With Duck Bedgers (and Beaver Bedgers if you're from OSU)....

I had some random thoughts, and saw there was no Junk drawer yet, so...

I like Anthony Carter, and if we were looking for a competent PG while also wanting to develop Bayless and move Blake, he might be a good option for a year.

I don't know if Alston wants to be a back-up in Orlando, and I don't see him working out here, but is there a third team you could see getting involved in a trade that sends Blake to Orlando as a back-up, Alston to team X, and either a PG or back-up PF to us?  Any other scenarios where we can get a third team involved for an intriguing trade?

I miss Mitch Hedberg.  Maybe he could have been the answer at point guard.

I'm torn between the Lakers losing, and the team that beat us losing.  Also, I would like to see a Cleveland-LA finals.  It would be a passing of the torch, except instead of to MJ from Magic, it would be from an MJ-like player to a Magic-like player.

I miss Mr. Show (kind of; I didn't see it until well after it was cancelled).  Search for Pre-Taped Call In Show on youtube.  Hilarious.

Hey all,

      I'm originally from Blazer's Edge, but I've been somewhat following the Warriors off and on (I remember Run TMC, though I was actually equally fond of Run TSC.  Not to mention one of your backup points from the 90-91 season.  Pritchard was the name, I believe).  

      It goes without saying that I have been following them to an extent in the Baron years as well, and have been wondering about where you guys go from here, and just about team building in general.  Some thoughts and questions: 

It seems like teams are generally successful one of two ways: (a) draft/obtain your core around the same time, and add-on minor pieces (San Antonio, Portland), (b) add the missing ingredients to a mostly assembled/homegrown team (Detroit adding Sheed).  I've seen Portland do both (the former they are doing right now, examples of the latter would be the Buck Williams trade or the Scottie Pippen signing).  Anything in-between resulted in competitive teams that were predictably gone by the end of the semifinals, if even that much.

I don't have the same level of knowledge of GS as I do Portland (obviously), so my questions to you guys are these:

Where do you see the Warriors in terms of development now?  They have some good/potentially good young pieces right now.  I see them as possibly in the Detroit mold, where in a few cohesive years they will be a free agent away from being a strong playoff team (assuming the development of Wright and Randolph).

Where were they before Davis left?  48 games in any year is good, but especially this year (though paradoxically, it also meant it wasn't enough).  At the same time, Portland was 7 games back without Oden or defense, and the team that got in ahead of you (Denver) got their usual playoff exit.  Though Baron and Jax are in their primes, and Eliis is emerging, was the team really on the cusp of contending?  No one was too old, and not many were really too young, but the mix just didn't seem quite right.  Put another way, I have a hard time seeing a time with Croshere and Hudson as the most veteran players in the Finals.  Is that just the uninformed voyeurism of someone who likes but isn't knowledgeable about the Warriors?

What about Nellie?  Regardless of his past comings and goings, is there a sense of how long he will be sticking around?  Hubie was coaching at a much older age, but how long do you think Nellie sticks around?  I'm not talking about next year or the year after.  I'm talking down the line in 4-5 years or beyond.  I know that would be rare for any coach in the league (it seems, anyway), but the answer helps me figure out my next question:

Where do you go from here?  Reload with free agents?  Clear space for 2010?  Develop from the ground up + Ellis?  Ultimately, is Golden State close enough to make the leap (now or in a couple years) to elite, or is the dreaded reconstruction word going to be passed around?   If GS doesn't reconstruct, what do you see them doing to distinguish themselves as a playoff team (i.e., Portland had 21 consecuative playoff appearances, but only five were memorable. they were mostly a predictable first round exit, though no one was excited to play them)?

Sorry if this post was sloppily constructed or rehashing a lot of current discussions, but I am very interested to see what will happen, and am not very good at getting a feel for teams by just reading diaries and posts of the true fans, but rather, through discussions that directly speak to my lack of knowledge.  Also, as a kid I loved Mullin, and kind of want some assurance for the 10 year old within that he is still on some level awesome (or at least a competent visionary) and can make things work.  Seeing so many heroes have front office trouble has been sometimes hard to take.  Excepting Joe Dumars.  He has been awesome.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AoKxm9ljZtU4yq5tAwOZ_U28vLYF?slug=aw-jermaineonealtraded062508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Ford, pick, filler, and Rasho for Jermaine.

I think this is an excellent trade for Indiana for sure.  Could be great for Toronto, depending on Jermaine's knee (I honestly am not as concerned about Ford's injury history).  Rasho was blowing up at the end of the year (may mean nothing, but he is at least serviceable), and with two picks, Indiana might have some ballast to send with Tinsley for someone decent.  Huge move for Indiana.

If Jermaine can play a nearly-full season, Toronto has a shot at a deep playoff run.  I would peg their ceiling at the conference finals, pending on what goes down with Detroit in the offseason, and how Boston looks next year.  Kind of like a more well rounded Orlando.  Dangerous, but not a sure bet.

Say the following occur:  

1.  we move Jack

2.  BPA is taken in the draft, but is not a point guard

3. we have roster space due to a trade(s)

We now still need a point guard while we develop Petteri/make a trade/evaluate what we have.  

How about Anthony Carter?  He is a free agent, and his strengths are both defense a nd distributing.  His offense, not so much, but I think we have enough weapons to make up for him.

This is more of a last resort, but I figured we should cover every contingency.  What is your worst case scenario, and how do we handle it?

I should note I exercised a lot of restraint in not naming this post "Get Carter," but very little in pointing it out.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-70/Who-is-Going-to-Fix-the-Culture-of-the-Chicago-Bulls-.html

Basically, there is some speculation about the Bulls' culture being a problem right now.  My question (half serious, half fun) is this: if Paxson will let players go for cheap, is there anybody on that team you would trade for?  Our guys should have a decent rep as good culture guys right now, plus a stash of picks we have accrued.  None of these guys may be a first choice for anyone here in terms of trade, but in teerms of getting a good deal and improving the roster at leaast somewhat, who do you see as worth grabbing from the bargain bin?

Note: this assumes, which I tend to think, that Chicago has hardworking players with a good attitude who can shine in a better environment.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2004349361_schultz15.html

Crazy, crazy, crazy.  Such a great basketball year, and this could end up being one of the defining moments, hopefully for the better (i.e., good faith holds up in a court of law).  Can't say that I have a good feeling about the Sonics staying, though I also can't that I'm a lawyer.  I don't even play one on TV.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nba_experts/post/Photo-fun-Jarrett-Jack-believes-in-his-Blazers?urn =nba,69189

What do Mike Barrett, Mike Rice, Marv Albert, and a russet potato all share?

All four are common taters.

ThankyougoodnightI'llbehereallweek!!!

hirtuwlpghfruiwpp2wvrtuiowpgvnfjew;pnvpwvntuoghiuqo3[nv;fjldnwjvefigrhptoughurngjefwnbvjfkpeqnvjuepq 2bhvuit4qp2htvtuip4uvirjbfflhjbvkaslfjdafhnruefjonvueorp;tuigjfbnvjfqp;nvwjortnwl;nfjelwk

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/01/28/profiles-in-mascot-dom-portlands-timber-jim/

Friendship is like peeing on yourself.  Everybody can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

"One-line diaries are prohibited on Blazer's Edge. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.
The minimum is 300 characters."  He said, as sarcastically as human possible.

As we approach February, I thought it would be interesting to get thoughts and opinions on trades and moves by other teams, just as  a sort of big picture thing/test to see how in tune we are to other teams.

I'll post more of my thoughts in the comments later, but what about some insane three-way action between Houston, Indiana, and New Jersey?  NJ blows up, Indiana dumps O'Neal, and Houston gets rid of McGrady and gets Kidd.  Yao-Battier-Kidd would be lethal in the West.  Not realistic, but an interesting scenario, that solves immediate problems for Houston/Indiana and starts NJ on rebuilding.  

Will Pritchard win it?  I had forgotten about the award until I heard it mentioned in conjunction with Pritchard's name.  Personally, I think it will go to Danny Ainge, not because of bias, but because he has built a team with surprisingly deep (for what was expected) bench play, and an ultra-cohesive team despite so many new faces and three now or one-time superstars (Ray-Ray is more of just a plain old all-star lately).  If 32-50 to a thirteen win streak is amazing, think about going from 24-58 to probably about 65-17 and a possible finals berth.  That is not easy, I don't care who you get in trades.

But... I have not paid enough attention to know if surprise is a huge x-factor in the voting, and if Pritchard establishing a ten-year window instead of three years factors in.

List of past winners: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Executive_of_the_Year_Award

Occurrences of note:  Jerry and Bryan Colangelo have won a combined 6 EYAs (4-2), all but one coming with the Suns.  Phoenix has had a Colangelo win the award at least once a decade since the 1970's, when the award was established, starting with the surprising '75-'76 team (they got to the finals and played in arguably the greatest game ever, a triple overtime affair in game five in Boston).

Pritchard would be the second Blazer to win it, following Bucky Buckwalter in '90-'91.

New York has never had an EYA.  Good luck with changing that.

Bryan Colangelo (Phoenix, Toronto), Jerry West (LA, Memphis) and Bob Bass (San Antonio, Charlotte) are the only people to have won the award with different teams.

Stan Kasten is the only executive to win back-to-back awards, doing so with the Hawks in '85-'86 and '86-'87.  Remember the name; I have heard he may be a front-runner to replace Bud Selig (Kasten is president of the Washington Nationals, and had been president of the Braves).

Just killing time, thinking about how it was too bad  that Buck Williams couldn't make the heritage night, and kind of wondering how much people really know about Mr. Williams, seeing as he came here as free agent near the end of his prime (I've talked to a fan or two he grew up on those teams, but weren't aware of the full range of his accomplishments).

So here you go, in case you forgot or never knew, Buck Williams:

!980 Olympic team member.  Unfortunately, there was a boycott that year.

1982 ROY (for New Jersey, who retired his number when Buck retired in 1999)

Part of the notable Nets team that knocked of the defending champion 76ers in the first round of the 1984 playoffs.  They won all three road games while dropping both home games.  The team featured Buck, Darryl Dawkins, Otis Birdsong, and the last rejuvenation of Micael Ray Richardson's career.  Not until Jason Kidd, I believe, would New Jersey make it to the second round.

Came to Portland, fittingly, in a trade for Sam Bowie (and the following year's pick).  Sam helped us contend after all, just not how anyone expected.

Key, key addition; Portland was previously offensive minded, until we got Buck, and Kersey replaced Kiki, sparking our surprising Finals run in 1990.  Think Dallas after Avery Johnson took over.

All-defensive 1st team in 1989-90 and 1990-91.  Buck was the first Blazer since Lucas, Hollins, and Walton to make all defensive 1st team.  Lucas, Walton, and Hollins made it simultaneously in 1978.  Only the '96 Bulls and Fo, Fo, Fo Sixers have achieved three players since, and only the '70 Knicks and '76 Celtics before then (http://www.nba.com/history/awards_defensiveteams.html)
No other Blazer has made defensive First Team honors since.  In fact, Portland's placing of 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd in defensive efficiency from 89-90 to 92-93 has not been equaled since (the WCF teams placed 4th and 5th, respectively).  

Aside: the Bulls and Pistons dominated the defensive team selections in the late 80's, early nineties.  The defensive aspect of Oden and Aldridge excite me greatly.

Buck led the league in FG% in 91 and 92, with just over 60% each year.

Averaged double-double for his career.

Players union president in the mid-nineties.

My first memories of the Blazers was watching Buck dive for a loose ball in the '90 Finals.

I remember three four point plays: James Jones a little bit ago, Larry Johns in the ECF, and Buck getting fouled away from the ball on a three point shot (Porter? Drexler?) in a regular season game against Houston in the contending years.

The Basketball hall of fame is weird and international/college centric, but if it was run like Baseball or Football, Buck would probably make it in as veteran's committee selection.

Anyone else have any Buck memories?

here is his wikipedia page for more specifics (most of this I have written from memory, so you might be able to find even more stuff there) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Williams

and his bball reference page: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willibu01.html

I'm stealing this from whoever came up with the format Henry Abbott is in, but I think it is a good idea.

Basically, it is a twelve man team, no bench, no free agents, waivers, or trades.  You pick twelve, ride them the whole year, they play in every game.  This allows a fantasy league for people not able or interested in divesting a huge of time time that has to eventually go in to keeping track of their team, while not completely taking out the fun of the league, which is obsessing over players and stats.  It just becomes condensed into pre-season instead of ongoing.  

Henry's league has a roto format with eight categories (no 3PT% or turnovers) but it could also be done with head-to-head, and with all ten categories (that could really get interesting and frustrating).

It's a long way to next season, but it is something to think about.  We could have the winner crowned official Blazersedge statistical performance prognosticator, with a t-shirt saying as much the prize (cheap enough to have everyone chip in about a buck each).  Let's face it, that would be some good prognosticatin' to ride the same twelve players over a season (or we could change it to least crummy prognosticator if the winner sees the glass as a lucky half-empty).

More than anything, though, it would allow people to have some fantasy fun with minimal stress/time investment, and would be a challenge to die hards to pick a winner right off the bat. Sound good to anyone here?

A youtuber has games 3-7 of the 2000 WCF posted (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=jdm7131), and I have finished watching games 6 and 3.  I don't know a lot about basketball still, but I'm a genius compared to back when I was watching those games happen.

Some observations on those two games, as I was watching them and how it relates to today's team (people with better Bball IQ or who closely watched that team, fell free to jump in in the comments with any rebuttals).

For all the talent they had, it didn't seem like they had an actual system.  It wasn't a case of anybody could get hot, but more like, "SOMEBODY has to get hot with all this talent."
      Pippen was spectacular at running the offense, but due to age/injuries, you'd see him initiate, but not finish, while everyone else just stood around.  
      The closest thing we had to a system was isolation plays for whoever had the hot hand.  This led to triple teams and needless turnovers.
      Bonzi was money in the post.  All-around, our best, or at least most explosive, post player.  Upon figuring this out, I was amazed we took it to seven games.
      When the triangle was moving, it was beautiful.  John Salley, for the two minutes I saw him, did not understand the triangle.
      For all the criticism Sheed got for losing his cool (not to say he didn't lose his cool or deserve to be criticized) the ENTIRE TEAM had that problem.  Pippen getting chippy with Fox, Steve Smith occasionally flaring up at calls, Sabas flaring up at almost every call.  Lot of boneheaded reactions and plays to go around for that team.  Notice how Sheed is still Sheed, but a little more thriving and under control in Detroit?  That's because the rest of the team are cool enough to help keep him focused.
      This team could not win when it's shot wasn't falling, at least in this series.  The Lakers could.
      We were a team that seemed to live by doing the uncontrollables better than our opponent (i.e., shooting %).  It was like flipping a coin.  Winning 3 out of 7 seems fiiting.
      Too much of this could probably be leveled at the Drexler teams (though I don't remember them standing around as much).
    When they turned up the D, it was spectacular.

More than anything, it has not been nearly as disappointing or painful watching what happened as remembering it.  The Lakers had chemistry and ego issues, were not yet THE Lakers, and were vulnerable.  But they were the better team.  They bounced back from tough losses, closed games out, more often than not stuck to a successful game plan, waited out poor shooting, and kept plugging away until everything clicked.
Portland winning would not have been a huge upset, but it would have been a matter of streaking the right way 4 times out of 7, instead of 3 out of 7.

How this relates to Roy Era.

      I've said, maybe not on this site yet, that these Blazers' best accomplishment so far is that they have beaten history.  The problems that have plagued past Portland teams are not here right now.  

They win when they shoot poorly
they are a 4th quarter team
they have a level of composure you would kill to see in a veteran team
they stand up for themselves without being hotheaded about it
they seem to have more of a system on the court (though maybe not always applied, as they ARE young)
The hot hand seems to stay within the system
Roy being able to score from anywhere greatly helps him in initiating the offense
We have, what, two technicals all year?  One on Nate, and one on Joel as part of a double T (NO game?).  That's it.

Remember the San Antonio Softies?  They could always win 55-60 games between December and March, but those four losses always came too quickly in April or May.  But they haven't been called that for years (except by some frustrated fans in the '05 Finals).  What happened?  R.C. Buford happened.  His system happened.  And someone to lead that system, named Tim Duncan, happened.

Portland was infamous for late collapses, or being "hotheaded" or "in jail."  What happened?  Kevin Pritchard happened.  Nate happened.  Culture and system happened.  And then a floor leader to guide it, named Brandon Roy, and perfect fit named Greg Oden, happened.  

I'm oversimplifying eras, games, and weaknesses here, but it is to illustrate a point I cannot emphasize enough:  These Trailblazers are a new breed, a revolution for this franchise's history, for it's psyche.  For those old enough, (I'm not, so I'm just speculating here), remember how Portland was always losing until 1976?  How everything came together, and nothing was the same after, how this town learned to be winners?  It's happening all over again.  We won't be able to grasp this until years later when we remember, and try hopelessly to recapture the feelings we'll have on the journey from here on out.  

This is not just ebb and flow eventuality like 1990-92 or 1999-2000; like Boston reclaiming it's heritage, or like Piston dominance or Laker glory returning.  We are going back to square one, and we are doing it different, doing it right.  

This isn't so much a rebirth of the successes of the last 25-30 years, but a phoenix rising from the ashes of the failures of the last 25-30 years.

And when Oden comes back, God help the National Basketball Association.  

Go Blazers.

From the Fanhaus (written up by Tom Ziller of Sactown royalty fame): http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/12/22/portlands-absurdly-infernal-10-straight-wins/

Random historical coincidence: Clyde Drexler's back-to-back WC player of the week awards also came during a long win streak, 9 games, before which Portland had 2-5 record, all five losses being consecutive, including for consecutive road losses (http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/1988_games.html)

Just for kicks

Clyde's averages during the streak, if I added everything up correctly, over seven games (encompassing the two weeks):

30.1 ppg  6.7rpg   7.6apg  3.6spg  0.4bpg  3.6to/pg

.540 FG%  .810 FT%

Portland was up and down that year, W/L wise, but won 53 games by having win streaks of 9,5, and 9 games before losing to Utah in the first round (3-1).  Drexler's season averages were:

27ppg  6.6rpg  5.8apg  2.5spg  0.6bpg 2.9to/pg

.506 FG%  .212 3PT%  .811FT%

An article on Outlaw

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Amf_iDtgneB.27LXgdRsdyi8vLYF?slug=aw-outlaw121807&prov=yho o&type=lgns

It is currently (12:30 am) running on the front of the Yahoo! Sports NBA page.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Amf_iDtgneB.27LXgdRsdyi8vLYF?slug=aw-outlaw121807&prov=yho o&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/recap;_ylt=Ak93YEM6cQS7XO3UYTtbZ7QcvrYF?gid=200711100033

I don't see how the Ducks don't end up at #2.  Illinois was unranked.

LSU plays unranked Louisiana Tech later today.

Instead of finding nicknames for players, I want to find players for nicknames.  I need two running backs; one will be called "Poppin' Fresh" (good at poppin' out for daylight) and one will be called "Legs McMuffin," so-called for his long legs, and endearing pre-game ritual.

Oregonian article: http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1194234927218210.xml&coll=7&a mp;thispage=1
(I got it from the Spyder feed in the sidebar).

Basically, Blake and Frye to the first unit.

Reasons: Jack in a slump, which contributes to slow starts, 2nd unit defensively undersized, Portland showed fire in the Houston game with Web, Roy, L-Train, Frye, and Blake on the floor.

I see the reasoning completely, but I have one concern: Aldridge's fouls.  He's been great so far, but playing Yao hamstrung him.  Will not having the D shored up by Joel cause him to commit more fouls?  

This definitely puts the offensive onus on Outlaw in the 2nd unit.

The McMenamin's Mission Theatre (18th & Glisan, NW) is showing the opener (on the big-ish screen).  I'm guessing other McMenamin's are doing so as well, so if still need a place to watch the game...

A little ditty to fill 300

Oh, once I had a push broom,
I called her Long-Haired Sally,
I took her down to State,
waved her at a pep rally.

A fight boke out,
they scream and shout,
they push me under the bleachers,
and poor dear sally,
her bristles fell out,
ruining her best feature.

I took her back,
set her on a rack,
And set about re-hairing,
It wouldn't hold
it may sound cold
but her bristles I'm now wearing.

Oh, Sally, Sally, Long-Haired Sally
You went down in a fight,
Sally, Sally, my push broom Sally,
I now have hair but can't sweep at night!

QualityPie?  I don't recall seeing him around these parts for a while.

In a related note, I took one of his humorous posts, and made a facebook group based on it (with due recognition and a mention of the Blazersedge, which was kind of necessary, as I just quoted his handle of QP, not knowing, or wanting to put without permission even if I did, his real name).

I give you: Manute Bol: The Legend of Sideways Manute

Join and share you tales of triumph and woe at the hands of a one man basketball conspiracy...

In the course of the gameday open threads, there were days when some had time to watch/listen to the game and comment on the site, and days when many could and did.  This led to an increasing number of comments in every game as the season wore on, leading to hope, desire, and a challenge from Dave, to have a gameday thread surpass 1000 comments.  On march 16th, 2007, thanks to a perfect storm of a local broadcast (NBC), the Lakers, overtime, Aldridge stepping up, and Kobe dropping 65, we broke the Blazersedge equivalent of the sound barrier with 1237 comments.  

I'd like to throw down a new challenge, in the face of a what looks to be a more exciting team, a horde of new members, and citywide renewed passion for the Blazers: 2000.  As in comments.

We definitely have the numbers for this, and more importantly, the personalities.  Gameday comments are not just play-by-play from you friendly neighborhood Blazersedgesters, but also  discussions, commentary, education on the subleties of the game, silliness, venting, puns, agony (from both losing and the puns) celebration, etc, etc.  With all the people we have and their accompanying style, wit, and distinct voices, racking up meaningful comments (not just comments for comments sake, or redundant comments) should be no problem.

'07-'08.  New season.  New team.  New attitude.  Renewed commitment.  2000 comments.

everyone else get theirs?

300300300300

The Roybot:  a miracle of modern invention, it is an efficient machine that defies modern mechanics by being both a clutch AND an automatic.

I found a shirt on ebay with bart simpson wearing a Drexler jersey.  It is awesome, but in a kind of cheesy way.

The news seems to have hit everyone pretty bad, but I'm here to remind you: this ain't your older brother's league anymore.  Microfracture, while rightfully feared, is not (or should not be) a dirty word anymore.  

This is not some freak accident like Bowie.  The Tribune ran a "where is he now?" piece on Bowie a while back, and the injury was an incredibly rare type of fracture, the kind you only ususally see male Russian ballet dancers get (someone should have checked Sam's contract for "a love of the dance" clause.  I keed, I keed!).  At any given time, if I remember this stat from the article correctly, the number of known injuries of that type in the world numbered in the single digits.  Microfracture is not so rare.

Like I said before on a comment in the Oden's Out thread on the main page, microfracture is the new Tommy John.  It's the sound of a career being saved.  Some point to Kenyon Martin, but he has had two, and he technically isn't done yet.

Some more perspective, via Truehoop.com, at Supersonics.com (it's a list of players who have had microfracture surgery, and there subsequent statistics).  There's two dozen players besides Greg Oden on that list.  The ones that came back seem to be younger, talented, and hard, HARD, workers.  The ones that didn't were either old (i.e., Karl Malone) or on the downslide as it was (Terrell Brandon).  There are some surprises, as the surgery is new enough to not have early forms of it referred to as microfracture (i.e., John Stockton and Brian Grant).

In summary, while nothing is guaranteed, and no one knows with %100 certainty what will happen, this is not the end Greg Oden.  Not by a long shot.  He may lose a couple years at the beginning and end of his career, but he can come back.  He is facing a tough rehab, but one that is a lot more common these days than a even a few years ago.

Think about this as well: the outcry seems more proportionate to the talent than the injury (make no mistake about the severity of the injury; I am NOT trying to downplay microfracture, just provide some perspective).  How many were this despondent over Zach or Darius?  Both were deemed key pieces at the time, and unless I'm mistaken, the doom and gloom wasn't as prevalent.  Take the name Greg Oden out of the equation, look at the procedure, the level of seriousness, and ask yourself, if this were Channing Frye's or Josh McRoberts knee, would you be as pessimistic?

Oh, and watch Amare Stoudemire this year.

Chin up, Blazers Edge.

With Phil Jackson's induction into the Hall of Fame, the comparisons between him and Red Auerbach are bound to surface in full force (not as much lately as Phil is not close yet to contending for what would be his record-setting 10th title as a coach).

So I ask you, sports fans, who is better?

Red Auerbach

Pros: built the Celtics dynasty, arguably the most dominating dynasty by any team in any major sport.  Smart scout, knew how to get the most out of his players.  His pride and joy was that he won by building fromthe ground up, with his own bare hands.

Cons: More symbol than maestro in the past 15-20 years.  Got a lot of parts for his teams by taking advantage of other teams.  His accomplishments, while amazing, would not translate into the modern era.  Salaries, scouting, and billionaire owners would work against him.  No one holds all the organizational positions that he did, because it stretches you too thin nowadays (true in every sport; see Holmgren, Mike and D'antoni, Mike).

Phil Jackson:

Pros: 9 titles and two dynasties with two different teams, including the Chicago Bulls, arguably the greatest benchmark of the modern era, with two threepeats.  Handles all sorts of egos, meshing them into phenomenal teams.  Coaxed the hall of famer back out of Dennis Rodman (if you don't think Rodman belongs, you haven't been paying attention).
Got Jordan to buy into the team concept, unleashing arguably the greatest player the league has ever known.

Cons:  You might say he's good with large egos because he can relate.  Relied heavily on Tex Winter, who perfected the legendary Triangle Offense.  Never had to build a team; Jerry Krause had a lot to do with getting Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, and other pieces.  Has been at the center of soap operatic-like dissension in both organizations.  May not have been at fault, but probably didn't help things.

Verdict:  In judging who is greater, I'd say it's apples and oranges, to be honest.  If you step back, you'll realize that there respective eras demanded different things from them as coaches, different personalities as well.  Old School v. New School,if you will.  You'll also see that they are without peer in their respective settings.  

Jackson would never be able to steer an entire organization, but the job of an NBA coach, and its pressures and scrutiny (especially with the talent and personalities he has had under him) is a complex, all-consuming task, and his number of trophies, not to mention posessing that rarest of things these days known as job security, balance that out.

Auerbach could probably be outmaneuvred, outcoached, and maybe even outfoxed (he never had to deal with a Paul Allen funded Kevin Pritchard), but HE BUILT A FRIGGIN' FRANCHISE WITH HIS BARE HANDS!  HIS BARE HANDS!!!!  And they won!  A lot!!!  He was the Bill Russell of coaches/managers/presidents/probably ball boys/ushers/ whatever else jobs there were to do to succeed.

In conclusion, apples and oranges, towering giants in their respective eras whose differences in strengths and funstions are balanced out by the changing complexities of the NBA landscape, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Wanted to be more in-depth,but I've got to run, and wanted to fire this off since I won't be back on the computer until later tonight.

What do you guys think?

I've seen plenty of wonderings about Nate to get the feeling that a lot of people wonder about how good Nate would be with a team that could play uptempo, and a lot of worrying that he won't let Portland do so because he is so defensive minded.

Check out this link: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/2005.html

McMillan coached the Sonics to a 52 win season, plus a very competitive series against the eventual champion Spurs, with a Sonics team that was 3rd in offense, and 26th in defense (based on points per posession).  In fact, the Sonics were in the top five on offense several times under his guidance.  They were always in the bottom half on defense, and were rated the worst in the league after he left (Points per, again), and had a 17 win drop off.  

Nate can run, and can win, if he has the capable talent.  Last year, we were Zach centered, young, and inexperienced.  I know a lot of people love Sergio, I do too, but we would have had a worse record had we opened things up.  We simply were not capable.  People forget amongst the much deserved accolades to some of the players that there is a coach behind them, and he is a damn good one, who can get wins out of a team where not everybody could (Seattle got worse and Portland got better when he switched, and don't think he had nothing to do with helping both situations develop).  When we are ready to run, and it suits our game, we will, and we will be successful.  

Nate is a competitor first and foremost.  If we are successful scoring 100 points a night, he'll push us to do that.  If we lose when the score starts getting up there, he'll grind it out.

The big question for Nate, is "is he a championship coach?"  That  
question can only be definitively answered by seeing what he does with this team when we reach contender status.  Debate away on that one, but cut the guy some slack for not building something he hasn't yet been given the proper tools for.

Sorry if this post made people here out to be more negative or critical about Nate than they really are (at least on this issue), but I've just never understood the pace-of-game criticism I've heard against him.

<end rant>

Remember when we had our speculation about the basketball Hall of Fame in one of the diary comment threads a little while ago?  Well, apparently, there is definitely something different with the hall itself (different than baseball and football).

There is an ESPN article on it, that I was linked to via This post by Kelly Dwyer on Truehoop (I linked to Truehoop and not ESPN directly because there is commentary from Kelly and a reader in the post, as well as the link to the ESPN article).

Phoenix beats San Antonio, and Detroit beats Cleveland for a Phoenix-Detroit showdown in the finals!...........in the WNBA.

I know it was techinically the semis where the Spurs beat the Suns and not the conference finals, but it was rightly assumed that whoever won that series was going to the finals.  It doesn't make it any less coincidentally funny (to me, anyway).

Does anyone else remember Jackie Stiles?

She's a competitive cycler, for those who wonder what she's up to; all those injuries just forced her out of basketball (ankle mostly, if I remember correctly.  Knee as well?)

Actually, there is a little Blazer reference buried in here.  The Fire came into the league in 2000 (we all know what happened that May to the Blazers) and folded in 2002, due to Allen not wanting to foot the bill for the Fire (on top of the Knick-esque payroll and soon-to-be Knick-esque record he was paying for with the Blazers) after the league turned the franchises over financially instead of footing the bill itself (if I remember correctly).  I've wondered sometimes if that game seven sunk an entire WNBA franchise as well as start an NBA's team downward spiral.

I had a crazy, crazy dream last night.  I was walking around a city, doing something, and picked a paper.  We had just traded Roy to Boston for a touted prospect and a throw in.  The national sports columnists said it was a tough but fantastic move for Portland.  

I angrily yelled about it to anybody who would listen, than I lay down, depressed, in stream, covered in either clovers or liliy pads, sinking to the bottom, and then coming up to yell some more.  

One guy I was talking to (he was my friend, apparently) ended up being some sort of alien.  He was being stalked by other from his race (his race were shape shifters BTW, whose true form was kind of a purple flesh with a surface that resembled the moon, and dark bue jumpsuits with red shoulder pads, kind of in the style of Zap Brannigan from Futurama; I can't think of how else to describe it).  They wanted him dead, which led to a chase, a car crash, an explosion, a shoot-out, and a pile of several of my friends now-dead would-be killers.  His real father was somehow the key to everything.  He may have been good or bad; I forget the impression I had when it was shown to me.  His real father was Bill Murray (or linked to Bill Murray, but I'm pretty sure his real dad was Bill Murray.  It was explained through images, which were shown rather quickly).

Everyone will have different players in mind, but that's what's fun about the underrated.  It's also a great way to get introduced to more B-ball history.

My all underrated team:

C Artis Gilmore (Good article here)

PF Maurice Lucas (original enforcer, career double-double guy, all-defense selection or two, smart player)

SF Bernard King (proved himself a franchise player with New York.  Injuries cut his career short, though he made a comeback for a couple years with the Bullets)

SG Mitch Richmond  (awesome shooter, scorer.  Building block, but played with Sacramento for most of his career.  20+ ppg career average.  Kevin Martin is a sort of second coming of Mitch  
is one way to describe Mitch Richmond.  At least as far as I can tell; pookeyguru could probably give more insight to my claim if he is still around)

PG Jerry Sloan.  Yes, THAT Jerry Sloan (six-time all-defense team; the original Bull.  Led Chicago to the playoffs during their early years, including a game seven conference final against Golden State, which they lost by only 4? points.  Done in by injuries and gone from Chicago before Artis Gilmore showed up.  
Plays like he coaches.  Molded Stockton into a guard not unlike himself; don't let the disparity of assists in the stat sheet fool you)

Next question: possible Hall of Famers.  I don't mean shoo-ins, either.  Guys on the bubble, or possibly getting in through the veterans comittee (more discussion and interesting names with the scope of this question).  

I think Dikembe Mutombo could make the hall on a later/veterans ballot.  The DPOY awards, double-doubles through most of his career, plus humanitarian work and indelible image of him holding the ball in '94 after beating Seattle (the kind of stuff that seems purely rhetoric, but can speak to voters) just speak to me as slipping in later, maybe waaay later.

I'm not sold on Vlade Divac, but his historical value (pioneer in the passing, european big-man) may get him a better shot than I believe he has.  Probably won't see the hall, though.

An interesting one to watch will be Alonzo Mourning.  His career looked to be hall bound (though not necessarily first ballot) until the kidney problems.  Though I wouldn't consider him near the kind of talent Bill Walton was, he does have sort of the same angle (dominant, cut down by recurring problems, key bench player on a title team), so he might make it somewhere down the line.  

Any other players you can think of?

In light of the recent scandal, fallout, and criticism concerning the refs and the league, David Stern has been looking to polish up the league's image through charity works.  I have managed to obtain a memo from Stern listing which ideas he wouldn't touch with a 10ft (Manute) Bol.

Without further ado:  The top ten rejected basketball-related charity ideas!

(Note: This was something I wrote during the predraft doldrums here at Blazersedge.  I thought now was a good time to update it.)

Number ten: Dave's Blazersedge cyber swear jar  
"Breaking decorum for a good cause since 2006!"

Number nine: Darius Miles' bi-weekly barbeque and dessert trough

UPDATE: not so true anymore, so...
Alternate Number Nine: Danny Ainge's Last Stand Casino and Resort ("Uh, Mr. Ainge?  Did I get three cherries or three lemons?  I can't tell.")

Number eight: Shawn Kemp's "have your pets spayed or neutered" campaign

Number seven: NO/OK Hornet's individual player's childrens hospital visit, OR: NOOKie for kids!  (for Quality Pie)

Update: a bit too insiderish for those not familiar with the (now enormous amount of) posters on Blazersedge
Alternate #7: Daniel Gibson's $1-a-hug booth.  "Come squeeze some Boobie!  Fun for the whole family!"

Number six: "Good day sir or madam, my name is Tim, and I'm with Boy scout troup 637.  Could I interest you in some thin mints, oatmeal cookies, or perhaps the Kevin Durant home bench press kit?"

Numero Cinco: 20 cents on the dollar to muscular dystrophy for every tube of Greg Oden anti-aging cream sold.  "Helping you stay looking twice your age all day every day"

Number four: Jon Barry's amateur GM camp

Update: more of an in-the-moment joke
Alternate #4 Yi Jianlan's Public Relations School.  "If you've never alienated the beer and bratwurst part of America, you haven't lived!"

Number three: Sir Charles and His Airness present Slots for Tots!

Number........TWO: The Bill Walton Playgirl pictorial, for the curious Blazer fan who has always wondered "how much red hair does he REALLY have?"

and the number one rejected basketball-related charity idea:

Tim Duncan's celebrity Dungeons and Dragons tournament
"Merlin wants YOU!"

Update: D&D tourney refreshments provided by Donaghy catering.  You'll love our spreads, and you'll be baa-baa-back to our shaving table for our roast lamb.  Don't gamble on some other catering service, gamble on Donaghy's catering service!

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/celtics/?p=117

Hat tip to Sean Meagher at the Blazers Blog.

Boston is giving up a bunch, but if you've already got aging Pierce and Ray, doing everything to win now is probably your only option.  

It sounds like getting Ray was what changed Garnett's mind.