Blazers Prospects

(Lillard and Aldridge from tumblr.com)

I want to say some positive stuff first.  I love Lamarcus, he says the right stuff, he's an all-star, he carries the offensive load on the Blazers.  I love Lillard stepping in right away and being a man playing a billion minutes a night all season long as a rookie, and oh ya, rookie of the year.  I love Wes and his 110% mantra even if at that only makes him a backup on any other team.  I love Batum and his potential and his highlights and his international success.  And...

...and I have this sense of impending doom, ya know?  We'll add pieces to make us better, and we'll get a little better.  But Aldridge is the perfect complimentary piece to a contending team, and I think he'll bolt when his contract is up.  Or worse, he'll demand a max contract and Lillard will demand a max contract, and we'll be filling out our team with sub-Miami level surrounding talent without Miami level superstars.  If the ultimate goal is a title, that's not gonna cut it.  I hope that Olshey is smarter than me and figures something out.

Seahawks Draft Summary

(5th round pick Williams tackling 6th round pick Ware, pic from seattletimes.com)

I couldn't find anything that summed up the Seahawks draft in a concise way, so I gathered some data and created my own.  I went mostly to fieldgulls.com and seattletimes.com for my info.

2013 Original picks

Round 1: 0
Round 2: 1
Round 3: 1
Round 4: 1
Round 5: 2
Round 6: 1
Round 7: 4


2013 Final picks
Round 1: 0
Round 2: 1
Round 3: 1
Round 4: 1
Round 5: 3
Round 6: 1
Round 7: 4

Players picked

2nd round, Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M
I had never heard of this guy, but that's not surprising.  He was ranked by multiple analysts as the best RB in this class, albeit with some character concerns.  The primary positive on Michael is his lateral movement and explosiveness.  He should be able to make the 2nd and 3rd levels miss.  It has been noted that this lateral quickness should also help his blocking ability   Adding any backup to Lynch is a positive in my opinion, he is amazing but ball carriers don't last forever.

3rd round, Jordan Hill, DT, Penn State
Lots of positive about this guy. Some descriptors are explosive, agile, straight line speed, relentless, stamina, sweet moves. So why the 3rd round?  Sometimes he comes out too high, and he doesn't seem to have great lower body strength which makes him a less than ideal run stopper.  Looks like he can be a play maker, but is likely not an every down DT.

4th round, Chris Harper, WR, Kansas State
I started my short and unsuccessful football career as a lineman, so I have respect for the less glamorous positions.  But lets be honest, it's the Russell Wilsons and the Percy Harvins that really get me excited.  So any receiver to add to the roster competition is good news in my book.  Harper doesn't rate particularly well on technique and route running.  However he is fast and large, and can get position on guys.  Maybe he'll be used in the back of the end zone while defenses focus on Harvin in motion with a Wilson read option?

5th round, Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama
The Seattle times claims Jesse is this year's steal a la Russell Wilson.  This is basically a quick "SparkNotes" summary of that article.  Let's see, he is a fast, run stopping giant.  He didn't start playing football until 15, so there is still room to grow.  The main concern is his surgically repaired knee, hopefully he got some APete magic.  He may get immediate playing time with last year's starter Branch gone.

5th round, Tharold Simon, CB, LSU
The first of 2 LSU teammates taken in this draft, Simon is know for his tackling and physicality.  This leads to great off the line slowing of receivers and excellent run defense.  He has some criminal history and a reputation for being flaky at practices, and he may struggle keeping up with sharp route cuts.  Overall, he is athletic enough to make an impact and possibly back fill a CB position in the future.

5th round, Luke Willson, TE, Rutgers
Unfortunately, not this Luke Wilson, who could have been drafted for his hilarious set of skills.  No, Willson with 2 Ls ran the 40 in 4.4 seconds, the fastest for a TE this year at the combine. Last season he had injuries, but before that he was very productive.  Hopefully he can heal up and use some of that athleticism to fulfill his upside potential.

6th round, Spencer Ware, RB, LSU
This is the second running back for the Hawks in this draft.  I personally love building some depth here.  I love Beast Mode, but running back is a short lived position so finding the next man up should be a priority, and spending a low round pick is ideal.  He's the type of runner who will run through you, not around you.  He is a big back from an SEC school that fits the mold of Seattle's current RBs.  He could potentially be converted to a FB.

7th round, Ryan Seymour, OL, Vanderbilt
He has played tackle, guard, and center over his career.  He is a strong guy getting 30 bench reps at the combine.  Vanderbilt used zone blocking like the Seahawks, so he should be able to plug in pretty well.  He is tough and quick, but lacks overall strength for trench battles.

7th round, Ty Powell, OLB/DE, Harding
Powell is from a small school but had great combine measurables  May be an athletic backup option for Avril and Irvin who are both trying out the OLB and DE spots.  He is raw with poor technique but is explosive and a big hitter.  He played some safety for Harding too, so he's gotta be pretty quick.

7th round, Jared Smith, DT, New Hampshire
Schneider sees a "Tough, Reliable, Smart" football player here.  He is a DT but the organization sees him having the ability to play somewhere on the OL if needed.  Not an excellent athlete, he may be a project for the Seahawks to develop.

7th round, Michael Bowie, OT, Northwestern State
Besides having a name that reminds me of the 1984 NBA draft, where the Blazers chose Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, there doesn't seem to be a lot to talk about here. He was a good OT at Oklahoma State before violating team rules and leaving the team.  So he comes with some risk, but is probably better than his last year at Northwestern State suggests.

Next Year

(picture from Oregonlive.com)

Uh Oh, 3 game winning streak.  The season is young and to be honest I couldn't be happier.  The Blazers are meeting their expectations!  In previous seasons Roy and Oden were expected to come back and take us deep into the playoffs.  That did not happen for a variety of reasons, primarily knee problems.  This year, we were expected to struggle while leaning on Aldridge and developing Lillard and Leonard.  So far Aldridge is our leading scorer and shot blocker, and Lillard is in a dead heat for the ROY award.  Leonard is developing slowly, but has some amazing highlights along the way.  They are meeting and slightly beating expectations!  I love it, feels good.  If the playoffs started today we would be the #7 seed.

Here's where I get scared.  We are clearly not contenders.  We also lose our 1st round pick in the next draft if it falls out of the top 12.  At this rate, that's going to happen.  Then we just have development of our young players and the bench.  That's is the next issue, our bench is our biggest weakness, they have the least points in the entire league.  I say we start giving some of them significant minutes so they will develop, or so they can be used as trade chips.  Our core of starters is clearly strong, but our bench players will determine the future.

2012-2013 Western Conference

(from http://losangeles.cbslocal.com)

That is a scary sight.  So much for the collective bargaining agreement stopping the formation of superteams.  Regardless, here are my predictions for the 2012-2013 season Western Conference standings.

1. Lakers
2. Thunder
3. Clippers
4. Nuggets
5. Spurs
6. Grizzlies
7. Mavericks
8. Minnesota
---
9. Warriors (caveat - if Curry and Bogut play more than 70 games each, they make it as high as the 7th seed)
10. Jazz
11. Blazers (I could honestly see the Blazers lower than this even)
12. Hornets
13. Suns
14. Rockets
15. Kings

21 days

(photo from @pdxtrailblazers twitter feed)

So football season is here, that's nice.  I enjoy the once a week games, prepping for fantasy football competition with friends, and the highlight plays that Megatron and other big names provide.  But one day after the Thursday night game between the Cardinals and the Rams on October 5th, the Celtics will be tipping off the first preseason game against Fenerbahce Ulker Turkish club team in Instanbul.  A full season lies ahead of us following the abbreviated disaster of a season last year.  I will likely be even more NBA obsessed this year as the NHL looks to repeat history with another lockout, freeing up my time.

The picture above is from the Blazers twitter feed and has some of the only returning players from last year.  Even that picture is now outdated as Elliot Williams is out for the season with knee surgery, and his spot may be filled with the ever under-whelming Adam Morrison.  But AmMo would be one of many newly signed vets and rookies that promise to make the Blazers season interesting, as well as likely unsuccessful.  Either way I'll be watching and cheering in 21 days.

Lillard - Grain of Salt

(from blazersedge.com)

Lillard is putting up awesome numbers, against sub par competition.  The Blazers are looking for their point guard of the future aka pgotf.  This seems eerily similar to when Jerryd Bayless tore up the summer league.  Everyone was reeeally excited, myself included.  And I am currently excited that we have a player that is proving he can do well against not quite nba level talent.  He is already getting comparisons to Derrick Rose without having played a single nba game!

I hope that Speed Demian Lilliard is the next great league guard, but I am going to wait until the regular season.

Draft/Trade Thoughts

(picture from bostonherald.com)

Just had a crazy thought and wanted to write it down..  Luckily nobody reads this blog.

I think there is an unwritten rule that you never trade away proven all-star talent for draft picks.  However, what if the Blazers could get a total of three lottery level draft picks this year?  Our only three proven talented players by my count are Lamarcus, Batum, and Matthews.  What if we traded away 1 or 2 of these guys for additional picks?  The problem is that this also has to be worth it for the other team.

Scenario 1 - Lamarcus and Matthews for Anthony Davis/salary.  Trade a proven big and a starter for the #1 draft pick.  Who wins this trade at first glance?  I have no idea.  We lose a proven big about to enter the prime of his career as well as a a starter to the Hornets to pair with Eric Gordon.  I don't know if draft slots #6 and #11 are enough to put us over the top, so I'm OK with that.  We get someone in Davis who has the potential to be an amazing all-star for years to come, and he grows along with the #6 and #11 pick of a deep draft! 

Scenario 2 - Trade Matthews or Batum for somewhere between a #5 - #15 pick.  Batum would obviously bring a higher pick than Matthews.  Here we end up with 3 young talented players to pair with Lamarcus.  Who knows who will eventually pan out, conservatively 2 of 3 become starters.  None of our last couple drafts have turned out to be very good, so this scenario hedges on high picks and lots of them to turn our fortunes.

Both of these scenarios are in the OKC model of letting a young talented core grow together.  Based on last night's Western Conference championship game, I'm a fan of this scenario.  This is all likely moot based on Olshey's desire to "re-tool" vs. "re-build."  

Lastly, I would like to mention that I would mourn the loss of Aldridge and/or Batum, but don't tell me either of the above scenarios would not be exciting to watch unfold.

ND 2012 Draft

(pic stolen from some other random blog)

Two picks in the lower first round, I love it.  We need a point guard and we need a center.  There are a couple of good centers in this draft, and some not-so-amazing point guards.  My take is that we draft the best point guard available to us at 6 and the best remaining center at 11.  We then let Mr. new PG duke it out with Nolan Smith for the first half of the season.  I don't think Smith is the answer at the point, but we haven't really given him a shot either.  We already have one of the best PF/C in the league with Aldridge.  Just get him some support!

My Blazers mock draft:

Pick #6 is a)Damian Lillard first or if he is gone b)Kendall Marshall

Pick #11 is any of the following with this best health history: Andre Drummond/Tyler Zeller/Meyers Leonard

You pull the trigger on these draft picks unless you can get an elite PG or Center without giving up Aldridge or Batum.  OK maybe even Batum depending on the trade details.

Hope vs. Expectations

(photo from Oregonlive.com)

I'm getting excited about the blazers losing...wait, what?

The point of this post is that I am torn between high expectations and hope for the future.  When I had expectations of the Roy/Aldridge/Oden trio, I stressed whenever they did not live up to the humungous potential I had built for them in my head.  But now, having a base core of good (not great) players, I am hopeful that we will be able to do something good with what will likely be 2 low draft picks.  That is way less stressful, it's actually exciting.  I want to get back to the high expectations point in my relationship with the Blazers again, but for now I'm going to enjoy the Hope this draft brings.

Feeling Out the Competition

3 hilarious pictures from the Blazers 3/22/12 game against the Memphis Grizzlies.  I got these from the oregonlive.com Blazers photos.

1st off, Crawford does a cup-check on Gasol.  I'm going to guess he is not wearing a cup.

(photo from oregonlive.com)

2nd, Batum is jealous of all the PDA and gets in on the action.

(photo from oregonlive.com)

HILARIOUS.

Lastly, Felton was so tired from all the funny business, he decided to take a nap on the bench.

(photo from oregonlive.com)

Building a Team

(picture from Yahoo! sports)

Holy moly mother of guacamole, this has been a weird season for the Blazers.  2 of the three pillars are still out in Oden and Roy.  Now Roy is retiring!  Now Oden needs 2 knees surgeries!  Now there is only 1, LA.

So our supposedly "soft" LA became an all star.  He deserved it last year and definitely earned it this year.  He is an amazing player, I wouldn't trade him for basically anyone in the league.  But it seems kinda weird having him as the team leader, right?  I mean he was backseat to Roy for so long.  Either way, he started the season charging the Blazers to a 7-2 record, so I was happy.  From that point on the team stagnated.  A large enough sample size developed with Felton to realize he was a downgrade to Andre Miller.  Wallace and Crawford were completely inconsistent.  Batum didn't have enough playing time to develop into that player that we all believe and want him to be.

The Blazers were crashing out of the playoff picture.  Leading up to the trade deadline there were numerous reports of locker room mutiny against Nate McMillan.  There were some significant losses against all sorts of teams ranging from the lowly Wizards (the Wizards!?!?!?!) to the likely playoff bound Celtics and Knicks.  It was easy to point fingers at the new guys, Felton and Crawford.   The Blazers front office got into action and traded away 2 starters for draft picks and cap space.  I will miss Camby and Wallace, but they were there to help our foundation, and with our foundation broken they became dispensable.

I loved these moves.  The Blazers did this when they last gave their fans hope at the end of the Jail Blazer era.  They picked up 2 amazing stars in Roy and Aldridge as well as got lucky with Oden as the first pick the next year.  I was so excited, we were the talk of the NBA, the Blazers were the up and coming title contenders for years to come.  We added veteran studs to the roster like the defensive master Camby and the king of hustle Gerald Wallace.  Once our stars were healthy we would take on anyone, anywhere.  Injuries stripped us of that dream, and instead of rebuilding by putting up new spackle on a mostly rotten foundation, we tore down and will put up a new, stronger base.

I would much rather suffer a little now and end up like the teams that build well through the draft (Thunder) or through cap space and trades (Celtics), or the draft and trades (Clippers).  The Thunder, Celtics, and Clippers are all teams who were patiently awful for awhile, and are now very successful.  We could have stuck with Lamarcus as our core and not given him enough to ever build a championship with (see the Suns and Steve Nash), but we have higher aspirations.

I am excited to see what our draft picks will become, hopefully they both land in the top 10 (very likely according to this article).  We can trade for quality veterans around Lamarcus' age, or develop through the draft.  Either way I'm excited.

Goodbye Brandon Roy

(photo from yahoo!)

I didn't follow any professional sports until around 2007, and that wasn't a coincidence.  This was right when Roy began his rookie of the year campaign.  This was the first good news I had heard about the Blazers since Drexler led the Blazers to the finals.  To be clear, I didn't even know that happened until the last couple of years.  My point is that Brandon Roy was the reason I started following, and am now completely obsessed with the Portland Trail Blazers.  

Watching Roy's injuries the past 2 years has been hard.  But the Blazers had Lamarcus to pick up the slack as well as the never ending hope for Greg Oden.  I always thought that Roy was so good that despite any injury he would be able to fill some sort of role for the Blazers.  I was ecstatic watching Roy dominate the Mavs in game 4.  But watching him struggle through the remaining games was heart breaking.

When sports writers everywhere suggested that the Blazers use the amnesty clause on Brandon, I was hardly surprised.  I hoped Portland would give him another chance and let him fill whatever role he can for this team.  Everybody in Portland loves him despite his injury woes.  My mom barely knows what basketball is and even she loves him!

Then came the news the Blazers wouldn't cut him using the amnesty clause, yay!

Then Brandon announced his retirement, wait?  What!?!?

I wanted to be more sad than I felt when I found out he was retiring, but I couldn't.  Watching Roy, he is a warrior.  Seeing him struggle through these injuries was difficult.  I know that his retirement has to do with his family.  Who wouldn't want to run around with their kids.  For the exact same reason that Portland fell in love with Brandon Roy, is the exact same reason he is retiring.  He is a great guy.  He dragged us out of the Jailblazer era, and now he will be MORE of a family man.  I wish him nothing but the best. Thank you for entertaining fans for 5 years.  Good luck with whatever you choose to pursue in the future, I know you will continue to be an all star.

Letter to the NBA About the Lockout

 

(Picture from Yahoo! Sports)

I love the NBA, I read 2-3 blogs everyday about the NBA and my team the Trail Blazers.  I live in San Jose California and I am from Portland, so the team the last couple of years has been a huge point of pride for me.  I have been able to joke around with my local friends about the Warriors, even if every Blazers-Warriors game I have gone to at Oracle the Blazers have lost.

My point is this, my best friend doesn't like professional basketball.  His reasoning is "they are all overpaid and don't play hard until the playoffs."  I don't think that's true, and if it was I wouldn't care.  I love/hate Kobe, I love/hate Lebron, Lamarcus was my hero last year, I have dreams of LA, Oden, Roy and Batum leading the Blazers to a championship.  When this season rolls around I can distract myself with the NFL and the NHL, but it won't be the same.  I am not emotionally attached to the Seahawks or the Sharks.
But as time wears on, I will eventually accept the invite to watch the Sharks game instead of staying home to watch a league pass Blazers game due to the lockout.

I'm not delusional, I don't think one email will have an impact on a business as large as the NBA.  This is more to vent...please figure out a way to end this lockout.

Sincerely,
Nick

Blazers Draft and the Impending Lockout

Last draft, Wa, Wa, Waaa (Picture from OregonLive.com)

Two topics I am not particularly excited about.  First the draft and its weakness coupled with a low draft pick means not much improvement here.  If KP was still here, I would be more excited about some crazy 5 team, 10 draft pick, 15 player trade possibility.  I miss that feeling of getting rid of the bad and bringing in the new era of BRoy, LMA and Oden.  I feel like we could use help at the center or point guard positions, and if this truly is a weak draft, take a gamble.  We have a solid rotation of SG/SF/PG in Matthews/Roy/Rudy/Batum/Wallace/Aldridge.  Leave those positions alone unless we are making a trade.

And the lockout is super depressing.  I expect the Blazers to win over 50% of their games and make the playoffs.  I don't see them as deep enough and strong enough to make a championship run right now, but I love watching them play while I scream at my TV.  The only positive I see is that Oden and Roy will get a little extra rest for whenever the next season starts.  I just hope its over as quickly as possible and we can start watching basketball in the fall.  I guess there's always hockey.

On the Brink of Elimination

 

(picture from Yahoo! Sports)

I was discussing the Atlanta Thrashers yesterday with a friend, and how they are likely to move to Winnepeg.  He is Canadian, and a fan of the Maple Leafs.  We go to talking about the Sharks, and he surprised me by saying he was cheering for them.  His team was out, he lives in San Jose, why not?

3 hours later the Sharks are down 3-1 in the seven game series, and I am worried.  They have only won 2 games in the last 8, and I'm worried.  My roommate is flying to Vancouver Tuesday to watch what could possibly be the last Sharks game this season.  But I'm going to think of it as the the first game in an amazing comeback on the way to the first San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup.

Quality time

I hate wasting time, but I am always doing it.  From reading stupid articles on the internet, watching hours of TV to sleeping in unnecessarily, I am not very efficient.  I try to get in groove where I get things done, but I just can't seem to stay, something always throws me out.  Sometimes I will budget every week for a couple of months and hit my savings goals.  Other times I workout 5 times a week and I start to notice a difference.  Eventually something comes up and I get out of my routine.

I am learning that no matter what I do, the one thing that I know is not a waste of time is when I can help or support someone else. This is especially true if it is an inconvenience to my schedule.  When I do that my life becomes interesting, the opposite of dull and monotonous. I have ideas on what I think is best for me and I work towards those goals.  Ultimately the most rewarding experiences are the ones that I could not have planned.

Two In a Row

The Blazers have the weapons to explode at any given time. Heck, Andre alone has scored 52 points against this team in one game. Roy just surged two games ago. Wallace was the unquestioned leader of the Bobcats before the trade, and we have seen that he can still do it in a Portland uniform. And don't forget Aldridge. He exploded the entire regular season.

Top that with not one but two defensive stoppers in Batum and Matthews, and the Blazers are out of excuses. Dirk is going to get his and JET is probably going to get his too. If we play some defense, and we get some performances out of Aldridge, Wallace, Miller and Roy we will move on. Let's see it.

Slide Into the Next Round

Weeeeeee!  (picture from Yahoo! sports)

The crappy part about my two favorite sports being basketball and hockey is that they both have the same off season.  The awesome part is that my two favorite teams are both in the playoffs right now.  And while Roy and the majority of the Blazers let me down last night, the Sharks moved on to the second round.

So three of their four victories came in overtime, and three of four were road victories.  Kind of a weird way to get it done, but on to the next one.  Everyone who is anyone that follows hockey knows that the Sharks always struggle in post season, no matter how good they are (knock on wood), but here's to them making it past the next round...and hopefully a couple more goals from the sliding captain.

How you like me now?

OOOOO ya! (picture from OregonLive.com)

I will admit it, I had given up on Roy.  Once an all-star with moves I tried to mimic in pick up games, he had become a bench contributor in my mind.  Not someone to be completely looked over, after all he still had his J and his $13M per year contract.  But give me Batum or give Rudy another chance off the bench first.  Lamarcus has the #1 slot covered.  Maybe Oden had hardened me, so much promise that faded with injury.  Don't hear me wrong, I never lost respect for the man who single-handedly slammed the door on the Jail Blazers.  I would take the Frail Blazers any day.

Then he almost cried after the second loss to Dallas.  C'mon man, accept who you are, you are still getting paid buckets-o-cash, maybe you'll get IT back next year, until then don't distract the team.

Then he scored 16 points in the next game.  There is that bench contributor I was talking about.  Keep it real BRoy, way to not cry.

THEN came Saturday April 23rd.  Down 23 points, an offense-less Blazer team was led by the Roy of old to victory.  Ummm, I... I did not see that coming, ummm sorry man, point taken.  In the picture above he seems to be saying "Oh really? You thought I was done?"  24 points in 24 minutes off the bench = NOT done. 

This season I have seen Aldridge take the whole team on his back and win games.  But this effort by Roy was more than putting the whole team's weight on his surgically repaired knees.  He gave them hope, hope in healing, hope in the potential next round, hope in the underdog, and hope in the comeback.  I mean even Rudy was playing defense for goodness sake, what other evidence do you need?

I don't know if Roy can keep this type of play up, but as long as he can provide that type of leadership, the Frail Blazers have a shot.