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PORTLAND, Ore. — Nobody wants to confront these guys, not in the playoffs, not in a cocktail lounge.
The Portland Trail Blazers are nasty. Active on and off the floor, they keep opponents and reporters busy. When you talk about the Blazers' record, you are not only referring to wins and losses. Their box scores down at the police station include vital statistics.
This is a team whose arena, the Rose Garden, is surrounded by streets called Dribble Drive and Winning Way. Lunacy Lane and Prima Donna Place would be appropriate.
It is easy to poke fun at the Blazers, but much more difficult to beat them. Provided they are not in bars or behind them, the Blazers will face either the Los Angeles Lakers or the suddenly fragile Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Somehow, with so many distractions and questionable characters, the Blazers have become a feared ensemble, standing at 47-33 going into the final weekend of the regular season.
"We're not a bad group of guys at all," said point guard Kenny Anderson.
Perhaps, but if "60 Minutes" did a show documenting their transgressions, it would be called "90 Minutes." The list is long and the perpetrators numerous. Here's the lineup:
- Isaiah Rider. Known for being a wonderfully gifted player and a prolific scorer, he is also recognized for habitual tardiness, making as many excuses as baskets. His former coach in Minnesota said Rider must have had 42 flat tires during his stay with the Timberwolves.
In his first season with the Blazers, Rider has been benched five times and suspended twice. He allegedly smoked pot from a Coke can in the back seat of a parked car. And he allegedly swore and spat at charter airline employees who refused his demand for a charter to Phoenix after missing the team plane.
- Gary Trent, an admitted teenage drug dealer, son of a convicted drug dealer. He recently pleaded guilty to minor harassment after kicking his pregnant girlfriend and will take anger-management courses this summer. Last month he was involved in a fight at a bar in which he hit a man with a pool cue and his father bit the man's ear. However,he was not indicted.
- Cliff Robinson. Distinguished by an ever-present headband, he stays on the court and out of the courtroom. Robinson believes team President Bob Whitsitt lied after supposedly promising him a new contract. Robinson called coach P.J. Carlesimo stupid, with profanity added, for pulling him from a game against Miami and was suspended for the next game.
- Rasheed Wallace. The franchise. An occasional hothead, he has 12 technical fouls this year after 21 last season. A candidate for Most Improved Player in the league, he is averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 outbursts per game.
- Dontonio Wingfield. A former Sonic from George Karl's doghouse. Wingfield refused to go into a game against Philadelphia when Carlesimo summoned him, then blew up at Carlesimo later that week for lack of playing time and was suspended for a game.
They seem nice enough. Trent, a powerful forward, is accommodating and engaging. Center Chris Dudley lives quietly, stays out of trouble and shrugs when asked about his teammates' shenanigans. He doesn't miss practice, just free throws. Anderson, a splendid point guard, is the quotable team leader who has developed a new, unselfish attitude.
The Blazers also have the other O'Neal in the Pacific Division, 18-year-old Jermaine; Stacey Augmon, who was kicked out of a practice when he yelled at Doug Collins, his previous coach, in Detroit; and Carlesimo, who communicates and grates with his periodic screaming.
"I think it will go five games," said Nuggets center and former Sonic Ervin Johnson, handicapping a possible Seattle-Portland first-round series. "They (the Blazers) are a scary team. They're young guys with a lot of energy. I would not want to draw them."
Carlesimo has skilled starters at every position and a strong bench. The Blazers can go big or small. They can run from baseline to baseline or hammer in the half-court. They are tough to match up with because of their size. A story about the Portland frontcourt is a tall tale featuring 7-foot-3-inch Arvydas Sabonis, 6-11 Dudley, 6-10 Wallace and 6-10 Robinson. They are the NBA's second-best rebounding team; the Sonics, in contrast, have been suspect on the glass.
"They have a lot of versatility," said Nuggets guard Kenny Smith, who won two championships in Houston. "The only negative is that they lack playoff experience."
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...110_1_isaiah-rider-rasheed-wallace-gary-trent
The Portland Trail Blazers are nasty. Active on and off the floor, they keep opponents and reporters busy. When you talk about the Blazers' record, you are not only referring to wins and losses. Their box scores down at the police station include vital statistics.
This is a team whose arena, the Rose Garden, is surrounded by streets called Dribble Drive and Winning Way. Lunacy Lane and Prima Donna Place would be appropriate.
It is easy to poke fun at the Blazers, but much more difficult to beat them. Provided they are not in bars or behind them, the Blazers will face either the Los Angeles Lakers or the suddenly fragile Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Somehow, with so many distractions and questionable characters, the Blazers have become a feared ensemble, standing at 47-33 going into the final weekend of the regular season.
"We're not a bad group of guys at all," said point guard Kenny Anderson.
Perhaps, but if "60 Minutes" did a show documenting their transgressions, it would be called "90 Minutes." The list is long and the perpetrators numerous. Here's the lineup:
- Isaiah Rider. Known for being a wonderfully gifted player and a prolific scorer, he is also recognized for habitual tardiness, making as many excuses as baskets. His former coach in Minnesota said Rider must have had 42 flat tires during his stay with the Timberwolves.
In his first season with the Blazers, Rider has been benched five times and suspended twice. He allegedly smoked pot from a Coke can in the back seat of a parked car. And he allegedly swore and spat at charter airline employees who refused his demand for a charter to Phoenix after missing the team plane.
- Gary Trent, an admitted teenage drug dealer, son of a convicted drug dealer. He recently pleaded guilty to minor harassment after kicking his pregnant girlfriend and will take anger-management courses this summer. Last month he was involved in a fight at a bar in which he hit a man with a pool cue and his father bit the man's ear. However,he was not indicted.
- Cliff Robinson. Distinguished by an ever-present headband, he stays on the court and out of the courtroom. Robinson believes team President Bob Whitsitt lied after supposedly promising him a new contract. Robinson called coach P.J. Carlesimo stupid, with profanity added, for pulling him from a game against Miami and was suspended for the next game.
- Rasheed Wallace. The franchise. An occasional hothead, he has 12 technical fouls this year after 21 last season. A candidate for Most Improved Player in the league, he is averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 outbursts per game.
- Dontonio Wingfield. A former Sonic from George Karl's doghouse. Wingfield refused to go into a game against Philadelphia when Carlesimo summoned him, then blew up at Carlesimo later that week for lack of playing time and was suspended for a game.
They seem nice enough. Trent, a powerful forward, is accommodating and engaging. Center Chris Dudley lives quietly, stays out of trouble and shrugs when asked about his teammates' shenanigans. He doesn't miss practice, just free throws. Anderson, a splendid point guard, is the quotable team leader who has developed a new, unselfish attitude.
The Blazers also have the other O'Neal in the Pacific Division, 18-year-old Jermaine; Stacey Augmon, who was kicked out of a practice when he yelled at Doug Collins, his previous coach, in Detroit; and Carlesimo, who communicates and grates with his periodic screaming.
"I think it will go five games," said Nuggets center and former Sonic Ervin Johnson, handicapping a possible Seattle-Portland first-round series. "They (the Blazers) are a scary team. They're young guys with a lot of energy. I would not want to draw them."
Carlesimo has skilled starters at every position and a strong bench. The Blazers can go big or small. They can run from baseline to baseline or hammer in the half-court. They are tough to match up with because of their size. A story about the Portland frontcourt is a tall tale featuring 7-foot-3-inch Arvydas Sabonis, 6-11 Dudley, 6-10 Wallace and 6-10 Robinson. They are the NBA's second-best rebounding team; the Sonics, in contrast, have been suspect on the glass.
"They have a lot of versatility," said Nuggets guard Kenny Smith, who won two championships in Houston. "The only negative is that they lack playoff experience."
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...110_1_isaiah-rider-rasheed-wallace-gary-trent
