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Contest runs March 27th (starting with the game against New Orleans) until the last game of the regular season against Golden State.

Last eligible game will be April 14th against Golden State.

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The real story has played out behind the scenes inside the Vulcan Empire.

What was said at yesterdays press conference at the Blazer practice facility wasn't enough to let any of us know much of anything. Which is usually the way the Vulcans like it.

Here is what we know so far. The Blazers hiring of Kevin Pritchard as GM was one of the first steps in turning this franchise from a national joke into something we've all grown proud of. He has presided over a number of shrewd draft day deals and a top pick. He has been one of the major players and the most respected voices of this organization for a number of years. His popularity in Portland sparked two popular phrases, "In KP we trust", and "Pritchslapped". And we also know he has gone from being the apple of Paul Allens eye to being someone who is very close to losing his job.

Why?

No one who knows is saying, which leaves you and me and the pundits a lot to speculate about. Jealosy, disagreement over the Tom Penn thing, getting nothing for RLEC, the handling or mishandling of last summers free agent aquisition, speculation we didn't do our due diligence in the medical investigation of Greg Oden prior to drafting him, Kevin whinning to other people in the league about being underpaid, or....................(fill in the blank)................

On the Main Page at Blazers Edge they have links to transcripts of Larry Millers comments and Kevin Pritchards comments at todays press conference.   They also have links to audio from the press conference. 

I listened to the audio on 95.5 FM. And it seemed abundantly clear to me that Kevins words were carefully measured and scripted, and he sounded afraid. He had the fear in his voice someone has when they think they are about to lose their job. And when I saw the pictures and the look on his face I thought the same thing.

Change is on the horizon for this franchise, no matter how the team ends the season. Some media analysts are speculating that KP wanted to replace Nate, others are saying if KP goes that Nate will not re-sign with the team. I find it surprising that both Dwight Jaynes and Jason Quick are so far apart on these issues. Either they don't have the "insider" scoop they claim they have or they are out of the loop.

I can understand the team and its officials clamming up about Penn. Its pretty much standard operating procedure for companies who negotiate severance agreements with employees to have signed an agreement not to slander each other.

Miller insisted that the team would not make any decisions about further changes until the off-season evaluation period. And he fell far short of endorsing Kevin and the positive things that he did say about Pritchards role in the organization seemed to me lacking in enthusiasm.

Its my belief Kevin was sincere in his desire to remain with the Blazers organization. While I have never thought he was the genius some fans did, I do recognize what he has done for this team and this community. And I hope the team, the Vulcanites, and Kevin are able to find a way to make it work.

Three critical components of a GM's job are
1. drafting players
2. trading players and signing FA's
3. negotiating player contracts

Here is some of what I have heard in relation to the three components.
1. There is a growing sentiment amongst the Vulcans that KP made a mistake in evaluating Gregs physical condition. Although its pretty easy to argue that there isn't a GM out there who would have drafted Oden ahead of Durant.

2. Even if you write the draft issue off as hindsight being 20/20, you have the FA mess of last summer. Personally, I was after Miller all along and am glad he is the one we ended up with. However everyone at Vulcan and here in PTown was sold on RLEC and all hyped up about it. We got nothing out of that. Then we were all sold on Hedo Turkoglu. And when I say all of us, I am including Paul Allen...a man used to getting what he wants. Then we miss on Milsap. Sure, I'm glad we have Andre, but you can't escape the fact that Kevin identified who he wanted, sold everyone on the idea, and then didn't deliver. And lastly you have Pritchards attachment to "his" guys. He himself has admitted he has overvalued his own players at times, and been less willing to trade them than he probably should have been.

3. We're hearing that Vulcan took over the contract negotiating because Kevin wasn't getting it done and Brandon Roy went over his head.

So if you are looking to dish out some grades for these three critical components of Pritchards job, there is room for legitimate criticism in two out of the three areas.

Is there a better person for the job?

Mark Warkentien who was Bob Whitsetts assistant and is the reigning NBA exeuctive of the year is rumored to be interested in the job. There are a lot of rumors floating around this. Mark still has a house in Lake Oswego, and his contract in Denver is up at the end of the season. There are stories floating around Denver about a potential front office shakeup. And still more stories that Mark was upset about Kevin getting the job he wanted in Portland and that he has been spreading rumors about Kevin around the league for some time.

If you ignore all the stories a couple facts remain.

Warkentien is qualified and likely available
Warkentien has a house in Portland
Warkentien has ties within the Blazer organization

Is he better? If you go back to the three components identified as critical to the GM job I don't think he is better at number one....but at number two and three one could argue that he may indeed have a better skillset than Kevin. He certainly has more experience in those areas. Maybe thats the way Vulcan sees it as well.

Personally, I would like to see Kevin Pritchard remain in Portland. However, after yesterdays news conference its clear his position here is very weak. For him to continue here and be effective in the future he is going to need some corporate support and a vote of confidence somewhere along the line. If he doesn't get that within the next few months the team should probably go ahead and make a change. We can't be competitive if our GM has his hands tied behind his back.

December Contest

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To win you must accurately predict the total score of the Blazers first regular season game, on Oct 27 vs Houston.(if the score is Blazers 102, Houston 98, and you picked 200, you would win.)

There are two tiebreakers. The first tiebreaker is predicting who will win the game. The second tiebreaker will be picking a number between one and one hundred.

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Total score-200
Game winner-Portland
Number-32

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The center position is one of the strongest spots on the Blazers roster.  And if you combine last seasons stats for Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden the numbers look pretty good. 13.4 pts, 15.7 rbs, 2.3 bks.  What team wouldn't be happy with that? 

Last season began with the Trailblazers annointing Greg as their starter at the 5 spot.  It was and up and down year for the youngster from Ohio State.  He started 39 games for Portland, had a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 19.  If he'd averaged 36 minutes of PT his PER for the year would have been 14.8 pts, 11.6 rbs, and 1.9 bks.  The season also had its low points for Oden.  Not only did he have trouble staying in games due to foul trouble, ( if he'd averaged 36 minutes his PER for fouls would have been 6.5) he had physical problems as well and suffered an injury to his foot during his first game against the Lakers, and fractured his kneecap in February during a collision with Corey Magette and missed three weeks. 


Much was made of the fact that Greg was only able to play in 61 games last season.  But if you compare that with Joel Pryzbillas 11 year NBA career, there were only 4 seasons in which Joel was able to play more than 61 games.  And it was only the second time in his five years in Portland that he was able to do so.  Fortunately for the Blazers, last season the grizzly veteran was a bit of an iron man and played in all 82 games for the first time in his career.

Portland will begin the season with two legitimate starting caliber centers in Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla.  LaMarcus Aldridge will also likely see a bit of PT at the 5 spot if the Blazers go small.  Rookie Jeff Pendergraph will likely do little more than keep the bench warm during games and provide a big body to practice with.

Despite the fact that this position looks solid on paper there are some questions left to be answered.  Who will start?  Will Joel (who can opt of his contract next summer) be traded at the deadline for cap relief or another player to backup Greg Oden?  And with either of these players or any other big man, you have to wonder about whether or not they will be able to remain healthy all season.

Coach McMillian has often said a player won't lose his starting job due to injury.  And he has also said isn't going to change the starting lineup from last season because the team won 52 games and made the playoffs.  As much as I like the coach I have to point out that what he says and what he does are often two different things.  Just two summers ago he proclaimed that Taurean Green was going to win some games for the Blazers.  And Green as we all know didn't play much and ended up with a ticket out of town.

Joel Pryzbilla probably had the best season of his career last year, after it appeared he was headed for the shelf in favor of the Blazers number one pick Greg Oden.  Oden, as we all know, had his problems last year and the team really needed the solid play and leadership it got from the Thrilla.  Joel had a chance to leave town last time he was a free agent and instead chose to remain in Portland for less money and play on a losing team that had fallen out of favor with its fans.  At the time, much was made of his decision to stay here, and one could argue that it was one of the turning points for this franchise.  In my mind the biggest question about Joel is his contract status.  He has a chance to opt out next summer, and will probably do so.  At thirty years old this will likely be his last chance at a fat long term deal.  A seven foot center with his credentials isn't easy to come by in the NBA, and there is no doubt there are teams out there who will be willing to offer him more money than the Trailblazers will be willing to pay.  It's not that Joel hasn't earned it.  He has.  But with the salary cap shrinking and the max deal Brandon Roy just got, the near max deal LaMarcus Aldridge will be signing shortly, and the need to sign Greg Oden to an extension the next year there is only so much money that can be spread around.  Will the Blazers go over the cap and re-sign him?  Will he chose to stay here and play here for less?  He is a midwest boy, who lives modestly, and will still wind up with more money than he can ever spend.  Will the team trade him?  Or will he simply decide to NOT opt out?

I'm hoping the team and he are able to find a way for him to remain a Blazer.  No matter which player starts, clearly he and Greg make each other better.  They take a lot of pressure off each other.  And as Joel transistions from starter to backup, he can remain an impact player.  He said more than once last year he liked coming off the bench and playing a few less minutes.  He said he didn't have to worry as much about fouls and could be more aggressive. 

Greg Oden is coming off a tough rookie season.  There were high expectations for Greg, and him not being an overnight sensation led to dissapointment for him and his fans.  It also fed critics who labeled him a head case, injury prone, a bust, and the worst draft pick since LaRue Martin. 

To be fair in analyzing last season you have to factor in the many difficulties and challenges he face.  First of all, he was coming off microfracture surgery.  And despite the fact that he did indeed play last year, that surgery commonly takes 24 months to fully recover from.  Just ask Kenyon Martin, or Amare Stoudamire.  The additional time is needed for a player to regain his lift, his lateral movement, and explosiveness.  After a year layoff I also don't think Greg was in good shape last season, and he often appeared fatigued or winded.  I'm not trying to be an apologist for Oden here, but I do think before the jury is out on his play we need to factor in some of these things and then see what he is able to bring to the table this year. 

I know the team and Greg got together at the end of the season for an evaluation and looked at what needed to happen for him to improve.  Greg had previously announced a plan of going to summer school at Ohio State, and while he did indeed go to Ohio he ended up chosing to study in the gym rather than in the classroom.  He spent most of the summer working on his game and his conditioning with coaches and players.  He spent time consulting with a nutritionist.  And he also spent time working with a sports psychologist on his mental approach to the game.  Much was made of his foul difficulty last season, but I think being in better shape and having a years experience under his belt will be enough for us to see a big improvement in that area.

Oden is in Portland now, working out informally with Coach Lucas, Brandon Roy, Martell Webster and others.  He has done and is doing the things necessary for him to take his game to the next level this season.  The Blazers have a lot invested in Greg Oden, and for them to get a return on it I believe he should start.  I want him playing and practicing with the first unit.  And I want the coach to let him play himself through his difficulties.  Not only is it time for Greg Oden to step his game up and stand up and be who he is....it is time for the team to stand strong behind him.  He has the tools to take a great leap forward this year and I believe he will do so.  The team also has the tools to back him in this.

I'd like to see Greg playing 25 to 30 minutes per game this season and Joel 18 to 23.  Its enough PT for each to have time to get into a rhythm and be productive and its enough down time to keep each player fresh and injuries to a minimum. 

Your thoughts?

Click on this link and join the discussion at Club Blazers

Breaking down the Blazers…….Part 2

Breaking down the Blazers by position….Part Two

Who is our point guard? And who do we want to be our point guard?  These are two questions that have often been asked about our Portland Trailblazers over the last couple of seasons.  We’ve had a number of players look to claim that spot over the years, Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez, Jerryd Bayless, Petteri Kopponen, to name a few.  And we had another hopeful in Summer League camp in Patty Mills until he went down with an unfortunate foot injury.

Our point guards going into the 2009-10 season.
Andre Miller, starter
Steve Blake, backup
Brandon Roy, may pick up a few minutes here and there at the point
Bayless, not likely to see much time at this position unless there is an injury to Blake or Miller.

There may have been more questions about who the Blazers will use at this position than any other.  Hopefully some of those questions were answered during the offseason with the free agent signing of veteran Andre Miller.  Everyone knows that Brandon Roy will handle the ball, including our opponents.  The guy got mugged in the playoffs last year and clearly needed some help.  If you are one of those folks who insist Brandon Roy is the point guard on our team I respectfully disagree.  He can fill that spot at times, but we are asking him to do so much already, in the long run its probably best if someone else initiates the fast break and starts the offense.  Roy admitted as much after Miller was signed and said he was looking forward to fast breaking more.  That was good news to me, and I’m sure to other fans who have been disenchanted with Nates ball control offense.

Despite what kind of smoke Nate was blowing around the wagons when he made his recent comments about Steve Blake being the starter, and not thinking it wise to tinker with the lineup of a 54 win team, Andre Miller is going to be our starter at the point guard position.  We can say what we want about open competition in training camp, guys having to EARN their spots, or starters having secure jobs until someone takes them away……Andre Miller will take that postion, and he will do so because there is no one close to being as good as he is at the 1 on this team.

In our video locker we have some footage of Andre Miller.  I like Steve Blake, but Blakey is not even in the same league as this guy.  Has Blake Blocked Jermaine ONeal or Dirk Nowitzki?  Nor does he have the inside game, fast break game, finishing ablility, or deadly mid range jumper.  If you haven’t watched Miller play all that much or aren’t that familiar with his game check out the highlight reels.  Andre can play. And he can play well enough that at one point signed a close to maximum contract with Denver.

The Trailblazers did not cough up the rest of their capspace on Andre Miller to give him the ten to fifteen minutes of PT, that last seasons backup Sergio Rodriguez got.  Even though Miller was GM Kevin Prictchards third attempt at signing a free agent this summer he is still a player we wanted and who probably wanted to come here more than the other two did.  He is a big upgrade over the incumbent Steve Blake and I, for one, and really looking forward to see what he can do with this team.

Miller is a smart player who has made every team he played for better.  He is a leader.  He is a teacher.  He is a coach on the floor.  And despite the fact that his arrival probably means Jerryd Bayless will again be sitting more than playing, Miller might just be the guy that ends up helping Bayless put it all together.  Both are tenacious.  Both are tough.  And neither one of them is afraid of hard work.

LA and Oden probably don’t know it yet, but Miller is going to make both of them better.  If they get open they WILL get the ball.  Put Miller and Oden out there together, and I guarantee you that we won’t be seeing Greg wandering around wondering why no one will pass him the ball.  He will get it. and he will get it on his way to the hoop where he can do the most damage with it.

Fans of Rudys special connection with his pal Sergio need not worry about missing out on those spectacular lobs and dunks.  Miller is as good as anyone in the league with that pass.  It won’t take long for these two to work that play out.

Miller grew up in a very rough neighborhood in Los Angeles and was raised by a single parent.  She worked hard to make sure he learned how to get the things he wanted out of life.  She made sure he put in the effort necessary for him to suceed scholastically, and athletically.  Neither one of those things was particularly easy for Andre.  He had to sit out a year in college so he could become academically eligible.  His coach Rick Majerus later said of him that school was so difficult for him that he had to put in A effort, just to get a C.  Miller ended up graduating from Utah with two degrees.

For several seasons now Steve Blake has started at point guard.  The coach likes him.  Kevin Pritchard likes him.  His teammates like him.  Thats real nice, but the sentiment was always that we could do better at that position.  I’ve heard it said many times that people thought Blake was great, but what they would really like is for him to be our backup point guard and that he’d be the perfect backup for this team.

I’m not sure “perfect backup” is the spot Steve Blake envisions for himself as a career goal.  He has been a very important part of our team for the last few seasons, and has earned the respect our coach was giving him when he declined the opportunity to handover the starting role to Miller before training camp.

Blake is at times a deadly three point shooter and can easliy transition into a 2 after dumping the ball off to Brandon.  Having enough gunners on the floor to help with spacing and keep opponents from clogging the middle is important for our team.

I’m just kind of wondering at this point how the minutes are going to break down because Miller really should get most of them.  If Miller gets the minutes that Blake got last year, is the ten to fifteen minutes Rodriguez got enough PT for Steve?  I’m not sure it is.  Maybe you try to keep Andre at about 30 minutes, Blake ten to fifteen and the remainder to Brandon?  Or do you give a few minutes each night to Rudy?  Rudy can do a lot more with the ball than he was given the chance to do last season.  Until Miller was picked up there was talk of playing him at the point either to start the game, like he did in the last game vs Houston, or having him back up Blake.

Your thoughts?

Join the discussion

Breaking down the Blazers by position....Part One

Its starting to look like the Blazers roster is shaping up nicely for next season and some team officials have indicated they think their won't be any more personel moves before the games begin. Originally, I thought I'd begin this series with the 1 position, but with todays big news about the Brandon Roy contract I found myself thinking about him.


Other than perhaps center, the 2 is the strongest position on the Blazers.
Brandon Roy, starter
Rudy Fernandez, backup
Bayless, & Blake may play limited minutes at this position

All star Brandon Roy, recently rewarded with a five year contract worth over eighty million dollars, is the unquestioned leader of our team. If you look back at the impact Brandon has had on the Blazers one might go so far as to say that the day he was drafted was the end of the Jailblazer era. On and off the court he has been a model of what ownership and fans alike want from a player.

Draw up a list of how many 2 guards in the league are better than Brandon Roy. Or even a list of how many players are better than Brandon Roy. Your list might not be the same as mine, but it in any case it won't be a long list. For the Portland Trailblazers, Brandon Roy has been just what the doctor ordered.

What can we expect from BRoy this year? Brandon is not the kind of person or player whose performance will drop after they get their big payday. I think we can all assume that barring injury he will have another allstar season. With a deeper team, I'm hoping Nate will be able to reduce Brandons minutes just a little bit, and turn over some of the offensive responsibilty to Andre Miller. I think last years playoff series with Houston showed not only how much the Blazers rely on Brandon, but that at times they rely on him a bit too much making them a bit too predictable. Miller will help with that, and I'm looking forward to seeing opponents not knowing from which direction the Blazers are going to attack them.

Second year guard Rudy Fernandez is a player who could start for many teams. Last year he teamed with fellow countryman Sergio Rodriguez to form the Blazers Spanish Armada. Rudys acrobatic dunks and three point shooting were at times spectacular. A seasoned veteran of international and Olympic play, in many respects Rudy was no rookie. However, I do think the physical play of the NBA took some getting used to for him. In some ways I think he may have been underutilzed last year. Much of the time offensively he was little more than a spot up three point shooter. In Europe Rudy was accustomed to having the ball in his hands a little more and has a bit more to his skillset than we shown. He has proven to be a deadly and willing passer, and before the Blazers picked up Andre Miller there was talk of playing him some at the 1. Rudy is never going to be a lock down defender, but has quick hands and is capable of disrupting an opponents offense and picking up some steals.

Its unfortunate for Jerryd Bayless that he didn't grow six inches this summer. During the Las Vegas Summer League he didn't impress anyone with his performance as a point guard. In fact, he was outplayed by Pooh Jeter. What he really is, is an undersized 2 guard. Jerryd is well liked by fans for his hard work in practice and aggressive style of play. He is also in the unfortunate position of having to compete for minutes at the two positions he plays with teammates who are better than he is. His jump shot and three point shot are not what they were in college and need improvement. And these are areas where we can reasonably expect him to improve. Fans enjoy his aggressive drives to the basket, but I think he is overrated as a finisher as he commits a lot of fouls, doesn't pass well off the drive, and often gets his shot blocked. I think it will help Jerryd if his role is more clearly defined as a 2 or a 1, and then put him to work on what he needs to do to earn time at either position.

Steve Blake may also see time at this position due to his shooting ability when Nate runs a three guard lineup.

Your thoughts?

Join the discussion at Club Blazers

The answer to this question is the real problem. After the Allan Houston thing the league attempted to define this and modified the rules to what they are today.

Unfortunately they didn't get it quite right, which is why we have the brouhaha going on over Darius Miles today.

The rule is designed to provide relief to teams whose players suffer career ending injuries. Miles injury is so bad his knee can NOT support a professional basketball career. The team doctor, independant doctors, the NBA doctor, and the players assciations own doctor all agreed upon this. There is simply ZERO chance they got this wrong. If you've never seen them I have to tell you that the quality of todays MRI and XRay exams is nothing short of amazing. You can see every single thing inside the knee. (We just had this done on my sons knee Wednesday night. He has an injured MCL.)

Name one credible MEDICAL source that says Miles knee is okay. You can't, because there aren't any. There are agents and team officials and even Miles himself selling stories about his knee. But they are all FLUFF.

It's not a question of IF Miles knee will break if he plays professional basketball, it's a question of WHEN.

Notice nobodys offering Miles a 2 or 3 year deal? If they were so certain his knee was okay they would. SInce we have this arbitrary ten game rule, teams have found a way to use that to gain a competitive and financial advantage against the Trailblazers by exploiting Miles and his desire to resume the rockstar style life of an NBA player. I don't like what these teams are doing, but they aren't breaking any rules.

I also don't like the ten game rule. This situation has illustrated the problem with it. I'm not saying the Blazers should be given a pass on this. The rules are the rules and everybody has to play by them. But I will say the ten game thing should be changed, and the career ending injury status redifined.

If your mechanic says don't drive your car, but you know it will start and go down the road it doesn't mean your car is okay. It means your car is living on borrowed time. IF you choose to drive it, you know eventually it WILL break.

Miles knee is like that. Whether it's a good choice or not to play professional basketball on that knee, it remains HIS choice.

The Blazers didn't try and force him to play on that knee, they paved the way for him to retire while he was still in good enough health to be able to walk on it, and they made sure through their insurance carrier he will get paid the full 48 million dollars that were on his contract. They acted responsibly. They went through the process with the doctors, the league, and the players association to make this all happen.

Competitors are now trying to use that ten game loophole and Darius Miles desire to resume the lifestyle of an NBA player to their advantage against the Blazers. I don't like it, but that's the way it is, and they are within their rights to do so.

The Blazers had this called right. And they knew the Grizzlies were about to resign Miles. The Blazers knew they were screwed. They did what a lot of people in America do. They had their lawyer write a nasty letter threatening litigation. Most likely nothing will ever come of it. But you never know. You CAN sue anybody for anything. Doesn't mean you will ever collect a dime, but you will force the other party to defend themselves. In the courts you defend yourself by spending money. Who has deeper pockets than Paul Allen? Maybe you don't like what the Blazers did here. But just like with Darius Miles and the Memphis Grizzlies, they were well within their rights to do so.

I doubt the league will ever offer Portland any relief for this situation. I do hope however, they take another look at the rules and see what can be done to make them better. Maybe Darius Miles shouldn't even be allowed to play if a doctor says that his knee is so injured it's likely to break if subjected to the rigors of professional basketball. Of course if you go that route you run the risk of somebody claiming you are taking away Darius right to work. Maybe you don't have the ten game rule. If the doctors say they are broken, they are broken and you get the relief. Or maybe you change the ten games to a full season, which is probably a better measure of whether someone is capable of playing competitively on a regular basis.

Trail Blazers Courtside
12/29/08, 6-7pm
Note: only hour show due to Duck basketball
Hosts: Mike Barrett, Mike Rice, Brian Wheeler

Summary

    * McMillian – I see areas we still need to improve on. We just go to focus on it and commit to doing it.
    * Mike Rice – last five years in the West the teams with the best win record on the road advance to the playoffs. Portland is 8th and Utah 9th best of the nine teams contending for 8 playoff spots.
    * Predictions for 2009 – Mike Barratt - “Trail Blazers will make a blockbuster deal right before the trade deadline using Raef LaFrenz’s contract to land a former all-star”
    * John Hollinger, ESPN Analyst – 93% chance Portland will make the playoffs and 38% chance Portland will win the division[/QUOTE]

If you wish to read the rest of Courtside Notes click here

How do we fire up the big guy?

Let's set aside for a moment the comments made recently by Jason Quick of the Oregonian and just consider what we have all observed.  We've seen a young man having a hard time getting used to playing with the big boys.  Thats all it is really.

Add to that, that he is coming off an injury and a year away from the game and you have forced upon a 20 year old a learning curve that is steep enough that he is struggling with it.  And I think he is also struggling with those who have been anxious to criticize someone who was for a good many reasons unable to be the overnight sensation they expected him to be.

Jason Quick went too far in what he had to say about our starting center.  Way too far.  If I were a few years younger and had a few beers in me, and I found him sitting across from me in a bar I might even go so far as to invite him outside so he could hear what I really think of him.  But I'm not a few years younger.  And I won't off in an alley somewhere flying off the handle spewing my pithy sarcasm into Quicks face.  I'm just an  old man with a laptop.  So I'll sack up and be a man here and see if I can organize my thoughts so rational fans out there in Blazerland can understand them.

Do you kick your dog when he is down?

Do you tell your wife she is an incompetant when she is struggling at work?

Do you tell your kids they will never amount to anything if they get a bad grade or get in trouble?

Or do you support them anyway?  And let them know you will be there for them and be behind them no matter what?  Then do whatever you can do to let them know it and help them feel good enough to take the next brave step forward in facing whatever is challenging them?

In some ways Quicks observations were not that far off the mark.  Especially if you look at his followup comments.  He just went too far by making it personal.

The kid is down.  Our kid is down.  And I mean no disrespect to Greg by calling him a kid.  In many respects he is a boy playing a mans game and a boy in a mans body.  He just isn't completely grown up yet.  And quite frankly I'd hate to see either of my kids who are that age be under the kind of pressure that young man is under.

But if they were, I'd help them.  I'd rack my brain trying to think of whatever I could do or say to support them. 

Greg is our guy.  He IS our number one pick.  I wouldn't change that, and I doubt the Blazers would either.  So what do they do with him?  Clearly he is affected by the pressure.  He walks out sullenly when introduced at the beginning of the game.  When other players are jumping up and down getting ready for the tip off, he just stands there and looks around.  And the charming fellow that always had the press laughing is quiet and distant.

If you are the Blazers what do you do with Greg to get the fires going again?

Do you tell him to push back, when other players push him?  Or tell him to pretend he is Karl Malone and throw an elbow or two?

Knowing his love for dancing...do you have him pick the opening song and have him lead the Blazers out on the floor?  Or have a Dance Dance Revolution contest between him and his teammates and the fans?

Do you tell him to play his rear off, don't worry about the fouls, and then actually start throwing the ball to him while he is moving towards the basket off a pick and roll?

Do you force feed him at the offensive end until he gets over whatever difficulties he is having and let him feel good about scoring some points?

And lastly, as fans, what can we do to let #52 we are behind him no matter what?

Cheer every time he touches the ball?

Chant his name when he is introduced?  and when he enters the game?

Cancel our Oregonian subscriptions?

Have our own Dance Dance Revolution contest and make him the judge?

courtesy of Discovery 69

12/8 - Trail Blazer Courtside - Monday

by discovery69 on Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:41 pm

Trial Blazer Courtside
Monday, December 8, 2008, 6-8pm PST
Hosts: Jay Allen & Michael Holton

Summary

• Nate McMillan – he is having Greg focus on defense first and worry about offense later.
• Brian Wheeler – since Brandon Roy has been a Blazer they are 25 wins, 9 losses in games decided by 3pts or less
• Terry Porter – he had his H.S. jersey, college jersey and now the pinnacle of his playing career the retirement of his pro jersey.
• Bill Schonley:
  
  • Without Bobby Gross (similar to Rudy) there would not be any championship.
  • Terry Porter the third most popular blazer only behind Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler in his opinion.
  • The current Blazers remind him of the great championship team of the 70’s and the finals teams of the 90’s.
• Michael Holton
  
  • The great Coach John Wooden once said that it’s amazing what a team can accomplish when no one is concerned on who gets the credit.
  • The Blazers have good team quickness in getting out of area rebounds, making plays down the stretch and having key defensive stops.
  • Roy, Fernandez, Aldridge, Blake and Outlaw are goto shooters. Most teams only have one or two, but the Blazers have at least 4 to 5 key players to take the shot.

To read the rest of Courtside Notes visit this link

T. Outlaw fessed up to the press and took the blame for the fouled up play at the end of the game which resulted in a shot clock violation.  When asked about the play Nate was willing to tell reporters only that it wasn't executed properly.  Outlaw threw himself under the bus and accepted responsibility for not cutting to the ball the way he had been instructed to do.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/12/blazers_slip_down_stretch_agai.html#more"

I admire Travis for his accountability.  He made a mistake.  He owned it. 

But the loss shouldn't fall completely on his shoulders.  The fact we blew an 8 point lead in less than two minutes was not something he alone was responsible for.  I'm a fan of our coach, but I do question some of the choices he made during the last minute and fifty seconds of the game.

1. In retrospect from the comfort of my couch its easy to see that pulling the guy who had the hot hand (Sergio) in running the offense and inserting Steve Blake stalled the offense.  As did changing the offensive plan to Brandon Roy ISO.  Brandon didn't execute at the foul line, and that resulted in a 8 point lead turning into a two point lead with just thirty seconds to go.  That of course left us just one more screwed up posession and a Turkoglu 3 pointer away from a loss.

2.  When the only plays you run at the end of the game are Brandon Roy ISO's other teams ARE going to figure it out, and they are going to come up with ways to stop it.  Time to mix things up a bit, our offensive strategy is becoming predictable and thus vulerable to being shut down. 

3.  The zone defense Portland had been using to neutralize Dwight Oden was broken down by the Magic.  They scored at will at the end of the game and there were no adjustments made.  From the comfort of my couch its easy for me to say that a move back to a man to man D would have made a difference. 

Losing a game this way bugs me.  But the one catchphrase you always hear analysts say about games like this is that the next game is never far away.  So tomorrow night we travel to Utah to play Jerry Sloans Jazz.  Sloan just this week won his thousandth game as a head coach.  Even though it was announced today Carlos Boozer isn't expected to play, Paul Milsap has been playing very well in his absence.  Along with the suitcases and the jerseys we better bring our A Game if we expect to beat the Jazz in Salt Lake.

The Blazers wrap up their five game trip with a Sunday morning game against the Raptors in Toronto.  

Gametime 10 am Pacific Time

Since this is our first look at the Raptors this season here is a video preview of their team. Video link to this seasons Toronto Raptors

After a day off and a dissapointing loss to Boston the Blazers will be facing a Toronto team with a new coach who is looking for his first victory after losing Friday night in Utah.  Jay Triano will be the first Canadian head coach in NBA history.  Triano, formerly an assistant coach, will run the team through the end of the season according to Brian Colangelo.  Colangelo was upset about the teams 39 point loss in Denver and slow start ( 8-9 ) after making the playoffs the last two seasons.  The Toronto coach has been on the hot seat since last year when the team finished the season poorly.  Just 13-20 out of its last 33 games.  Mitchell, who was hired before Colangelo came in from Phoenix, never really saw eye to eye with Colangelo.  The GM wanted the team who is currently last in the NBA in fast break points, to run more.  And he put in place a coach who will do his bidding.

Friday nights loss was a tough one for our team, but if they keep their heads together they should find Toronto a much more inviting place than Boston.  Toronto has two players that match up well against Portland.  AllStar Chris Bosh, and Jose Calderon.  Beyond that the Raptors roster hasn't been very effective this season.  ExBlazer Jermaine O'Neal isn't the player he once was.  He was brought in to be a defensive stopper for the Raptors, but it hasn't really worked out that way.  Andrea Bargnani hasn't been playing very well either.  He looks like one of those guys management has ordered a coach to play so that their learning curve will hasten and they will reach their potential sooner rather than later.  Trouble is, it hasn't worked out that way and Bargnani hasn't been able to successfuly play NBA defense.  Pundits around the league have been calling for Toronto to replace him in the starting lineup with Jamario Moon. 

Brandon Roy shot just 3-12 against Boston.  Does anyone really think he is going to play that way again, especially with Anthony Parker trying to stop him?  WIll Solomon or Roko Ukic off the bench aren't going to be able to stop him or Rudy either.  If we can keep Bosh under control and be patient offensively our guards can torch this team and we should come home from this road trip with our heads held high and a 4-1 record.


Projected starters
Portland Trailblazers

Steve Blake -PG
Brandon Roy-SG
Nic Batum-SF
LaMarcus Aldridge-PF
Greg Oden-Center

Projected starters
Toronto Raptors

Jose Calderon-PG
Anthony Parker-SG
Andrea Bargnani-PF
Chris Bosh-PF
Jermaine O'Neal-Center

As always there will be pregame, gametime, and postgame discussion of the game in the gameday forum.

Be sure to catch the video recap and hdtv highlights of the game by clicking here.

courtesy of Discovery 69
Trail Blazers Courtside
Monday, December 1, 2008, 6-8pm
Hosts: Jay Allen and Michael Holton

Don’t forget to vote for Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge or Greg Oden on the all-star ballot at NBA.com.

Summary
- Dean Demopoulos interviews:
--- Martell still a maybe on this road trip
--- Roy is the best all around player he has ever coached in his 30 years as a coach.
--- He still says “wow” ever so often with what these players do on the court
--- The coaches are just scratching the surface in what they want these players to do.
--- They spend about 65% on offense and 35% on defense.
--- A good defense starts with a good offense.
--- Your offense is either running and gunning or laying and praying. He prefers the Blazers be able to do both.
- Bobby Gross interview
--- Bill Walton was like Roy, it was always team first. Walton enjoyed passing more than him scoring.
- Mike Barratt interview
--- Martell will back-up Batum in about 12 MPG to start out with.
--- Blazer coaches are very high on Nicolas Batum in all the things he does on the court..

click here to read the rest of courtside notes

11/30 Portland at Detroit, Game Preview

For the first game of another five game road trip the Blazers stop in the Motor City to take on the Pistons and ex-Blazer Mr. CTC himself, Rasheed Wallace.

There is still enough experience and fight in this Pistons team to put a whuppin on any team in this league. The question remains night in and night out which Pistons team will show up. The one that cares or the one that doesn’t. That in and of itself often starts with Rasheed. Throw in AI to the mix and I’d say we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Neither of these two players are likely to wear a Pistons jersey next year, so they do have some incentive to perform this season that might not otherwise be there. However it didnt keep AI from skipping PRACTICE on turkey day.

Here is look at their current roster….

Detroit Pistons Roster - 2008-09
NBA:

Team Roster
NO. NAME POS AGE HT WT COLLEGE 2008 - 2009 SALARY
6 Alex Acker G 25 6-5 185 Pepperdine $711,517
28 Arron Afflalo SG 23 6-5 215 UCLA $1,015,440
38 Kwame Brown C 26 6-11 270 $4,000,000
12 Will Bynum PG 25 6-0 185 Georgia Tech $711,517
32 Richard Hamilton SG 30 6-7 193 Connecticut $10,812,500
5 Walter Herrmann PF 29 6-9 225 $2,000,000
1 Allen Iverson SG 33 6-0 180 Georgetown $20,840,625
25 Amir Johnson PF 21 6-9 210 $3,666,667
54 Jason Maxiell PF 25 6-7 260 Cincinnati $1,877,572
22 Tayshaun Prince SF 28 6-9 215 Kentucky $9,500,000
42 Walter Sharpe PF 22 6-9 245 UAB $442,114
3 Rodney Stuckey PG 22 6-5 205 Eastern Washington $1,687,320
30 Rasheed Wallace C 34 6-11 230 North Carolina $13,930,000
Coach: Michael Curry
Average Age: 26.3
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 216
courtesy of espn….http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/roster?team=det

The depth this team once had isn’t there anymore, and McDyess has yet to make his return from Denver. On paper you wonder if they really have a serious title run left in them.

At the point guard spot there is no doubt AI and his capable backup Rodney Stuckey hold an advantage over the Blazers. AI himself has destroyed many a team in the past. However the defense we played on Chris Paul Friday night at the Rose Garden was pretty impressive. And it might be enough to neutralize these guys.

Richard Hamilton witll keep our all star Brandon Roy busy all night long. He never slows down and with Chauncey gone I kind of see him as the heart of this team. Still, Brandons defense seems to get better every game. And at this position I have to give the edge to the Blazers.

Tayshun Prince holds down the fort for the Pistons at SF. Our SF by committee should have an advantage here. Nic Batum has held his own thus far in the season and I don’t look for Prince to overpower anyone offensively. With Outlaw coiming in to spell him and Roy sliding over here for a few minutes I think the Blazers have an advantage at this position.

Don’t know which Wallace will show up to play in Mondays game. If it is the one who doesn’t give a rip we might be on our way to an upset victory on the road. If its angry Rasheed wanting to teach everyone a lesson LA and Channing Frye are in for trouble and will find themselves sorely overmatched.

Kwame Brown is Kwame Brown. He is another guy who probably won’t be playing in Detroit very long. This might be a chance for Greg Oden to have a nice game. One thing I noticed Friday night was that every time the Blazers ran the pick and roll and Greg rollled to the hoop no one ever passed him the ball. Not once. If they run that and actually pass to him he will score 20 on Kwame and Rasheed and there will be some celebratin going on on the flight to New York.

I see this game and the Boston game as the two real tests on this road trip. Earlier in the year I’d have said I’d be pleased if our guys came home from a trip like this 3 and 2.

Despite what I see on paper for this game, Detroit has not only the home court advantage but a huge edge in experience over our young team. It will be a fun game to watch and see if they are able to rise to the challenge. However I am afraid they will fall short. I’m picking Pistons by 9.
For further discussion or more similar articles click here

courtesy of Discovery 69

Trail Blazers Courtside
Tuesday, 11/25/08
Hosts: Brian Wheeler, Mike Rice, Mike Barrett

Summary
- Dwight Jaynes – Nate said Oden on schedule with his defense and ahead of schedule with his offense
- Nate McMillan – LaMarcus needs to relax, stop thinking, worrying about things, just react more, let the game come to him.
- Martell Webster – He has changed, he is more about helping them win whether that is starting or coming off the bench.
- Ian Thomsen – Doesn’t think the Blazers are targeting a free agent but a star player with a contract that a team doesn’t want.
- Confucius – Western playoffs teams - LA Lakers, Houston, New Orleans, Utah, San Antonio, Denver, Portland & Dallas
- Nicolas Batum plays a lot like Bruce Bowen, but is a better shooter. Blazers very high on Batum and still looking to play him.
- Greg Oden is not having any fun because of all the pressure on him
- Too much expectations by fans, people forget last year the Blazers were 5-10 compared to 9-6 now.
- Rotation – Martell will backup Batum, Outlaw will slide over to backup PF and Frye will probably be the odd man out.
- Trade – Pritchard getting a lot of calls for Raef’s contract, but Pritchard looking to make sure that star player is a good fit.


Dwight Jaynes on 95.5FM on 11/26
- Jones soda is the new official soda for the Blazers.
Blazers team
- Exceeded expectations from everybody in the media on their win-loss record so far.
- This upcoming road trip will be brutal and if they can come out 2-3 or 3-2 the second half of the season is very favorable for the Blazers.
- He feels the Blazers will do well after the road trip and will make the playoffs.
Greg Oden
- He was surprised when talking with Nate, that Nate feels Greg is on schedule with his defense, but is ahead of schedule of getting down the offense.
- Nate said that Greg may have just as big of impact on the Blazers offense as he has on the defense this year which is ahead of schedule.
Ducks vs. Beavers/u]
- He picks the Ducks because of the extra week Ducks have to prep and injuries to OSU Quizz Rodgers.

[u]Nate McMillan – interview
- (MB) (Brandon Roy summed it up best by saying we don’t want to say we aren’t happy with the win, but we aren’t happy with how we played.) Nate says well we aren’t giving it back.
- We know we got to play better. It took us four quarters to get it done, but we got the win.
Greg Oden
- It’s still a process with Greg. This will be a process for Greg throughout the year with him. With his second time starting and it was a strange match-up for Greg against the Kings. Both Miller and Hawes are perimeter centers that can shoot from the outside. Greg is used to centers posting up and banging inside. The Kings did a good job of spreading the floor and forcing Greg to come out more than he is normally used too.
- Nate tells Greg the more time he spends out on the court the more he will get better.
- (MR)(Rice thinks the Kings was one of the worst teams for Greg as the Kings run that Princeton offense where they have the center out on the perimeter either out to the corners or at the top of high post, which made it hard for Greg to defend against Miller and Hawes. Greg will probably do better against other teams that have more conventional centers where they post-up). Nate said the Kings allow their centers to shoot the three pointers and Miller and Hawes were doing well on the outside and they gave the Blazers some trouble with the last game in Sacramento.
- Joel did a better job on the pick and roll offense and decided to go with Joel late in the 4th.
LaMarcus Aldridge
- (BW)(Brian thought the game in Sacramento in the second half where LaMarcus went 6 for 6 would be an end to LaMarcus shooting slump, but that is not the case. What do you say to LaMarcus?)
- Nate took both Greg and LaMarcus into the film room and showed what they are doing and not doing well in their shooting and handling the double teams.
- He told LaMarcus to relax, stop thinking so much, allow the game to come to him. He needs to stop thinking so much about all the different schemes that teams will be doing to him. He just needs to react.
- LaMarcus needs to calm down, take a deep breath, get into the gym, shoot and get into a rhythm. He needs to relax, get excited about playing in the game and establish a rhythm with his shooting.

The rest of Courtside Notes and other Blazers related articles may be viewed by clicking on this link

Courtside Notes from 11/25

Courtesy of Discovery 69

Monday Blazer Courtside
Hosts: Jay Allen & Michael Holton
11/17/08, 6-7pm
NOTE: Show is only one hour as the Duck basketball game was on after 7pm.

Summary
- Brian Wheeler – Martell wants to play in early Dec, preferably by his birthday.
- Nate McMillan – Greg will continue to come off the bench. Aldridge needs to face the basket more and drive to the basket.
- Mike Rice - His teammates have so much respect for Greg and his abilities and where he can take them.
- Golden State game – take care of the ball and rebound. Control the middle and put pressure on the outside shooters.

Brian Wheeler – interview on 95.5FM, 11/18 7:30am
- Golden State game – Nate doesn’t want his players to get into the Warriors game and just shoot outside shots. He wants them to get the ball inside.
- Martell wants to play on his birthday (Dec 5th)
- Martell needs to run 2 miles on the treadmill without any pain, learned his lesson to listen to the doctors and let people know when he has pain.
- They knew the first 22 games were going to be tough, but are surprised how well they are playing.
- Now with Greg Oden back the team is in a very positive and confident mood

I wanted to let everyone know that the November 17 edition of the Portland Tribune is reporting that Maurice Lucas is now home from the hospital. Luke had been hospitalized for some time after coming down with a mysterious virus of some sort. He said that he got so sick so fast that within a week of coming down with the virus had lost his ability to breathe properly.

Number twenty is still pretty sick, and in fact is still hooked up to a ventilator, which helps move air through his lungs and makes certain he gets enough oxygen. Maurice is resting and taking medication which finally seems to be helping him recover from what is believed to be the same bug that killed Bernie Mac.

Even though the man we’ve known as The Enforcer is stronger than the average bear, this virus has taken its toll on him. All of us at Club Blazers wish him the best in his fight for a full recovery.

Oh, and Maurice…. just in case you happen to read this, don’t worry about your job. There isn’t anyone who could ever fill your shoes. Even though the jersey you wore says number twenty on it, you will always be number one to your fans.

courtesy of Discovery 69

Blazer Courtside - Tuesday
11/11/08 6-8pm
Hosts: Jay Allen & Michael Holton
Happy Veterans Day

Summary
- Greg will probably play against Miami - off the bench
- Greg did things in practice that you don’t see the top five centers in the NBA do.
- Roy says Greg Oden is better than Dwight Howard
- Roy’s back still hurting and Joel’s ankle is hurting, but both will probably play against Miami.
- All Star Ballot is ready and Roy, Aldridge and Oden were selected.
- No problems between Nate and Sergio
- Blazers team concept and rhythm allows the team to play with or without one or two players.


Extra bonus – Brian Wheeler on 95.5 Wed. morning
- he talked to Brandon Roy and Roy said he means no disrespect to Dwight Howard, but now that Roy has played against Howard the last three years. He says that Greg Oden is better than Dwight Howard.


Monty Williams – Blazer Asst. Coach - interview
- He is in his room watching game tapes, reading, watching TV and just getting ready for the Miami game.
- He tries to be laid back and with a long NBA season he knows it helps to take advantage of down time.
Orlando game
- As a coach in the Orlando game, the blazers held the Magic to shooting only 2’s instead of making shots from the 3 pt. line. We were able to capitalize off of that, in fact the Magic feed off of those 3pt. shots from Rashard & Turkoglu. We thought if we could keep them inside the paint or inside the 3pt. line we had a chance of winning the game.
- Of course we had some good individual play of everybody. The thing that really that went by everybody was the individual play of Steve Blake, going 25 points and 4 assists. That was huge for us to get that kind of play from our PG and he nullified Jameer Nelson for us and that helped us a ton.
- And Joel got into foul trouble and people forget that he had to guard seven all-star level centers. So for him to play against Dwight Howard he didn’t get to play as well, but got the victory and that was important.
- We felt if we could keep Dwight in the lift (above the free throw line) we could do our iso (i.e. isolation), a lot of times Dwight is down in the block where he can block shots. So we lifted Dwight. After a while with Brandon not getting the ball, he pulled Monte’s coat tails saying give me the ball.
- I didn’t have to say anything as Nate had in his mind that Brandon needed the ball. So once Brandon went to the hole it got contagious. Did you see Travis drive to the hole, he figured either he was going to dunk it or he was going to be on ESPN with Howard blocking his shot.
- Our guys have no fear and Nate has never stepped in and told our guys not to shoot. He has given them a lot of freedom with the offense and they are starting to know that. As long as they do things the right way on the offense with setting screens, make hard cuts and try to play for each other.
- (mh) 13-0 run, the team with Frye, Rudy, LaMarcus, Sergio and Travis you guys were able to capitalize with a smaller lineup
- Frye normally shoots the ball well, but didn’t last night, the Magic still had to pay attention to him. Sergio, not only did he have a good offensive game. Sergio and Rudy played really well on digging on Dwight posts up. Whenever Dwight went up for a rebound and came down we had Sergio or Rudy there to slap the ball away or to slow down their transition game.
- Sergio and Rudy’s play out there really allowed Nate to rest Brandon more so he was ready for the 4th quarter.
- Nate also stressed in this game they wanted either Brandon or LaMarcus on the floor in the rotation.
- The other thing was LaMarcus’s was really effective, he brought Dwight more to the outside and that helped us with tip outs on defensive and offensive rebounding.
- That was a crucial point for us, because we were able to foul Dwight and I think he missed 4 of those free throws. That took away from their rhythm and flow of their offense and started to go iso (isolation). They jacked up a few shots they normally don’t in a game.
Greg Oden
- He looked 72-75% (he’s kidding). Greg is a great talent and athlete. He always looks good in practice. He got through practice without any pain and you have to ask him, but he look good out there.
- He made a spin move and dunk on Ike Diogu that your top five centers can’t do. He was smacking the back board and you wouldn’t know it from his face, but he looked like he was having fun.
- We are looking forward to having him back.
- We feel like we have set a rhythm and Nate has set that tone with the team and not one player is going to change that rhythm. Whether it is Brandon being out or LaMarcus the team is going to be playing a certain way. Greg is going to find out that fitting in a certain way is going to be profitable for him. He doesn’t have to go out and score 30 a night, we don’t expect that of him. We just want him to relax and play his game.
- You have to talk to Nate on whether he is going to play. Jay and Jeff have done an unbelievable job with having him come back so soon.
- Greg coming off the bench will probably take some pressure off of him and allow us to keep our flow.
- It allows us to give Joel some minutes at the beginning of the game.
- We have a good thing and it is something we are experimenting with.
- Right now it maybe a way to give Greg a chance to relax and get a chance to see what is going on.
- Most coaches scream at the start and this gives Greg a chance for the coach to calm down after his screaming.
Miami game
- Miami maybe a small lineup with Haslem and Beasley, but that is where you can get caught up in not understanding that these two guys can rebound, block shots or make hustle plays.
- They can get out on the fast breaks and also shoot from the outside to draw the defense from the inside.
- We just have to rebound and play great defense. We have these stretches where we play great defense for 18 seconds. We just have to get defensive rebounds.
Team
- (mh) – you guys scored 36 points in the paint in Orlando and one thing he noticed there was cuts to the basket, even back cuts. Sergio even had some cuts to the basket and then re-spaced the floor. Is that something you are working on.
- It’s been a four year effort with this team and trying to convince the guys the importance of movement. We took some pages from San Antonio and Utah. They move constantly and what the players are starting to realize even if they don’t get a shot, their movement will help create a shot for them or someone else.
- Most teams don’t want to defend that kind of movement, especially if you have iso guys like Roy, LaMarcus, Travis and now Greg. Now you have to pay attention to the guy with the ball and the guy moving around and that creates so much more space for our iso guys.
- We get into trouble when Brandon has the ball everybody just stares at him to make something happen.
- Now the players are realizing if they move they can have the defense trying to decide to double Brandon or follow the moving player. It is helping the blazers right now and is something they want to build on.

Mike Barratt - interview
Greg Oden
- Greg looked fantastic and some unnamed people said they saw Greg do things he hasn’t done before.
- He isn’t sure what it was whether it was the win against Orlando or what.
- He knows that Nate has talked to Greg about the hunger and desire.
- Greg was messed up with the injury last year and the foot injury.
- It seems like Greg is back, the explosive athletic guy we know he can become.
- Unless it is some huge relapse or pain, he is going to play against Miami.
- The best way of making sure the rhythm of the team isn’t disrupted is to bring Greg off the bench.
- Nate is doing the right thing to bring Greg off the bench, because A) no pressure, B) plays against 2nd team centers and C) Joel Przybilla has earned the starting job and has done a good job against some of the top centers. I’m sure Joel would be fine coming off the bench, but for now it is good to have Joel start.
- LaMarcus is really going to benefit as teams will be backing down and letting LaMarcus have his shot while teams guard Oden
Joel Przybilla
- Joel hurt his ankle in the Orlando game, he didn’t practice and was in the pool working with Jay Jensen. Joel will probably start.
Orlando game
- Right now shots are falling with Rudy and Travis and don’t expect it to continue.
- In the Houston scouting reports a few years ago, it used to say let Travis have the outside shot, now you can’t have him have the outside shot.
- Rudy can fit on any team, that is why Rudy is an interchangeable part with the starter or bench.
Sergio Rodriguez
- Mike hasn’t seen any tension with Nate and Sergio, everything is fine between the two.
- He said it was blown out of proportion and thinks that the reports of “trading” was not true.
- He said Nate and Sergio talked for about 10 minutes and moved on and everything has been fine.
- Nate likes Sergio and he knows he wants to play more. Everybody wants to play more, even the starters.
- Sergio didn’t come out in the press and demand to be traded, he didn’t miss practices or was late or pout during practices. Sergio hasn’t done any of that.
- Nate welcomes that Sergio wants to play, but that is all he can do for Sergio as the 4th guard.
Brandon Roy
- Brandon said he came down on his heel late in the game and twisted his back.
- He said if he would not of played if there was a Tuesday game.
- He was disappointed that it hasn’t cleared up on Tuesday.
- Barratt expects Roy to play with it being Oden coming back, it’s against Dwayne Wade and it is a spotlight game on ESPN and Comcast.

Jack McCallum - SI.com senior writer - interview
All Star Ballot
- [JA] – Jack was on the selection committee and Roy, Aldridge & Oden are on the all-star ballot
- It is difficult with selecting three players from each team. So the committee ends up arguing for 3 hrs. He would rather put a player like Rudy on the ballot then a veteran who has been in the NBA for a long time.
- You just never know about rookies, but Portland is playing a lot of them.
- The goal is to find the best players in the league, but you get into the Eastern Conference, you put Yi Jianlian on the list you risk him starting because of the 10 billion votes from China.
- There are considerations beyond things, like Rudy maybe a risk vs. Greg when you know he will get votes.
- An interesting concept would be to have the players pick the starters or the coaches pick the starters.
- LaMarcus Aldridge – he found Aldridge to be a delightful kid and will need to become more of a name for himself. He thinks he has an outside chance of making it.
- The cutoff for the ballot selection took place the Thursday before the season started.
- There was a big deal last year because Devin Harris was left off the ballot.
- Greg was selected before they knew about his injury.
- Finding 12 centers was difficult to find and Oden was the best selection
Blazer perception with national media
- Everybody was kind of waiting for Portland to really come back. To come back with a nice team, a good team. The franchise means a lot to people around the league.
- It was one of the sadder storylines around the league when the team went array both on and off the court.
- It’s now a good story line for the national media.
- He just loves to watch Brandon Roy play. He thinks that Brandon is such a fundamental player, not that he is athletic as well, but he is a smart player that gets along with a good coach like Nate.
- He predicts the Blazers battling for the 6th spot, maybe higher in the playoffs.
Surprises in the league
- Atlanta has become a top 4 team in the East.
- Knicks record speaks toward the home games

Brian Wheeler - interview
Greg Oden
- Nate said it wasn’t a long practice, but a hard practice. They were doing some warm-ups, shoot around and some running. Then they broke it off and split the team up into two teams.
- They had a scoring system, where a player got a point for defensive stop and a point for scoring.
- Greg was non-descript for a while and then all of sudden he had these string of plays that were just terrific. He took the ball in the right block and Ike Diogu was guarding him and Channing came to double team him. Greg went lightning quick between the two and split the double team in half and dunked the ball. Next time down, Greg dunked the ball again and slapped the backboard. Kevin turned to Wheels and said it’s all over, call practice he has seen every thing he has come to see. The next time down the floor, Steve Blake had his shot altered by Greg and resulted in a driving layup off the glass.
- He looked like he was having fun out there and was talking out there on defense and was giving everybody a good feel for them.
- Greg’s immediate contributions will come from the defense. He will definitely help the team defense in lowering the points in the paint by other teams.
- Greg is also a good passer that not a lot of people know about and can pass out to the outside shooters.
- Greg will add a more inside presence and help spread the offense.
- By not starting him, it will help him gain confidence against the second tier centers.
Orlando game
- Blazers did a good job of spreading the floor and only giving up one block shot vs. the 4 blocks Dwight averages.
- Blazers only had 5 offensive rebounds, but had 26 points in the paint.
Greg Oden – comments
- (ja) – Greg had his first full contact practice on Tuesday and by all accounts he is ready to play on Wed. Monday was a shoot around, but first full contact was Tuesday.
- (mh) – Greg is on the mend and if it is Wed. then great.
- (mh) – What’s happening is with Greg absence the team’s confidence has grown and this allows Greg to just step in as a support role as he gets his timing and conditioning down.
- (ja) – Nate is going to have Greg come off the bench for a few games and not set a timetable. Kind of lets him get his sea legs, gets back in game shape and condition. It allows him to ease back in with so much pressure and the weight of all of Rip City on his shoulders. I think it’s a good ideal to bring him off the bench for a few games.
- (mh) – It’s an interesting noble ideal that you talked about in Orlando’s 5th quarter. Should he start or not, with the weight of the world and high expectations, the truth of the matter is it is a game of basketball. A game that Greg Oden is well prepared to play, whether he starts or not is not the topic of the day. It is getting enough time on the court to get his rhythm and conditioning on the court. 2-3 games from now we won’t be having this discussion.
- (mh) – (email saying he is glad Greg is coming off the bench) – This is not unique for just Greg, many players who are out for a extended period of time will prefer to come off the bench.
- (ja) – he talked to Wheels and he said that Greg looked great, he was tremendous and look better than what he was like in training camp. Greg really wants to be on the court.
- (mh) – sounds like he has a nap in his step.
- (mh) - (email on team basketball, but with Greg can they keep it up) – Ball movement, man movement, unselfess play. Nate has always coached it and with Greg he will have to look to adapt into the new team rhythm.
- (mh) - (email on when Greg will have affect on the Blazers) – he will have the biggest impact on the defense. On the offensive end he will have an impact on getting the offensive rebound and scoring.

Brandon Roy – comments
- (ja) – Brandon injured his back near the end of the Orlando game and did not practice in Tuesday’s practice. He got some treatment on Tuesday and is listed as questionable for Wednesday match-up with Miami, but in all likelihood will play.
- (mh) – (email on resting Brandon more to keep him fresh for the whole season and allow Rudy and Sergio more minutes) – rhythm or rest has been an age old question. Michael prefers rhythm, because the blazers are trying to make the playoffs and they really need to win as many games as possible and establish your team rhythm and then fine tune it later with rest. When you introduce rest before you establish your rhythm you can really be too cautious and mess up what you are trying to develop.

Miscellaneous
- (caller asked about Darius Miles being signed by another team and then playing in the NBDL and having that count as 10 games) (ja) No, NBDL is for players in the first three years of the NBA. Also, those games won’t count as actual NBA games.

Team
Orlando game
- (mh) - Winning the first one has certainly helped the team’s confidence and rthym. One in impressive fashion in checking Dwight Howard in the second half.
- (ja) – Five blazers in double figure, blazers shoot 44% and only turned the ball over 6 times, well played game.
- (mh) – I like how the Blazers won the game. Between the 3rd & 4th quarter, a 13-0 run primarily by the second unit. When you can take your second unit on the road in a building like the Orlando Magic, it builds a lot of confidence for this team.
- (mh) – Brandon set the tone for the team by taking the ball to the hole against Dwight Howard.
Toughness
- (mh) – (caller saying the team is missing the toughness inside, the Buck Williams type player) – we have Joel Przybilla, but he understands what the caller said. When Sergio had that foul on Dwight Howard, it spokes volumes for the team.
Rotation
- (mh) – (email on rotation for Martell and Batum) – the team is playing extremely well and it is still a mystery until Martell gets on the floor and see how he fits into the rotation. They do have a log jam of sorts at the SF with Martell, Travis, Batum, Rudy and Roy all taking turns playing SF. You do have a good problem with depth, youth and virsaltity, but you can build minutes around those players / combinations.
Nicolas Batum
- (mh) – He is getting valuable experience as a starter. Batum will become the defensive stopper, energy, extra prossesion type player whether it is starting or off the bench that this team needs.
Rudy Fernandez
- (mh) – (email on chances for Rudy to be Rookie of the Year and an all star) – Rudy has a good chance of making ROY, but Beasley is in the lead. It would take a massive voting of the fans to have Rudy as an all star this year.
Miscellanous
- (mh) - Coach of the Year – Nate should be considered, but you got to look at Mike Woodson in Atlanta and what he has done with the Hawks being 5-0.
- (mh) - (email on Roy being MVP) – Roy is steadily building his reputation as rookie of the year, all star. What’s next is 1st or 2nd team all pro. As Brandon moves his game forward, he starts to deal with the Lebron and Kobe’s of the world.

Link to original post

http://www.clubblazers.com/forums/11-11-tuesday-blazer-courtside-t1041.html

Other articles may be found here, but this forum is not a substitute for Blazers Edge which is the best Blazer Blog site on the internet.

courtesy of Discovery 69

[QUOTE]11/3 - Blazer Courtside Monday

November 4, 2008, D69 —

Courtside Monday Night
6PM PST
Hosts: Mike Barratt, Mike Rice, Brian Wheeler
courtside@blazers.com

Next week will be on Tuesday, Nov 11th for Courtside due to Monday’s game.

Summary
Nate McMillian interview – Wants the team to be aggressive. Was hoping for Sunday, but it will be another week before Oden can play in a game. Batum will start in Utah game.
Henry Abbott interview – Thinks Detroit got the better end of the trade of Iverson for Billups. Does think it makes Denver a playoff team now. David Thorp thinks Oden may never become a reliable contributor with his injuries. Once one big trade happens, other GMs start talking.
Jerry Schemmel – Denver announcer - interview – thinks trade was good for Denver and makes them a legit playoff team. George Karl can go back to coaching a regular back court.
Ask Confucius (aka Mike Rice) – Kirk Hinrich will be traded before November 15th. Travis Outlaw as a Blazer after Dec. 1st is cloudy. Batum will be in the top 4 for votes for ROY. Jerryd Bayless very close to be a starter before the end of the season. Greg will not play until the third game of the road trip.
Mike Rice – no to Mike Conley & Jason Kidd (too young and too old). Kirk Hinrich for Travis Outlaw? Hinrich would be closer to what the Blazers are looking for.
First 18 games – 6 to 7 wins
More? – Good comments on Batum, blazer practices, Greg Oden. Also, Maurice is getting better from his unknown virus. [/QUOTE]

for the rest of the notes from 11/3 Courtside visit
http://www.clubblazers.com/113-blazer-courtside-monday/

from http://www.clubblazers.com/game-preview-houston-at-portland-116/


This game would have been the first time Greg Oden got to play against Yao Ming. I remember watching Ming and Shaq battle head to head a couple of times during Mings rookie season. Instead, Greg will watch from the bench and prepare for Saturdays game against the Timberwolves and the rest of us will get our first look at this seasons version of the Houston Rockets and Center Yao Ming. Ming is leading the league in minutes played by centers, and appears fully recovered from last seasons stress fracture and his Chinas poor showing in the Olympics.

Steelblazer and his wife will be attending this game complements of ucatchtrout and ClubBlazers.

This game will also feature the return of Von Wafer and Steve Francis, fomer OSU Beaver Brent Barry, and former Oregon Duck Aaron Brooks, as well as our first look at Ron Artest in a Rockets uniform. Should be fun.

Starting lineup
Rafer Alston
Tracy McGrady
Ron Artest
Luis Scola
Yao Ming

Last seasons edition of the Rockets were good enough to win 55 games. This season they may be even better. Rick Adelman has them running a passing offense. And new addition Ron Artest has added some toughness to the roster. One thing is certain about this game though. The X factor won't be Steve Francis, as he will likely miss the first month of the season with a quadriceps tendon tear.

Starting at Point Guard for the Houston Rockets will be Rafer Alston. Alston is a solid 32 year old veteran of 9 NBA seasons. From deep on the bench last season he worked himself into a starting role with his solid play. Solid, not spectacular. He is a decent defender, can hit the three point shot, but isn't very good at creating his own shot. His play can be streaky, and he'll have to share minutes with Aaron Brooks and Brent Barry. Our own Steve Blake has younger legs and plays a similar game to Alston. And after matching up against Derek Fisher, and Tony Parker and Steve Nash, and Deron Williams to start the season this should be an easier game for Blake. Add to that the Blazers ability to put Brandon Roy, or Sergio, or Rudy at this position the matchup at point guard favors the hometown team. Advantage-Blazers

At shooting guard the Rockets will likely start Tracy McGrady. McGrady isn't really a shooting guard and he has had a lot of injury problems in recent years. For some reason the chemistry between him and Yao Ming has never worked out the way Rockets fans wanted it to. Maybe this will be the year. Ron Artest, McGrady and Ming together make up a Big Three that on paper looks as good as any in the league. Taller than Brandon Roy and with more seasoning some might pick McGrady at this matchup. The homer in me favors Roy, who is probably a better defender than McGrady. But the man who received Jordans shoes is like Roy a great passe, and a creative scorer, and he has Ron Artest covering his back this year. And so he gets the nod at this position. Advantage-Rockets.

Small Forward Ron Artest is like a box of chocolates. You never know which Ron you will get. One of the best forwards in the league on both sides of the court he has been a Blazer killer in the past. The Rockets are a perfect home for Ron Ron as he reunites with Coach Rick Adelman. Rick and Ron Ron have worked well together as Sacramento Kings. Knowing that and the fact that his is a contract year for Artest I see him making a real effort to put his best foot forward. Artest is far and away a better player than any small forward on our roster. Even if magic suddenly healed the broken foot of Martell Webster there is no Blazer that compares to Ron Ron as a small forward. Advantage-Rockets.

Luis Scola starts at Power Forward for Houston. He is a banger from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It took him a while to get adjusted to life in the NBA but he finished last season strong. He'll get his rebounds in this game, and collect a few points. He is a good garbage type player. But whether the Rockets choose to bring Artest in behind him to back him up or use Carl Landry off the bench our team is better at this position. LaMarcus is taller and stronger than Scola. But Scola will push him to assert himself. This is probably the most important matchup in the game and LaMarcus has to have a good game for us to win. With Channing Frye and Trout being able to spell him we win this matchup. Advantage-Blazers.

I always marvel at how much taller Yao Ming is than everybody else. The top of most guys heads reach his neck. This is the part of the preview where I wanted to speculate about what Greg Oden would look like playing against Yao. Unfortunately we'll all have to wait for that. Last season the Rockets really pulled together when Yao went down and went on a win streak that set a franchise record. Yao is bigger and better than Joel on both ends of the floor, and unless he gets into foul trouble or hurts himself we are going to have real trouble going inside against the Rockets. Advantage-Rockets.

The Rockets are among the leagues top teams. Depending on whose power rankings you like they are often found as the number three ranked team behind the Lakers and the Celtics. They are a tough veteran team with some good bench players that is capable of coming into the Rose Garden and beating our Blazers. As with the Spurs we are overmatched., However the Rockets have a full compliment of players to use other than Stevie Franchise. Rudy and Batum and Sergio....the European Union will have to have present problems that Rick Adelman cannot find a solution for if we hope to win this game. And LA will have to NOT let Scola and Artest outtough him inside. I'm picking the Rockets to win by 5.

Here is a link to a video preview of this seasons Houston Rockets
click on link to watch video
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2008/10/20/nba_20081020_rockets_preview.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

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from http://www.clubblazers.com/game-preview-blazers-at-utah-115/

Game Preview of Portland at Utah 11/5

On the road vs the Utah Jazz. A hard nosed veteran team that won 54 games last season and a division title. The Jazz beat us twice in preseason. But in both games a number of our frontline players sat the game out. The second time we did this there were rumors that Nate didn't want to show Jerry Sloan his full bag of tricks. We'll see. Everyone should be available for this game against the Jazz.

Speaking of Jerry. He is a throwback. A hard-nosed ex-player coach. A former Chicago Bull from the Van-Arsdale twins era of NBA basketball. He is a tough old bugger and perhaps the NBAs leading proponent of good old fashioned pick and roll, pick and pop basketball. He doesn't do anything fancy. Just the same old stuff over and over and over again. He is a master at getting his team to execute these simple plays to perfection. And he is also a master in the art of game adjustments. Before we hired Nate I really wanted our team to go after Jerry Sloan. He may be the best coach in the league. Sorry Phil, you had MJ and Pippen, and Kobe and Shaq. Yes, Jerry did have Malone and Stockton, but not much else. And I question whether their careers would have been the same if they had played for a different coach. Jerry Sloan has done more with less than any coach in this league.

I see this as a winnable game for our team. I'm not saying we will win. But I do see that the opportunity is there. I'm thinking Nate does too, and perhaps that may be a reason for his preseason strategy. Nonetheless, we'll have a chance to be rested and get a few days practice in before we head off to Salt Lake for this game. Clearly our team is still working on getting everyone on the same page offensively and defensively. Here is a chance for us to gather ourselves together and get focused and pick up a road win against the Jazz.

It won't be easy. It never is against Utah. Here is a look at their starting lineup

Utah Jazz Starting Lineup

PG Deron Williams
SG Ronnie Brewer
SF Andrei Kirilenko
PF Carlos Boozer
C Mehmet Okur

Wednesday nights game is said to be the night all star guard Deron Williams will return to the starting lineup for the Utah Jazz. Once again Steve Blake will have his hands full matching up with a player that most pundits rate next to Chris Paul as among the best point guards in the league. Blake is clearly overmatched here, but if he can distribute the ball well and hit the spot up jumper and a three here and there that might be enough to put our team in a position to win the game. However Williams is clearly the better player. Advantage-Jazz

Son of former Trailblazer Jim Brewer, Ronnie Brewer starts at the big guard or shooting guard position for the Jazz. Ronnie is simply not the player Brandon Roy is. The Jazz like to slow things down and make it a half court game. If they do, they'll be playing the game that favors our own all star Brandon Roy. Not only is Roy better than Ronnie Brewer so is Rudy Fernandez who is coming off a 20 point performance against the Suns. Advantage-Blazers.

Andrei Kirilenko, or AK-47 starts at the small forward position for the Jazz. A seasoned veteran who spent the summer playing in the Olympics, he just may be able to have his way against Travis Outlaw. If Outlaw struggles, or gets moved to power forward in this game Nic Batum might see a few more minutes. Batums length and quickness might just cause some problems for Kirilenko. Advantage-Jazz

At power forward is the venerable Carlos Boozer, fresh off his performance on our Gold Medal winning Olympic team. Boozer is a two time NBA allstar and capable of producing a double double on most nights while playing the solid team defense Jerry Sloan demands. LaMarcus will have his hands full guarding Boozer, and he’d better bring his A game to the table if we expect to win this game. Slight advantage Jazz

Mehmet Okur starts at center for Utah. Okur, who is from Turkey has been a reliable and versatile player for the Jazz. He is an excellent 3 point shooter and plays very well in Jerry Sloans system as either a center or power forward. Joel Pryzbilla can handle Okur, and if Channing Frye keeps draining his shots from outside this might be a position where we could gain an advantage. Even or slight advantage Blazers.

Off the bench Utah brings rookie center Kosta Koufos, the freshman center from Ohio State.Veterans Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and Paul Milsap comprise the rest of the squad that Sloan will call upon to spell his starters. Looking down our bench at Batum, Fernandez, Frye, Rodriguez, and Bayless I see a bit more potential.

Although I see a definite possibility for the Blazers to steal a game in Salt Lake this time around everything has to go right for us to do so. We have to play smart and scrappy the entire game. Because we can count on Utah to do exactly that. And if we don’t match their toughness we can chalk this one up as a loss. I see us having a good first half, but in the end losing the game in the second half like we did in Phoenix. Jazz by 7.


Click on the link to see a video preview of this seasons Utah Jazz
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2008/10/20/nba_20081020_jazz_preview.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew
_________________

Have to confess I am having a little difficulty this week doing things the NBA way. You know, where they say once a game is over you should turn your attention to the next one. The stink of the loss we experienced at the Staples Center hung over me like a dark cloud and I was in a funk for a couple of days. Now this morning I find myself still pleased with last nights win over a San Antonio team that had beaten us 12 times in a row. I begin my thoughts about tonights game in the Valley of the Sun with a look at their starting lineup.

PG:Steve Nash
SG:Raja Bell
SF:Matt Barnes
PF:Amare Stoudemire
C:SHAQ

On paper they look better than the Blazers. At the point Steve Blake is certainly no Steve Nash. And at this point in the season he isn’t even the Steve Blake of LAST season. I don’t know if his hamstring is still bothering him or not, but he has not been as effective. There was lots of talk during the preseason, or at least until he was injured about his summers workouts and martial arts training and how improved his game was. Haven’t seen it. Neither one of the two Steves is a good defender. But Blakey, as Mike Rice likes to call him is no match for Steve Nash. Nor is Sergio off the bench. Hopefully when he comes in to spell Blake he won’t get faked out of his jockstrap like Tony Parker did to him last night. At the point guard position-Advantage Suns.

I’ve always liked Raja Bell, and he’s a decent defender. But Brandon Roy should be able to have his way with him, as will Rudy off the bench. This is probably our biggest advantage, and since the Suns don’t exactly have a reputation for defense our best shot at winning is to outscore them. This will be the first time this year Brandon has played back to back games on that surgically repaired knee. We’ll get to see if he is a step slower tonight on the road or if he is up for a challenge. Shooting guard-Advantage Blazers.

Last summer when the Phoenix Suns were looking into signing small forward Matt Barnes they wanted to convince him they had plans for him to play significant minutes. They were so serious about it they in fact had their current starter Grant Hill call him and make a pitch. Matt has played for a number of teams and is an NBA journeyman in every sense of the word having been drafted by the Grizz and played in Cleveland, Sacramento, Los Angeles Clippers, New York and Philly before finally finding a home in Golden State and serving there as team captain last year along with Baron Davis. Our resident starter Mr. Travis Outlaw looked last night as if he finally has gotten his game together. For some reason Travis has never started the season well, and this year has been no different. The Travis of last night who was blocking shots, stealing the ball and making some nifty moves to the hoop was worlds apart from the Trout who played at the Staples Center Tuesday night jacking up jumpers from hither and thither. If the right Travis shows up in Phoenix-Advantage Blazers.

LaMarcus brought his A game to the Rose Garden last night. He’ll have to bring it again if we have any chance at all of escaping John McCains home state with a win over the Suns. Amare Stoudamire is bigger and stronger and better than L.A. And if he picks up a couple of fouls early and we send in poor Channing Frye we will be in deep doo doo. Advantage-Suns.

Shaq is getting older but he is still Shaq. Joel has actually had some decent games against Shaq. But its early in the year and the big Aristotle is in much better shape than he was last year and injury free for the first time in a while. The Suns have a clear advantage at this position against anyone we try to put at the center position….. unless Nate goes small and quick. It would have been fun to see what Greg would look like against Shaq. But we’ll all have to wait for that. Advantage-Suns.

In the end the Suns are really a much better team on paper, and they have both the edge in experience and in playing on their home court. They were easily beaten by New Orleans a couple of nights ago and I am sure Coach Terry Porter will have them ready to go for tonights game against the Blazers who will of course be playing in the second game of a back to back. I don’t think we will fall apart like we did in LA, but I don’t think we will have enough in the tank to beat Phoenix tonight. I’m picking the Suns to win by 8 or nine points.

Bench
6.Leandro Barbosa
7.Grant Hill
8.Boris Diaw
9.Robin Lopez
10.Goran Dragic
11.Alando Tucker
12.Sean Singletary
13.Luis Amdunson

Sound off in the Portland Trail Blazers Forums!

www.clubblazers.com

Here we go.  I've waited what seems like a long time to say it, but its time for our first game of the year.  We'll be playing the Lakers in Los Angeles, in their house.  We'll be on national tv, and playing in front of Jack Nicholson, Diane Cannon, God, and everyone else.  Its a good test for these guys and a good opportunity for them to learn to step up to a challenge.  You can say what you want about Kobes knee or his hand, Odoms attitude, or Bynums contract, but one thing is for certain.....Phil Jackson will have this team ready to play basketball. 

This Laker team is much the same as the one that played Boston in the finals.  The big change though is the return of seven footer Andrew Bynum to the starting lineup, allowing LaMar Odom to slide over to small forward.  It will be fun to see how our own Greg Oden matches up with Bynum.  Up until now Chris Kaman has been the best center he has faced and he gave Kaman fits.  Certainly some pundits and most Laker fans will disagree with me but I'm calling this matchup even.  I'm expecting big things from Oden in this game.  This is the stage he has been waiting to play on for a long time and I will be surprised if we don't see him at his best.  How this affects Bynum I'm not sure.  We'll get to find out Tuesday night.

The return of Odom has allowed Pau Gasol to move back to his natural position at power forward.  He'll be matched with third year Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge.  L.A. is stronger and quicker and a better shooter that Gasol, and its likely that the Blazers will try and run at Gasol early in the game and take advantage of this matchup.  Advantage Blazers.

Our biggest disadvantage is at the small forward position, where 19 year old Nicolas Batum is expected to be given a chance to show the world he belongs in the NBA.  Batum has been a standout defensively during training camp and the preseason.  But he will have his hands full against wily veteran Laker forward LaMar Odom.  Odom has developed a reputation in the past for being very aggressive and physical with our young players.  Small forward is our weakest position and it will be a real challenge for young Batum to stand up to Odom who will be looking to take advantage of Batum every chance he gets.  Lakers have the edge here.

At shooting guard we don't have a Kobe stopper.  Nobody does.  We do have returning all-star Brandon Roy who is no slouch, but no one has really found a way to stop Bryant yet.  And Roy won't either.  The Celtics did a pretty good job on Kobe in the finals by playing outstanding team defense.  It remains to be seen whether our guys can play D like the champs did.  The game will likely depend on what kind of help Brandon can get from his teammates.  I have a bad feeling though that Kobe is going to have one of those nights, and our guys are going to learn a lesson about playing with focus and intensity for 48 minutes.  Brandon, on the other hand has all the skills necessary to be a real pain in the rear for the Lakers.  He has always played well against them in the past and with Oden in the middle and Rudy coming off the bench he might find a way to surprise everyone.  Advantage Lakers

Point Guard.  Our own Steve Blake is a serviceable and reliable veteran who seems poised to have his best season.  But he is no Derek Fisher.  Fisher has been thru the wars and has both the scars and the rings to prove it.  The Lakers won't be doing anything new in this game.  Fisher has played many games with this coach and these players and the triangle offense.  He is a better player than Blake and will be ready to start the season off with a W.  Advantage Lakers.

I see our guys playing well, losing focus at some point and the Lakers building up a lead and coming back only to fall short of victory.  I'm picking the Lakers to win by five points.

http://www.clubblazers.com/game-previewportland-vs-la-lakers/

WIn a Blazer Jersey<!-- google_ad_section_end --> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> <!-- google_ad_section_start -->and on the 28th day we finally get to see them play.
Only a few days left until the season opener in Los Angeles. I thought last summer there was more anticipation and conversation about the upcoming season than I had ever seen. Well, this year there has been even more. I’ve been hungry for a chance to see what this group of players can do. The last few months have been fun, the draft, training camp, the arrival of Rudy, our first glimpses at Oden playing in the red and black, and that first preseason game against the Kings.
There has been a lot of news about this team over the summer. Some stories have caught my interest more than others. Whether the Darius Miles experiment in Boston or which player would fill the fifteenth roster spot fancied you more….one thing is certain. We will no longer have to distract ourselves with this stuff. Tuesday the 28th in Los Angeles our season will begin. We’ll finally get a chance to just kick back and enjoy watching this team grow together.
Sure, the speculation will continue. Is Nate really the best coach for the team? Should we start Outlaw or Batum? Or should Rudy be the starter and Brandon Roy moved to small forward? What about that bounty on Greg Odens head? But now we get to actually see our guys play. We get to ooh and ahh at the slam dunks and the fast breaks, and we get to grumble about officiating calls, and the coaching, and the play of whatever player that we’ve decided to make our personal scapegoat.
It seems fitting that we open the season against the Lakers, a team many of us see as our biggest rivals. The stars will be out in LA, and it will be interesting to see how our guys match up against a team that made the finals last season and is picked to do so again this year.
The two voices in my head have been arguing about this game for a couple weeks now. I can’t get them to stop. One says Phil Jackson will have the Lakers ready to go on opening night on their home court, and that Kobe and company will pull away and beat us by ten or more. The other voice says we’re going to surprise some people and make an opening night statement to the league.
I think that’s something thats more likely to occur Friday night in Portland when the Spurs come to town, than it is Tuesday night in Los Angeles. But I do think our guys will be ready to play and will not embarrass themselves in Tinseltown.
The spotlights will be all over Greg Oden in his matchup with Andrew Bynum. With all the recent talk of bounties on Greg I see him taking this game as an opportunity to show everyone he will back down to no one. I heard him say that was the purpose of all the fouling he did last year in summer league. All those fouls had some people worried that he’d be in foul trouble a lot. Well, it certainly hasn’t been an issue in preseason.
By all accounts the Blazers have one of the toughest schedules in the league for the first couple months of the season. By the time midseason rolls around this bunch will be battle tested. I think they are as ready as we are for the season to start.
Let the games begin.

Pick the winner.
Be a winner.
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Enter your prediction of who will win in game threads.
Contest runs now until the end of November.
Last eligible game will be November 28 game against New Orleans.
Whoever picks the winning team the most times wins a Trailblazer jersey.

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What is your favorite sports bar in Portland?

Why do you like it?

Is it a good place to watch the blazer games?


Gonna be compiling a list of places to go to watch blazer games and then will be reviewing them and rating them on atmosphere, food and beverage selection and quality, service, seating, tv selection and quality, etc.

If you have someplace you'd like to add to the list I am working on I'd appreciate any suggestions you have.

thanks   :cheers: