Wow. I did predict a blazer victory tonight, but seeing it at the garden was a sight to behold. I haven't heard the rose garden that loud and energized since the days of Sabas, Pip, and Sheed. If we keep that energy up a lot we are going to win a lot of home games. A few observations, praises, and concerns.

1. Roy and Aldridge tonight were the realization of what I have been hoping for since they were drafted; a deadly one-two punch scoring threat that runs the pick-and-roll effectively, are difficult to match up against, and defend well.

2. We have some ridiculous rookies. Nic and Rudy played solid, solid minutes. Nic was an animal on defense, and while Rudy didn't score much, he was very active ( and sneaky ) on the glass, active on defense, and just an overall presence that affected the game.The Spurs obviously were ready for him, as they were reacting to him just looking for passes, which loosened them up for other players to make things happen.

3. We played with more poise tonight down the stretch than maybe any game I can remember last year. Only one game I know, but did this team take a big step forward in maturity and poise this year?

4. We took a few too many jumpshots tonight. several of the big points of the game were jumpshots. I fear there may be games where we live and die by the jumpshot like last year if we don't get more aggressive. Granted some of this was the spurs near perfect defense, but the opener was the some of the same story, just they werent falling in LA.

5. I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!!!!

So I wrote the first version of this post in haste as a retort to a troll on this blog who will remain nameless who has been spreading poison and trying to infect this site with doubt and negativity. A few people wisely recommended I delete it so as not to gratify the troll who will remain nameless or perpetuate his poison.So I thought I'd write a little something about about why we care when people spread negativity about our team.

Why do we care about the Blazers, Greg Oden, and Greg's health? We care because we have a sinking economy, a healthcare and social security crisis, an endless war, uncertainty about the future in an election year, and endless other problems weighing heavily on our mind. We care about our team because in the end it doesn't matter. Whether the blazers make the playoffs or not doesn't affect my 401K, my mortgage, or my family. It's safe to care about sports and the blazers. It's safe to care because failure isn't that bad. Not as bad as losing your house, having thousands of dollars in medical bills, or worse. Because it's safe to care, I think it makes us care more. We care when they win, lose, fall, rise, and everything in between.

We care when people dismiss a player as a bust before he has had a chance to prove himself. We care when people say we are stupid for believing in the Blazers and Greg Oden. We care BECAUSE we believe. We have to believe. They are our team. Rip city.

Yes, he got hurt very early in the game. Yes the plan of playing him less minutes probably wouldn't have helped in this game as he got hurt on the second play. But Greg is very high on the list of important players for the long term plans of this team. The primary goal of the team for Greg should be to get and stay healthy, and as of right now, Greg has rolled his ankle causing him to miss playing time and practice twice in a month. Not coincidental or unlucky I believe. He is just heavy and kind of clumsy right now, understandably considering he's coming off a major surgery. They should decrease his minutes significantly until he gets lighter, more nimble, and more agile. The likelihood of rolling your ankle is much higher when you're weight / conditioning is sub par.

Greg may yet become a durable 75-82 games a year stalwart player, but not if he never gets a chance to get healthy and in good NBA game shape. How many foot / ankle sprains is he gonna have before constant injuries will weaken his frame? I don't want to find out. I hope they bring the kid gloves and bubblewrap back out and get that kid on the eliptical and in the pool to get some of that weight off before putting him in the grinder.

BTW don't expect him back for a week or two at least if it is a sprain. I've had foot sprains before, and they DO NOT heal overnight. Yes, they are varying in severity, but still need a week or two usually at least.

First off...

1. Greg had about the best opener we could have asked for. He scored very efficiently ( and ferociously ), shot well from the free throw line, and was just overall an intimidating force you could tell the kings were frustrated with ( and this is just his first game! ). He did the things that good centers do that dont show up in the stats as well, like sealing off the baseline, rotating on defense ( which I noticed surprised the guards and wing players when they saw he could keep up with them when he switched on the pick and roll ). He definitely impacted the game.

2. Rudy was a revelation. You can tell he understands the game better than most players. Much like brandon, he didn't force anything. He took what the defense gave him. 6 points and 5 assists don't sound like game changing numbers, but he was a part of almost every single play on the court when he was in the game. I loved how the fans almost seemed to be laughing during his spectacular plays, almost as if to say, "do we really have this guy on our roster? I can't believe it!"

Now for some speculation...

3. Rudy and Sergio obviously have a level of communicating on the court beyond words. They seemed to anticipate what the other was going to do. Most certainly Nate will try to get them on the court together plenty.

4. Sergio seemed like a different player. He had a moxy that I hadn't seen before, as well as being dangerouly efficient. He was deadly from the 3 point line, and found the cutters and open man every play it seemed. Might Sergio be the go-to back up point guard in the rotation? Or will his defense get trumped by the tenacity of the firecracker that is Bayless?

5. Martell scores off a Rudy dime...and then another...and then another...wait, it's these 2 guys again and again! Rudy seemed to be looking for Marty coming off screens and cutting. It was during this scoring stretch that the game got out of hand scorewise. They seemed to play really well together. I know it's only one pre-season game, but if this trend continues, might Trout get the starting 3 spot simply to try and put Marty and Rudy together? Will how well players play together dictate the template rotations more than an overall game plan or vision by Nate?

6. Ike looked pretty good. He was bangin', brawlin, and hustling. Every team needs a player or two like this off the bench. I think he will win a game or two for us this year. Will Ike's physical style of play greatly take away from Channing's minutes? Obviously the choice between these two young forwards will depend on the match-up, but the 4 position usually benefits greatly from hard nosed physical play. I can see Ike getting a great deal of minutes when playing teams like Boston, with deep, productive big men rotations. We shall wait and see.

7. Steven Hill was pretty invisible, as was Shavlik Randolph in their few respective minutes. However Randolph looked a little more active on the offensive end. I would bet money that Tatum is NOT going to get the final roster spot. I'm sure KP and Nate both agree that a big is the most desirable for the final spot, given the unproven health of Oden, and some of our other bigs to boot. Jackson didn't even play, which leads me to believe the final spot is between Randolph and Hill. Who will get the final roster spot? My money is still on Hill, but Randolph had a dunk that looked pretty decent. Steven Hill should get the spot based on his powerful beard alone. Props to him for keeping it wolf. His nickname should be "Teen-Wolf" if he makes the roster.

Greetings to all BEdgers. This is my first fanpost so please be gentle, however BEdge has been one of my favorite stops to get blazer news and I appreciate all the work put in by Dave, and really all the bloggers who share my enthusiasm about our beloved blazers.

With that said, this brings me to the topic I would like to re-visit...Greg Oden's nickname. GO has been heard several times, and that is just lame. KG, AI, CP3, RJ, all LAME, LAME, LAME!!!! What ever happened to great nicknames like " the round mound of rebound", or "the admiral", or " the dream", or our beloved " Clyde the glyde"? I love Wheels calling Roy " the natural", and hope it catches on. Greg Oden will be an absolute beast. He may never be the dominant, offensive minded center every team dreams about getting, but at the very least he will be a force to be reckoned with and respected by all teams who dare enter his domain in the paint. Just him standing there in the paint will force teams to adjust to having an athlete of that caliber, that big, that fast, that powerful being out there.I know his last name is spelled differently, but the pronunciation is the same, and personality will most certainly fit as well. His last name already dictates what his nickname should be...He is ODIN, the viking god of war.         THE GOD OF WAR must be his nickname!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01263/Norse.htm    Sorry, I cant figure out how to make this as a link. New to this blogging thing.

Kind of nerdy, I know, but it fits with his position, his style of play, and what he is going to bring very soon to this city and this organization. Can you imagine how bad to the bone it would be to hear MB, Mike Rice, or even Marv Albert or some other national broadcaster say something like " And The Lakers have absolutely no answer for The God Of War!"? Would sound like music to my ears. Think about it. Let me know what you think.