Heading into Tuesday's game with the New York Knicks, the Portland Trail Blazers are tied for the second best record in the Western Conference, at this point in the season.  But are they really the second best team in the West?

I think it is safe to say the Los Angeles Lakers are far and away the best team this side of the Mississippi.  But after that, the west is wide open.  Currently the Denver Nuggets are 12-6, as well as the Blazers.  The Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, and Phoenix Suns are all one game back.  Each one of these teams have had star players miss time.  The Jazz have had Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams miss extensive time.  The Rockets are currently without Tracy McGrady and the Suns have been without Shaq.

With all that being said, I believe the Blazers truly can be right up there at the end of the season.  They have played the least amount of home games (winning all of them), while still gelling as a team.  The more realistic prediction would be the Blazers anywhere from #3 to #7 in the west. 

Continue reading "Are the Blazers for real?"

Many fans will discuss the heartbreak of Tuesday night's game between the Orlando Magic and Portland Trailblazers.  The eight point lead with a minute and a half left, the offensive rebounds given up in crunch time and the Blazers inability to put the hammer down and prevent their first home loss.  But the biggest concern is the fact that no one felt comfortable with the ball in their hands at the end of the game. 

 Portland depends so much on Brandon Roy at the end of games, that once the Magic began to double team him everywhere on the court, it threw the Blazers out of whack.  The Blazers took bad shots, turned the ball over and were non-existant on the offensive boards in the final two minutes.  They let Orlando play them.

 The Blazers played well throughout most of the rest of the game.  Roy was clutch as usual, pouring in 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds.  Aldridge had to have set a career-high in dunks while going for 25 and 13.  And Sergio Rodriguez put in some of his best minutes all season.  The combination of Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden held half man-half superman Dwight Howard to 14 points and seven boards.  The crowd was into the game and the Blazers looked like they would win their eighth straight game easily.  But their was a problem...no one told the Magic to shut it down.

Continue reading "Crunch Time"