The Portland Trail Blazers are a mess,
hitting a new low (on the floor, at least) while blowing another 4th quarter lead to the subpar New Jersey Nets and dropping to .500. It's been another year full of injuries as well, as evidenced by the inability to get rebounds or score in the paint tonight. There are two injured centers and a third with a serious case of the influenza. The most crushing blows came in succession. First, it came to light that Brandon Roy's knee is suffering a problem no one seems to know how to fix, putting the career of the team's franchise player and perennial All-Star in doubt. Almost as soon as that news began to sink in (and it still hasn't), on a horribly dark and wet night in Portland, a press conference was held to announce that Greg Oden was going to undergo microfracture surgery to end his season and probably affect his next as well. The thing is, he was supposed to be close to finishing his rehab for his last knee injury.
What now?
Heartbreaking Cards to the rescue! Out of the blue, a couple of Blazers jersey cards appeared in my mailbox, but I'm wondering if Matt bought low on these or figured they'd never be worth more than they were the second he dropped them in the mail. I kid, of course, and I'm really happy to receive jersey cards of these star-crossed Blazers players. Oden's future with the Blazers may be up in the air now, with his contract ending after this season, but I am still hopeful for the guy's future. I wonder what a guy like him would do without basketball. (No jokes, please!) It's not lost on me, by the way, that it reads "LONGEVITY" on the front of the card in small print in the lower right hand corner.
Of greater concern is Brandon Roy's future, both immediate and long term. Is there really no fix for a high caliber athlete with no meniscus in either knee? He returned to the court and has produced nice scoring numbers in the past two nights, but he looks like his feet are glued to the ground and I can't even remember the last time I saw him drive down the lane and score, which was one of the hallmarks of his game. If Roy can play, but can't be called upon to be the go-to guy anymore, then someone needs to step up and fast.
I've been a lifelong Blazers fan, literally, so I won't be quitting on this team soon. Hopefully things won't get worse before they get better. Hopefully they just get better and stay that way. In the meantime, I am working on a Blazers want list that will appear at the sidebar shortly. I know there aren't a ton of basketball collectors out there, but at least it's another option for those who are looking to trade. Thanks again to Matt F!
The Portland Trail Blazers are a mess, hitting a new low (on the floor, at least) while blowing another 4th quarter lead to the subpar New Jersey Nets and dropping to .500. It's been another year full of injuries as well, as evidenced by the inability to get rebounds or score in the paint tonight. There are two injured centers and a third with a serious case of the influenza. The most crushing blows came in succession. First, it came to light that Brandon Roy's knee is suffering a problem no one seems to know how to fix, putting the career of the team's franchise player and perennial All-Star in doubt. Almost as soon as that news began to sink in (and it still hasn't), on a horribly dark and wet night in Portland, a press conference was held to announce that Greg Oden was going to undergo microfracture surgery to end his season and probably affect his next as well. The thing is, he was supposed to be close to finishing his rehab for his last knee injury.
What now? Heartbreaking Cards to the rescue! Out of the blue, a couple of Blazers jersey cards appeared in my mailbox, but I'm wondering if Matt bought low on these or figured they'd never be worth more than they were the second he dropped them in the mail. I kid, of course, and I'm really happy to receive jersey cards of these star-crossed Blazers players. Oden's future with the Blazers may be up in the air now, with his contract ending after this season, but I am still hopeful for the guy's future. I wonder what a guy like him would do without basketball. (No jokes, please!) It's not lost on me, by the way, that it reads "LONGEVITY" on the front of the card in small print in the lower right hand corner.
Of greater concern is Brandon Roy's future, both immediate and long term. Is there really no fix for a high caliber athlete with no meniscus in either knee? He returned to the court and has produced nice scoring numbers in the past two nights, but he looks like his feet are glued to the ground and I can't even remember the last time I saw him drive down the lane and score, which was one of the hallmarks of his game. If Roy can play, but can't be called upon to be the go-to guy anymore, then someone needs to step up and fast.
I've been a lifelong Blazers fan, literally, so I won't be quitting on this team soon. Hopefully things won't get worse before they get better. Hopefully they just get better and stay that way. In the meantime, I am working on a Blazers want list that will appear at the sidebar shortly. I know there aren't a ton of basketball collectors out there, but at least it's another option for those who are looking to trade. Thanks again to Matt F!
A new coach will help immensely, but I don't think Paul Allen has the guts to do it.
ReplyDeleteLook, I have been a fan my whole life as well but this is really what we are stuck with:
Its a small-market team that no superstar would ever come play for unless there was some serious positives going on here. We were lucky to farm our own decent team that looked on the verge of a breakthrough, before the big breakdown occured. Now the chances are now zip of improving the roster...who would want to play for a bunch of broken down kids?
It's sad but true...this team is going nowhere.
FYI - Free Blazers over here.
ReplyDeletehttp://staxofwaxpax.blogspot.com/2010/12/free-cards-who-wants-em.html
dayf - thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Blazers go, they are playing terrible basketball right now. That's all I really know for sure.