Blazers Come Home and Treat the Rose Garden to A Win

Last night, the Blazers met up with, former Blazers, Sergio "El Chacho" Rodriguez and Ime Udoka and their Sacramento Kings. The Blazers were coming off a disappointing 1 - 4 game road trip and were looking for some fire to propel them into a tough schedule ahead. The Kings on the other hand were looking to prove themselves having only won one game on the road so far.

Starting Five:
Brandon Roy
LaMarcus Aldridge
Joel Pryzbilla
Martell Webster
Andre Miller?!

Nate McMillan tipped his hat to Dre last night and gave him the start over Steve Blake, this was Blake's first time coming off the bench since 2007. Miller had a pretty quiet night with only 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. LaMarcus Aldridge had a fantastic night once again. The 6'11, All-Star hopeful tallied a near double-double with 25 points, 9 rebounds and a season high 5 assists in 41 minutes of play. Fellow captain, Brandon Roy had a fantastic night as well tallying a double-double with 25 points, 5 rebounds and a season high 10 assists. The captains came through big for the Blazers last night and carried this team to a much needed win. Both of our 2010 All-Star hopefuls tallied a season high in assists which means excellent ball movement and great team work. Despite these performances from LA and BRoy, the star of the night was undoubtedly young guard, Jerryd Bayless.

Since the start of the season, Bayless has been fighting for more minutes on the court. Stories have constantly come out about frustration and anger in the sophomore guard and he finally had his moment to shine last night. Jerryd Bayless tallied a season high in both points and minutes with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 24 minutes of play. JBay also showed his aggression getting to the line 10 times and shooting 80%. I offer a tip of the hat to Mr. Bayless for his excellent play and hope his minutes continue to increase. At the end of the game when they announce stats for the night, when Jerryd's numbers were announced everyone cheered, as they should.

You could tell the guys were happy to be home and have the crowd behind them. If you were following my Twitter updates you might have been worried when I updated saying LaMarcus was taken out of the game and wen straight to the locker room with a pained face, well he did return but, as revealed in post game interviews, he did in fact twist his already tender ankle. Never fear though, it seems a simple ankle sprain will not keep LaMarcus down. The Blazers fought hard and were able to come away with the win, 95 - 88, finally giving the team and the fans something to smile about.

The Blazers next play, former Blazer, Channing Frye and his Phoenix Suns on Thursday at 7:30 PST. This game will be broadcast nationally on TNT so be sure to check it out! You might recall that the Blazers hosted the Suns at about the same time last year and Brandon Roy EXPLODED with a career high 52 points! I'm just sayin, he's due for another spectacular performance! Let's go for 60 tomorrow BRoy!

Series Notes:

•  Portland and Phoenix split last season’s series, with the home team winning all four games. Portland scored 110.3 points per game

while allowing 109.3 points, both highs for the Trail Blazers in a Western Conference series last season.

•  In 2008-09, Portland earned its first home sweep of Phoenix since 1998-99. In the wins, Portland posted two of its three highest

scoring outputs of the season (124 points on Dec. 18, 129 points on Mar. 26).

•  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 18 of the last 19 games in the series.

•  The Suns had knocked off the Trail Blazers 11 consecutive times, the longest series streak against Portland at the time, before Brandon Roy’s career-high 52 points, the second-most by a Trail Blazer in franchise history, lifted Portland past Phoenix, 124-119, on Dec. 18, 2008. Roy’s 19 free throws (of 21) also marked a franchise record.

(Pictures: Yahoo Sports)

Blazers End Road Trip In a Heated Battle with Milwaukee

The Blazers ended their four game road trip in Milwaukee on Saturday. Going into this game the Blazers were 1 - 2 on this road trip, so they were in a must-win situation in order to keep their conference stance and keep morale high.

Starters:
Brandon Roy
LaMarcus Aldridge
Steve Blake
Joel Pryzbilla
Martell Webster

Time for a tip of the hat to LaMarcus Aldridge. Coming into this game, LA had an extremely sore ankle (he twisted it in the previous game) and many were on edge wondering if he would have to opt out of this game giving us a healthy bench of 8 but he pushed through and had one hell of game. Aldridge tallied a season high 31 points, and 16 rebounds in 52 minutes of play. LA was fantastic in this game. He really stepped his game up and helped to keep the team afloat throughout 4 quarters and 2 overtimes. Brandon Roy notched 23 rebounds, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Once again Roy took it upon himself to fight through to the end of this game, making huge baskets at times when the Blazers needed it most. Martell Webster also got on a hot streak and tallied 16 points and 4 rebounds and a crazy four point play. I've been careful to stay out of the Bayless, Blake and Miller drama but I just have one thing to say:

Jerryd Bayless - about 18 minutes of play - 9 points, 3 rebounds - +5 - 3/6 from the field
Steve Blake - about 42 minutes of play - 7 points, 5 rebounds - -8 - 3/10 from the field

I think the numbers speak for themselves.

The Blazers played well in this game despite a slow start. The Blazers had the lead for the first half and in that half the young Buck, Brandon Jennings was non-existent. He didn't shoot, he never scored. The second half was another story. Jennings came rocketing out of the gate and helped the Bucks tie the game up. Andrew Bogut thought he had a buzzer beating, game winning tip in at the end of the fourth but he clearly touched the ball after the shot clock expired so into overtime we go.  I'll say it again, I won't ever completely blame the outcome of a game on the referees but in this case, I think all those who witnessed this game can say that the refs made a game changing call. The Bucks had possession, they missed the basket, LaMarcus and Mbah a Moute went up for the rebound, LMA had it in his hands and Mbah a Moute clearly pushed it out of his hands which initially resulted in a Bucks turnover, Portland ball. The refs went to review the play and ended up changing the call after several minutes of review. Good call? I think not.


Despite the Blazers energy and push throughout this battle, Milwaukee ended up winning 108 - 101.

Portland next hosts former teammate, Sergio Rodriguez and his Sacramento Kings tonight at 7 PM PST. The game will be aired on KGW with pre-game at 6:30 PM. This also means you can purchase the game  to view it online if you won't be near a TV, check out info for that HERE.

Due to a mountain of work with little time before the game, there are no keys tonight, just some series notes:

•  The Trail Blazers swept Sacramento, 3-0, in last year’s series for the first time since posting a 4-0 win over the Kings in 1999-2000.
•  Portland outscored Sacramento, 105.7-87.7, in three wins a season ago. The Trail Blazers shot 45.6% from the field while holding
the Kings to a 42.7% clip.
•  The Trail Blazers outrebounded Sacramento, 145-99, in three games last year, including a 50-25 edge on the offensive glass that
led to a 53-14 advantage in second-chance scoring. Portland’s 59 rebounds vs. Sacramento on Dec. 16 marked a season best.


•  Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie played for Portland from 1970-76, averaging 21.8 points per
game, including a team-best 24.8 points during the Trail Blazers’ inaugural campaign.

I will be at the game tonight, so I will do my best to twitter updates as often as possible with pictures when I can.

(Pictues: Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

A Close Game Results in a Blazer Loss at the King's Court

Coming into this game there was no expectations for the Blazers to win. Cleveland was coming off a two game losing streak, Portland was coming off a win but when the Cavaliers are at home you can bet they'll bring the energy.

Starting FIVE:

Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge

Martell Webster

Steve Blake

Joel Pryzbilla

Brandon Roy stepped up once again leading the Blazers in scoring with 23 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Roy shot a mere 9 - 25 from the field and 2 - 7 from three point range. LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 22 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Andre Miller added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists to the mix. Also Notable: Juwan Howard went to work tonight and tallied 15 points and 1 rebound to the mix.

Box Score:

I have said it before, I will say it again, I will never be the one to blame the whole game on the referees but the officiating was shaky in this game. So, I'll just leave it at that. The effort was definitely there for the Blazers. They had an EXCELLENT first half out-scoring Cleveland 54% - 50% from the field and an outstanding 42% - 17% from 3-point range (due in high part to Martell Webster's hot start). Yet, as LeBron has been known to do, James had a quiet start and came out of the gate strong in the second half. Roy had it right saying, "If we relax for even one quarter we can get blown out by anybody." And that's precisely what happened. The Blazers relaxed for that fourth quarter and Cleveland took advantage of that and ran with it. Rebounding hurt us badly, Cleveland out-rebounded us by 10 total rebounds in the game. Things seemed to still be salvageable at the end of the 3rd when the score was tied 76 all but the Cavs pulled away in the fourth and despite an impressive 5 points in about 2 seconds by the Blazers with 12 seconds left on the clock, it just wasn't enough.

Cleveland went on to win the game 104 - 99.

The Blazers next play the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee to end their four game road trip tomorrow at 7:30 PM CT or 5:30 PM PST. They are currently 1 - 2 on the trip.

Keys & Notes:

1. The Bucks’ .717 (38-15) winning percentage is the best of any Eastern Conference team on its home floor against Portland, but the Trail Blazers have won seven of the last 10 games in Milwaukee.
2. The Trail Blazers have won five consecutive meetings against the Bucks, including three straight at the Rose Garden. With a win Saturday, Portland would tie its longest win streak against the Bucks, all-time (six). Portland has won 14 of the last 20 games between the teams overall. 
3. Keep the Bucks Under 100 - The Bucks have a strong winning record when they reach 100 so far this season, they're 5 -2, so the Blazers need to keep this a low scoring game if they want to come away with the win. 
4. Contain Brandon Jennings - Bucks Rookie, Brandon Jennings has been key to the Bucks wins. Milwaukie is 6 - 3 when Jennings hits 3 or more threes and that's not even mentioning his points in the paint.
   

(Pictures: David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images & Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Blazers Find the Will to Win in Indiana

After a tough loss in New York left Blazer fans worried, Portland traveled to Indiana for a match against the Pacers. Having lost Danny Granger to injury, Indiana was in a similar situation to the Blazers. Both teams were looking to over come adversity once again.

Starters:

Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge

Steve Blake

Martell Webster

Joel Pryzbilla

Once again, Brandon Roy led the team to the win with an outstanding 29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assits. Great to see the all-star effort come out in this game. LaMarcus Aldridge also shined with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Not to mention he had a pretty dunk late in the game. Also notable was Joel Pryzbilla's performance, 12 points 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. The big guy is really stepping his game up in the wake of Greg's absence. He was getting physical in the paint and even getting in on some pick and roll action.

Box Score:

It was hardly perfect but the Blazers came out with energy and a will to win which led to a 102 - 91 win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Blazers next play the Cleveland Cavaliers at Cleveland on Friday at 5 PM PST. The game will be aired on Comcast Sportsnet and on ESPN.

Apologies on the super short post for this game, but sickness and a fever prevent me from going into much detail. For more information and post game discussion be sure to check out posts from www.blazersedge.com and www.bustabucket.com!

(Picture: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Struggle to Find Rhythm In Front of a Star Studded Crowd at MSG

Portland  started a four game road trip last night in New York playing the New York Knicks in front of a star studded crowd including the likes of Rihanna, Celine Dion, Spike Lee and Chris Rock. After a night of emotional events, including the injury to Greg Oden that will take him out for the rest of the season, and a huge win against the Rockets in the books, the Blazers were once again facing adversity in the big apple. Head coach Nate McMillan underwent successful surgery on his achilles heel, but this meant he would be a no show on the road trip. Also, beloved Spaniard, Rudy Fernandez satyed home to rest a hurt back. Needless to say, the Blazers had a lot working against them and were looking to start the trip with a win against a New York team they had beaten 5 consecutive times.

 Starting Five:

Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge

Martell Webster

Steve Blake

Joel Pryzbilla

High scorer of the night for Portland was, once again, Brandon Roy. B Roy knows his role and has been fighting harder than ever to keep the team within striking distance but the problem is that we need more than Roy, Aldridge and Miller to step up. A big problem we saw in the game last night was players standing around and waiting for someone else to step up. Roy tallied 27 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 9 - 19 from the field and 9 - 10 from the line. Aldridge had a great night as well producing a double-double with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists. When our two All-Stars play like this we should be winning. Also notable is Jerryd Bayless. J Bay has been given more and more minutes over the past couple of games, something I am a strong supporter of especially when Jerryd puts up numbers like these. Bayless tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Bayless was one of few to go on a hot sreak but as per usual was benched. I think the coaches need to trust Bayless more and let him stick it out on the court. It's a shame that a player like J Bay who is aggressive and hustles isn't being rewarded.

It was a battle to the end but the Knicks prevailed wining the contest 93 - 84. Despite a 14 - 0 run late in the 4th quarter, the Blazers just couldn't keep up. You could definitely tell that morale and energy was low for this team. Too many times we saw a lack of communication and players simply standing on the sides watching the game rather than participating.

Times are tough but something's gotta give. This Blazers team has seen adversity before so I still refuse to count them out. It's not what we want, but I think we might have to settle with a late season surge at this point. Jeff Pendergraph, rookie forward (injured), has been quoted as saying that he could be back in action as early as Christmas so maybe he could make some changes for this team. Also, Patty Mills, rookie point guard (injured), is supposed to be ahead of schedule on his recovery as well. The more bodies we have the better right now, especially when we can only play 9 guys giving us a healthy bench of 4. Not quite an ideal situation.

The Blazers next play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday December 9th at 4 PM PST. Remember, we're on the east coast so games are playing earlier.

Keys Keys Keysssss:

1. Fast play - We've got to continue working the fast break plays. Indiana likes to play fast so we need to keep up with that intensity and play fast right back at them.
2. Miller & Webster Step It Up - Andre Miller had 4 points against NY. We need Miller to stay consistent in the high numbers. Webster also needs to step his game up. He's the replacement for Outlaw who would come off the bench and give us baskets, so he needs to start making those baskets. If we can get Miller, Roy, Aldridge and Webster with a good scoring night we can't be beat.
3. STOP TURNOVERS - In last night's game we had 15 turnovers in the first half alone. Those turnovers led to 31 NY points. We need to clean up our passes and play and keep turnovers to a minimum.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

A Win for the Blazers is Overshadowed Amidst Oden's Devastating Injury

Last night the Blazers met with the Houston Rockets at the Rose Garden. The Blazers, who were on a three game losing streak were looking for a win to gain confidence going into a four game road trip. Hosuton however was looking for a perfect road trip having already won three of three. The match-up which has brought intensity out of both sides in their recent meetings was looking to be a good one.

Starters:

Brandon Roy
LaMarcus Aldridge
Martell Webster
Greg Oden
Steve Blake



Rumors were abound prior to the game that Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller would start, but Rudy sat out of this game due to back spasms. Maybe, in the future when Rudy is healthy and McMillan is back from surgery(more on that later) we will see that line-up on the court.

Brandon Roy took top honors but with a different effect last night. We have seen Brandon as the top scorer in recent games but it was a different Roy, it wasn't necessarily the all-star we have come to know. Last night's game showed Brandon Roy the All-Star. He pushed the tempo, created plays and was aggressive. Roy tallied 28 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists and was 9 - 15 from the field and an AMAZING 9 - 9 from the line. It was great to see B Roy back on his game and hopefully it's something we continue to see.
Andre Miller also had a spectacular night racking up 24 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 9 - 14 from the field and 5 - 7 from the line. Like Roy, Miller was determined and aggressive tonight driving to the basket and creating plays for the team. It was great to see play like this out of these guys, especially with Oden's injury on the minds of everyone watching.

Box Score:

The Blazers fought hard and were rewarded with the win 90 - 89. The game came down to the wire but Brandon Roy, our All-Star, stayed confident and got the basket leaving Houston with 3 seconds to answer and luckily they failed. Despite the good coming out of last night, the game will be plagued with the injury of Greg Oden.

In the 1st quarter with 7:45 left on the clock, Aaron Brooks went up for a lay in and Greg Oden followed. Only one of them came down safely. Greg fell to the floor immediately grabbing his knee, Brandon Roy came to his side and alerted the referees to stop game play while Houston's medical staff ran to Greg's aid(this all went down in front of the Houston bench). A silence went across the Rose Garden as medical staff rushed onto the court and the Blazers coaching staff followed. I, myself was not in the Rose Garden for the game, I was observing from the media truck outside and saw every camera angle of the incident. It appears that Aaron and Greg didn't touch but that the injury occured as Greg left the ground.

This injury was painful in more ways than one. It looked painful, his knee was indented but at the same time there was pain in knowing that all expectations for this team came crashing down in that moment. I will never forget seeing the shot of Greg Oden, with a pained look on his face that said 'sorry', look up at Brandon Roy who kneeled at his side and held his hand throughout this ordeal. The team all rushed onto the court to help Greg onto the gourney and everyone hugged him on his way out. This moment showed how close the Blazers are and how much Greg means to this team. Brandon Roy, who was by Greg's side as medical staff were helping him, was asked Did You Talk to Him and said, "I just told him, 'man, keep your head up.' On the court he looked at me like 'sorry' and put his head down. I was like, 'nah, no way, man, no way.' You can't predict these things. You've got to do your best to stay positive. We're going to do our best to fill in for you. I just kept trying to tell him, man look, we love you. Get better."

It was determined that Oden had a fractured patella(knee cap) on his left knee. Greg underwent knee surgery last night and had two screws placed on his knee cap and it was noted that no ligaments were damaged. Which is a damn good thing because it means that full recovery is not only possible but likely. The 7 foot center will be out for about four months. I think Kevin Pritchard (GM of the Blazers) said it best with, "The challenging part for me is sometimes life's not fair. You know. I've seen this kid work his tail off here. He has put in the work. He has done absolutely everything we've asked him to do. And more. And he's going to go through that again."

This is devastating for the Blazers, but I believe if any team can beat adversity, it's this team. True, we don't have a back up center now but just look at the Houston Rockets, they have no center at all! I think this injury gives the Blazers the chance to work on fast play and pushing the ball. I will keep faith in the Blazers. I believe they can make it out of this but, hey Nicolas Batum.....can we speed up the healing process? Please?

Also something to note, as mentioned earlier, Nate McMillan will not be joining the Blazers on this road trip. He is also injured and will be under going surgery on his foot. The Portland Head Coach sported a walking boot cast on his right foot at the game last night. Assistant Coach Dean Domopolus will be filling in the role of head coach and Monty Williams will take on the Assistant Coach role for the road trip. Rudy Fernandez will also be staying home for the trip resting his back.

Portland next plays the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden on Monday, December 7th.

Keys, Keys, Keys:

1. Keep it clean Joel - With Greg Oden out, there is no back up center for Joel. I'm assuming we'll see LaMarcus or Juwan play a kind of forward center position at some point to give Pryz a break but with that said, Joel needs to keep fouling to a minimum. Luckily the team was able to get in a practice today where they undoubtedly went over the changes with GO out.
2. Keep it under 100 - As I said in the last post, the Blazers thrive when their opponent scores low and the Knicks thrive when they're able to score high so we need to keep this a low scoring game for NY
3. Fast Break It - With GO out we have more chances then ever to play a fast paced game. We need our guys to run the floor and take advatage of all fast breaks. Which leads to:
4. Points in the Paint - We have constantly been outscored in the paint so far this season. That needs to change! We need more guys to get aggressive and not just settle for the outside shot.
5. Free Throws - As always, getting to the line is extremely important. If we can beat NY to the line, we can beat them in this game.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Miami Heats Things Up In the Rose Garden

Tuesday night, the Blazers met with the Miami Heat at the Rose Garden and after two losses, Portland was looking for a win against one of the best players in the league to boost their spirits.

Starters:

Brandon Roy
Steve Blake
Martell Webster
Greg Oden
DANTE CUNNINGHAM?!

That's right, your eyes do not fool you. LaMarcus Aldridge had a knee bone contusion and opted to sit out of the game(On the positive end, LA looked damn good in his suit)so none other than rookie, Dante Cunningham stepped up to fill in his spot. He tallied a respectable 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 18 minutes of play. I think nerves got the best of him in his first NBA career start, but that's just me. I am officially a member of the Team Dante movement, which is not slowing down! The rook offers some much needed hustle and energy on the court. He'll definitely be one to watch to see how he'll develop with more playing time and experience.

Box Score:

Brandon Roy was once again on top with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The shooting guard shot a measly 9 - 25 from the field and 3 - 8 from 3-point range. Andre Miller takes the silver spot with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Juwan Howard played some serious game and tallied 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assits. Also, Greg Oden had a remarkable game with 13 points and a career high 20 rebounds, count 'em 20! Yet all of these stats were not enough to win the game.

Miami came away with the win 107 - 100.

It was a close battle in the end but the Blazers couldn't stand the heat (pun not intended). This game ended with the Blazers not having a lead in 11.5 quarters. The ability was there but the drive just wasn't. Things still aren't clicking quite right for Portland. Too many times I saw turnovers from lack of communication or no communication at all. Hopefully we get out of the slump and get out of it soon! This loss means a 3 game losing streak for the Blazers, the first in over a year.

The Blazers next play the Houston Rockets on Saturday at the Rose Garden.

Keys:

1. Keep Houston out of the Paint - With the loss of Yao and TMac, Houston's game relies much more on speed and drives into the paint. If we can stop players like Aaron Brooks, Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola from being permanent fixtures down there, we have a good chance of pulling a W out of this thing.
2. Low Scoring Game - If we can keep Houston under 100 points that will mean good things for us. We play better and win more games when we keep the opponent under 100.
3. FREE THROWS - whoever can get to the line the most will have a better chance of winning. Plain and simple.
   

Things Get Jazzy In Utah, but Not for Us.

On Saturday night, the Blazers met in Utah with the Utah Jazz. After a heartbreaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies the previous night, the Blazers were once again in the under dog seat looking for redemption. The Utah Jazz had other plans, coming off a strong win against the Chicago Bulls, they were looking to continue their dominance and prove to the NBA they are still a threat in the west.

Starters:

Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge

Martell Webster

Steve Blake

Greg Oden

Brandon Roy took top honors that night with only 19 points. Unless all players are in double digits, 19 points is pretty low for a high scorer. Roy also tallied 4 assists and 4 rebounds. He shot 7 - 13 from the field and 0 - 1 from 3-point range but was perfect in free throws with 5 - 5. Roy only made it to the line twice Saturday night, being fouled on a 3 - point shot and 2 - pointer. LaMarcus Aldridge did his part Saturday night as well with 14 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. He was also perfect at the line, though he only got there once.

Blazers ended up losing 108 - 92.

It's the second loss in a row for the Blazers and they continue to look tired, confused and lost on the court with no chemistry. I see five guys out there, not one team. Which is a real shame, but hopefully something that was cleaned up in practice today and yesterday in preparation for tonight's game.

Utah outdid themselves Saturday night. They came ready to play and were full of energy. They played like a team sharing the ball, they had 36 assists compared to our 19. They shot the ball 60% from the field compared to our 45%. From 3 - point range they shot 58.3% compared to our 16.7%. You see where I'm going. No need for anymore depressing stat comparisons. (At least we beat them in free throws!! 72.4% compared to their 55.6%! Suck on that Utah!) Basically, Utah outplayed the Blazers. I will not condone jumping off a cliff because of these past two losses. It's still early in the season and there are soooooo many factors that need to be addressed before the Blazers can reach their full potential. But that is why you see Blazer fans heading for those cliffs, because they know the Blazers' potential. We have one of the deepest benches in the NBA, full of talent, you've been hearing that all season and pre-season long, and for all that talent to go to waste is a terrifying thought. But what we all need to realize is our team is young and this is the first BIG change to happen to the team since the Roy-LA years began. Team members have left and new ones have come in, new ones that are veterans and have talent. The team is still struggling to discover what to do with all that talent and make sure it gets utilized properly. So, am I worried? No. Am I disappointed? Yes. Will I be jumping off a cliff anytime soon? Hell no. I think we've got a season or two before we fully reach that potential and contend for a championship, this season, I'll settle for second round of the playoffs, Western Conference finals contenders at most. Before you get your pitch forks out Blazer fans, note that I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be wrong. If we go even further than that and this team finds its rhythm sooner rather than later, I will join you all in the happiest of happy dances. But at the same time, I'm a realist and making it in the playoffs alone is a satisfying thought especially considering how packed the western conference is this year. So keep the faith Blazer fans!

Tomorrow night, the Blazers next play the Miami Heat! The Heat experienced an amazing opener to the season but have been experiencing a losing streak as of late, most recently losing to the Boston Celtics, and we hope to continue that streak. Portland swept Miami in 2008-09 for the second straight season. The Trail Blazers have swept 11 out of the 20 season series played between the teams, all-time. So hopefully, this will make for an interesting match up.


Some Keys:

• Dwayne Wade Must Be Stopped - Wade is a driving force and knows how to work on both ends of the court, anywhere on the court whether it be outside or in the paint averaging 27 ppg. Greg Oden especially needs to move his feet and be careful of Wade's skills because Dwayne knows how to draw those fouls and he'll be looking to take GO out of the equation.
• Boo Beasley! - This kid is having a great season alongside DWade averaging a solid 14 ppg and being a rebounding machine, he is seconds on his team with 35 rebounds. Which brings me to:
• REBOUNDS - Offensive and defensive. We need second chances if our shots are cold and we need to make sure the other team isn't getting second chances. Rebounds determine how many posessions you get in a game, so the more the merrier. 
• FREE THROWS - don't even need to explain this one.

The Miami v. Portland game starts at 7 PM PST. You can catch this game on KGW Northwest News Channel 8, which also means it is available for purchase on trailblazers.com if you can't make it to a TV but you have a computer with internet in front of you. You can catch the call of the game on 95.5 the Game in the Portland area with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey. And be sure to catch the LIVE game chat with Casey Holdahl and Max Mandel on TrailBlazers.com! I myself will be attending this game rocking my ROY MVP shirt from squirrelevant.com! And no, that was not a paid advertisement, these guys have some awesome Blazer shirts and all Blazer fans should definitely check them out, what with the holiday season in full swing they would make an excellent gift! :)

(Picture: AP Photo/Colin Braley)