Arena RIP CITY UPRISE: The Portland TrailBlazers Fan Club

Andre Miller is definitely going to be the key for us during this series.

I also love how each of our smaller players can really run Steve Nash ragged. Andre is stronger, Jerryd and Rudy are quicker, and Nic is lankier. No matter who we match against him, we've got the advantage against Nash. Even though Nash still scored 25 points Sunday night, he never really looked comfortable out there.

 

Game 5 is tonight in Phoenix. If the Blazers bring the intensity that they had in Game 4, it should be an interesting game. If they turn out flat, sounds like Phoenix will run away in another blowout.

 

Season ended in Portland in 6 games. However, the fact that the team made it to the Playoffs is astounding; losing Przybilla, Oden for the season, Outlaw, Batum, Mills, Pendergraph and Cunningham for part of the season, and Roy on and off the court really could have made this a disasterous season. However, they pulled through it, and got 50 wins. Nice job, guys, and hope next season ends up better.

 

Update on G/F Rudy Fernandez; currently holding out on the rest of his contract, which spans the next two seasons. He's apparently given the team brass a list of teams he would accept a trade to, mostly because of the issue of little playing time in Portland. He's also threatened to have the team release him so he can play in Europe.

If you ask me, selfish move on his part. Even though he wasn't getting as much playing time as he would like, 22 or so minutes a game isn't bad, and most of the high-profile teams he would probably want to join would usually give him less playing time than he gets already. Unless he joins a poor club, where he could end up being the starter. However, I don't want to see him leave; he's a great player.

 

Let's see, you were drafted as a backup for our team's biggest star, and yet you're complaining about playing time? I bet Wesley Matthews won't be complaining when the season starts. I'm perfectly willing for the Blazers to trade Rudy for another team's draft pick.

 

Yeah, I guess that it would be for the best to trade Rudy and get him out. Wesley Matthews should do a good job.

 

Rudy is a cherry picker. Sits on the 3 line all game long and only plays D when its crunch time. I never could understand why the fans in PDX like him so much. I personally would be happy to see him go.

 

On Rudy: Not sure why he's still here, but he's still playing well regardless.

Wesley Matthews is starting to show why we picked him up in the offseason. If he and Batum can click, there are two shutdown players on the team.

Jeff Pendergraph is down with a knee injury. As far as I know, the MRI was scheduled for today, but it leaves the team short on height. Deja vu from last season?

 

Yeah, the Pendergraph injury is a bit of a downer, but if that's all we suffer this year, I'm fine with it. Greg and Joel are due to be back somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so as long as Camby and Aldridge can hold the fort at the 5, we'll be fine. Babbitt and Cunningham will also see more time at the 4 when Camby is on the bench, so this is a good opportunity for them.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt to trade Rudy for a big man, but we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Looks as if our Draft Picks can make a difference early in the season.

Also, it's not confirmed, but I heard that Pendergraph was out for the season. Hopefully not.

 

A torn ACL usually means the player is done for the majority of the season. Given that Pendy's injury happened so early, he might be back by March/April, but we'll just have to wait and see. The guy seems pretty motivated, based on his Twittering, so I'm sure he'll be working on his rehab as hard as he can.

 

Jeff's a tough guy; he'll definitely try to get back out there as soon as psosible. Looks like Luke Babbitt is really going to get some extra playing time.

 

It's starting to look like last year, and the season hasn't even started yet. Wesley Matthews only played four minutes in last night's game, and Marcus Camby missed the game due to a strained calf.

 

Portland at the Lakers this Sunday night............I cannot wait, should be a close (hopefully) game.

They beat Boston!: 2009-2010 L.A. Lakers: Back-to-Back World Champions

 

Portland can't find a rhythm right now. Hopefully this'll be righted as the season wears on.

 

Gotta say that Wesley Matthews is definitely worth every penny spent on him. A good pick-up during the offseason, and hopefully a good piece for the future.

 

The more I see Gerald Wallace play, the more I like him. Now, if the Blazers could just play defense down the stretch . . .

 

Nice win against the Mavericks last night. Got a bit ugly at the end, but at least we were able to pull through.

 

God, i hope we get you first round.

 

That would be a good series to watch. It could easily go 7 games.

 

2011 Draft Stuff:

Traded Andre Miller to Denver (among other things) for Raymond Felton.

My analysis: Felton should still be in his prime, and gives us a much younger PG than Miller. Only issue with this trade is losing Miller as a locker room leader.

Traded Rudy Fernandez to Dallas

My take: Rudy's a good shooter, but his slumps and annoying attitude last season made his rather expendable.

Drafted: Nolan Smith, Jon Diebler, Ngombo.

I like taking Smith, because that gives us a pair of good PG's for this season. Since Patty Mills is a RFA this offseason, he might be the one who leaves Portland instead of Armon Johnson, who is still on his rookie contract. Of course, a new CBA can change a lot of things very quickly.

Diebler is a great sharpshooter, but I don't know if there is room on the team for him. Trading Rudy is an indication that streaky shooters may not fit on the current team, and plus Diebler would be the third-string SG behind Wesley Matthews and B-Roy (if healthy).

Ngombo was never supposed to be a Blazer anyway.


What I Don't Like:

Not picking/trading for a big man. The 4 and 5 are still really shallow on the depth chart, with Aldridge, Camby and Chris Johnson being the only true big men on the roster. Gerald Wallace can play PF, but he's still undersized at the position and there's no guarantee he'll in be in a Blazer uniform for the next NBA season.

 

Blazers give Oden his qualifying offer to keep him as a RFA. Geez, don't they know when to give up? He clearly hasn't shown that he wants to get back on the court anytime soon.

 

Better that than letting him walk. At least this way he'll be trade bait.

 

He won't be worth much for trades if a hard cap is created for the League. And even if not, most teams aren't going to take a chance on him, especially if he doesn't start performing well soon.

 

Loads of teams will take a chance on him. He's good when he plays. He could be totally injury cursed, sure, but he could always turn it around.