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*** Official Portland Trailblazer's Team Thread ***


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Halftime thoughts:Great game to watch, no matter who you are rooting for. Lots of action and a fast pace.Reffing has been atrocious. Equally atrocious for both sides, but atrocious nonetheless.Aldridge's putback dunk in the first quarter was legendary.. So was Amare's block a minute later. Amare's rejection was so thorough and nasty, I couldn't even tell you the Blazer that put the shot up.. It was *that* wicked and all-encompassing.Aldridge put up a ton of points in the first quarter and quickly went into witness protection.. Seriously..I'm starting to sound like a broken record.If Phoenix continues to shoot eighty @$#@@# percent from 3 point range, they are going to be tough to beat.Oden stood tall against Shaq. Nice block, couple nice boards, another altered shot. Small issue: 3 fouls in about 5 minutes on the court. Thanks, Greg.. c ya in the 4th quarter. Ike Diogu is seeing meaningful minutes thanks to you.Steve Blake is answering the bell. If this was NBA Jam, he spent the whole second quarter en feugo.Phoenix still can't play D.. But they now have Jrich and Barnes and Barbosa on the outside.. And getting (gulp) open looks. Not good, not good at all.Pts in the paint are like 34-18 in Phoenix's favor. Memo to the Blazers: There are many ways to beat the Suns. A jump shooting dance-off is not on the list.Travis Outlaw made a brief appearance to jack up a wounded duck 3. Then Matt Barnes drained 3 threes in a row. Strangely, I didn't see Outlaw on the court afterwards.. Weird coincidence (cue spooky music).Amare's Tomahawk throwdown on Pryzbilla is going to be shown on his highlight reel when he gets inducted into the HOF in 15 years. Just Wow.Terry Porter looks younger now than he did his last couple years on the Blazers.

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Steve NashJason RichardsonGrant HillAmare StoudemireShaquille O'NealThat is the scariest starting 5 on paper in a long time.Edit: I just remembered the '04 Lakers. Not counting them.
And the only one of those 5 who ever played D was Hill and Shaq, and in both cases: it was 5 years ago.Side Note: Robin Lopez is my new favorite NBA player, and I'm not even sure he could play. I'd welcome any trade with PHX that would land Lopez. That hair is stunningly awesome.
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Halftime thoughts:Great game to watch, no matter who you are rooting for. Lots of action and a fast pace.Reffing has been atrocious. Equally atrocious for both sides, but atrocious nonetheless.Aldridge's putback dunk in the first quarter was legendary.. So was Amare's block a minute later. Amare's rejection was so thorough and nasty, I couldn't even tell you the Blazer that put the shot up.. It was *that* wicked and all-encompassing.Aldridge put up a ton of points in the first quarter and quickly went into witness protection.. Seriously..I'm starting to sound like a broken record.If Phoenix continues to shoot eighty @$#@@# percent from 3 point range, they are going to be tough to beat.Oden stood tall against Shaq. Nice block, couple nice boards, another altered shot. Small issue: 3 fouls in about 5 minutes on the court. Thanks, Greg.. c ya in the 4th quarter. Ike Diogu is seeing meaningful minutes thanks to you.Steve Blake is answering the bell. If this was NBA Jam, he spent the whole second quarter en feugo.Phoenix still can't play D.. But they now have Jrich and Barnes and Barbosa on the outside.. And getting (gulp) open looks. Not good, not good at all.Pts in the paint are like 34-18 in Phoenix's favor. Memo to the Blazers: There are many ways to beat the Suns. A jump shooting dance-off is not on the list.Travis Outlaw made a brief appearance to jack up a wounded duck 3. Then Matt Barnes drained 3 threes in a row. Strangely, I didn't see Outlaw on the court afterwards.. Weird coincidence (cue spooky music).Amare's Tomahawk throwdown on Pryzbilla is going to be shown on his highlight reel when he gets inducted into the HOF in 15 years. Just Wow.Terry Porter looks younger now than he did his last couple years on the Blazers.
Yes and Yes.If this is how Phx is going to play now, they're going to be pretty scary. And I think Terry Porter is an idiot. I'm willing to change my mind as it's only been 1/3 of a season, but right now I'm delighted that he's their coach.
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Two thoughts going into quarter four:1. ) I never really talk about him in this thread because it's just assumed he's the second-coming, but Brandon Roy is a sick, sick individual.2. ) As an NBA fan, I will selfishly root at the end of the season for any seeding arrangement that gives us a Portland-Phoenix playoff series.. Cuz I need to see 7 games of this. This is reminiscent of all those great Suns/Kings/Mavs/Sonics playoff shootouts.And yeah, doesnt it seem like ages since the Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis era in OKC Seattle?one more time:WHATAGAME!

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Two thoughts going into quarter four:1. ) I never really talk about him in this thread because it's just assumed he's the second-coming, but Brandon Roy is a sick, sick individual.2. ) As an NBA fan, I will selfishly root at the end of the season for any seeding arrangement that gives us a Portland-Phoenix playoff series.. Cuz I need to see 7 games of this. This is reminiscent of all those great Suns/Kings/Mavs/Sonics playoff shootouts.And yeah, doesnt it seem like ages since the Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis era in OKC Seattle?one more time:WHATAGAME!
Couldn't agree more.I was just talking about that Allen/Lewis era (I don't know if you can call it an era; maybe a stint) with someone the other day...nevermind, I don't have a point here, just that they were a fun team. That Suns/Sonics series that one year '05 I think, was fannntastic.
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Wow. What a statement game. Phoenix shot 57% from the field, 67% from 3, and 86% from the stripe... And we still beat them.. Massive game.Roy officially made a statement on how he feels about being 10th in the all-star voting.22 pts, 10 assists for Blake, who kept us in the game singlehandedly in the 2nd quarter.Travis Outlaw was solid. Yes, I said it. Got a bit too overconfident at times, but stepped up as the 2nd scoring option in the clutch when it mattered.. Kudos.Lamarcus Aldridge once again proved he is first team All-NBA in the first quarter. Since he pulled down the frantic in bound heave with 9 seconds left, I'll give him credit for being on the court in the second half.Seriously, Phoenix never missed from beyond the arc. They were knocking down open looks like it was a shootaround at the Y. They are dang scary.Just wow.. What a game.. Once again, this would make for a great playoff matchup.. Please let this happen.

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Great game. Kobe 4 Roy?
Couple years ago maybe..Our fanbase is insane though. They think Outlaw is the second coming of Jerome Kersey, so you can imagine what Roy means to the Portland community.They said it best on the telecast tonight: "Kobe...Wade...Ginobilli... Joe Johnson..Roy..." He's the next great shooting guard. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!Plus I honestly don't know how Roy would handle L.A. You wanna swap Odom for Outlaw, just lemme know tho :club: I'll toss in Webster for giggles.
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Couple years ago maybe..Our fanbase is insane though. They think Outlaw is the second coming of Jerome Kersey, so you can imagine what Roy means to the Portland community.They said it best on the telecast tonight: "Kobe...Wade...Ginobilli... Joe Johnson..Roy..." He's the next great shooting guard. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!Plus I honestly don't know how Roy would handle L.A. You wanna swap Odom for Outlaw, just lemme know tho :club: I'll toss in Webster for giggles.
I thought it was funny how they finally doubled him on the very last possession. Is 50 the magic number? We'll let you get 50, but after that no more.
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I love Fernandez. I root for a Parker for Fernandez and Rodriguez or Blake trade every day. Will never, ever happen, but I want it to. Plus Bayless gets no time and he's sick. This team just needs to bring it every night very fun to watch plus I actually like some of their players. Any chance they package some young guns for a star?

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I love Fernandez. I root for a Parker for Fernandez and Rodriguez or Blake trade every day. Will never, ever happen, but I want it to. Plus Bayless gets no time and he's sick. This team just needs to bring it every night very fun to watch plus I actually like some of their players. Any chance they package some young guns for a star?
I go to bed every night praying for that scenario to happen. Seriously. We got guys like Sergio, Bayless, and Frye literally sitting on the bench staring off into space. It's just not right.Even in the Suns game last night Aldridge lit it up in the first quarter, Blake took over the second, and Outlaw took some of the pressure off Roy in the second half. If any of that doesnt happen the Suns win the game (of course the Suns shot 57% from the field and 67% from deep). Regardless, Portland is a legit consistant 2nd option away from really, really great things.Granted you can make the argument with Bayless, Fernandez, Aldridge, Oden, and Outlaw that the Blazers are a year or two away from having their own home-grown 2nd option, but it suuuuuuuucks to wait. As for Parker, I'm sure Portland could easily offer a Sergio/Blake/Outlaw trifecta without blinking... But is that really something the Spurs would really want? Portland would simply have to dump a 2nd PG to make the minutes work.. So maybe something more along the Blake/Sergio/Rudy line? Seems like a lot to give up, especially since the Spurs can't give back anything legitimate from the swing position.Of course you guys do have on of my all-time favorite unheralded Blazers: Ime Udoka.Blake/Sergio/Rudy for TP/Udoka? Not sure I can send Rudy out.. But Jesus.. Tony Parker is legit... I wouldn't mind seeing it happen. Blake and Rudy are our best 3point shooters tho (Outlaw does NOT count)... I'd have some reservations about it drastically hanging our offensive dynamic. Roy would be under a lot more defensive pressure without Blake/Rudy around as spot-up bailouts.I think the main problem I'd have is I've trained myself to *really* hate Tony Parker, since I can't bring myself to dislike Duncan and Manu :club:.
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Yeah I hate TP too cuz he pounds the ball and Manu doesn't get it enough. Bring me Rudy! Wouldn't Martell fill the shooting void? He's inactive! And still young, right? I forgot about Channing too, jesus, Channing/Rudy/Sergio for Parker and any Spur besides Duncan, Manu, and Mason.This will complete my Spain/Arg fantasy!

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Yeah I hate TP too cuz he pounds the ball and Manu doesn't get it enough. Bring me Rudy! Wouldn't Martell fill the shooting void? He's inactive! And still young, right? I forgot about Channing too, jesus, Channing/Rudy/Sergio for Parker and any Spur besides Duncan, Manu, and Mason.This will complete my Spain/Arg fantasy!
LOL Portland has Bayless/Sergio/Blake.. If you are sending me someone who's going to play 36-40 a night at the point, you have to take back 2 point guards, period. You are drastically overvaluing Channing... Pritchard would let him go for a couple practice towels and a some movie passes. He's racking up DNPs. I don't even remember seeing him in any game outside of the first 4 minutes of the 2nd/4th quarter.. And even that is evaporating.Random fun fact of the night: Q: Who's 3rd in scoring in the Western Conference?A: Brandon Roy.Q: Who's currently 10th in voting for guards in the Western Conference? A: Brandon Roy.Fun Fact #2: If each vote for Roy accidentally counted for nine votes each, He'd still be behind Kobe. Lol.
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I'm doing my part to put Roy in the ASG :club:
The funny part is: he snuck on the roster last year anyways and had 18pts 9 rebounds and 8 assists. I'm not worried.. I never watch care/about all star games. It's not like baseball where it decides homefield advantage in the World Series. lol.Bill Simmons had forever been lobbying for a charity H.O.R.S.E. competition at the all star game. That would be friggin awesome. I'd tune in to watch Wade and Lebron play horse for sure.
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I also hope just to fulfill my dreams of how useless the All-star weekend is that Yi Jianlian somehow gets a spot in front of KG or LeBron and gets to start for the East. Ooh it would just be delicious. And yes at the HORSE game please

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Well, we went 1-1 in our home and home with Denver, and are still deadlocked with them for the division lead. Both games were rough, physical, and close to the final whistle. Suprised me how deep the Nuggets actually are. It was a gift (that we didnt capitalize on) for Melo to be out, but it just allowed JR Smith, Kleiza and Carter to step up and show how the Nuggets truly go 9 deep on the rotation. Nene and Kenyon Martin were spectacular, and went toe to toe with one of the best rebounding teams in the league (Portland). Dahntay Jones *hounded* Roy, albeit with the aid of a constant double-team.Key Points:1. ) Lamarcus Aldridge put in 4 solid quarters twice. That's the first time this season this has happened. Thank you, LA. You are starting to answer to the bell and be the man we need you to be.2. ) Steve Blake is really starting to get a nasty edge, and is firing up daggers that break droughts, beat the shotclock buzzer,and fire up the team. It's to the point that at the end of games, he's the guy I want shooting the rock when Roy is doubled.3. ) Travis still takes too many ill advised shots, but he exploits mismatches well and is absolutely *fearless* in clutch situations. Doesn't mean he drains everything, but he's got that shooter's mentality: he's not the type to fall to jitters and self-doubt. He wants the ball, and he wants to shoot it. He's a B- talent with an All-NBA heart. It's getting harder and harder to hate him.4. ) Fernandez is showing glimpses of getting back on track, which is good. With teams starting to hound Roy, someone needs to hit the open look. And that's what Rudy wants/needs to do.5. ) Joel Pryzbilla is putting up the numbers we want Oden to. Ironic, in a way. Portland got it's All-star center. Who knew we already had him?6. ) Greg Oden. Yikes. Look, I understand foul trouble is a big problem with rookie bigs, but he's getting push and slap fouls and off-the-ball silly whistles. He *NEEDS* to challenge shots coming his way, where a block/ shot-alteration can actually happen. Not stand around and swat at opponents who are already behind him and laying the ball in. Just being on the court alters the game for Portland. The only way we lose is for him to take himself out of the game. And he's done it consistently all season. Admit it, Poppy, Jada, Babs and Co. : You've seen about 30 minutes of Greg Oden, and thats if you watched all 4 of his televised games. It's beyond unacceptable. It's not even Greg I'm worried about anymore: If (knock on wood) Joel Pryzbilla goes down for *any* stretch of time this season, the Blazers could potentially be the odd-team out come playoff time. It's *that* serious. C'mon Greg.. We don't want 7 minutes a night of you A+ aggression game. We want 24 minutes a night of you B- aggression game. You score *way* too easily and pick up so many garbage buckets, it's a crushing blow to watch you pick up 2 fouls in 2 minutes in non-scoring situations in the defensive low post.7. ) Brandon Roy - Yeah, we all know how good he is. Now the whole league is scheming against him specfically. Kobe and Ginobili and Wade and Lebron... They score 25 a night, too.. But they do it through constant the double teams and hyper-aggressive defensive attention you are now facing. Time for you to perform with all eyes on you. I have the utmost faith.By the way - When the hell did Denver start playing defense? Is this new? I watched them get crushed by the Cavs the other night. It's like Punk'd swapped the Nuggets with the Spurs preflight Monday-night. Maybe losing Melo for a few is the best thing to happen to them in a while.At any rate, Go Blazers!

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Blazers!
Usually every year I pick another team to follow. Last year it was the Hornets, this year it's the Blazers. They're pretty fascinating on so many levels.You always wonder if a guy like Roy can make that leap when teams start focusing their defenses around him. You either have to be too good for it to matter, or really unselfish to naturally allow the game to open up for yourself. Fortunately for him he's got a good enough team where he can be who he is.What you said about Oden is kind of how I feel about Bynum, only not quite to that depressing of a degree.From what I saw Denver started the season with more attention to defense, but since they got Billups they've really kicked it up a notch, and everyone is more involved on offense so naturally they play harder on the other end.I've always loved their court/arena. I don't know if it's the camera angle or what, but it's very aesthetically pleasing to watch a game there.
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Usually every year I pick another team to follow. Last year it was the Hornets, this year it's the Blazers. They're pretty fascinating on so many levels.
Yeah, I was always a close follower of the Suns, too, for the exact same reason. I also like to cherry pick certain players and follow up on their boxscores over the course of the season.
You always wonder if a guy like Roy can make that leap when teams start focusing their defenses around him. You either have to be too good for it to matter, or really unselfish to naturally allow the game to open up for yourself. Fortunately for him he's got a good enough team where he can be who he is.
Roy is unselfish to a fault: the real problem is there is no Pippen to his Jordan. On some days Aldridge plays the role.. Some days Outlaw.. Some days Blake or Fernandez.. But it's never a given. To go back to the Kobe-Shaq era, Both guys had Glenn Rice. Rice would show up sometimes, and sometimes he really wouldn't. Now imagine the Lakers didn't have Shaq, and Glenn Rice was Kobe's first option. Yeah, that's where the Blazers are right now, on a very, very basic and real level.
What you said about Oden is kind of how I feel about Bynum, only not quite to that depressing of a degree.
Bynum is more like your guys's Zach Randolph. The Gem you found in the mid-late section of a draft and you ended up with a huge asset that you were not expecting. It's a pleasant surprise. Be glad for it. We loved Zach for a long time simply on the fact that he was 1000000x better than we should have gotten with that pick. Close your eyes.Picture Bynum.Picture this season.Now imagine you could instantly replace Bynum with Kevin Durant.Imagine your starting small forward is currently a rookie averaging 4.8 points a game.Open your eyes.Cry and gnash your teeth.That is 100% what the Oden fiasco truly is. You Laker folks are free-rolling with Bynum. You didn't sacrifice the world and endure a couple of 50-60 loss seasons with only Bynum to show for it. Portland did. It's that annoying to me.
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In fact, since I've touched on the topic of make-believe:Pritchard was pretty big on Durant. It's highly likely that he was under tremendous pressure to draft Oden in spite of his own feelings.Batum, averaging 4.8 points a game, is starting in place of our previous saviour, Martell Webster, who was drafting instead of Chris effing Paul because we already had our PG second-coming: Sebastian effing Telfair.So... Drafting Paul instead of Webster, since PGs/talent is far harder to acquire in the NBA than a swingman who score in college but not play D......In a nutshell, our starting 5 for this season could have easily beenPG- Chris PaulSG- Brandon RoySF- Kevin DurantPF- Lamarcus AldridgeC- Joel PryzbillaYowza.Pritchard was pretty big on Durant. It's highly likely that he was under tremendous pressure to draft Oden in spite of his own feelings. So meh..Here's the fun exercise no one really thinks about:Had the Blazers taken Durant instead of Oden, Seattle/OKC would have had Oden in street clothes watching Jeff Green get double teamed (Green had a rough season anyways, and he was getting all the open looks from defenses focusing on Durant).Wow.. That OKC team with Oden in place of Durant not only would have made those 9-73 Sixers look like a playoff team, we're easily talking about blowing the doors off of that record.. OKC might not have won 9 games in 2008 and 2009 COMBINED. The Blazer Organization should issue an apology to the city of Philadelphia, simply for ruining a solid chance to wipe them off the history books forever.

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PG- Chris PaulSG- Brandon RoySF- Kevin DurantPF- Lamarcus AldridgeC- Joel PryzbillaYowza.
Your forgetting that if they did draft Chris Paul, they never would have had a shot at the #1 pick the following year.
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Your forgetting that if they did draft Chris Paul, they never would have had a shot at the #1 pick the following year.
Bah, you are right. I was more focused on the absurdity of Oden taking Durant's place in OKC.. Wow would that be a disaster right now.Anyways...........Big 2 week stretch for Portland.. Next 4 are Boston, New Orleans, at LA Lakers, and Detroit..Yikes. At least 3 are home games.. But I think I'd almost have to gleefully dance naked in the streets if Portland splits this 4 game stretch 2-2. Rough part of the schedule for sure.
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Travis Outlaw's trade value has never been higher.On a side note, someone seriously forgot to tell the refs that the Blazers are the home team.

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