2010-2011 Portland Trailblazers

The question: how many games is Greg Oden gonna play? The answer: who cares? The Blazers are made to be awesome with or without him. Of course they'd rather have him shatter all expectations and come through with abandon to be an MVP-caliber center, but that's probably never going to be in the cards. Honestly, Nate McMillan would be completely happy if he just got 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks for 70 games.

2010-2011 Portland Trailblazers

Point Guard: Andre Miller/Jarryd Bayless/Patrick Mills
Shooting Guard: Brandon Roy/Wesley Matthews/Elliot Williams
Small Forward: Nicolas Batum/Dante Cunningham/Luke Babbitt
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge/Jeff Pendergraph
Center: Marcus Camby/Greg Oden/Joel Przybilla

For all intentional purposes, Rudy Fernandez won't be a rotation player in Portland or any other squad on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. So they've pretty much swapped out him for rugged, fit-in-the-system wing defender Wes Matthews. Along with Nicolas Batum, that's quite the perimeter defensive combo. And even in his old age, Marcus Camby is still the best defensive mistake eraser in the game. With that core plus whatever spot minute contributions come from Oden and Joel Przybilla, the rest of the lineup can concentrate on the offensive side of things. And that's good, because Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, and LaMarcus Aldridge are definitely prone to focusing on that aspect of the game a little more intently.

The lead guard tandem of Miller and Jarryd Bayless brings a nice change-of-pace component to the Blazers' offensive attack. Miller is big bodied and pounds the ball with intent and makes the team run smoothly while Bayless is a speedy attacker who can force his way to the rim and finish with power. Both guys work well with Roy as the do-anything wing scorer to complement them, and Bayless is especially glad that Steve Blake slid his way over to the champs' roster to free up backcourt minutes. Coming back from a summer resting since his surgery, Roy should be able to get back on track as an elite all-purpose scorer. He's so hard to check for the fact that he came into the pros with an insanely balanced and smooth game and has steadily improved every aspect of it. If he can keep healthy, he fits flawlessly in with this group and makes everyone else a bigger threat. The one drop off on this year's Blazer squad is going to be the long ball with the departure of Fernandez and sharpshooter Martell Webster, so Roy will have to take the initiative to force the action and create even better opportunities for this team. With a lot to prove from not being able to effectively finish out last season's early playoff exit, Roy will be up to the challenge.

LaMarcus Aldridge is the most important guy during any given Portland game. If his confidence is high then he's capable of scoring every single possession. He puts up 18/8/2/1/1 on 50% shooting as a lanky 6'11" big who can maneuver his way inside just as well as step out with considerable range. It's a nightmare matchup for pretty much any squad he faces. With all the other bigs on the team more capable of tangling it up under the basket, Aldridge has free range everywhere else to mess up the defensive schemes. He's due for an even bigger breakout year to replace Zach Randolph as a natural All-Star forward in the Western Conference, minus all the known drug habit baggage. And the funny thing is that I think a healthy Greg Oden on the floor would make Aldridge's game shine even better. Their skill sets are so complementary of one another that you would think they should vie for top front court duo in the league. But nah, they're still behind Pau & Bynum, Yao & Scola, (one would assume) KG & Shaq, (one would assume) Griffin & Kaman, (one would assume) Boozer & Noah, and (one would assume) Big Al & Okur. So on second thought, maybe they're not even close to being the best ...

I think the no-longer-nicknamed-Jailblazers should improve about 4 games to be in the mid-upper tier of the West and get past the first round as a highly competitive dark horse. Roy should return to elite form, LaMarcus should up the ante, Greg Oden has about a 51% chance of playing 50% of the season, and the rest of the role players should all continue their seamless blue collar work under Nate McMillan's direction. So there ya go.

Prediction
Regular Season: 54-28
Playoffs: Eliminated in Western Conference Semi-Finals

... and Free Enes.

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Where He Belongs

Thank God the Lamar Odom situation got resolved. Both parties legitimately needed each other to keep the NBA world balanced. While the Lake Show could have made a minor tweak trade to try and replace LO if he decided to go elsewhere, there's pretty much no one who would have had a similar impact simply do to Odom being a four-year vet of the triangle offense and five-year vet of playing off of Kobe Bryant. That can't be highlighted enough. Playing with certain players is an art, and choosing to stay with the champs is a very enlightening move in showing that Lamar is one of those malleable players who can willingly fit with Kobe.

Artest, in my mind, is a beautiful addition to this roster and will pick up right where Ariza left off. While I loved the role our former wing played with his hustle, hard cuts, opportune 3 balls, and team orientation, I sincerely believe that Ron Ron can provide all of that along with a better jumper, a throw-in post game, and more intimidating all-around defensive presence. The only thing I think we lose is some speed on the wing and a defender who can stick to those pesky super-quick guards. But Ron is much better suited to clamp down on those equally troublesome and usually dominant small forwards with the all-around floor game like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron, Paul Pierce, and Tracy McGrady (if he's still alive). This naturally relegates Kobe to preferably defending the second offensive option, an assignment which promotes an even stronger presence on both ends of the floor by him. So it's win-win.

Strictly on Lamar's side of negotiations, though, I actually do think he could have outrageously thrived somewhere else. Unless there was another trade to compliment LO's signing (like the Boozer rumors), then I didn't really see Miami going anywhere to far. They would have been crazy fun to watch because Wade & him had a naturally chemistry in Wade's rookie season and they would have easily picked right back up five seasons later. But that team has so many holes in it at up to 3 different positions, so forget about them in the now nonexistent theoretical big picture. But who I really would have (begrudgingly) enjoyed watching him play for was the Trailblazers. Can you imagine a lineup of Andre Miller/Brandon Roy/Lamar Odom/Lamarcus Aldridge/Greg Oden? That's beastly. Then in turn they would have one of the upper tier benches in the entire league. That would have instantly propelled them up to the top of the Western Conference in a dead heat with the Lakers and newly molded Spurs & Mavericks.

But, again, it's not happening. So while I'll detail some other teams in later posts, the Lakers are where it's at this season. Lamar Odom decided to stay put and the championship trophy will decide the same next June. Our single casualty this offseason (unless and unexpected trade comes along) is Ariza. But with management re-upping every other player on the entire championship roster and adding the one character who will force the team from ever becoming complacent ... we have a dynasty on our hands. Thanks, Lamar. And I made this entire post without a retarded candy reference. I swear, I will strangle the next ESPN reporter or random person who thinks they're informed and tells a Skittles joke while talking about dude and giggles to themselves at their attempted hilarity. You're not clever and it wasn't a good joke anyway.

Great quote by Odom: "Riding off Kobe’s coattail ain’t bad. He’s got something special going around. I’ve got to be around. I’ve got to be one of the apostles. There was no way I was going to pass up playing with Kobe, Pau, Andrew and Ron-Ron."

... but do take my word for it.

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