Bleacher Report - Articles by Drew Barton

Portland Trailblazers-Detroit Pistons: Brandon Roy Needs Help in the Fourth

Drew Barton — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:23:00 -0500

The excitement in the air was palpable. These Blazers were coming off a 4-1 road trip that included a road win over the Hornets. In some ways, that brought relief.

After all, the season got off to a rugged start with two home losses that both ended in heart-breaking fashion. Unlike last year when every close game was closed out by Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Joel Przybilla, and Steve Blake in victorious fashion, the losses to Atlanta and Denver felt like chokes.

That is not a word normally associated with Brandon Roy's Blazers and the murmuring had been getting loud.

This year's Blazer edition was expected to contend, not give away games. With Roy and Aldridge coming off major contract extensions, Greg Oden expected to be more like the player drafted than last year's surgery-slowed big man, and the return of Martell Webster from injury, all the pieces were in place.

The road trip went a long way towards leading the fan base to think that this was the team we thought we had. Time for the tip-off.

Suddenly, everything was clicking. Detroit was staying in the game, but once more we saw Aldridge asserting himself.

Detroit briefly took the lead, only to see Portland go on a 13-0 run. The fans settled back, ready to watch the Blazers take advantage of their superior skills and home court advantage to reel in a blowout victory.

There were fast breaks, some premier defense, and a heavy dose of Blazer Stars with Aldridge and Roy scoring with regularity.

By the end of the third quarter, it was a comfortable 20-point lead. Time to sit back and enjoy the show.

And there we find the difference between this year's team and last year's. This team has expectations. This team knows how good it is. The players know they are favorites to win almost every time out. Unless, of course, they stop working.

Suddenly the guards could not keep the ball. Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez took turns making turnovers that were highly uncharacteristic. Then Steve Blake went to work.

His four turnover fourth quarter was the antithesis of expectations. The book on Blake is "steady point guard, doesn't make mistakes". The reality, at least for this game, was he looked panic-stricken, out-matched, and incapable of holding on to the ball.

Then Andre Miller managed to miss four consecutive free throws as the Pistons inched ever closer. It left him feeling lonely.

By the time the Pistons got within one point with about a minute to go, Blazer fans were stunned and fearful. Were they about to see a third consecutive come-from-ahead home loss? What happened to this team that for two seasons thrived on pressure and tight games?

It did not help that when Blake clanked a rushed open jumper, there was a vast in-drawn breath from the entire stadium...only to see the ball bounce straight back to Blake who then drained a three that all but sealed it.

So what is happening with this Blazer team? Even with Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw out with injuries, this is a team even more talented than the 54-28 team we watched last year. How did a team that thrived under pressure degenerate into a turnover-making, free throw-bricking, error-prone bunch of vulnerabilities?

It starts in an unexpected place. Not with two-time All-Star Brandon Roy. Not with new starter Greg Oden. And, despite some murmurings about his "slow start", not with LaMarcus Aldridge.

It starts with Steve Blake.

Often maligned by Blazer fans for his Blake-fense deficiencies, his lack of ability to penetrate, and his modest assist totals, the more dedicated basketball fans understand what Blake brings to the team.

He relieves Roy of the tedious chore of bringing the ball up court. He gets the team into its offensive sets and keeps the team rhythm going. He gets out of the way when it is time for Roy to handle the ball. He hits key shots, stretches the defense with timely and efficient three point shooting, and does not turn the ball over.

Until crunch time.

For the first time in his career, Blake is a bigger liability on the offensive end. It is possible he is feeling the pressure of sharing time with Andre Miller. It is possible and indeed even probable he will get his groove back.

But it is also a fact that he is not performing the role we are used to seeing him perform.

Exacerbating this is the fact the Blazers' second best— and being second best is not by much— fourth quarter player for the last three years has been Travis Outlaw. Game after game he struggles for three quarters, then turns into Supertrout in the fourth. He scores at will. He makes huge defensive stops. He scores again. And again.

Except now he is on the shelf for the next few months. Aldridge has never been a big-time late game player, at least to this point. Oden is still trying to shake off two missed free throws that he (incorrectly) feels meant a Blazer defeat. Miller is a train wreck at late-game pressure shots.

That means the games rest on Roy's shoulders. It would be fine if he had that second guy the opponents had to key on such as he had with Outlaw last year. Without that, other teams can double and even triple team Roy, taking the ball out of his hands.

That puts it in the hands of Miller, whom teams foul expecting him to miss one free throw (and instead watch him miss both), or Blake, who seems to be trying to be Miller, driving into trouble, panicking, and passing it to the nearest fan.

It is easily correctable. First, the Blazers need to be ready to shoot when they get the ball. Fernandez provided a glimpse of that with his trey that extended the Hawk game to overtime. But outside of Roy and Fernandez, there is a noticeable reticence to shoot.

That must be corrected.

Until it is, Blazer fans will not need nail clippers...their teeth will be doing their fingernail grooming for the foreseeable future.

Reeling Blazer Fans Wonder What's Happening with 2-3 Start

Drew Barton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:42:00 -0500

Going into the season, my hopes for this year's Blazer team were sky-high. Coming off a very fun 54-28 year, having upgraded the three weakest positions, and entering the fourth year for the heart and soul of the team to be together, I optimistically suggested 60+ wins, a Western Conference Finals or better appearance, and an opening month with a record as sparkling as 15-4.

Just a couple weeks later the team seems to be in disarray. They almost gave up a home game to the out-manned Rockets then did lose at home to not only the Nuggets but also to the Hawks.

This is not a shot at the Rockets, Nuggets, or Hawks. The Nuggets look to have a good shot at giving the Lakers a run for their money for best record in the conference based on their play without J.R. Smith. The Rockets have been playing unbelievably well. And the Hawks are one of my dark horse teams in the Eastern Conference with a roster somewhat similar to the Blazers.

But the plain and simple truth is I truly believed that this edition of the Blazers was set for a run vaguely reminiscent of the 77 Title team. They are not expected to contend by most experts but have the talent to play a superior brand of basketball.

The pre-season injury to Nicolas Batum was disappointing as the defense he provides the team is certainly an important element but hardly something the Blazers could not overcome. The return of Martell Webster would provide a major offensive upgrade at the price of a slight decline in defense.

Meanwhile, more minutes would open up for Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez.

Yet five games into the season, Portland has looked...well, let us not mince words. They have looked bad.

Playing competitively but losing home games is what teams with losing records do. The Blazers have done it twice.

The Nugget game in particular hurt because most Blazer fans expect the Blazers to battle the Nuggets for Northwest Division laurels. Losing a home game to your chief rival, particularly a home game you thought you should win, is just the sort of thing that comes back to haunt you late in the season.

So what exactly is happening here? Unfortunately, I have been out of town since the Nugget game, so primarily what I have has been anecdotal evidence. But those anecdotes have been telling.

Following the games on my mobile phone with the auto-refresh set for every 15 seconds has been brutal. The Blazers would close to within a bucket, it would refresh, they would be down six points. I would look at the last couple plays, and all too often, the plays were opponents dunking. And dunking again. Then, for something different, getting an offensive rebound and dunking.

Yet opponents are only shooting .429% against the Blazers. So for the game, their defense is adequate, it is only when the game matters that they go into matador mode and let the opponents have a layup drill.

Compounding the problem, the Blazers themselves are shooting a very mediocre .422%. They are winning the rebound and 3-point shooting percentage battles and losing the turnover game by just .6 turnovers per game.

Thus the statistical story tells us that seven hundredths of a percent in shooting is not going to kill Portland in the long run as better three point shooting and four extra rebounds should cover that in the long run.

What they really need to do is find the killer instinct to put teams away. Portland has been outscored 137-121 in the fourth quarter, more than offsetting their 112-103 third quarter advantage. They are losing the second half by over a point a game.

This is troubling since the Blazer bench is supposed to be a major strength. With guys like Andre Miller, Fernandez, and Outlaw the bench looked like a potent weapon capable of having three guys in double figures nearly every night.

Yet if the bench was producing, the starters and closers would not be so worn down that they give back huge leads. Based on minutes, they should not be worn down anyway as only Aldridge and Roy are playing over 30 minutes a game and Aldridge is only playing about 31 minutes a game.

Worse, the players are showing signs of pressure in close games. Against Denver the Blazers bricked five free throws that would have either tied the game or given Portland the lead in the closing minutes. It was a team effort with Roy, Aldridge, Miller, and Oden all contributing to the key misses.

The team has been searching for answers. The local Portland paper referenced a Roy interview where he discussed the malleability of the rotation which indicates a certain lack of cohesion. This would point to a strength actually being a problem.

Let me say in advance that I think Nate McMillan is an excellent coach and will get that problem sorted out. Yet I would be remiss in not saying that one thing the Blazers certainly need is for him to settle on roles for each player and more or less stick to them which will go a long way towards clearing up rotation questions.

In High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoirs of Johnny Most, the late Most was quite clear on what he believed caused the collapse of the Celtics in the late seventies. For Most, it was not lack of talent but rather too much talent where players refused to accept roles and the coach therefore lost control of the rotations. As players began struggling to find roles, Jo-Jo White lost the team, the record went south, he ended up fired and the players ended up in other uniforms.

That is a very real danger for this Blazer team. Just take a look at some of the potential conflicts:

Brandon Roy. He just signed a max deal and may feel pressure to prove his worth. Yet his style of play demands to dominate the ball, which is more difficult because;

Andre Miller. A near All-Star starter his whole career, a pace-pushing, penetrating point guard, he now has to interact with Roy, who is playing the role Miller is used to, in a slow-down offense that is at or near the bottom of the NBA in pace, all while backing up;

Steve Blake. An underrated distributor who never dazzles anybody with his numbers, but relies on hitting the open trey off penetration by players like Roy. His suspect defense, nick-named Blake-fense, and lack of ability to penetrate the lane causes problems for the Blazer big men.

Meanwhile, Rudy Fernandez wants to expand his game. He wants more minutes. He wants to dominate the ball a bit more. Unfortunately, he is backing up Roy, who leads the team at over 38 minutes per game. Furthermore, whether Fernandez is paired with Roy or Miller, that player is going to have the ball in their hands far more often than Fernandez.

Travis Outlaw wants to get paid. He wants to start. However, on this team, his game does not mesh well with the starters which means Portland needs him to come off the bench, play energetic defense, create his own shot, and be a dominating sixth man...a role Outlaw is adept at but rumored to resent. This is a contract year for Trout, and he wants to use it for that big-money deal. Can he get minutes?

LaMarcus Aldridge, like Roy, is coming off signing a huge deal that will keep him in Rip City for several years. He wants to show he is worth it. He is on record as wanting to be an All-Star. He is also on record as being confused about when to go down on the blocks and when to defer to Greg Oden. Thus he sometimes gets lost on offense and, instead of improving his numbers from last year, has seen his scoring dip noticeably while his fouls have increased.

Greg Oden, meanwhile, wants to start. He wants to erase the memories of an injury plagued college career, a missed rookie season, and a much-maligned actual rookie season. He wants to score. He wants to prove he is worthy of a number one pick. But he is at best a third option, and probably more like a fourth option among Blazer starters behind Roy, Aldridge, and Martell Webster. Being a fourth option does not jibe well with wanting to show he is a worthy number one.

Which brings us to Webster. He wants to show he is back and better than ever after missing all but six minutes of last season. Yet he alone has shown he is willing to do what it takes to make the team work. Start, come off the bench, concentrate on defense, shoot the three, drive to the rack...it can be argued he has been one of the most effective all-around players the Blazers have so far this season. Yet he knows that McMillan is on record as saying Batum will be the starter when he returns. How will that sit with Webster? He needs to show enough now to get minutes later.

Thus we clearly see it is possible the Blazers are playing with a bunch of personal agendas at the cost of team chemistry, cohesion and effectiveness.

It is still very early in the season. It is way too early to hit the panic button. This is a team capable of getting hot, going on a run akin to the Rocket 20+ win streak of a couple seasons ago, seizing the Northwest Division in a death grip and not letting go.

It is also a team capable of degenerating into a mix of players trying to get theirs, chasing personal agendas and regressing to a .500 team.

It is instructive to note where they sit right now. Tonight I was idly watching some Hornets-Mavericks action and every so often a score would catch my eye. The Celtics were losing to the Timberwolves by six late in the third or early in the fourth. The Lakers were losing to the Rockets by a few points.

I pretty much laughed when the commentators talked about the Celtics being in danger of losing their perfect record in the game, or about how the Rockets were handling the challenge. The thing about Championship contenders is you just have a feeling they will pull out those close games, particularly about inferior teams.

This again is no knock on either the Rockets or T-Wolves. The Rockets play as hard as any team in the league and Rick Adelmen should get Coach of the Year consideration if they continue to play this well. And the Wolves are building something promising.

But neither team should be confused with a Championship quality team, and any time the Celtics or Lakers lose to either of those teams, regardless of what floor it is played on, it is an upset.

THAT is the level the Blazers are aspiring to get to. As it stands now, they are definitely not there. In fact, they are so far from there, I am ready to contradict myself.

One of my brothers asked me if the Blazers were favored against the Nuggets prior to the Blazer home game last Tuesday. I said they were ALWAYS favored at home, regardless of the opponent, that they would lose a couple games over the course of the season, but any home game should favor the Blazers.

I take it back. As it sits, I think it would be a mild upset if they beat the Spurs tomorrow. Far from being the level they need to be, the Blazers have regressed that far, that fast.

Fortunately, one great thing about being a fan instead of a player or coach is that hope springs eternal. I can sit here and believe that Roy will say the right words, McMillan will find the right rotation, the players will find cohesion, and the early season struggles will end tomorrow as they take on the Spurs.

That is the best part about the NBA. Knowing what I know, I can still believe that.

Oh, and for the record...yeah, the Lakers and Celtics both won. Sometimes I hate it when I am right.

Denver Nuggets to Portland Trail Blazers: We Are Still Better

Drew Barton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:07:00 -0400

At the 7:19 mark in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge found a red-hot Rudy Fernandez open beyond the arc. He made the extra pass, Fernandez drained the three, the Blazers led 81-74, the Rose Garden was rocking, George Karl called time-out, and the fans just knew the Blazers were off to a 2-0 start.

The win over the Nuggets would be especially sweet as Brandon Roy had arguably outplayed Carmelo Anthony. They were overcoming sub-35 percent shooting and a non-existent presence from Aldridge, and hey...it is the Nuggets. We hate the Nuggets, particularly their arrogant, strutting, inked up Birdman Chris Anderson.

Furthermore, even though the crowd was really out of it all night, possibly due to the combination of brick-laying shooters and fouls being called on average one per minute, this game had a playoff intensity. Martell Webster and Carmelo Anthony were going all Marty McSorley on one another, Nene, Kenyon Martin, Greg Oden, and Joel Przybilla looked like they were having a WWE tag-team match, and every basket felt like a huge, vital event.

But then something happened. Anthony went all Anthony, scoring 17 points and adding an assist. Portland, who had been solid on the boards and at the free throw line all night, suddenly could do neither.

Anthony hit two free throws to give Denver the lead. Roy hit the first...and missed the second.

With Portland down two inside 1:40 of the fourth, Nene got not one, not two, but three offensive rebounds in the same possession before scoring.

Aldridge missed one-of-two to keep the Nuggets ahead by one.

Anthony made two free throws.

Miller missed a free throw.

Greg Oden, down one with 4.6 seconds left, somehow missed both free throws, and then the referees...who whistled 60 personal fouls on the night...inexplicably could not call the 60th foul of the night for 2.7 seconds. It was not for lack of hacks by the Blazers.

Be that as it may, Portland had its chances. It was the inability to pull down key rebounds or make free throws that sealed their fate. The Nuggets, meanwhile, never panicked, ran the ball through their best player, and deserved to win because of it. What a huge disappointment for Blazer fans.

Back the truck up, though. This was a very entertaining game with plenty of grist for the rivalry mill. With Denver holding a two-point lead and with the ball, Brandon Roy made a terrific defensive stand against Anthony, forcing him into a baseline fade-away contested jumper. It is a measure of how good Anthony is that I thought it would go. It is a testament to Roy's clutch defense that it was so tough and missed.

Ultimately, Denver still won, but that iconic duel was worth the price of admission.

So was watching Oden continue to flower. Despite being saddled with foul trouble all game long, he helped Portland control the boards for the majority of the game, including nine rebounds in under 22 minutes. He also had an impressive block on Nene in that three-offensive rebound possession the Nuggets scored on. His offense looked better with some nice spin moves instead of the turn-over plagued mess he turned in Tuesday.

It was also thrilling watching Martell Webster bring it at both ends. He moved fluidly, getting to the rim and throwing down a couple of tremendous dunks. His defense on Anthony was at times excellent and at others Casper-like. He is improving game by game and it is great to watch.

I would be remiss in not mentioning Rudy Fernandez and his offensive explosion. It was so good, so impressive, so awe-inspiring that for a minute you could almost forget some guy named Roy was in the midst of a 30-point night...or that ace fourth quarter guru Travis Outlaw never hit the floor in the fourth quarter. I do not remember the last time the Blazers had him for a game and he was never on the floor in money time.

Nor can I figure out why. It is not like Steve Blake and Andre Miller were irreplaceable, combining for eight points (all by Miller) on 3-for-14 shooting with just eight assists. I believe strongly in Coach Nate McMillan, but I did wonder out loud why Outlaw did not replace one of them with Fernandez or Roy handling the ball.

Perhaps it had to do with Outlaw following up his super-trout night with a horrible 1-for-8 shooting night. Perhaps he just got lost in the mix.

Regardless, on this night, Denver wanted it more, and did what it took to get the win.

That hurts to write. I make no claim to being impartial. I love this edition of the Blazers team. I think it is good enough to win the division, win the Conference, and compete for a title.

Nor am I alone. Nicolas Batum pointed out on his blog that McMillan called out the team and said anyone who did not think they were ready to compete for a title should leave, that is what they are playing for this year.

Roy called out the players for their practice habits, telling them it was not a championship contender level practice.

McMillan knows. Roy knows.

But on this night, the Nuggets showed that, whatever the Blazers and I believe about their chances, they still need to take another step.

My hat is off to the Nuggets. Portland will not lose too many more home games this year. In a Division race as tight as this one, now they have the huge, unenviable task of winning a game in Denver. The problem there is that by then, the Nuggets will get back J.R. Smith and be even tougher.

It is way early in the season to over-emphasize one game. In fact, if this serves as a wake-up call that gets the Blazers to act as a cohesive unit, to bear down and start dominating games instead of playing close and counting on Roy to win in the fourth quarter, it could turn into a good thing.

But at the moment, it really, really hurts.

Oh, Is It Houston? No Problem For Trail Blazers

Drew Barton — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:49:00 -0400

Change came early with the opening tip. That was not Joel "the Thrilla" Przybilla with the opening tip. Greg Oden did enough in the pre-season to earn the starting job.

The first quarter was pretty rugged as the Rockets did what they do and their defense, combined with Portland turnovers, kept them tied at 23-all.

After that the numbers got ugly.

26 turnovers.

42.9 percent shooting.

42 points in the entire second half, including being outscored by a 31-21 margin in the crucial fourth quarter.

Greg Oden picked up five fouls, had just three field goal attempts, no free throws, and seven turnovers.

Joel Przybilla played just 16 minutes and fouled out with only two points of his own. Thus the centers combined for four points, nine turnovers and 11 fouls against a team playing a 6'6" center.

All-world Brandon Roy...who got his first "MVP chant during pre-game introductions...went 5-18 while projected All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge dialed up four points in the final three quarters and 9:32 of the first.

This is not good. Against an out-manned, out-gunned, out-talented Houston team depleted by injuries, those are some scary numbers.

What is scary about them is even on a night where Oden, Aldridge and Roy had extremely sub-par games, the Blazers blew out the Rockets. Oh, sure, the final score did not look bad and the Rockets even managed to pull within six with 1:47 left, but starting with the 12-0 run in the closing seconds of the first quarter and 3:25 of the second, this game was never really in doubt.

That speaks well of the talent the Blazers have this year. Travis Outlaw was in full Super-Trout mode, scoring seemingly at will.

Despite being detriments on offense, Oden and Przybilla controlled the boards and the paint, combining for 7 blocks and 22 rebounds...while Houston had just 33 as a team.

Martell Webster looked great, scoring 14 points on seven shots in 25 minutes. But it was not just the points he scored, it was how he scored them. Instead of hanging out in the corner bombing threes, he took it into the paint, created havoc for the defense, and threw down a crowd-pleasing posterization on Chuck Hayes.

Aldridge got Portland going early, took arch-nemesis Luis Scola completely out of the game, and played cheerleader for his team while saddled with foul-trouble.

Rudy Fernandez looked much improved. He was hitting his beloved step-back threes, but also was doing a great job of crossing the lane and forcing Rockets defenders out of position. While his own defense gave up a lot of easy possessions, he also managed to knock a few balls loose and interrupt the flow of the Rockets offense.

There were certainly problem areas. Steve Blake continued to play Blake-fense on Aaron Brooks. Oden again looked stilted and confused on offense. Roy and Aldridge were the only two Blazers to finish with minuses in the plus-minus category.

But all those things show why the Blazers should be given a healthy dose of contender talk by the end of the year.

On a night when so many things went wrong, they still man-handled the Rockets and coasted to an easy win.

There will be plenty of nights when quick, agile point guards like Brooks, Devin Harris, Chris Paul and so forth create havoc for Blake and Andre Miller. But they can no longer penetrate the lane with impunity.

Several times Oden slid over and blocked shots after Brooks beat Blake and Miller. Przybilla did the same. They are moving their feet, going straight up, and getting clean blocks...including one that Oden did not get credited for because Brooks got called for an offensive foul.

In other words, this Blazer team can deal with set-backs. Even major ones. They are so talented, so deep, and most importantly, so cohesive as a group that they work together, follow the plan, and reel in the victories.

Even when their superstars have off nights, they know the team will pull them through.

Brian Wheeler likes to say, after a win, "Once again we can say,'it's a great day to be a Blazer'". He should get used to saying that a lot.

T Is for Title: The Portland Trail Blazers' Season Preview

Drew Barton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:57:00 -0400

Last season, the Blazers tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the Northwest Division, 54-28. They then gave back all the hard work in the first game of the playoffs, getting rolled up at home by Utah. Once that game was over, they quickly showed they had what it took to win in the playoffs at home and competed in almost every road game but never broke through and ended their season early and in disappointing fashion.

Yes, a team that most observers last preseason thought were still a season away from playoff contention found disappointment in exiting in the first round.

They then went out and got significantly better in several ways.

First, they upgraded at their weakest position, point guard. Gone is inconsistent, disgruntled Sergio Rodriguez. He's replaced by the durable and skilled Andre Miller. Secondly, gone is erratic good guy Channing Frye, and in his place is the steady Juwan Howard.

But it was not just free agents that changed the face of this team. Another year of experience has turned this team from young, hungry and talented into battle-tested, hungry and talented. Aside from that, they are essentially getting two guys back from injury.

The first is Martell Webster. He is an under-rated defender and lights-out shooter. He could have provided the offensive spark the Blazers sorely needed against the Rockets. While he is not as good defensively as Niclolas Batum, he usually does a creditable job.

Second, they get back from injury a guy who played in 61 games last year. But none of those games were at full strength. It is well known that microfracture surgery slows guys down for nearly a full year after their return, as Kenyon Martin, Amar'e Stoudemire, and others can attest. So welcome back, Greg Oden.

Gone is the hulking mass of muscle that was Oden last year and in its place is a quick, agile guy who moves his feet, has good lateral quickness, has shown explosive leaping ability and excellent timing.

This is a guy who will defend the paint, clean the glass, and has shown some rapid improvement offensively. He turns the center position from above average defensively but non-factor on offense into decent offensively with the potential to be spectacular defensively.

Adding Oden, Webster, Howard, and Miller to a roster that earned 54 wins last season shouts potential. This is a team that has everything it needs to win and win now.

The starting lineup looked set until Nicolas Batum went down with a shoulder injury. Fortunately, this team is so deep that his absence until possibly February should not slow this team down at all...and might even help it.

The 18 or so minutes he played last year will be taken up by Webster and possibly allow a few more minutes for Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez.

Now the starting lineup will probably see Oden at Center, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward, Webster at the 3, Brandon Roy at shooting guard, and Steve Blake at the point.

This is a team that has great interior defense and suspect perimeter guarding skills. At the other end of the court, with Blake and Webster manning the three-point line, teams will have to pick their poison. Do they want to double team Aldridge on the block or let him wreck their interior? Oden is a threat to throw down some ferocious dunks off offensive boards.

Alternatively, they can double Aldridge and Oden, only to see Webster and Blake kill them from distance. All of this does not even take into account Roy, the best offensive player the Blazers have.

There is not much of a let-down off the bench, either.

Joel Przybilla is not going to score much, but he will block shots, rebound, and generally provide a physical presence.

Juwan Howard will play in short stretches and provide steady, veteran leadership...if he gets minutes at all. Those might go to Outlaw, who has played very well at the power forward spot. His length and speed make him a match-up nightmare.

Not strong enough to bang with starter-quality big men, he is more than capable of taking on second unit players from almost every team in the NBA. Furthermore, he provides the second unit with a guy who can create his own shot at will.

Outlaw will also see minutes at small forward, but will share those with swing-man Rudy Fernandez. Coming off a year where he set the rookie record for three-pointers, he provides dynamic offense.

He kind of reminds me of Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson from the Bad Boys days. He can light it up in a hurry. When his shot is not falling, he has shown the capability and willingness to drive the lane and put up points there. His defense is somewhat suspect, but he fills the passing lanes very well.

That brings us to Andre Miller. He will start the season coming off the bench. With this lineup, there is some potential for him to do what he does best, which is to run the floor and play an up-tempo game. Fernandez and Outlaw look to benefit from this style of play.

So Portland is stacked. There second team would compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and their starting lineup is as good as any in the league.

The only thing that can keep them from doing serious damage in the playoffs is not believing in themselves.

This is not to make light of teams like the Spurs, Lakers, Mavericks, and Nuggets. The Spurs have an incredibly potent starting lineup, the Nuggets have the potential to be one of the most explosive offensive juggernauts not named the Suns in the last few years, and the Lakers, coming off a title, only got better with Ron Artest replacing Trevor Ariza.

But the Blazers are actually that good. Yes, I might be looking at them through rose-colored glasses...but I do not think so.

Starting the moment they drafted Brandon Roy and got Aldridge in a draft-day trade, they have gotten better and better. They got to 41 wins quicker than (almost) anyone thought possible. They got to 54 wins when most people thought 47 or 48 wins would be a great year. And now we are hearing a form of the same thing.

"The jump from 21 wins to 32 was one thing, but getting to .500 is a lot harder," was the assessment after 2006-'07.

"It is one thing to get to 41 wins, but the jump to 50 wins is a lot harder," was the belief after '07-'08.

"Getting to 54 wins is great, but getting to 60 from 54 is a lot harder than getting to 54," is a pretty common preview this year.

Maybe. But this team has not only shown steady improvement, they have shown they know what the next step they need to take is.

Roy, time after time last year, in postgame interviews would discuss the next thing the Blazers needed to do rather than gushing about the things the team had accomplished up to that time. And one thing after another fell.

They beat San Antonio. He almost single-handedly ended the long losing streak to the Suns when he poured in a "quiet 52 points." He was not going to lose to the Suns on that night.

This season, the Blazers will have Roy's drive, the return of improved Oden, the natural progression of Aldridge and Fernandez, the steadying veteran influences of Howard and Miller, and the hunger to take them higher than people believe possible.

This is a team that should finish north of 60. "It is harder to get to 60 than 54." Only if you do not have the talent. This team has the talent to win well over 60 games.

It is a team that has the talent to win any series they encounter in the playoffs. They have seen it now, they know what it takes. They have won in Utah. They have won in San Antonio. They need to get Denver out of their heads and get a win there.

Their goal this year should be one thing. It is not "getting to the playoffs." It is not "getting home court." It is not "getting out of the first round." Their goal, plain and simple, should be winning it all.

They need to start Tuesday night against Houston. They need to come out and set the tone for the season, taking it to a decent but over-matched Rocket team. Then, Thursday, when Denver arrives, they need to serve notice the Northwest Title is staying in Portland this year, but this time it will not be shared.

Then, on Halloween, they need to go into Houston and accomplish that which eluded them in the playoffs—a win.

No excuses. No saying, "It is a tough place for us to win." Plain and simple, they need to come out and show they are the team to beat this year.

Unlike last year, when they started with a schedule so brutal it ranked as the toughest start since the '60s, Portland has a relatively soft schedule this year.

I am going to come out and flat out say it would be a choke job to lose to Houston on opening night. Denver is good enough to win in Portland, but that is what sets great teams apart from the very good; defending home court. So I will say Portland should win that one, too.

They then have road games at Houston and Oklahoma City. Both are eminently winnable.

They then have a three game home stand in which only San Antonio should be tough. then five road games, with only the Hornets and Hawks being games Portland should not be favored in. Home versus Detroit, a game at Golden State, then four more at home before closing November out at Utah.

It would not be a huge shock for Portland to be 15-4 by the end of November. They are that good.

So yeah, I am going to go out on a limb here. The low end expectation for the Blazers is Conference Finals and it is not out of the realm of possibility for them to win a title. Not next year. Not three years from now. Not after they start losing guys because they cannot afford to keep them around.

This year.

60+ wins, at least Conference Finals is my prediction.

Partying in the streets is my hope. I think they are probably about 5-1 against winning a title, but that is not beyond reasonable to see. Lets get this party started.

Preseason Melt-down; How the Jazz Wrecked the Blazers

Drew Barton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:27:00 -0400

Last night was the first preseason game I have been able to attend this year. I settled comfortably into my old home, took a picture with my camera phone of the Rose Garden and sent it to a couple co-conspirators under the title, "I'm Home!" and got ready to watch the game.

About the time they announced the first starter, I went, "Uh-oh!"

Now, make no mistake about it. Juwan Howard will be a very, very valuable player for the Blazers as he has already shown. His veteran leadership, much ballyhooed, has already proven its value as he has gotten Greg Oden several touches, he has shown players little moves they can do to enhance their effectiveness, and so forth. His teaching has been extremely valuable.

He also can still play a bit. There is a reason he is the last man standing from the Fab 5.

But that is the problem, too...he was part of the Fab 5, a reference that is probably lost on a great number of NBA fans. In basketball terms, Howard is old. His value now lies in practice, in teaching veteran type things, and in short stints off the bench against second line players. He is not, at this point in his career, a starter-quality player.

By the time the stating line-up was read off, it looked like another poor start. Joel Przybilla, Howard, Nicolas Batum and Steve Blake all get their points by playing off other players. Only Brandon Roy is really a point producer in that line-up.

At the same time, while Przybilla and Batum are strong defenders, the other three are not strong enough defensively to match up with a high scoring team like the Jazz starters.

It did not help when 54 seconds into the game Batum went down with an injury and would not return. In came Travis Outlaw. this was both good and bad.

When he is in Super-Trout mode, Outlaw can carry the team. He is very capable of 10-15 point quarters. Scratch that, he is capable of 10-15 point 5-minute outbursts. He is also capable of going 3-9 and having 10 points for the night...as he did on this one.

Nor was Roy on his game in the first half, ending the first quarter with more turnovers than shots attempted.

This just in; Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilinko are good enough to destroy a Blazer team that is without LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Rudy Fernandez unless Roy, Outlaw and Andre Miller score in bunches.

It did not help watching Blake try to defend Williams. I would not really call it defense. Maybe Blake-fense. And his Blake-fense on Williams showed why Williams is going to put up some huge numbers this year.

It is not just that Blake is not fast or agile enough to keep up with Williams. Honestly, how many players in the NBA are? Short answer; not very many. The problem is, he does not have the anticipation skills to impede Williams in any meaningful way, yet he consistently tried to body up on Williams, only to get torched again and again and again.

While on the subject of defense, this just in; Jarron Collins against Boozer is a mismatch, and not in Collins' favor. Strongly dislike him or hate him, there is no denying that Boozer is a beast on the court and he clearly showed the Blazers will need Aldridge to step up his defensive game if they want to stay ahead of the Jazz this season.

There is not a whole lot of point to dissecting this game. The players both teams threw on the floor for significant sections of the game clearly illustrated this was not a meaningful game. If Portland has Jerryd Bayless, Dante Cunningham, Jarron Collins, and Juwan Howard on the floor together for more than 30 seconds at a time this year, it means either the game was won quite early by the Portland studs or else the Blazers are headed for the lottery.

And while I do not follow the Jazz all that closely, I would say the same thing about Matthews, Fesenko, Dupree and Koufos. Nothing against them as players, but they are not the guys Utah wins with.

What this game was valuable for was a study tool. The Blazers have a tremendously talented roster. Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Andre Miller, Fernandez, and Martell Webster all have the ability to score well into the teens. Oden might be added to that mix if his pre-season play is any indication.

Przybilla and Batum provide above average defense, Aldridge is getting there, and Oden looks like he has a chance to be a game-changer on defense this year.

Yet with all that talent, Portland can still put combinations on the floor that are not going to be effective.

Look again at the starting line-up; Przybilla might get you 5 points in a game, Howard another nickel, Batum another nickel, Roy 20+ and Blake roughly 10 if they are full-time players. You are not going to win many games with a team that is going to score 45 points but is not tough enough defensively to hold the team to 44 or less.

Yeah, I know...pre-season, blah blah blah.

The point stands. With all the talent at their disposal, Portland is capable of putting line-ups on the floor of players who regularly play that will lose games. In bunches.

Of course, they are also capable of putting out line-ups that will win games in bunches.

And that is where we get to Coach Nate McMillan.

As important as Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Miller, Webster, Outlaw, and Batum are to the Blazers chances this year, the defining factor might be McMillan.

Somehow, some way, he has to find the right combinations of players to provide enough scoring punch combined with solid defense. He has to find that combination not just for the starters but also for the bench.

People have been talking about Oden having earned the starting job with his strong play and lingering antipathy towards Blake combined with the exciting tools Miller brings to the table have led to the same argument there. But I am going to argue that starting the same guys as last year is a better move.

They have built some chemistry together. Never underestimate the sum being greater than the parts when you know how a teammate will react to any given situation. With Roy and Aldridge creating, there are enough shots created for Blake from distance, Batum from the corner, and Przybilla off pick and rolls. Put Przybilla, Blake or Batum on the bench and their inability to create their own shots limits their effectiveness.

At the same time, Aldridge and Roy are going to dominate the shots in the starting line-up. Putting in Oden or Miller is going to minimize their potency.

It is not that they are better or worse as players, it has to do with how they fit together. Steve Blake hanging out by the 3-point line keeping defenders from sagging on those spectacular Roy drives is a good thing. It makes Roy better and makes Blake better.

Blake hanging out by the 3 point line with the ball in his hands while the other players try to figure out how to get open? Not so good.

By the same token, Miller has a similar game to Roy but does not have the distance shooting capabilities, which allows his man to sag and clog the lane. So despite being a better offensive player than Blake, playing in the starting line-up could potentially make Miller, Blake, and even Roy worse even while playing with greater talent.

As has been pointed out, there are ways around this. Drop Webster on the side of the court with Roy and nobody is sagging off Webster. Yet this still does not seem to make the best use of Millers talent.

It is figuring out how to maximize the tools at his disposal that will determine whether McMillan guides this team to the dizzying heights they are capable of or produces a disappointing season.

Having watched him for several years, both with the Sonics and now the Blazers, I have little doubt that he will do a great job. McMillan is a tremendous coach who has always seemed to get more from his players than seemed possible. I look for that to continue.

Now to get the taste of the Jazz game out of my mouth...

Trailblazers Preseason Basketball: What We Can Learn?

Drew Barton — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:20:00 -0400

Last season, the Blazers were done in by two things in the post-season; first, they were not physical enough and second, when they absolutely had to score, they could not.

So as this preseason gets rolling, Portland has several questions to answer. Will LaMarcus Aldridge turn into the dominating defender that showed up in flashes last season?

Will Travis Outlaw find a home as a back-up power forward?

Will the Greg Oden Portland drafted return or will we still see more of the walking wounded coming back from micro-fracture surgery?

Obviously there are more questions, but there is a mantra that you hear over and over from good teams.

"There is only so much you can learn from preseason."

There are things you can learn, however. Here are some examples.

Oden spins on Spencer Hawes, leaves him searching for his jock strap, and throws down a thunderous jam. Now, deep in the regular season, you will be excited.

But in the preseason you learn to suppress the "YYYeeeessss!" scream accompanied by a double fist pump.

(It can be quite awkward at work trying to explain to your boss why you truly are actually thrilled by the opportunity to step up and do more than your share in the workplace. That's why your yelling. No, of course your not listening to the Blazers game, you try to explain. Then you try to conjure up a good reason for why there's a radio headphone discreetly tucked into your ear...)

So preseason is a good time to get your surreptitious listening skills fine-tuned.

Do the Blazers Need To Bring In Outside Players?

Drew Barton — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:07:00 -0400

When last season started, I was considered unreasonably optimistic. Respected sites with good reputations pointed out that the jump from 41 wins to 50 wins was much more difficult than the jump to 41 wins had been, yet I confidently predicted a 53-win season which was itself exceeded by their 54 wins.

Looking at next season, I feel confident that 60 wins is not only reachable—it's on the low end of what we can expect to see from this young, talented, exciting Blazers team.

Even now, most of the same sites are saying holding steady at 54 wins will be difficult enough, but a couple more wins might be attainable if the Blazers make no new acquisitions.

That is flawed thinking. The Blazers did have flaws last year, and the Rockets exposed two of those in their upset of Portland in the first round.

First and foremost, the Blazers didn't display the defensive reputation or intensity they needed to. The Rockets had the reputation and were very intense, and as a result were allowed to hack, clutch, grab, push, and shove their way to a marked advantage.

Secondly, the Blazers starting lineup had only two primary scorers and one secondary scorer. Neither Joel Przybillan or Nicolas Batum was a scoring threat at all. As a result, when Blake missed shots he normally made, it allowed the Rockets to focus even more attention on Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, which limited their effectiveness.

This offseason is an opportunity for the Blazers to correct both of those short-comings, and they don't need any other players to do that. Before I go further into this analysis, I should point out a couple of things.

First, one reason I really love this edition of the Blazers has to do with the make-up of the team—both Roy and Aldridge have been Blazers since draft day.

So have Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless and Martell Webster.

Though neither Joel Przybilla or Steve Blake started as Blazers, they both made a conscious choice to come here when the team had a poor record and have spent enough time here that they "feel" like they have been career Blazers.

Second, one of the joys for me of watching a team is watching the development. I remember well watching Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter, and Kevin Duckworth go from (other than Drexler) essentially unknowns into a team that twice in three years got to the NBA Finals. Now, in contradiction to this post, that was in no small part due to the import of Buck Williams, but I will address that shortly.

The first and most dangerous short-coming was the defensive intensity. My bias is clear, so it's obvious that in the series with the Rockets, it was extremely frustrating to watch Luis Scola body-slamming Aldridge at one end without getting called for a foul, then watch Oden get called for a touch-foul outside the free throw line at the other end.

It was even more frustrating to watch Ron Artest hand-check, clutch, grab, and shove Roy all over the court and never get called, while Blake was getting called for doing much less in trying to contain Aaron Brooks.

Topping it off was watching Yao Ming hack anybody in sight, yet watching the call go against the defender. Again and again, Przybilla or Oden would get to the defensive spot first, Ming would come down, give them a full-out two-hand shove, and when they tried to get back in position the referees would whistle a foul on the Blazer big men.

It wasn't fair officiating—it had a huge impact on the outcome of the series, and it illustrates the first thing the Blazers need to do. The Rockets got away with fouling as a defense because they have the reputation of doing that. So the Blazers need to get that reputation.

In every game, they need to come out over-aggressive. They need to learn to push and shove, clutch, grab, and foul, until the referees decide, "that's how they play defense."

Then, maybe they'll stop calling it on Portland, just as they have done for the Rockets, for Bruce Bowen, for Dahntay Jones, and so forth.

By establishing a reputation as "rugged, physical defenders," they will begin to get calls that are more in line with what other teams get. That's a horrible thing to say, because it's not good basketball.

If I wanted to watch men clutch, grab, push, and shove each other, I'd go watch wrestling.

One reason to love basketball is for the athletic prowess they display. Their agility, leaping ability, and speed are far more entertaining than watching people foul each other and see who gets the calls.

But if you aren't going to be allowed to play a skilled game, then go with what you have to do. So foul early, foul often, and start getting the "respect" you deserve.

The Blazers already have a few players that would benefit mightily from this new attitude, and at least two of them would cover one of the biggest deficiencies they faced last year.

First—Jerryd Bayless. He has a reputation as a "defensive bulldog" who plays tough, in-your-face defense. He got called for a lot of touch-fouls last year, which limited his effectiveness.

If he were allowed the same leeway that players like Artest received, though, he would be able to more-than-adequately defend the Aaron Brooks-type point guard that was an Achilles Heel all year for the Blazers. He has the speed, agility, and mind-set to be a top perimeter defender.

Nicolas Batum would be another. He was already the best perimeter defender the Blazers had. He did an excellent job on even Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, while still matching up with small forwards like Carmelo Anthony.

He would only get better if instead of using his feet and skill to defend he just started hacking and grabbing anybody who beat him but not getting called for fouls.

Inside, Greg Oden would be even more effective if he got time on the court instead of the bench. There's no doubt he commits fouls—well, let me rephrase that—according to the rules, there's no doubt he commits fouls.

But if he were called the same way Ming or Shaquille O'Neal were officiated, he would be a defensive menace and far more effective offensively as icing on the cake.

If Portland had players such as Bayless and Batum to anchor the perimeter and Oden and Aldridge to anchor the interior, they would quickly become one of the very best defensive teams in all of basketball. That's just by using the same players they now possess.

The second issue can also be addressed with the same players they now have. Let's start with perimeter scoring.

Going into last season, Martell Webster was the starting small forward. He was coming off a third straight season of improvement, and had upped his scoring average to 10.7 per game. More importantly, he had watched James Jones for a year, and was learning about what he could do to make himself more integral to the Blazers offense.

Increasingly more often, he would ball fake from his corner post and drive into the lane—it created a whole extra element to the Blazers offense. Had he played last season, it's not unreasonable that he could have added 2-5 points to his average and provided that third reliable scorer somewhere in the middle teens.

A Blazer squad with Roy scoring 22, Aldridge 18, Blake 11, and Webster 13 points looks a lot different than that same line-up where Batum and 6 points replace Webster and 13. Too often this season, Batum passed up wide open shots and was such a non-factor in the offense that it allowed teams to sag off him and double-team Aldridge or Roy.

That is one reason Coach Nate McMillan tried starting Rudy Fernandez late in the Rockets series.

However, it fouled up all the rotations and reduced the once-formidable scoring punch of his bench without providing a commensurate spike in their defensive ability.

This season, with the return of Webster, he will have the ability to provide that scoring punch in the starting lineup. Either Webster will start, or (should they choose to keep Batum in that role) the pressure of having Webster and Outlaw behind him will force Batum to look for his shot more aggressively. When the small forward position is scoring, the Blazers are a much more potent offensive team.

All of these arguments lead to the most important point—the Blazers will be much improved this year due to natural development, and they have an excellent roster to ensure that—let me explain.

Larry Bird has often been quoted (included in his autobiography Drive: The Story of My Life) as saying players such as Greg Kite were instrumental to the Celtics' Championships. Now, those of you who recall those Celtics teams may recall that Kite saw little to no playing time. Those years saw guys like Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson, Austin Carr, and others take the bulk of the playing time.

But right behind them were talented players who pushed the starters to continue to excel, lest they lose their spot on the floor.

Now look at the Blazers.

Joel Przybilla will never be an offensive force but he is certainly a stalwart defender and rebounder. Greg Oden wants that position. Those two will push each other hard and the result can only be that both players will improve.

Additionally, Oden should now be almost completely recovered from micro fracture surgery. With all his prodigious speed and agility, he will be much improved from last year, and thus create yet one more issue for opposing coaches when game-planning for the Blazers.

Aldridge continues to improve. The last month or so of the season saw the preverbial light click on for him defensively. There were stretches where he controlled games defensively and other times he dominated offensively. Look for those stretches to become more frequent and for him to be an All-Star very soon.

His improvement alone should be worth a couple extra games for the Blazers.

It is at small forward where the Blazers might see the greatest improvement. Martell Webster, Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw will battle for the starting role. I believe Webster is the odds-on favorite to win it, but regardless of which player comes out on top, the battle will force all to improve.

The triumvirate of players gives Portland tremendous flexibility. They can go with Batum for defense, Webster for long-distance shooting, or Outlaw for someone who can create his own shot at will.

Should Batum develop an offensive game, or Webster a defensive mentality, this position could shift from weakness to strength in a heartbeat.

Shooting guard is, of course, the strongest position the Blazers have. Roy continues to improve every year. He knows what needs to get done, and works on that aspect of his game. He knows his defense was a weakness last year, so he should be improved there.

Behind him is Rudy Fernandez. Rudy will be hard-pressed to improve on his numbers from a year ago, and indeed seems the most likely player to slightly regress. Even if he should slip a bit, the Blazers know they have options; Bayless and Webster both are comfortable in the role.

Which brings us to Bayless—perhaps the most potentially important improvement for the Blazers this upcoming season.

Last season, he got caught up in his own press clippings from Summer League. By his own admission, scoring 30 a game there was the worst thing that could happen to him. This year, he's focusing on applying the things he learned last year watching Steve Blake, one of the most underappreciated players the Blazers have.

Blake's not fast, he's at best an adequate defender, he can't create his own shot, and really doesn't create good looks for other players. He isn't flashy and does not score a lot, nor rack up a lot of assists. As a result, many Blazer fans put a lot of the blame for last years playoff collapse on him.

That's not knowledgeable basketball criticism. Blake performs his role very well. He gets the Blazers into the correct offensive set, gets the ball into the hands of the people who should have it, stretches defenses with his normally reliable shooting, and most importantly, accepts and embraces his role.

This year will be key for Blake. Bayless will push hard for playing time—he's a superior defender who can penetrate the lane seemingly at will. With a year under his belt, he should finish more effectively and, if he sticks to his plan, will be a better distributor this season. That improvement alone will help the entire team and take strain off of several players.

The bench should be a strength again regardless of who ends up there. Lets assume the starting line-up is what many people thought it would be last year: Oden, Aldridge, Webster, Roy and Blake.

That is a lineup that can score and rebound. Defense might be a problem.

That would leave a bench of Przybilla, Outlaw, Batum, Fernandez and Bayless. Depending on how Batum and Bayless develop, they can catch up with massive firepower or hold/extend a lead with a defensive focus.

They are very versatile; Outlaw is often best when playing power forward but has also been featured at small forward and spent time as shooting guard. Batum and Fernandez both slide between small forward and shooting guard. Bayless can play either guard position.

This is a team with three primary weaknesses: defensive toughness, experience, and injuries.

Natural improvement should handle the scoring issue discussed earlier and teams tend to improve defensively as they grow together.

This roster is deep enough to absorb some hits injury-wise, even to key players.

And all of this is without adding a Paul Millsap, Andre Miller or any other player.

Yes, McMillan wants a "veteran" player, but it could be argued with Przybilla and Blake, they already HAVE the type of players they would be bringing in. Why not stick with an essentially home-grown team that is good enough to start winning championships soon?

Why Jason Kidd Would Ruin the TrailBlazers

Drew Barton — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:41:00 -0400

A few years ago, the Trailblazers were making a run at the title. They had a very talented roster with players such as Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis, Brian Grant, and Damon Stoudamire leading the charge.

Many Blazer fans believe only a fourth quarter collapse against the hated L*kers prevented a second championship from coming to Portland. Yet even during that run there was a distinctive lack of excitement around the team.

That lack of excitement has regularly been attributed to the character of the players on the team—the Rasheed Wallace technicals, the Qyntel Woods dog-fighting, the players cursing out Coach Maurice Cheeks, Damon Stoudemire choosing tin-foil as a masking device for the marijuana he was trying to smuggle through airport security, Ruben Patterson and his sex offender problems, Zach Randolph being Zach Randolph, and a host of other issues.

The team was winning but nobody really cared.

Along came GM Kevin Pritchard and the famed draft that saw the acquisition of LaMarcus Aldridge and some guy named Brandon Roy. Travis Outlaw was already on the scene.

Suddenly, the character of the franchise changed. These are guys in the Brian Grant/Terry Porter-mold who are visible members of the community. Roy has a lot of notable charities going, Channing Frye does (did...in light of his not receiving a qualifying offer) and so forth.

These are guys who are of good reputation off the court to go along with their talents on the court. And the fans have responded.

Attendance is up. TV ratings are up. Merchandise sales are up. There is heavy discussion in the offseason about what the Blazers will do. And one name comes up over and over that just crushes me every time I see it: Jason Kidd.

Kidd should end up in the Hall of Fame when his playing days are done. He is among the best passers of our generation, a tremendous ball-hawk with fast hands who played the passing lanes very well, a superior rebounder for a guard, and a guy who got the Nets to the Finals.

He is also a guy who should never set foot on the court in a Blazers uniform.

Part of the interest in the current incarnation of the team is the nature of the guys. Gone are the days when players with great talent but horrible personalities were a welcomed part of the team. Scottie Pippen nearly brought a championship to Portland while turning off fans with his boorish behavior in restaurants, for example. But he was a good guy in comparison to Kidd.

No need to detail here the incidents that led to Kidd being jettisoned from a very good Suns team to New Jersey, nor to go over the things that came up during his divorce. Suffice it to say, he is not the type of good-character guy that makes up the current Blazer roster.

He would be a return to the win-at-all-costs mentality that led to the Jail Blazer-era we all still suffer shame for.

Sure, the Blazers need some defensive help at the point which Jerryd Bayless may or may not provide this year. And nobody questions that Kidd would be an improvement over Steve Blake from a pure talent aspect. But he would be a huge step back in the character department and is not a guy I would ever want to see in a Blazer uniform.

How positive am I about that?

Should Kidd become a Blazer, I would sell my season tickets and not renew them, nor would I purchase tickets again for some time after he was gone.

No Kidd in Portland. Not now, not ever.

Keep the team the way they are; fun, likable, and good guys. Let other teams take flyers on guys like Kidd. There is a place for him in the NBA. It just isn't Portland.

Baseball Steroids and Sports Officiating:The Myth of the Level Playing Field

Drew Barton — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:34:00 -0400

It is time to say what should have been said a long time ago. The complaints about baseball's steroid users are ridiculous, nonsensical, and disingenuous.

The most cited argument is that since steroids are performance-enhancing, their use intrinsically creates a playing field that is not level. Players who use them receive a distinct advantage over players who do not which destroys the integrity of the game.

Fair enough. Except for one small thing; the field is already not level. The officiating makes it a very slanted field, particularly in baseball and basketball.

Several years ago I was watching the Baseball Game of the Week. Greg Maddux threw a pitch a couple inches off the plate which, by the rules, is a ball. It was called a strike at which point the commentator said something very similar to this:

"Because he has such great control, when Maddux throws the pitch there it is more likely he meant to throw it there so he will get that call whereas a pitcher with less control won't."

What? He deliberately threw a ball, but since he intended to throw a ball it is a strike?

That creates a competitive advantage for him. Hitters who lay off pitches out of the strike zone lose that advantage and Maddux gains one without the use of steroids. I later heard a similar comment regarding Barry Bonds.

That comment said that if a pitch was close and he laid off, umpires were likely to call it a ball because Bonds was known to have such a good eye for the strike zone.

Forgive my ignorance, but is it not the job of the umpire to determine whether a ball is in or out of the strike zone rather than interpret the intent of the pitcher or rely on the good eye of the batter? The name of the player does not matter according to the rules, why does it matter according to the umpire?

The same concept holds true in the NBA. Just a couple nights ago in a key NBA Eastern Conference Finals game in the last minute LeBron James took 3 1/2 steps, one of the most egregious travels I have seen this side of the average Magic Johnson move in his heyday.

The announcers were aghast. "You are going to call traveling on LeBron James in this situation?"

Well, yes. As a matter of fact they should. That was a good piece of officiating in an otherwise horribly officiated year. The playoffs have been very hard to watch because they are being heavily affected by very biased officiating.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me make clear my biases before continuing. I will be quite happy with either a Magic or Cavaliers Finals appearance. I would be ecstatic for the Nuggets to make their first Finals appearance. If the Lakers lost every game they play from today forth by over a hundred points apiece and Kobe Bryant never made another shot I would be ecstatic.

With that said, every team is suffering from the officiating.

Last night I watched Dahntay Jones deliberately trip Bryant. I watched him give him a shove in the back. I watched him clutch and grab and hack and foul again and again with nothing being called. That creates an unfair advantage when he is allowed to play dirty and break the rules in what is called "defense".

At the same time, I watched Bryant fend off with the off arm, push off from the defender to create space and not get called. Ask any Utah Jazz fan or Cleveland Cavalier fan if the offensive player gains a distinct competitive advantage from that maneuver.

Again, I wanted the Bulls to win their Finals matchup with the Jazz. I never want to see the Jazz win a game as I always despised the offensive foul machine Karl Malone. With that said, when Michael Jordan illegally shoved Bryon Russell and was not called for it, he created a distinct competitive advantage. By missing that call the officiating heavily influenced the outcome of that series.

Watching Hedo Turkoglu fend off with his off-arm the entire time while watching the defender get called for placing a hand on his hip is disgusting. Watching Dwight Howard set an illegal moving screen that knocks the defender into Turkoglu and causes the defender to get called for a foul is dis-heartening.

Watching James initiate contact with a stationary defender and having them get called for the foul is obnoxious. Watching him run over people to block their shot and not being called for a foul is borderline ridiculous.

Make no mistake, Turkoglu, James, Howard, Bryant and so forth are tremendously talented players as were Malone and Jordan, players I addressed earlier.

But the advantage they receive when the games are not called honestly and fairly impacts the game. Fair, impartial officiating should be the hallmark. Instead we regularly get commentary along the lines of, "You are not going to get that call on the road," or , "You are not going to get that call against a player of his stature" or the most idiotic statements of all, "They are letting them play" and "they are letting the payers decide the outcome".

The last two are usually brought up when fouls are being committed willy-nilly with nary a call or when a key foul is committed but not called in the final moments of the game.

In truth, by breaking the rules by not calling the game according to the rules it is the officials who are heavily influencing the outcome by allowing one player to gain a prohibitive competitive advantage over the other.

Jordan was clearly a better player than Russell. But on that play in 1998 where he gave Russell a shove in the back at the top of the key in plain view of the officials and was not whistled for a foul he gained an illegal advantage that led to an easy shot opportunity.

There was no level playing field. Jazz fans probably still feel the sting of that one just as anyone who ever watched their power forward get called for a foul for sticking his head in the way of Malones' elbow feels wronged.

Anyone who has watched Shaquille O'Neal run over a stationary defender and watched the defender get called for a foul knows that pain. Giving superstars calls that break the rules gives them an even bigger competitive advantage and one for which there is no redress.

You can work to make yourself faster, stronger, more agile. You can study people's tendencies to learn how to defend them better. But you cannot in any way personally affect rule-breaking officiating. There is no way to level that playing field yourself.

As a lifelong and die-hard Blazer fan, I fully realize the following comments will be taken with a grain of salt. With that said, I truly believe the officiating had a huge impact on the outcome of the series.

Throughout the series we watched as Ron Artest clutched, grabbed, impeded progress, and knocked to the floor Brandon Roy. We watched as Luis Scola pushed, shoved, clutched, grabbed, hacked, and fouled LaMarcus Aldridge repeatedly without getting called for a foul.

At the other end of the floor only Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden did anything even remotely similar. There can be no doubt that much of what they did against Yao Ming was a foul. They should have been called for fouls just as Ming should have been called for fouls when he would come down the floor and give Oden a double-hand shove to gain position.

Sure, play gets more physical in the playoffs. But if you allow one team to play physical and not the other it creates a distinct advantage for one team.

There was a key moment in Game Five where Scola was shooting to the top of the key past a Ming pick. Aldridge was clear of Ming so Ming jumped out and hip-checked Aldridge. It was a gorgeous hip-check that any hockey fan could be proud of. It was also a moving screen and illegal contact. It knocked Aldridge into Scola. When Aldridge hit Scola, that certainly should be called a foul...except the correct call was on Ming. Instead they called Aldridge for his fifth which forced him to the bench for critical minutes.

It was very frustrating as a Blazers fan to watch Ming, Scola, Artest, and Shane Battier commit fouls by the armload without getting called while at the other end the Blazers were called for much less contact. There was no competitive balance.

The series can pretty much be summed up in the following sentence. Brandon Roy fouled out of a game while Artest and Battier never encountered foul trouble a single time in the entire series.

Now, even I am not going to claim that the Blazers were going to the Finals this year. I will not even argue they were definitely going to win the series against the Rockets. What I am going to argue is that as a fan it was heart-breaking to watch bad officiating create a competitive advantage for one team.

For one team to receive an advantage it must, by definition, create a disadvantage for the opposition. That is one reason I find the hysteria over steroids so ridiculous.

If the complaint is truly that steroid use creates a competitive advantage and creates a playing field that is not level, what does that say about sports officiating that ignores rule-breaking, gives the "benefit of the doubt" to the more famous player, allows one player to break the rules but not the other, and so forth?

Bad officiating creates more of a competitive imbalance than all the steroid use in the world ever could.

While I very much want to see the Nuggets beat the Lakers, I do not want to see that win occur because Jones is allowed to play dirty and break the rules in what is charitably called "defense" against Bryant. If they cannot win it fairly they should not win at all.

I do not have a strong preference for who wins the Cavaliers/Magic series but I would really, really like to see it decided by a level playing field that allows the better team to play within the rules rather than gaining an advantage through officiating that favors one team or another.

It is time to stop officiating that favors certain players and create a level playing field. Once we clear that up, perhaps then it will be legitimate to complain about "performance enhancing substances".

Until then, such complaints are the height of hypocrisy.

The Legend Continues: Roy Leads the Blazers Past the Rockets in Game 2

Drew Barton — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:03:00 -0400

Prior to the game, I was shocked at how demoralized Blazer fans were. For example, at work there were four co-holders of season tickets. Two of them assumed the series was over, to the point where one of them actually bet five bucks the Blazers would lose game two against the Rockets.

All season I have had a very solid read on this team, from my preseason prediction of 53 wins down to how they would fare in each month. As a result, they sometimes turn to me for my take on the game.

Blinded by my man-crush on LaMarcus Aldridge, I said, "L.A. will come out and have a huge game, Roy will have a better game, and the Blazers will win this one. It will probably be pretty close, but they will tie the series."

I got to the game and was talking with the guy who convinced me to get season tickets of my own, a good friend and poker buddy. He also thought the series was basically over. I told him the same thing, but he remained discouraged, even going so far as to say, "I don't even really want to go to a game five if they are down 3-1."

Nor was he alone in his sentiment. The buzz in the crowd was very similar. That game one crushing had the fans completely demoralized.

About five minutes into the game I turned to my wife and said, "They were right. Portland is going to lose."

She looked at the scoreboard which showed the Blazers tied at 15. "Why would you say that?"

I pointed out that home teams which get humiliated in the first game typically come out super energized, build a nice lead, and then end up needing to hold on in the end. Visiting teams typically try to withstand the opening blitz without losing contact and then take over the game. Yet Houston not only withstood the blitz, they had led most of the way.

Furthermore, I had expected Aldridge to come out strong, looking for his shot, and take over the game. Instead, he was playing tentative, not taking the shots he normally took, and was a complete non-factor on offense.

Still, this team was so much fun to watch all year that we settled back to enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was!

Somehow, some way the Blazers overcame every obstacle. They overcame the demoralization from game one. They overcame being outnumbered eight to six on the floor. They overcame having scored 100 pints or more just once in a jaw-dropping 29 attempts against the Rockets. They overcame Ron Artest hitting some ridiculous, ridiculous shots.

Artest, by the way, deserves a lot of credit. He has rightly taken a lot of grief over the years for some of his actions, both on and off the court. But he has also done some things people ignore or do not know about. For example, during the down time between games one and two, he sought out and performed some charity work. This was not well publicized.

He has also toughened up Houston and given them an edge that they did not have in prior years. More importantly, he saw this game was up for grabs and he did everything he could to grab it.

Nicolas Batum is far and away the Blazers' best wing defender. He did a really great job on Artest. Several times he forced Artest into falling away to the left fade-away jumpers at or even beyond the three-point line.

And Artest hit them. Sick, sick shots. He was destroying the Blazers. Roy was trying to match him but Portland needed someone to give Roy some help. As the early years of Michael Jordan showed, no player, no matter how good, can single-handedly win a playoff series. It takes a team.

Sometimes two players can. At the eight minute mark of the second quarter, we finally saw the Aldridge I expected early in the game. He hit a couple of post moves which opened the lane for Roy to score five quick points. Then he went back on the block and scored on four consecutive possessions.

That forced the Rockets to double and triple team him, to focus their defense on him which then allowed Roy to go back to work. Together they had 36 of Portland's 53 first half points. Aldridge shot 8 for 10 in the first half. This was the guy I had expected to see.

Instead of passing the ball off and letting Luis Scola control him, he was imposing his will on Scola, on Yao Ming, on anyone who came near him. With the Rockets forced to divide their attention, Roy was carving them up inside.

The Rockets were also relying on two guys. In the first quarter it was Artest with 15 points. In the second quarter it was...well..unexpected. Yao Ming? I would believe that. Aaron Brooks? Sure, we have seen what he can do. But it was Von Wafer scoring 12 points of his own that kept Houston in the game. He simply could not be stopped.

At halftime several things were obvious. First off, the Blazers were at a severe disadvantage. This was one of the worst officiated games I have seen in a long time. As in game one, the Blazers were getting into the paint with regularity. The Rockets were staying on the perimeter more except for Wafer. Yet the Rockets had a marked advantage at the line.

Unlike game one, this was not because they were playing solid defense. This was blown call after blown call. The real reason the calls were blown was because it was not being called the same way for both teams. Artest, Shane Battier, Scola, and Ming were allowed to knock people down without being called for fouls whereas the Blazers were being called for a lot of questionable calls. A couple of second half examples demonstrate it pretty well.

Scola ran off a screen on the left block. Aldrdige was getting by Ming, so Ming hip-checked him with a screen that moved about three feet. This hip check threw Aldridge into Scola, knocking Scola to the floor. We started celebrating that Ming would be picking up his fifth foul. Instead, it was called on Aldridge. Now, sure, he DID foul Scola...because he was fouled by Ming. This was Aldridge's fifth foul and would play a big role in the game's outcome.

Another example came when Greg Oden was under the basket on the defensive end. Brooks drove to the basket and Oden, seeing he could not stop him, stood there with his arms raised just as Ming had done at the other end. Moments later, Brooks was at the line and Oden had fouled out. Had they made that call against Ming, he would have fouled out in the first five minutes.

If the games are officiated this way in Houston, look for two blow-outs because Portland cannot continue to compete five on eight. They were only able to in this game because of Roy and Aldridge. IN the second half, it was primarily Roy.

He scored 11 of the first 13 points in the second half, keeping them in the game until the rest of the team was finally ready to join him. The Rockets were scoring with regularity and only Roy kept this game from turning into a blow-out.

All game long it was Roy who kept the Blazers in contact when the rest of the team struggled except for the mid to late second quarter when Aldridge took over. Roy scored from inside. He scored from mid-range. He scored from outside.

At one point late in the fourth quarter, the Blazers were clinging to a tenuous 93-90 lead. Roy was given the ball at the top of the key with very little time left on the shot clock. Defending him one-on-one was Artest, a guy who is certainly one of the better wing defenders in the league.

In fact, it was the ability of Artest and Battier to defend that had many Blazer fans convinced the Blazers would be unable to pull off a win in this game. And now, in a key moment, here was the match-up Blazer fans feared. There was a real feeling this possession could decide the game. And here was Artest via Roy with all the advantage to Artest: Little time to work, no screens to free Roy, and officials who were unlikely to call a foul. Yeah, I know...he did shoot 12 free throws in the game. He should have had 20+.

Be that as it may, Roy did what All-Stars are supposed to do in these situations, even when matched up with top defenders. He found a way to score. He ball faked, got Artest moving and hit a contested three to give the Blazers a six-point cushion.

This game was about several things. First, it was Aldridge stepping up and having a big game. He did that. It was about Roy dominating, which he did with 42 points while adding seven rebounds and coming up with a key late block.

And it was about Joel Przybilla, Greg Oden, Aldridge, and everyone else focusing on not letting Ming dominate as he did in game one.

They fronted, they double-teamed, they switched up on him, they came at him from a variety of angles, and just generally kept him from scoring. Certainly, that opened things up for other Rockets to score as evidenced by six Rockets scoring at least 10 points apiece. However, instead of shooting 60 percent plus when the game mattered, in this one they shot 50 percent. Still too high, but much more manageable.

By the time Roy hit a free throw with five seconds left to give Portland a 105-100 lead, it was apparent that Portland had learned a lot of lessons from the first game. They grew up fast.

They never got down on themselves, even when Houston took a five-point lead early in the second. Roy hit all the right notes to keep the Blazers in the game. Przybilla provided some veteran leadership and Nate McMillan did a fantastic job of coaching to get their heads back in the game.

Even when normally reliable Steve Blake started to melt down, missing open shots and making uncharacteristic turnovers that led to dunks for the Rockets, the Blazers refused to cave in. They fought and battled their way.

Nor was it just Roy and Aldridge. Travis Outlaw showed us flashes of his Super-Trout persona, Greg Oden had a key follow-dunk, Rudy Fernandez had a crowd-inspiring steal and dunk, and the Blazers showed that yes, Roy is far and away their best player, but they are still first and foremost a team.

Roy could not win this game alone and the Blazers showed why they have been so good all year, turning in a team performance that resulted in overcoming an incredible final minute by Aaron Brooks to hold on for a 107-103 victory.

Brooks is way more talented than advertised. His first desperation three was awesome. His ankle went about seventeen different directions as he tried to hold back from crossing the line, he went up for a desperation three that was well-contested and somehow found the bottom of the net. As much as I hate any former Duck, that shot was simply spectacular.

In the end, it was everything we had expected from the first playoff game. The crowd was raucous and into it, even when the Blazers got down by a few points. They recognized the greatness they were seeing from both Roy and Aldridge, recognized the calls but did not get so caught up in hating on the referees that they forgot to enjoy the game, and in large part controlled the methods of cheering.

What I mean is instead of chants starting with the announcer or Blazer mascot, they started organically with the crowd. "Lets go Blazers" was probably the most popular one, though the ubiquitous "MVP" with Roy at the line and the "These refs suck" made a brief return when Oden fouled out. The point is, these chants did not start from electronic admonitions, but from the fans getting juiced and rolling with it.

It remains to be seen if the Blazers have grown up enough to do what they need to do, which is go into Houston and reclaim home court. Make no mistake, the Rockets did exactly what they needed to do in Portland, which was get a split. Now, the onus is on the Blazers to prove they deserved the higher seed by winning in Houston, which is no easy proposition.

They have only won once in the new Rocket arena and that was two years ago. It is tougher to win in the Playoffs, but the Blazers have the talent to do it. Do they have the mental toughness? Perhaps I am blinded by my unapologetic love of the Blazers, but I think they do and will win one of the two.

Then again, Houston is an excellent team that has the home court advantage. Games three and four should be a real war. Let's go along and enjoy the ride.

Game One Requiem: What Does Losing a Home Game Mean to the Blazers?

Drew Barton — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:45:00 -0400

I was looking for the right word to describe the first Blazer playoff game in six years. Destruction? Annihilation? Crushing? Ah, wait...I have it. Humiliation.

Make no mistake, Houston came out and pummeled the Blazers beyond all recognition. They started with a punch in the mouth. When Portland got up Houston got serious.

They started the renewed assault with a kick in the groin followed by another punch in the mouth and then, as the Blazers lay there bleeding, they dropped a few elbows and followed those up with a piledriver that put the Blazers through the floor.

They then started to walk away before returning to kick the prone body once more for just one measure.

The Blazers, for the first time since the first game of the season when they Lakers humiliated them in similar fashion, looked young, inexperienced, and unprepared. They also looked like a team that felt they had accomplished all their goals just by making the playoffs.

The Rockets, by contrast, for the first time in recent playoff memory, looked like a team that not only wanted to make the playoffs, they wanted to get out of the first round.

It all started on the first Blazer possession. LaMarcus Aldridge posted up Luis Scola on his strong side, the low left block. This allows him to either spin baseline or come across the lane with a sweeping hook that is pretty tough to defend.

Unless, of course, you are 7'6", come off your man and swat it away as Yao Ming did. He executed a shot block so spectacular and intimidating it took Aldridge out of the game for the rest of the half and part of the third quarter. By the time Aldridge recovered, it was too late as the game was out of reach.

It was not only Aldridge who struggled, though. Early on it looked like Nicolas Batum might be a force. He ball-faked on the perimeter, drove baseline and hammered home a dunk. That opened things up. Brandon Roy started driving aggressively to the hoop and scoring regularly.

Unfortunately, that would be the last points for Batum, no other Blazer was scoring, and Houston started collapsing on Roy every trip inside and he stopped shooting.

Meanwhile, Houston went inside to Ming early and often and he delivered. Barring injury or a precipitous fall-off in talent level, Ming will be in the Hall of Fame some day and in this game it looked like that day should be now.

His 9-for-9 shooting in the game (all in the first half) was more than enough to put the Blazers in a hole too deep to ever climb out of.

The good news is there are perhaps two Blazers who did not have the worst games they will have in the entire series. Those two were Greg Oden and Brandon Roy, though Roy is unlikely to play that poorly either.

Oden did what you are supposed to do against shot blockers. He used ball fakes to get them in the air and scored virtually at will. Roy also scored well. But they were nowhere near enough in light of the team approach taken by the Rockets.

Aaron Brooks was every bit as demoralizing to the Blazers in the second half as Ming was in the first and go plenty of help from Ron Artest.

At some point in the third quarter the fans decided this was the fault of the refs. Admittedly there were a few rather questionable calls, such as Roy fouling the air three feet behind Shane Battier and Battier going to the line for three free throws. Problem was...that had no effect on the outcome.

Had the Blazers benefited from every call they would have still lost by 20. They did not get hosed in this game.

True, they outscored Houston in the paint by 24 points (56-32) yet were out shot at the free throw line by 12.

However, that had more to do with Houston's defensive prowess than it did any brutal refereeing hatchet job as the fans seemed to believe with their recurring, "These refs suck!" chants that threatened to rival the boos they lavished on Darius Miles when he returned with the Memphis Grizzlies..

That was partially fan disappointment at watching their team get absolutely drilled by a team that, on this night, was simply better.

Post-game comments by the players acknowledged as much. Ming talked about how the Blazers looked the way he had felt after his first playoff game. Roy talked about how many Blazers succumbed to the pressure, did not take the shots they normally take, and how little energy they played.

The good news for the Blazers is three fold. First, this was just one game. Yes, they lost a home game, but that was likely to happen at some point in the playoffs. They are quite likely to win one in Houston, thus recapturing the home court advantage.

Second, outside of Greg Oden (who may miss the next game) and Roy, every player had what will probably end up being his worst game.

Third, the entire Rocket starting line-up had unbelievable games. Ming did not miss a shot of any kind. Luis Scola shot an improbable 7-9 and added eight rebounds. Aaron Brooks had 5-8 from beyond the arc and 10-17 total. Ron Artest was a solid 7-12.

In any given game you might see one of them repeat that, but it is unlikely they can repeat it as a group over the course of the series.

Sure, it was disappointing and discouraging, but it was also just one game. The Blazers have the right coach and players to recognize this and deal with it. Watch for the Blazers to come out more focused, relaxed, and ready for game two.

Look for Aldridge to come out strong as he generally does after a poor outing. He will come out focused and ready and not allow himself to be taken out of his game again. Roy typically makes a point of establishing himself early in must-win games, which game two unquestioningly is.

When those two are on their games, the Blazers are very, very tough to beat. Game two will be a nice bounce back, and after the Blazers take either game three or four in Houston, it will help us see that, though disappointing, the loss was just a bad start to a good run. It will start with a game two win.

It is unlikely to be a blow-out and indeed is quite likely to come down to the final few minutes, but they got their stinker out of the way early and are now ready and primed for a long playoff run. Much as the situations with the Spurs, Celtics, Heat, and so forth, the series is just getting started.

In a seven game series, the better team generally wins. This series should be no different. Houston has a very good team that can win any game but the Blazers, as this series will bear out by the end, should prove to be better.

Why The Rockets Will Not Upset the Blazers

Drew Barton — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:28:00 -0400

Over the course of the season, the records of the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers were very similar. The Blazers checked in with a 54-28 record while Houston finished 53-29. Both records are spectacular in light of some of the trials the teams faced.

Portland spent the entire season without starting small forward Martell Webster. Webster had been showing improving defense on the perimeter but was more important in his role as a defense-stretching three-point specialist. His outside shooting forced teams to stay at home on him, which force them to help on the Blazers' post men from other quarters.

Without Webster, the starting job fell to Nicolas Batum. This was not an anticipated move since as recently as Summer League, it was felt Batum was at least two years away from being ready for even a reserve role in the NBA.

The Rockets suffered an even more key injury, losing Tracy McGrady for 47 games.

Fortunately for both teams, they are deep enough and talented enough to mask the loss of key players. In Houstons case, McGrady is obviously far more important overall than Webster and their ability to vie for a Division Championship speaks well of their talent level. They are a very, very good team.

I would go so far as to argue the one game difference in overall records in meaningless. It is a mere statistical anomaly over the course of a long season. These teams are very closely matched.

Early in the season, a Rose Quarter game illustrated just that. Portland and Houston battled all game long with the Blazers holding five to seven point leads until they took a 10 point lead with about 10 minutes to go. But Houston took it into overtime, setting up a Brandon Roy jumper, Yao Ming and-1, and Roy miracle trey in the last 1.9 seconds. The game was so tight it saw three lead changes in that space of time. This series might be that tight as well.

However, the Blazers are a much better team now than they were at that point in the year. One of my complaints about the team at that time was they had not yet developed a "killer instinct". They would often build comfortable leads only to see those leads melt away and the game decided in the closing seconds.

That is no longer true. They now know how to apply the pressure that turns comfortable leads into blow-outs. They know how to come back on teams, even very good teams as their recent double digit win in San Antonio after being down by 18 illustrates.

More importantly, they finally know how good they are. Prior to the season they thought they were good enough to make the playoffs. As of a few weeks ago, they knew they were not only good enough to make the playoffs, but also to win some games and that they should at the least win a series.

In a series this close, the advantage lays with the home team. With that in mind, it is wise to look at the way teams closed the regular season. Both the Rockets and Blazers had chances to win games that would guarantee them home court. Houston was playing for a Division Title and Portland to maintain the tie-breaker over the Spurs.

Houston had a lead in Dallas but was unable to close it out, eventually falling to drop one game behind the Spurs on the last day of the season. Portland led the Nuggets all game and put the hammer down, blowing them out.

I am sure Rockets fans will correctly point out the Rockets were on the road against a team also fighting for seeding. Fair enough. In a game both teams desperately wanted...they did not get the job done. Call it the McGrady effect.

For whatever reason, recent Rockets teams have had a pattern. They are great regular season teams that find ways to lose series they should win in the playoffs. Of course, this will be their first time with Ron Artest, a talented wing defender and good scorer. He unquestionably makes them a better team.

He is also illustrative of one of the keys to the series. The Rockets are an excellent defensive team. Luis Scola is a very physical defender, Shane Battier is an above average defender, and the shot-blocking of Yao Ming can sometimes close off the paint.

They are no slouches on offense, either. They have seven guys who score over or near double figures. They can score inside or out. They rebound well. There is a reason this team won 53 games.

But the Blazers are pretty solid as well. It starts with their improved power forward.

LaMarcus Aldridge started the season as a good help defender who sometimes got torched by less skilled post players. As the season progressed, however, he developed his game more and more. If the All-Star game were held today and he were not on it, that would be a mistake because he has come that far this season.

He has developed a very strong post game. He is at his best on the left post where he can spin inside or come across the lane for a sweeping hook. If needed, he can step out to the perimeter for his silky smooth jump shot.

At this point, people wonder why it did not start with Brandon Roy. Anybody who does not know what Roy can do yet is just not a dedicated NBA follower. He is the engine that makes the Blazers go. He can penetrate the lane seemingly at will, either to dish for open looks or to score on hapless defenders.

His defense is all over the board. At times he is a lock-down defender but at other times he can be exploited. Fortunately for the Blazers, there is nobody on the Rockets who will be able to regularly explode on Roy from the guard position.

Joel Przybilla is a solid interior defender and above average rebounder. He is limited offensively, but the other starters for Portland cover up for that. Well, sometimes they do.

Nicolas Batum will in many ways be a key to the series. Defensively he brings it every night. He is the Blazers best on the ball defender and best help defender. He gets into the passing lanes, he tips balls, and harasses talented scorers into sub-par nights.

However, it is his offense where he needs to become more consistent. On some nights he is very aggressive. He takes the open shot, drives the lane with abandon, gets out and runs, and turns the Blazers into a deadly offensive unit that very few teams can stay with. When he is taking his shots, the Blazers are a cohesive, talented offensive unit.

The final starter is oft-maligned Steve Blake. Blake is a weak perimeter defender. Fortunately, the Rockets do not have Tony Parker or Chris Paul. Aaron Brooks is a fine player but he is not going to torch the Blazers night after night, thus covering one weakness for the Blazers. Offensively, Blake is a perfect fit.

He has gotten better about creating havoc for opposing defenses by getting into the lane more often and is able to play off Roy's penetrations by staying home and hitting the open three. He is generally good about not turning the ball over. He is a very steady player who can score when needed.

Off the bench the Blazers bring a lot of firepower. Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez have excellent chemistry. Rodriguez finds Fernandez for so many open looks that Fernandez set the Rookie record for most threes in a season. Defensively they can be exploited as they focus too much on playing the passing lanes and sometimes forget to defend their man. Still, they should outscore former Blazer Von Wafer and Kyle Lowry.

It is in Travis Outlaw that the Blazers really shine. Outlaw has been overlooked by the rest of the NBA but should have been considered both this year and last for the Sixth Man of the Year.

Defensively, he is an enigma. At times he is dominating. His agility and length can cause problems for even a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. At other times he gets lit up by D-League scrubs. He is at his best coming from off the ball to block shots or getting spectacular blocks in transition.

It is on offense that he really shines. He has improved his shooting from deep but is at his best slashing to the hoop for highlight reel dunks or using his jab step and incredible leaping ability to create clean looks at the hoop, often against double teams. He gets so high so quick that defenders not named Dwayne Wade have no hope of reasonably contesting his shot.

Additionally, if he is not the Blazers best fourth quarter player then he is at least in the conversation. When you consider the fact the Blazers have Brandon Roy playing for them, that is quite a statement but one Blazer fans recognize.

Again and again Outlaw has provided a spark for the Blazers. He explodes in huge bursts, often racking up double digit points in two or three minute spans. The more the Blazers need a big fourth quarter, the more likely they are to see Outlaw turn into "Super-Trout"*.

All of this does not even address rookie enigma Greg Oden. He can be awe-inspiring and game changing or in and out of the game so quick you almost do not even notice he was there.

Defensively he can be outstanding. When he is feeling it, he is a premier shot-blocker. He has developed into a well-above average rebounder. He has regained his quickness and agility to the point where it is not as big of a mismatch as you would suspect when he gets caught on the perimeter. He moves his feet quick enough to stay with all but the quickest of players. It is offensively where his game is unsteady.

Oden is somewhat limited. He has an increasing repertoire of post moves but for the most part he wants to be Shaquille O'Neal. He likes to back people down and run over them. Unfortunately for Oden, the offensive fouls O'Neal committed for years that were called on the defender actually get called on Oden.

The playoffs should help that. For whatever reason, playoffs see things that were fouls in the regular season become "no-calls". This helps guys like Bruce Bowen, Luis Scola, Ron Artest, Joel Przybilla, and Greg Oden. Yeah, I know Bowen isn't in this series, but he illustrates the points.

When players are allowed to be more physical, it benefits players who have the ability and desire to be more aggressive. That means Oden should see fewer calls against him which will lead to his being a greater presence in the series.

Overall, this series should be very close and entertaining. I would not even be surprised to see both teams get a game on the opponents home floor. But in the end, the improvement the Blazers have shown combined with their overall slightly higher talent level and having the home court will make all the difference. Portland should win in either five or seven games.

*(Outlaw's nickname is "Trout" for T-Outlaw" and when he has one of his patented explosions some people refer to him as Super-Trout).

Wake Up, Portland Blazer Fans: Phoenix Doesn't Matter

Drew Barton — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:21:00 -0400

The other night during the Blazers' matter-of-fact destruction of the hapless Memphis Grizzlies, a score flashed up on the scoreboard showing the final score in the Jazz-Suns game.

Utah had won a close game in overtime, and...the Portland fans went nuts?

That sure was an unnecessary reaction.

I'll admit that the Suns are many things.

Under Alvin Gentry, they have returned to being one of the most entertaining teams in basketball. Their games generally include several exciting plays, numerous emotional peaks and valleys, runs by both teams, high scoring, and a few spectacular defensive plays as their frenetic style leads to some very entertaining shot-blocking.

But one thing the Suns were not, are not, and will not be is a threat to the Blazers' Playoff position.

Sure, the Blazers' "magic number" deals with how many Portland wins or Phoenix losses it will take to guarantee the Blazers a postseason bid. From that standpoint, watching Phoenix lose could be considered a good thing. But it's not something to go crazy about.

Now, the Jazz are a different case entirely. Deron Williams is very entertaining to watch. They put up a lot of points, score inside and out, and have some solid defenders.

And they're just a half-game behind the Blazers in the race for Playoff seeds.

With nine games left on Portland's schedule, it might be tough to run down Denver or Houston, the two teams that are a game and a half ahead. But catching either would get Portland home-court advantage in the first round, something they desperately need in order to advance to the second round.

Of the two, Houston is the more likely to be overtaken. Denver has the easiest schedule of any of the teams fighting for the two- through seven-seeds and has shown all year that they are a worthy team.

Of course, Houston has shown they can play without Tracy McGrady, and they remain the odds-on favorite to retain the fourth playoff seed.

Assuming Portland stays in the fourth or fifth playoff slot, their likely opponent will be either the Nuggets or Rockets. They've struggled against both teams, but it is the Nuggets who seem to have the greater dominance over the Blazers.

Thus, it would behoove Portland to stay in the fifth position so as to obtain the more favorable matchup.

In order to do that, they must stay ahead of two very talented teams: the Jazz and Hornets.

So think about it: Whenever Phoenix plays the Jazz or Hornets, the result in the best interest of the Blazers is clearly a Phoenix win.

Blazer fans need to wake up and realize their team is not only good enough to make the Playoffs, but good enough to put a good scare into any of the teams they might face. A first round win is not out of the question.

And it would not be an upset on the level of the Mavericks-Warriors series a couple years ago. It would be minor, at most; that's the caliber of this squad.

But to enhance the likelihood of advancing, they need to worry about improving their seeding, not about merely making the postseason.

The goal should not be just making the Playoffs; it should be winning some games in late April and May.

With that in mind, one thing is clear. As far as Blazers fans are concerned, the Suns don't matter. What we want is the Jazz and Hornets to lose games...and if possible, the Rockets and Nuggets to go down as well.

Is it likely Portland will get ahead of either team in the standings, get home-court, and win a series? Nope.

But it is certainly more likely than the Suns coming back and knocking the Blazers out.

Instead of worrying about teams 6.5 games behind them, Portland fans need to wake up and realize the real goal: finding a way to steal home-court advantage for the first round from Houston or Denver.

What Travis Outlaw and Brandon Roy Showed the Fans Against the New York Knicks

Drew Barton — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:10:00 -0500

There are lessons to be learned from every NBA game. For example, anyone who doubted the ability of Mike D'Antoni to coach should learn from what he has done with the Knicks. Under Isaiah Thomas, this was a roster in disarray, capable of scoring 120 on any given night...as long as they were willing to give up 140.

For all the criticism of D'antoni teams playing so little defense his name should be Mike 'Antoni since there is no D, he has completely changed the complexion of the Knicks team in just a few short months. Sure, you are still going to score against them, but not like last year. He has this team heading in the right direction.

Greg Oden showed he has learned some things, too. The first two Blazer possessions went something like this; pound the ball in to Oden, watch him travel. Pound the ball in to Oden, watch him travel.

Typically this season, that has meant it will be a long night for Oden. He will pick up fouls in bunches and play 10 - 15 minutes, being no factor at all. However, he has been showing improvement and on this night, he would not let his errors take him off his game.

The Blazers started slow, getting up a ridiculous two shots in their first six possessions. This is a Blazer team that plays more mature than its experience, which is one reason the cries of "bring in a veteran!" are so ridiculous.

Portland HAS the James Posey-type veteran presences on the team in guys like Joel Przybilla, Steve Blake, and Brandon Roy. Yes, Roy is only in his third year but he plays bigger, as does Outlaw.

Once the Blazers stopped turning the ball over 67% of the time, they easily outmatched the Knicks. Travis Outlaw and Roy combined for 19 first quarter points and the Blazers were rolling.

When they get big nights from any two of the Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, and Greg Oden foursome they are going to put up some big numbers on the board. This frees the second unit to relax and play their game. It does not always work, as the very sub-par performance by Jerryd Bayless would show.

There are nights where Bayless is a difference maker in a positive way. He can change the game offensively with his aggressive moves into the lane or his tenacious, harassing defense.

But he can change it negatively, too, by being over-aggressive and picking up fouls in bunches, turning the ball over in bunches, and taking the Blazers out of their offense. A lot of Blazer fans are blinded by his glitz and don't see the way he hinders the team. On this night, there was a fine example.

The two guys next to us spent the entire fourth quarter whining about how the Blazers needed to put in Bayless for Sergio Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Rodriguez was getting the ball to the right people at the right time.

Even when the actual assist went to Roy, many times it was the result of Rodriguez maneuvering the defense into places where Roy could receive the ball in a position to find Aldridge or Outlaw open. When the defenders stayed home on Roy, Rodriguez himself picked up the assist.

If Bayless was in the game it is unlikely Outlaw would have gotten the ball when and where he needed it to bring back the Blazers to where Roy could perform the heroics that sent the Blazers fans home happy with another improbable buzzer-beater win.

But that is what has this Blazer team on the edge of greatness. There are so many players who can dominate the game in so many different ways.

Start with Oden. Forget his offense, it is still raw and unreliable. Oden can completely change the game defensively. He was a huge force in the third quarter.

In a shade over two minutes he blocked three shots and forced Chris Duhon to travel, essentially creating a four possession advantage for Portland that allowed them to extend out to a nice lead, but more importantly, it moved the Knicks out of the paint.

Then, playing with five fouls, the Blazers down 108-103 and just 1:43 left in the game, he blocked a dunk attempt by David Lee. That block gave Portland possession, ignited the crowd, and let the Blazers wing defenders get a shade more aggressive knowing they had insurance behind them.

With Oden controlling the glass and the paint, in theory that will allow Portland to better defend the wing. That is just a theory, and we will come back to that a little later.

Up front, LaMarcus Aldridge can also be a game changer, but in his case he can dominate at either end of the floor. Offensively, he is a match-up nightmare for any defender. His post game has developed nicely to where he is a threat to score from either block and his feathery 18 foot jumper is a genuine pleasure to watch. Woe betide the team that sags off him.

But defensively is where he is making huge strides. More and more often the Blazers are turning to him when they need a big stop against an opposing big man. Against the versatile Al Harrington, Aldridge was an easy choice. He moves his feet well enough to actually be one of the Blazers' better perimeter defenders, a fact the unobservant have not yet picked up on.

But he also can defend the basket, as his emphatic block on Harrington in the third quarter demonstrated.

With Aldridge able to change a game on both ends, there is not much to say about Brandon Roy. Obviously NBA fans in general are not all that aware of him as evidenced by him finishing behind Rafer Alston (!) in the All-Star voting...there were other egregious examples, but that one is bad enough.

Roy is having a better season than most of the guys who finished ahead of him...nobody in their right miond would argue with Kobe Bryant or Chris Paul, but other than that, the things Roy brings to the table compare very well with any of the others and NBA fans should be embarrassed at their collective incompetence in voting for so many guys having inferior players.

Of course, the coaches and players know...but it does speak volumes about the lack of knowledge too many ballot-stuffers have.

Coming off the bench the Blazers can bring Travis Outlaw, another guy who can change the game at either end. Offensively, he can create his own shot, hit the three, and dunk on the big guys. Twice in the last two years I have seen Dwayne Wade block an Outlaw shot at the apex of his release.

Otherwise, I have yet to see anyone who can even contest it. This is perhaps one reason he is a team-best six for seven shooter with the game on the line...better even than Roy's 7-19.

The clutch nature of Outlaw is not well understood by many Blazer fans who frequently clamor to see him put on the trading block. This would be a huge, huge mistake. Take Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, or Travis Outlaw off the team and you have made the team instantly and noticeably worse in a way that is true for no other person.

Despite my praise for Oden earlier, Joel Przybilla is, at this point, a better rebounder and defender, even if more limited offensively than Oden. Rudy Fernandez is exciting to watch with an eye for the flashy pass and moving three-pointer, but a Steve Blake or Martell Webster is, at this point, at the very least his equal. Bayless and Rodriguez are nice back-up point guards but there are several in the NBA who are, at this point, better.

Nicolas Batum is an above average defender who does a lot of things to help the team that don't show up in the box score. For example, at least three times against the Knicks he tipped balls to teammates who were credited with the rebounds. Without his tips, those rebounds would have gone to the Knicks every time.

Despite these things, he can be replaced with little or no drop-off and in most cases even with an improvement in the Blazer performance. As much as I believe the deep shooting of Steve Blake complements the interior games of Aldridge and Oden and the penetration of Roy and Outlaw, even he is basically interchangeable with several players.

In essence, then, what sets the Blazers apart from most teams are Outlaw, Roy, and Aldridge. These three guys win more games for the team than the rest of the players combined. They have a sense for when to explode offensively and when to step up the defense.

The Knick game was a fine example. When the Knick lead crested at 13, Outlaw, Roy, and Aldridge took over. They combined to score 23 points, dish out three assists, and in other words dominate during the 25-11 run with which the Blazers pulled out the win.

The phrase "pulled out the win" should have been unnecessary. They out shot the Knicks 53.7 - 50.6%. They dominated the boards 43-29 and outscored them at the line 14-12. In every way, shape, and form they dominated the game...except two.

First, the free throw disparity should have been greater. The Knicks shot 100%, thus maximizing their opportunities while the Blazers missed seven free throws. But the more important disparity was beyond the arc.

Three teams in the NBA are worse than Portland at defending the three; Sacramento, Washington, and New Jersey. The only other teams defending at worse than 38% are Golden State and Miami. Of those, only Miami is above .500.

This is a dangerous Achilles heel in the regular season where a team can get hot over the course of a game as New York did in the third quarter, hitting treys on four consecutive possessions at one point. For the game they hit 14 threes, including five apiece during the third and fourth quarters.

If Portland does not learn how to defend the three and runs into a hot-shooting team in the playoffs, it will be a short playoff season for them. Fortunately, they have time to work on this. It will be much easier to work with when they have talents like Roy, Aldridge and Outlaw who can rescue them when an inferior team gets hot at the wrong time.

Blazers-Bobcats: LaMarcus Aldridge and Jerryd Bayless Help Portland Avenge Loss

Drew Barton — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:39:00 -0500

A couple weeks ago Portland shot 51 percent from the free throw line and gave up a game to Charlotte they should have won easily. Now Charlotte came into Portland fresh off a double-overtime win over the Lakers.

The Bobcats should be tired, the Blazers rested, and the Bobcats were missing key components in Gerald Wallace and D.J. Augustin. All signs point to an easy Blazer victory.

Early on it looked like it would be an easy win. Portland built a 32-18 lead after one quarter, largely behind LaMarcus Aldridge and Jerryd Bayless.

It started with Aldridge. He got out and ran, he scored from inside, and he scored from outside. Actually, scratch that...inside was the location where the first 22 Blazer points were scored. They established early on that the Bobcats simply could not stop Aldridge on the blocks, Brandon Roy was scoring on his nemesis Raja Bell, and Greg Oden was cleaning up every rebound in sight that Nicolas Batum did not get to.

The paint belonged to Portland and it was in no small part due to the hot start of Aldridge. Then, when Portland needed a second scorer, in came fireplug Jerryd Bayless.

Bayless had a particularly impressive stretch where he seemed to be in the middle of every big play on both ends of the floor. He scored, he dished for easy buckets, he tipped balls, he defended, and just generally controlled the game. During that section Portland beat a lead that went as high as 18 points at 36-18 that was never threatened.

A look at the numbers shows how easily Portland dominated an outgunned Bobcat team. Portland out shot the Bobcats 45% to 41%, made more free throws than Charlotte attempted, crushed the rebounding battle 45-26, and won the game 88-74.

It was such a convincing win that forgotten man Channing Frye made an appearance (to a nice ovation) and moments later Shavlik "the Human Victory Cigar" Randolph made it to the floor, too. Unfortunately, Frye ended up with a suck differential of -1 and Randolph ended up with a Mario but at least they made the floor. But they were also indicative of a problem; they were not the only Blazers who struggled to score.

Think about it for a second. After a 32 point first quarter the Blazers could only drop in 56 points in the next three quarters against a Bobcat team playing without two starters. That is not even 19 points per quarter.

There are a lot of reasons that could be given for the poor offensive showing. The game became extremely slow-paced; the Blazers shot just 73 times and the Bobcats were even more anemic, just jacking up 70 shots.

But the upshot is, Portland stopped imposing their will on the Bobcats and allowed that slow, methodical, dare I say plodding pace to gain dominance in the game.

They can get away with that against a tired, short-handed team. They can't get away with that against the better teams in the league.

They are entering a key stretch of the season. They have an opportunity in the next couple weeks while the Nuggets are entering a tough stretch that sees them play 16 of 20 games on the road. Portland needs to not just catch the Nuggets in the standings but actually pass them and put some distance between the two teams.

This is a Blazer team that is more than good enough to win a playoff series or two, particularly with the continued improvement being shown by Bayless and Oden. However, to do that they will need the benefit of the home floor. The best chance to do that is to win the Northwest Division.

They currently trail the Nuggets by a game and a half. Over the next couple of weeks they need to make a move, take over first place, and never look back.

That is easier said than done; Portland is home against the always-dangerous Jazz, then goes on the road to face the Hornets and Mavericks; after that, the schedule gets easier with a home game against the Knicks, a road game against the Warriors, and then home games against the Grizzlies, Hawks, and Clippers.

A 7-1 or 6-2 record over that stretch is not too much to ask and would go a long way towards establishing Portland as a real playoff threat.

However, if they are going to have that sort of success, they must learn to impose their will on the opponent. If they build a big lead against the Jazz, Hornets, Mavericks or Hawks and relax as they did against the Bobcats, they will not make their move and that will perhaps be disastrous.

Meanwhile, any double digit win is something to enjoy. Speaking of which...

Brandon Roy: Thief Extraordinaire Wrecks the Wizards

Drew Barton — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 04:14:00 -0500

Brandon Roy went nuts against the Washington Wizards, picking off a franchise record-tying 10 balls and scoring 22, while adding seven assists and five boards. He was all over the place all night, blocking shots (two), defending, passing, penetrating, scoring, and generally doing whatever he wanted.

Of course, it didn't hurt that he was playing a dis-interested team. The Wizards clearly did not want to be here on this night. It was easy to tell. Just three incidents will demonstrate that quite clearly.

Exhibit A) DeShawn Stevenson missed the game due to lower back pain. He then was a regular feature on the Blazer's Jumbo-tron dance screen as he shimmied to the music in each time-out...including the celebratory time-outs in the middle of big runs when the cheerleaders run out and shake their groove thang.

Yes, his shimmy was more interesting to the camera than the girls. Just sayin'.

Exhibit B) A Wizard knocked the ball out of bounds into the lap of a mildly attractive woman, spilling her drink on her. He ran to his bench to grab a towel and ran it over to her before the Rose Garden staff could get there.

Yes, he spent more effort on getting random fan a towel than he did on the game itself. Apparently he is unaware that the staff at the Garden is trained for these situations.

While his courtesy is appreciated on some level, his lack of focus on the game pretty much says all you need to know. but I will tell you more anyway...

Exhibit C) During a third quarter time-out, the Blazers gathered around their coaches to listen to strategy. The Wizards stood around watching Blaze the Trail-Cat bounce numerous attempts at a half-court over the head backwards heave towards the basket.

Think about that. They were more interested in watching the at-best mildly entertaining, uninspired antics of a pedestrian mascot than figuring out how to win a game.

This game was over early. The only thing keeping the Wizards in the game in the first half was the Blazers' horrific shooting. They checked in at 30 percent for the first half. It would be nice to say it was because of the ferocious defense the Wizards were playing. However, anyone who has seen them play this year would know I was lying.

Portland looked lethargic to start the game. They heaved up shot after shot that barely even grazed the rim. The normally reliable LaMarcus Aldridge was short on his money shot, the feathery mid-range jumper.

The should-be All-Star Brandon Roy missed several point-blank lay-ins. Rudy Fernandez would have struggled to hit the broadside of a barn even if he were inside it.

Several times the Blazers scored on their third shot of a possession when all three shots were in the paint and virtually uncontested. At one point, we had a debate over whether Greg Oden had blocked Roy's shot.

Fortunately, the Blazers were able to right the ship and dropped in 61 second half points including a dunk parade in which they had at least four dunks that were better than any of the dunks in their "five best dunks of the first half of the season" highlight reel.

Even against a poor team the game had its entertaining moments. Oddly, among the most entertaining was a missed shot. Some Blazer bounced a ball long off the back rim. Travis Outlaw elevated over everyone, extended one hand as far as he could and nearly made the put back. Even his missed shot had the crowd roaring to their feet.

Meanwhile, Greg Oden had another outstanding game. I don't mean his scoring or rebounding, though his 18 points and 14 rebounds were certainly nice.

No, the parts of Oden's game that mattered were his continued development. Defensively, he moved his feet. Several times he got caught on the perimeter. Using his returning quickness, his length, and returning agility he was able to cut off the path to the basket and force a pass without being whistled for a foul.

On the boards he was very, very active. He does not just occupy space, he is getting better and better at chasing down rebounds that are bouncing away from him. He is so big and getting so quick that he can be a real handful for anyone trying to keep him off the boards.

He is not active every night yet, but we are seeing those nights more and more often. True, on this night it was against Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila...but he was active. He has not always shown that energy against sub-par competition. It was very nice to see.

On the downside, an old glitch reared its ugly head with a vengeance. The Wizards dialed up 10 three-pointers. Even more telling, they did it in a mere 16 attempts. For those keeping score at home, that is 62.5 percent three-point shooting.

Portland is talented enough to get away with that against bad teams. When they play the Suns or Celtics, the Cavaliers or Jazz of the NBA, they will end up looking up at a lot of big numbers on the score board. Somehow, they simply have to find a way to defend the perimeter better.

Overall, it was an entertaining game that had the expected result; the Blazers coasted to victory.

I feel for the Wizards fans. Yes, they have lost several of their better players for significant portions of the season. However, they deserve better than they are getting. The Wizards show no heart, no interest in putting a quality product on the floor. They ignore Coach Ed Tapscott. They lack focus.

Yes, it is a long season when you are playing for the lottery long before the mid-point of the season. But that is no excuse. The fans deserve better. Here is hoping the Wizard fans start seeing some progress soon. If not, the 100-87 Portland win will look like a great game for the Wizards really soon.

LeBron James and Mo Williams torch the Blazers

Drew Barton — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:04:00 -0500

Portland started the game off well. They went in to LaMarcus Aldridge and he responded, scoring seemingly at will. But then something happened; they forgot he was having a really, really good night and elected to look for offense elsewhere.

Or, more accurately, they heaved up wild shots, gave the rebound to the Cavaliers and let them look for offense.

The formula the Blazers selected for the night seemed pretty clear; figure out who is scoring for you and make sure they don't get the ball. Meanwhile, double team LeBron James and let the other Cavaliers take open shots from wherever they want. If they should miss, don't bother getting the rebound, you will get the ball back soon enough.

That is not entirely fair; two Blazers tried to rebound. Joel Przybilla snagged 15 rebounds in 21 minutes and Greg Oden added 8 in 25 minutes. The other seven Blazers who played combined for a whopping 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, since they weren't going to rebound, defend the three point line (Cleveland went 11-19 from three point range), make free throws (under 60% until late in the third quarter), make lay-ins, or open jumpers, the Blazers looked for something truly epic to demonstrate how they were playing. The answer is 15-14.

15 would be the number of assists the Portland Trailblazers had for the night. 14 would be the number James had to go with his 34 points. With the Blazers double or triple teaming him at times, James took advantage of the rules and passed the ball to open team mates.

Portland, however, found that cheesy and elected to hold the ball, try to create their own shot, and not use their teammates as outlets. Why pass when you can toss up a brick yourself?

The results were predictable. Cleveland controlled almost the entire game. Portland kept it close, but any time they got to close the Cavaliers would go on a run of anywhere from five to 10 points and regain control.

There were some bright spots, as usual. Nicolas Batum continued his development as defensive stopper. True, James had 34 points but he shot just 14-30 and even many of those 14 makes were just pure, unadulterated talent.

Again and again Batum, Brandon Roy or Travis Outlaw would stick right with James, force him into a tough shot and watch the ball bottom out in the net. When great players make plays like that, sometimes there is nothing you can do. This is particularly true when they get help as James did from Mo Williams, who dropped in 33 points of his own.

Batum also looked for his shot a little more. This did open the offense a bit and gave the Blazers even more open looks. Unfortunately, they would not take advantage of those looks on this night. This was a night when Steve Blake and Martell Webster were sorely missed for their shot making abilities.

Another bright spot was Greg Oden. His statistics hardly overwhelm. He had just 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. But he was 3-4 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Additionally, his points came almost exclusively off offensive rebounds and put-backs with the exception of I believe one play the Blazers posted him up on. Otherwise, it was just Oden working to get the rebound and put it back in.

As an aside, I would be interested to see the officiating marks from this game. This appeared to be an exceptionally poorly officiated game. For example, at one point Mo Williams grabbed a rebound. Jerryd Bayless was a couple steps behind him, immobile. Williams stumbled a bit, fell backwards into Bayless...who still was not moving...and Bayless drew a foul.

This, meanwhile, was NOT considered a foul on Anderson Varejao.

Those are just a couple of examples. Cleveland plays a very, very aggressive brand of defense with a lot of clutching, grabbing, shoving, and bodying up on people.

The Blazers, on the other hand, often fear to touch the opponent. As a result, they get called for a lot of touch fouls.

As a result, the calls reflect these respective methods. Credit the Cavaliers for adjusting to the officiating while the Blazers got involved with the officials. I do not believe the calls changed the outcome; the Cavaliers were the better team on this night beginning to end. But there were a lot of calls that had some head-scratching going on. Well, head-scratching and crowd profanities...

Be that as it may, it was entertaining to watch a great player put on a very good performance. I wish it had been Roy, but since James comes to town just once a year until the Blazers meet the Cavaliers in the Finals next year, well done King James. You deserved this one. 104-98 was a sad score, though. Just two more Blazer points would have "earned"us a Chalupa.

Can Greg Oden Make Joe Freeman Shut Up?

Drew Barton — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:34:00 -0500

The Morning Oregonian, the local poor excuse for a newspaper, had an article by Joe Freeman on the Blazers progress at midseason, with the game against the Milwaukee Bucks being their 41st of the season.

They had four pictures spread across the front page, including Nicolas Batum as the surprise

and a picture of Greg Oden. That picture was labeled, "The Disappointment."

Harsh.

Uncalled for.

Inaccurate.

That was as far as I made it into the article because I consider it a cheap shot. Oden is still an NBA rookie and a basketball neophyte.

He is in his first year playing after microfracture surgery, a surgery that established All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire took over a year after returning to the floor to get right from.

And with all that, he is averaging eight points and seven rebounds in just 22 minutes a game. Those are some pretty nice numbers, but they don't tell the whole story. He has had a huge, game-changing impact on the Blazers.

Last year, they were a poor rebounding team. This year they win the battle of the boards by almost five rebounds per night. That change can be laid at the feet of Mr. Oden.

It is not just the boards he gets, it is the way he draws opponents and allows other Blazers to get rebounds that went to the opponents last year.

It would be easy to point to his 24-point, 15-rebound night against the Bucks and make hay with it, but that is just one game. He has had bigger impacts on games where he has scored less.

More importantly, he has also showed continual progress. He is getting better about putting the ball on the floor before taking his first steps, thus reducing the traveling calls against him.

He is showing some hook shots and has even shown some nifty up and under, finger-roll type moves. His offensive game is developing nicely.

Additionally, he is showing much improved lateral movement and quickness. There were moments against the Bucks where he was caught against wing players on defense. He did not make any steals, but he did a great job of controlling the space and forcing them to pass off.

His quickness is starting to really change the nature of the game for Portland, allowing them to stay closer to the opposing three-point threats, a real weakness early in the season.

But Freeman doesn't seem to see any of that. His low-blow against Oden would be enough reason to cancel my Oregonian subscription had I wasted money on one previously. I guess you can tell my low opinion of the rag and extrapolate how likely it is I would have a subscription to cancel...not very.

Meanwhile, this was about far more than just Oden having an outstanding, dominating game. He had help on the inside from LaMarcus Aldridge, who seemingly scored at will, including a 6-7 first half.

He had help on the wings from Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw. It was particularly gratifying to see Outlaw have another spectacular night. He is a game-changer when he is on.

Outlaw is one of the most maligned Blazers at a lot of team sites. Calls for him to be traded are matched or exceeded only by calls for Steve Blake and/or Sergio Rodriguez. The fans simply do not comprehend how valuable Outlaw is to the Blazers.

He is so talented athletically that he is one of the few guys outside of Brandon Roy who can create offense for himself off the dribble.

He can elevate so high that double teams are irrelevant as he simply rises above them. Rising is what he does best, such as rising to the occasion in the fourth quarter of close games when teams are able to put the clamps on Roy.

Against Milwaukee, he did not often need to. The Blazers completely controlled the boards, winning the battle by a total of 58-30. The extra possessions let them pound the ball inside to Oden and Aldridge, which created open looks for everyone else.

All night, the Bucks were simply overpowered, staying in the game due to 12 first-half Blazer turnovers and far superior free throw shooting.

Once Portland stopped turning the ball over, they took control of the game and most of the second half was spent with a double-digit lead, though the Bucks made a few runs to get within about eight points before Portland took control again.

Overall, a very entertaining game, but I always have something to complain about, so here goes.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a tremendous game. He shot 8-13 from the field (one of them an end-of-quarter halfcourt heave, so really he shot 66 percent on reasonable shots), and 6-6 from the line. He dialed up another nine rebounds. He played defense. '

He just didn't play for the final 9:16.

Part of that was because Oden was controlling the inside and his post-up game wasn't needed. Part was because the out-manned, foul-plagued Bucks were playing small-ball. But as a huge Aldridge fan, it was hard to watch.

Fortunately, the Blazers franchise provides diversions.

And wins, 102-85.

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge lead the Blazers to Victory over the Warriors

Drew Barton — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:00:00 -0500

It felt like the Blazers were reeling. Brandon Roy had missed four consecutive games with a mid-hamstring injury. The Blazers had scored hardly any points in the second half against the hated Lakers and gotten blown out. They lost at home to the Hornets.

Of course, somewhat overlooked by many fans was they also beat the Celtics and Pistons. Going 2-2 against those four teams would have been a huge week last season. This season it was disappointing. What a positive step!

With Roy returning and facing the hapless Golden State Warriors, all signs pointed to an easy Blazers win. But then something happened...the ball went in the air, Don Nelson's system went into action, and the ball wouldn't go in the hoop for the Blazers.

They jacked up a respectable 21 shots in the first quarter but only seven bottomed out. Additionally, they dialed up three turnovers and missed half their foul shots. The Warriors are noted for great offense and a complete indifference to defense, yet Portland had but 16 points after the first period. They needed someone to step up and put the ball in the bucket. Enter LaMarcus Aldridge.

He scored on the blocks. He scored with a midrange jumper. He scored on follow dunks. When Portland got the ball in his hands, good things happened.

Indeed, that has often been one of the flaws with the Blazers this year. Too often they forget about Aldridge, and the only points he gets are from offensive rebounds and broken plays. When they dedicate to pounding the ball in to Aldridge, good things happen.

First off, he draws the attention of his defender who cannot afford to leave Aldridge to help on double teams. Second, he commands double teams. When this happens, Aldridge has the court vision to rotate the ball to the open man. When this continues, it results in numerous open looks for the Blazer perimeter players.

Fortunately, with the return of Roy, Aldridge was going to get his looks. He got 18 shots and scored 26 points. This is not a coincidence. When it comes to Blazers you want to see putting up shots, the pecking order is pretty clear; Roy should have the most shots, Aldridge the second most.

Of course, they cannot carry the entire load themselves. Fortunately, the Blazers are developing some excellent secondary options. In the starting lineup, there is a surprising answer.

Early in the season Greg Oden possessions were terrifying things. They consisted of Oden getting the ball on the block and then traveling or running over his defender in an attempt to throw down a power dunk. It was all brute strength.

Lately, however, he has been working with Portland favorite Maurice Lucas and, much as Aldridge has done, has started to develop a post game. Oh, to be sure, it is not there yet. He is not a David Robinson by any means, but he shows flashes.

He has a jump hook as shown above. In his back downs, he now gets his defender moving left to right which opens up the baseline or key for moves that show a bit of finesse. He is also showing more and more quickness and agility.

When he is effective like that, it gives the Blazers a second solid post option which again opens the offense up and gets them points in the paint.

That is a huge step forward. Early in the season the Blazers fell in love with the three-pointer. The problems with that strategy were masked by them hitting a huge percentage, but lately, there have been nights where their shot was not falling but they kept launching from downtown.

On this night, against a Warriors team that encourages you to jack threes, they took just 17. That is largely because with Oden and Roy working the blocks and Roy penetrating, they get numerous opportunities in the paint.

Portland also has nice scoring options off the bench. Rudy Fernandez has been well-documented, but another player who deserves a great deal of credit is Blazer Sixth Man Travis Outlaw.

Outlaw is a gifted offensive player. He has the ability to create his own shot at will. When he gets into the lane and elevates, it takes someone with the unreal athleticism of a Dwayne Wade to even contest a shot.

With the excellent scoring options they now possess, Portland has the firepower to outgun a team like the Warriors and that is exactly what they did over the next three quarters. Following their embarrassing 16 point output, they dialed up 39 second quarter, 28 third quarter, and 30 fourth quarter points.

The Warriors pretty much only win when they score more efficiently than the opponent. They tried on this night, but simply could not stay with the waves of scorers Portland threw out there.

After trailing by as many as 12, Portland came back to lead by as many 14. The Warriors made a few runs, but every time they did a Blazer would step up; Aldridge with six consecutive points, Roy with five consecutive points...and ultimately, they ended up outscoring the Warriors on a night when defense was all too often "let him shoot so we can hurry down court" or trying for steals.

In the past, Portland might not have had enough offense. With Roy back and Aldridge getting the ball, that would not be the case this night and all that was left was the celebration. Now, if only we had someone to celebrate with...

Trail Blazers-Pistons: Travis Outlaw Returns to Fourth-Quarter Heroics

Drew Barton — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:26:00 -0500

The names are impressive. Brandon Roy. Rasheed Wallace. Richard "Rip" Hamilton.

And those are just the guys who did not play in this game. The guys who did play weren't half bad either.

Allen Iverson has had a Hall of Fame career and isn't done yet. LaMarcus Aldridge is doing damage down on the blocks to go with his silky smooth mid-range jumper. Rodney Stuckey has shown enough to make trading away Chauncey Billups seem like a good idea.

Tayshaun Prince and Travis Outlaw are outstanding role players who fill key functions on their respective teams. Greg Oden is showing some flashes of developing an offensive game to go along with his defensive presence.

With all that talent, it seemed like a pretty good game might break out.

Instead, we were treated to a slow-paced game that looked much worse in person than the shooting percentages of 50 and 48.5 would indicate. That had a lot to do with the Pistons getting off just 72 shots and the Blazers going six better (worse?) by hoisting just 66 shots.

It got worse. From the charity stripe, the Pistons managed just 56 percent, while Portland was marginally better but still embarrassing at 63 percent.

The third most entertaining portion of the game occurred outside the confines of the shot clock.

One possession late in the second quarter, Joel Pryzbilla attempted a lay-in and missed. He got the rebound and went up again—but missed. This is newsworthy, since he is shooting 75 percent from the field for the season. Fortunately, he was fouled on the second attempt.

He grabbed the ball as the players shuffled around and flipped it up...only to watch the ball rim out. So he did it again, and missed again. So he did it a third time after the whistle—and fifth time, counting the two attempts during actual play. When the ball went in, the Rose Garden erupted with cheers.

And then he missed the free throw. It caromed to Channing Frye, who promptly laid it in to "take the lid off the basket' before handing the ball to the official to allow Joel's second free throw.

This also drew a cheer.

These types of moments are spontaneous and highly entertaining.

Entertaining and memorable describes the second-most entertaining portion of the game. That would be the Jerryd Bayless show.

Prior to the season, Blazer fans were in love with Bayless. He can get into the paint seemingly at will, has the defensive tenacity of a bulldog, and a driving, forceful personality.

Then, however, the season started and he could not penetrate the guard rotation of Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Sergio Rodriguez, and Rudy Fernandez.

When Roy went out with injury, he started getting his chance. It has not been a smashing success. He has struggled offensively, including shooting 1-14 in his last three games.

In this game his line was little better. He dialed up six shots and hit just two.

But what a game he played en route to a career-high eight points. In a key second-half sequence, he was everywhere. He was stealing the ball on defense, passing to LaMarcus Aldridge for dunks on the fast break, and providing his signature moment of the year so far.

A steal defensively saw him leak out. A long pass was stolen by Iverson. Somehow Bayless stole it right back, and in one smooth move went up for a two-hand dunk that electrified the crowd.

During that section of the game, lasting about five or six minutes, he provided the spark that took Portland from a seemingly insurmountable deficit into the most slender of one point leads.

But the most entertaining portion of the game was the end.

When Portland went down by three at 83-80 with only 1:19 left in the game, it was crunch time. Normally this year, Portland in this situation puts the ball in the hands of Brandon Roy and wins.

They are pretty good at it: 9-1 in games decided by five points or less. However, with no Brandon Roy, Portland would need scoring from somewhere else.

Enter Travis Outlaw.

He was being defended by Tayshaun Prince, the Piston's do-it-all stud.

All night Prince tortured the Blazers on both ends of the floor. He had harassed everyone he defended into tough shots. This time, Outlaw managed a tough, rolling hook shot. Portland was within one.

But then came a crushing possession, as the Pistons ran the shot-clock down and got a contested three attempt from Prince. It missed, but Antonio McDyess grabbed the offensive rebound. There were only 46 seconds left.

The Pistons are a smart, disciplined team, and they did what good teams do. They ran the shot clock down and got a shot from their best offensive player—Iverson. Fortunately, it missed and Fernandez knocked the rebound out of McDyess' hands to gain possession.

After a time out, Portland looked back to last year when Outlaw was hitting so many key fourth-quarter buckets that Blazer fans fell in love with him. Once more he got the ball, foul line extended. He drove on Prince, spun into a double team, spun back, elevated, and over the outstretched hands of two defenders put the Blazers back up by one with just eight seconds left.

It was deafening in the Rose Garden for the entire ensuing Pistons time out. Yet there was nervousness, too. Roy, the best wing defender, was out. Batum, the second-best wing defender, was on the bench. Iverson, the Hall-of-Famer in waiting, had the ball and the last shot.

Aldridge came off his man at the last second and forced the shot to arch higher than Iverson wanted. Blake grabbed the carom and eluded the Piston's attempts to foul him long enough for the clock to run out on their improbable win.

How did they do it? Inside, inside, inside.

Aldridge was a beast on the blocks. When he set up on the right block, he punished everyone sent against him with sweeping hooks across the lane or spins top the baseline.

Greg Oden scored just four points, but they were authoritative.

And everyone else pounded it inside. Despite having success from long range, Portland did not fall in love with the three-pointer. They took just eight on the night, hitting a ridiculous six of them.

Despite going inside, they were badly outrebounded on the night, 40-28. I am still shocked they won this game. But I was also highly entertained.

Sometimes, the slow, plodding game works. Hard to watch, but the game goes in the W column just the same.

And no matter how ugly the game, wins always look good.

New Orleans Hornets overcome Cheap Shot Chandler's Ejection to Beat the Blazers

Drew Barton — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:53:00 -0500

Coming off their big win against Boston, the Blazers had every right to feel confident. Instead, the pre-game show, pre-game blogs and so forth were all talking about the danger of a let-down, calling this a trap game.

How does a game with a team that should be your rival for years to come become a "trap game"? Looking at the Hornets and Blazers, there are a lot of similarities. LaMarcus Aldridge and David West are both excellent power forwards. Aldridge has a slightly better back to the basket game but West is slightly better from mid range.

The differences on that end are pretty negligible. Defensively Aldridge is a little bit quicker but West is a better post defender. No team would be disappointed to have either player on their roster.

Both teams have defensive liabilities who can crank up threes at a high percentage. For the Hornets it is Peja Stojakovich and for Portland it is Steve Blake.

Both teams have potentially explosive 6th men who provide energy and scoring punch off the bench. For Portland it is Travis Outlaw and for New Orleans it is James Posey.

Both teams have offensively limited centers who score mostly on dunks and offensive rebounds but who provide solid defense and rebounding. For the Hornets that would be Tyson Chandler and for the Blazers it is two guys, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla.

Both teams have superstars who can score, create, and who make their team better. For the Hornets it is Chris Paul and for Portland it is Brandon Roy.

Both teams are young, talented, and on their way up. Based on last year the Hornets have the advantage and are not going anywhere. They are too good defensively and too good at creating their preferred pace to play at. They seem to have been built on the San Antonio model.

Looking at either the Spurs or Hornets roster, there are only maybe three players that scare you but somehow they crank out victory over victory over teams that appear, on paper, to have vastly superior talent.

The first quarter largely set the tone. After throwing a 13 point first quarter at the Celtics, the Blazers followed up with a 16 point first quarter against the Hornets. But the signs were there that this was going to be a difficult game indeed.

The Blazers were struggling to score. David West was bodying up on Aldridge and keeping him from getting to the spots he wanted, Oden was encountering the same thing in Chandler, Steve Blake seemed non-existent, Rudy Fernandez is uncomfortable in the starting line-up, and Nicolas Batum last shot sometime in pre-season, or so it seems. For whatever reason he has lost all confidence in his shot and when the ball comes to him, he looks to pass it as quickly as possible.

When you give top defensive teams like the Hornets the opportunity to play five-on-four defense, your results may vary. Sometimes they will be awful and other times they will be horrific.

Meanwhile, the Blazers defense was...well, to be polite, we will say porous. The entire first half seemed like one continuous loop of open Hornets launching three pointers. The amazing thing was they were missing so many.

It isn't often you can see a team shoot 47% from three point range for the game and still think they had an off night. They were that open. Only their poor three point shooting was keeping Portland in the game.

It is no accident the Blazers give up such high percentages of three point shots. It has to do with their defensive philosophy. They are willing to drift away from their man if he is on the side of the court away from the ball.

The problem is, they then do not close that gap when the ball rotates to the top or baseline. This presents the offenses with clear passing lanes and a quick-releasing shooter will have the ball in the air long before the Blazers can close out. As a result, they give up numerous open looks. NBA shooters with open looks have a habit of knocking those shots down.

Take the above picture. Batum is defending Stojakovich. It will take him too long to close out on Peja to prevent an easy open look which, in fact, is what happened on this play. Yet this is where every Portland defender plays his man. Clearly, this is how they are being coached. Just as clearly, it is not working.

Somehow Portland limped into half time in better shape than they did against Boston, trailing by just two at 45-43. This was their chance to overcome the "trap game" start to the game.

The start of the second half was bizarre. Typically, Coach McMillan goes with his starters for at least 6 minutes a half. Somewhere between the seven and four minute marks he replaces Batum with Travis Outlaw and then spaces his substitutions out about two minutes apiece. On this night, Joel Przybilla started the second half in front of Greg Oden.

With the injury history Oden carries with him, this had the Rose Garden crowd buzzing and nervous. There were several reasons it might have been the case, however.

On occasion, when a starter is having a particularly bad game, he has shown a willingness to replace that player for the first few minutes. Normally it is Batum who suffers this fate. On this night, however, it was Oden who was replaced. That would prove key to the events to follow.

With the game moving along at a pace best described as somewhere between methodical and glacial, it led to some interesting conversations in the stands. The conversation between Josh and myself had to do with who was the dirtiest player in the NBA.

I always come back to about three players and one of those is always Chandler. He elbows, grabs, pushes, and just generally takes a lot of away-from-the-play cheap shots. In this game, he would get caught.

After an Aldridge dunk at the end of a 30 second, three offensive rebound possession, the Hornets took the ball down court trailing 54-51, their biggest deficit since early in the first quarter.

Chandler was in the middle post area, away from the action when Przybilla extended a hand to put on his back as post defenders regularly do. Now, a little background on Przybilla.

He was listed as questionable for the game due to an avulsion to the scapula on his left hand. To protect it as much as possible, he was wearing a wide wrist band.

Chandler, ever the classy gentleman, saw his opportunity to severely injure Przybilla and took a massive, intent-to-injure hammer blow at it. What happened next is debatable.

One of us thought Przybilla responded with a shove, the other thought it was a swing. There was no question about Chandler's response; he took a massive roundhouse left hook at Przybilla''s head.

After an official review, the foul on Przybilla stood, Chandler received a Flagrant Two and an ejection.

I kind of thought Przybilla should have been ejected as well. From where I sat it looked like he threw a punch, albeit a soft one. Either way, Chandler had to go for that humongous swing. And the referees did spend quite a while looking at the monitor whereas I saw just one replay. Even ESPN pretty much glossed it over.

By the end of the third quarter, Portland had tied the game. Sadly, it was tied at 61. That is the downside of good defensive teams. The games tend to be a bit boring to watch for those who enjoy scoring.

This one was a slug fest. Portland spent a lot of time trying to pound the ball in to Aldridge or Oden. It was not a hugely successful strategy as Aldridge shot just 5-for-18 and Oden just 2-4.

That is right...on a night Portland more or less featured him on offense for most of the second half, Oden got off four shots. Four.

Meanwhile, the backup for Chandler, Hilton Armstrong, went off with six-for-six shooting. Armstrong was NOT the feature of the Hornets offense, by the way. Just in case you were curious.

The problem with the Aldridge possessions had a lot to do with position. He is far better on the left block. He can spin either way, but when he spins right it gives him a big, sweeping, virtually unstoppable right-hand hook.

Instead, he kept finding himself on the right block which limits him primarily to turn-around jumpers.

On this night, with Aldridge struggling, Oden invisible, Blake quiet, only Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw were scoring. It wasn't enough. For the second time in the game Portland dialed up a 16 point quarter. For the third time in the game they scored 18 or less.

Meanwhile, Chris Paul was showing why every other team in the NBA is jealous the Hornets have Chris Paul. CP3 was having a rough night for three quarters. The fourth quarter was all Paul.

He scored on drives. He scored on a trey. He dropped pretty passes to Armstrong for dunks. He dropped a gorgeous pass to Stojakovich for an open, crippling three. He had nine points and three assists for the quarter and they all mattered. He personally ripped out the Blazers heart, stomped on it, then wrapped it up in a ball, tossed it to Armstrong, and watched Armstrong dunk it uncontested.

Blazer fans are used to seeing that in the fourth quarter. Problem is, they are used to seeing it from Brandon Roy, the sharp-dressed guy sitting on the Blazer bench watching the team implode.

Portland simply needs Roy to have any consistency. He can create the shots the other Blazers sometimes cannot get. He can motivate the team, guide them past the rough stretches, and when they need a stop of a point guard, he is usually the guy Portland counts on.

There were some bright spots to be sure. Outlaw had his second consecutive strong game. Fernandez had one of his best games of the year. Bayless shows flashes of promise.

But overall, this game was about watching a superstar take over a game and having no answer. On this night, the Hornets were simply better. The onus is now on the Blazers to find a way to win in New Orleans, to show them that the Blazers can compete with them.

And next time, to keep an eye out for Chandler.

Trail Blazers-Celtics: Brandon Roy-less Portland Hangs Tough with Boston

Drew Barton — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:51:00 -0500

Going into the Boston Celtic game on the 30th of December, it looked very bad for Portland.

Even with super-stud Brandon Roy, they managed a franchise record low 78 points against the Celtics earlier this year.

In that game, they looked good until late in the second quarter at which point the Celtics showed why they are the defending World Champions with a 21-0 run that essentially decided the game.

During that run they were hapless to either score or stop the Celtics. Additionally, they looked intimidated. Certainly the Celtics are an intimidating team, and at times they have acted the bully, particularly Kevin Garnett.

So with the intimidation factor, the recent lack of success against the Celtics, and no Roy, it looked grim indeed for Portland.

They were faced with a tough choice—who to start in place of Roy? The three primary choices were rookie Rudy Fernandez, rookie Jerryd Bayless, or sixth man Travis Outlaw.

Bayless has barely played this year. All reports out of Blazer camp have him working very hard but being caught in a numbers crunch behind Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez, Roy and Fernandez. He is probably the best defender of the group but the worst at getting Portland into their offense.

Outlaw has looked very uncomfortable in a starting role and is far more valuable providing scoring punch off the bench. That left Fernandez. This would, of course, seriously alter the effectiveness of the second unit but it was ultimately the choice Coach McMillan made.

Early on it looked like a very poor choice. The Blazers could muster but 13 points in the first quarter. All of those came from just three players; Blake had five and LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden chipped in four apiece.

Only Rookie Nicolas Batum seemed to be keeping Portland within shouting distance as he vacuumed up every board in sight. His play both on the glass and defensively was enough that he played the first 10 minutes, one of the longest consecutive stretches he has played all season. Typically he is replaced by Outlaw at anywhere from the eight to the six minute mark.

But even with his stellar defense and rebounding, the Blazers already trailed by 10 after the first quarter, 23-13. From the stands the Blazers appeared intimidated and the Celtics seemed to be deep in their psyches.

The second quarter was the Blake and Outlaw show, however. Blake hit a couple treys and scored nine in the quarter and Outlaw came alive to add seven. Portland slowly began to claw back into it.

A lot of that had to do with someone who was not scoring a great deal. Greg Oden was everywhere. He was drawing enough double teams to end the first half with three assists and five rebounds. A lot of his points were coming at the line; he was drawing fouls and forcing double-teams.

This allowed open looks for the remaining Blazers and by half time they had pulled to within five at 45-40. The impressive thing is there were no big runs. They plain and simple were outplaying Boston in every facet of the game but one. They were shooting a better percentage from the field and three point range, they were controlling the boards, had more blocks and more steals.

In fact, the real difference was at the line. For the first half they shot a disappointing seven-for-12. Meanwhile the Celtics also took 12 free throws—but hit them all.

Those five extra points from the line were the difference in the game in the first half. Nor was Boston due to cool down for quite some time. They ended up hitting their first 21 consecutive free throw attempts.

Meanwhile, the Blazers were scoring as a team. Aldridge got going a bit early in the quarter, Oden had a couple buckets, Outlaw had a couple buckets, and so forth. Everyone (except Batum) who set foot on the floor for Portland was scoring.

Faced with that sort of balance, the Celtics defense began to falter. By the time Oden completed a three-point play to give Portland their first lead since the 6:04 mark of the first quarter, the Rose Garden was rocking and the Blazers looked not just the equal of the Celtics but actually even better.

Paul Pierce hit a pair of free throws to send the game to the fourth quarter tied at 64, but it was too late. The Celtic mystique was gone. No longer were the Blazers accepting their bullying; far from it.

In fact, going back to the 5:11 mark of the second quarter, the bullying was no longer having any effect. Again it was Oden at the center of it. He had been being ridden, shoved, and hammered by a stream of Celtics with no calls. So when he hammered Ray Allen, he put a bit extra into it and really got his money's worth.

When Allen flew into the crowd the referee gave Oden a technical. Sadly, he hit Allen little harder than Pierce was hitting Outlaw all night without even drawing a foul, but it had an effect.

After Allen hit those free throws to give the Celtics their largest lead of the night, Portland went on their biggest run of the game, 9-4. The point was, they were not taking the cheap shots and dirty tactics without giving some back any longer.

Now, in the fourth quarter, there was no chance they would cave in. Bayless hit a pair of free throws, Aldridge hit a jumper and then dunked. In fact, the fourth quarter was largely about Aldridge. Going into the fourth quarter he had just eight points.

For the last couple of years, Portland fans have grown used to watching Brandon Roy enter the fourth with eight or 10 points and finish with 20 or 22. He is the money man in the fourth. Last season Outlaw helped but he has gotten off to a slow start this season.

Against the Celtics, Aldridge became the man. He hit shot after shot, scored 12 points in the quarter, and finished with 20.

But it was Outlaw who put the exclamation point on the fourth. Pierce had hit seven of eight free throws to pull Boston within a deuce. Portland was struggling to get the ball to Aldridge and the ball ended up in Outlaw's hands in the left corner. Pierce closed out on him.

Whereas breathing on Pierce is a foul, he was allowed to body up on Outlaw, reach, push, clutch and grab. Somehow Outlaw got past him, exploded to the basket and threw down a thunderous dunk in the face of Kevin Garnett.

It was a seminal moment. Perhaps it signals the return of Outlaw. He scored "just" six points in the quarter, but they all came at key points. Furthermore, they were the type of points Portland needs from him.

Instead of hanging out in the corners settling for contested threes, he was driving to the hoop and drawing fouls or scoring on dunks. This aggressive Outlaw is the guy Portland had last year.

If he continues to play this way after Roy returns to the line-up, Portland will elevate its game yet again.

Already there are signs they are improving game by game. First, there is the improvement of Oden. He is more aware on defense and is picking up fewer fouls.

On offense, he is starting to show a few moves that are not just back-them-down-and-try-to-dunk. In this game, he started that move, switched it to a soft finger roll and scored. Just a small moment, but one we did not see earlier in the year.

That elevated their game. Roy becoming more aggressive elevated their game. Having outlaw return to the high level play he showed last year would move Portland further yet up the ladder.

After his dunk it was just free throws. With both Fernandez and Serigo Rodriguez hitting pairs, the Blazers held on for a 91-86 win.

It was a big win. It is the first time in years they have had winning records the first two months of the season. They finished the first two months exactly where I predicted they would be—19-13.

Some wags have pointed out this is only one game better than their pace from last season and claim the team has not improved. Those people need to do a little better research.

The Blazers played the toughest opening schedule any NBA team has faced since 1982-83. They had very few games against the Minnesota/Memphis/Oklahoma City type teams and have had plenty against the likes of the Suns, Hornets, Celtics, Magic, Nuggets (two apiece), Spurs, Pistons, Mavericks, Rockets, Lakers and so forth. And they are winning against all of those but the Lakers and Mavericks.

Furthermore, they came through a schedule where after 18 games they had averaged a game every 41 hours, where they had a five game road trip, were home for the second game of a back to back to close that out, then went on the road for three more.

Last year, their record relied on a 13-game winning streak. Take away that streak and they were three and thirteen. This year they have been much more consistent and won in a lot of different ways.

The early January schedule is tough as they have home games against the Hornets and Pistons sandwiched around another trip to the Forum to face the Lakers. After a soft home game against the Warriors, they then head back East for another five-game road trip.

The momentum and confidence gained from beating Boston without Roy should be the shot in the arm they need to keep improving their record. It won't be long before the NBA has to take notice. The Blazers are back, and they are coming hard.

They are no longer a team that can be intimidated. They are not a team who fears any other team. Night in and night out they know they have a better than average chance to win the game.

It is extremely possible that at the end of the year when they are sporting a nice 53-29 record (or better) they will point back to a handful of moments that defined the season—Roy's five-point 1.9 seconds against Houston, the Phoenix win, and two moments from the Celtics game.

Oden's foul on Allen let the Celtics (and the NBA) know it was time to stop pushing the Blazers around, and Outlaw's dunk on Garnett and Pierce did the same. This was truly a memorable game.

Roy-V-P! Brandon Roy carries the Blazers past the Raptors

Drew Barton — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:47:00 -0500

Early in the Raptor-Blazer game, it was all about the big men. The Blazers, as they often do, went to LaMarcus Aldridge. In a statement that will be summarily dismissed by Raptor fans, I will argue Aldridge has a similar skill set to Chris Bosh, though of course Bosh is the better rebounder. Bosh scores more, but that has more to do with how many opportunities he gets than a massive disparity in ability.

For example, on this night Bosh got 17 attempts from the field and a further 11 trips to the free throw line as opposed to 13 field goals and eight free throw attempts for Aldridge. This is true on a consistent basis. The Blazers have so many valid scoring options that Aldridge does not get enough attempts. And on this night, he would not even be the best inside option for the Blazers. That honor belonged to oft-maligned rookie Greg Oden.

Jermaine O'Neal and Oden were going at it tooth and nail while the referees kept their whistles in their pockets. It resulted in some pretty spectacular plays. First O'Neal got Oden with a spectacular block that demonstrated many of the issues Oden has had this season. He first tried to simply overpower O'Neal. When that did not work, he put up a surprisingly soft jumper. O'Neal held his ground and delivered the excellent one-on-one shot block.

Normally, that would have settled the possession as Oden tends to get out of position when taking shots, and this is particularly true when his defender blocks his shot. On this night, however, Oden would not be denied. He demonstrated an aggressive streak and position awareness that has sometimes been lacking, got the ball back and demonstrated a little more authority as he then dunked on O'Neal.

With Aldridge and Oden scoring inside, that left Portland wings wide open for shot after shot. Unfortunately, as the game progressed, those shots clanged off the rim with regularity. Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez bombed away for trey attempt after trey attempt, most of them wide open. Unfortunately for Portland, those bombs were exactly that. They exploded left and right, threatening to shatter the backboard, rim, or floor, whatever they hit first.

Meanwhile, Toronto found a few holes in the Blazers' defense, mostly outside the three-point line. At one point Blazer fans started a "Defense! Defense!" chant. Judging by the 80 percent the Raptors were shooting from beyond the arc, perhaps they should have been chanting "Three-fense! Three-fense!"

By halftime, the Raptors' three-point percentage had descended to a more believable 75 percent. Only a 3/4 quart off-balance desperation trey by Outlaw kept the Blazer deficit in single digits. Fortunately, as Blazer fans can attest, there are still elements of the game that can be enjoyed even when a team they should defeat handily is kicking their tail up one side of the court and down the other.

We could also enjoy the start of the second half as a 10-3 run pulled the Blazers within two early in the third and a late 8-0 run put the Blazers up by four. The Raptors were reeling and ended the third quarter trailing by a deuce.

It is now time for a digression. I read a fair amount of NBA-related material and over and over see "MVP Candidate" lists. Those lists contain the usual and deserving suspects—LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Chris Paul. It is hard to argue against any of those choices. I am also seeing a few people talking about Chauncey Billups and Tim Duncan.

Blazer fans can attest, however, that there are very few players who do for teams what Brandon Roy does for the Blazers. This man is amazing. Every night he provides three or four spectacular, mind-blowing, acrobatic drives that somehow produce awkward, off-balance shots you know are going in.

More importantly, he provides whatever the team needs. If his running mates are scoring well, he dishes out assist after assist. If Portland is struggling on the boards, he suddenly starts coming out of big-man pile-ups with the ball. If they need wing defense, he takes on the tough assignment.

On this night, Portland needed scoring. They were sitting on only 69 points after three quarters. Chris Bosh was scoring seemingly every time he touched the ball. So Roy did what Roy does—he turned in an MVP-caliber performance.

He scored nine of 11 Portland points in one stretch and then, when the offense faltered again, scored another nine straight. After scoring only 14 points over three quarters, he poured in 18 in the fourth.

He made it clear to all his teammates, to all the Rose Garden fans, and definitely to the Raptors the game was going to end in favor of Portland. He simply would not be denied.

He hit jumpshots. He hit free throws, he drove to the rack and dropped in teardrops and lay-ins, he hit a pull-up three with a hand in his face. If Mike Tyson in his prime had been there, Roy might have hit him, too. He simply could not be stopped.

It was so impressive my brother and I actually started a "Roy-V-P" chant. This was the first game this particular brother has seen since Arvydas Sabonis was rolling around the Rose Garden court. You did not have to know much about basketball to know you were seeing yet another amazing performance.

The thing about it is, Rose Garden attendees are spoiled. We have come to expect this from Roy and are surprised when we do not. Roy is just that good.

So are the Blazers. By the time the final horn sounded they were up 102-89, a comfortable 13-point win but the game was closer than that. The differences in the game were two-fold.

First, the Blazers shut down the Raptor three-point attack. By the final buzzer they only had a 36.8 percent score from outside the arc.

Second, the Blazers rode Brandon Roy. On offense, the ball was in his hands for three assists on top of his 18 points. On defense, he directed traffic, boxed out, and forced the ball away from where Toronto tried to get it.

In the end, Roy will probably get at best very marginal consideration for MVP. After all, NBA fans think there are nine guards in the Western Conference better than Roy. Intelligent fans, however, will know—Roy belongs in that conversation.

Next time the Blazers come to your town, show you know. Start the Roy-V-P chant. For all of us. And whatever you do, when he is on the floor with the ball, keep your eye on him. You are likely to see something you would regret having missed.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks Ruin the Blazers' Christmas

Drew Barton — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:31:00 -0500

When Dallas took an early time out, down 10-2, the Rose Garden was rocking and it looked like the Blazers might be on their way to another home rout of a pretty good team. After all, since their disastrous 2-7 start, the Mavericks have gone 14-4 to get back in the middle of the hunt for playoff home series.

Dirk Nowitzki is playing at close to an MVP level, Jason Terry has embraced the vital sixth man role, Josh Howard is playing at a high level, and the rest of the team is contributing in different ways on different nights. Nor can you discount the contributions of Jason Kidd, acquired in last season's disastrous trade that divested the Mavericks of young stud Devin Harris in favor of a declining troublemaker with a history of problems with coaches, teammates, and off-court behavior.

Ironically, Kidd was a favorite target for trade-mongers at the popular Blazer fan site Blazers Edge. Clearly, the individuals suggesting he was a good fit for Portland have not followed his history of domestic abuse accusations for starters and team chemistry destruction to continue.

Additionally, he is a noted poor shooter who opponents love to see take the big shot because they know the odds are with them.

This is not to say Kidd is not a good, even a great player. If he is not a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee there should be an ivestigation. His passing skills, ability to penetrate the lane seemingly at will, and undeniable record of regular season success should ensure that. He just isn't the type of player Blazer fans would be likely to embrace.

Indeed, he would be a regression towards players like Rod Strickland, Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudemire, Bonzi Wells, J.R. Rider, and so forth...guys who played at a high level in Portland but wore out their welcome with off-court shenanigans.

Note the "play at a high level" portion of that comment. This was another night where Kidd did that. Though he could not put the ball in the basket, he did a great job of finding the guy who could and getting him the ball.

Coming out of the time-out, Kidd made sure Nowitzki got to shoot and shoot he did, taking six of the next seven Mavericks shots. The only shot he did not take was a Josh Howard lay-up off a nice feed from Kidd.

So with Nowitzki scoring nine points between the 8;33 and 6:46 mark, the Blazers' possessions included turnovers on an offensive foul by Nicolas Batum, Nowitzki stealing the ball from Greg Oden, a Steve Blake turnover, and a pair of free throws by Brandon Roy.

Everyone in the building could feel the tide turning. Once more we saw the difference between a playoff-experienced team that can win in tough places and a team seeking to get there. Dallas identified their best scoring option(s) and got them the ball.

For the night Nowitzki took 18 shots, Jason Terry took 14, and Josh Howard 13 shots. That is pretty good. Those are the primary guys that should be volume shooters, and the 13 shots Jose Barea took made sense even though he only made four. Most of the Barea shots came during a stretch where Portland was playing a bizarre zone that repeatedly ended up with LaMarcus Aldridge isolated against Barea 24 feet from the rim and resulted in Barea drives that produced good scoring opportunities.

Portland would like their volume shooters to be Roy, Aldridge, and Rudy Fernandez. On this night Roy took 20 shots, Travis Outlaw 13, Fernandez eight, and Aldridge just three shots.

Let me repeat that last stat.

LaMarcus Smurfing Aldridge got three shots. Add the free throws and he had seven possessions to attempt to score. That was a rotten job by Portland of getting him the ball. His first post-up opportunity came in the third quarter. Once he got those chances, he took it to Dallas and got Nowitzi into foul trouble. He scored seemingly at will or got to the line. He was unstoppable. He just didn't get enough shots.

Meanwhile, Steve Blake racked up four turnovers. For those not good at math, Blake ended up with more turnovers than Aldridge took shots. That is not a good sign when the coaches rave about how Blake takes care of the ball.

His stat line ended up looking better than it should, too. He made some horrific passes that should have been picked off but Blazers outworked Mavericks to get the ball and maintain possession.

The sad thing is that even with all the flaws, even with allowing 48.8% shooting for the Mavericks, even with getting out rebounded by 10, Portland still should have won this game. During the third quarter they had the Mavericks on the ropes.

Nowitzki picked up a technical foul and his fourth personal at the 10:25 mark of the third. Coach Rick Carlisle picked up a technical. Josh Howard picked up a flagrant and followed it up with a second technical to get himself ejected. It was clear to everyone that the Mavericks were melting down.

Yet with all that, the score was only tied at 70.

The fourth quarter was pure ugliness. Showing no killer instinct at all, the Blazers could only muster 14 points. When you go in up just three, that is not going to win many games whether at home or on the road.

The Mavericks played better down the stretch and took the game away. Two turnovers and five missed shots by Roy ensured that outcome. But in a sense, this game was lost earlier.

For whatever reason, Portland struggled at the line all night, ending up shooting just 65% from the line. If they shot a reasonable percentage they would have had probably another four points which would have completely changed the character of the gaem.

This has been a recurring issue for the Blazers. When they miss free throws they tend to miss them in bunches. When they leave as many as 11 points on the floor they are going to struggle against the top NBA teams and this night was no exception.

Still, it was an entertaining, back and forth game that gave us a good look at one of the teams Portland is looking up at and trying to take their place. The day they do is not so far away, but on this Christmas, at least, it is not here yet.

Give credit where credit is due. Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry all showed up. The same cannot be said about LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, or the Blazers centers. The result was a 102-94 Mavericks win.

It therefore falls on the Blazers to simply say, "Next time, Gadget. We'll get you next time."

What the Blazers Need to Do in Preparation for Their First Playoffs

Drew Barton — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:17:00 -0500

The 18-11 First Place Northwest Division record of the young Trailblazer team has surprised most expert observers, particularly when you consider they had the toughest opening schedule of any team since the early 1980s, including being the first team in history to play their first five games against teams that won 50 or more games the previous season...three of those games on the road.

Blazer fans are delighted. Blazermania has been deemed to have returned, the Rose Garden is selling out every night with rabid, noisy fans, and we have already been treated to several blowouts.

Nor were all the blowouts against soft, weak teams. Portland crushed the Hornets, holding them to just 86 points while dialing up 101 of their own. Beating a quality team like the Hornets by 15 is something not seen around here since the middle part of the Jailblazer era and this time it is being done by great character guys.

They are also being done by a very focused team. Every Blazer knows the goal is not to get into the playoffs but actually win at least one series once there. This is a team with enough talent to do that, but after 29 games there are a few areas that have shown flaws in the Blazer game plan that can be exploited.

It starts on defense. Against the Suns, Blazer fans were screaming, "This just in...Matt Barnes can shoot!" as he rained down open trey after open trey. Against the Kings, Blazer fans were screaming, "This just in... John Salmons can shoot!" as he rained down open three after open three. Against the Nuggets, Blazer fans were screaming, "This just in...Linas Kleiza can shoot!" as he rained down open trey after open trey. Hmm. I think I am noticing a pattern here.

Portland has a bad habit of drifting too far into the lane to help out on post players. The result is they give up numerous wide open looks from downtown. Only five teams are worse at defending the three: Memphis, Minnesota, New Jersey, Golden State and Sacramento. If you are a Blazer fan, don't look at the combined record of those teams...it isn't pretty:New Jersey is .500 and none of the others has won more than nine games.

Last season Portland did an excellent job of staying in front of their man and forcing contested jumpers or treys that at least had a hand in the face. Against Phoenix they did this so seldom that they gave up 66.9% shooting from beyond the arc. If that happens in the playoffs it will be one and done.

Another key issue is free throw rebounding. Again and again the Blazers give up free extra possessions to the opposition as they fail to pull down the defensive board after free throws are missed. Inexcusably, this is often after noted poor free throw shooters such as Shaquille O'Neal hoist bricks. Portland has to figure out a way to protect the lane and get those rebounds.

Conversely, on offense the Blazers must find better spacing. Against the Nuggets, Portland often allowed four defenders to converge on Brandon Roy without creating passing lanes for him. They mostly stood static. In the picture above, they show what can happen with movement:Roy rotated the ball to Rudy Fernandez, forcing Linas Kleiza to rotate out on him. When he did so, Steve Blake floated to the corner for an open trey as no Nugget could pin down to the corner to contest it.

If they remember to create spacing with movement when opponents double or triple team Roy, particularly 30 feet from the basket as is becoming commonplace, they will continue to create open looks from deep or create driving lanes for their wings.

It then becomes vital that players like Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw, and Martell Webster (when he returns) move without the ball and then cut towards the basket for dunks until Roy is given space to operate. But it is not just Roy who can create offense.

Portland habitually starts the game by going to LaMarcus Aldridge on the low block two or three times. This is an excellent start to the game.

Once he has shown success, opponents are forced to double him. With rapid ball movement they can create open jumpers and sometimes dunks when small, quick Blazers flash to the post.

Unfortunately, the Blazers often forget Aldridge. He will provide four, six, eight, maybe 10 points of offense, and then not get another entry pass for two or three quarters. Portland needs to do a better job of identifying and exploiting areas of offense like this one that can create easy buckets. Aldridge should be getting at least 15 shots a game in a mix between post-ups and the nice mid-range jumper he possesses. That will require the Blazers to do a better job of staying with him rather than establishing him and then forgetting he can score.

There is at least one other area of concern that will become more and more important as teams are able to prepare exclusively for the Blazers. For some inexplicable reason, they struggle mightily with inbounding the ball.

One sequence late in the Nugget game illustrates the problem. Earlier in the game Nene picked off a soft inbound pass and broke away for a solo dunk. Late in the game, with every possession key, Portland took a time out. Rudy Fernandez was then forced to call a 20 second time-out as no Blazer got open. Coming off back-to-back timeouts, he then made an entry pass to Brandon Roy, but the pass was tipped, Roy picked up a loose ball foul, and the Nuggets were presented with 2 free throws as the Blazers could not even get the ball inbounds.

This is not an isolated incident. Portland has struggled all season with getting the ball inbounds in key situations. As the season extends and teams get better looks at what the Blazers are doing, this situation will only be exacerbated. If it continues to be an issue in the playoffs, close games will be won and lost on "small" things like this.

Portland simply has to find ways to free up players to receive the inbounds pass. They need to alter the back screens and angles they move to receive the ball or they will find themselves losing close games without even being able to get a shot off.

These things are all fixable. On defense, Portland has the length and agility to cover those open spaces without leaving their big men without help. Rebounding is a matter of timing and effort. Spacing on offense is a matter of awareness and coaching. Inbounding is something that training and creative plays can fix.

It remains for Coach Nate McMillan to address these issues. Make no mistake about it, McMillan is a superior coach who will find ways to get these issues addressed. It is a matter of time and coaching. The only question is if he has enough time to get the message across to his players this season before the playoffs.

Greg Oden is developing an offensive game thanks to Maurice Lucas

Drew Barton — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:05:00 -0500

Greg Oden has experienced a lot of negativity from the media. Apparently, anything short of coming out and throwing down six dunks a night, scoring 20 points, pulling down a dozen boards, and blocking three shots a night is a colossal failure.

Never mind that he is playing his first uninjured season in four years. Never mind that he is coming back from micro-fracture surgery. Never mind that he is still developing physically, still learning how to play night after night against players with nearly the same size he has.

If anything, Oden has been very impressive under those circumstances. It generally takes over a year after players return to the floor to regain their lateral movement, their quickness, and explosiveness. And Oden certainly has not shown those things too much.

Coming out of the draft, the line on Oden had him showing the lateral movement, the agility and quickness of a guard. What we have seen is a slow big man who tries to overpower everyone and everything.

His development was also hindered by an unexpected event that fell under the radar of all too many Blazers' fans. Take a look at LaMarcus Aldridge for what I am referring too.

Aldridge was criticized for having no post up game. However, some time spent with Maurice Lucas turned that around. Aldridge has shown continued development. He has a back-to-the-basket game that is now reliable, has recently started using a sweeping hook across the lane, and has gone from a power forward at his best shooting 18-foot jumpers to a guy who at times has shown moves reminiscent of the Dreamshake.

Unfortunately for Oden, Lucas developed pneumonia. For several weeks he was battling a serious illness. His return to the bench was rightfully greeted with a huge cheer...and it showed up on the floor shortly thereafter.

Even without the presence of Lucas, Oden was showing occasional flashes of the player he will eventually develop into. Against Sacramento there was the flash into the lane that surprised everyone with its quickness, he easily handled the pass on the move and dunked.

There was the moment against the Hornets when he came off his man across the lane and blocked a shot that had flown over the tips of Aldridge's fully extended arms...and Aldridge is 6'11" with long arms. That was a moment of such speed, agility, and skill that I watched it over a dozen times.

He has also shown a real talent for rebounding. He is pulling down almost eight boards a game in just under 23 minutes a game. He is blocking 1.63 blocks a game. In other words, he is already showing a big affect on the game from a standpoint of defense and controlling the boards.

Nor are all his rebounds of the "I am big, tall, and under the boards, rrrrraaaaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhhh" ball falls into his arms type. A lot of them are the long bounces off the rim that he is reading well and getting to before smaller, quicker players can.

At times he is showing the same sort of dominance that Joel Przybilla did late last season where any ball coming off the rim that lands in anyone else's hands is a minor upset.

After struggling to rebound all season last year, this year the Blazers are out-rebounding opponents by over five per game. Oden is making a huge, huge impact.

But since the return of Lucas, we have been seeing things that show Oden is going to develop into an offensive force as well. For now, he is doing just fine shooting over 53 percent but the truth is; the majority of his shots come as the result of guard penetration that pulls away his defender or else offensive rebounds. Working with Lucas is giving him a bit more to work with.

Early in the season, an Oden offensive possession was essentially catch the ball and go bull in a china shop, trying to bulldoze his defender and dunk. The few hooks or turnarounds he threw up were painful to watch and more likely to break the rim or bruise a fan in the second row than go in the hoop.

Lately, particularly since he has been working with Lucas, he is turning into a real offensive player. The Denver game showed four fine examples of his development.

Early in the game, he caught the ball on the low block. Instead of trying to run over his defender, he started the back-down, then went with a short turnaround. It gave him a clean look at the basket and he buried it.

Later, from the other side, he caught the ball and went with a quick move across the lane, throwing up a left hook from about six feet. Early in the season it would have dented the rim. Now it smoothly went through the net for another deuce. It was a gorgeous move.

Even more impressive, however, were two third quarter possessions where he did not attempt a shot. In the first one he drew a double team. With no hesitancy he found an open shooter for three.

The next possession, he again drew a double, and again found the open teammate, this time for a dunk.

Those two passes were smooth, quick, decisive, and led to open looks. They were a result of his developing offense where he actually is showing moves and demonstrating a touch around the basket.

His legion of critics will point out he is scoring "only" eight points a game. It is ridiculous criticism. Portland does not need him to score 15 a game this year. Brandon Roy is a man on a mission, scoring almost 23 a game. Aldridge is chipping in close to 17. Shots are needed for Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez, and even a few for Steve Blake to stretch the defense.

There simply are not 15 to 20 shots a game available for Oden right now. To put it bluntly, almost every play run for Oden has a lesser chance of being effective than a play run for any of the aforementioned players.

In the next year or two as his speed, explosiveness, and agility return, that will change. He will provide a nice addendum to Aldridge's post-up game as he continues to develop under the tutelage of Lucas. Already we are starting to see flashes of what will come.

The main thing Oden needs right now is time and patience. He needs to know we the fans are not as critical as the media. We just appreciate his talent and look forward to watching him develop.

The other night when the Blazers retired Terry Porter's jersey, they interviewed Porter and several questions were about the Championship seasons. Again and again, Porter responded with comments along the lines of, "What I really remember was the journey" or, "I really enjoyed the journey."

The same sentiment holds true with Oden. Don't demand things he is not ready to provide. Let him work with Lucas, learn the NBA game on a terrific team, and for yourself...just enjoy the journey.

Brandon Roy's 52 Leads Blazers in Victory Over Suns

Drew Barton — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:17:00 -0500

There is a simple process of determining what shots the Blazers should take. For example, this is a great shot attempt.

Any time he has an opportunity, Greg Oden should feel free to attempt that. It has a pretty good chance of going in.

Note a few things: his defender, Shaquille O'Neal, is outside the restricted circle having as much impact on the shot as the Ice Cream Vendor in the Alamo Dome. Which, for those keeping score at home, is in San Antonio, Texas, not Portland Oregon.

Second, the help defender A'mare Stoudemire is also spectating. Two other Phoenix defenders can easily see the power of Oden as they are just a few steps away.

In other words, this is a great shot attempt for Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, or any other Blazer to attempt; an uncontested dunk.

Here is their second best shot;

As you can tell, Brandon Roy is off balance, going up on the reverse side of the rim, throwing up an awkward, just been fouled shot that still finds a way to tickle the twine.

In truth, though, it doesn't really matter if he made the shot or not. The important thing, as any Blazer fan can tell you, is that any shot taken by Roy is, by definition, a better shot than any shot that is not an uncontested dunk that is attempted by any other Blazer.

Roy has been on fire for the last few games. First he went back to back to back games with more than 30 points, including a career high 38 point outburst. In the fourth game he was merely great, scoring "only" 29 points. Of course, had he not sat out the entire fourth quarter, he probably could have crested the 30 point mark fairly easily.

So on a night when the Phoenix Suns came to town, Roy got ready to kick it up a few degrees.

One of those big scoring games saw the normally reliable, 90 percent free throw shooter Steve Blake almost single-handedly give the game away as he missed four out of five free throw attempts inside the last minute, allowing the Clippers to tie a game Portland had completely in hand and then surprise the Blazers in double overtime.

On this night, it was Roy's chance to ice the game. Leading by three with just under 10 seconds left, he stepped to the line for a pair of free throws. He had every excuse to miss; he had played the entire second half, was all over the court defensively, was bringing the ball up the floor, and so forth. He was doing everything.

After the two recent shocking home losses, Portland fans were nervous. If Roy missed the first, everyone would have gotten that "here we go again" feeling, knowing Phoenix would somehow find a way to tie the game and then win in overtime.

The final box score tells you all you need to know. In the picture above, Roy had 50 points. For those who don't follow Portland, his jersey number is seven.

Roy does it all. On a night he poured in the second highest total in Blazers history, scoring more than even Geoff Petrie or Clyde "the Glide" Drexler ever did, he still managed to pick up six assists and five rebounds. Even more impressive, he turned the ball over exactly zero times. None. Nada. Zip.

There were some other fine performances. Travis Outlaw exploded for eight points in 2:23 to close the third quarter, completely changing the momentum of the game. With his drives, jumpers, and variety of scores he kept Phoenix from being able to double and triple team Roy.

LaMarcus Aldridge, facing his nemesis Stoudemire, scored 16 points on just 12 shots. Steve Blake added 22 points, providing a fourth scorer.

But this night, and this season, was all about Roy. He is the unquestioned leader of this team. Coach McMillan is on record as saying he goes to Roy when he needs to find out how the team is feeling. Roy provides that connection. He also identifies what needs to be done.

A couple days ago he was interviewed on the Jim Rome show. He made a point of saying the Blazers are a young talented team, but they need to become a young, TOUGH and talented team.

He discussed how that toughness is shown by playing hard-nosed defense night in and night out. He mentioned the length of guys like Oden, Aldridge, and Nicolas Batum and how they needed to keep their feet moving in order to keep their man in front of them.

On this night, when the Blazers gave up 56.9 percent shooting (and a ridiculous, must be a mis-print 66.7 percent from beyond the arc), when the game was on the line he made a point of getting in the face of his young charges. Lo and behold, a Blazer team that seemingly could not get back to back stops all night long suddenly went on a mission, outscoring the Suns 9-2 over the last 2:56.

If they can turn on the defense like that when the game is on the line even on a night where they give up 119 for the game, they will make a lot more noise than people currently think they will come playoff time.

And if Roy has to keep putting up 38 or 52 points to get a few votes for the All-Star game, that will be an embarrassment for NBA fans. What "knowledgeable" fan would vote Manu Ginobli and his less than double figures games played ahead of Roy as an All-Star?

Pathetic. Shame on you, fans. Get a clue, do the right thing, and put this guy among the top vote-getters.

I think Roy suffers a bit in that regard because he is too fundamental and not flashy enough. I think he had one dunk tonight, and that on a break-away. On the Blazers post-game show on 95.5 The Game, Coach McMillan referred to his game as a "quiet 52".

Sadly, I knew what he meant.

At one point, I nudged my wife and said, "He is one point away from his career high." The guy on the other side looked at the scoreboard, gasped, and said, "Feels like he only has about 20."

He had 37.

He just is so smooth, he scores within the offense, he doesn't force the action, he keeps his team-mates involved...holy smoke, I think I have a man-crush.

Just kidding.

But I do love his game. Every night he is worth the price of admission. On Tuesday, Portland retired Terry Porter's jersey. Tonight, they retired Brandon Roy's. If he keeps going like this, No. 7 will be in the rafters in about 10 years. It also will have an excellent shot at the Hall of Fame.

Whether he makes the Hall or not, he will provide Portland fans with some incredible memories in the meantime. Brandon Roy, former Rookie of the Year, last year's NBA All-Star, and this year's Most Improved. Think about it.

Terry Porter's Jersey Retirement: Miscellaneous Memories

Drew Barton — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:51:00 -0500

His career numbers never blew anyone away.

By the time he finished, Terry Porter's career average was only 12.2 points and a measly 5.6 assists per game.

Those are not even All-Star numbers—much less Hall of Fame numbers when taken at face value.

However, there was a six-year run in Portland when Porter was perhaps the second-most important Trail Blazer.

His second season, 1986-87, was a huge year. It wasn't just that he contributed 13 points and almost nine assists every contest—it was his presence.

The most points he ever averaged for a season was 18.2 and the most assists were 10.1. In an era dominated at the point guard position by Magic Johnson, Kevin Johnson, and John Stockton, those numbers often would not have gotten him into the All-Star game, though he was there twice in 1991, and again in 1993.

Without Porter, the Blazers would not have made the NBA Finals against either the Pistons or Bulls. He meant so much more to the team than mere statistics.

Porter seemed to always make the big play. Even on a team where Clyde Drexler was the star, Porter was often the player the Blazers looked to in crunch time. He provided us with so many great, great memories.

For example, there was the game, I believe against the Spurs, where everyone in the building knew Porter would shoot the trey, trying for the tie—but he instead cut to the basket, scored, and was fouled, tying a game as the Blazers went on to win.

There were so many plays like that, where he simply did the unexpected and it always worked out. He was not as flashy as Kevin Johnson, didn't have the Karl Malone for the pick-and-roll like John Stockton, and so forth. Yet he still meant every bit as much to the Blazers as those talented players did for their teams.

Portland fans will never forget the epic Suns-Blazers duel where it seemed like every game saw the Suns' Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, and Kevin Johnson go off for 20 or 30 points apiece, only to see the Blazers match with Porter, Drexler, and maybe Jerome Kersey one night, Cliff Robinson another.

That series was epic. If the entertainment value from that series could be bottled and sold, Budweiser would go out of business. They were teams that could score, loved to run, and matched up well together.

Likewise, the series with the Utah Jazz proved to be the same. So as Buck Williams and Karl Malone banged each other hard enough to leave the fans with bruises, Porter and Stockton put on clinics on how to play point guard.

Again and again, Porter found Kevin Duckworth on the pick-and-pop for that one-handed jumper Duckworth loved to shoot, or found Drexler driving to the bucket or, barring that, simply scored from wherever he felt like shooting.

Stockton was no slouch, either. With Williams and Malone all but canceling each other out, it was up to Stockton and Jeff Hornacek to provide scoring punch. Back and forth went the series until Portland pulled out an improbable Game six win in Utah, mostly behind the stellar play of Porter.

Who can forget his six-for-eigh three-point shooting in the first game? It was not as if Stockton did not know how to play defense—but it did set the tone.

In short, while his overall numbers may not be game-breaking, his impact was.

And of course his Blazer numbers are better: He is their all-time leader in assists and steals, and second in points and steals.

But it was also what he meant to the community as a whole that mattered. People outside the Portland area might not fully understand what that meant to Portland, but those who suffered through the Jailblazer era do.

Porter was not only a great player, he was a great guy. In 1992-93, he won the NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award due to his efforts in the community. For Blazer fans, that meant almost as much as, if not more, than his All-Star game honors.

Blazer fans don't just want to win, they want to win "the right way" which means with players who are not rolling around the streets getting high, running dog-fighting rings, and so forth. Porter was a guy who definitely played the game the right way, both on and off the court.

Porter's numbers suffered a little bit because of the talent that surrounded him. It wasn't just Drexler averaging in the high 20s. Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams, Cliff Robinson, and Kevin Duckworth were all capable of averaging close to 20 points per game. Porter found ways to make sure everyone got the ball, even at the cost of his own numbers.

Playing alongside a passer like Clyde Drexler also hurt his assist numbers. During Porter's prime, Drexler averaged as many as eight assists per game but never fewer than 5.8. When playing alongside that sort of passing talent, it makes it hard for a point guard to ring up huge numbers.

Clearly, when Porter has his jersey retired at the game tonight, it has a lot to do with his impact on the team far more than it does pure numbers.

Porter was a great player and a very good man. It is an honor to have been able to see him play basketball. Thanks for the memories, Terry Porter, and congratulations on seeing the No. 30 raised to the rafters. You are truly a deserving member.

Top 10 Things Heard on the Oklahoma Sooner Sideline on Their Win Over Missouri

Drew Barton — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:52:32 -0500

About 30 seconds into the Oklahoma-Missouri game, I noticed a pattern. So instead of watching the game, through the magic of Drew-a-Vision I started watching the Oklahoma Band leader and lip-reading. Here are the 10 comments I found most illuminating about the outcome of the game.

10) "We won the coin flip? Play Boomer Sooner."

9) "We got a first down? Play Boomer Sooner."

8) "We scored? Play Boomer Sooner."

7) "It's the end of the first quarter? Play Boomer Sooner."

6) "The referee blew his whistle? Play Boomer Sooner."

5) "How many times did USC play Fight On today? Oh, we are ahead by 12? That lead isn't big enough. Play Boomer Sooner."

4) "I don't hear Mizzou's band. Play Boomer Sooner."

3) "Hey, someone is buying a beer in the stands over there. Play Boomer Sooner."

2) "We are going to the National Title game. Play Boomer Sooner."

1) "Do my ears deceive me? Is our band playing Boomer Sooner? What a great idea! Play Boomer Sooner."