Trail Post - A Portland Trail Blazers Blog

I apologize for the delay, first of all. A lot of things were going on in the last week, so I couldn’t quite get to the site. What makes it worse is that the center position is somewhat of an anticlimactic ending to this whole series. The meat was in the point guard, small forward, and to a lesser degree, power forward pieces.

What We Have
The most hyped center of the 21st Century
The best backup center in the NBA

What We Don’t Have
An experienced injury free most hyped center of the 21st Century

What We Need
A little time to let all the ingredients settle

Let’s start with Joel Przybilla, mostly because his play was the only constant for the Blazers this season. He played through minor injuries all over the place and never missed a game. His defense, as usual, was strong, and his rebounding rate was the best in the NBA, pulling down an absurd 22.4% of all available rebounds. He was the red matter from Star Trek. Put him near alien planets, and he’s pulling that in too.

Greg Oden got a bum rap the entire season. His season was injury-marred, albeit not as much as last season, and he had trouble establishing any sort of rhythm. Luckily, the Blazers didn’t need tangible massive contributions from the center spot this season; they needed only strong rebounding and good defense. Greg Oden was a solid contributor in the regard. He was the best offensive rebounder in the NBA this season, pulling down 15.7% of all available rebound opportunities on the offensive glass. Sure he had freak random injuries to two new parts of his body. To me that’s a good sign. Maybe he’s getting it all out now when it doesn’t matter. Greg Oden is a reason for Portland fans to believe in karma. We get the bad out early, the good will come later.

Going Forward

We really have nothing to worry about. Przybilla has at least four good seasons left and even then, he’ll be a solid contributor for years and years after that in a Dikembe Mutombo mold. Greg Oden will get better. The fouls will go down, the scoring will go up, the defense will improve. I’m not too sure he could improve on the rebounding. Just give him a little time. Once he gets up to 82 games, we can start judging how good he is on this level. It’s easy to forget this, but it just takes a long time to develop a good big man. We can remember how awkward LaMarcus Aldridge was during his first season. It took until after the All-Star break this season (two and a half seasons!) for him to truly arrive as a good NBA a player. Have a little patience, and this position will be fine.

This position, which was somewhat of a question mark before the season, turned into one of the Blazers’ greatest strengths as the season went on and LaMarcus flipped a switch from asleep to berzerker rage. It was a beautiful thing.

What We Have
A potential All Star
A beloved local hero that can’t shoot
A guy with a rad lizard collection
A dude that appeared in an Asher Roth music video

What We Don’t Have
Uh, not very much rebounding and defense

What We Need
A bruiser: a man who can play solid defense and pick up a few rebounds

We’ll begin this with the bench warmers. In the most lateral trade in NBA history, the Blazers got Michael Ruffin for Ike Diogu. Both played the same sort of game, and by that, I mean they didn’t play at all. The only remarkable thing about Ruffin was the story about his lizard collection. Shavlik Randolph did close to nothing this season, but he made friends online from appearing on Blazers Edge to take questions from fans. Not really a serious contribution, but worth mentioning. Either way, you should probably hold off on buying your Ruffin jerseys, because these guys probably won’t be back.

Next up is Channing Frye, the guy every Portlander wishes was better for his sake, and for our sake. He’s taken to the city perfectly and is a fixture at breweries in the area and at art galleries. Unfortunately he just can’t play. Maybe he needs serious minutes to produce. Maybe he’s lost it altogether. No matter what, he’s no longer a fit here. He needs to go, not only for the Blazers’ good, but for his own good. Hopefully he can get on with a team where he can pick up minutes and become a solid 13 and 8 guy.

Finally, there’s LaMarcus Aldridge. Through the first half of the season, it seemed like he dozed through games, listlessly taking token swipes at rebounds on the defensive end. After the All-Star break, things changed. LaMarcus owned both ends of the court and led many of the blowouts that ensued. His status changed from “untouchable due to potential” to just “untouchable.” With a bit more improvement from LaMarcus and the team, we could be seeing two Blazers on the Western Conference All Stars next season.

Going Forward:
We’re in a great position because it looks like we have the starting power forward we need. No matter what happens with the backups, we’ll be better at this position next year exclusively because of LaMarcus. Granted, there is room for improvement. With heavy rebound hustle guys like Brandon Bass and (gulp) The Birdman up in free agency, there is definitely some talent to be had. This is one of the little signings that could really go a long way. There will be less worry about foul trouble, LaMarcus could get more rest, and we would be that much more dangerous in the playoffs. Here’s hoping we make a signing during this long, long offseason.

Meet the meat of the off-season discussions. From the way people talk about the position, it sounds like the Blazers are so drastically undermanned at the small forward, they would be better off starting a three-foot tall guy with three feet and lobster claws. Granted, there are advantages to playing a tripod, but the players we have now are surprisingly adequate for the job at hand.

What We Have
A player in his sixth year that still doesn’t know how to play NBA basketball
A starter in waiting that played only five minutes last year
A nominal starter with loads of potential

What We Don’t Have
An Actual Healthy Experienced Starting Small Forward

What We Need
Someone who can be healthy, score from the perimeter, create his own shot a little, and play defense

We’ll start with the person who played the least: Martell Webster. This season was supposed to be Martell Webster’s breakout performance. During that one exhibition game against the Kings he was flying everywhere and throwing down furious dunks. The last one, though, was a doozy. He went down with a foot injury that always seemed to be “two weeks away.” The only thing he got to break out during his breakout season was a collection of walking boots and gold-buttoned peacoats on the bench. Still, he will be back next year, mostly due to a massive contract extension he signed before the season. The Martell Webster we expected before this season may be enough to plug whatever gaps we have at the position. He’s a solid defender with a great body for the game. He has the prettiest shooting form on the team, and is a tireless worker on offense, moving around screens, and prone to offensive explosions. He can be our guy.

Next, we’ll go to our nominal starter Nicolas Batum. We expected nothing from Nicolas before the season, and he gave us a ton. He stole the starting job from Travis early on and kept it throughout the season. His offense was basically nonexistent, solely consisting of dunks off of drives and open three pointers. Nevertheless, it was his energy on the defensive end that kept him in games. His freakishly long arms caused deflections and easy fast breaks. Considering he’s only 20 years old, this is only the beginning of a great career.

Finally, we have the lightning rod, the rally amplifier, Travis Outlaw. We know what we’re getting with Travis, because it’s the same thing we’ve got for the last three seasons. He’s a little absent-minded, can jump out of the building, and doesn’t use his athleticism how he should. Also, he’s devastatingly charming. It’s seeming more and more that he’s a Shareef Abdur Raheem-type player, a guy who could only ever be useful on a bad team. He scores in bunches, but that’s about it. It’s getting more and more doubtful that we’ll see anything new out of Travis.

Going Forward

I’m an advocate for the “stay put” strategy. The internet is abuzz about the Blazers need to go out and get an experienced and strong small forward to solidify the team. I feel that we already have one with Martell Webster. We could have an ideal young 1-2 punch with Webster and Batum. The defense would hold up, and both are solid three-point shooters. Obviously, Travis Outlaw is the odd man out in the equation. He needs to go, for his own good, and the good of the team. He’ll be better on a team where he can shoulder the scoring load and become a star. Maybe we could trade him for draft picks. And to address the idea of the new small forward: is it really worth it? The weakness of this team at small forward is only a question of perception. Both Webster and Batum are starting quality small forwards, but they may need a year to get to that point. Is it worth it to retard their progress by bringing in some guy that demands 30-40 minutes per game like Ron Artest? Sure I could buy into a guy like Gerald Wallace in a trade including Outlaw and Webster or Batum, but otherwise, it seems foolhardy to keep both guys on the team and have them play behind someone who doesn’t fit into the long term picture like they do. To sum it up: we’re doing fine at the position, just give it a little time.

Here’s the easiest progress report of them all to write. The play of the Blazers at the shooting guard position was easily the greatest bright spot of the season. It was a relentless onslaught of crossovers, buzzer beaters, and alley oops. It wasn’t fair.

What We Have
An All-NBA Second Teamer
A starting-quality backup

What We Don’t Have
Uh…Michael Jordan in his prime?

What We Need
Absolutely nothing

Let’s see, I think this piece right here does all the talking that could possibly done about Brandon Roy. He does everything, and he’s earned the title of “The Man That Saved Portland Basketball” in all likelihood.

Yeah, and the dude on the left is our backup. Someone that flashy can’t be bad. (Thanks to Blog de Rudy for finding the picture.)

Going Forward

We have nothing to worry about this offseason regarding these two players. They’ll be great together and continue to improve next season. There is no need to make any change, unless some sort of major deal comes along that makes the Blazers favorites for the title. Only then would it be okay to trade Rudy. I mean, why trade Rudy this summer? He will be much more valuable next year, so we might as well hold on to him for that simple reason. Anyway, this is one position where the Blazers are overfull with incredibly capable talent.

It’s horrible to see something like this happen to so good a person. He was a childhood hero for many of us growing up in Portland and Trail Post wishes Brian and his family the best. Everyone who’s ever been a Grant fan should read Ric Bucher’s piece on ESPN.com.

As we said earlier:

Grant [when he was with the Blazers] was the man that every Portland parent wanted their son to be. He worked hard, he tried harder than everyone on the floor, and he cared about his family and the community.

For this whole week, Trail Post will be going over each position with a mildly fine-toothed comb. I mean, you’ll get some good analysis, but don’t expect too many revelations. This is Trail Post, not Hollinger.

Anyway, today the point guards are up.

What We Have

A mediocre point guard that is ideal for the system
A mediocre point guard whose career may be getting strangled by the system
A question mark that could be one of the team’s better playmakers
A Finnish guy that can’t make the leap

What We Don’t Have
Defense

What We Need
A starting-quality point guard that can play defense

Let’s start at the bottom. Petteri Koponen saw some run with the Blazers during the summer league. He looked like a slightly worse version of Sergio Rodriguez. Probably the best thing to come from his weak performance was that its relative horribleness allowed Nicolas Batum to come over despite his inept summer season.

Next up is Jerryd Bayless. His season reached its peak before the regular season even started. He won the summer league MVP, and it seemed like it was just a matter of time until he took over the starting point guard role. Never happened. Blake held on with an iron grip and coincidentally, every one of Jerryd’s shots only drew iron. Jerryd has all the physical tools to become the point guard we need. He has a great body for defense, incredible athleticism, and a great aptitude for driving. Too bad the most important characteristic for a PG in this system is outside shooting (with court vision being a close second). Luckily for Jerryd, these things can be learned and practiced. Luckily for us, Jerryd doesn’t do anything but practice.

Sergio Rodriguez won the second PG spot by what seemed like default. He fit into Nate’s system a lot more this year. He played better defense, his offense was more in control, and Rudy Fernandez showed up. Basically, he needs to give a lot of credit to Rudy for his role. Early on, he was the only one with any rapport with Rudy, and their chemistry made the second unit almost as exciting as the first. As the season went on, he started losing his spot in the rotation until eventually it disappeared in the postseason. Rumor has it that Sergio isn’t happy with his place on this team and thinks he would do better elsewhere. He’s right. His style of play will continue to be stifled by Nate McMillan if he stays in Portland.

Steve Blake is right for Portland. Still, he’s exceedingly mediocre. That’s not a trait you want in a starting point guard for your title contender. Blake’s greatest asset is that he doesn’t screw up that often. He doesn’t really turn the ball over, and he usually takes good shots at the right time. His defense is lacking. It’s hard to have an issue with Steve because he fits the Blazers so well. However, it’s obvious that he’s not our guy going forward. He’ll be an ideal bench player for the next five years, but this team will have trouble winning anything in the playoffs with him as a starter.

Going Forward

Portland is extremely deep in borderline point guards with Sergio, Blake, and Jerryd. Each would work as an above-average bench player. Unfortunately, title contenders need a starter. Out of these players Jerryd’s the only one that could improve enough to become the starting PG we need. There are a few players out there that could address our needs. Some good savvy veterans to be had include Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, and Andre Miller. All of these guys would be willing to let Brandon Roy continue to be the top dog. Kidd would be a perfect fit for the team as a mentor for Bayless, as well. Of course, there are also those incessant trade rumors for Kirk Hinrich. It’s understandable, too. We have Steve Blake, who’s a borderline starter. It makes sense to upgrade to Steve Blake+. It only depends on what we would give up for him. Basically, this position has a lot of questions and weaknesses, but they’re not nearly as serious as the fan base makes them sound. If we leave things the way they are, everything could work out: Bayless could improve, Blake could stay on the course he’s on, we get out of the first round. If we make a move for the right player, we could be a title contender.

I hate to do it, honestly.

You know what I would wish for if I encountered a genie, be it in a lamp or a boombox? I’d wish for more than three wishes, but after that, I would probably wish there would be some sort of interesting Blazer-related news happening year round. When the season ends, it’s not sadness that Blazer Nation feels, even if the Blazers lose in a tragic fashion. No, it’s boredom. That feeling of “what’s next?” Sure there’s a draft coming up, but there’s only so much anticipation to build up for seven second round picks. Potential free agent and trade talk gets worn out after about two days. (You like Ron Artest? Me too. There’s the extent of what’s interesting about free agent theorizing.) None of these can truly fill in the gap left by the abrupt end to the Blazers 08-09 campaign. Sometimes, you have to searching elsewhere.

What about the Mariners? Baseball was my childhood pastime and the Mariners were my favorite sports team throughout the ’90s, handily defeating the Blazers. What kid could resist the one-two-three punch of Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez? Let’s not even talk about the age-defying Edgar Martinez. Dave Niehaus’ call for when Edgar hit the double to beat the Yankees will forever be ingrained in me. Perhaps the Mariners can once again fill that gap as they once did so long ago? The simple answer: not so much. Sure, Griffey is back, but not too much else is. They’ve made lots of strides from last year’s second-worst-in-the-league performance (they couldn’t even be the best at being the worst), and they seem to have a good team put together, but they just can’t make the leap, losing in hilariously inept ways constantly. They’re good for a few visits, but I can’t devote myself at the moment to a team that’s so full of anguish.

Maybe we can move down I-5 and support our minor league baseball team, the Beavers? I mean, they could be fun. A bunch of scrappy kids looking for their shot at the big time? Of course, I write scrappy kids because I don’t know any of their names and probably couldn’t identify them in a police lineup. At least the Triple A All Star Game is here this year, that’s something, right? Right?

Okay, that’s not working for me either.

Last night, though, I found something that Blazer fans can truly believe in during the offseason. The sport? Soccer. The team? The Portland Timbers. I’m sure there are some of you out there who are on board with this already, throwing up gang signs in section 107. The Timbers are easily the best show in Portland during the summer. The matches are intense, the players skilled, and the fans are the best in the city.

The Timber Army is almost as good of a show as the one on the field. Outfitted in what seems like a hundred different scarf designs, with a pitcher of beer in each stomach, the Timbers fans are the best in Portland. They’re everything the Rose Garden should be. They know and love their team and they will never shut up. Even though the chants are difficult to make out and low and guttural, like a record that has been slowed down to 45 RPM, the army sings them with fervor anyway. They also house the best mascot in the city, in the form of Timber Joey, the replacement lumberjack for Timber Jim. From afar, PGE Park during a Timbers match must sound like a macabre horror movie, with the sounds of Timber Joey’s chainsaw immediately replaced with the wails and shrieks of the crowd.

Best of all, the product on the field can give you the rush Blazer games do too. Just last night, the Timbers had one of the most exciting wins I’ve ever witnessed. We (yes, I’m using “we”) were up 1-0 in the second half, and then the Rochester Rhinos were assessed with a red card on one of their players. (To the non-soccer literate, that means the player gets kicked from the game and the team has to play with only 10 players the rest of the game.) The game should have been over at this point. Instead, the Rhinos score a tying goal in the 66th minute. The Timbers scramble and put up shot after shot without a goal (their shot lead was 25-10). When the game hit the 90th minute with only two minutes of stoppage time, things looked pretty dire. The Timbers mounted a strong attack and got three shots on goal without any getting through, and then ball was cleared by the Rhinos. Game over, right? No! On the Timbers last gasp, a floppy-haired defender Stephen Keel was fouled in the penalty box. With that, the Timbers were assessed a penalty kick. In the time leading up to it, the Rhinos’ keeper played to the Timbers Army, raising his arms up and blowing them kisses. Maybe he should have focused on the game. Ryan Pore juked to his right, made the keeper dive, and tapped the ball in on the left side for the win. Cheers, chants, explosions, and chainsaws ensue.

Blazers, as great as you are during the season, you can’t quite provide everything I need during the summer. For that reason, I’m happy to take on a sports mistress. Thanks for the good times Timbers.

In a recent piece in the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, the author of sociology hits (if that is possible) The Tipping Point and Outliers, took on the question of how David beats Goliath in so many fields, be it sports, war, or religion, and how it happens so relatively often. He brings up crazy statistics about how a group that is overpowered by more than ten times still can win a third of the time. To start his piece, though, he begins with a story about basketball.

In this story, a girls youth basketball team that consists of the daughters of software developers from Silicon Valley with relatively little athletic ability make it all the way to the state championships. They’re physically outmatched every time they play, but they win nonetheless. The way they win? A relentless full-court press. They set up the press for every inbound with the girl throwing it in being unguarded, so that defender can play a rover position, taking any ball that gets thrown in the air. With this strategy, the girls were running up the score on teams that were much “better” than them, as they plucked the ball away early and made easy lay-ins.

From here Gladwell extrapolates this into several other fields, including higher levels of basketball. He talks about Lawrence of Arabia and how he steered his Bedouins four hundred miles out of the way to attack Aqaba from the desert instead of from the sea as expected, or how they took out the supply chain of the Ottomans in Medina instead of attacking Medina. He mentions how David beats Goliath by playing by his own rules; instead of using a sword he uses a sling, a weapon he’s much more proficient with.

However, I’m more interested in the basketball examples. The two big ones come from the college ranks with Digger Phelps’ Fordham team beating the Dr. J-led UMass team back in the ‘70-’71 season and the success of Rick Pitino’s pressing teams. With most of these squads, the lack of strength is compensated by the press. Under Pitino, many programs that had no chance at winning anything became contenders within two years.

Let’s extrapolate it one step further now. This strategy has produced winners at the lowest levels of the game. As has been evidenced many times before, it’s the amateur levels where the newest and boldest strategies are invented, whether it’s the relentless presses in basketball or no-punt offenses in high school football that resemble the spread in college football. Once these strategies try to make the leap to the big stage, things change a bit.

The first key to a successful press is will. To press you need to want it. You need to have a zealot-like faith in its ability to work. This can either come from oneself or from a messianic basketball figure which inspires devotion to the system. The great college coaches have this mastered. They’re the alphas and omegas of their systems, smiting any player that tries to talk back. In the professional game, things are different. Coaches aren’t Jesuses or even Francises of Assisi; they’re Sunday school teachers. They goad their players in the right direction and try to help them, but ultimately their power is limited. The players who have been conditioned their entire lives to play basketball one way will butt heads, and for the most part, win any argument about pressing. A multi-millionaire professional athlete’s will is much harder to inspire than a 12-year-old girl’s.

Legs are another issue. The press requires constant movement, meaning it’s important to have either a deep bench or superhuman marathoners that can run without fatigue. In the lower levels, this isn’t nearly as much of an issue because games just aren’t as frequent. At the longest, a college season lasts around 30 games. An NBA team can play almost a hundred games including a long playoffs. They have to deal with back to backs and long road trips. No matter what kind of will a coach or player can inspire, the legs will not let a press happen night in and night out in the NBA.

A possible exception: if a team is constructed exclusively from players with strong endurance from 1 through 12, all with a similar level of skill, this could work. Then again, this brings up the issue of will. What professional athlete would sublimate themselves and their statistics and livelihood for the good of the team? You can think of a few? Well, think of 12 and see if they could be put on the same team. A little harder.

Finally, there’s the simple issue of dimensions and skill. Middle school girls and even college players take up less space than NBA players. They can’t range quite as quickly, and they aren’t as tall (deep insight, I know). It’s much easier to defend someone who can’t move very quickly, even if you can’t move quickly yourself. It’s someone’s ability to change directions which makes them difficult to defend off the ball, and most amateur players aren’t that strong in that department. Most NBA players are extremely agile. Also, a press works in lower levels because most of the players aren’t familiar with it. They panic and throw the ball away. In the NBA, this is different. Almost every player has seen some version of the press (except Travis Outlaw, which has resulted in hilariously inept turnovers in past seasons) and they know how to beat it through short passes or bombs to an athletic center for an easy fast break.

Even as I’ve been trying to shoot down the idea of the press in the NBA throughout this, I would like to say something, it could work in the NBA, and it could work with the Blazers. The Blazers are one of a couple of teams in the league that could theoretically run this (others include young lineups such as the Thunder or Grizzlies). This strategy could never work game in and game out throughout an NBA season, but it could work every couple of games, the equivalent of having a knuckleballer in a baseball rotation to confuse an opposing offense. It’s a beautiful compromise. Teams would have to prepare for both, which would lead to wasted practice and preparation time, and the Blazers would be in the driver’s seat for every game before it even started. The personnel they have is well-known for putting the interest of the team first, and rangy chaos guys like Bayless, Batum, and Fernandez are built for a system like this.

The best example I can think of at the moment is that Rockets playoffs series. Their advantage was a roster of bruisers that could overpower our guys. Ours was quickness. We could have pressed them every single game. Fatigue wasn’t an issue because games were three days apart. Individual statistics go out the window because winning means everything in the playoffs. With a Goliath on their team like Yao, wouldn’t it have made sense to play the part of David?

Gladwell ends the story with the end of the girls’ basketball season, where they lose in the state championship game. At a hostile gym with a referee hired by the other team, ticky tack fouls start getting called all over the place. The girls are forced to stop pressing, and they lose when they play conventionally. Honestly, this would happen in the NBA too. There is no way the dark overlords of the NBA would ever let a press dominate the game. Basically, for all the theoretical junk in this post, the Blazers pressing comes down to this statement: “It’s possible, but.”

During the summer before the season, this blog posted a small piece on what potentially could go wrong this season about the Blazers. It didn’t make any bold predictions, it just made some statements that had a high likelihood of becoming true. In the interest of self-aggrandizement and the result of a slow news day, it’s time to revisit that piece and see how much of a prophet or imbecile I truly am.

The Blazers are a young team. What the entire team operates in is that unknown quantity - words like potential and upside. There are no tangible figures about what the team will be. Sure Travis Outlaw could be a 20-plus scorer with his jumping ability, but the operating form is the conditional “could.” He could also never get his head on straight and become the player he has the potential to be and continue firing those foot on the line Outlaw specials.

DING DING DING! I was proven wrong during stretches through the season, but for the most part, this was something that held back the team, especially during the playoffs. Feels good to be right.

There are the injury concerns, as well. Oden is the obvious choice for this, so I won’t really go into it. The greatest example of potential becoming reality for him that we’ve seen so far is the fact that his leg issues turned out to be gravely serious. He’s not alone. There is the man behind him that many call the best back-up center in the NBA: Joel Przybilla. He hasn’t played a full season since God knows when. A thin, injury prone front line would kill any chances this team has for a playoff run. Do you really expect Channing to play the role of bruiser in the playoffs if Greg and Joel go down?

ERRRRR! Wow, I couldn’t be more wrong. My first sentence with Oden as the obvious choice turned out to be sadly true, with the worst coming in the first game. Luckily, my bit on Przybilla was a load of hogwash. God knows when is officially 2008-2009. Once again, though, the line “Do you really expect Channing to play the role of bruiser in the playoffs” came sadly true.

There is also the condition of the overseas transition. Everyone knows the success stories; the guys like Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, and Manu Ginobili. Even our own people like Sabas and Petrovic. Those guys aren’t the rule, though. The rule is just as much the failures or the fizzle-outs; Darko, Sergio, Monia, and Veektor. Yes, I intentionally included three Blazers. We know better than anyone the highs and lows of potential foreign players. Until we see anything on an NBA court, Rudy, Batum, and Koponen are just potential, and nothing more.

I’m a dumbass. It’s that simple. Not only was I wrong; I was extremely wrong. I even thought Koponen was going to make team. Wow. These guys aren’t just potential anymore; they’re quality NBA players and nigh-untouchable.

Finally, there’s just the issue of other teams being good. The Blazers aren’t working in a vacuum. All the other teams are trying just as hard to win the championship as the Blazers are (except the Bucks). There are plenty of teams peaking or looking to peak at the same time as us. The Jazz will be great for the next decade, as will be the Lakers. We are not alone.

Wow, the Jazz thing was a surprise. Talk about underachieving. Obviously, the best way to save a predictions post is to say that the Lakers will be good. See, not stupid! It’s the “San Dimas High School Football rules!” of basketball blogging. (”Rudy will you marry me” is the SDHSFR of Portland basketball blogging)

It’s been almost a week, and I’ve been in shock for most of that time. Basketball is still happening, only our team isn’t there. You’d figure we’d be used to it by now, as the Blazers have been watching the playoffs from their McMansions in Lake Oswego for most of the decade. Instead, we got that first delicious taste and had it stolen away much too quickly. Now that we’ve taken care of our rage-and-sadness-fueled weeklong benders, spending nights at the railyards and spending the days with a bottle of Wild Irish Rose under the Marquam Bridge, it’s time to get back to life and move on in basketball. We can still watch the rest of the playoffs with a vested interest. It just comes down to picking the right team.

The Eastern Conference

The Orlando Magic - This could work out as a decent team to root for, as they have one of the great centers in the league, and a fun style of play. However, Hedo Turkoglu does have a face that is shaped like a triangle, so not a great idea. This is the option for those of you who want to see what the best case scenario for Greg Oden is.

The Boston Celtics - No. It doesn’t matter that Rajon Rondo is one of the most beautiful and chaotic styles of play in the NBA. They have Kevin Garnett, and he got down on all fours and barked like a dog at Jerryd Bayless. Not to mention, he’s a dick (in case you couldn’t tell from the previous tale). This is for the Blazer fans that are assholes.

The Atlanta Hawks - An outstanding pick. They fulfill the Blazers’ role as the young guys who haven’t been there before but still succeeding against the odds. However, I’m hardpressed to think of the name of more than four players on the team (Horford, Johnson, Smith, Williams, and uh, Bibby? VICTORY!) This is the option for the Blazer fans out there who love a good underdog.

The Cleveland Cavaliers - You know this team way too well. They have the best player in the world. He has the mind and quickness of John Stockton in the body of Karl Malone. It’s just unfair that he exists. This is the option for Blazer fans that are front-runners because this team will almost certainly win the championship.

The Western Conference

The Denver Nuggets - A good pick for those of you who have a strange amount of pride in the division. Because this isn’t collegiate sports, your logic doesn’t make sense. I can’t imagine anyone really wanting to root for the Birdman and Kenyon Martin. The option for the illogical Blazers fans.

The Dallas Mavericks - I didn’t know these guys had fans outside of Texas. They shoot a lot of jumpers and they’re damn good at it. Not to mention, they’re on a decent hot streak that has extended into the playoffs. Also, they whine about the referees a ton. The Mavs are the best option for Blazer fans in love with the team’s outside shooting and complaints to the referees.

The Houston Rockets - They beat us. That’s unforgivable to me. There are some out there who want the Rockets to win it all, so that way the loss doesn’t sting as much, since we lost to the eventual world champions. That’s a load of hooey. The last time the Ducks went to the tourney, they lost to the insane Florida team with five NBA players in the Sweet 16. Because of this, I went for Florida using the logic stated above. Florida ended up winning it all, and do you know how I felt? Horrible. The loss didn’t sting any less; it actually stung worse. We could have beaten those guys if a couple more shots go in, if a few calls go our way. We could have won it all. That’s the same story with the Rockets. And Luis Scola’s hair is ugly. I want them to go down fast, to show that they were lucky to beat us. The Rockets are a great option for Blazer fans who are illogical.

The Los Angeles Lakers - This team has long been the most hated by Blazer Nation. It’s a remnant from Portland’s small town mentality and crushing defeats at the hands of the big market team throughout the franchise’s history. Go to a Lakers-Blazers game, and you will be surprised at the anger and foulness that exists in even the most normally polite Portlander. It’s the only place in Oregon to catch a granny drop the F-bomb in public (aside from Spirit Mountain Casino). Let’s get to the Lakers, though. Until The Foul earlier this year, I couldn’t find a reason to actually root against this team actively. Gasol plays like a more mature (offensively) LaMarcus Aldridge, Kobe is the NBA’s greatest Blazer backer, and Luke Walton’s named after our assistant coach. Then The Foul happened. It’s easy to hate the Lakers and it’s right. Screw Ariza and screw Vujacic’s hair. Whoever wins this series, we lose. The Lakers are the option for Blazers fans who…I can’t honestly think of a reason why a Blazers fan would support the Lakers beyond this round.

Trail Post’s Pick: Stick with the Hawks, guys. You always gotta support the young underdogs. If you need to stick with the Western Conference, go with the Mavericks. They’re not as outwardly unlikable as the rest of the conference. If you feel like picking a winner, go with the Cavs.

With the season ending, it’s time for some introspection. This season was one of the best in the history of the franchise and the best performance by a young team in the history of the NBA. Top to bottom, many of these players could find a home in a playing rotation on any other team in the NBA. It’s scary. However, there is something that’s up for grabs: the team MVP race. Okay, I phrased that badly. The not Roy race is incredibly tight.

On to the team!

The Riding The Pine Division

15. Raef LaFrentz - He had a shot to be one of the most valuable players of the season, but instead his contract was pocketed by the Portland front office. The strangest mix of off-court value and on-court value in the league’s history. Still, it’s confounding that someone paid a soft three-point shooting center 14 million dollars for a season.

14. The Stud Ruffin/Ike Diogu - The DNP Coach’s Decision division. Both players have worked hard all season and received no minutes, not even in the epic blowouts throughout the season. The vocal minority who call themselves the Ruffin Wranglers will not let Nate hear the end of this.

13. Martell Webster - The DNP Injury division. The only reason he ranks this high is because he actually helped a woman out of the snow while wearing a boot. He’s been injured all season, and he hasn’t deserved it. The worst story to come out of this is the suspicion that the Blazers’ training facility is some kind of butchers’ shop that turns two week injuries into career-enders.

12. Shavlik Randolph - The Steven Hill memorial twelfth man award. Yes, he beat out the mountain man, but he’s done a great job ingratiating himself to this fan base. What other player in the league hops on Blazers Edge and takes questions from fans while getting that he’s in on the joke?

The “We Love You and Hope You Live Here For the Rest of Your Life But Get Off of This Team” Division

11. Channing Frye - Poor Channing has represented everything that’s great about the city’s culture on the Blazers. However, it’s telling that his most valuable contribution during any game is the commercial where he tells us not to run water while brushing our teeth and to carpool with a buddy while holding his fat bulldog. His brand of outside shooting and lack of rebounds have been killer to the team when Oden and Przybilla are out of the game.

The Incredible Potential Tweener Division

10. Jerryd Bayless - He wowed us during the summer and made us want the regular season to start as soon as possible when he won the MVP. During the regular season, he’s been largely nonexistent. He had his big moment against the Pistons as he keyed the comeback and the big game at New Jersey where he took over. Still, the question remains: Is he our point guard of the future?

The Playoff Bench Rotation Division

9. Sergio Rodriguez - It’s incredible what kind of leap Sergio has taken this season. Last year, he, along with Jarrett Jack, was the goat of the team. Everything that went wrong was firmly put on his back. However, he worked hard over the offseason, and came back with an improved shot. He’s had to fight for his position in the rotation over the course of the year and he’s earned it. Even his defense isn’t disgustingly bad anymore. He gutted it out and earned his position.

8. Nicolas Batum - His surprising improvement over the course of the season just gives him the award due to relativity. He was the worst project on the team during the summer league. Guys like Steven Hill and Petteri Koponen looked much better than him. He missed open jumpers and looked lost around the three point line. Then Martell went down and Nicolas stole the starting SF spot from Travis and never let it go. He went from a surprising starter to a no-brainer. He’s drawn the hardest matchups and done an admirable job in all of them. Then there’s the decision to make Pau Gasol his personal bitch. You can’t help but love this guy.

7. Greg Oden - This will be the lowest he’ll be on a list like this in his career. However, the missed games and the missed opportunities this season drag him down. When he has been in the game, he’s been incredible, doing damage on the boards and to the rim with furious dunks and soft hands. He has had a couple of great breakout games this season and he did an admirable job fronting Yao during the playoffs. It’s hard to underestimate his contribution to keeping Joel Przybilla healthy over the entire season, also.

The Heavy Minutes Division

6. Travis Outlaw - I never thought I would put Travis this high on the list. Just earlier in the season this blog was railing against Travis calling him the League’s Friendliest Cancer, and eagerly counting down the games until he was traded away for Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, or Gerald Wallace. Well, something strange has happened since the trade deadline; Travis earned his minutes. He stopped taking as many crazy shots and even played decent defense. However, that changed once the second season rolled around. Much has been made of Travis’ failure in the playoffs, so no need to reiterate it here.

5. Rudy Fernandez - Rudy had the expectations of becoming the Spanish Michael Jordan when coming over. He didn’t quite hit that level, but he had an incredibly memorable season. The five points in two seconds, the dunk contest, The Foul, the countless lockers in Portland area high schools with his picture in them. He set the city’s heart aflutter. He became one of the most fun players in the league to watch and defined the soul of the Blazers as the league’s lovable underdogs.

The We Have No One Else To Turn To Division

4. Steve Blake - It seems like every single fan has a pet point guard that they want to trade for in order to unseat Blake. It’s kind of hard to argue with them. Blake isn’t particularly athletic, he isn’t a great scorer, and he plays pretty bad defense. However, in this system, he’s a complete fit. All Nate requires is that the PG not turn the ball over much, hit open threes, and play defense well. Blake, for the regular season, did the first two things well, occasionally adding the third part, too. Our team was lost when he was out due to injury during the middle of the season, which really defines the value he had. Still, he was bad in the playoffs. The two games where he showed up were the ones we won, also showing how much this team relies on him.

The Portland’s Favorite Republican Division

3. Joel Przybilla - Joel’s performance this season propelled the Blazers to well over 50 wins. When Greg went down with an injury, he was there, shooting that ungodly 80% from the field. He cleaned up the rebounds, and taught the younger players about the NBA’s 401(k) system. He was the team’s elder statesman and enforcer, and relished both of those duties. Even more important, he played through plenty of pain and injuries this season to appear every time the Blazers took the floor. He was the first free agent to see something this team, and he’s ridden it into the playoffs. Hopefully our ending will be better next time.

The Borderline All-Star Division

2. LaMarcus Aldridge - If we did this list at the All-Star break, Joel Przybilla would have a firm grasp on this position. However, LaMarcus evolved after the break, into some sort of gangly gazelle that dunks a ton. He added something new to his repertoire - effortlessness. It no longer looked like he was trying to be better than everyone - he was just that way. He’s got someone on his back in the post? Spin and jumper, all net. No big deal. Gliding down the sideline to go up for an alley-oop? Yawn. He wasn’t just doing these things - he was meant to do these things. During the playoffs, he was the only player to show up besides Roy. And let’s dispel one more thing. Scola only outplayed LaMarcus twice during the series. Aldridge won the other four games.

The Duh Division
1. Brandon Roy - You’re stupid if you think anyone but Brandon should be in this position. He’s one of the best offensive players in the NBA, and still improving on defense. Some nights, Brandon Roy is the best shooting guard on the planet. I think that’s the easiest way to describe his greatness. Sure, Kobe and Wade take the title a little more often, but Roy’s now in the conversation for the best 2 in the league. And he’s only getting better.

What We Know Now

This season was better than any of us could have hoped, and it’s stupid to complain about how it’s ended. The only complaint we can possibly have is that it will be another six months until we see a Blazers basketball game that matters.