1 and 2

Game 1

I'm not wasting time with a re-cap. You saw what you saw.

Wow. With Oden out for the next two to four weeks (optomistic, yes) Pryzbilla will be "the man" in the middle for the next while. I like the chemistry Pryz is bound to have with the starting unit, after logging the most starts and minutes in his career last season. That having been said, Nate's team was soft as the butter you use to make sweet sweet chocolate chip cookies. Which the Laker's made out of the Blazer's "D".

I think the loss of Greg shook the team, but Brandon and LaMarcus missed numerous shots they would normally drain. They looked like they were forcing it, not relaxed at all especially Roy, who missed his first six shots and ran up court faster than I've ever seen. He's no fast break guy, and he looked like he was working for a quick shot on every possesion.


...

Game 2

Well now. Once again. You saw what I saw.

You saw Pryzbilla playing the Low Post D that I've talked about. He does not get the block on his man, he gives up a ton of ground on every back-down, but he forces a contested shot every time. Good low-post D is hard to spot, but he's got it. I know he got five fouls, but at least two (maybe three) were bad calls going to the superstar (Duncan)

1-1 is a great start against two teams that looked to win the championship last year. Let's keet it going.

Dr. Miles, I presume???

OK. I'll make it no secret I don't want Miles back in the league. As a Blazer Fan, combining the words "Cap Space" and "Paul Allen's Money" are lyrics to the song you could lose your virginity to. But saying that he has a great shot to make it for any team is still a stretch. Sure- he played well for the Celts- now we see if he is, to quote, "Dr. Darius, or Mr. Miles" Only his next stop will tell

I'm not sure if I agree that Miles will make it back. Three reasons: Past History, His infamous Behaviour Which Shall Not be Rcalled. Past Injury, still has a medical discharge, and has yet to prove he can sustain any sort of consistent effort. Duality, maybe part of history, but I wonder

Preseason Take me now

Oh my... I for one hate to resort to cliches... but the Frail Blazers tag seems to fit here. Webster, Blake, LaFrentz, (I know... who?) Oden and Roy to a degree... and now Rudy??? I like to think that the Blazers are at least getting the injuries out of the way early, but there do seem to be "those" years in every sport where the Disabled List is like the town bike... Here's hoping no.

On the brighter side, even though he admits he's not in his best shape, Oden is proving that he's a force to be reckoned with. His projected per-40 totals at this rate are ridiculous, and probably unrealistic. Once facing regular season D, not to mention top centers, he'll come back to earth for a while.


Quick... how many cliches did I use in this post??? Win a prize!!!

Ho ho ho... Christmas Comes Early!

Well, I certainly hope 13 points in 20 minutes (with a couple of nasty dunks) silences those doubters from Fan Fest. If not, how about this picture of Greg saying "I don't think so" to Spencer Hawes:And, lo, Greg Oden said "No," and it was Good.

I thought Webster looked really good, but Fernandez showed his grasp of the game is not limited to Euro-ball (not that that's an insult anymore) fundamentals are fundamentals.

I was surprised how close the poll between Webster and Rudy was (yeah, I think that Outlaw guy might have gotten a couple votes too) But I'd like to hear anybody on why they think their player should start. What skills would Webster bring that Fernandez couldn't? Will either one of them have the D that the position will require night in and night out? For that matter, does T.O.?

Fan Fest 2008

Why why why did I have to be stuck in Seattle for the FanFest???? WHY???? Judging from the novellas people have been posting, I missed the best thing since the ball started to bounce.
Ah well, at least I'll be back for the pre-season games. There's more real optimism this year than I can remember since the Drexler days. Even during the Playoff/Jailblazer years when you KNEW they'd play OK, I don't think those teams thought of themselves like these guys do. Right on.

By the way - I read the article saying Jerryd Bayless slipped into reffering to himself in the third person... NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! That scares me.

Brendan has never liked any player who used 3rd person.......

Back to Earth

Well, as with all things in life, the cycle has turned on the media's Blazer optimism. I've noticed a lot of sites, which up until this week, that were touting the Trail Blazer's as the best thing in the league since the peach basket, are starting to temper their expectations, even to the point where (probably to make themselves stand out) are saying the Blazers will LOSE MORE GAMES!!!

It's true that improving from 31 to 41 wins is easier than 41-50, but I really see no reason for a big Blazer drop-off this year. Last year's team didn't overachive- they were underrated. Even if Rudy/Bayless doesn't work like we'd all like, that hardly means anything given the fact that Roy and Aldridge are too motivated personally to take a step backwards.