http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4677 Recent articles about Joel Przybilla en-us A Daily Babble Production Despite Nate McMillan's best attempts to downplay its significance (http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/09/outlaw_webster_provide_best_ma.html), this year's Portland Trail Blazers training camp looks to have arrived complete with a full-blown position contest, and - surprise! - it isn't between Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden for the center spot. Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster are battling it out for the chance to be the Blazers' starting small forward this year. As we discussed (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3860 Itemid=260) earlier this offseason, Outlaw has a strong desire to start and promised this summer that he would return to camp a much-improved player. He says he has been working tirelessly on his jump shooting and seems to truly believe that this is the time for him to make a jump into the group on the floor at tip-off. Webster has sworn to be focused on becoming a more consistent player and improving his all-around game. Both say they just want to contribute no matter their respective roles, that the starting issue isn't critical. But both 6-foot-9, 210-pound forwards want the top job, and only one of them can have it. We'll give the points and lean with Webster, the favored incumbent. Read More..... Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:58:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/344023 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/344023 Rudy Fernandez vs. Jerryd Bayless and a Greg Oden poll... LAST SEASON The Blazers had a 13-game win streak in December and boasted a 22-13 record at one point, but finished at an even .500, which wasn't bad considering they lost their prized #1 pick before the season. If you've wondered why Portland hasn't been a haven for fantasy stars in recent years, just look at their pace factor under Nate McMillan: 87.9 in '07-08 (29th), 88.3 in '06-07 (29th), and 87.6 in '05-06 (28th). As a result, the Blazers ranked 27th in scoring, 25th in rebounds, and 23rd in FG attempts last season. OFFSEASON MOVES Key Additions: Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, Ike Diogu, Nicolas Batum Key Losses: Jarrett Jack, James Jones, Josh McRoberts, Darius Miles The Blazers were busy on draft day, as they traded away Jack, McRoberts, and their #13 pick (Brandon Rush) to Indiana for Ike Diogu and the rights to Jerryd Bayless. Kevin Pritchard has said that Bayless is "like Jack on steroids," so he sounds like a pretty solid replacement (for now or down the road?). In college, Diogu dominated the Pac-10 like few power forwards have done before him, but he's yet to blossom in the pros. He's still only 24 tho, so if he finds his niche and lands in the right situation (is his 3rd team the charm?), I could see him playing a productive role. Portland picked up a French forward with serious upside (Batum) later in the draft, and also received FOUR future 2nd round picks for Pritchard to play with. At small forward, the Blazers are going to miss the sweet shooting of James Jones, who signed with Miami over the summer. Fortunately, they're bringing in one of the most talented & seasoned European players to replace him in Rudy Fernandez. They've also signed swingman Luke Jackson, which is notable simply because he played college ball at Oregon. Darius Miles hasn't played since 2006, but he recently signed a non-guaranteed contract with Boston and Portland will be watching him closely. If Miles makes the team and plays in 10 regular season games, Portland will lose the $18 million (over 2 years) in cap space that they received when they waived him due to a "career-ending" injury. ROTATION / PLAYING TIME I would love to watch a preseason game or two before predicting Portland's rotation, but no worries… This team is led by Brandon Roy, the 24-year old who reps the Pacific Northwest to the fullest (born and raised in Seattle & a Washington Husky). He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a partial tear in the meniscus of his left knee earlier this month and is expected to be out 4-8 weeks, which sounds kind of scary at first, but Brandon sounds pretty optimistic in this recent interview. If he's good to go, he'll average 37-38 minutes per game just like last year. In that interview, they also talk about Portland's tough schedule to open up the season, which pretty much solidifies Steve Blake as the opening night starting point guard if you ask me. He averaged 29.9 mpg last season, and I'll project him to play 30-32 minutes to start out '08-09. Jerryd Bayless turned some heads in the Vegas Summer League, but after watching Rudy Fernandez play in the Olympics, there's no doubt in my mind that the Spaniard will be the first guard off the bench for Coach Nate. I'll project Rudy to get 16-20 minutes right off the bat backing up both Roy & Blake, which leaves maybe 8-10 minutes left for Bayless & Sergio Rodriguez (more experience and also a Spaniard) to fight over. We'll come back to these guys in a minute. There's a new man in the middle for Portland, as Greg Oden is set to make his long-awaited NBA debut. I'll project 28-30 minutes for November-December, 30-32 minutes for January-February, and 32+ minutes for March-April. Backing him up is the veteran Joel Przybilla, who will see his minutes fall from 23.6 to well under 20 this season. Raef LaFrentz is their dusty secret weapon, but we can always reminisce about his last days in Denver (3 blocks & 1.5 threes per game before getting traded to Dallas!). At power forward, LaMarcus Aldridge should see 34-36 minutes of action, while Channing Frye backs him up. Diogu is the odd man out for now, but he's just one injury away from finding his role. At small forward, Martell Webster (21 years old, 28.4 mpg) and Travis Outlaw (23 years old, 26.6 mpg) will battle it out once again. Outlaw actually played a lot more power forward last season, but thanks to Mr. Oden, there's a squeeze on minutes. Long-time readers know that I'd prefer the gazelle to start, but McMillan said they needed Outlaw's scoring punch on the 2nd unit last season. With scorers like Rudy & Bayless (and even Diogu) now coming off the bench, that point is a little less valid, which is why I think the battle will come down to defense. My prediction? Webster will start on opening night and play 26 minutes to Outlaw's 22. But when Portland endures their first long losing streak, they will turn to T. Outlaw, who will seize the opportunity and play 28+ minutes the rest of the way. DON'T SLEEP ON: Rudy Fernandez If you're still sleeping on Rodolfo Fernandez, please click here. As you can see, the guy isn't afraid to attack the rim and he can score from pretty much anywhere on the floor. He has a weird quick release and likes to shoot off-balance, but just check the stats if you don't think his style is effective. In Spain's top ACB League, Fernandez played in 30 games last season and put up the following line: 21.2 points, 4.1 assists, 2.2 steals, 3.0 threes, 49.2% FG, 41.1% 3P, 91.4% FT Those are some very impressive numbers, especially when you consider that he did it in just 28 minutes of action. In the Gold medal game against Kobe & company, things were no different, as Rudy dropped in 22 points on just 13 field goal attempts in only 18 minutes! He also made some sweet passes, handled the rock well, and looked great moving around without the ball. DraftExpress gives Fernandez a Best-case comparison to Kevin Martin (I remember DX raving about Kev-Mart's offensive skills well before he was drafted by the Kings), and I think that comparison is SPOT ON. Rudy might not get huge minutes to start the season, but at some point during crunch time, he, Roy, and Outlaw are going to play together and something will click into place. Along with Aldridge & Oden, I imagine that being Portland's best lineup, but if you wait too long to see it, Rudy might already be gone in your league. So don't sleep! BE CAREFUL OF: Jerryd Bayless If any "fantasy experts" are hyping up BOTH Fernandez & Bayless to start the season, I suggest you call SHENANIGANS, because there's no such thing and it's not gonna happen. Yes, the Wildcat averaged an impressive 29.8 points in 4 Summer League contests and seems to be an explosive scorer, but he stands just 6-feet-3 with shoes on and sports an average 6-3 wingspan. This means that he's supposed to be a combo guard, but in those 4 games, he dished out just 5 assists to 15 turnovers. His 1.36 assist-to-turnover ratio in college wasn't much better, so I'm definitely not sold on Jerryd's point guard skills. Which means that he's currently just an undersized shooting guard. And the last time a 20-year old (Bayless was still 19 a week ago) undersized shooting guard had fantasy value as a rookie was ??? Blake isn't very flashy, but he's a dependable veteran PG who's going to get his minutes. And Rudy & Roy make for an extremely versatile backcourt duo, so unless Roy's knee gets worse and he has to miss some games, I think you can safely ignore any "Jerryd Bayless = sleeper" talk. ROUND BY ROUND TARGETS (Where you should draft these guys in an 8-cat Roto league with 12 teams and 14 man rosters) Roy: 5th - 6th Oden: 5th - 6th Aldridge: 6th - 7th Blake: 12th - 14th Outlaw: 13th - 14th Fernandez: Last round Webster: Last round (if you need threes) Bayless: Don't draft (but watch if Roy can't play) Click the link to vote on Greg Oden's fantasy ranking! Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:37:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/312250 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/312250 A Daily Babble Production So appears to be the case. The rumors have been coming for a while about possible changes in scenery for Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, but the Bulls may in fact be receiving suitors for a third member of their back-court, and he is easily the least desirable one to have in town. The Daily Herald's Mike McGraw reports (http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=224618) that the Bulls have discovered interest in Larry Hughes. Given that Hughes is scheduled to make more than $26 million over the next two seasons, any deal involving him would likely involve Chicago receiving another team's big contract in return. In that vein, McGraw names Portland (Joel Przybilla), New York (Jared Jeffries), Dallas (Erick Dampier) and Denver (Kenyon Martin) as some of the potential trading partners for the Bulls. While our-trash-for-your-trash deals aren't geared to be all that wonderful for either side, that the Bulls are even drawing inquiries for Hughes remains stunning to me. Managing to move this guy, particularly for an interior player (even if that interior player is overpaid and underproductive) could be a coup for Hicag. Read More.. (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3713 Itemid=260)All of Steve's daily posts can be found in the CelticsBlog: NBA... Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:06:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299692 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299692 It's the dog days of summer for Celtics fans. Too early to think about training camp and nothing is going on with the team. There were no new basketball articles in the Globe and the Herald just had one about Deng's new contract and Artest's trade. I still think Danny has something up his sleeve. We get little tidbits like Boston offered a sign and trade for Delonte but nothing definite. Makes you wonder who Danny was including in the trade from the Celtics. Personally I think the Cavs need a glue guy like Scal. It seems like a long time till training camp. The schedule is due out next week and that may give us something to talk about for awhile. There will be the Olympics and speaking of the Olympics, the Celtics 2nd round draft pick didn't look too bad on the Turkish national team against team USA. We can look forward to seeing him with the Celtics in a year or two. Another observation: D Wade is one of those players who just doesn't look right bald. NBA front-office sources are reporting that the Lakers were very disappointed not to land Artest. But, L.A. was reluctant to part with Lamar Odom and were even more reluctant to take Kenny Thomas along with Artest. Sacramento ultimately relented on its insistence that any team acquiring Artest take Kenny Thomas, as well, dropping that condition and agreeing to Houston's offer because the Kings are essentially coming away with two first-round picks for Artest. Artest for his part is thrilled to be rejoining Rick Adelman who was his coach when he first arriced in Sacramento. Yao is a bit concerned about the Rockets' new acquisition and had this to say about it: "We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don't mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time. "Also, he was the biggest part of a team in Sacramento. He was a star player. We need more chemistry and more communication." "There's worry. Obviously, yes," said Yao. "We will think about it, of course. Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands. I'd say that Yao has good reason to be concerned. Artest has caused problems everywhere he has gone, both on and off the court. He has been charged with domestic abuse and animal cruelty. He has charged into the stands and attacked a fan. He has decided to take time off from playing to promote his rap CD. And, he has caused chemistry problems in both Indiana and Sacramento. However, he did seem to behave when he was playing for Rick Adelman so maybe Yao can relax a little, hopeful of his coach's ability to control the loose cannon that is Ron Artest. The Bulls finalized a six-year, $71 million contract with Luol Deng on Wednesday and the new deal includes incentives that could increase the total value to $80 million. With new contract in hand, Deng is scheduled to leave for the European Championships, where he will play for the British team. The Bulls remain far apart in negotiations with Ben Gordon. Gordon's agent has told the Bulls that Gordon should be the highest-paid player on the team because he has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. Deng got the big contract in spite of his declining from 18.8 points per game to 17 in an injury plagued season last year. The Bulls aren't expected to guarantee up to $80 million over a maximum six years for Gordon, so if negotiations continue to stall, the sides might pursue a sign-and-trade deal. Gordon would have to approve such a move. Gordon also has strongly considered signing the team's qualifying offer of $6.4 million for next season, after which he would be an unrestricted free agent. Along with signing Deng and negotiating with Gordon, the Bulls have been busy pursuing trades as well. They were very interested in trying to acquire Nenad Krstic before he decided to go to Europe. They have also had discussions with Sacramento about center Brad Miller according to a league source. Reportedly, the Bulls are offering Nocioni as trade bait. The Bulls also had some interest from teams wanting guard Larry Hughes, as long as they're willing to take a big contract back in return. Since the Bulls need to thin out their backcourt rumors are that the possibilities include Joel Przybilla, Jared Jeffries, Erick Dampier or Kenyon Martin. The Denver Nuggets announced on Wednesday that they have signed Dahntay Jones to a contract. Jones was a former first-round pick by the Boston Celtics in 2003. He was sent to the Grizzlies in the trade that brought Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins to the Celtics and he played his first three seasons in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers have been making news by signing players and losing players and now they have waived one. On Wednesday, the Clippers announced that they had waived 6'9" forward Josh Powell. Powell averaged 5.5 PPG, 5.20 RPG and 0.7 APG in 19 mpg last season. The Clippers got a real deal when they signed Ricky Davis for $2.3 million a year. I really like Ricky and hope he can finally shake off all the negativity that has in most cases followed him. The Clippers are also trying to re-sign free agent point guard Shaun Livingston. He is an intriguing prospect. If he can stay healthy he could be something very special. Former Cavs guard J.R. Bremer is the latest NBA player to jump to Europe. Bremer has signed a two-year, $5 million deal with Moscow Dynamo Triumph. He will join former New Jersey center Nenad Krstic on the Triumph roster. Krstic signed a two-year deal worth $3 million euros (about $9 million U.S., when figuring in taxes). There have been rumors from the Suns that both Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are on the trading block. The Cavs have been rumored to be interested in Barbosa but now, an NBA source said the Suns may not be making him available after all. However, the source said that Boris Diaw might be available to be traded. The Suns are still looking for a point guard to back up Steve Nash. They have to keep going back to the 2007 draft and kicking themselves for giving away Rajon Rondo to the Celtics. The Lakers have confirmed that they have invited Robert "Tractor" Traylor in for a private workout to be conducted Thursday. Traylor has not played in the NBA since the 2004-2005 season, when he averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 74 games with the Cavs. If the workout goes well, Traylor likely would be signed to a non-guaranteed contract and invited to training camp. Traylor was the 6th pick in the 1998 draft and has never come close to fulfilling the expectations for him. He has the distinction of having been picked before both Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce and we all know how both of those players worked out. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:05:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298612 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298612 Part 4 of a 4 part series assessing the future of the Washington Wizards is hosted on Bullets Forever. Part 4 is actually broken up into 3 parts, 4a focuses on free agent big men. Sun, 11 May 2008 14:18:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265751 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265751 When it comes down to the best center in the NBA, there's no question that Dwight Howard is #1, with Yao Ming finishing second. Howard's averaging a 22 PPG and 18.2 RPG and 3.8 BPG in the playoffs, numbers that haven't been seen since Wilt Chamberlain. The other 4 positions will be posted over the week. Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG * = Best in Category (R) = Rookie Blocks 1.5+ Shown Blocks and Steals Shown if both are 1+ 1. Dwight Howard (ORL) 20.7, 14.2*, 1.3, 2.2 BPG 59.9% FG 2. Yao Ming (HOU) 22*, 10.8, 2.3, 2 BPG 3. Pau Gasol (LAL/MEM) 18.9, 8.4, 3.2, 1, 1.5, 58.9% FG (LAL) 4. Al Jefferson (MIN) 21, 11.1, 1.4, 1.5 BPG 5. Chris Kaman (LAC) 15.7, 12.7, 1.9, 2.8 BPG 6. Marcus Camby (DEN) 9.1, 13.1, 3.3, 1.1 , 3.6* 7. Andrew Bogut (MIL) 14.3, 9.8, 2.6, 1.7 BPG 8. Andrew Bynum 13.1, 10.2, 1.7, 2.1 BPG, 63.6% FG (35 games) 9. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 14.1, 9.3, 1.4, 1.6 BPG 10. Tyson Chandler (NOH) 11.8, 11.7, 0.2 11. Samuel Dalembert (PHI) 10.5, 10.4, 0.5, 2.3 BPG 12. Brad Miller (SAC) 13.4, 9.5, 3.7*, 1, 1 13. Shaquille O'Neal (PHX/MIA) 13.6, 9.1, 1.7, 59.3% FG (Season) 14. Andris Biedrins (GSW) 10.5, 9.8, 1 15. (R) Al Horford (ATL) 10.2, 9.6, 1.5 16. Rasheed Wallace (DET) 12.7, 6.6, 1.8, 1.2, 1.7 17. Mehmet Okur (UTA) 14.5, 7.7, 2 18. Brendan Haywood (WAS) 10.6, 7.2, 0.9, 1.7 BPG 19. Troy Murphy (IND) 12.2, 7.2, 2.2 20. Kendrick Perkins (BOS) 7, 6.1, 1.1, 1.5 BPG, 61.6% FG* (Season) 21. Eddy Curry (NYK) 13.7, 4.2, 0.5 22. Josh Boone (NJN) 8.2, 7.3, 0.8 23. Andrea Bargnani (TOR) 10.2, 3.7, 1.1 24. Nazr Mohammed (CHA/DET) 7.6, 6, 0.9, 61.7% FG (CHA) 25. Darko Milicic (MEM) 7.2, 6.1, 0.8, 1.6 BPG 26. Erick Dampier (DAL) 6.1, 7.5, 0.9, 1.5 BPG 27. Joel Przybilla (POR) 4.8, 8.4, 0.4 28. (R) Joakim Noah (CHI) 6.1, 5.6, 1.1 29. Fabricio Oberto (SAS) 4.6, 5.2, 1.2, 60.8% FG 30. Mark Blount (MIA/MIN) 8.4, 3.8, 0.6 31. Johan Petro (SEA) 6, 5.1, 0.4 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:15:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261765 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261765 JOAKIM NOAH So tonight, the focus is on the bruisers in the middle. These guys may not get you many points, but they will shoot a high percentage from the field, block some shots, and pull down all of your rebounds. Case in point, last night Noah had just 10 points but was 4-5 from the field with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. Not a bad all-around night for a guy that I thought was trash ever since the Bulls took him last year on Draft Day. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:06:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/228329 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/228329 Joel "the Thrilla" Przybilla went off against the L.A. Clippers and helped the Blazers win back to back games. His 25 rebounds are a career best and went along with his 14 points. LaMarcus Aldridge also had a great couple of games with back-to-back double doubles. Rip City is alive and well! Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216595 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/216595 Przybilla grabbed a career-high 25 rebounds and added 14 points..... Say What????? 25 boards! http://www.boomshakalaka.org/2008/03/23/przybilla-plays-godzilla/ Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:51:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/215563 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/215563 Blazers color commentator Mike Rice dreams of future brawls when the Big Cactus exercises his elbow against the Blazers' Joel Przybilla. Download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/i72epq Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:44:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209212 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/209212 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 A new feature of Fantasy Basketball Pros, we will look at fantasy basketball players that deserve to be picked up (jewels) and those that deserve to be dropped (fools). We start off today with Roger Mason, Joel Przybilla, Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver as "Jewels" and Jason Williams, Carlos Arroyo and Sean Williams as "Fools". Read more to find out why! Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:26:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186889 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/186889 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 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