Blazers Feel the Heat in the Valley of the Sun

Sunday night, the Blazers traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to meet with the Phoenix Suns. The western conference playoff race is tighter than ever and a win tonight was necessary for both sides to secure positions going into the off season. The Blazers were coming into this game on a 5-game winning streak.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Marcus Camby
Nicolas Batum
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

Top honors go to Andre Miller for this game. He was one point off top scorer territory but still tallied a near double double with 22 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds. Dre quite literally carried this team throughout this game. When things seemed dismal, Miller put his head down, penetrated the paint and got to the line. He looked like he was on the brink of another 50 point game for most of the game. It's amazing watching Andre push through games, when they call him Iron Man they literally mean it. The guy gets battered and bruised, rolls at least one ankle twenty times a game and still walked out to the court and gets things done for this team. To everyone, including myself, who doubted this guy I hope you are all smacking yourselves upside the head as I am doing now. Brandon Roy was the high scorer of the night with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. It was a Roy Bot kinda night where Brandon did what he could to keep the Blazers within reach of a win. He still didn't seem 100% though continuing some of the sloppy play that plagued the team against Washington.

Here's a Look at the Rest of the Box Score:

This game wasn't horrible by any means but it wasn't great. The Blazers came out of the gate slow and just couldn't overtake the Suns in the first half. Luckily we were able to keep pace with Phoenix only allowing them 47 points and tying them to end the half. The second half we started to finally see some energy from Portland and they were able to take a marginal lead but Phoenix rallied back with a vengeance and we just couldn't fully contain them. The Suns introduced a  zone defense and completely shut our key players down. We couldn't get to the paint so it became 'Settle for Crappy Js Time!' Free Throws and confusion lost this game. We shot 72.9% (21-29) from the line and many of those misses came at crucial times in the game. The Suns' defense completely threw our guys off their game, sloppiness ensued and players started to frantically throw jumpers up. Their were chances to win this game but the Blazers just didn't capitalize on them. They ended up losing the game 93 - 87.

Photo of the Night:

Andre blocking an Amar'e dunk. Wait...Whaaaaat?

The Blazers next fly back home to welcome the Dallas Mavericks at the Rose Garden on Thursday. This game will be aired on CSN and TNT, tip off at 7:30 PM PST.

•  Portland leads the series, 2-0, with both games contested in Dallas. The Trail Blazers have won twice in Dallas for the first season since 1998-99. One more win over the Mavericks would also give Portland its first series win over Dallas since 1998-99 (3-0). 

•  Andre Miller scored a career-high 52 points (22-31 FG), tied for the second-highest total in Trail Blazers history, in leading Portland to a 114-112 overtime win in Dallas in the last meeting on Jan. 30. Portland shot 53.5% (46-86) from the floor. 

•  Dallas had won 11 straight home contests over the Trail Blazers (Portland’s longest active road losing streak at the time), before Portland earned an 85-81 win in Dallas on Dec. 22 in the first series meeting between the teams. The Mavericks led in the fourth quarter by as many as seven points, but Portland used a 27-16 edge in the final period to claim the victory. 

•  In the two meetings between the teams this season, the Trail Blazers are shooting 47.3% from the field while limiting the Mavericks to 43.2% field goal shooting. Dallas has passed out 44 assists to Portland’s 30 assists in two contests. The Trail Blazers have posted a 16-8 margin in steals. 

•  In 2008-09, Dallas swept the season series (three games) for the fourth time in the last five seasons, accounting for the only four sweeps by the Mavericks in series history. 

•  The Mavericks outscored the Trail Blazers, 99.7.0-94.0, and outrebounded Portland, 40.0-35.3, in last year’s series. Dallas won all three games by single digits. 

•  Dallas Head Coach Rick Carlisle was an assistant coach of the Trail Blazers for three seasons under P.J. Carlesimo from 1994-97. Carlisle is 10-7 (.588) in his head coaching career against Portland. 

•  Dallas’ Matt Carroll played 13 games for Portland in 2003-04, averaging 1.0 points in 3.7 minutes. 

•  Martell Webster and Mavericks guard Jason Terry are cousins.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Get a Lucky Win Against Washington

Friday night, the Blazers welcomed the Washington Wizards to the Rose Garden. This was Portland's first game after a long four day rest, so it was important for the Blazers to come out strong and get back into game time rhythm.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Marcus Camby
Nicolas Batum
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

This game was ugly soooo let's just take a quick look at our top scorers. LaMarcus Aldridge tallied another double-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. LMA shot 6 - 17 from the field and 7 - 10 from the line, two of those made free throws came at the end of the game when the Blazers were down two. Not really much to say about the performance from LMA (or anyone else for that matter). It was mediocre, which is interesting to say when the guy got a double double, but it really was. The Wizards defense completely threw LMA and others off their game and even though shots were contested, they weren't contested enough to result in LMA and B Roy shooting a combined 10 - 35 from the field. Which brings us to Brandon, Roy tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. True, two of those points came off a buzzer beating, game winner but I'm going to agree with Roy when he said, "If we play like this against Phoenix on Sunday, they'll destroy us." Too true B Roy, too true. For his 34th birthday, Andre Miller also tallied 14 points in his 600th conescutive game in the NBA. He also added 2 rebounds and 3 assists. The referees also celebrated Dre's b-day by giving him the wonderful present of a technical foul!

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

I won't bore/make you sick with long details from this game. We all know the Blazers don't do well with long breaks and that was evident Friday night. The players would never own up to it, but let's face it these guys were out of rhythm, out of sync, out of everything. The team shot a dismal 32% from the field, 16.7% from 3-pt range and tallied a total of 10 assists for the entire game. We were extremely lucky that the Wizards played the same caliber of basketball.

Photo of the night:

BRoy: "PHEW, we got lucky."

The Blazers next travel to Phoenix, AZ to take on former Blazer, Channing Frye and his Phoenix Suns on Sunday, tip-off t 7:30 PM PST on KGW channel 8.

•  Portland has won four straight games in the series for the first time since a four-game win streak March 25-Dec. 5, 1999.
•  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 20 of the last 21 games in the series.
•  The Trail Blazers lead this season’s series, 2-0, clinching a series win with Sunday’s contest being the last meeting between the teams this year. Portland will win the season series for the first time since 1999-2000, while a win Sunday would give the Trail Blazers their first sweep of the Suns since 1998-99 (three games).
•  In two 2009-10 series games between the teams, Portland is shooting 51.6% from the field and 44.8% from three-point range, while Phoenix has shot 47.5% and 41.9%, respectively.
•  The Trail Blazers won in Phoenix, 108-101, on Feb. 10 for the first time since Feb. 4, 2004, snapping a nine-game road losing streak in the series.
•  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.

For Old Time's Sake:

1. Crash The Boards: As of late we've struggled with allowing the other team second chances by giving them the offensive board. Between Lopez and Stoudemire, PHX has tough guys who will scrap down low for the boards so we need our Marcuses tonight: LMA & Camby, crashing those boards.
2. Contain the perimeter: Phoenix has hot shooters. Remember that guy who used to sit on our bench, Channing Frye? That kid can shoot and so can Steve Nash, Richardson and others. Basically, if we give too many open looks for their shooters we'll be looking at a tough comeback and/or a big fat L.
3. Contain the paint: We tend to give too many points in the paint and that could be a serious problem tonight. Amar'e Stoudemire is coming off a season high game with 44 points. The guy is strong and can muscle his way to the hoop if you give him position down low. Not to mention, Dante Cunningham was last to posterize him so I'm sure he'll be looking for some pay back if Dante sees any minutes.

 (Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Off the Court News 2nd Edition

Huge congrats go out to the Roy Bot!! Brandon Roy has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week!

From USAToday:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week.

The All-Star averaged 27 points while leading the Trail Blazers to four victories last week. He had 41 points in a comeback win at Golden State.

This is the fifth time Roy has won the award in his career. Clyde Drexler is the only other player in franchise history to win it that often.

WooHoo!! Roy definitely deserves this honor! He has been doing serious work for the Blazers this past week after finally getting back to his usual Roy Bot self! It's really exciting having Brandon get the recognition he deserves! Keep it up BRoy!

A side note, it's also exciting hearing Blazers head coach, Nate McMillan's name being thrown around in Coach of the Year considerations. It really is remarkable how Nate has taken this team, down and injured, and turned them into serious playoff contenders. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that he's doing something right getting this team into the playoffs and making them a real threat. 

Lastly, Rudy Fernandez will be doing a signing TOMORROW in Salem, OR!

From Rudy's Twitter: 

Tomorrow I will be at Capitol Subaru in Salem (OR) at 5,30 to sign autographs

Where:

2505 Mission Street Southeast

Salem, OR 97302
(503) 316-4294

When:

5:30 PM

Who/Why:

IT'S RUDY "EL MACHETERO" FERNANDEZ! That's Why.

View Larger Map

I've met Rudy once before at his Verizon Wireless signing late last year and it was a fantastic experience! Rudy was nice enough to talk to my good friend in NYC on the phone and was incredibly genuine and kind. I definitely suggest you make it down to Salem to meet him if you can, you won't regret it! 

That's all your off the court news for now!

Hedont Hears The Music At The Rose Garden In A 109 - 98 Portland Win

Tonight the Blazers met with the Toronto Raptors at the Rose Garden. This was Toronto's first and only trip to Portland this season and boy was Portland eager to hate welcome Hedo Turkoglu, who, if you recall, spurned the Blazers this past summer leading us all to believe he would be a Blazer this season only to back out last minute and go to the Raptors. Both teams are battling to keep their playoff positions in their respective conferences. Toronto, like Portland, is in the 8th seed and is looking for any win to keep their head above water.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Marcus Camby

Nicolas Batum

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

MVP of the night goes to my main man, LaMarcus Aldridge! Aldridge had a fantastic double-double kinda night with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot and 1 very nasty dunk. Aldridge came out of the gate with aggression and a sense of urgency. He was all over the place scrappin' for the ball, getting to the hoop, crashing the boards and throwing it down with authority. LMA has been pretty quiet in the first halves of recent games but tonight he made sure he getting things done for this team from tip off. It's really nice to see LaMarcus getting the swing of things down low and making teams pay, especially in light a great article in the Columbian today, done by Brian Smith, where LaMarcus talked about his role on this team and his need to be aggressive down low. You can read that article HERE. Nicolas Batum had a big game as well also scoring 22 points to go with 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. Batum is getting more and more skilled every day and boy is it exciting to watch! Honorable mention goes out to Rudy Fernandez who had a great night with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 3 - 5 from beyond the arch.

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

This was a great game for the Blazers. They played aggressive, scrappy and with loads of intensity and got themselves a nice win. Going into this game we were all curious as to how Hedo Turkoglu would be accepted by the Portland crowd and they definitely let him know he is not welcome by booing during not only his introduction but every time he touched the ball. To the crowd's delight, the Blazer did an excellent job containing Turkoglu holding him to 14 points and getting him in foul trouble. The Blazers controlled this game from start to finish by keeping up with Toronto taking the lead and never looking back. The Rapotors were able to get within 2 during the fourth but the Blazers locked it down, got stops and came out with a 109 - 98 win. The Blazers are still in the 8th spot for the playoffs but they are now half a game out of the 7th spot and only 2 games out of the 5th spot! Hopefully this team really takes advantage of this 5 day break and gets work done so we can move on up in the standings!

Photo of the night:

L TRAIN COMING THROUGH.

The Blazers get to enjoy a nice 5 day break before taking on the Washing Wizards at the Rose Garden on Friday.

•  The Wizards bested the Trail Blazers, 97-92, on Jan. 18 in the first game of this season’s series behind 28 points (10-16 FG) from former Wizard Antawn Jamison. LaMarcus Aldridge notched 22 points (9-17 FG) a game-best 15 rebounds (nine off.). 

•  Portland has won six of the past eight contests in the series, including four straight wins at the Rose Garden. Washington last won in Portland, 114-106, on March 28, 2005. 

•  Portland swept the two-game series between the teams in 2008-09, but the Wizards outshot the Trail Blazers 49.3% to 45.9% from the field and 48.4% to 41.9% from three-point distance. 

•  Brandon Roy led all Trail Blazers with 22.0 points to go with 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.00 steals in two games against Washington a season ago. Roy’s 10 steals on Jan. 24, 2009, in the last meeting between the teams at the Rose Garden, tied the franchise record for steals in a game. 

•  The Trail Blazers have never scored fewer than 80 points in 94 contests between the two teams. 

(Pictures: OregonLive)

The Curse Is Broken -- 2-0 Cali Road Trip Gives McMillan 400 Wins

Thursday night the Blazers traveled to Oakland, California to face the Golden State Warriors. The Blazers have notoriously played below par in Oracle Arena. In fact, the Blazers haven't won in Oakland in 9 games. Their last win in Oracle Arena was in November 2004. That being said, Portland was looking to break the Oracle Arena curse and take away a much needed win.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Marcus Camby

Nicolas Batum

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

The MVP of the night was without a doubt Brandon Roy. Roy completely carried this team through 3 whole quarters and came away with a remarkable 41 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists (Assist count is low when you're the only one who can get the shots to drop if you know what I mean) and 2 steals. Roy shot 14 - 22 from the field and 13 - 17 from the line. This is why B Roy is an all star, his team was struggling on both ends of the court so Brandon took it upon himself to keep the Blazers in the game. Roy had been struggling trying to come back from his hamstring injury but I think his performance in the last couple games, this one especially proves Roy Bot is back with a vengeance and we couldn't be happier. Andre Miller took the silver spot with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and even a blocked shot. Money Miller shot 4 - 15 from the field and 7 - 8 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge, despite a dismal first three quarters was able to sneak into third place with a huge 4th quarter! Aldridge scored only 4 points in the first three quarters, allowing Brandon Roy to take over but in the 4th, LMA gave his co-captain a break and went on to outscore the entire Golden State team with 10 points. The L-Train tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist. Thankfully LaMarcus got his stuff together in the 4th but we really need LaMarcus early in the game. We were lucky to scrape out this win but we can't simply depend on Brandon Roy to dig us out in future games and especially not in the playoffs.

Here's a Look At The Rest of the Box Score:

The beginning of this game made it seem as if the Oracle Arena curse had struck again and we would be looking at a big fat loss but thanks in large part to our all-star and undisputed leader, Brandon Roy we were able to scrape out a win. The fourth quarter is when this team came alive and realized they needed to start playing some serious basketball if they wanted to come out with the W. I don't know if someone kicked over the Gatorade cooler or something but some serious sense got knocked into the Blazers and they started playing with urgency and intensity. A big contribution to this win was getting the Warriors in foul trouble. Portland was able to get Ellis AND Maggette to foul out of the game and brought Stephen Curry to 5 fouls nearly fouling out himself. The Blazers got to the line 37 times and shot about 84%. All this contributed to a 110 - 105 win for Portland.

Photo(s) of the Night:

Just look at Rudy throwin' the three in Nelly's face.

You might have arrived 4 quarters late but you did arrive LMA.

The Blazers next played the second of back to back in California against the Sacramento Kings, whom we only just played at the Rose Garden earlier this week. Afyer a big come from behind win in Oakland the night before, Portland was looking for a blow-out to give them a 2 - 0 California road trip and give Coach McMillan his 400th win.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Marcus Camby

Nicolas Batum

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

Roy is our MVP for the second night in a row with 28 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. The RoyBot shot  10 - 13 from the field and a perfect 2 - 2 from beyond the arch and 6 - 6 from the line. Not too shabby considering he was coming off a 41 points in 42 minutes night. LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up his game (in the fourth quarter) and reclaimed the silver spot with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Once again it took some time for LMA to find his rhythm but when he did it was smooth sailing to the finish line. 

Here's a Look At the Box Score:

This game was a pretty smooth win for the Blazers. We took the lead early and were able to maintain it through to the end. There were some spots when the Kings made a run but the Blazers were able to keep their momentum and grab the win. We even got to see a little bit of newest Blazer, Travis Diener! The 6-1' point guard we acquired from the Indiana Pacers clocked his first minutes as a Blazers and showed that he's an extremely unselfish guy as he made plays and passed the ball instead of trying to get points on the board for himself. The guard didn't tally any points but he did come away with one assist. Diener seems like a pretty good guy but I'm not going to lie, I wanted some Patty Mills out there. Regardless, the Blazers were able to shut the game down and come away with a 110 - 94 win making this head coach, Nate McMillan's 400th career win! Congrats to the coach and the team!

Photo of the Night:

I can almost hear the infamous BayWatch: "HEEEEY?!" scream through this picture.

The Blazers next come back home to face former Blazer Jarrett "JSquared" Jack and the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

•  The Trail Blazers have won three straight games in the series. Neither team has won more than three games consecutively in series history. A win Sunday would provide Portland with back-to-back season sweeps and its longest win streak vs. Toronto, all-time (four). 

•  Portland led by as many as 17 points in a 101-87 victory in Toronto in the first game of the series. Brandon Roy (20 points) and Andre Miller (18 points) led the way in scoring for the Trail Blazers. Miller’s 10 assists tied Roy’s record of 10 assists (Jan. 13, 2008) for the most by a Trail Blazer against the Raptors in series history. 

•  The Trail Blazers and Raptors had split the last five season series before Portland nabbed its first series win last year since 2002-03 and its fifth two-game sweep overall. Toronto only has one sweep over Portland in 13 series contested (1996-97). 

•  Portland outrebounded Toronto, 88-67, including a 30-16 margin on the offensive glass last season. The Trail Blazers gained a 35-23 edge in second-chance points. 

•  Brandon Roy notched team highs of 23.5 points (57.1% FG) and 8.0 assists in two contests vs. Toronto last year. 

•  Chris Bosh led Toronto with 24.0 points (15-15 FT) and 7.0 rebounds in two games vs. Portland a season ago. Bosh’s 38 points in Toronto’s Jan. 13, 2008, double overtime win are the most ever scored by a Raptor against the Trail Blazers. 

•  The Raptors did not miss a free throw against the Trail Blazers last season, shooting 25-for-25 from the line. Portland went 29- for-36 (80.6%) in two meetings. 

•  Brandon Roy logged his first career double-double on Dec. 22, 2006, against the Raptors, with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight assists. 

•  Rudy Fernandez plays on the Spanish National Team with Toronto guard Jose Calderon. Calderon matched the record for assists by a Raptor against the Trail Blazers with 13 on Dec. 7, 2008. 

•  Toronto guard Jarrett Jack posted 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in three seasons with the Trail Blazers from 2005-08.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Best The Kings at the Rose Garden

Tuesday night the Blazers welcomed the Sacramento Kings to the Rose Garden. For the Blazers this game was a must win. With the western conference as tight as it is, it is necessary to beat below .500 teams. Sacramento, who will not be making the playoffs this year, is simply holding on, winning what they can when they can until the regular season is finished.

Starting Cinco:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

B Roy took back the leading scorer position with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Roy had a much smoother game against the Kings but still had some rough spots. It's a shame that we can't count on made free throws from Roy right now but he did have a much better game and seemed to have a little more confidence in his shots. He shot 50% from the field and 3 - 7 from the line. Nico Batum and Andre Miller tied for second with 14 points a piece. Batum also tallied 2 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 6 - 7 from the field while Dre added 2 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 4 - 9 from the field and a perfect 6 - 6 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge came in a close third with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. If we want to stay alive in the playoffs at all we need to see more production from LMA and B Roy, I'm just puttin' that out there.

Here's A Look At The Rest Of The Box Score:

It was anything but perfect but it was a win. We had a big lead and saw it start to dwindle once again but luckily we were able to hold the kings off and get a win. One of the big plusses from this game is that we  held a team that averages over 100 points a game down to 81. Good job team! We were also able to contain Tyreke Evans under 20 points when he averages a solid 20.3 points per game. Portland kept the Kings at 43% field goald shooting and scraped out the W 88 - 81. One discomforting factor that we saw tonight was that Marcus Camby really can't inbound the ball. The 6'11 power forward, we recently acquired from Los Angeles, had 4 turnovers in this game alone. Careful with that ball Marcus, it's precious! I'm not saying "oh no! we shouldn't have traded for him!" nor am I suggesting you say that but let's just keep Camby down low blocking shots and getting rebounds rather than handling the ball shall we? ;-) All in all it was a much needed win and the Blazers did what they had to do to get it.

Photo of the night:

Like a work of art.

The Blazers next travel to the dreaded Oracle Arena in Oakland, California to play the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

•  The Warriors have won nine straight games in Oakland and 13 of the last 18 meetings in the series overall. Portland last won the series, a 4-0 sweep, in 2002-03. 

•  Portland and Golden State have the split the first two games of the 2009-10 series, with each team winning at home. The Trail Blazers have earned an 88-73 rebounding edge, including a 30-22 margin on the offensive glass, in the two meetings. 

•  In two series contests, Brandon Roy leads Portland with 27.0 points per game (18-33 FG, 16-18 FT). Andre Miller has added 18.5 points per contest in two games. 

•  Golden State won last season’s series, 2-1, with the home team winning all three contests. The home team has won nine straight games in the series, including four in a row by the Trail Blazers in Portland. 

•  Both teams averaged better than 105 points per game (Portland, 105.7; Golden State, 105.3) in three meetings last year. The winning team has scored more than 100 points in each of the last 12 games in the series. 

•  The Trail Blazers gained a 125-112 rebounding advantage, including a 46-34 edge on the offensive glass, in three series games in 2008-09. Portland outscored Golden State in the paint, 144-110. 

•  The Warriors gained 30 points on the Trail Blazers in three games by shooting 90-for-100 (90.0%) from the free throw line last year. Portland went 60-for-77 (77.9%). 

•  Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers with 26.0 points (58.0% FG, 6-9 3-PT), 5.3 assists and 2.67 steals (tied) in three games against the Warriors last season. 

•  Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson has coached more games vs. the Trail Blazers than any other active NBA head coach (52-53). 

•  Golden State television broadcaster Jim Barnett played in Portland’s inaugural season in 1970-71, averaging a team second-best 18.5 points per game. 

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Off the Court News

Some off the court news was learned this week:

Bad news on the center front. Joel Przybilla, who was already out for the season, has re-ruptured his patella tendon. As released on IAmATrailBlazerFan.com:

PORTLAND, Ore. – Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla will undergo surgery on his right patella tendon in the next few days.

Przybilla re-ruptured his right patella tendon Saturday morning after slipping in the shower at his home in Milwaukee, Wis.

He returned to Portland today to undergo an MRI, which revealed the rupture.

Przybilla originally ruptured the tendon in a Dec. 22 game at Dallas. He underwent season-ending surgery on Dec. 24 and was in Milwaukee rehabilitating the injury.

No timetable is available for his return to the court.

We have received another update regarding Przybilla's surgery:

PORTLAND, Ore. - Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla underwent successful surgery this evening to repair a re-ruptured right patella tendon.

Dr. Don Roberts performed the two-hour procedure at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash.

No timetable has been set for his return to the court.

Przybilla originally ruptured his right patella tendon in a Dec. 22 game at Dallas and underwent season-ending surgery on Dec. 24. He re-ruptured the tendon March 6 after slipping in the shower at his home in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was rehabilitating.

Przybilla, 30, averaged 4.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.43 blocked shots in 30 games (nine starts) this season before the injury. A six-year Trail Blazer, he ranks sixth in franchise history with 593 blocked shots.

While we are extremely happy to hear that Joel's surgery was successful and he is resting well, this is a major blow for the Blazers. No timetable has been set but I think it's safe to say that Przy might not be back on the court for the start of the 2010-2011 season. Joel is in a contract year where he can opt out if he wants but I think he will be staying with the Blazers because there is no market for injured centers. Joel is a tough guy so I think we will see him back on the court but it's going to be a long process. Przy is getting up there in age and an injury like this where you're dealing with a re-rupture takes a toll physically and mentally. We can only hope Joel is able to make a strong recovery and get back out on the court!


Thank goodness we acquired Marcus Camby! He becomes a free-agent this summer but hopefully he will have enjoyed his time in Portland and be willing to re-sign with us next year meaning he and Oden will dominate for us at the 5 spot. 

Also, though no longer a Blazer we still love Steve Blake and we wish to offer him and his wife Kristen the biggest congratulations as they are preparing to welcome Baby Blake # 3!! Kristen announced on her twitter tonight that she and Steve are expecting a baby boy! 
Via Kristen's twitter:
Steve and I are excited to welcome Baby Boy Blake #3 this August. Yup-another boy!! Steve wants his own bball team. We're gettin there. =)
CONGRATS BLAKEY FAMILY!
Lastly, last week Blazers signed guard, Travis Diener!

Diener has career averages of 4.9 points per game, 2.5 assits per game and 1.4 rebounds per game. He will be wearing jersey number 27 for the Blazers. Though it looks like this signing was just to provide a back up veteran point guard in case Andre Miller goes down, we welcome Travis to Portland none the less. I am a little disappointed that this move makes it seem like Nate has little trust in Patty Mills and it definitely means that Mills will continue to see little to no playing time but we wish Travis the best and hope he does great things in his time here!
That's all your off the court news for now!

Nuggets Dominate In Denver

Last night the Blazers traveled to Denver to meet with the Denver Nugget. After a season of ups and downs the Blazers were looking for a big divisional win to help launch them ahead of the pack in a tight western conference race to the playoffs.

Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Juwan Howard
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

Top honors of the night go to none other than BayWatch 2010, Jerryd Bayless! JBay had a fantastic night tallying 24 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists shooting 6 - 10 from the field, 9 - 11 from the line and a big 3 - 3 from beyond the arch. BayWatch was getting to hoop, getting to the line, distributing the ball and making great things happen for this team. I couldn't be more proud of Jerryd. Since his career night at home against Phoenix, Bayless has been struggling to find that kind of rhythm he had earlier in the season. We've seen frustration on JBay's face one too many times so it was a nice change to see a smile last night. Keep up the good work JBay, BayWatch 2010 will continue! The next big story of the night was Andre "Money Time/My Main Man" Miller. Dre tallied 19 points, 1 rebound and 2 assits shooting 7 - 15 from the field and 5 - 6 from the line. The biggest moment of Dre's game last night had to be his earth shattering posterizing dunk on Aaron Affalo. We've only seen Miller jump maybe 2 feet off the ground and then all of a sudden Dre soars and slams. The looks of Jerryd Bayless and the rest of the guys when Dre threw down the hammer was absolutely priceless. That's one moment I will not soon forget.

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

From the start to the finish of this game the Blazers struggled both offensively and defensively. There was no sense of urgency going into the first quarter and we didn't see any life until the second half. There seemed to be little to no communication on defense and one too many times we saw sharp shooters like J.R. Smith left wide open to knock down the three. We shot 75% from the line and missed some crucial free throws that could have kept us closer to a win down the stretch and most of all, our all stars were not present in this game. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge shot a combined 9 - 28 from the field. I think that hurt us most of all. LaMarcus did make some big shots towards the end keeping the score close but he and B Roy were absent for the rest. Brandon just couldn't find any rhythm and missed consecutive layups and instead of hustling back on defense made it clear to the referees that he wanted a foul. I love Brandon Roy and will follow him to the ends of the earth because he is our leader and all star but he was just not on his game last night. I honestly think Nate should've sat him down instead of giving him 40 minutes to shoot 3 - 14. If we want to be a playoff threat and get somewhere this post-season we need LaMarcus and Brandon 100% and fully involved in games. The Nuggets ended up winning 118 - 106.

Photo of the Night:

 I really hope you have more dunks in you Dre because I want to witness that live.

The Blazers next come back home to face Portland native, Ime Udoka and the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, '90s night at the Rose Garden.

• Portland overcame an 11-point halftime deficit and finished on a 12-3 run to outlast Sacramento, 95-88, Dec. 15 at the Rose Garden in the only meeting of the series. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge both scored 25 points, and Roy added a season-high 10 assists.

• 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.

• Portland does not travel to Sacramento in 2009-10 until March 12, the second-to-last NBA team the Trail Blazers will visit (L.A. Lakers). Portland visits ARCO Arena again on April 3.

• Seven of Portland’s 16 home losses all-time to the Kings have occurred this decade (Portland is 13-7). The Trail Blazers were 60-9 at home vs. Sacramento before 2000.

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Set the Pace With A Blow Out Win Against Indiana

Wednesday night the Blazers welcomed the Indiana Pacers to the Rose Garden on their first game back at home after a successful 4 - 1 road trip on the east coast. The Pacers have been struggling all season and the Blazers were looking to take advantage of that and get a smoothe win at home.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

Brandon Roy was the high scorer of the night with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 31 minutes of play. Roy shot 6 - 16 from the field and 10 - 11 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge took the second spot with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in a mere 25 minutes of play. LMA got a whole lotta rest in this game, yay for big leads. The big news of this game is the resurgence, once again, of Rudy Fernandez. El Machetero had a great game tallying 16 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists shooting 5 - 12 from the field and a big 50% from beyond the arch. Rudy sure found his rhythm against the Pacers and helped lead this team to a good win, not to mention the Spaniard clocked in a good 30 minutes of play. Keep it up El Machetero!

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

The Blazers played extremely well in this game. As soon as we took a big lead Portland was able to keep it, for the most part the closest Indy ever got within was 7, and come out with a nice big win. After a number of close games, over times and heart breakers it was really nice to see Portland come away with a good ol' fashion blow out. The stars alligned for Rudy tonight and I couldn't be happier for him. His shots were falling, he was able to run the point well and made things happen for this team. He was so into the zone that when he shot a three in Hibbert's face he proceeded to let out a big ol' smile and Hibbert who took it as a slap in the face and went on to get a little bit too physical with Jeff Pendergraph, who took on the role of protector. Pendo and Hibbert were both slapped with a technical and the game went on. Gotta love Jeff's intensity and willingness to get physical. Hopefully he doesn't make it too much of a habit since he's still on a rookie salary, don't think he can afford too many techs. The Blazers were able to cruise to a 102 - 79 win.

Photo of the night:

Rudy, you rock those streamers tonight because your 16 points were big for us!

The Blazers get a nice three day break and next travel to Denver to take on league rivals, the Denver Nuggets.

•  The Nuggets have won 19 of the last 26 meetings with the Trail Blazers, including 11 of 12 games played between the teams in Denver, with Portland’s only road win during that stretch coming on Dec. 16, 2007.
•  Portland and Denver have split the first two games of this season’s series, 1-1, with both games contested at the Rose Garden. The Trail Blazers have shot 40.0% (16-40) from three-point range but just 43.3% overall in the two meetings. Portland holds the advantage in assists, 42-25, in the two games.
•  Brandon Roy has averaged 35.5 points (52.4% FG), including a 41-point effort on Christmas Day, in two series games vs. the Nuggets this season.
•  All four games between Portland and Denver this season will be played in front of a national audience, counting four of Portland’s 16 scheduled nationally televised games this year.
•  The Trail Blazers and Nuggets split the series for the second straight season in 2008-09, with the home team winning each game.
•  Portland shot 46.8% from the field (41.9% 3-PT) in four series contests last season while limiting Denver to 43.8% shooting (33.9% 3-PT).
•  Andre Miller played for Denver for three-plus seasons from 2003-06, posting averages of 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.51 steals in 269 games. Miller averaged 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.53 steals in 15 playoff games with the Nuggets.
•  Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich worked two stints as an assistant coach for Portland from 1998-2001 and 2004-05.
•  Denver General Manager and the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year Mark Warkentien worked 10 seasons for the Trail Blazers, ending in 2003-04, including stints as assistant general manager and director of player personnel. 

(Pictures: OregonLive & Yahoo! Sports)