Portland Blazers

All the Blazers score and Greg Oden has a rousing debut at the Rose Garden

Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan fielded questions from the media following his team's impressive 116-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night at the Rose Garden. Here's a transcript of that news conference:...

Thumbs up The first quarter. The Blazers set the table for their impressive victory with a scintillating opening quarter that saw them take a 34-13 lead and electrify the sellout Rose Garden crowd. The Blazers tallied their second-most points in...

The Associated PressBrandon Roy has 8 points, 2 rebounds for the Blazers.Blazers are up 6 at the break in Arco Arena. LaMarcus Aldridge is shaking off his problems with 15 points (though only 1 rebound) in the first half. Steve...

Former Blazer Zach Randolph will take his bike rides to L.A.As you've read/heard by now, former Trail Blazer Zach Randolph swapped New York (Knickerbockers) for Los Angeles (Clippers) today. I know what you're thinking: Finally! Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis...

Go inside the Blazers with Oregonian beat writer Jason Quick.

With most teams past the 10 game point in the NBA season, subplots and storylines are emerging. While the Lakers and Celtics are clearly the top teams in the league, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing well as the best of the rest. Other teams have not been up to the challenge. Heading in to Tuesday's action, here are the top ten surprises of the NBA season so far...

10. Mark Cuban's alleged insider trading - The league's most entertaining and passionate owner has been on the wrong side of David Stern before. He has a reputation for being a bit of a rogue, but always follows the law. The most surprising aspect of the story to me is public reaction fueled by speculation. Sure, the NBA is still reeling from image issues of the Tim Donaghy scandal two summers ago. But every piece of gossip is not connected to part of a bigger conspiracy theory. This is not symbolic of the behavior and attitudes of owners. In fact, let's look at the facts of the story and give Mark Cuban his day in court. The last time I checked, this is a country that prides itself in assuming innocence until proven guilty. Until that happens, the allegations are just that - allegations.

9. Knicks start 6-4 and Suns start 8-4 - Given the situation Mike D'Antoni entered in New York and the one he left in Phoenix, it's a bit surprising to see both teams doing so well to start. The Suns hired Terry Porter to take over as head coach and his previous coaching experience was a forgettable stint in Milwaukee. Shaquille O'Neal has been playing with a spark. Nash is showing no signs of slowing down and Amare Stoudemire is one of the game's most dominating power forwards. Getting past the powers of the west will have to be a total team effort, with big contributions from guys like Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill and Boris Diaw...provided none of them get traded over the course of the season.

As for the Knicks, Chris Duhon has been a great addition and they haven't missed Stephon Marbury or Eddy Curry one iota. Jamal Crawford continues to do what he does and Zach Randolph has been playing well in the center spot. Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler have been sparks for Mike D'Antoni, responding well to the run and gun system. Danilo Gallinari still has not suited up for the Knickerbockers, but they are making use of what they've got. You knew D'Antoni could turn it around, but they figured to have more growing pains at first than this.

8. Rudy Fernandez - The Trail Blazers supersub is no surprise to many basketball experts who expected the Spaniard to finish as a first teamer on the all-rookie squad. He's been a spark off the bench for Nate McMillan in the role that Manu Ginobili plays for the Spurs.  Shooting is his forte.  Like Ginobili, Fernandez possesses surprising athleticism and the uncanny poise to know how to use it.  If there ever was a veteran rookie, Fernandez would be it.

7. Wizards 1-6 start - You had to figure that the Wizards would struggle without Gilbert Arenas, but they faired decent last year without him. They still boast two all-stars in Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. So, what gives? Losses to the Nets and Knicks at home hurt. They have been without starting center Brandon Haywood, who's out indefinitely with a right wrist injury. They also haven't had a healthy Antonio Daniels. It was Daniels play at point guard that stabilized the team in Arenas absence. Without him, they are starting Juan Dixon at point guard. Juan Dixon is not a point guard.

6. Ramon Sessions - The Milwaukee Bucks started the season 5-5 in spite of only having Michael Redd for four of those games. The reason is Ramon Sessions. For diehard NBA fans, this should not come as a surprise. In 17 games late last year as a rookie, he averaged eight points and 7.5 assists a game in 26 minutes while shooting 43 percent from three point range. It was the potential of Sessions that allowed the Bucks to let go of Mo Williams this offseason. So far this year, he's averaging a shade under 16 points as the top guy off the Bucks bench. This is a player who nearly went undrafted two summers ago. Now, he's playing a key role as the second scorer to Richard Jefferson for a resurgent Bucks team. Remember the name Ramon Sessions.

5. Hawks 6-0 start - The Hawks limped into the playoffs last year as the eighth seed with a mere 37 wins. While they had a lot of talent, the franchise lacked direction and was notorious for passing up franchise point guards in the draft for guys like Shelden Williams and Marvin Williams. Shelden is long gone after being traded in the Mike Bibby deal, but Marvin is still suiting up for the Hawks and his improved shooting touch is one of the reasons the Hawks started 6-0 on the season. Mike Bibby didn't start in a funk this year like he did last year for the Kings. Joe Johnson has been spectacular. Flip Murray and Mo Evans proved to be good offseason acquisitions. Josh Childress is long forgotten. Now, Josh Smith is out 2-4 weeks with a sprained ankle and following the one point loss to the Celtics, the Hawks drop back-to-back games against the Nets. The win at Orlando to start the season and the November 5th win at New Orleans are highlights in the resume so far, but they have to forget about the Nets and get back on track. Devin Harris was simply on fire against the Hawks, but perhaps his performance highlighted a defensive weakness. Time will tell.

4. Clippers 1-9 start - Even though the Clippers lost Corey Maggette and Elton Brand to free agency, they were supposed to make up for that and perhaps a little more with the additions of Baron Davis, Ricky Davis and Marcus Camby. So far, it has not been pretty for the Lakers opening act. They opened the season with a 38 point loss to the Lakers and of the nine losses, six have been double digit deficits. They have the full lineup as well, so the lack of chemistry is not for lack of personnel. This is getting away from them in a hurry.

3. Texas triangle combined 15-16 - The Rockets are 7-4, but the Spurs and Mavericks are struggling. The Spurs are without Manu Ginobili and now Tony Parker will miss a few weeks with a sprained ankle. Parker was really turning it on in the absence of Ginobili, highlighted by his 55 point, 10 assist outing on November 5th against the Timberwolves. In five games, Parker averaged 27.4 points. He was averaging 33.3 points heading in to the November 7th loss at Miami where he only played 10 minutes before turning his ankle late in the first quarter. The Spurs lost that game, but have managed to go 4-1 since. The real surprise of the Texas teams is how bad the Mavericks have been. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Kidd are suiting up, but they haven't been getting the job done. They gave the Clippers their only win and started out 2-7 on the season before winning in Charlotte. Time is running out for Rick Carlisle to turn things around.

2. Anthony Morrow - However the Warriors find these guys, you have to give them credit. Morrow is a free agent rookie who went undrafted out of Georgia Tech. He came in under the radar as a prospect who was known as a good shooter, but not assertive enough or balanced in other areas of the game. When you are shooting 58% on three pointers though, you can get some court time in Don Nelson's system. The other facets of the game will come around. Morrow got the start on Sunday, November 15th against the Clippers and he shot 15-of-20 from the field en route to 37 points. He was in the zone and it was far and away the best performance he's had on any level in his entire life. It's a long way from a guy who came to the summer league to prove himself, came to training camp to try and make the team, and now starting and starring for the Warriors. Marco Bellinari, the hyped 2007 first round pick from Italy, hasn't tasted this much success when it counted and is now taking a back seat to Morrow. Bellinari opened his summer league debut with a 37 point performance himself, so the work is far from over for Morrow. However, he's making the most of his opportunity and the Warriors are taking full advantage.

1. Iverson-Billups trade - The November 3rd trade between the Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons is the most shocking development of the season thus far. With Allen Iverson going to the Pistons and Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets, both teams gave a dramatic face lift to their squads. The most surprising part is that neither team skipped a beat. Team chemistry got better for both teams as a result of this trade. It's rare that superstars are traded in the NBA and it works out for both sides so equally. In this case, call it a win-win situation.

MVN's NBA Outsider presents to you the NBA's "Ballers of the Week."  Since this is a team game, major bonus points are award to players who lead their teams to undeafeated records in any given week.  Individual stats are nice, but it's wins and losses that matter most.  Here's who had the greatest impact on the bottom line for the week November 7th to November 13th...

Western Conference: Brandon Roy, G (Portland)

The Trail Blazers uberguard led the way to a 3-0 record following the big win on November 6th against the Houston Rockets.  In the three games this week, Roy averaged 24.3 points, five assists and 4.3 rebounds in wins over the Timberwolves, Magic in Orlando and Heat in Miami.   His main help so far is front running candidate for sixth man of the year, Rudy Fernandez.  He's averaging a consistent Manu Ginobiliesque 16 points a game in 28 minutes so far this season.  Greg Oden and Jerryd Bayless haven't really shown up yet and French rookie Nicolas Batum is starting.  Roy is the guy that holds it all together.  The Blazers are riding on Roy and this week, Roy delivered.

Honorable Mention: Andres Biedrins 17.3 points and 16 rebounds per game, Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers to the league's only undefeated record so far

Eastern Conference - LeBron James, F (Cleveland)

LeBron figures to hold this spot a lot this season.  King James averaged 32.8 points and posted two 41 point games this week in leading the Cavs to a 4-0 record.  So what if he's beating up on the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks of the world?  His numbers for the week were impressive, but just slightly higher than or equal to his regular season output of  8.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 28.9 points per game.  This is the second coming of Oscar Robertson in his Cincinnati Royals days.  Rounding out the competition was the win in Chicago and defeat of Carmelo Anthony and the visiting Denver Nuggets.  They were all games the Cavs should have won, and win they did. 

Honorable Mention - Jamal Crawford (27 points and 5 assists per game in leading the Knicks to a 3-1 record), Dwight Howard (30 points and 18 boards per game in leading the Magic to a 2-1 record) and Ben Gordon (26.5 points per game for the Bulls 2-2 week that included losses to the Hawks and Cavs - two teams near the top of the conference)

If you're like most NBA fans, then you aren't used to seeing the Portland Trail Blazers (yes, two words) on national television.

This season started with the Blazers on TNT in Los Angeles against the Lakers with the much-anticipated debut of Greg Oden. Oden, as you surely remember, missed all of what was supposed to be his rookie year last season when he had to shut it down to rehab from microfracture surgery. And it was Oden who was supposed to take the young Blazers from a pesky fringe playoff team to an up-and-coming power knocking on the door to future NBA championships.

When Oden couldn't even make it out of the first half of his first game unscathed, Portland's playoff hopes were supposed to go crashing down with him. Every team looking to be a championship team in the future has to start by taking their lumps, and for this Blazers team, making the playoffs in 2008-09 after a five-year hiatus from the postseason was the very first goal.

So when guard - no, check that - when All-Star guard Brandon Roy hit the equivalent of two uncanny buzzer-beaters in the span of two seconds in overtime to beat the Houston Rockets Thursday night on TNT, the prospect of playoff basketball (and more) became realistic again in a rejuvenated Rip City.

Even - maybe especially - without Oden.

Right now, Greg Oden is like a tall tale. He's like Paul Bunyan. Or like Big Foot. You've heard a lot about him, you've heard about the outrageous things he can do, and some have even claimed to see him in action. But for most of the world, he remains a myth.

Fortunately for the Portland Trail Blazers, their young Oden-less cast is a dangerous reality for the rest of the league. With one All-Star already and several others potentially in waiting, setting a foundation with a 41-41 season in 2007-08 didn't even involve the much-hyped seven-foot center from Ohio State a year ago.

With Roy, the Blazers have what every contender needs first and foremost: A face and an identity. After that, Roy provides leadership, fearlessness, and an attitude. He's not LeBron. He's not Kobe. And although their games are eerily similar, he's not Dwyane Wade. But if you've heard the cliche, "I don't know what it is, but he has it," then Roy's attributes are the very underlining of that phrase.

It would be enough to just have him by himself. But GM Kevin Pritchard has done a jaw-dropping job surrounding Roy with the talent he'll need to take Rip City back to the Finals for the first time since 1992 some day soon.

Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was criticized for being "too soft" coming out of Texas after his sophomore year. Three years into his NBA career, Aldridge has already posted a sophomore NBA season that saw him post 17.8 points and rip 7.6 boards while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and blocking 1.2 shots per game.

Look around the league, and there are accomplished veterans who would pay good money for those numbers. But the former Longhorn did that in just his second year in the league.

Roy's shots at the end of the game against the vaunted Rockets will be the lasting image from Thursday night's national telecast, but it was Aldridge who did the heavy lifting: 27 points on 12-for-20 shooting, nine rebounds, and three blocks in 45 minutes of burn. And he did this against a tough Rockets defense that threw combinations of Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Ron Artest, and Chuck Hayes at him all night.

Reserve swingman Rudy Fernandez has been a product of the "hype machine" like Oden as well, but unlike his rookie counterpart, the Spaniard has delivered. The 6'6" Fernandez was greeted by a mob of Blazers fans when he made his arrival at Portland International Airport over the summer, and while many nationally may have thought it odd to welcome a guy that most casual fans haven't even heard about (and may still haven't heard about), Fernandez's game has done the talking for him.

Against Houston, Fernandez made tremendous contributions with 15 points on five-for-nine shooting from the field and three-for-five shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Many may label Fernandez as a one-trick pony because of his one-dimensional ability to score from the perimeter, but he fits his role perfectly as an energizer off the bench for now with the prospect of being much more than that as his career in Portland progresses.

If you want to analyze this roster, you can go on all day: '08 lottery pick Jerryd Bayless (who was supposed to be a top-five pick), the absolutely clutch Travis Outlaw, and versatile '05 lottery pick power forward Channing Frye.

But it all goes back to Roy.

The last time a team was put together by throwing together a bunch of high draft picks to form a young nucleus, we saw the birth of the "Baby Bulls" in Chicago. Those Bulls are on the verge of becoming also-rans just a few years after supposedly "getting it together" with their maturing young core.

But what makes this Blazers team different from that Bulls team is an identity. An edge. An attitude. And it all stems from Roy, who, unlike anybody on that Bulls team, is already an All-Star by his second year in the league. In a league where it is not easy to find natural born leaders who keep their eyes on the prize at the end as well as become sources for civic and community pride, the third-year guard out of Washington has the strut of a 10-year veteran hungry for that elusive championship ring.

So as Portland embarks on a five-game road trip over the next week and a half, Roy's buzzer-beater to drop the Rockets will loom larger as the Blazers depart Portland. Miss that shot, and they are 1-4 looking to come apart at the seams fast.

But if, unlike most NBA fans, you've been following the ascent of this team for the past several years, watching the ball find the bottom of the net after coming off of #7's hands really shouldn't have surprised you much - if at all.