No matter what happens tonight in game 5, we all know that the frightening specter of playoff failure has awakened in the heart of every Dallas player and fan after the Brandon Roy show in game 4.

It would be simply unnerving to the Dallas team if the RG was filled with 18,000 rabid Blazer fans all with sheets over their heads to represent the ghosts of Dallas playoff past.

This strategy will definitely be greatly enhanced if we pull out a game 5 win tonight!!!

Go Blazers!

So...

In the wake of the Andre Miller suspension, what with the league review and the infamous "memo", is there going to be a reviewing of Dwight Howards heinous, blatant, and flagrant foul on Rudy Fernandez?

Dwight uses his +7 Giant Strength to jump over Rudys back and then proceeds to grab our fragile Spaniard and twist his temperamental spine in a most frightening and horrific manner. All the while jawing "What you gonna do about it? What you gonna do about it?" as the "refs" separate the two.

Does the league review this play and suspend superman? Is it even a news story in the NBA or is it just another case of superstar treatment in a long history of hypocrisy?

discuss -

I like Rudy.

Admittedly some of the shine has come off  of him since he dunked on Dwight in the Olympics but I still cheer for the guy. I want him to succeed.

My first thoughts when I heard about how much he misses his family were "Why doesn't he just purchase or rent a little (or big) house in Portland and offer his family as many tickets to America as they want?". After all, he is a millionaire...right?

Well I am not exactly captain finance (my wife does our taxes) but I got to thinking that maybe Rudy's salary structure (for whatever reason) doesn't really allow him to present so grand a gift to his family.

But what if we, as fans and friends, were to offer OUR OWN HOMES as places for Rudy's family members to stay during the duration of his contract with our team?

Grandiose, I admit it, but it isn't without precedent. Families do this for college players literally ALL the time, even the Winterhawks use a similar program.

Wouldn't such a gesture of reaching out to Rudy and his family go a long way toward helping him feel more at home in Portland? I think it would be a fun, feel-good movement for fans to participate in, it might actually help someone if host families were sincere, and we may get a few extra 3 pointers for the team this season =)

I used to work for the Trailblazers.
Well, to be more specific, I worked for the Oregon Arena Corporation which is basically the Rose Garden Arena. I worked in the engineering department which has a wide range of responsibilities. I have been literally all over the arena. Paul Allens suite? Yes. Trailblazers locker room? Yes. Blazer Dancers locker room? You wish.

It was an awesome, awesome job for a Blazer fan to have. I used to apply the decals (“salute our troops” ribbon, or Playoffs, etc.) to the home court for every game. Set up hoops for afternoon shoot-arounds. Repair locker room doors. Get free tickets. I also worked at the practice facility and the Memorial Coliseum and I had keys to everything.

I met a lot of players in the halls and on the elevators and (even though it is strictly against OAC policy) I would ALWAYS try to get them talking. Jermainne Oneal was definitely the coolest meeting I had with a player and Scottie Pippen was definitely the worst. Bonzi and Sheed were both cool but Bob Whitsett was cold and a little mean. But these are stories for another time...

When I was employed at the arena, they had a groundbreaking employee “volunteer” program called the Blazer Community Builders. The arena and the Trailblazers organization would pay their employees to go to work on community projects. Several rotating teams of everyone in the organization would go out into the community and refurbish a school gym, or build a playground, or do some watershed clean up. Really a wonderful program.

I do not know if this program is still active but I am betting that it is in a seriously reduced form, if at all.

The bold faced truth of it (in retrospect) is that I worked there during the build up to the jailblazer era. Yeah we had some questionable guys on our squad but we were winning playoff games so no one was doing anything rash like getting rid of their season ticket packages yet. I was sent out on a BCB project with two guys that were about to help push us over that brink. Zach Randolph and Qyntel Woods.

Now I know that this can never be considered to be the ideal example of what I am trying to get at with all of this, but it is the only example that I have personally participated in.
Our project for the day was going to be a Meals on Wheels type of thing where we (Zach and Qyntel) were delivering food to people who, for one reason or another, were unable to leave their house.
Zach and Q were the rookies that year and it seems that this is true for all NBA teams (not just the Blazers and not just that era). When it comes to team “community involvement” it is almost always the rookies who are sent. Sometimes it is the long time veterans like Juwon Howard, but it is usually the rookies chosen to do what must be considered a less than desirable task. Maybe it is a stretch, but it seems to me that even though the NBA wants to put up a good front, they still consider this community involvement to be “dirty work”.

Again, I know that Z and Q are not the perfect examples but, they were late. The food that we, the BCB team, had already gone and loaded into the vans, got cold.
Finally they arrived and got into the vans with us. We went to approximately 6 houses. During this time I tried to make small talk with these guys and we talked briefly about video games. As we were driving, I recall Qyntel looking out at Portland like it was another planet. We drove past a house with a large flower bed in their front yard and Qyntel noticed them and called them beautiful. He said he wanted to bring some home to his mom. Seriously.
Zach was bored with flower talk. He was bored with the entire idea of being in this van with a bunch of puny white strangers. He was constantly looking at his watch and his phone and he talked to no one in the van except Qyntel. He smiled for the cameras when we delivered the food, then he was on his phone again before we got back in the van. We were not even a quarter of the way done with our entire scheduled route when he decided he wanted to call it a day and go home. We talked him into one more house which was close to the arena.
He again smiled to the meal recipient, shook hands, and gave them their styrofoam boxes.
Across the street, 5 teenage boys were either walking to or from a basketball court somewhere – at least one of them was dribbling a ball. As we were headed to the van, one of the boys recognized Zach and four of the youths came over to meet the Trailblazer. One of the boys just kept walking. Zach initially greeted the four who came to meet him but then started yelling at the guy who walked away. His shouts got more and more angry and quickly escalated to dropping serious f-bombs. The lone walker eventually turned and started to return the volley of cuss words and Zach began to advance toward the young man. In anger.
We, the BCB team, quickly corralled him and convinced him to get in the van as people began looking out their windows and doors. We brought him back to the arena and let he and Qyntel go home while we finished the route.

Once again, I know, NOT the best example – BUT – every time I see an NBA Cares commercial (or NFL, or NHL, or NASCAR for that matter) where they show players planting trees or reading children's books, or building habitats for humanity or whatever, I just don't buy it.
I know that there are good people out there and I know that some of them are professional athletes. I know we have genuinely good guys on our squad nowadays BUT every time I see the Community Assists scoreboard I can't help but wonder- who really helped those people and how?

Sorry this has been so long winded, but I am asking fellow Bedgers to help me. Help, if you can, restore my faith in humanity. =)
Has the Trailblazer organization ever really helped you or done anything in your community that you thought to be of value? Has a player shown up at your child's school and done more than just a 20 minute photo-op? Can a basketball team be of REAL (not just entertainment) value to a community?

thx
Rasta

OK, weird season, weird playoffs, and another quick exit.

Our boys still have some work to do to push us through to the REAL big dance but I think that Cunningham and Pendy can really contribute to that goal.

We got to see a lot of these guys early in the year and (for rookies) they showed us that they were up to the NBA challenge. This not only reflects well on these two players but also on KP and his staff and scouts. Dante and Jeff came in ready to play and were rewarded.

Poor Patty Mills. I like this guy but I don't feel like we got any seriously good looks at him on the pro floor this year. When he did get out there it seemed to me like he wasn't really playing his game. He seemed to feel rushed and a little confused and made a few less than perfect decisions. I can't give him anything approaching a decent evaluation...yet.

I am not sure why we didn't see more Pendergraph this year considering our troubles in the "bigs" department. Jeff showed a willingness to be physical and an ability to actually score buckets. If nothing else, he brings a certain contagious tenacity to the team (as seen by his pre-game hype antics) that is something we sorely need.

Dante is my new mancrush. Sorry Batum, but it's true. Cunningham brings intelligence to his overabundance of athleticism. The kid has it where it counts. He plays defense, as in "I am not just going to stand in the correct spot, I am going to deny and smother my opponent". When he scores a huge dunk or a huge block, he does NOT look for the television cameras, he doesn't laugh or smile, he simply rushes to the other end of the floor to continue to do his job. A job he does exceedingly well... for a rookie.

If it were up to me, I'd hang on to both of these players because I really think they can be a contributing factor in our "next level" push.

I like Nate.

I think we should keep Nate.

I have read many posts screaming for his head since the final buzzer last night but I think it is all undeserved. I am not going to go into his heroic efforts getting us 50 wins with the injuries blah blah blah.

Most complaints seem to revolve around his brand of offense. I have to agree that last night, and for many other games this year, the offense wasn't exactly pretty and it isn't what I would call "advanced" or "imaginative". What I *DO* see is a coach building a foundation. I think that once this offensive foundation is in place and understood and trusted by the players, Nate will begin to add in some more advanced wrinkles.

I firmly believe that the reason we had what success we had this year is due to this offensive foundation and I feel like the injuries actually helped us in some respect because Nate was able to plug a lot of different guys into a lot of different positions and the players were able to easily define their roles. Most of our players were able to get on the floor and contribute SOMETHING to Nate's offensive scheme. All of our guys were able to make a giant leap forward in the TRUST department due to this.

Nate still has a few tricks up his sleeve and I don't really see a coach who would be a vast improvement anyway.

Keep Nate and lets see what he can do with a roster that has (at least) 2 centers, and health issues somewhere within the realm of reason. Evaluate and do with him what you will AFTER next year.

imo

Not tonight Phoenix, not tonight.

Yes, you have us outgunned at nearly every position. Yes, you have blown us out in your three wins. Yes, we are hobbled, short-handed, and bloody. But not tonight.

Tonight we have the one thing that you do not, we have Blazer fans.

I will be at the game this evening and I will bring my hard hat. Not to make the statement that we are a hard working, lunch-pail team (we are) but because the rafters are going to shake and I want to protect my dome from a crumbling RG roof. Not tonight Phoenix.

Tonight Brandon finds his rhythm, tonight Batum drops double digit threes, LaMarcus jumper is so sweet A'mare will need insulin, B-Rex is loose and not even Steven Spielberg can stop him, Miller > Hill, Rudy awakens, Marty rebounds, and the Marcus Camby chant will rattle your ears and bring you to your knees. Not tonight Phoenix.

Not after THIS season. No way it ends on our floor, in our house, against our team and our fans. No way.

We will see you in game 7 and may the best team win.

I seem to recall a lot of discussion during the last 2 off seasons about instituting a new rule that would make flopping a foul in the NBA.

This seems to have been just the NBA blowing smoke up our skirts because each and every NBA game (especially playoff games) contains no less than 5 flops. Nowadays the players are even adding new ones, like the "I'm getting bumped really hard while dribbling around this screen" version.

In no other sport does falling square on your keester somehow magically HELP your team. Only basketball.

I can understand the occasional fall at the semi-circle beneath the hoop to prove that you have kept your feet from moving but guys flailing themselves to the ground after getting brushed on a 3 point attempt is just ridiculous.

I think that every single flop should be a reviewable play, and those found guilty of faking should be assessed a foul or at least something along the lines of an illegal defense technical.

It is saturday, april 24th 2010. You are Nate McMillan.

Your team has just been demoralized by your opponent to the tune of 60 points over the last 8 quarters. The fans of your team have heaped boos and insults upon you and your players. They have questioned your ability, your resolve and your pride.

The city of Portland expects you to manufacture a miraculous win even with your depleted roster.

You have showered and shaved and faced the heartless sports media all morning and now it is time to stroll (confidently?) into the locker room to expound to your team the brilliant revelations that have come to you regarding today's game.

As you look into the expectant faces of the players around you, you say..................................

My wife is a calm and collected individual. She is very responsible and normally very quiet and subdued... except where the Blazers are concerned.

When games get tight, she gets what I like to call "Blazers Tourette's"". She will stand up and screech unintelligible words, groans, and growls at serious decibel levels. She will cuss like a sailor no matter whose child is within earshot.

She often requires sedation if we lose.

Last night, the fourth quarter was chock full of "Blazers Tourette's" for my wife and myself and I am certain most of you can sympathize.

So - which was the worst error in game 1 and what can we do to steal game 2?

Rasta

I love Juwan Howard and I will be the first guy in line to salute his contribution to this team this season as well as his lengthy NBA career. The guy is the real deal and I want him on my team in some capacity no matter what happens.

BUT-

The fact is that we brought him in to be a mentor to our young guys. He has done that better than just about anyone could have hoped.

Dante Cunningham never ceases to amaze me though. The kid knows how to fill a stat sheet. Even if he only gets 3 minutes he will get 2 points, a block, and an assist before Nate boxes him up until garbage time next game.

I understand that Juwan is a vet and we need experience on the floor as often as we can get it but I just do not see how Nate can look at the individual box scores and not give Dante 5 more minutes a game.

Our boys are currently in the longest stretch between games that they have had all season. The NBA schedule makers really put us through the ringer this season. Maybe that plays a little into our injury situation but who can say?

I guess there are two schools of thought on the whole rest issue.

One is that rest is good. Downtime and relaxation can only serve to recharge the batteries and make you stronger. The more practice time a team has, the better they are able to gel and prepare for upcoming games.

Another school of thought would be that rest is for the weak. Downtime takes you out of the game. Distracts you and cools you off so that you have a full and satisfied belly instead of being hot and hungry.

I know we are banged up at certain positions atm and lot of our guys can use a few healing days but barring this, on which side of this debate do you fall?

Do the Blazers benefit or suffer during this time off?

There were 2 occasions during the last (and most horrifying) Utah game where we spent a good 3 or 4 minutes watching the Jazz shoot free throws and cut into what should have been an insurmountable lead.

We would watch them shoot free throws, miss the second, and then beat us to the rebound, get fouled, and shoot free throws again.

I never played too much basketball as a youth but it seems like boxing out during free throw attempts is one of the most basic plays in the game. Not only that, but the rules make certain that our two tallest guys are closest to the basket when the shot goes up. That means that all they have to do is put their backsides on the opposing player and grab the missed attempt.

Basic

Simple

Easy

How can we fail so utterly and completely in this department?

Normally I stand behind Nate and I feel like he has kept this team competing through some pretty tough times which is saying a lot for any coach.

Last night (at home against the Thunder) Cunningham was really bringing the energy on both ends of the floor and pretty much doing everything any coach could ask of a player, especially a rookie. He was the teams second leading scorer and leading rebounder going into the 4th but somehow Nate decides to go with Marty who had exactly ZERO points and very likely a hurt tailbone from his hard fall earlier in the game.

I don't want to start up a bunch of calls for Nate's head on a platter but can someone explain the reasoning behind this decision?

Rasta

Was anyone else at the Spurs game last night and able to catch the last 2 or 3 minutes of halftime shootaround?

After the extreme BMX-ers, the Rose Garden PA system suddenly broke from what tends to be a fairly regular set of music and started playing "The Land Down Under" by Men at Work.

Patty Mills immediately started dancing and grooving and trying to explain to Rudy why this is the best song ever written. I would have loved to listen in on that mixture of dialects.

Then he danced on over to the Spurs bench to talk with one of their assistants and point out the music and its obvious reference to himself while he proceeded to drain long 3-pointers.

just a cool halftime moment,

Rasta

If you are a true homer like me, you are probably looking to salvage any shred of light in the darkness that is our injury report.

I love Rex as much as any Blazer fan and I am sorry to see him injured during his chance to shine as a starter due to Roy's injury. I really think we win the Boston game if Rex is playing but, I digress...

Patty Mills is getting the call-up from the D-league for tonights game in Detroit and THIS is as good an opportunity as he is likely to see this season. Most of the trade talks here at the Edge and between Blazer fans in general are likely to include either Blake, Miller, or both. This means that we are going to have to see Stuckey-like development out of Mills and we are going to need to see it quickly.

Mills has been torching the development league and I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do with the  limelight and the ball. Tonights minutes are likely to be very telling about what Mills is actually capable of bringing to this team in the future and I can't wait to witness it.

Rasta

It sure seems like you have the reverse jinx superpower sir.

Recently, every time you give our boys no chance of winning and pen a lengthy article explaining how we are about to get thumped by bigger, better opponents - the Blazers pull through in ultra-stylish fashion.

I beg of you to to tell us (at great length) how we are going to get pounded on this road trip.

With great power comes great responsibility.

thx,

Rasta

Give it up for Webster please, the guy is going crazy!

I remember thinking during the pre-season last year that Martell was going to be a spark plug, wild card, fireworks display for us and then he got injured.

This year he started healthy but hesitant. The hesitancy is gone now and the fireworks have begun. He leads the NBA in 3's for the month of january.

When Martell gets his motor running it seems to feed the whole team and I really think that his new found confidence has been an under rated blessing for us in the last 7 or 8 games.

Thanks Martell!!!

Rasta

I am near the top of the list of Kobe haters on the planet earth.

I hate his smug attitude, his ability to back it up, and most of all, his ability to draw what can only be referred to as "Kobe Calls" from refs throughout the league.

In last nights game, Kobe got his shot blocked by Cunningham deep in the paint (see Media Row recap pic) early in the game. The home crowd naturally erupted, loudly resisting the call and the replay on the jumbotron seemed to bear out the fact that the block was all ball. I was among those crowd members vehemently shouting as I watched the replay but then the display changed to a shot of Kobe talking with the ref who had made the call.

Perhaps someone here has a way to replay the game at home and can check my facts on this but, reading Kobe's lips as he spoke to that ref it seems to me that he is relaying to the ref that he made a bad call. His words to the ref seemed to be saying "It *WAS* all ball. All ball."

Kobe then missed the first free throw.

I suddenly found myself in a bit of a quandry because if I indeed read his lips correctly (and I am pretty good at it), I had a moment of respect for Kobe.

I feel so dirty.

   Don't get me wrong here. I like Andre. No one can deny his skill set, his veteran savvy, or his “iron man” status. He is a great player and could be a great asset to a great many teams.
    Not ours.

    Andre deserves to start but our starters had 54 wins last year and were developing into a beautiful, synchronous unit. We all have to admit that in spite of our dismantling in the playoffs, we were all pretty excited about what Nate had cooking last year. Millers acquisition has thrown a huge wrench into the works. Suddenly we have to go all the way back to the drawing board instead of expanding on our existing formula.
    Add to that the fact that Andre just has not brought his A Game to our team at all. As much as I like the guy, there have been a million times this season where he has been little more than an elderly cripple. I am of the opinion that he is too broke down to run. His “veteran tactics” are beyond old school to the point of ridiculousness and he simply demands too much time with the ball, keeping it out of the hands of our young killers.
    “Demands” is a key word there. I think I would like Andre a lot more if he came in like the veteran presence of Juwon Howard. Juwon didn't demand anything when he came here. He knew a 54 win team is something you want to support and not mess with. He tried to blend in, Andre is trying to take over.
    If you wanted a point guard that could score you were in luck, we already had one. Bayless has been bringing his whole heart and soul to the floor for us every time Nate calls his number. He is instant offense. And the good kind, the “and one” kind. The kind that gets opponents in foul trouble, the quick kind, the young and fearless kind.
     What we should have done was (for the love of God, dump Sergio! and) simply promote Bayless.

    A lot of people want to chuck Steve Blake out with the trash these days but these people are dead wrong about him. He isn't flashy and he probably isn't going to score 20 pts. on any given night but he is consistent and that is THE most important thing for a point guard to be. He didn't need to score to be a weapon. We have other weapons. Steve seems quite content (and talented) to feed ammo into the weapons. He hasn't been shooting well in the last few games but I attribute that to him being forced into a new role where his points are more heavily relied upon and not just icing on the BRoy/LTrain/Oden cake. He was the perfect PG for the team we were fielding and he and the rest of the starters were really beginning to show the deep playoff goods. Don't you remember thinking “One more year together ought to do it”?
    I do.

    I know that we have been stung by some key injuries, Nic and Travis have been awesome pieces in Nate's puzzle. But the fact is, their bench relievers have stepped up thus far and filled their roles admirably. Webster has proven to be streaky, and he doesn't always make the best decisions but these are things we could easily say about Travis at the best of times. And like Travis, when Martell's shots start falling I want to weep with joy. Cunningham reminds me A LOT of  Batum in the effort, youth, strength, and willingness-to-do-the-dirty-work categories. If Nate were to insert him into last years starting unit, just like he did with the French rookie, I certainly would have no argument.

    If Nate wants to do experimenting, I agree with him that it should happen with Miller coming off the bench. Heck, do the three guard thing but do it with Miller and Bayless. Just leave that 54 win team alone and let them grow up together.

Rasta