http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4367 Recent articles about Steve Blake en-us The knock on Neitzel is his lack of athletic abilities. He doesn't have the 'tools' to become a great defender or a great scorer. To those people I say this, I'd rather have a player who leaves it all on the court than a player with outstanding athletic ability who leaves it all in the locker room. It's a safe bet for an intelligent player like Neitzel to listen to everything the coach demands. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:55:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284010 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284010 Comparing active ex-Nugget players to the current Nuggets roster and asking: who would win? Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:04:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278632 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278632 The Kings, led by John Salmons took the season series 3-1 and handed the Blazers one of their more dismal road losses of the year, and Josh McRoberts made an appearance. Plus, in honor of Brad Miller undergoing surgery, the team wore headbands. Check out the pics in the comments. Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:32:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/235853 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/235853 Seriously. Has a team ever wanted to make the playoffs LESS than the Nuggets? Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:07:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/231041 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/231041 The Kings were hot, the Blazers were not. The Kings are playing with their newfound philosophy called "L.A. Energy." Treat every team like they're the Lakers. Plus, I'm calling out Lamar Odom's big mouth for calling the Kings a high school team when he can't back himself up. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:27:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/199071 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/199071 This year has had it highs and its lows. We all expected lows, but these guys proved us wrong. Right now we are in a low point, but that does not mean we cannot go without a fight. Lets not play for the lottery, lets not play for business, lets play for the love of this game, and the only thing that matters in this game is WINNING! Its always easy for a fan to talk this way. None of us really know what are in players hearts and minds, we speculate, we judge, but we never really actually know. People like myself never really know what these guys are like when the cameras are off. I can personally name many players that put on that smiling face just for the camera, and when I have met them in person when a camera is not around they snub me. But it is understandable. They don't know who I am , I could be some crazy deranged fan looking to stalk them. But these young players have shown a city hope. A new life, a new breath, everything we have wanted and more, and trust me more good things are to come. Everyone reading this that has a team that are above .600 and are playoff bound are wondering what the hell I am talking about. Everyone looks at our record of 33-31, and they say "what is all the excitement for ?" Well about this time last year we were at about 21 wins. We are now at 33 and we have now surpassed last years record for wins. If the Blazers can pull off 40 wins without the "Franchise Beast" then I will consider this season a great success. The 08-09 Season will be a strange season. I still anticipate losses, mainly because none of these guys have played with "The Dude" yet. I also anticipate a lot of movement in the guard positions in the off season. We might drop some folk, and we might pick some up as well. I think Pritch and company will deal their draft pick out with a trade for maybe a veteran guard. I love Jarrett Jack and Blake but we need consistency at that spot. There has been rumors of Brandon Roy moving over to the point when Rudy Fernandez comes along, but no one has staked a claim that "The Natural" will be a PG full time. It makes sense for BRoy to play the point, but with his addiction to injuries I would not think it would be the best place for him. The round mound would be happy as well, because we would no longer have "Midgets" in the back court. So the lineup of the future is bright. But the big question that I have is the 3 spot. Martell Webster has got to be one of the most streakiest players I have ever witnessed. This guy is so damn good, I just don't understand why he is so inconsistent. This year he really showed us a lot, but has he shown the Execs enough to hold on to him. Trout is turning into a full fledged baller. This guys game really reminds of Shawn Marion's game, just a lot more exciting. But I think Pritch sees him as a huge bargaining chip, and that is something I don't like. This guy could easily be the highest scorer on this team, and their is not doubt in my mind that he should be a starter. The only people I would like to see the Blazers try to pick up in the off season, is a PG, or another 3 guard. Possibly Andre Iguodala who is up for a qualifying offer from the 76ers at the end of this season, which I don't think he will take. He will shop free agency and see who bites. But my suggestion to Pritch is deal Jack, and find a vet backup for BRoy at the point, and save the cash for the end of 08-09 season and either deal for Chris Paul or Deron Williams. On that note here is my starting lineup for the 08-09 season. P Guard - Brandon Roy 2 Guard - Rudy Fernandez 3 Guard - Travis Outlaw PF - Lamarcus Aldridge C - Greg Oden So what are your opinions on next year? Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:14:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/191031 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/191031 Another tough game tonight. Man, that little Nate Robinson is one heck of a scorer! That dude dropped 45 on us tonight. But in the end there was just too much Blake, Roy, Aldridge and Przybilla. Both Joel and LaMarcus had double-digits in rebounding. Roy looked as clutch as ever putting up 27, 6, and 3. Two and O on the road thus far. I hope we can build on this momentum and put together a nice run to end the season! Go Blazers! Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:29:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186478 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186478 Nate Robinson is plainly en feugo. Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:00:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186455 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186455 Before the past two games, it seems as if the Blazers' playoff chances were dust in the wind. However, after the Blazers encountered the two different LA teams these past couple days and all of that turned around an in instant. Brandon and James coming back from injury for the Lakers game sure helped, as did some resurgent play of Jarrett Jack to silence the haters. Watching the team play against the Lakers yesterday resembled the team that mustered the great December run. Can the Blazers bring back the cohesiveness and consistency and make a playoff push? The odds are heavily stacked against them, but if they can follow these steps then the Blazers might make the playoffs for the first time since 2003. 1 - Stay Healthy If the team can stay healthy for the most part, the chances are far more likely for them to make the playoffs. Recently, the Blazers realized they aren't the greatest team if the whole team isn't together. As long as no rotation player suffers a major setback, the team should be fine. 2 - Bench Scoring With the whole team healthy, the rotation is set and everyone knows what minutes they will get. That makes it a lot easier to produce for this young team if they are in a familiar role where they feel comfortable. Jarrett Jack struggled since James Jones went down, mainly because he had to play more of an off-guard and slasher, rather than the point with the ball in his hands. Travis needs to keep up his sixth man of the year candidacy to provide balance to the white unit. Travis, James, and Jarrett are the most important parts of the bench, and if they play good the team plays good. I'd like to see Von Wafer show us some more of his arsenal after his strong performance in the Clipper game. Sergio and Channing aren't key cogs in the bench scoring, but when they play within themselves they can make the difference in a game without a doubt. 3 - Brandon and Lamarcus Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge are the two players that make this team what they are. Brandon needs the ball in his hands when the pressure is on for the Blazers to win. He is our most poised player, and also has the highest basketball IQ on the team. Lamarcus needs to consistently hit his jumper that he has shown great progress with this season, as well as toughen up and bang down in the post. 4 - Three point shooting The Trail Blazers have a great shooting roster, and the hot shooting is what kept them in the win column almost all of December. James Jones and Steve Blake are probably the two best shooters on the squad, as their percentages show, and they need to hit their open shots for the Blazers to stay alive in the chase. Martell has been inconsistent most of the season, but when his shot is dropping there is no stopping him. He needs to find his stroke and deliver if he wants to stay a part of this team. 5 - Tough defense Joel Przybilla is the only player on the roster that brings physical defense and hustle night in and night out. The rest of the team needs to rally behind the energy he brings and force turnovers and challenge shots. 6 - REBOUNDING! The main knock on this Blazer team is their lack of rebounding. Its been an issue all season, but when the team rebounds well the results are good. If Joel, Lamarcus, Channing, and Raef can all step in and be an interior force on the boards. Our wing players such as Brandon, Travis, Martell, and James are pretty savvy rebounders for their position and any bit they contribute helps greatly. 7 - Hope for a lower seed team to slip Pretty much what is said above. The Blazers have to play lights out to have a shot, and have to have Houston, Golden State, and Denver all play decently. If these teams continue on their good play as of late you can kiss any chances goodbye. 8 - Road wins The Blazers don't have a favorable schedule these last two months of the season. They face almost all the teams ahead of them in the standings in the western conference. The record away from the Rose Garden this season hasn't been that great for the Blazers, and the team needs to deliver on the road for any chance. They don't have to win every game, because with all the quality teams they're facing there is no way they won't have even a minor slip up. The team just needs to win the games they are supposed to, and fight hard every game. Now, with all this being said, let me repeat that the chances of the Blazers to make the playoffs are slim. It is likely they will have to win 15 or more to have a chance, and there are only 23 games remaining. 12 of the remaining 23 are teams in the playoffs right now, and 10 of those are western conference playoff teams. So the Blazers will have to play absolutely to their potential for this to happen. I posted the remaining schedule below for all of you to see. @ Golden State Phoenix @ Milwaukee @ NY Knicks @ Cleveland @ Minnesota @ Sacramento Minnesota Phoenix LA Clippers @ LA Clippers @ Seattle Washington @ Golden State Charlotte @ LA Lakers Houston San Antonio LA Lakers @ Sacramento Dallas Memphis @ Phoenix Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:57:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/176183 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/176183 Roy is getting an MRI tonight on his ankle. I sure hope he is alright. A chance to rest for a while should do him some good, but I hope his injury isn't too serious. The Blazers are tired. And the end of this season is going to get tougher schedule wise. We still have not even played the hated Lakers yet. Roy's body does need a rest. I just hope that he is alright! Go Blazers! Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:45:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/165029 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/165029 Gutsy grind out game in the Rose Garden last night. I hope this is the start of some confidence building for them. I would love to see our guys make a push in the second half! LMA looked like a man possessed! He definitely carried us on his shoulders! And Jack's game is starting to come together! He has looked pretty good in the last two games! Go Blazers! Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:32:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/160599 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/160599 The kings were able to be as physical as they wanted. Pushing, throwing elbows, knocking the young Blazers around like rag-dolls. The Blazers tried to be physical on defense, but were outscored. They also looked lost on offense, settling for jumpers and rarely taking it to the rim. Its easy to defend a team when you can bully them into taking low percentage shots. The Blazers couldn't get a break, especially from the officiating. Whistles weren't blown even when blood was drawn; B-Roy nearly gets a mouth full of his own teeth from a hard elbow to his grill as he misses a shot. No call from the officials on a blatantly obvious foul, but you absolutely can not blame the horrible refs tonight. (The Blazers did hold a 70-15 win/loss ratio over the thuggish Kings in Portland, but that now drops to a meager 70-16) The biggest problem seems to be that Portland relies on their jump shot too much. Three after three point attempt was missed, long twos, mid-range jumpers as well. Why aren't any Blazers getting to the rim? Roy, Jack, Aldridge, and Travis should all be getting in the paint. Heck Webster and Joel can get inside and to the bucket too. Is it coaching or are they just intimidated? Because it seems easy to me..... Get points in the paint, take better percentage shots, increase the shooting percentage, and get more wins. The Blazers were missing wide open looks from outside. You can not be consistent if you live and die by the outside shot. Right now, we are dying by it. This was one of the most frustrating games that I have watched in a while. The refs did totally suck, but the Blazers did nothing to make a case that they had a chance in this one anyway. I hope that Portland figures this thing out soon. It is the second half of the season and even though next season is the season that most people expect the Blazers to contend, I think that settling for performances like this is disappointing. I know our team is better than how they have been playing! Lets go Blazers! We know you can do it! Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:14:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/152400 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/152400 Things have been a little frustrating lately for RIP City residents. I think it is helpful to remember a few things that can keep us grounded and focused on our bright future. We will be great. But, can Brandon do it by him self? No. Has LaMarcus Aldridge played consistently well this year? No. Will he learn to play consistent basketball? Of course he will. What about Blake? Actually Blake has been pretty great this year. But the rest of the team seems to be going through menopause lately. Lots of hot and cold spells. The thing I keep reminding myself is that they are young and learning how to win. The early preview of greatness that we were treated to in December may have spoiled us. Winning became something that the fans started to expect, but I think those expectations are more for next year and beyond. Jack still needs to learn how to turn the ball over WAY WAY less than he does now. Martell needs to learn to shoot consistently, as does James Jones. Sergio needs to learn how to shoot the ball a little better and maybe pass a little less flashy sometimes (when it ends up being a turnover rather than an assist). Travis needs the confidence to know that he is the most athletic player in the league and could probably take over any game he wanted to. But most of all, our boys just need time to figure it all out. They are growing up fast, but our window of a dynasty is still a ways out for us. Brandon seems to have a complete game, but we desperately need to get him some consistent help. Help that will show up every night. With Greg and Rudy coming in to the mix next year, our future looks bright. I think next year is going to be our year to break out of this inconsistency and the lotto as well. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:30:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141259 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141259 I am 30 and i am not a big basketball guru like most of you and never in my life played in one REAL game or in any sort of organized environment. I do not know the mechanics of the game basketball or a proper shooting touch. Ask me baseball and i am a genius who is fully informed. I started becoming a basket ball and nba fan when i moved to portland and it was the lockout year. Well next year I saw my first blazer game and I saw the the passion of the fans and at the rose garden. I became addicted to this team win or lose I do not care even though a win is always the best. Ok now you know the 411 I say my observation is: IT looks like the team is in a mundane situation it seems there energy and excitement is in the toilet. It looks like they are all working at a job they hate. I think the team needs to have fun go out there and play all in all it is a game and games are fun right? Have some fun let loose because when your a pro player your main goal should be to entertain the fans give them something to cheer about. We the fans are the point of the nba Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:58:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140631 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140631 He plays great for some of the game, and then gets way too cute with the ball and make sloppy and silly turn overs that cost us a game that he helped get us into. He seems to make the same mistakes over and over and Nate keeps him in the game for the fourth quater over Steve Blake. I just don't get it. AHHHHHHHHH! Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:03:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/126472 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/126472