Tag: Portland Trail Blazers (Page 4 of 12)

      Line of the Night (12/23): Jerryd Bayless & Kevin Durant

      December 24, 2009 /

      Since it’s the holiday season and I’m feeling generous, I’m going with a two-fer for the LOTN. First up is Jerryd Bayless, who has been getting a ton of minutes with all the injuries that the Blazers have been suffering. Last night, Portland (without Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Joel Przybilla) beat a healthy Spurs team in San Antonio, 98-94. Bayless posted 31 points and seven assists.

      This is the kind of game that makes one wonder if something is seriously wrong with the Spurs.

      Meanwhile, in Phoenix, it was youth over experience as the Thunder beat the Suns, 117-113. Durant had 38 points, six rebounds and three assists, and hit 12 of 20 shots from the field, including a crucial jumper that put OKC up four with just seconds to play. Amare Stoudemire had 35-14 for the Suns, and basically had his way inside. If the Thunder can land a good power forward/center this offseason (Chris Bosh?), they’ll be in business. It’s hard to root for OKC given what the ownership did to the city of Seattle, but it’s just as hard not to like the young core of Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and James Harden.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Line of the Night (12/17): Jerryd Bayless

      December 18, 2009 /

      Bayless has had trouble getting consistent minutes in his year and change with the Blazers, but Portland was without Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw due to injury, so Bayless played 29 minutes last night against the Suns. He responded with 29 points, four assists, three rebounds, and hit 9 of 15 shots from the field, spearheading a 105-102 win for the Blazers at the Rose Garden.

      Here is what John Hollinger said about his rookie season:

      The combo guard had a rough rookie year, but the problem wasn’t the oft-heard mantra that Bayless is a shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body. There are lots of players like that in the league and many of them are thriving. No, Bayless’ issue was that he was a shooting guard who couldn’t shoot trapped in a point guard’s body. That’s a problem.

      After the game, Bayless commented about his role with the team:

      “Me and Brandon talk about it a lot,” said the second-year guard from Arizona. “He can be Lebron (James) and I can be the Mo Williams of our offense.

      “Mo’s not a pure point; he’s a guy who can make plays. That’s what I tried to do tonight — make plays for myself and everybody else.”

      If Bayless can shoot the ball well, he can play alongside Roy in the backcourt. The Blazers want a player who can space the court and keep double-teams off of their superstar. Bayless’s FG% has risen from 37% in his rookie season to 53% and his 3P% has risen from 26% to 36% over the same span. If he can keep shooting the ball like that, he will get minutes.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Line of the Night (12/1): Dwyane Wade

      December 2, 2009 /

      The Miami Heat came into last night’s game at the Rose Garden as losers of six of their last nine games, but Dwyane Wade led the way in a semi-surprising 107-100 win over the Trail Blazers. Even though Michael Beasley actually led the team in scoring (27), the offense ran through Wade, who posted 22 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in the win.

      The Blazers were playing without LaMarcus Aldridge, so the loss is somewhat understandable. But this is the kind of game that Portland needs to win if they are to be taken seriously as contenders in the West.

      NBA

      Bill Simmons lists the 33 most intriguing people of the 2009-10 NBA season

      October 26, 2009 /

      In Bill Simmons’ NBA preview, he lists the 33 most intriguing people of the 2009-10 season. Here are a couple of excerpts.

      On the Blazers’ acquisition of Andre Miller…

      21. Andre Miller
      We knew Miller was a bad fit when the Blazers signed him. It just didn’t feel right. He’s a moody loner; they had great chemistry last season. He needs the ball in his hands; so does Brandon Roy. He likes freelancing; Nate McMillan is hands on. But Portland felt obligated to spend its extra cap money, and nobody else was pursuing Miller, so what transpired was the equivalent of two single wedding guests going through the motions on the dance floor.

      I could use someone, and you could use someone. Unfortunately, I hate bald guys and I have a tiny butt; you’re bald and you love bubble butts. We have no spark and are destined to fail. But crap, there’s nobody better. Screw it, would you like to come back to my room?

      I get Portland’s thinking: It wanted to turn that cap space into an asset. And I get Miller’s thinking: He wanted to get paid and hoped things would work out. But now we’re here. Incredibly, Portland plans on bringing Miller off the bench. He’s already miserable. (And available, by the way. Make Kevin Pritchard an offer. Seriously, call him right now.) So what did we learn? Just because you have cap space doesn’t mean you HAVE to use it.

      Continue reading »

      Humor, NBA

      Is LaMarcus Aldridge worth $65 million?

      October 23, 2009 /

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      According to Yahoo! Sports, the total value of the contract is $65 million to $70 million, with some hard-to-reach bonuses.

      This summer, I pegged his value at $13-$14 million per season, and he signed for an average of $13 M plus potential bonuses.

      So is he worth it?

      Bill Simmons has this to say about the deal:

      It continues to floor me that anyone would overpay someone who isn’t a franchise player during these rocky economic times. Like Portland this week — the Trail Blazers inked LaMarcus Aldridge to a five-year, $65 million extension, a deal that might have made sense in the 2006 market, but not right now. I like LaMarcus Aldridge. He’s solid. In this climate, he should not make more than $8 million or $9 million a year. The cap might drop $6 million next season for all we know. Also, inking anyone to an extension that early means you can’t trade him for two solid years. You’re basically marrying the guy. Which means Portland married a power forward who doesn’t play inside and grabs seven to eight rebounds a game. With nobody else bidding for him, no real urgency to do a deal for another year and no idea whether declining revenue will keep wrecking the cap. This makes sense … how? And you thought the NBA was getting smarter.

      Simmons often does this — he second guesses a signing and then lists all the perceived faults of the player. Let’s not forget that Aldridge averages 18.1 points on 48% shooting, which creates lots of driving lanes for Brandon Roy. The Blazers don’t want a power forward that hangs out in the lane. They already have a couple of centers that do this. Portland wants to surround Roy with shooters so that he can get to the rim with ease.

      The Blazers probably overspent a little, but they have the peace of mind that they have their second best player locked up for the next five years. There was no way to convince him that he is only worth “$8 million or $9 million” without letting him hit free agency. (He’s worth more than that, for the record.) By the time he’s convinced, there’s so much ill will between the two sides that a deal never gets done.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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