So I know we're all grieving about the loss of Roy and his mad skills, but you all know that there is actually real NBA professional basketball happening in less than a month, right? This is cause for celebration!

I just moved to LA in September, and have been looking forward to being able to catch the Blazers a lot more frequently in person than when I was out on the East Coast. As it turns out, they'll be down here right away, on January 1st, to take on (Chris Paul and?) the Clippers at Staples Center.

I seem to remember that there are a decent number of LA BEdgers, so if you are planning to be at the game, hit me up in the comments! I'm thinking about grabbing a block of cheap upper deck seats on StubHub, so if you want in let me know and we can have a little Blazer cheering section. In any case, if you'll be there, let's try and find a spot to meet up, perhaps before the game?

When I was in the NYC area, we started a google group for NY-area Blazer fans to watch games on TV and catch them when they were in town -- if anyone is interested in doing that here (or, better, already is doing that here) then please let me know in the comments and we'll figure it out.

Happy holidays from (a decidedly rainy and Portland-like today) Los Angeles!

Rich Cho was fired today, and it has nothing to do with his performance, his exceptional swindling of Michael Jordan at the trade deadline, or any specific incident of misconduct.

Larry Miller cited "chemistry reasons" and "communication style" as the reason for Cho's unexpected firing. After hearing those vague justifications, the first thing that I thought of was a very interesting article in New York Magazine that I read last week entitled "Paper Tigers: What Happens to All the Asian-American Overachievers When the Test-Taking Ends."

To me, Cho's firing fits precisely into the subtle pattern of subconscious discrimination that the article describes, calling it the "Bamboo Ceiling." The article is a really long read, but it makes a compelling case for the societal barriers that block Asian-Americans from success at the top levels of our society, especially in corporate settings.

Take Eddie Huang: "Huang had a rough twenties, bumping repeatedly against the Bamboo Ceiling. In college, editors at the Orlando Sentinel invited him to write about sports for the paper. But when he visited the offices, “the editor came in and goes, ‘Oh, no.’ And his exact words: ‘You can’t write with that face.’"

I think Rich Cho just became the poster child for the "Paper Tigers" phenomenon. Let's just hope that his next employer doesn't tell him, "oh no, you can't manage with that face." He seemed like a consummate pro and the Blazers organization will be lucky to find someone of his caliber to replace him.

With John Canzano trying out a new moniker for this season's team, I thought it would be fun to think about the alternate universes in which our beloved basketball team is working its way through troubled eras that have earned similar nicknames. Feel free to contribute your own submissions in the comments below.

1) The Ale Blazers:

Having recently fired Nate McMillan, the Blazers bring former NBA star and notorious alcoholic Vin Baker to coach the team on an interim basis. Baker's bad habits with booze rub off on the team, who show up visibly intoxicated to a game against Minnesota (but win anyway.)

2) The Pale Blazers:

In a blockbuster day of trades, Roy, Oden, Miller, Aldridge, Cunningham, Camby, Batum and Matthews head out the door, replaced by Jeff Foster, Marcin Gortat, JJ Redick, Kevin Love, Manu Ginobili and Steve Nash; also, Steve Blake makes a triumphant return as Nash's backup.

3) The Tail Blazers

The team's family-oriented image is tarnished when a scandal involving four team members and the Exotica International Club for Men strip club in North Portland makes the front page of The Oregonian. Zach Randolph is unavailable for comment.

4) The Fail Blazers

Led by recent D-League call-up and former Duck standout Luke Jackson, Portland sets an NBA record for losses, going 5-77 over the course of a season. They win the draft lottery and draft franchise savior Kevin Durant, who spontaneously combusts on the third day of training camp. Hey guys, it could be worse.

5) The Whale Blazers

Shawn Kemp returns from retirement to start in the place of injured centers Oden and Przybilla. His uncouth eating habits are picked up by his teammates, all of whom gain 20 pounds of fat and can be seen wheezing on the court toward the end of the first quarter.

Can you think of other rhyming alternate universes in which our poor Blazers are struggling? What would John Canzano call them? I eagerly await your responses.

I was just shocked to find that the Warriors all-time greats team was ahead of our Blazers by a 2-1 margin in the fan polling. This is clearly a case of small market bias and I thought it worthwhile to alert the B-Edge masses to rectify the problem.

Vote here: http://espn.go.com/espn/greatestteam/nba/

Our all-time team features Sheed, Walton, Kiki, Glide and Porter. We're matched up against a formidable opponent, though: Chris Webber, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway. Still, I think we can take 'em.

Again, the link: http://espn.go.com/espn/greatestteam/nba/

The first round features some other good matchups -- I was torn on the Mavs/Nuggets, what do you think?

Seriously -- where's the love for Scottie Pippen? Sure, he never brought us a title, but he sure came close. And even past his prime, he was one of the best basketball players to ever wear a Blazer jersey. Maybe we're all in a state of collective amnesia of all things "Jailblazers," which encompasses all of the Sheed Era as well as the darker years when we were terrible. Maybe we're still in denial and pretending that 4th quarter meltdown against LA never happened.

Yes, Pippen will always be known for his years (and six titles) as a Chicago Bull. I know I spent many of my early years as a Blazer fan reviling him. I even came up with what I thought at the time was the most genius derogatory nickname of all time: Snotty Pimple (although I won't be shocked if anyone else who frequents these forums called him that, either.) I despised him just as much as I despised Jordan, and I maintain (as most pundits are this weekend) that he was just as integral to those Bulls titles (including besting our Blazers in 1992) as Jordan.

Still, I think the guy at least deserves a thread on the BEdge. Share your favorite Pippen memories below, or your least favorite moments of him beating us. I, for one, loved the veteran savvy and steady leadership that he brought to our Blazers during his tenure here, and quickly forgave his transgressions as the former "Snotty Pimple." I was always impressed by his unflappable will to win and his dedication to all of the little things that helped make that happen -- Pippen is and will always be, in my opinion, the ultimate "intangibles guy."

Finally, an aspiration for this current crop: may our current SF prospect, Mr. Nicolas Batum, live up to the Pippen comparisons that have been bandied about since his arrival. If they do, maybe he'll be looking at a similar ceremony many years down the line ...

All of the KP/Allen mumbo jumbo happening right now actually doesn't come as a surprise to me at all. This season has, for all its exciting moments, been mostly a huge bummer. We went into training camp feeling like the Team of Destiny, ready to take on the West's elite, only to have our hopes shattered, injury by injury, bad break by bad break.

The only Blazer games that I saw live this year (I live in New Jersey) were the stinkbomb vs. Memphis when I was visiting my parents, and the stinkbomb vs. the Knicks when they came through MSG. The whole season has carried an air of disappointment, of what-could-have-been. Like most of you, my stomach turned when news of the Oden injury broke. Likewise for Przybilla shortly afterwards. And when, months later, the guy slipped in the shower ... I'd laugh if only to keep from crying.

The Penn/Pritchard scenario, which overshadowed our disappointing playoff ouster, was the icing on the cake. Blazer fans are, rightfully, mourning right now. What we have lost is the surefire youthful optimism that comes with being a team on the rise. Now, we have to face the difficult reality of playing with the big boys. And with all of the injuries, inconsistency and frustration that packed itself into this season, we have been reminded of what those challenges really are. In a nutshell, this season has kind of just plan stunk.

But there is hope, fellow Blazer fans! The beauty of fervent sports fandom is that, no matter what (unless you're a Sonics fan) there is always next season. This year was an unequivocal bust, and it's important that we take the summer to mourn the loss of what was once a promising opportunity. But the future is still ahead of us. We still have a young, talented group of players learning how to play winning basketball. We still have the richest owner in the NBA, a passionate fan of the game who always wants to win.

So take your time to grieve -- vent your anger at the PR nightmare that this has become, voice your fear that we took the wrong guy in the Oden/Durant draft, fantasize about trading for Chris Paul, whatever works. But come September, let's all be ready to start a fresh new season with these troops, chinks in their armor and all.

"Culture": it's been Kevin Pritchard's buzzword since he took over as General Manager of the Portland Trail Blazers.  Some made fun of his frequent use of the word.  Some derided him for apparently preferring "nice guys" to talented ones.  Now, nobody seems to bring it up, as we've become more focused on wins, losses and (unfortunately this season) injuries.

But Pritchard's commitment to the team's "Culture" has not abated -- not during last year's run to the playoffs nor this year's run of bad luck with injuries (which, by the way, have us on roughly the same W-L pace as last year.)

Why is it that we've been able to plug in players who barely played in the NBA last year if at all (Bayless, Howard, and two rookies) and still win games at a decent pace?  Because the things that have remained constant -- namely, our winning culture instilled by Pritchard, supported by Nate McMillan and embodied on the court by Brandon Roy -- transcend the actual bodies on the floor.

The Blazers' success, to me, suggests that institutional and organizational structures matter a lot more than we tend to think.  "It's a players' league" is a common refrain among NBA commentators.  And although it's true that the players are behind much of what makes the NBA (and its best teams) great, the organizations (and, by extension, cities and fanbases) matter.

On the other end of the spectrum, look at perennially awful teams like the Clippers (Mike Dunleavy and Donald Sterling), Timberwolves (Glen Taylor and David Kahn, formerly Kevin McHale), Warriors (Don Nelson and Chris Cohan) and see that even when they have some extremely talented players, they manage to underachieve.

Our recent play gives strong evidence that we have the right administration in place for this team to compete for a championship.  Pritchard, McMillan and owner Paul Allen's work to rehabilitate the culture of this team has been a painstaking and slow process (just read Dave's decade recaps for a reminder!)  But today, we're seeing the dividends of their hard work.  Just think: if the '05 Blazers lost five of their rotation players, we'd be giving up and taking for draft position, players wouldn't be giving a crap in practice, and we'd have probably be in NJ Nets territory in terms of W-L record.

Of course, we're not going to get there without also having a group of the best players.  We're going to need Greg Oden healthy to compete for a championship.  We're going to need to make the types of roster-consolidating and role-defining moves that make championship teams click.  But right now, our centerpieces (McMillan, Roy, Pritchard, Aldridge, Oden) are learning how to handle adversity and apply their "cultural capital", if you will, to creating a championship contender.

So, though these injuries have been incredibly discouraging, take solace in the fact that this team has in place all of the "intangibles" that can't be taken away even by one of the most ridiculous strings of injuries ever to befall a basketball team.  Remember that, more than just "heart" or "scrappiness", this team has one fundamental element of a winner: Culture.

After last night's game, it was clear to me that, given our injury situation this year, EVERYTHING has to go right for us to be able to hang with the better teams in the league.  Last night, just about everything went right except LMA showing up.  And sure enough, we lost.  That bodes well for our future, though, because we have some pretty great players on the team who aren't playing right now due to our ridiculous run of injuries this season.

So that got me thinking: what exactly IS the recovery timetable for our guys, and how will it effect us in the short-to-medium term?  Here's a player-by-player look at this year's injuries, recovery timetables and impact on the team:

1) Greg Oden: Fractured patella, done for the season. 

Awful, depressing and just an all-around bummer.  However, the silver lining is that Greg expects a full recovery and will be at full strength next year.  Now, it remains to be seen whether or not he will continue to suffer a string of injuries, or whether he'll go "Benjamin Button" on us and have a relatively healthy career ahead of him.  Being an eternal optimist, I will continue to believe the latter until he suffers something with a long-term impact on his health.

Obviously we are really hurting without Oden; LMA or Juwan Howard have to spot Przybilla when he needs a rest or is in foul trouble.  This is going to continue to be an issue for us all season long -- we'll see if KP makes a move to get us another reliable rebounder before Greg comes back.

2) Travis Outlaw: Foot surgery, out until March-April. 

Outlaw underwent surgery in mid-November with a 3-5 month timeline for his return.  I'm guessing that we won't be seeing Travis until the very end of the season, as there's no reason for him to rush back and re-injure the foot.

Outlaw is in a contract year, so the injury is a huge setback for him.  For the team, however, Outlaw has a decent-sized expiring contract that is an asset whether or not he is playing.  Before the injury, Outlaw was essentially backing up LaMarcus Aldridge at the 4.  He offered a consistent scoring threat off the bench which we have been sorely missing since he went out.  Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham have taken most of his minutes, and have not been particularly effective.  Expect us to improve when Outlaw works himself back into the rotation at the end of the season.

Expect Travis to play in 5-10 more regular season games this year, plus the playoffs.  I hope that's enough time for him to get his groove back, because it will definitely help us win some of those games.

3) Nicolas Batum: Shoulder surgery, out until February-March. 

Next to Oden's patella fracture, Batum's injury has probably had the biggest impact on our team this year.  Fortunately he is young and still locked into a rookie contract, so he has plenty of time to recover from the surgery.  Batum had his surgery before the season started, so we'll probably get him back before Travis.

Batum provided an important skill set to the starting unit that has since been lacking: perimeter defense and 3-point shooting.  One would think that Martell Webster would be a great fit to slide in and fill those shoes, but he has not done so effectively this season.  When Batum is back and healthy, Webster will return to the bench where (according to his play this season) he clearly belongs.

Expect Nic to play in 20-25 more regular season games plus the playoffs.  That's a healthy chunk of the season for Batum to make an impact for us.

4) Rudy Fernandez: Back surgery, out until mid-to-late January. 

Fernandez's back surgery in early December was the latest blow in our team's run of bad luck this season.  Fortunately, his recovery time is much shorter than Outlaw's and Batum's, so we'll get him back sometime in January.  We have sorely missed Rudy's scoring and 3-point shooting, and he's actually stepped up his perimeter defense this season as well.

When Fernandez returns, he'll probably get some of Martell's minutes, but it will also force Nate to make some choices about which of the PG triumvirate is going to have their minutes reduced to accommodate him.  Here's to hoping that it's Steve Blake.

Expect Fernandez to play 35-40 more regular season games plus the playoffs.  By the time April rolls around, we'll have forgotten how much we missed him during this rough patch in December.

5) Patrick Mills: broken toe, doesn't matter when he'll return. 

Mills is our 15th (now 16th) man and will not see a minute of non-garbage time this season.  This is the one injury that won't impact us at all.  Still, we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

So remember, Blazer fans, there is a light at the end of this tunnel of basketball mediocrity.  We don't need to make any panic trades, fire our coach or hang our stars out to dry.  Just hope for a full recovery for these four talented Blazers and we'll see where fate takes us from there!  And let's hope that this is the end of our awful luck with injuries for many years to come.

I know that the title of this post is kind of duh around here, but I was just perusing the ESPN standings so far into the season and it gives a positive outlook for Blazers fans.

ESPN NBA Standings

Looking at the all-important Point Differential statistic, we are sitting pretty at 2nd in the league at +8.3, behind only Boston's +10.2.  Right on our heels, however, is Atlanta at +8.0.

Of course, this is a very "noisy" stat early in the season, and is inflated by our somewhat easy schedule so far.  But compared to previous years, I think this is a pretty impressive predictor of success for our team.  Look at all of the teams who have notched a Point Differential of above +6.0 so far:

Boston +10.2

Portland +8.3

Atlanta +8.0

Dallas +7.0

Miami +6.1

Not bad company to be keeping!  Of course, teams like LA and Cleveland will probably climb up there soon enough, but we are off to a legitimately good start, "taking care of business" against bad teams by winning comfortably, and not getting blown out (cough cough L*KERS)

Of course, it also means that we're going to be seriously tested tomorrow by one of this season's hottest teams in Atlanta.  It doesn't help that they're on their home floor, and we're coming to the end of a long road trip.  Many pragmatists are already bracing for our first big loss of the season.

Our 8-3 record is nothing to sneeze at, but it's these Point Differential numbers that are really making me happy this early in the season.  I remember even as early as last season having to sweat through nail-biters against awful teams, wishing that we had the wherewithal to blow them out of the water.  If our recent exploits against Minnesota are any indication (and I think that they are,) then that shouldn't be an issue.  That is the hallmark of a team on its way to being a contender.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow night, but either way we have a lot to be excited about so far this season, despite the injuries and other bad vibes that seem to be emanating across the fanbase.

(An aside: the Point Differential standings also suggest that a number of teams will be truly awful this season: New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Memphis are already at -9.0 or worse!  Minnesota leads the way at -13.8 thanks in large part to our two drubbings.  Feel free to make fun of them in the comments below.)

OK, Hedo dumped us...

Now what?  Well, what do we need from our Free Agent signing this year?  Let's see:

- Veteran presence

- Good shooting

- Ballhandling

- Shot creation

- Playoff experience

As it turns out, there happens to be a couple of guys out there who fit the bill.  One is Lamar Odom, who we probably won't be able to pry away from sunny Los Angeles.  The other one is currently being ignored by most teams, his market price is incredibly low.  He's been in the NBA Finals.  He's averaged 20+ ppg for most of his career.  Yes, he's on the downhill side of his career, but if we sign him to a 2-3 year deal we can use him as an expiring contract.  Oh yeah, and he is a former MVP.

His name?  Allen Iverson.  Granted, there are a lot of questions marks for someone who calls himself The Answer.  Will he be able to fit in the locker room?  Share the court with Roy?  Spot up for shots?  I think if he can be had for a reasonable price, he's better than any of the other short-term free agent options out there.  It would be a BOLD move by KP that would certainly ruffle a lot of feathers.  AI is not a thug.  The guy is a winner.  Remmeber the Olympics when he was the only one who played his heart out while Larry Brown was whining about his roster?  The guy is a warrior and I'd love to have him on my team.

We need to remember a few things as the free agency period winds down: first, this cap space is a ONE TIME opportunity.  "Standing pat" is a BAD idea, because this is the one chance that we get to sign a player without sending anyone else out.

It's going to be a lot harder to get Kirk Hinrich now that Gordon is going to Detroit.

Devin Harris: no.

There's nobody out there who will catapult us into immediate contender status.  This might be the best way to tide us over.

So that's my suggestion: Sign AI to a two-year, $14 million deal ($6m this year, $8m next) and see what happens.  It might not be a great Plan A, but it's not a bad Plan B.

Got better ideas?  I'd love to hear them in the comments.

Yeah, that's right, we won the second half to tie the series at 3 halves apiece.  I think we all had a pretty bad feeling about this game, and in the first half all of our fears were realized.  Yao got the ball early, Scola was on fire, Artest wasn't taking stupid shots ... bad news all around.  11-point deficit at the half.

If we're going to lose a game on the road in Houston, though, this is the way I'd want to lose it.  We got all the bad stuff out of our system early and made a truly valiant effort to get within one point in the closing seconds.  Rudy came to life, Oden looked great out there and Blake was one boneheaded airball from redeeming himself in the eyes of his detractors on the board here.  We flat-out won that second half by denying Yao and playing great defense.

For Game 4, we're going to need more on the offensive end.  And we need it from Travis Outlaw.  That guy has not shown up to play yet in this series and we really need him.  Rudy won't be 5-7 on his 3s again on Sunday.  A little offense from Super Trout and I think we can steal the next one on the road.  We have shown that we can roll with the punches, now it's time to go out there and do our thing!

Can't wait for Sunday!

After seeing the news that the Wizards are talking with Flip Saunders about their coaching vacancy, I immediately thought to myself, "that's a move of a team that doesn't have championship aspirations."  It seems like there are a lot of coaches in this league who have been around a long time but never gotten their teams to the top.  In fact, I checked to see what coaches had won a championship since 1987 -- a span of 22 years -- and the list is surprisingly small:

1) Pat Riley 1987-88, 2006

2) Chuck Daly, 1989-1990

3) Phil Jackson 1991-93, 1996-98, 2000-02

4) Rudy Tomjonavich 1994-95

5) Gregg Poppovich 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007

6) Larry Brown 2003

7) Doc Rivers 2008

Most of these coaches are either already retired or about to be (the exceptions being Doc Rivers and Gregg Poppovich.)  Assuming that these two are the only other ones who stick around during our "championship window" of the next 10 years or so, who else could end up on this list?

My argument would be that almost-been-there coaches like Rick Adelman, Jerry Sloan, Flip Saunders, Byron Scott, and Jeff Van Gundy don't belong on this list.  Mike D'Antoni is a borderline case.  Here is my list of potential championship-caliber coaches over the next 10 years, alongside Gregg Poppovich and Doc Rivers:

1) Nate McMillan.  I am so grateful that we have tasked him to take us to the Promised Land.  I strongly believe that he has what it takes.

2) Mike Brown.  He's an underrated aspect to why Cleveland is doing well right now.

3) Stan Van Gundy.  A front-runner for COY this year, this guy has always impressed me and I think he can get a good team over the top.

4) Avery Johnson.  Call me crazy, but if he comes back I could see him taking another team all the way.

If I were a rebuilding franchise, I would be searching for the next Mike Brown or Nate McMillan, not trying to rehire a has-been like Flip Saunders.  Portland tried that with Mike Dunleavy in the late-90s/early 00s and it got us close but not close enough.

Any other nominations for coaches to fear in the next decade?

Now that the Blazers have been playing their best basketball in nearly a decade, some patterns about this particular team are emerging.

First of all, it looks pretty clear that we're going to see a 9-man rotation for the playoffs.  Sorry, Channing and Jerryd, you're going to have to wait until next year.  Sergio will get spot minutes in the 2nd and 4th quarter along with Greg and Trout, while Rudy will play with the bench and finish out the game with the starters (replacing Batum in the starting lineup).

This strategy makes a lot of sense to me, as it maximizes the capabilities of those on the court.  This diagram from PopcornMachine is a nice visual aid:

Blazers-Clippers

The Clippers game is a pretty clear example that our best lineup (the one that outscored them by 30 throughout the game) was Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Joel Przybilla.  That's the unit that finished out the 4th when the bench was struggling and gave up a run to the Clips.

We have tried some other lineup permutations throughout the season that have been pretty effective, including Blake/Roy/Trout/LMA/Przy and Blake/Roy/Trout/LMA/GO.  But I have to say I like what I'm seeing if this is the crunch time lineup Nate is going to go with in the playoffs.

What do you think?

Now that we've clinched our first playoff berth since 2003, I figure now is as good a time as any to throw my own playoff positioning analysis angle into the fanposts here.  It's like the opposite of blazer91's "Taking Care of Business" thread: what happens if everything goes wrong for the rest of the regular season?  What feasible possibilities are there?

To calculate this, I assume that the Blazers will finish the season 3-3 leaving us with a record of 51-31 (losses to Denver, LA and San Antonio).  Then I assumed that all of our other Western rivals win all games against everyone except one another.  I left those games as question marks to establish a range of possibility for each of our rivals in the homestretch.  This is what I got:

PDX:

@MEM W
@SA L
vs LAL L
@ LAC W
vs OKC W
vs DEN L

Record: 51-31

SA:

@ OKC W
vs PDX W
vs UTH ?
@ SAC W
@ GSW W
vs. NO ?

53-29 to 55-27

NO:

@ MIA W
vs. PHX W
@ DAL ?
vs. DAL ?
@ HOU ?
@ SA ?

49-33 to 53-29

HOU:

vs ORL W
@ SAC W
@ GSW W
vs NO ?
@ DAL ?

52-30 to 54-28

DAL:

vs. UTH ?
vs. NO ?
@ NO ?
vs. MIN W
vs. HOU ?

47-35 to 51-31

UTH:

@ DAL ?
@ SA ?
vs. GSW W
vs. LAC W
@ LAL W

50-32 to 52-30

DEN:

vs. OKC W
@ LAL W
vs SAC W
@ PDX W

56-26

If we do indeed finish 51-31, then ANY of the Western Conference contenders could pass us.  However, there is only ONE way that this is possible (hence it is incredibly unlikely):

Assuming Dallas wins ALL of its remaining games, they would finish 51-31 and beat us for the tiebreaker.  That means New Orleans takes two more losses to their maximum win number, having them finish 51-31 as well and also beating us in the tiebreaker.  Utah and Houston also take a hit, and Utah will also finish 51-31 as their maximum (and take the tiebreaker due to division record).  San Antonio finishes with their minimum win possibility at 53-29 and Houston finishes right behind at 52-30.

Worst-case scenario final standings:

LAL 64-18

DEN 56-26

SA 53-29

HOU 52-30

TIE: NO, DAL, UTH, POR at 51-31 (POR ends as 8 seed, someone else would have to sort out how the other ones would end up in this scenario)

That horribly complicated scenario would be the worst for us, because it is the ONLY possible way right now that we can end up with the 8th seed facing LA in the first round.  As fun as that would be, we would totally get creamed.  However, this is especially unlikely because in this scenario Denver would have the 2 seed locked up and would probably rest their starters for the final game against us.

In other words, if you don't want to see LA in the first round, ANYTHING that happens BESIDES the above scenario will keep us out of the 8th seed.  If we drop one of our "gimme" games to close out the season, it becomes much more feasible that we could end up with the 8th seed.

I hope that we all learned something from this exercise.  I think what I learned is that April 15 can't come quickly enough!!!!

I noticed that in the wake of our humiliating defeat to the Oklahoma City Losers, there was an understandable amount of consternation in the Blazer's Edge community.  I, too, felt really bummed out after the loss and wouldn't even visit my NBA mainstay sites until a full day had passed.  The loss confirmed so many of our fears about this team: lack of defense, poor first quarters, inexperience, the rookie wall, injuries ... everything just seemed to be going haywire and that loss proved it.

Well, at least we can take solace in the fact that it's all relative.  Taking a peek at tonight's scoreboard reminded me that we're not the only Western Conference team who hasn't been bringing their "A" game recently:

Tonight's Scoreboard

Yes, that's right: three of our division rivals (and the Clippers, but that's no surprise) suffered embarassing defeats this evening.

Our friends in Phoenix apparently are already making plans for All-Star Weekend because they didn't bother to show in Philadelphia, getting hosed in a wire-to-wire rout by the Sixers.  The Rockets lost to the only team in the league that has been more ravaged by injuries than they have, the Bucks.  And the Hornets lost to Memphis.

Granted, the Hornets lost because they still don't have Paul back, and we know how they are without him.  The Rockets and the Suns, though, don't seem like serious threats to challenge us for playoff seeding if they keep playing like this.  And the Mavs are going to struggle now that Jason Terry is out indefnitiely as well.

Currently, we're ranked as the 4th seed by Hollinger's Playoff Odds.  Even with all the struggles we're having, I don't see us falling far from there because other teams seem to be struggling just as much.  Utah won't have their full trio back for a few weeks, so they might make a run down the stretch, but other than that I don't see how anyone is going to bump past us in the playoff seedings unless Paul comes back and the Hornets start to play really well.

And of course, by then we'll have our beloved Blakey back in action.  I don't think the sky is falling, but also I don't think we'll be able to catch LA, SA and Denver.

Considering that coming into the season I was optimistically expecting us to get the 7th or 8th seed, this makes me feel much less bad about that OKC loss ...

I've been thinking about rotations since reading Dave's call for a new starting lineup.  I completely agree that a change needs to be made, as it has always confused me somewhat that we never seem to start our best lineups -- big surprise that we keep getting off to slow starts.

A quick look at The Popcorn Machine shows that in the past few games, there are a few patterns worth noting:

1) The least surprising -- we suck at the beginning and improve dramatically towards the end of games.

2) We have very different lineups during those two times -- the starters are usually not the same as the finishers.

3) Our "early suck" lineup is usually Oden, Batum, Sergio, Roy and Aldridge, while our "late not suck" lineup is usually Aldridge, Roy, Bayless, and two of the three of Outlaw/Przy/Rudy.

4) Oden has been playing like crap -- we are almost always playing better when he is off the floor.  To a lesser extent, this is also true for Sergio and Batum.

I am of the opinion that stopping these slow starts is of primary importance to this team.  Without Blake, we are really struggling to pull that off, in large part because the skill sets of his backups are very different from his.

In order to accomplish this, I would recommend one of the following starting lineups:

Bayless, Roy, Outlaw, Aldridge, Przybilla

OR

Bayless, Rudy, Roy, Aldridge, Przybilla

I think that option 1 is more likely, personally I'd go with option 2.  The bottom line is that five of our six best players  need to be on the floor to start the game, and right now none of them are named Greg, Nic or Sergio.

That leaves for a nice second unit lineup of Sergio, Rudy, Nic, Aldridge and Oden, or Sergio, Roy, Nic, Outlaw, Oden.  There are some other permutations that could work as well.

Allow me to conclude with a few caveats:

1) This is a dramatically different team without Steve Blake.  In order to maximize the combinations of players on this team, we need to rethink the way we put our lineups together.

2) This is not an indictment of Greg, Sergio or Nic.  I think they are all very talented, and especially Greg and Nic have a lot of room to grow into being important contributers to this team.  But right now, without Steve, it's not happening.  Also, this isn't to say that I think Bayless is better than Sergio or Przy is better than Greg.  It's just a matter of fit without Blake's steadying influence.

3) I understand the cries for player development over winning, that we're destroying Greg's psyche by sending him to the bench.  First of all, if Greg is going to be the franchise cornerstone, he needs to learn early that sometimes he will need to take some lumps in order to benefit the team.  He's not fully developed yet, and it's not all about him.  Right now our best lineup doesn't involve him, but I'm sure that will change by next season.

4) Finally, let's not forget that even with all of our crappy first quarters, we are one of the eight best teams in the NBA right now.  I'm confident that we will weather this no matter what, and of course there will be more tweaks to make once Webster returns from injury as well.  But some tinkering now might mean the difference between a first-round exit and a shot at the Conference Finals.

Keep your heads up, Blazer fans, and let's hope that some kinds of changes happen in the starting lineups SOON.

I just moved to New Jersey a couple of weeks ago and am glad that I made it out here before the Blazers came to town!  I had a pair of tickets right behind the basket (perfect seats to witness the Bayless Jam) and had a great time.  I'm just bummed out that I forgot to bring my Sergio jersey -- obviously the reason he had a lackluster game.

Coming out of the gate, both teams were playing pretty lackidasically.  You could tell that it was the second night of a back to back for both teams.  Neither team was really playing D, and the Blazers were really missing Blake.  But when it came time to put their cards on the table, the Nets struck first putting us in a pretty deep hole.  Nate was trying a bunch of weird lineups and it wasn't really working.  NOBODY could guard Devin Harris.  That guy is a straight up BALLER.  Vince Carter, on the other hand, took the night off.  Fortunately for the Nets, Bobby Simmons had a great game out of nowhere.

Roy tried to keep us in it all by himself for most of the game, but we really made our run when Bayless and Outlaw started to step up.  Travis had a couple of big 3s from the corners and Bayless ... well, enough has probably been said already.  Roy and Bayless are going to be a GREAT backcourt tandem for us for many years, let's just say that.

The Nets arena experience was pretty disappointing -- nothing like a Blazers or Golden State home game, which are other arenas I've seen.  Half empty, pretty dead crowd ... lots of kids having fun at least.  But I'm glad to be able to head home with a win -- and get my picture here on the B-Edge (someone is taking pictures on this road trip?  Look for me and my pal Marty with the Spanish flag around here somewhere ...)

I really felt like we needed this one.  Nate really got the team going when we needed to step it up, so I hope he gets some credit for this W.  He is much, much taller than Lawrence Frank.

That is all.  Go Blazers!

Link

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is calling it a career after giving up on his latest recovery from knee surgery.  I remember Abdur-Rahim coming to Portland as the "centerpiece" of the Rasheed Wallace trade and being underwhelmed but irrationally optimistic that the Blazers knew what they were doing at that point dumping one of my favorite (albeit embattled) Blazers.  I remember being very bummed out that they just missed the playoffs by one game (41-41, familiar?) and then everything went to pieces after the Z-Bo and Miles extensions.  Abdur-Rahim seems like he's always been a good guy who never lived up to his potential as a top-3 pick.  I wish him well in his post-basketball endeavors, though.

My question for you all: did Shareef make enough of an impact during his Blazers tenure to be considered a Blazer by posterity?  Or was he just another player who passed through but didn't make an impression on the Blazermaniacs of Portland?  He came during a dark time of the Jailblazer era, does that matter?

Discuss ...

Hey everyone,

So none of us quite made the CR Playoffs this year, which is too bad, but we'll definitely be there next year.

Along those lines, I know this was brought up in a post before but Honka Playboys (formerly Bedgers2) are losing a few players and will be looking to fill slots for two Power Forwards.  If you've got a PF/C and are interested in joining one of the top-tier B-Edge operations, PM me (kickbrass) in the in-game mail or leave a post here on the forum.

Other teams feel free to announce openings as well.  To look for intra-BEdge candidates to poach from other teams to fill your positions, consult the Google Player Attribute Spreadsheet.

Thanks everyone and keep on training!  Good luck next season.

Since the thread is falling down, falling down, here's another to keep you up to speed:

important links:

Google Player Attribute spreadsheet

http://www.courtrivals.com/

Some of you have noticed that Bedgers2 changed our name.  We felt that we deserved a name that didn't leave us as being "#2" to anyone else, so we took the name of this year's Finnish League Champions, Honka Playboys.

Continue your witty Court-Rivals-related banter here in this thread.

It is that time Court Rival fans, time for a new Court Rivals thread!  I apologize to everyone that doesn't play court rivals and has no interest in this thread.  We are doing our best to cut down on the amount of these that are created and try to maintain all the info in as few threads as possible.  Thanks for your patience and understanding, oh and for being TomInHawaii.

Carrying on!  Here is the latest Google Player Attribute spreadsheet which was updated on 8/6/08 by the kind and wonderful Jerryd Oden.  If you have access and can update your team regularly it would be a great help, and reduce the work of one person.

In the latest BlazersEdge faux-league standings we have a Google League Standing Spreadsheet brought to us by the great Lamarcus Royden.  Thanks guys!

OK full disclosure: I copied the first three paragraphs from the last court rivals thread.  Continue discussion of all things Court Rivals here as the last one slipped way down the fanposts.

Also, if you want access to the Player Attribute spreadsheet, just tell me your email and I'll add you.

It may be the middle of August, but on behalf of the Blazer's Edge community I have an important announcement to make with regards to the exciting 2008-2009 season.

Many believed that with the departure of Jarret Jack and the apparent relegation of Sergio Rodriguez to Rudy's Translator, the great Sergio/Jack Controversy died out with a whimper.

However, it appears that it didn't take long for the Playing Time Controversy of the Year to take shape!

Yes, that's right folks, we have a new Sergio/Jack conundrum!  Ladies and gentlemen, Let the New Debate Begin!  Who will serve as the main guard next to Brandon Roy in the Fourth Quarter?

In one corner, we have Jerryd Bayless, the mercurial one-and-done Wildcat, a six-foot-three (with shoes) combo guard taken with the 11th pick in this year's draft.  He took home the Vegas Summer League MVP Trophy after a very impressive showing against less-than-impressive competition.  Bayless scores a lot of points, plays solid defense and has a good handle despite a much-discussed short wingspan.

In the other corner, we have Rudy Fernandez, the star of Spain's ACB league last year, whose arrival has been anticipated by Blazer faithful ever since we drafted him last year with the 20th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.  Rudy is currently playing the 6th man sparkplug role on the very talented Spanish National Team.  He has a sweet stroke and a knack for highlight-reel theatrics with an open lane.  Not known yet for his defense, however, Rudy is believed at this point to be an offense-oriented guard only at this stage in his career.

This debate is already beginning to rage in a number of other threads (including the "who plays in the fourth quarter" thread that inspired this post.)

So, Blazer's Edgers, weigh in early, and often as the season progresses and one side starts accusing Nate of having a Man Crush on the other!  Good times!

Hi all,

I thought I'd compile a list of everyone participating in Court Rivals to see if anyone might want to shuffle the teams around to help out everyone involved.  I think there are a few on each team who aren't training, and I know some of those of us who came later (Just Blaze, B-Edge Odenizers) would love to be play with a team that's all there in terms of commitment to training and roster balance.

Here's the spreadsheet:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pR9UfPvKWC0b902MfARodAg

For example, I'd be willing to bet that LaRoy Oden and Wyatt Brinkman be interested in moving onto the Bedgers2 (if they cut Josh Thatcher and Dave Deckard Jr who haven't been training it seems,) and Red Unit would benefit from that if Marcus Lucas and Billy Ray Johnson came over from Just Blaze.

THIS IS UPDATED THROUGH:

July 28

An additional note: I can set this up so each team can keep this up on their own, which would be helpful (7 teams is a lot to do all at once) ... let me know if you'd be up to doing that for your team every couple of days.

Big surprise, right?

Well, after a polite disagreement regarding some pre-draft speculation, the Blazers pulled off an EXCELLENT draft without indulging my slightly out-of-left-field idea.  Next, though, is free agency and the summer trading season.

I love the Bayless pickup, as it gives us some options at PG.  I think he'll be a great fit next to Roy.  Obviously the big focus in the short-term is what to do with that SF situation.  I don't think that KP is done for the summer, but I also don't think he'll move RLEC until the trade deadline, where it will be a more valuable asset.  Maybe Sergio goes with him as a throw-in once he's helped Rudy move to Portland...

Anyway, I'm thinking KP's summertime target is Tayshaun Prince.  Would Webster, Frye and cash/future pick(s) get the job done?  If it did, I'd be all over it.  Now I don't know if Detroit would do that, but it does seem that they're trying to retool and gather up assets around the Amir Johnson/Rodney Stuckey/Jason Maxiell generation, and this could help them do that.

I'm curious to see where people are at with Martell and Frye.  It is my belief that the community here overrates Martell because we took him so high, traded CP3 for him, etc.  It's a classic case of cognitive dissonance: some part of our brains really wants to defend that pick even though it was a big mistake (and please don't trot out the "well we never would have had Oden if it wasn't for that!!" argument.  We've been over that enough times here.)  I'm also curious to see who the BEdgers are salivating over besides our own players, because as Dave pointed out some of them will be moved soon. 

So, is Tayshaun a worthy haul for giving up on the Nash-era Golden Boy?  Is there anyone else out there who you think would be a better fit?  If so, is THAT small forward worth Martell and filler?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses.

Speculation leading up to the draft is just so much fun, I thought I'd put my "what if" scenario in there and see if this gets anyone talking:

Awhile back some of you were debating whether or not you'd give up LMA for the #1 pick and take Derrick Rose.  After the point guard troubles we had last year, it seems like the perfect solution to our problems.

Personally, I don't think I'd do that deal if I were Chicago.  But after listening to all of the speculation about Miami shopping the #2 pick ...

Say Chicago takes Rose at #1.  If you were KP would you offer up LMA to Pat Riley for the chance to take Michael Beasley at #2?  I know it sucks that LMA has to be the guy who's being talked about all the time as trade bait, but it sure ain't going to be Roy or Oden.

That would give us a new "Big Three", and I know some of you are already attached to this one (many were even arguing against trading LMA for Rose).  Personally, I think LMA is almost as much of an unproven commodity as Beasley.  LMA put up solid numbers on a high volume of shots as a main option on a lottery team, Beasley put up disgusting numbers on a middling college team.  I'd do this deal, but I'm curious to know what you think:

All other things (cap rules etc) being equal, assuming these were the centerpieces of a Portland-Miami trade, would you do this?

Looks like he's the first to interview for the Suns vacancy!  Now really, who saw that one coming?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3398493

Pretty neat, huh?  I thought he got sort of a bum rap in Milwaukee.  This could be huge for him if he gets to show he can coach a team that is actually good.  My prediction: everyone writes them off and says they'll miss the playoffs, and they end up around the 6th seed just ahead of the Blazers.

All I can say is best of luck to him and who knows, maybe he can even show Nash a thing or two?

Lots of Blazers jerseys in the stands tonight, I was surprised.  It was a great game, but we just got outclassed at big moments, and you can really feel the difference being at home would have made in this game.  Golden State managed to stay just ahead the whole game, and a few big plays and the crowd was going crazy.  Really great fans, those Warriors fans.
It's obvious that the Blazers are trying to establish LaMarcus as a post threat, and it's also obvious that he's not quite there yet.  I was also a little disappointed by his "intangibles" -- hustle, crashing the boards, it just wasn't happening much.  On the other hand, Steve Blake came out with a chip on his shoulder, and Joel Pryzbilla played great too despite his nonexistent offensive game.
The one thing that stood out the most, though, is that this is the first time in YEARS that I have seen the Blazers play live and have them give it to one guy, and you just feel confident and safe that good things will happen.  That guy is Brandon Roy.  I wasn't totally sold on him as a "superstar" type until I saw him man up on Baron Davis, calmly cross over his defenders, whip great passes to open shooters, get into the lane with ease, and drill open 3s.  This kid is a complete player.  I hope that these injuries aren't nagging long-term ones.  Because this guy is a baller.
It was disappointing to see them lose tonight, but this is such a great fan base, I couldn't get too bummed seeing them all excited afterwards.  So it was a good game -- I'm jealous of all you guys who get to see these guys play a lot more often!

I just bought a pair of tickets to the game tomorrow at Oracle Arena, and I was wondering if any other Blazers faithful would be there wearing the red and black.  Drop me an e-mail alex dot w dot rodriguez at gmail dot com if you're coming!  I'll be in section 205 ...
I'm looking forwrad to finally seeing this team in person after following so much this season from afar.  (Although with these seats I'll still be seeing them from afar ...)
And after the big game against the L*kers, I'm expecting another solid performance.  So yeah, let me know if there are any of you coming and I'll keep my eye out ...