The Hoop and The Harm

First a disclaimer. I am both a die-hard Blazer fan and a die-hard Brandon Roy fan. I said earlier in the season that it was unlikely that Roy would make the All-Star team. My main reasons were because of the high number of strong guards in the West and because he is a second year player that has plenty of time to be an All-Star.

When he got selected I was very happy, but up until tip-off I maintained the opinion that his minutes were going to be limited. With the bulk of the guard minutes being taken up by Nash, Bryant, AI, and Chris Paul. I said those things because part of being a Blazer fan is dealing with disappointment. I want to see the team and Roy do well, but I also don’t want to get my hopes up.

Having said all of those things, if the West had won, B-Roy was my choice for MVP. Here is his stat line: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 28 minutes played. I know that if the West had won Chris Paul would have been the MVP, he deserved it and it was his home court, but seeing the way Roy carried himself there is no doubt in my mind that he will be an All-Star for many many years to come.

The 2008 All-Star game was a great contest. Congratulations to all the players, and especially to Brandon Roy. A great end to a great first half of the season!

One thing, for me, that was revealed with the trade to bring Kidd to the Mavs was that the Blazers are interested in keeping their group together. They talk a lot in the local papers about the team chemistry and how the “team” is the most important part of the future of the franchise. With all the major players in the Western Conference making blockbuster deals to prepare for the playoffs, the Blazers could have easily joined the fray.

Right now, in the middle of what may turn out to be a four game slide, any action by the Blazers could be justified by a trip to the playoffs. Even if the regular season ends with the Blazers on the outside of the playoff picture, which it is too early to guarantee, there has been enough promise this year for Blazers fans to feel good about the future. Kudos to management for not taking part in a three way deal, even if it means that the playoffs have to wait for at least another year. Who knows, they could get the #1 pick again.

Although not as big a deal as Pau or Shaq, Damon Stoudamire joining the Spurs may turn out to be a big factor late in the playoffs. Although Damon hasn’t been on a playoff team in a few years, he was a major part of the 2000 Portland Trail Blazers. That team had to suffer one of the worst all time fourth quarter collapses to be kept out of the finals. Damon brings a lot of experience to a team full of veteran players. Even though the Spurs are not in need of anything to be contenders for the championship, this move shows that they are not interested in anything less than another ring.

Friday night and monday night were two big games for the Blazers. First Zach Randolph and the Knicks and then Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets.

The Knicks, who are having a terrible season, pushed the Blazers into uncomfortable territory. Having fallen to ninth in the Western Conference, the Blazers could ill afford to lose. Their victory in overtime was followed by a big sigh of relief from the Blazers faithful who have seen a team that won eighteen in the month of December stumbling in January. On Monday, the Blazers continued their inability to win two in a row this month.

Although Monday’s was a much better game than Friday’s the Nuggets are a team that the Blazers need to beat. Especially at home, if they have any hope of making the playoffs. The upside to Monday: the Blazers started crashing the offensive boards and LaMarcus Aldridge failed to show up, the upside to LA not showing up is that next time these two teams play, if he gets more than four points, the Blazers will probably win.

Coming down the stretch the Blazers will be competing with the Nuggets for the seventh or eight playoff spot, and with no more head to head match-ups left, this game may turn out to be one of the most important of the season.

Brandon Roy gets selected to the All-Star game!

Look for LaMarcus Aldrige in the Rookie/Sophomore game.

Greg Oden may not be playing this season but he can still get written up on NBA.com

Also check out his personal blog.

If Jason Kidd wants to leave the Nets, which he should, and the Nets want Kidd to play in the Western Conference, as they should, then the Blazers should stay as far away from the whole deal as possible. I agree with this post on the Blazer blog. This team has too much future potential to risk on an aging star like Jason Kidd. I would rather rely on Jarret Jack and Steve Blake and miss the playoffs than lose some piece of this current team and get knocked out in the first round this year. If the Blazers’ brass has proved anything so far this season its that they are interested in the future. I don’t think that they should throw that interest away on Jason Kidd.

The Blazers finish their trip 4-3 with losses to Orlando, Boston, Toronto, New Orleans, all top fifteen teams in the NBA.com power rankings.

With the Rockets getting McGrady back and the Blazers showing signs of being unable to defend the post this could be a real test for a team that is 17-3 at home while needing to win every game at the Rose Garden to have a shot at the playoffs. The next six for the Blazers are at home.

Look for a big game February 1st as Zach Randolph makes his only appearance in Portland for the year.

This article on Oregonlive asks the question that is definitely on the mind of Blazer fans and should be on the minds of all basketball fans: should Brandon Roy be a member of this year’s Western Conference All-Star Team? My answer is yes, and not just because I am a life long Blazer fan.

Brandon Roy, who won last year’s Rookie of the Year by taking all but one first place vote, is a stellar young guard. His leadership is the driving force behind the Blazers unlikely run into first place in the Northwest division. Even in today’s overtime loss to the Raptors Roy was able to come through with thirty-three points. If you look at Roy’s numbers through the first half of the season the question you have to ask isn’t why should he be on the All-Star team, but why shouldn’t he be on the All-Star team? That question, unfortunately, has a pretty easy answer.

With all the high profile guards in the Western Conference I am going to say that even though he may be very deserving, Brandon Roy will not be a member of the Western Conference All-Star team. Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tony Parker and Steve Nash will most definitely get more fan votes than Roy, and of those who won’t be voted starters look for the rest of them to fill out the roster.

If the Blazers don’t fold, which isn’t a forgone conclusion, look for Roy next year, and LaMarcus Aldridge for that matter. Blazer fans can look forward to Roy and LA working their magic in the Rookie Sophomore game, as well as hope for the future. Even though Roy deserves to be included this year, it is very unlikely that the Blazers will get their first All-Star since Rasheed Wallace.

One question surrounding the league during the run-up to the All-Star game is, what’s going on with the Blazers? How does a team go from lottery eligible to first place in one season? Even Portlanders are questioning whether this December’s run of wins is something to get excited about or just a prelude to a mid-season slump and a finish outside the playoffs looking in. It’s understandable to be skeptical of a team that has finished towards the bottom of not just their division but of the entire league in the last few seasons, however if Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors is any indication this young Blazers team could be for real.

On a night when Brandon Roy went down early with what looked like a possibly serious injury, and came back in the second half only to finish with eight points, the Blazers relied on a crop of role players to take it to a team that was one of the hottest finishing out last season. Five players not named last year’s rookie of the year finished in double figures. Steve Blake, before going out with an injury, was one off a career high with twenty-four points including five of six three pointers. The Blazers were able to get some easy baskets early, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Joel Pryzbilla finishing with nineteen and ten respectively. The Blazers balanced attack jumped out to a lead as high as eighteen in the first half, and never trailed.

The Blazers put together thirteen straight wins in December, and as of last Wednesday, have won seventeen of their last eighteen leaving them in sole possession of first place in the northwest division. The Blazers are getting the job done with a variety of young talented players stepping up and making big shots when they need to be made. This team will go as far as Brandon Roy will take them, but when he goes down, or doesn’t put up All-Star numbers, they will be able to rely on the strength of Aldridge and the shooting of guys like Blake and James Jones to not only produce wins but dominate games.

With a road trip of seven games on the horizon this team is about to get a real test. If the Blazers can take three or four of the next seven games and not get dominated by Boston it will be a successful trip. However, having won five of their last six road games, recently outlasting Chicago in a classic double-overtime game, it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see the Blazers return to Portland with their second streak of ten straight wins. At that point, I hope that people would begin to believe that this might be for real.