I am the pastor of a medium size church about an hour outside of Portland. I usually sit in the 300 level at Blazer games, yet have a frontrow seat to the struggles families are having in such a difficult economic time. Not only are bank accounts suffering, but so are family relationships.

Last spring, I took 8 economically disadvantaged kids to a Blazer game verses the Suns (the one where Joel and Shaq went nose to nose). It was the first Blazer game for all of them. A 4th grade boy was one of the kids who went. I didn't know him well then, but I knew his parents, whose marriage is struggling as a result of trying to survive a difficult economic time.

The boy brought an 8x10 of Brandon Roy to the game that he wanted to get autographed. I explained to him that the players aren't as accessible as they used to be. I enjoyed telling about the days of the Coliseum where as a kid I hung out around the door of the locker room and got the autographs of Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey. I also told him about the time Rick Adelman asked for some of the Skittles I was eating.

The boy didn't get Brandon's autograph that night, but we began a friendship that is still growing today. The Sunday morning following the game, he gave that 8x10 photo of Roy. On the back of it he had written me a thank you note for taking him to the game on the back of it. It hangs in my office. Our friendship has grown from going to the game together and having a mutal affection for Brandon Roy. He got to baptize him in June. His parents, however, are still hanging on. It's hard, though.

I don't know much about running businesses and franchises. But I do know that Brandon Roy means more to this city, and Blazer fans around the world, than merely playing 2-guard for the Blazers.

Please give him the fifth year.

Watching KG dunk, swat, and talk his way through the Celtics/Pacers highlights this morning was a reminder that a player with that kind of on-court demeanor is often an important part of successful teams.

The questions for the Blazers right now is not what can take them from a lottery team to a playoff team, its what can take them from a playoff team to a contender. A bully on the court can make a huge difference for this Blazer roster, especially when teams try and take advantage of their youth and inexperience.

Consider that in the Hornets game last Friday night, David West fouled Brandon with a little something extra. To his credit, Brandon got in his ear and asked, "What was that about?" It was great that Brandon didn't just walk away. He needs to stand up to cheap shots. 

But if teams mess with Brandon during a November game, what will they attempt in May and June games? In the bigger picture, Brandon needs a Rodman to his Jordan, a Laimbeer to his Isaiah, a Bowen to his Duncan. Also, the bruiser role often comes with foul trouble, T’s, and even suspensions, which the Blazers can’t afford to have happen to their best player and team leader.

Ideally Greg, who unfortunately is getting every other dunk attempt rejected by an opponent or the rim, would would bring a hard-nosed attitude to the court, but it doesn’t seem likely he’ll develop that by the end of this year. At this point, though, it’s not a strike against Greg - he may be a sleeping tiger - its hard to know right now.

And in Greg's defense, its worth remembering, especially for Diesel-haters like me, that even Shaq submitted to Hakeem - like lap dogs do in the presence of my German Shepherd - the first time he made it to the Finals.

The 1977 Blazer team was the youngest team to win the title in the history of the NBA, and after Raef gets traded, this Blazer team will be the youngest in the league. Maurice Lucas, and the KG-esque attitude he brought to the court (or should I say KG's attitude is Maurice-esque?), was necessary to that team’s playoff success.

Case in point: In Game 2, "The Enforcer", used some 76ers’s face as a punching bag. The Blazers would go on to lose that game and go down 0-2 in the series, but then they won four in a row and had a parade downtown.

So could anyone else on the current roster fill that bruiser role? Since Bayless’ attitude doesn’t come in a seven-foot frame, the best candidate seems to be Joel. He doesn’t back down from anyone in the league, which is great, but would he be willing to put in elbow in Kobe’s temple or undercut Deron Williams?

Let’s hope so.

With Martell returning soon, Nate has a dilemma concerning how to disperse minutes at the forward position. The wisdom in Blazerdom (thanks in part to Mike Barrett comments a few Monday nights ago) seems to be that Channing Frye is bound to lose minutes.

The logic goes like this: If Nic Batum and Martell share the bulk of the minutes at the three, Travis will back up LA at the four, which in turn, would eliminate Frye from the rotation.

But is this the right adjustment?

The question when Martell comes back isn’t Martell or Travis. Its Travis or Channing. In short, who’s the best back up power forward? Comparing their stats so far this season cannot be done straight across because Channing plays 12 fewer minutes than Travis on average each night, approximately 27 minutes to 15 minutes. Therefore, their per-48-minute average is worth considering as well as what the team needs from their second-unit power forward

.

Channing’s per-48-minute rebounding average is greater, 9.6 to Travis’ 7.2. Offensive boards alone is Channing's again, 3.3 to 1.5. Consider, too, what the Blazers need the most from the back-up four spot. The Blazers are 21st in the league in total rebounds, while division rivals Utah is 17th and Denver is 13th.

Looking to the playoffs - and we all know they are inevitable - boards will be like gold against teams like Dallas (2nd in the league in total boards), the Lakers (1st in the league in total rebounds), and the Rockets (7th in the league in total rebounds).

Travis and Channing’s per-48-minute scoring average is nearly a wash, 19.2 and 18.8, respectively. Channing’s field goal percentage and free throw percentage are slightly higher than Travis’.

Travis’ three-point field goals per game increases (as do the attempts), but will that be needed with Martell coming back, Batum shooting 42% from behind the arc, and even Channing himself shooting 38% behind the arc this season? (Albeit Channing is 5-13 and Travis is 27-54, but again, Travis plays double the amount of minutes.)

I have to admit that the per-48-minute stat has always been suspect to me. It never seems to actually come into play, but it can reveal nuggets of insight about players who get an unequal amount of minutes, which in this case I think it does, particularly in the rebounding category.

Defensively, when it comes to guarding others fours Channing has two inches and nearly 40 pounds on Travis. Travis’ perimeter defense is better, but how often will that come into play guarding other fours? Most likely, the players Travis is guarding now, will be defended by a combination of Martell and Batum.

Someone is the current rotation will be sitting more when Martell returns. Unfortunately for Travis, he doesn’t seem to provide the Blazers with anything unique as far as shooting goes, while Channing looks to be able to snag valuable rebounds.

Good luck, Nate! You earn your pay!