I've attended the past two home games sitting closer than I have before. I have observed something in both games that maybe some of you who sit fairly closely to the court can affirm: I think LA is frustrating Felton with 1) how far out from the block he "posts" up and 2) how he passes out of the post late in the clock.

Last night as I sat on the baseline behind the Blazer's second-half basket I noticed Felton's expressions. It seemed that, whenever he would see Lamarcus try to post up seven feet from the block he would give an exasperated look and pass it in only to have LA dribble it until there's 5 seconds left on the shot clock to pass it out. A few times Felton passed it in, LA dribbled- going nowhere, and passed it out but then would re-post in the same position and demand the ball. I distinctly saw Felton roll his eyes twice when LA did this and pass it in.

It made me wonder if LA's game is difficult for PGs to play with. Maybe the problem with all of our PGs is not that they all suck, but that they're trying to get the ball "in" to a guy who too often posts up way out from the block and who is too indecisive with the ball. And he's the center of our scheme. Maybe that's at least part of what gums up this offense?

What do you think?

I keep seeing all of these Point Guard of the Future posts, saying that we need a PG after Andre Miller is gone.  People are talking about Sessions, Jennings, some baseball player, and I'm left wondering what ever became of Armon Johnson?  His assist to turnover ratio skyrocketed shortly after a great start to the season.  But he never really got a second look after that.

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There are few things in sports that are more frustrating to me than watching a team get beaten because of a lack of desire.  And that's what happened to our Blazers this series: they were crushed not by the better team (that is arguable), but by the team that wanted it more (that is not arguable).

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I watch every Blazer game, most somewhat delayed on my DVR, but every Blazer game gets watched (yes, I have Comcast, no this is not the time to argue about Comcast).  More than that, I watch every game with my four year old son, or at least he watches until bed time.  More than that, we take it upon ourselves to wear our Blazers shirts, shorts, and paired wristbands every game. 

Here's where everything becomes my fault.  My son and I could not find our wristbands before the Blazers played the Bulls.  I watched the entire Thunder game delayed, so my son did not watch any part of it.  We even had my dad over for the laker game, but I wasn't wearing my Blazers gear (my son was, to his credit).  For the last two games (OKC and NO), I was out of town.  I did watch the OKC game on ESPN with my brother, but had forgotten to bring my Blazer gear.

Do you see the pattern?  When my son and I both watch at least part of the game in our full Blazer gear, our beloved team is 6-0.  When we miss part of the equation- any part at all- we're 0-5.  So I take full responsibility for the losses.  In the indelible words of one Manute Bol, my bad.

Don't worry.  I won't let it happen again :-)

With all of the stories rolling around about Rudy, Oden, now Camby (!!!), I wanted to write a little post about what makes me so excited about what today-Blazer's Fan Fest- symbolizes for me.  I have been hyping this up to my 4 year old son for about two months now, and he and I are both eager to jump on the Max and head down to the Rose Garden.

Basketball is a business for the owners, front office types, and the players.  But it's entertainment for me.  I watch Blazer games because I like watching basketball.  But, more specifically, I love watching Blazer games with my son so that we can have yet another thing that we can share: Blazer fandom.  We love to cheer on our team and experience the highs and lows together.  He interacts with the game with his "Little Tykes" basketball hoop as we watch (he's got Brandon Roy's left-handed reverse layup down :-).  It's just another thing we can enjoy together.

But today represents, for me, what I love so much about the Blazers: a free event where I can take my son and get good seats to see these guys up close.  We get to be around a bunch of other fans who love the same guys we love and soak in Blazer mania.  We get to be right next to the court to take it all in, and it's an experience that we'll have together forever- another memory of a "big event" that we'll continue to build on.

The Blazers might do some things that we all don't like, but this is one thing they do right.

I have, what I think is, a different view of the KP firing.  It might be totally wrong, but I've thought through this as both a fan and as a small business owner.  Granted, the Trail Blazers organization is not a small business.  But it is a business.  And, I should say, as a fan, I really don't like this move.

However, as a business owner, I understand that sometimes the best moves seem like the worst moves.  Sometimes what seems best from the outside is the absolute worst from the inside.  There are factors weighing in on this decision that we likely don't know, and maybe never will.

Think about it like this: If you're Paul Allen, would you make a move that would jeopardize the loyalty of a good part of your revenue stream if you weren't pretty sure that in the long run it would generate more money in the long run?  Would you make a decision that you know would put you in van Gundy's "biggest disappointment of the draft" without some sort of promise (at best) or a strong gut-feeling (at worst) that your business would turn a big corner and lead to more revenue?  I sure wouldn't.  And my business experience and know-how is nothing compared to Paul Allen and the Vulcans. 

Or, look at the flip-side: Do you really think that Allen would fire KP in such a way, at such a time, just because he (Allen) wants to make a statement that he is really the man in charge and that he should get all the credit for the resurrection of his franchise?  If you think that is the sum of the decision, you likely don't know business well or your fandom has blinded your understanding.

Like I said, I could be totally wrong, and my trust that people whose businesses have been successful tend to make good business decisions could be unfounded in this case.  I am sure that I will receive many such comments.  That's fine- the freedom to disagree is a beautiful freedom and can lead to fruitful conversation.

I don't know if this will help at all, but I think this story sheds a little light on my way of thinking.  I rendered a service (the same profession I am in now) for a very wealthy man.  He had homes in several countries and I had done well over a hundred-thousand dollars of work for this man.  One time when I was leaving the jobsite (as I had done many times before), the man ran out and stopped me in my truck on my way out.  He stepped up to my passenger side and gave me a huge compliment about the quality of my service.  I smiled and thanked him, and he reached into his back pocket.  I immediately thought that he may very well give me some enormous tip, thought of the ways this man could change my life with the simple signing of a check for some large amount of money that would affect him very little and affect me and my family very much.  His hand came out of his back pocket with his cell phone.  He said, "I've got to take this call, Dan, but thank you so much again for your amazing work!"

I was really disappointed.  What I thought was going to be a huge thing became just another compliment from another customer.  But, as I drove back to the shop that evening, I thought about his expectations and mine.  I expected, since he has enormously deep pockets, he could easily show me his gratitude in a way that would make a big difference to me.  He expected me to do a good job.  He even went so far as to stop me and tell me how thankful he was for the quality of my work.  What was my "reward"?  More work.  More contracts with his name on them.  More dollars earned, not dollars given.  And it struck me: most rich people don't become rich by giving money away; they become rich by being tight with their money and keeping the people who work well for them busy with more work.  This is not the principle that directly applies.  The greater principle that DOES apply is that very wealthy people often know what it takes to make the most of their money.  It may not make a lot of sense to those around them, or even to the ones who work for them.  But, if they've earned a lot of money, they have likely learned how to handle it in a wise manner. 

Having said that, I know that there are owners of sports franchises who handle their operation very unprofessionally (Al Davis, owner of the Raiders comes to mind).  They think that, just because they know business that they know the ins and outs of the sport as well.  That may well be the case here.  But I want to be quick to listen and slow to speak here.  There may very well be something much more related to business and much less related to basketball that we don't know.

The other thing I wonder about this whole thing is this: do we really think that there isn't another person who can be an effective GM for the Blazers from this point on?  Maybe KP was great at building a franchise from scraps to respectable but wanted to let the "cake bake" too long and wasn't really willing to take us from respectable to contenders. 

One thing I do know: KP did a great job for the Blazers, but the checks for our great team were drawn from Paul Allen's account.  They made a great team for a while.  And I am looking forward to what happens next.  I hope we can wait patiently to see what Paul Allen does.  After all, it is his team.

I don't like the L*kers.  I really don't.  But I don't hate them, like I apparently should as a Blazer fan.  Maybe my fandom is in question.  But I DO hate the Celtics.

Never before have I seen a team that whines more than the Celtics.  Every whistle, every play, all the time.  Non-stop.  Now, I know that K*be cries too.  But his cries for fouls don't nearly erupt to the volume and clamor that the entire Celtics team raises all game long.

Doc Rivers barks at the refs nonstop.  He seems to impose his will on the officials when they're on his end of the court.  Paul Pierce looks like a little boy whose lunch was stolen every time he's called for a foul and every time he misses a shot. And you know what's so frustrating about those two?  It works!

KG cries some, but the thing that makes me want to slap him is how he does the little goal-tend block after the whistle is blown if someone shoots into the basket he's defending.  Like he's saying "you can't score at this basket".  Right.  Except for those 90-some-odd points the other team somehow manages to slip by you every game when the ball is live.  Perkins, Big Baby, et al are a bunch of whiners.

My two favorite teams are the Blazers and whoever is playing the Celtics.  Go L*kers.  Beat them to a pulp.  And here's to Ron Ron slapping KG in the head and KG running away like you know he will.

I know this might be too sappy for some of you, but I had to post this here.  My son turned four years old today.  He loves the Blazers (well, we both do!).  I think that watching Blazer games is a great way for he and I to enjoy something together.  During the games, he typically plays basketball on his own hoop, imitating what he sees on screen.

Yesterday at his party, I asked him, "Matthew, who is FOUR?!?!" (expecting him to say "MEEEEE!!!").

His reply: "Jerryd BAYLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That's my boy!

-Proud Daddy in Cornelius

This has bothered me all season long.  LaMarcus takes too long to decide what to do out of the double team.  I think a huge part of this series is getting good ball movement.  With Roy out, LaMarcus is going to have the ball a lot.  That's fine, as long as he knows what he wants to do with it.

The problem starts with poor post position.  LaMarcus gets pushed out halfway between the low block and the three point line.  Then he gets the entry pass.  Too many times he gets the ball, holds it, waits for the double team, then dribbles (thinks), dribbles (thinks), and passes out ineffectively.  In order to be effective, LaMarcus needs to either make his move before the double comes (which can result in the double team rushing too quickly and quickly opens up space on the floor) or pass out of it as soon as the double comes.  Quick, crisp passing out of the double is the most effective way to make a defense pay. Quick ball movement puts the defense out of position, which typically results in an easier shot or a foul.

Tonight (and for the rest of the series while we're at it!) we need to see LaMarcus decide quickly what he needs to do when he gets the ball.  If it's a jump shot, fine.  If it's passing out, fine.  Just decide what you're going to do FAST and do it.  If he doesn't, he will continue to swallow up time on the shot clock doing nothing but deciding what he wants to do with the ball.  A late-shot clock pass will come out to someone amply covered who will need to decide at that time which bad decision is the least bad.

Mark my words... or don't.  It's just a conspiracy.  But I have a growing feeling that Greg is going to pop out of the locker room before game 3, Willis Reed style.  He was at the Blazers' Practice Facility, but left before the media came in.  What was he doing there?  Rehab?  Come on, BELIEVE!

It might not happen.  It probably won't.  But I would feel oh-so-good if #52 came bursting out of the tunnel for game 3, gave a few back-up minutes for Camby, got a few rebounds and maybe a couple of points.  

The great thing about a conspiracy theory is that it doesn't need to be right in order to be fun.  And that's all this is: just me hoping to see Greg join in the fun for our series against the Suns and help the Blazers advance.

BELIEVE IT, BABY!!!!

I am getting tired of seeing our Blazers give up post position, give up on aggressive drives, and seemingly give up altogether.  Last night I saw LaMarcus get bumped out from the low block to nearly the three point line too many times to mention.  Then the wing would try to force in some poor little bounce pass (that my little sister can put more juice on) from a measly 5 feet away and the pass would get stolen at worst or give the ball to LaMarcus way out of position at best. 

I love our Blazers, and I know that they have been hit with a rash of injuries.  But I am tired of watching them go into a game, get punched in the mouth, and back away.

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