Portland Trail Blazers

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Dallas Mavericks 102, Portland Trail Blazers 94 Portland is led by Brandon Roy (22 points versus Dallas), a smooth guard who last season made the first of what will be many All-Star appearances. Rookie center Greg Oden (four points, five rebounds in a foul plagued 25 minutes) missed all of last season due to injury and is still getting used to the NBA game but he has already shown that he can provide a physical presence in the paint. LaMarcus Aldridge had a quiet game (12 points) but he is a solid 17 ppg, 7 rpg player who is a good shooter. Young guards Rudy Fernandez (13 points) and Sergio Rodriguez (nine points) are already exciting, productive players and they are sure to become even better as they mature and get more used to the NBA game.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) Travis Outlaw topped Portland with 18 points and Rudy Fernandez had a very solid NBA debut with 16 points, four assists and no turnovers. Brandon Roy finished with 14 points on 5-15 shooting and it took a hot streak with Bryant out of the game just for Roy to put up those numbers. LaMarcus Aldridge had just eight points on 4-12 shooting. Greg Oden contributed five rebounds but did not score in 13 minutes before leaving the game with what was later described as a midfoot sprain. X-rays of the injury were inconclusive and he is reportedly going to have an MRI on Wednesday. Oden missed all of last season after having microfracture surgery, so basketball fans everywhere can only hope for the best possible outcome for the number one overall pick from th...   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (David Friedman) First Impressions of the 2007 NBA Draft, Soon to be Renamed the "Paul Allen Buys Every Draft Pick Show" Thoughts on the NBA Draft (2006) What I think now: Portland fans are happy that Stephen A. Smith is not running their team; NBA fans are happy that Smith's role on ESPN's NBA Draft coverage was reduced from commentator to interviewer. Thoughts on the NBA Draft (2005) What I said in 2005: "Utah...acquired the third pick from Portland and selected Illinois' Deron Williams, a poor man's Jason Kidd who seems to be the perfect fit for Jerry Sloan's system. He won't make anyone forget John Stockton (who could?) but Utah expects him to man the point guard spot for the next 10 years or so."   [read the full post]

By David Friedman LeBron James posted his seventh triple double of the season (24 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) as the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 13 point first half deficit to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 88-80 at Quicken Loans Arena. With starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas sidelined by a back injury, the Cavaliers needed their other bigs to pick up the slack offensively, defensively and on the glass. Joe Smith finished with 18 points, five rebounds and a game-high plus/minus rating of +13. Anderson Varejao scored a season-high 16 points while also grabbing nine rebounds. Ben Wallace started at center but had five rebounds and no points in less than 16 first half minutes; at halftime, the team announced that he had back spasms and would not re...   [read the full post]