The Voluspa is an ancient Norse creationist/apocalyptic poem, which seems an appropriate reference given the situation and even the name--Oden--which of course reminds one of the Norse god Odin, father of Thor. Herewith, my Voluspa for Greg. Hope you enjoy the culture infusion, like a good cup of Greek yogurt...

---

From Naismith's sons both high and low

relate the tales of giants old

who gave bread in days of yore

One title known, and spoken fond

beneath mildew, mold and spore

'Tween fiery mountains of the sea

and mountains white with sleep

having burned out long before

The giants came to lay their claim

and break down glory's door

The writings speak of triumph

of forest laurels sharing green

with envied faces by the score

of Woltan's back and Captain Jack

but just one year, and nevermore

Then dark the skies became

and rain upon the land

from heavn'ly barrels pour'd

lesser sons prevailed amongst the gloom

churlish, preening scurvy boors

Indolence and indulgence ruled

the souls at aerie's height

fortune's sons as haughty lords

The laurels trampled; deaf to reason

were the trampling sons implored

Tales in this night, they did propound

of purple progress on the lake

and crashing shoals as heretofore

Despondently the elders braced

hoping still for glory's time restored

Then from the aged paths of time

rose a savior in the East

brimming references galore

a wrinkled brow, a loping gait

and mighty stance--like Woltan's Thor

The one called Oden had arrived

and spread the faith to all

of death to darkened times abhorred

and quaffs from victory's cup

the newest guest through fortune's door

The people cheered and wept and knelt

offered gifts of flesh and fame

shyly taken by the giant moor

and music rang, hosannahs sung

to mark the gathering rapport

But those most wise at telling tales

could not but caution into ears

the prior tragics gone before

Whispered "Bowie!" "MJ"

"Not to mention, Walt Gilmore!"

The people heard, but did not heed

and showed the tellers scorn

disregarding of their chore

but history's pages do not rend

as mighty Oden's knees grew sore

"No, it can't! It couldn't be!"

they moaned into their beers

from castles to the Bull and Boar

and holding hope but fearing worst

awaited word from the doc-tor

Of course the news, a cut unkind

sent shockwaves through the land

from the mountains to the shore

broke it once, then did it twice

and yet again as sadness's encore

The mood grew ugly, some drew wrath

and booing outsized visions of his face

did cast fair Oden to torpor

a castaway not passed away

not here not ever, somewhere else it isn't sure

In time the orange ball shall rise

clearing foggy mists remained

while hearts and minds sneak looks afore

but clinging fondly to the days

when mighty Oden owned the floor

For some reason--and maybe this isn't very unusual among fans--when it comes to other teams I'm usually more interested not in their stars, but the lesser, supporting players who nonetheless have the knack for killing my team with their play. Last night's Magic (the) Gathering provided an excellent example: even without Dwight Howard in the lineup, my main source of in-game angst was going to be Jason Richardson. Why? Do I have powers of divination that tipped me to J-Rich burying about a dozen threes in a row last night? Of course not--I was worried because Richardson has a history of putting up big games against the Blazers.

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I was just looking at the playoff picture so far in the West and noticed some interesting things about the teams clustered around Portland, regarding the games left on their schedule. It turns out that while Portland's oft-repeated "toughest remaining schedule in the NBA" may be technically true, on balance if you factor above/below .500 teams and home/away (as NBA.com helpfully does) you get a more nuanced picture. 

I was inspired to write this when I looked at Denver's remaining sked. They're a couple games ahead of Portland right now, in 5th--but they've also played 2 extra games. So in best case Portland's one game behind. And look at what Denver faces: 11 of 19 vs teams above .500. But the real kicker is that nine are on the road. And a quick check of their road record so far (11-19) does not bode well. 

By contrast, while Portland does in fact have the most remaining >.500 games left, they're evenly balanced at 7 home/8 road. And only 2 roadies against sub-500 teams show much peril. 

I think OKC has an interesting remainder left too: even at 11/11 for above/below .500, but like Denver, most of their tougher games are also road games (7 of 11 against +500 on road). Even their "gimmes" have four road games. 

New Orleans is the only team in that middle group who gets a home cooking advantage for their tougher games (8/6 home), although they're second to Portland in above-.500 games with 14 remaining. Speaking of New Orleans, while they're technically a half game ahead of the Blazers in 6th place, they've played THREE extra games and actually trail Portland in the loss column, 28 to 27. 

Of all the teams in that contention group, the Grizz probably have the most favorable set up: 12 against good teams, 7 against bad. The hard games are fairly well split, 5 home 7 away, and the easies are almost all at home, only one away game. Tough to ask for more than that; we'll see what they do with it.

One consideration I did not make was conference/non-conference. A fair number of Portland's remaining "tough" games are out of conference, like Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta coming right up, Losses won't hurt them as much, and in fact Portland is doing well in division and in conference so far, a good thing. They also hold the tiebreaker against three of the four teams behind them (that are out of the playoffs), I think. So as long as they can play to their ability, they can overcome their overall tough schedule IMO. 

Hey, maybe this is a touch short for a Fanpost, but it's pretty important: there's been terrible flooding in Queensland, Australia--home country of our own Patty Mills. He's been tweeting asks for help, and I found a fun way to promise that help...

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It seems from what I've read in the big thread on Wojo's article re KP, that most Bedgers support Kevin and would not only be sad to see him canned, but would consider it a major affront to them as fans. "I'd be done with this team" is at a rather extreme end, but varying levels of anger at the Blazers would seem to be what might follow his firing. What to do?

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THANK YOU Paul Allen, for having the wallet of George Steinbrenner with the benevolence of Jack Kent Cooke. THANK YOU for showing up to games even though you live a ways away, and for actively supporting the change philosophy necessary to restore the team to former glory.

THANK YOU Larry Miller, for bringing Allen's commitment to the daily operations of the Trail Blazers as a business operation and corporate citizen, recognizing the team's unusually strong, Brooklyn Dodger-esque connection to the community and working to embrace and foster that connection.  And THANK YOU for ceding most of the spotlight to the guy who really thrives on it, below.

THANK YOU Kevin Pritchard, for being the driving force behind the team's acquistion of some nice role players for the team, guys like Brandon Roy (over people like Randy Foye), LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez...THANK YOU for giving this group of 15 a chance to see what they could accomplish this year, without bowing to the considerable temptation for tinkering in order to win now at tomorrow's cost. 

THANK YOU Nate McMillan, for being the laconic, straightforward father figure in the mold of the Yankees' Joe Torre. THANK YOU for sticking to your guns in the face of Canzonian attacks, the clamor of blogger cranks, and the chatter of national hoopheads, and building a scheme high on fundamentals and team offense that gave the players a foundation on which to rely when youth and inexperience flared. THANK YOU for staying calm and making enough right moves for 54 wins--which doesn't happen without a lot of right moves from the coach. 

{more thank yous, below} 

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That's what Rudy Fernandez had to say after the game about the prospect of going to Houston: "We know Houston is a difficult arena, but we believe. We believe." (That's in Joe Freeman's recap at The O, but you should check out the profile/news piece on Rudy that's also in today's editions.) After a game like Game 5 in the Garden Tuesday night, how do you not believe?

How can you not become vested in these games, your heart pacing with the rhythm of the ups and downs, hoping for the flash of brilliance from these new young guys who like being here and play so hard they remind us of the magic--small m--years of the Blazers? (Don't look at me for sanity; my developing mancrushes are becoming so disconcerting that I squeal like a 14 year old girl when Rudy hits a three).

So when the Olympic half of the Spanish Armada says he believes, who's to argue? It's not so stupid a belief, despite the long struggles for Portland there--after a regular season where they never threatened the Rockets in Houston, in the playoffs they've had at least a couple chances to win each one, and in the last game actually took control late for a few moments before collapsing in a heap of mistakes. 

There are some solid reasons to favor the Blazers just a little in Game 6, not least of which is a momentum shift that places much more of the performance pressure on the Rockets than on Portland. Several recent first round exits have got the fans and local media a bit spooked, to the point where a loss in Game 6 automatically cedes the series back in Oregon. And then there's that whole how-many-minutes-can-Yao-play-before-he-turns-to-salt question, after yet another 40-minute performance.

Blazer fans for their part take some of the same liberties in their assumptions about a Game 7 sure-win scenario, but if Portland falls it will be the end of an enormously successful season, in which every playoff game was gravy to start with. Our fantasies are just that--what-ifs that aren't unreasonable, just way too much to expect. The threat of losing shouldn't be hanging over this team, threatening to discolor the effort of the whole season. It's ALREADY a huge success.

Houston fans, on the other hand, aren't satisfied with another first round exit, nor should they be. To begin with, the Rockets should have been 2nd seed and mauling the Hornets right now, instead of locked in this matchup that gets uglier and more unsure for them by the game. And they've got plenty of experience and defense to be showing well in the second season. In sum, Blazer fans can be loose and accept whatever outcome occurs in the end. Houston's players and coaches will not receive quite the "ah well, great try!" welcome come salarly negotiation time over the summer. 

So this Game 5 win was (natch) pretty freakin' huge. Shall we talk about it a bit? Sure, why not. Let's start below...

{this way to the basement} 

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Put on your best crazy prospector voice as you say with me, "Reckon we got er-selves a humdinger of a pistol shootin', rootin'-tootin' SERIES now!" If you like hoop at all and that game didn't have you up out of your seat half the time, reach over and give the heart monitor machine a whack--you might not still be alive.

Back and forth it went, from one run to another, one momentum shift to the next. It took some superhuman play from some seemingly superhuman ballers, and a whole lot of overcome adversity, but the Blazers now have what they came to get, because honestly--when you listen to them talk, they're not thinking about championships or WCF appearances or even beating the Lakers in Round 2. They came to get playoff experience, and an understanding of what it takes to win.

They now have that understanding, but I think it still suprises this young team just how much intensity is required to compete for and win a playoff game in the NBA. After the game Brandon Roy joked, Bush-esquely, that it was "hard work to win playoff games." All I ask the team is no "Playoffs Accomplished" banners before they leave for Houston, OK?

Seriously, even if the Blazers lose both games in Houston and then can't stay alive in Game 5 (tickets available 10AM tomorrow, but ONLY through trailblazers.com), this will have been an eminently valuable season for the team's future. Not only do they now grasp just how easy it is to get blown out if you're not loaded for bear from the git-go, they know it's possible to regroup, retain a high level of energy and mostly just go out and play.

That said, I think this team now not only has the tools to win a road game in this series, but the moxie and focus of determination. Houston, while being a beast at home in the regular season (who in the West isn't?), has struggled recently in some key playoff games, which might help explain the number of first-round exits they've had. I actually think with current circumstances the chances are actually better than 50-50 that the Blazers will get that homecourt recovery accomplished. 

{Some of the keys, below} 

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Crossposted at Loaded Orygun...

As the first playoff game in six years approaches, no one--not the players or coaches, broadcasters or pundits, stat geeks or tools scouts, Vegas cons or Omaha housewives--has any idea how the Rockets-Blazers series, or the fate of the Blazers in general, will turn out. I hope, anyway. I can't handle another officiating scandal, for instance. 

You've probably seen some or even most of these numbers before, recently. I thought this would be a good compendium, along with a little analysis along the way, to reflect on the regular season and celebrate over the accomplishments--but also to show that their finish and strong play were no fluke. 

Stats are good for telling you how something has already happened, and can offer insights for the future, but aren't good predicitive tools. What they're best used for here is deciding which teams that looked good to the eye were doing it on solid execution, and which were getting by on smoke and mirrors and are due for retrenchment. 

There are several sources for useful stats info; I'll be looking at NBA.com, Hollinger at ESPN.com, and the great Basketball-reference.com site. I'll look at team stats and individual, team first. 

Get a drink, a smoke, a pillow, whatever you do to make life bearable as Lou Reed once said, and we'll start below....numbers ahoy! (and yeah, that's a warning to the phobic) 

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