Monday, November 2, 2009

Trail Blazers ’09 Season Preview

(the team that’s keeping Seattle basketball fans from mass suicide)

-Less is More- Sometimes not overpaying for an aging star and a guy who will only be a great backup to LaMarcus Aldridge is a good thing. Turkoglu’s still at the top of his game but for the price of his soon-to-be waning talent, it wasn’t worth it just to have the guy run point-forward when Roy runs out of juice. Milsap may have been a steal but a cheaper backup can always be found elsewhere. In conclusion, one man’s trash is another’s gold: Hello, Andre Miller! He’s practically afraid to shoot the three, occasionally injured and on his last legs. Will he run the offense for Roy, control turnovers better than Blake, defend well and be a solid veteran leader? Absolutely and that’s really all the Blazers needed this summer

-The Trials of Oden- He’s lost 14 pounds, he’s more comfortable on both ends of the floor and he’s been injury-free for (fingers crossed!) not even close to a year. Is he still the next generation of big men…. No, that’s Dwight Howard if he can finally master some post moves. But at the moment, the naysayers (myself included) have to give him one more pass until he’s completely written off as a flop, maybe not a total bust exactly (read: Michael Olowokandi) but you get it. Of course, if he starts averaging 4 fouls in 20 minutes while Joe Pryzbilla looks like a workhorse, start worrying even if he stays healthy.

-Breakout Year?- Personally speaking, I’m on the Aldridge bandwagon. Others call him overrated. There’s not many power forwards his age that have his skill set already and are still improving drastically every year. Did he deserve to beat out other big name forwards for an all-star spot last year? Depends on who you ask but if he keeps it up, it’ll be a shame if he doesn’t get one this year. Honorable Mention: Nicholas Batum, a high-flying shooter going into his fourth year, expect to see him in highlights.

-Dark Horse?- Brandon Roy is somewhere in the top 10 of the league’s best players depending on your opinion and he’s just getting started. Athletically, he’s no Lebron or D-Wade but aside from Kobe, he has the best supporting cast surrounding him despite their youth and Oden’s uncertain future. Last year, they were one of the few teams to play the Lakers not only consistently but blow them out twice and had me salivating for a 7 gamer versus the now champs but they were easily exposed by the efficient Rockets. Can they win a championship this year with Miller running point? Probably not. Will they make it out of the second round? Hopefully. Are they my favorite dark horse to cause a major upset? Yes.

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