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.
