Does anyones else find it funny that teams like the Lakers and Miami, who obviously just expected to walk right to the championship game, are now whining and blaming teammates for their teams struggles? Its classic to me that these teams leaders/best players dont really seem to take responsibility for their teams performance on their own back. Sometimes, criticism of your teammates can backfire and make them play even more poorly. If Kobe came out and said over and over, im the leader, its on me to lift my team in stead of making excuses and blaming Pau, then Pau might actually play better instead of looking over his shoulder. Wade freaked out on his coach and they had to cancel practice the next day! What is the deal? Did these guys just think they were going to waltz their way into the championship game?

Now, I havent brought myself to watch any of these games, Ive only been reading the headlines, watching news clips, espn post-game interviews but I gotta say, its kinda cool to see these teams that thought they were gonna win it all facing major adversity. Also, I gotta give credit to OKC and IND(as much as I hate to) for coming out with a great game plan, implementing it, following through and playing great defense! It seems as much as the Lakers and Heat have psyched themselves out, the opposite is true for their opponents, theyve continued to get even better!

Of course, I wish it was the Blazers out there kicking the Lakers butts or the Heats butts, but its just good to see someone kicking their butts. It also goes to show that you can have assembled on paper the greatest team ever, and yet put them on the court under pressure and they break!

Anyways, I cant wait until we are back in the playoffs. Hopefully, with this offseason, we can assemble a great roster that will grow together, and become the team weve all wanted all along. A team that can challenge anyone, hang with the best, and become the best!

Hey guys, my favorite team is the Blazers but Ive always loved the Rockets. Our teams have traded players in the past and coaches. Plus the very first playoff game I ever went to was a few years ago when we played yall in the 1st round, what a series, which you guys eventually won vs us.

Anyways, I saw that dirty dirty play by Kevin Love last night and I just wanted to say what a jerk. Kick a man in the face when hes down. Every national analyst that I saw and heard who reviewed the play, all of them said it WAS NOT ACCIDENTAL!!! Love should be suspended IMHO. That was a bunch of bullspit! And then the fact that a foul wasnt even called on the throw down of Scola and then no foul called on the face kicking--WEAK!!! Our NBA league needs to step it up and do something. I hope the Refs get fined as well, they were letting that game get waaaay out of hand. I just wanted to rant about it a little. I feel better now.

Anyways, much respect to the Rockets, you fans and Luis Scola.

Peace Out,

CJB

I just realized that after 20 games last year, Rays stats increased dramatically and he had his best year ever. Some of that was because he went from being on the bench to starting, some of it was due to the fact he went into Dantonis hyped offense. But also maybe its because he needs 20 games to get it going, and figure things out. Now Ive been harsh and kinda anti Ray because lets face it, he hasnt been playing that good. But Heres to Ray finally getting it going! Ray, the first 20 games have come and went, last nights game was a great warmup to get this thing going. I hope your first triple double starts tonight with the Kings. So everyone, lets try one big massive effort to send Ray some positive mental vibe. I gotta feeling that he might get it going. So CHEERS! Ray, good luck tonite!

I decided to make this trade drawer because almost every post conversation I read lately is turning into trade talk. Thats great and fun and nice and stuff. Lets keep it going. Now we got a spot to do it in.

Okay, we all could agree on this statement, we need a legit center. Dave hinted at an interesting possibility today at the end of his recap saying that it was possible Okafor could be an asset NOR would want to get rid of. Well, that really intrigues me personally, because he is the type of center we would need. Now, me personally, I dont know all the ins and outs of contracts, and all the mumbo jumbo that goes down with a trade. But realistically, what is a trade that would be in the realm of possibility where we might land Okafor, realistically whats his value? Some folks have said GW for Okafor straight up. Dont know if that works or not.

Okay another one Ive been hearing is we need a PG. 2 names worthy of mentioning Ive heard bounce around the campfire are Deron Williams and Steve Nash. Lets start with Steve. Everyone knows hes good. Right now hes avg 10.1 ast per game, which is #1 in the NBA tied with Rondo. In contrast he has the 10th highest ast/to ration in the NBA. But hes also avg 13pts and had a 21per! Dudes good. To trade for him PHX is gonna want assets, probably more than hes worth IMO. Because of age, we prolly dont want him.But for fun, Who is worth giving up to get Nash?

Now Deron, hes good, we know this man. 18.3pts 8.4ast 3.3rebs 17.64per 1.91ast/to ratio. He has the 4th most ast in the league right now with 101. His value is high! Again like Nash, wed have to give up alot to land Deron. Who would make it worth it? Who would you be willing to give up?

Out of these scenarios, the one where we land a decent center is the one I want to see happen. SO heres my trade that probably doesnt work but I just quickly eyeballed the salaries since the trade machine is down.

We Get:

C Omeka Okafor 12.6million

PF Carl Landry 8.5million

They Get:

SF Gerald Wallace 9.5million

C Marcus Camby 11.2million

and any combination of Eliot, Babbit, Freeland, Smith, Armon, Rhino, CJ, picks, cash

Well here we are at 7-5 with 3 losses in a row and make that 4 more games to go on the road. Weve seen some great early season play and weve seen some absolutely horrific basketball. We cant seem to get a road win to save our souls. Our team at times looks really good, but on the road we become seriously lackluster and just plain dumb. I read all the comments last night, most of which were negative, few were positive. It got me wondering, what is the right course of action for this team. Also, One question I certainly have is when does its "still early in the season" quit being an excuse for us? We are over 1/6 of the way done and have played a dozen games together. Anyways, some games have made us look like the best team in the NBA and other games make us look like my JV squad back in 8th grade! So I ask you, should we blow this team up, trade away everyone but LMA, Batum and Wes? Or, should we stay the course, let this shortened season play out - even if we suck all season, let the chips fall where they may? Is it still too soon to ask this question?

So the New Year is here

and who woulda thought

the gnarliest hangover

is all that I got

So the New Year is here

And what do you think?

Well my head is still pounding

from to much to drink

So the New Year is here

and what do you know?

we left it all on the dance floor

at the rock n roll show

So the New Year is here

and whatll it be?

a clean slate to start new

for the whole family

So the New Year is here

and what do you say?

dont worry be happy

you get to live another day

So the New Year is here

lets jump off the ledge

this is hangover junk

right here on Blazersedge

Happy New Year everyone! Junk ON!

Hey Everyone!

This is CJB here just wanting to wish everyone a happy and safe night tonight. I hope everyone has something fun to do and some good friends/family to do it with. If you plan to do some drinking like I am, please designate a driver, call a cab or just use your bonus legs and feet that god gave you and walk your lazy asses to where ever the merriment is going down. Also, try to hook up with a lady or a fellow before you get your goggles so thick you its like looking through binoculars backwards. You will like yourself alot better tomorrow. Also, think about tomorrow and the fact that it will come with or without you. Wouldnt you rather be here to enjoy it. Dont do something stupid like drinking and driving, or get into a bar brawl, get arrested, get a ticket, a dui, a blackeye, a broken nose, dead, dont cheat on your partner, dont get into a fight with your partner, the list goes on and on....Make this a good one, one to remember, one that you will tell stories about!

This holiday can be the best of them all. A time for reflection and a chance to set your ship to sail in a new direction. A time to erase the slate, clean it and start fresh. What an opportunity!

So I will end this with a giant screaming HAPPY NEW YEARS TO EVERYONE!

Much Love and Peace,

CJB

PS-This is the spot to wish your fellow Bedgers a Happy New Years!

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

GER-ALD WAL-LACE GER-ALD WAL-LACE!!!!

WOOOOooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that thats done, Lets talk some GW.

For one thing, GW has been the best player on our team for the first 2 games of the season. His energy on both ends of the court has saved our bacon both games. I thought he was good in the first game but wow! he was great last night too. Hes playing like he wants to make the all star team! And If he keeps it up he is well on his way to being an all star. He certainly has been our mvp for the first 2 games. His stats are awesome for the first 2 games, lets hope he can keep it up. He has the highest PER on the team right now at 30.8!

ESPN says GWs career numbers are:

13.5pts 2asts 6.3rebs

his current #s are:

23pts 3ast 8.5rebs!

Now its only the first 2 games but he sure is playing good hard bball. Hes also shooting an amazing 67% right now. Also, out of 94 possible rebounds, hes grabbed 17! Thats almost 20% of all our rebs! He had the highest +/- on our team in both games(+11 game 1, +25 game 2). Hes on fire shooting right now as well- 12/14 on free throws 85%, 2/5 on 3pts 40%, 16/24 2pts 66%!

The guy has been everywhere on the court. His defense has been spectacular at times. In game 1 he blocked a shot, dribbled down court and made a thread the needle cross court pass to Batum for the finish! Amazing! He has been blocking and stealing and being an all around pest getting his hands in on almost every play.

I also like the way Nate is using him. Quoting the Oregonian " Coach Nate McMillan says it's time to turn Wallace loose." Giving him free run of the court and just do what you want. Dont think, just play with instinct. The Blazers will play around you, you dont play around them. Letting Gerald run his own game, sort of a free safety, or sweeper/stopper if you will, has only made him stronger and us as a team stronger. There are very few players in the NBA that can match Geralds abilities and energy output, so letting the bull out of the gate means most opponents only get the horns. Which has worked well for us so far and not so well for our opponenets. His ability to run free has brought out the Lion in him, the beastly sunstar that lets his strengths shine.

And so I ask you, Is this becoming Gerald Wallaces Team? Right now he is leading by example. Personally im surprised he wasnt picked as a captain on the team. But if he keeps up this kind of play, will it become that the players defer to him, pass first to him instead of LMA? LMA has been great in his own ways, but he hasnt been dominant like GW has. Is LMA a leader or is he too nice of a kid to be that role? BRoy had trouble taking the leadership role. LMA is so young, which makes it even harder to tell people older than yourself what to do. Its kinda like being your dads boss, you must admit its weird. I do have confidence in LMAs ablities but his leadership abilities I question. And Gerald just seems like a leader not a follower, besides he moves so fast it seems like your only choice is to follow because its impossible to keep up or catch him.

Also quoting Jason Quick, Wallace responded to the chants of his name by saying:

In turn, Wallace says all those floor burns, all those sprints down the court, and all those bruises from drawing charges and banging bodies, are for those fans in 314(they started the chant)and around the Garden

"I come out and play for them every night and leave it all out on the court," Wallace said. "For them to show they appreciate my hard work on the court ... it feels great."

Continue reading this post »

As we move forth with acting GM Chad Buchanan, I wonder how this will all pan out? Personally I think he has done a swell job in light of the fact he has a 'billion' pressures on his shoulders. Following in the footsteps of our two previous GMs is not something Chad wants to do. The firings of KP and RC left us all wondering who was really manning the helm of our beloved ship. Was Chad a puppet or does he actually do something? So far on his watch weve signed Jamal Crawford, Kurt Thomas and Craig Smith, amnestied Brandon and restructured Gregs 1 year deal for less money. Not bad considering he works for one of the most mysterious and rich men on earth, who has pretty much implicitly stated " Was he ready to name another GM? No. Was Acting GM Chad Buchanan, who helped Portland add Jamal Crawford, Kurt Thomas and Craig Smith during the rushed free agency period, a candidate to get the position full-time? No, but he’s done a good job. " quoting Ben Gollivers story: Blazers Owner Paul Allen Opens His Dungeon on CBSSports.com.

After reading Bens great story on Allen, It got me thinking. If Chad isnt going to be bumped into the GM position who is? I think everyone would agree with me that we need a GM. And obviously after the last GM debacles, we need to get it right this time. Chos firings looked very unprofessional and not because of anything Cho did, but because of the way our front office handled the situation. If anything, it made us look more disjointed and mean hearted enough that now it will probably be even harder to land a really good GM. Im not saying we have no chance but im saying it is definitely a mark against us when a GM considers working here. No one wants "job insecurity".

Anyways, maybe as we usher in a new Blazers era, we can start with a semi clean slate. Maybe our FO will make some serious resolutions at New Years to get it together and get us a GM. Maybe, with a new future on the horizon a GM with a really deep resume will come work for us. Someone who has what we need--connections in every other teams FO so that they have an inside on trades and deals and such. So they can communicate with the rest of the leagues GMs and FOs.

Who is that person? I dont know. But thats what I have you all for. So, if you could have any GM within the realm of possibility, who would it be? [ Sorry Abu Fatimah-I respect your boldness, but you cant pick yourself! : ) ] If anyone has, can find or put together a list of possible GMs that are not currently empoyed by a team, please post it in the comments. I want to get as many possible GMs names on here because it will give us a good idea of who is out there, who should be a top candidate and who we all would like to have. Please at the least post the name of who you would like and why you would like them or think they are qualified.

Personally, I dont know enough about GMing, whose out there, who theyve worked for, why they were let go, their age, relationships with players, relationships with other FOs etc. to make a hypothesis myself. So please educate me and anyone else who needs this knowledge.

I think this should be one of the more important topics right now for discussion. Thank you again for reading my post. Happy Holidays and Merry Chrismahanakwanzika!

Peace to all,

CJB

Hey Friends,

I spent a few hours of my afternoon today checking out some of the other NBA blogs on SBN. WOW! What a ton of great information that these sites have going on. I read a bunch of different fan posts and checked out the blog for every west team, especially LAL and OKC. As for the east, I mostly checked out the big dogs like Miami, Boston, NY, and Orlando. All these sites are great, even the football blogs and other sports blogs-they have one for just about any sport. Anyways, I encourage all Blazeredgers to do the same and go check out what your "enemies" are talking about.

Another thing, after looking at all these sites, I wanted to say what a great site the Blazers Edge actually is. We have to be one of the most popular of the SBN NBA blogs, as we have a ton of members and a ton of posts. Some sites I looked at, seemed to have not much action at all, while this site has constant activity. Some sites are ran by just 3 people total! As you can see down at the bottom of the page, we have a grip of people who help with this site for free, just volunteering their time. Im not sure if they get paid or not, but they deserve to if they dont. Plus this place is pretty classy. I know some of you hate the no cussing rule here, and even though I have a real truckers mouth myself, I actually like the fact that we all have to come here and do our best to speak respectably. Not to say that certain curse words cant be used properly to enhance ones vernacular, but youll have to perfect that craft somewhere else. On these other sites, I was surprised to see posts with actual curse words in the title of their post, but still had a good laugh over it.

Some things I noticed:

1. Just about every site has a post or multiple posts about their team landing CP3 or Howard! Sounds familiar. It seems like every site has a problem with multiple posts of the same topic! Also sounds familiar. Use the appropriate drawer for the appropriate post for the love of Haysoos people! : )

2. We have some very knowledgeable fans, possibly a collective of THE most knowledgeable fans on any of the SBN NBA blogs IMO! If you dont know the answer, someone on the Blazers Edge does--guaranteed! Any NBA subject, you name it. In my heart we are #1, all though im sure someone somewhere will try (and FAIL! hehe)to dispute that!

3. These sites have more news, faster than any other I can find. If I see something posted in a major news site, its already been posted here-guaranteed! And that is something I attribute to the fans who post breaking news on here or any other blog. Its really hard to beat the guy surfing the web when the news breaks who immediately posts it on his fave SBN site, even beating the moderators and editors.

4. These other blogs are a great way to see whats going on with other teams, just like here, they post anything and everything to do with that team. So if you want it you can find it there. Also, it can be fun to join some of these other blogs so you can make fanposts, and fanshots, and talk trades, and just engage the other teams fans in positive conversation.

5. Ive been a member of The Dream Shake, the Houston Rockets blog for a couple years. What cool folks they have over there. Just saying, the few posts I posted over there were well received and no one had a negative word to say to me or my post. In fact, they reccd the crap out of my post and then some of their fans came and joined our site to do some posting. It was really cool. I like the Rockets, (and their classy fans) and always have since they got Clyde the Glide back in the day and even more when I got to go see my first playoff game ever (game 2 POR win vs Hou in08-09). Anyways my point is go out and check up on or join one of these other sites. Spread knowledge my chitlins be fruitful and multiply that shizzle.

6. So it is said, that if you know your enemies and you know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself and not your opponent, you may win or you may lose. If you know neither yourself or your enemy, you will always endanger yourself. -excerpt from "The Art of War" by Sun Tsu

I guess thats it.

Peace,

CJB

PS- Let me know if you have any luck out there.