SB Nation User Blog: SpyderRyder

L*kers are falling apart?

SpyderRyder — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:07:55 -0000

L*kers are falling apart?

Muhahahaha.... Apparently reports coming out of smoggy hell aka L* or the-town-that-will-not-be-named, Bynum is not working hard during practice and does not seem motivated and that the pair of Gasol and Bynum is not working as well as expected so far.

Bynum needs the post and moves Gasol out to the wing where he encroches onto K*bes space.

Will the l*kers personalities be able to put aside their egos and work together? Do they have the same culture as the Blazers? Will K*bemind having his scoring drop to 25 or even 20 while letting Bynum and Gasol get theirs? Not to mention that Odom may be coming off the bench as well.

Let us hope.

FIRST PRACTCE VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!!

SpyderRyder — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:06:10 -0000

Trail Blazers first practice

FIRST PRACTCE VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!!

Oden before: Oden after:

SpyderRyder — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:34:35 -0000

Oden before:

Oden after:

Steve Blake FTW!!

SpyderRyder — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:54:16 -0000

Steve Blake FTW!!

I keep on saying that

Blake will retire a Blazer as he has the approval of the three heads of state on the team:

Head of the front office: Pritchard
Head of the coaching staff: Nate
Head of the team: Brandon

The thing of it is, because he is so underrated and has been his entire career, he will never be valuable enough for some team to trade for him and produce enough value for us to return what we get back. So that would only leave one of 2 scenarios where he would not retire a Blazer:

1. Blake gets another offer from a team that is more than what he can get here. With his love or Portland and the direction this team is heading in the next 5-6 years, I do not think the extra $1m will be enough to pull him away. Like I said his game and reputation will generally preclude teams from giving him millions more than he can make here. PA and KP will make sure that Blake will never be hurting for $$ as he is worth matching what any other team will pay him.

2. We just cut him outright. Low probability for he is a good value player and I would imagine he would get a very similar deal when his current contract is up, about $4-5m/yr for 4-5 years is a good deal. KP has been high on Blake and Nate loves the guy and a stabilizing force at the point is invaluable for any team.

3. He retires a Blazer, joins Nates coaching staff when Dean or Monty get to be the head coach of the Seattle Grizzlies/Sonics.

Rudy flight info-important info for those who are going

SpyderRyder — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:25:56 -0000

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know this is just a fanshot but this is kinda important to those people who want to go see Rudy at the airport here, you can beat me with bats later.

http://www.flypdx.com/flights_search.aspx?TimeFrom=11&TimeTo=13&Date=Tomorrow&FlightNumber=&FlightType=A&Airline=&City=&filterType=all

This is the Port of Portland website and you can log on at 1030 or so to see if the flight is on time or not.As it stands the most likely flight would be Northwest flight 91 from Amsterdam. I checked farechase about a 1way ticket fro Barcelona to PDX and it spit out Barcelona to Amsterdam to PDX and as I write this (12pst) Rudy is in the air as we speak on his way to PDX.

Why go there early when you can just log on to the above website to see if the flight is early or on time. Even though I will not be at the airport I hope to save people who are going some time.

-DISCLAIMER- I take no responsibility of the accuracy of the information posted on said website, if it says that flight 91 is to get there at 1155 and it is late, I the underscored SpyderRyder am not held in contempt of said information.

Have fun at the airport and I will hope to make it to the 230 show at the RG if I am in the area.

K*be could be a trail blazer? In the best way

SpyderRyder — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:56:11 -0000

K*be could be a trail blazer? In the best way

Let us hope that K*be has had his fill of the NBA and will move on to Europe after season. For once I may actually be roting for the........l*kers to win the chapionship, yes I said it. If the l*kers win it next year what will be keeping k*be here? He will of won his own championship and what will be keeping him here? The l*akers will crumble and we will have a free path to the finals every year the next decade.

This is a classic case of taking a step backwards to take a step forwards.

Final piece candidates

SpyderRyder — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:52:56 -0000

With all these trade propositions lets get an idea of who we want to target first before we go throwing out wild trade proposals and we have 10 fanposts like "TRADE IDEAS ZACH BACK TO PDX??"

I say we use this fanpost to first debate what this team needs first and then how to get it later.

Our current team as constructed is hopefully going to dominate the NBA soon. We have strength across the board and pieces that fit very well together. However as it currently stands, many feel that we need one final piece to complete this team and go from a good team to a great team. The great thing about our situation is that we do not need a player that can score 50ppg so he should be easier to acquire than a star as we have 3 already.

IMO, we are set at the C, PF, and SG positions as it stands and I have confidence that our PG situation will work itself out as well as we have the right mix of experience, scoring, defense and playmaking, and someone should rise to the occasion.

However it is at SF where I see the possibility of adding the final piece. Our current combo of Webster, TO and Batum show promise but I feel that they this is one area that we have the greatest need and therefore I feel that the most logical improvement to the team is to get a starting, defensive oriented, 3pt shooting SF to complete our team.

TO may never be the greatest on ball defender but I feel that what he will be able to bring to the 2nd team will be enough for him to carve out an important role on our team, ala the scorer/sparkplug off the bench with Rudy.

First off, let me say that, while starting is an honor, it is not indicative of talent, but rather of fit. We all know that Roy, LMA and Oden are going to start but it is who fits best around them and allows them to shine whi is going to get to start, however much like last year the starters are not nessicarily the best players on the team as Blake and Pryz were ofen pulled in tight games in the 4th Q.

I do not feel that TO will ever be the starter per say, but as stated above, I do not think it matters as much on this team as it does on other teams. TO will probably come off the bench but will still play important minutes at SF in the 4th Q and will be highly valued on the team. I just hope Travis sees it the same way.

Webster on the other hand is the current starting SF and I feel that he has the most to prove in this upcoming season. First off he needs to learn to get up and play hard at all times. Too mane times I have seen him drive on the offensive side and go up for a shot and coming down in a heap with no basket. Instead of sitting and pouting about the no call, he needs to get back and defend his man that is not on the opposite FT line and is attacking his hoop with him still on the baseline with the ref. Secondly, he needs to learn to lock down on his opposing player and defend him at all costs. Lastly, he needs to hit 40+% on his 3pt shot and creat a viable threat to open up the court for Roy, LMA and Oden to work in the paint.

I have gone on record many times in saying that on a per 36 min basis, only 3 younger players that were here in 06 did not improve markedly and those were Jack, Sergio, and Webster. Jack is gone, Sergio is on thin ice, yet Webster has not had much attention shown to his progression. Roy, LMA and TO all posted improvements in their per 36min stats and even though TO has been in the league for 2 more years, in terms of PT he has only about 700mins more in those 2 years, making them similar in NBA age.

I do not mean to be hard on Webster but rather will be watching him closely for signs of improvement.

With that said, for me the only logical final pieces that would work on this team would have to be a starting SF that would feel comfortable with allowing the big 3 to shine, while providing high efficency, outstanding D and outside shooting. To me the most logical players that should be our final piece are:

1. Tayshaun Prince

via www.givemetherock.com

Overview: A ridiculously long wing, who has surprising athleticism and a fairly polished perimeter game. Owner of a 7-2 wingspan. Very much on the skinny side. Hasn’t gained much weight since entering the League, but it hasn’t hurt his play. Shows surprising quickness and speed in the open floor. Quickness, length and skill combination allow his to be an impact player on both ends. Shows great intensity on the defensive end. Named to the NBA All-Defensive Second team in 2005 and 2006. Has an unorthodox left-handed stroke, but has developed into a nice offensive weapon. Very durable and tough despite his frame. One of the most versatile talents in the game today. Has a winning attitude, which he fostered at Kentucky under Tubby Smith after winning two state titles at Dominguez HS in Compton, California. Helped the Pistons win the NBA Championship in 2004. Cousin JP Prince plays at Tennessee.

Offense: Extremely versatile offensive player due to his height and relative length for his position. Scores in numerous ways. Capable of spotting up on the outside, running the floor in transition, taking his man one-on-one, and working over smaller defenders in the post. Interesting shooting mechanics. Keeps his elbows extremely wide and lets the ball fly from his shoulder. Tough to argue with the results. Mechanics make his shot almost impossible to block. Great shot selection. Accurate from three point range. Capable shooter off the dribble. Likes to pull up going left. Tough to guard off the dribble due to his length and deceptive first step. Good ball handler. Nice post game. Turns right to the point that he’s very predictable. Will get some easy looks from in close by working off the ball. Very high basketball IQ on the offensive end. Has improved significantly over the last few years. Great complimentary offensive player.

Defense: Detroit’s best and most versatile perimeter defender. Perhaps the second most important player on the team defensively behind Rasheed Wallace. Draws the toughest perimeter assignment in most cases. Length allows him to contest absolutely every shot. Wingspan allows him play off his man and still get a hand up on everything. Deceptive quickness helps him deny penetration. Looks impossible to drive around when he gets in his defensive stance. Deflects a lot of passes. Can guard three positions. Not an ideal post defender due to his size, but he fights for position. Standing reach makes him tough to shoot over when he goes straight up. Decent rebounder. Great shot blocker who prefers to try and negate fast breaks and easy layups. Not a risk taker in the half court. Makes an impact on his physical assets alone.

One of the ultimate glue players, Prince would be the GREATEST addition to this team I could imagine. He could come in and provide us that veteran leadership along with Blake and Pryz and could defend the opposing teams best perimiter offensive threat. His age is by far the closest to what we are looking for and has just enough left in the tank so that he should be able to last for our championship runs. He is used to deferring scoring and individual accomplishment for team success. How we would get him without giving up one of the big 3 I do not know, but if KP could somehow facilitate a trade to get him I will personally carve a statue of him in front of the Rose Garden out of a tree. The only way may be using a 3rd team as an intermediary using RLEC, Diogu, a few 1sts and Webster to move a star to Det and we get Prince in return.

2. Shane Battier

via cache.daylife.com

Overview: The ultimate role player who is capable of doing a little bit of everything. Plays the 3 and the 4 effectively. Has good size and strength, but lacks ideal quickness and explosiveness. Arguably the most fundamentally sound player in the League. Can score in a variety of ways, but functions primarily as a jump shooter. Isn’t a one-on-one player and tries to score by playing his role in an offense rather than asserting himself unnecessarily. Might be the best defensive forward in the NBA. Does the little things. Extremely high basketball IQ. A coach’s dream. Has been a winner since his youth, garnering the Naismith award as a senior at Detroit Country Day high school and the Wooden Award as a senior at Duke. Possesses great leadership skills. Comes through when it counts. Becomes an extremely valuable asset to the Rockets when he is knocking down his perimeter shots. Plays a ton of minutes.

Offense: Extremely sound and efficiency offensive player. Gets more than half of his offense as a spot up shooter. Very good in that role. Will hit shots from three point range with very good consistency—most of his shots come from behind the arc. Never takes a shot without his feet set. Very selective. Very predictable off the dribble. Tends to go to the rim when he drives right and pull up when he drives left. Won’t assert himself off the dribble very often. Great finisher at the rim despite his lack of athleticism. Knows how to use fakes and protect the ball with his body to finisher with contact. Could should a better percentage from the foul line, although he rarely gets there. Passable ball handler. Good offensive rebounder. Great passer. Not turnover prone. The ideal system role player. Scores all his points in the flow of the offense. Doesn’t do anything outside of himself.

Defense: Probably the most fundamentally sound defender in the game. Won’t reach unless he knows he’ll get enough of the ball to keep the play in front of him. Not afraid to get on the floor to grab loose balls. Gets in a good stance and moves his feet. Will block shots just by maintaining good position. Always gets his hands up on shooters. Understands the nuances of contesting shots. Great help side defender. Always knows his rotations and will slide over to protect the basket when his teammates get beat off the dribble. Loves to try and take charges. Calls don’t always go his way. Will commit smart fouls at the rim when he knows a player isn’t good from the line. Great defensive intangibles. Amazing awareness.

Battier would be a welcome addition to the Blazers lineup. A better shooter than Prince and Marion from 3 and a great defender as well. Prince and Battier ran neck and neck for the first position, but in the end the extra youth of Prince won out. Battier would hopefully be able to teach our young team even more veteran tricks and improve our team tremendously.

3. Shawn Marion

via www.bballone.com

Overview: One of the most athletic players the NBA has to offer. Incredibly versatile. Rebounds, defends, scores points, is lethal in transition, and was an outstanding compliment to Steve Nash until he basically forced his way out of Phoenix. Possesses endless amounts of energy, and seemingly never leaves the floor. Most effective at the power forward position, despite standing just 6-7. Has a great wingspan. Struggles to come to copes with what he is—which is one of the best role players in the NBA. Extremely well compensated over the years, but has always transmitted a sense that he is getting the short end of the stick. Will his game hold up as his athleticism begins to decline?

Offense: Very adept at moving off the ball and finding spots to receive a pass and explode for a finish. Doesn’t miss around the basket. Runs the floor like a deer. A great target for lobs. Has one of the league’s most awkward shooting forms—flings the ball at the rim from well in front of his chest, but sees decent (although not incredible) results as a spot-up shooter. Somewhat limited offensively--needs a great point guard to create shots for him. Lacks the ball-handling skills needed to create his own shot or pull-up off the dribble. Doesn’t always seem to know his limitations. Relies very heavily on his athleticism to make plays, which worked extremely well for him playing next to Steve Nash. Decision making can be poor at times.

Defense: Extremely active and very effective thanks to his superb physical tools. Has excellent lateral quickness and recovery speed, but is also very strong for a player his size. Capable of defending multiple positions on the floor, either on the perimeter or battling inside. Very good at getting in the passing lanes and igniting fast breaks. Also an excellent shot-blocker thanks to his superb length, timing and explosiveness. A very good rebounder as well on both ends of the floor. Has a tendency to get lost at times, misplacing his man, rotating to the wrong spots, overextending himself, and gambling excessively. Will get beat at times, or even a take a play off.

Marion would be a wildcard, as there are some possible attitude problems, but Nates Beijing frind, D'Antoni will be able to tell him the indide goods on whether or not he would work with us. He is an amazing defender and rebounder and would fit in well backed up by LMA and Oden. Hopefully as he has aged, he will realize what he can and cannot do and will be more accepting of a lesser role. His age is of some concern, however he is quite possibly the best athlete in the NBA right now and even if he tapers off, he has so far to fall, he should be performing at a level higher than most others by the time his contract is up with us and we can decide on him from there. He will also be the easiest to acquire as he is a UFA next year and we should have enough to sign him as well.

4. Ime Udoka

via blog.oregonlive.com

Overview: A quality backup small forward who does the little things to help his team. Solid size and strength on the wing. Owns a big wingspan. Runs the floor well, but is an average athlete overall. Has the skills to be a very good role player. Good shooting stroke from the outside. Rebounds pretty well on both ends. Takes care of the ball, which is key for a rotation player getting limited minutes on a good team. Plays tough defense. Plays under control, but always hustles. Spent time at Eastern Utah, San Francisco, and finally Portland State during his college career. Has played all over the world. A very good player in the NBADL. Needed quite a bit of time to polish his game. Turned a good season with the Trailblazers into a deal with the Spurs. Sister Mfon played in the WNBA.

Offense: A versatile offensive player who provides a nice situational presence. Gets more than half of his offensive in spot up situations. Displays a smooth jumper with decent range. Good catch and shooter player from the midrange. Knocks downs shots off the dribble at a good clip. Not a very good ball-handler. Almost exclusively drives right. Rarely gets to the free throw line. Moves well without the ball and does a good job rotating the ball on the perimeter. Not turnover prone. Finishes at the rim at a good clip. Does a good job getting out on the wing in transition and finishing when he receives lead passes. Not a dynamic presence on the floor, but an effective option in limited minutes.

Defense: A solid defender who makes an impact in his time on the floor. Won’t back down from any matchup. Will physically defend ball handlers make an effort to contest shots. Doesn’t have great lateral quickness at the 2 or great size at the 3, but makes hustle plays. Will get beat off the dribble at times, but is a very aware team defender. Will get on the floor to secure loose balls. Uses his length and athleticism to collect steals and deflect passes. Brings a lot to the table in limited minutes.

What else do I need to say? Its Ime and he is a UFA next year, so maybe KP knew what he was doing when he let him go, only to sign him later when we may need him.

To me those are the only players that would be wiling to go after as other players have too many problems or do not fit a need as well as those listed above. Those include:

Andrei Kirilenko: Would be great but his contract is as bad a Zach's, culminating with $17,822,187 in 2010-11. We would also be helping out a dreaded rival in unloading one of their most horrible contracts which they should have to pay every penny of for giving him that deal.

Josh Smith: Great D'er but is a bit of a head case and has NO outside shot to speak of 25% fro 3pt.

Danny Granger: Great on the offensive end, but too good IMO. He would not want to be 4th fiddle from what I have seen and he has the ability to be the #1 option. His D is OK but would not be as good as the above and he would be VERY expensive.

I am interested in who the populous thinks is the final piece, perhaps when the year is done Webster has come on and has proved that he can be the final piece. Or Bayless becomes a complete bust and we are on the look out for a new PG when the year is over. Right now we have quite a few good assets available for trade that we can use at our disposal, RLEC, Diogu, Webster, Frye, TO and cap space next year. Hopefully a combo of these assets will lead us to one of the above listed players. I do not want to get into trade proposals in this fanpost, rather come to a general consensus on who we should go after.

So I pose this question to you fine BlazerEdge denziens:

Who do you think that final piece is?

Poll

Whi is that final piece?

How well will Greg do in his first month-a statistical comparison

SpyderRyder — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:55:06 -0000

People here have been across the boards on what they expect from Oden in his first year and looking back this is what history has shown us that players of his caliber were able to produce in the infancy of their careers.

Patrick Ewing

1st game

10/31/86 vs NJN/Mike Gminski

MP: 31

FG%: .385

FT% : 1.000

TRB : 8

AST : 2

STL: 2

BLK: 2

TOV: 3

PF: 3

PTS: 12

1st month:

13 Games

MP: 31.1

FG%: .492

FT% : .621

TRB : 7.9

AST : .8

STL: 1.15

BLK: 1.61

TOV: 2.92

PF: 4

PTS: 13.2

David Robinson:

1st game

11/4/89 vs L*/ Mychal Thompson

MP: 34

FG%: .545

FT% : .786

TRB : 17

AST : 1

STL: 1

BLK: 3

TOV: 3

PF: 5

PTS: 23

1st month:

13 Games

MP: 34.7

FG%: .521

FT% : .714

TRB : 12.8

AST : 2

STL: 1.46

BLK: 2.6

TOV: 3.5

PF: 4.1

PTS: 20.9

Shaquille O'Neal

1st game

11/6/92 vs Mia/ Rony Seikaly

MP: 32

FG%: .500

FT% : .571

TRB : 18

AST : 2

STL: 1

BLK: 3

TOV: 8

PF: 6

PTS: 12

1st month:

11 Games

MP: 37.1

FG%: .554

FT% : .566

TRB : 15.6

AST : 1.5

STL: 1.45

BLK: 3.27

TOV: 4.63

PF: 4

PTS: 23.6

Tim Duncan

1st game

10/31/97 vs Den/ Tony Battie

MP: 35

FG%: .667

FT% : .600

TRB : 10

AST : 2

STL: 0

BLK: 2

TOV: 4

PF: 2

PTS: 15

1st month:

15 Games

MP: 35.4

FG%: .562

FT% : .438

TRB : 11.2

AST : 1.9

STL: .53

BLK: 2.6

TOV: 3.33

PF: 3.4

PTS: 15.2

Dwight Howard

1st game

11/3/04 vs Mil/ Dan Gadzuric

MP: 38

FG%: .545

FT% : .000 - 0/6

TRB : 10

AST : 2

STL: 3

BLK: 4

TO: 1

PF: 3

PTS: 26

1st month:

13 Games

MP: 30.8

FG%: .523

FT% : .545

TRB : 10.6

AST : 1.5

STL: .69

BLK: 1.92

TO: 2.38

PF: 2.7

PTS: 9.4

So with that data on the table we should expect Greg to come in with the following stats:

Greg Oden:

1st game

10/28/08 vs L*/ Andrew Bynum

MP: 34

FG%: .528

FT% : .591

TRB : 12.6

AST : 1.8

STL: 1.4

BLK: 2.8

TOV: 3.8

PF: 3.8

PTS: 17.6

1st month:

16 Games

MP: 33.8

FG%: .535

FT% : ..576

TRB : 11.6

AST : 1.54

STL: 1.05

BLK: 2.66

TOV: 3.35

PF: 3.64

PTS: 16.4

In looking at the stats, it is difficult to pin down which one of these players Oden will emulate. In so far as body style and play he is a combo of Robinson and Shaq, but situation wise he is closer to Dwight and Duncan as in he is young like Dwight and has other offensive threats next to him like Duncan.

Overall those #s seem pretty reasonable for a player of his ability and hopefully we will achieve the success of the twin towers and Shaq.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRYD!!

SpyderRyder — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:56:37 -0000

Today is our brand new draft picks birthday, one Mr. Summer league MVP Jerryd Bayless, who is no longer a teenager as of today (wow that sounds weird saying that this guy in the NBA is not a teenager anymore, must be getting old.)

Happy birthday guy and lets put a hurt on the rest of the league.

Lets take a bite out of the competition and I cant wait to see this team live in the opener.

"We don't need a Chris Paul or Deron Williams or an All-Star point guard..."

SpyderRyder — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:21:28 -0000

"We just need a solid point guard, a veteran guy who makes great decisions and hits big shots,"

From the man himself, Brandon Roy:

Link

NICE read on Brandon Roy and his thoughts on the upcoming season. How did we luck out to get this guy? IMO hw will be the reason that this team will stay together, players will gravitate towards him and want to be on his team.

The Blazers first priority has to be getting this guy locked up for the full 6 years when his time comes up. Once he is a long term Blazer, LMA, Oden and the rest of the crew will follow suit, as the more you read of him the more you gain respect for the guy, that quiet confidence and underlying greatness, not just scoring or stats, but doing the little things that are necessary to win and make this team better.

So far we have come from the days of having Zach as our leader, Reuben our energy, and Darius our core.

People seem to question the validity of our team, but much as we were left for dead at the beginning of last season, we will be again underestimated IMO, even with our already lofty predictions.

I would now like to pose the question of: What if?

In looking at our seasons to come, some here think that due to our youth and inexperience, we will take a while to grow into a team that is dominant in the postseason, saying that our time will not be until 2-3 seasons from now.

Yet I would like to offer another version of that story, one that will hopefully be more truth than exaggeration.

Kevin Pritchard has done a masterful job in bringing in team oriented players whose only goal is to win. Paired with the fact they are tireless workers with their natural talent and you have a recipe for success, possibly much sooner than we imagine.

Looking back our team last year we went 41-41 in the ultra competitive western conference, as a poor rebounding, jump-shooting team, all of this coming in as the 3rd youngest team in the history of the league. Nobody in their wildest dreams even imagined that a .500 season would be possible after the loss of Oden and our leading scorer and rebounder, but we proved that working as a team will far and away outshine individual accomplishment.

With this new infusion of 3 top ten draft pick talent, we will now have Bayless to fill in for Jack, Rudy to fill in for Von Wafer, and Oden step ahead of Joel. With this massive upgrade in talent, and a good coach at the helm guiding them the possibilities are limitless. More importantly, Pritchard has added players that will relish and thrive being pushed and react to challenges rather than back away from them.

I think of Utah in 2006-07 and look to see that their 2 main players had no experience in the playoffs at all and Williams was in his second year in the league. What did they do they made it all the way to the WCF. A precedent has been set with younger teams pushing deep into the postseason.

I am also reminded of the Hornets of this year and their run to the WC semis and am struck by their makeup, namely how experienced they are at each position. If you take a close look at their roster, the most experienced guy is Stojakovic, both playoff and regular season. West is the second leg of the NO triumvirate but has had little playoff experience, only 19 games in 2 years. However the main engine that runs NO is Paul who has had no playoff experience at all. How did they manage to take the SAS to 7 games and come that close to beating them with their engine wetting his feet for the first time in the playoffs?

Now granted we do not have Chris Paul but our main creator is entering his 3rd year in the league and if you compare the rest of the roster we are far superior to them.

Their starting lineup of

Paul

Peterson

Peja

West

Chandler

would be far outstripped with that of ours

Blake

Roy

Webster

LMA

Oden

Not to even mention our 2nd unit.

And as I said our main playmaker will be entering his 3rd year as well.

With that 3rd year player as our leader, we can only think what our new pieces will bring to us, mainly Oden who will be able to rebound and provide us with a scoring presence in the low post for the first time in a long time. We had little to no inside presence that could score until after the all star break when LMA finally figured out how to bang down low, which isn't his strength anyways. We now have a base foundation to work off of so that if we need an easy bucket we can dump it into the post and let him go to work. Add to this the upgrade in shooting that Bayless should bring over Jack and Rudy over Wafer, we should more than make up for the loss of Jones. With Travis turning into Super Trout this year and Webster hopefully taking another step forward we should be able to create a situation where we always have a dynamic SF on the court at all times.

Which brings me to the question of what if.

What if Brandon Roy has learned how to truly run the team and is ready to carry it on his back

What if Greg really is the second coming of Shaq, Robinson, Ewing, or Russell and puts up comprable #s?

What is LaMarcus gets tough and can pound the ball down low as well as being able to hit the 15ft J?

What if Rudy comes in and can play like Ginobili off the bench providing us a kickstart?

What if Bayless' weaknesses as a PG are completely masked playing alongside Roy allowing him to do what he does best, score the ball?

What if Travis has learned how to be a professional and to work all year round to make that next step in his development?

What if Webster learns to defend and can raise his 3pt % that much more?

What if all those last year who scoffed at the notion of us being anywhere other than the bottom of the league once again tell us that there is no way that we can get to the WCF let alone the finals?

Now naysayers will come and pick apart every what if to the highest degree, "That's a LOT of 'What ifs' they all can possibly come true." But with Nate, Dean, Monty and MoLuc at the helm, Brandon providing leadership on the court and the surprising success of last year, I can't help but be optimistic and think that we have something so precious here that everything else will fade away under its intense glow, perhaps not everything this year, but much more and quicker than expected.

And at the heart of it all we have the next great Blazer player, Brandon Roy, whose leadership and play will guide us to that next level, perhaps one only reached by a select few teams.

So ask yourself: What if?