The Seattle Blazer: Tied For First

On the road all week, the Blazers have really started to shine.

For a long time now, I've been saying that with or without Greg Oden, Portland is most likely a playoff team this year.

Now that Oden is starting to get a little more comfortable at the pro-level (it shouldn't take him very long), I look for this team to play like they did last week all season. Road wins at Orlando, Miami, and Minnesota, and a close loss in New Orleans have the Blazers looking like contenders this year.

My favorite part of this squad is their ability to shoot from the perimeter.  Portland is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, which is second highest in the NBA.

Looking down the roster, almost every big man can shoot from downtown. Channing Frye can shoot threes, so can LaMarcus Aldridge. Pretty much the only two guys that don't shoot threes are Oden and Joel Przybilla. This made the Hornets game really interesting.

The Hornets shoot pretty well beyond the perimeter as well, shooting 39 percent from behind the arc, good for sixth highest percentage in the league. Down the stretch, James Posey hit a big one to ultimately put Portland away.

I love the fact that the Blazers really competed with the Hornets all game and with each passing day, the season opening blow-out loss to the Lakers is fading from my memory.

Oden had a double-double in the Hornets game with 11 points and 11 boards. That fired me up and it looks like the wait is finally over—Oden has arrived. 

In addition to Oden, Brandon Roy is really developing into a leader each day. Yeah, the Blazers are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, but Roy is playing like a five-year veteran.

He's averaging 21.3 points and 5.4 assists per game and he's not playing against the T-Wolves and the Thunder every night. These averages are from games against Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Orlando, and New Orleans.

I know it's really early in the year, but right now the Blazers are tied for first in the Northwest Division and I wouldn't count Brandon Roy out of the MVP conversation.

Maybe I'm saying this out of pure homer-ism or maybe the Blazers are legitimate contenders in the Northwest and maybe in the conference. Sitting at 6-4 with what I believe is the toughest schedule in the NBA, the Blazers should definitely be taken seriously.

Here's what I'm looking for in the upcoming week.

Oden to average a double-double against three mediocre teams in the Warriors, Kings, and Bulls, Rudy Fernandez to continue tearing it up as the sixth man, and the perimeter shooting to stay lights out.