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First Canzano.....
NBA season opener. Rose Garden Arena. No better time to get real about the Trail Blazers.
I am worried.
The Blazers haven't looked good in the preseason. They're razor thin, and asking too much of Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy. And I'm unconvinced that the front office will make the moves necessary to make Portland a playoff-series winner.
Blazers general manager Rich Cho said when he was hired that the team was "one or two moves" from being a contender. Those moves haven't happened, and if we're reading the Jerryd Bayless trade correctly, it doesn't feel like they're coming anytime soon. The Blazers appear content to move slow, and the top teams in the league feel like they're getting away from Portland.
Roy is a star. He's going to do his thing. He'll lead. Most of his teammates will follow. But it's the glue players in between that matter most in a season like this. In prior years, there's been a calm in the locker room. But that's been replaced with a peculiar feel that surrounds this team -- one that has caused those around the team to observe that "something's not right."
I receive a lot of email from Blazers fans who have suggestions for the organization. This season the advice ranges from remedies to the team's injury problems -- including better nutrition and better shoes -- to a reader who suggested that Nancy Kerrigan cursed the Blazers. You know, after Tanya's knee-job.
So maybe it's worth asking Kerrigan to lift the curse today.
But also, maybe it's worth acknowledging that the Blazers haven't done much in the last few months to indicate they're moving in the right direction.
Wesley Matthews is a shining bright point. But there's hasn't been enough improvement. And the margin for error with this team isn't as large as it's been in the past.
Paul Allen felt impatient in the early part of the offseason, when Kevin Pritchard was fired and the coaching staff was shuffled. Nate McMillan's former assistant coaches viewed their dismissals as a sign that ownership was leaning on the head coach to win a playoff series.
That feeling is why tonight's game and a fast start in the first month of the season for the Blazers become so important.
Roy said on Monday, "My goal is to improve on the season before," and that means that the Blazers need to reach the conference semifinals.
I believe in Roy. I think McMillan is a good coach. I like Nic Batum's game. And I'm hopeful that Greg Oden will return someday to avenge his honor in the face of all those who believe he'll never be a factor. But right now, the Blazers don't feel any closer to the top of the NBA than they were a year or two ago.
Last season, the Blazers played inspired. They outworked, outhustled and outscrapped opponents. They won games on will, with the rest of the league writing them off as snakebit by injuries.
It was one of the great stories in the league, and one that wasn't celebrated enough by the NBA. Fans loved the resiliency. But I'm not sure Blazers fans can be dragged through another campaign like that. And I'm convinced that the organization believes it can simply flip a switch today, and dismiss a lackluster preseason, and somehow persevere.
The Lakers flip switches. The Celtics flip switches. Those are seasoned playoff teams that understand what it takes to play deep in the playoffs. I'm not sure the Blazers understand that they need to play hard and scrap, and beat the league's deeper, more talented teams on their effort alone. There is something that doesn't feel quite right about this season.
I'm worried.
But just in case, give it a rest, Nancy Kerrigan.
AND HERES J QUICK.....
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2010/10/portland_vs_phoenix_trail_blaz.html
NBA season opener. Rose Garden Arena. No better time to get real about the Trail Blazers.
I am worried.
The Blazers haven't looked good in the preseason. They're razor thin, and asking too much of Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy. And I'm unconvinced that the front office will make the moves necessary to make Portland a playoff-series winner.
Blazers general manager Rich Cho said when he was hired that the team was "one or two moves" from being a contender. Those moves haven't happened, and if we're reading the Jerryd Bayless trade correctly, it doesn't feel like they're coming anytime soon. The Blazers appear content to move slow, and the top teams in the league feel like they're getting away from Portland.
Roy is a star. He's going to do his thing. He'll lead. Most of his teammates will follow. But it's the glue players in between that matter most in a season like this. In prior years, there's been a calm in the locker room. But that's been replaced with a peculiar feel that surrounds this team -- one that has caused those around the team to observe that "something's not right."
I receive a lot of email from Blazers fans who have suggestions for the organization. This season the advice ranges from remedies to the team's injury problems -- including better nutrition and better shoes -- to a reader who suggested that Nancy Kerrigan cursed the Blazers. You know, after Tanya's knee-job.
So maybe it's worth asking Kerrigan to lift the curse today.
But also, maybe it's worth acknowledging that the Blazers haven't done much in the last few months to indicate they're moving in the right direction.
Wesley Matthews is a shining bright point. But there's hasn't been enough improvement. And the margin for error with this team isn't as large as it's been in the past.
Paul Allen felt impatient in the early part of the offseason, when Kevin Pritchard was fired and the coaching staff was shuffled. Nate McMillan's former assistant coaches viewed their dismissals as a sign that ownership was leaning on the head coach to win a playoff series.
That feeling is why tonight's game and a fast start in the first month of the season for the Blazers become so important.
Roy said on Monday, "My goal is to improve on the season before," and that means that the Blazers need to reach the conference semifinals.
I believe in Roy. I think McMillan is a good coach. I like Nic Batum's game. And I'm hopeful that Greg Oden will return someday to avenge his honor in the face of all those who believe he'll never be a factor. But right now, the Blazers don't feel any closer to the top of the NBA than they were a year or two ago.
Last season, the Blazers played inspired. They outworked, outhustled and outscrapped opponents. They won games on will, with the rest of the league writing them off as snakebit by injuries.
It was one of the great stories in the league, and one that wasn't celebrated enough by the NBA. Fans loved the resiliency. But I'm not sure Blazers fans can be dragged through another campaign like that. And I'm convinced that the organization believes it can simply flip a switch today, and dismiss a lackluster preseason, and somehow persevere.
The Lakers flip switches. The Celtics flip switches. Those are seasoned playoff teams that understand what it takes to play deep in the playoffs. I'm not sure the Blazers understand that they need to play hard and scrap, and beat the league's deeper, more talented teams on their effort alone. There is something that doesn't feel quite right about this season.
I'm worried.
But just in case, give it a rest, Nancy Kerrigan.
AND HERES J QUICK.....
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2010/10/portland_vs_phoenix_trail_blaz.html
