I acually am having two separate thoughts here that I am going to combine into one larger fanpost. I want to pre-warn all of you these ideas are in the...developmental stages, but I like both.  Ok here we go.

Batum becomes our starting pg.  Ok, hold on here, your crazy Natural!!  Wait, wait this just might work.  If Batum enters the starting linup as pg  we can assume that our lineup would be Roy, Aldridge, Oden/Pryz, Webster and Batum.  This would allow B-Roy to control the ball, which he is good at and enjoys, yet defend the two.  The problem with Brandon at the point has always been him defending the quicker 1's in the league but Batum on the other hand could cause some serious issues for most of these same players.  Really what we want from our pg seems to be defense and outside shooting.  With Batum's defense and Roy, Webster and Aldridge's great perimeter shooting we have more than enough.  At times even Batum can stroke it.  This would leave BRoy playing pg on offense and Batum on defense.  We could use Sergio or Blake and Sergio in a trade to strengthen our bench and let Bayless/Blake play half the minutes in the backup role.

Blazers Sign Ron Artest.  I know, I know this will never happen...or will it?  KP has been saying they could take a chance on a player with a past and I wonder if he is talking about Artest.   Ron has a set of skills we would kill for, physical play, defensive stopper, attitude, toughness, scorer, etc.  He does on the other hand have a history of poor decision making on and off the basketball court.   He got in a freakin fight with opposing fans!! 

Despite all these genuinely good reasons not to bring him to the team formerly known as the "Jail Blazers," I think he is worth a shot in the right situation.  He has cleaned up his act over the last few years and he played exteremely well for the Rockets this season, he seemed to almost be there Rock during all the injuries.  He is antagonized more than any other player because other teams try to take him out of the game by getting to him emotionally.  This year he stayed out of trouble entirely and I think was the difference in the first round. 

Ron would fit perfectly from a basketball standpoint for this team.  He would bring all the above qualities and change the dynamics of our starting unit to the point of scary.  Can you imagine what other teams would be thinking going up against Roy, Artest, LMA, Oden and other PG/Blake?  That is a tough unit on both ends. Artest can probably be had at a bargain rate during the economic crisis and because of his history, we might be able to sign him with our available cap space if we waive Channing.  Really what is the risk?  You take him on, sign him to a 3 year deal, if things go bad you waive him and PA pays him anyways.  Ron seems to be a follower not a leader I think he would meld into this team both on and off the court.  He seems to have benefited from playing with quality, cultured, educated guys like Battier, Brooks, Yao and more.  I think Ron would get an equal or greater enjoyment growing with a great young team like ours.  On top of all this it seemed to me that Artest was asking to come to Portland with all the flattery of Brandon and the Blazer team.  It seems he geniuinely likes the team and the city.  Why not give it a try?

This has to be the single biggest test coach Nate has faced since joining the Blazers.  I think he has done a great job getting this young team to perform, but now we get to see whether he can compete with x's and o's.  I have always had my issues with his playcalling and rotation, it was down right terrible on Saturday.  Frye!!! Really???? Hmmmm....that game reminds me of the L.A. opening game.  Nate seemed to falter then by pulling Nic for Travis.  This time it was messing with the rotation that has been winning.  I know everyone says the confidence of this team comes from Roy but I think Roy's confidence comes from Nate.  I think he was nervous and let that get to him.   Lets see how Nate stacks up with a high quality coach like Adelman, you know he knows his stuff.  If we are swept in this series I think coach Nate has earned himself another shot at it next year, if we can't advance to the WCF I think it is time to take a hard look at a coaching change.   We could use a proven playoff coach.

 This is the first year in a long time we aren't testing our talent and considering the draft at this point in the season!  Heck Yeah!  So now we get to discuss fun stuff like playoff match-ups, home court advantage. The best playoff teams start trimming their rotation and then set a 7,8 or 9 man rotation for the big dance.   I think the Blazers will go with either a 8 or 9 man rotation with the following distribution of minutes.  For the purpose of setting a standard lets assume that Martell returns and is somewhat limited by conditioning. This is based on Nate's tendencies and my own belief of what will happen.  Let me know what your theories are.  What will Nate do?  What would you do?

PG:    Blake 34 mins/ Roy  14 mins

SG;    Roy    27 mins/  Fernandez 15 mins/  Webster 6 mins

SF:     Batum  18 mins/   Travis 18 mins/  Martell  12 mins

PF:    LMA      40 mins/   Travis 8 mins 

C:     Pryz       25 mins/   Oden  23 mins 

Roy : 41 mins

LMA:  40 mins

Blake:  34 mins

Travis: 26 mins

Pryz:  25 mins

Oden: 23 mins

Martell:  18 mins

Batum: 18 mins

Rudy:  15 mins

For a total of nine in my projected rotation.  

I have to eat a little crow!  I have been very frustrated with many things Nate has been doing with this team since he arrived.  My main issues have been substitution patterns and game time decision making.  I think it is fair to say Nate has turned me around!  He has cut his rotation down eliminating Channing/Ike and now he keeps either Aldridge or Roy on the floor at all times.  This is huge for many reasons mostly because it keeps a proven offensive weapon on the floor at all times.  Thanks Nate.  He has also allowed Oden time when he stays out of foul trouble.  There are still times I think you let him play with the fouls, but regardless when Oden is free of fouls he is getting near 40 mins and his production is way up.  This has given us many more opportunities to score in the paint and forced penetrating guards to think twice prior to attacking the middle.  Game time decisions seem less important when you are winning by double digits but I even saw Bayless go for a 2 for 1 against Utah!  I have always liked Nate's character and "Sarge" mentality and now I can say I like his rotations. Hopefully Nate can continue to improve just like our team. Yay for progress!  Go Nate.  Go Portland! 

I have some major concerns about our head coach, I have bit my tongue in the past with his inconsistency and strange rotations because we were either expected to be terrible, so loses were no surprise or we were dealing with injury.  However this little funk we are in shows the problems he poses for our team.  First off his constant threat of adjusting the rotation causes confusion and tentative play by his bench.  No one really knows what is expected from them aside from B. Roy, Blake and Joel.  This is a major problem for me, the coach is there to provide confidence by putting each player in their role and helping them make the adjustments to succeed at it.    I also hate his rotations, he plays certain players far too much, like his man love for Outlaw, and other players he continues to hold back despite their obvious improved play(Joel and Sergio).  I think it is time to aquire a coach who could actually lead us to a championship.  You look at Phil Jackson and he has so much confidence in his players he does not even call a time out when they struggle.  You look at his players and they understand their roles and embrace them, even Lamar Odom who is an extremely talented player has flourished coming off the bench this year because Phil has stood firm despite his complaints and kept his steady rotation.  Then you get to his offensive schemes, they are very easy to read and easily becomes stagnant.  We rely on 1 on 1 offense instead of utilitizing the vast talent we have.  Everyone talks about the amount of talent we have and yet the ball does not move.  We also depend on jumpshots and threes to score, this is a losing formula, and surprise, surprise the same offense was used in Seattle.  He is not adjusting for his personnel, he still runs the same offense.  Personally I have had enought of coach Nate blaming his players for his poor schemes.

My wife and I are going to the game tonight and are having a terrible time thinking up what to put on our sign.  I know the community at Blazers Edge has the time and cleverness to come up with some great signs.  So maybe we could all post some and then keep it as a link so anyone going to the game can look back and get some great ideas.  Thanks everybody!  GO BLAZERS!!  Prediction, Roy will score more than 25 tonight.

So here we are...two games remaining before we return to LA to take on an NBA team...I mean the Clippers are a division of the Globetrotters right?  No really we have two games left to close up the whole left by Martell and get Greg comfortable before these start counting!  So everybody cross your fingers that Oden will be dunking, Batum will be defending and that Comcast will get a deal done.  Everybody give your contribution and GO BLAZERS!!!!!!!!!

This was the most unbelievable preseason game I have had the pleasure of enjoying. First lets get to what everyone is wondering.

Greg is a freakin beast. He drew 9 fouls and completely changed the way the Kings played offense and defense. They tried to bring him out on pick and rolls to keep him away from the key but he was quick and kept with the ball handler multiple times even forcing a travel once. Obviously if he is allowed to stay in the key he shuts it down as does Joel. On offense he forces the team to double team due to his unbelievable strength. Down low he can get whatever he wants in single coverage, with help he is excellent at passing out and finding the his teammates. Greg gave LA and Brandon many open looks and they returned the favor by praising Oden after the game. He will average at least 15 and 10, but more importantly he is going to affect the way every opponent to adjust their game for us. He is very very similar to Shaq with the Magic, before he developed the array of post moves he had later in his career. Greg is going to be in the H.O.F one day.

Brandon was Brandon, he played nearly perfect basketball. I would say he looks better than he did last year at this point. He had a few crossovers that broke ankles.

Martell was stellar tonight. He won't get a lot of praise from the media but he was perfect tonight. He played great defense, both individually and with the team. He did not force anything tonight, he shot in rhythm and had a few electrifying dunks. Most importantly he was on the glass consistently which is huge for us. He was either blocking out his man or going up for the rebound every time the ball went up. Martell is the perfect complementary player for this team and he seems to have accepted his role. He should get a big kudos forf joining Joel, Brandon and Rudy as our veteran unit.

Speaking of Rudy he was spectacular tonight. He made the Kings defense look silly time and time again with fantastic passing ability. Aldridge and Martell seemed to be enjoying their new found buddy. He played with energy on both ends of the floor but he was under control. With his pro and international experience he enters the league as a veteran, he will play a similar role to JJ33, except he is much, much better.

Bayless was not amazing but he was solid. First off I am not impressed by vegas MVP's, so I am still waiting to see what he can really do. He made an open three and he creates well for himself. His defense is an improvement from JJ. However he didn't do to well at finding the open man, he forced a few shots that should have been dumped off for a dunk.

Sergio is improved from last year. He is confident like his rookie season but he has improved his shooting considerably. You also can tell he is more comfortable now playing with his U.S. teammates. I think his understanding of both the English language and the American game is much improved now. McMillan is showing confidence and that seems to help.

Travis jacked up quite a few shots and got quite a few rebounds. No major changes here.

Ike had an excellent game. He had more post moves than I remembered seeing from him in the past. He even made a few drives to the basket. I would have liked a little more effort on the glass but overall good game for big Ike.

Batum had a stellar dunk that looked to be more athletic than anything I have seen from Outlaw even. He looked lost on defense.

LaMarcus did not have his best game. He looked tight in the first half. Once he loosened up in the second half he became more comfortable. It kind of seemed like he spent his summer finding ways to get to the rim as he was instructed to all of last season. The only problem with this is now they want him to shoot open jumpers, which he looked like he hadn't done since oh...2007. Not really his stroke looked good but it seemed he was a little tight. He did show he can drive and score on the move. His defense was on, he did a great job helping Greg shut down the middle and LA played great individual defense. He looked good overall but his shot was not on. Once he finds his stroke he is gonna score a ton. I love LA. Overall great chemistry and hard work are paying off. The Blazers looked like a cohesive unit all night long. This is the most talented team in the NBA. Congratulations KP you did it!! Congratulations to all you long time Blazer fans, we made it. The Blazers are back.