Kobe is Hate

Had a wonderful time watching Portland deliver L.A.’s fourth straight loss, this one much more a thumping than the final score would indicate. The Blazers were great. On the second night of a back to back, with no Marcus Camby to help LaMarcus battle L.A.’s League-best frontline, Portland pulled a surprise shift and strategy, running at every opportunity. The Blazers had 20 fast break points in the first half. Usually, that is a week’s total for Nate McMillan’s squad. Andre Miller was brilliant, racking up assists with an array of half court bounce passes and alley-oops.

Crazy thing is, had the Kobster not played like such a shit head throughout the game, L.A. probably could have won. Lakers came out of the gate all fire, hitting jumpers, grabbing the boards, and generally controlling the first 5 minutes of the game. They were giving each other Duke hugs and generally acting like Champions. The Lakers had established Gasol (who was being guarded by 6’9 Nicolas Batum) as automatic in the paint, and Bynum was pushing everyone around. Then Portland caught a spark and went on a 17-2 run, consisting almost entirely of fast break finishes and up-tempo play. Phil Jackson called two times out before the first quarter was done.

Having lost three straight, trailing by double digits, the pressure was on. And for the Kobster, that means time to chuck it up. The Kobster nailed 4 consecutive threes to close out the first half and pull L.A to 6. But instead of re-establishing Pau and Bynum inside in the second half, the Kobster kept chucking. In fact, midway through the 3^rd quarter, he had the nerve to yell at a posting Gasol for not clearing out so that he could drive. At that time he was 8-22 from the floor and his team was trailing by 24.

There is no doubt that the Kobster is one of the most accomplished, talented players the Game has ever seen. But what a selfish jerk! Lakers will likely win a third consecutive Championship this year. The combination of the Kobster, Gasol, Bynum and Odom is really hard to best. But if L.A. does not repeat, none of us will be surprised that Kobe’s selfish play was at the core of problem.

p.s. fun note for all you current and former Portland residents. As Portland clinched the game, announcer Mike Rice (who hates L.A. with the passion appropriate to a homer announcer) gleefully said, “The game over. The L.A. band wagon fans are leaving the arena.” Mike Barrett (who also hates L.A. but is much more professional) says “Well, in fairness, there are some L.A. transplants living up here. Rice says “Yeah, well I can see their yellow leaving. And I am talking about their yellow jerseys not their yellow teeth.”

On the darkest night of the year

I watched a lot of damn games. Good fun.

Dallas is looking very good. LeBron had a bad game, and the Heat have many serious holes, but the Mavs pretty much controlled the game, despite some Heat flurries. Dirk was schooling Bosh so badly in the 1st quarter. Chandler is big and aggressive. Kidd, Terry, Butler and Barea form a potent perimeter. They have great depth. Serious stuff.

Miami, on the other hand, has major problems when the trot out Carlos Arroyo for anything but garbage time. That guy is doing nothing. Bosh's defensive presence (or lack thereof) is another major issue. Big Z has actually been serviceable in the middle, and the return of Mike Miller will help, but Miami still has work to do. But check this: During the Miami broadcast, they were hawking tocket packages to upcoming games. The Heat have available tickets. Who knew?

I really like the Hawks switchign Al Horford to power forward. He is going to go off. What this means for Josh Smith remains to be seen. He is sorta in that Kirilenko-Marion family of effective undersized fours who struggle at the three.

Does Gilbert's arrival mean the end of the Jameer Nelson era? I am not a Nelson fan, but I am not sure Gil should be running the show. Arenas is better than Nelson in every aspect of the game. But considering that Orlando brought back Turkoglu to presumbaly recreate the magic that lead to the Magic's magic moment of losing the in the Finals, my guess is that they will want the ball in Hedo's hands for a good portion of the game. Then factor is the mega-addition of Jason Richardson and his ability to score, and then the main game plan of getting it to Dwight, having a run-the-offense type liken Nelson may make sense for the Magic. Will that make sense to Gilbert? Losing the dead weight of Rashard Lewis was a great move for Orlando, but Arenas in Orlando is not necessarily smooth sailing.

LaMarcus Aldridge is going off. The last one standing of the Blazers three pillars of future glory, LaMarcus is emerging as a true force on both sides of the ball. Tough times in Blazerville, but there is still some fight in P-Town. Wes Matthews is a gem. Rumors are some teams are inquiring about Roy. Crazy as this sounds, if Roy cannot CARRY the franchise, the Blazers should move him as soon as possible. Look how Milwaukee is still holding the bag for Michael Redd. Breaks my heart to even tender these thoughts, but the NBA is unforgiven, and one hallmark of greatness is health.

By the by, with Yao out and likely done, who is the NBA's tallest player?

This one goes out to the rookies

Donte Cunningham, pictured swatting the Kobster, and fellow 2nd round rookie Jeff Pendegraph are playing inspired basketball for the injury riddled Blazers. To them, I dedicated this jam

So Glorious Blazers

Big comeback win in Portland. The injury riddled Blazers looked over matched early, unable to slow the Suns offensive attack. Phoenix held Portland down by 9-12 points for most of the games first 38 minutes. But Portland began to get some stops midway through the third quarter and Jerryd Bayless made his official arrival on the NBA stage. Bayless and Roy combined for 31 4th quarter points to steal a victory for squad looking to regain its stride. The second year player has been itching for playing time, and now he is getting busy.

Bid on a Blazer Basketball and Support Street Roots

After my wife, friends and family, I have three passions in life: Music, basketball and housing opportunity. This post combines two of my passions, and opens the door for you to own a basketball signed by the entire Blazer team.


That's right: Get a copy of Brandon Roy's autograph now, sell it 10 years (in time to finance your kids' college tuition), AND help an amazing organization continue its crucial work in P-Town.

Street Roots is a Portland newspaper that focus on issues relating to housing, homelessness and poverty. Beginning today and ending Nov 8, Street Roots is having an on-line auction. Great for holiday gifts, a gift for me in case you forgot my birthday, or even a little something for yourself.

3 reasons I love Street Roots:

• They cover stories often ignored or under-reported in most print and web media
  
• Their standards of journalism far exceed the local mainstream print media here in Oregon, and likely the standards where ever you live
  
• They run a vendor program that allows people who are homeless or very poor the opportunity to earn income.

If that ain't enough to make YOU love Street Roots, check this interview with B-Roy.

So check it out, and help Street Roots make Portland a better place.

(a sorta) League Preview: Portland Trailblazers

With the sorriest teams, the lottery likelies, the might be somethings and the playoff solids in the rear view mirror, we are now focused on a grouping of two known as the upsetters. Joining the Mavericks is the second best in the Northwest.


Portland Trailblazers

PG Steve Blake Andre Miller Jerryd Bayless
SG Brandon Roy Rudy Fernandez
SF Nic Batum Martell Webster
PF LaMarcus Aldridge Travis Outlaw Dante Cunningham
C Greg Oden Joel Przybilla

Portland enters the season as everybody’s darling. Like any up and coming young team, they are basking in the glow of can’t miss potential. Brandon Roy has emerged as one of the League’s pure powers. Long man LaMarcus Aldridge is not that far behind. Greg Oden looks ready to start showing something. The parade of talent continues: Nic Batum, Martell Webster, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw. Vets Blake, Miller and Przybilla are rock solid. The Trailblazers are arguably the deepest squad in the NBA.

But as a close observer, the wonderland atmosphere that characterized the Roy-lead ascension from crapsville to relevance may be changing. Since Roy’s arrival, Portland has benefited from outstanding team chemistry. Nate McMillan has had the team’s ear. Guys having getting together and ballin much of the off-season. Everybody’s early to training camp. Everybody’s pulling each other to get better. Dreamy. Really.

The arrival of Andre Miller and the intensity of expectation has brought a new energy to the locker room. Even if Miller had not been added to the roster, Portland was flirting with having too many players deserving minutes. With Miller, there are going to be at least two very good NBA players clocking under 15 minutes a game. Miller himself could be a 20 minute-a-night back up. Not dreamy. Especially for a team that is supposed to exceed last season’s 54 wins and first round playoff exit.

Of course, winning can cure all sorts of ills, and this team certainly is capable of racking W’s. Roy is a fabulous leader. Even if a few guys get disgruntled, Roy has a personality and character to hold the Blazers together. Aldridge is going to score 20-plus this season. For whatever Oden is not, the dude is so big and strong. He has skills that with confidence and experience will grow. He alone could elevate the Trailblazers into instant contenders if he could play 30 effective minutes a night. Nic Batum is another guy: Act like you know.

As for Andre Miller: He has fallen short just like Sebastian Telfair, Jarret Jack, Sergio Rodriguez before him. Steve Blake has once again earned the starting nod. An excellent defender, Blake blends perfectly with the skills of Roy, Aldridge. He cans the three, and is steady with the ball. Miller could be a great backup if he would accept the role. This remains to be seen. Maestro Nate McMillan has some tough decisions to make.

The road from good to great is very steep and fraught with pitfalls. Many a group of talented and successful young teams have crumbled along the way. McMillan has so adeptly brought this team along from the dismal depths of lotteryville to their present position. He will steer them true. If players get to testy, Pritchard should make a move swiftly. Whether Portland can best the Lakers in a 7 game series is hard question, because so much depends on whether Portland gets the chance. The West has many serious veteran teams with playoff dreams of their own. Ultimately, the question for Portland seems more when than if. If when is now, the Trailblazers are capable of beating everybody.