (where to feed them, how to work off of them on dribble drives and other penetration, ideal opportunities for offensive rebounds and putbacks, etc...), and Joel is reaping the benefits.

I feel that Sergio is also a major part of this. His ability to get in the lane is better than any player on our team, except for Roy, and he is always looking to pass first. Sergio is the ideal point guard to accentuate a strong inside presence because defenses either have to collapse on him, which leaves Greg/Joel open, or let him get to the rim, which he has become more efficient at in recent games. This is aided more by the Blazers outside threats, which help to space the floor and create room for penetration and low post opportunities.

What does this mean for the team? With two centers that provide excellent defensive presence and increased offensive firepower, the Blazers will begin to rely less on their jumpers and more on points in the paint. I don't think that we will completely abandon the jumper because, with the inside presence, we should be able to create easier looks (this is already apparent, as we are among the league leaders in offensive efficiency).

What do you think? Is Joel's increased production a fluke?    

I saw Martell this weekend at the University of Portland vs. University of Washington basketball game at the Chiles Center. He was there supporting the Huskies, and even gave them a half time pep talk in the corridor. It didn't work and the Pilots went on to beat the Huskies (It was an amazing game, but I'm sure most of you didn't see it because it was on Comcast and because it was a Huskies vs. Pilots game).

The point is that Martell would be a senior in college this year, presumably at the the University of Washington. I personally feel he would have dominated the college game. How would this have changed his game and his draft position? This is refering to the development of his game, and the idea that he would be in this coming years draft (a relatively weak draft from early reports by analysts, but not something that Martell could have foreseen)