Archive for February, 2011

Blazers: 27-24 Bulls: 34-15 Game Details: Rose Garden, Portland, OR. 7:00 PM. TV: CSN. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM). Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6′5″, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′9″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Joel Przybilla (#10, 7′1″, Minnesota) Projected Chicago Starting Lineup: PG Derrick Rose (#1, 6’3″, Memphis), SG Keith Bogans (#6, 6’5″, Kentucky), SF Luol Deng (#9, 6’9″, Duke), PF Carlos Boozer (#5, 6’9″, Duke), C Kurt Thomas (#40, 6’9″, TCU) The Blazers come into tonight’s game having previously escaped the humiliation that would have [...]

I’m not going to spend too much time on this one. For all that the Portland Trail Blazers fan base has had to endure over the last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ faithful have had it worse. Much worse. Imagine instead of being hurt, Brandon Roy left the Blazers to join two other superstars in a city that for shear cultural cache and awesomeness makes Portland look like, well Cleveland. Then imagine that he did it on national television. I’m sure we’ve all run this scenario through a time or two, and can imagine what it must be like to be [...]

Blazers: 26-24 Cavaliers: 8-42 Game Details: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH. 4:30 PM. TV: CSN. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM). Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6′5″, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′9″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Joel Przybilla (#10, 7′1″, Minnesota) Projected Cleveland Starting Lineup: PG Ramon Sessions (#3, 6’3″, Nevada), SG Daniel Gibson (#1, 6’2″, Texas), SF Christian Eyenga (#8, 6’5″, Congo), PF Antawn Jamison (#4, 6’9″, North Carolina), C J.J. Hickson (#21, 6’9″, North Carolina State) Under normal circumstances, it couldn’t get much worse than last [...]

Friday’s loss in Indianapolis begs one simple question: What is wrong with the Blazer’s road game? Portland’s road record, of 9-17, is not the worst in the league, but it’s not doing them any favors. The Blazers have already gone through one tough road stretch, winning only two road games out of 11 between November 28th and December 28th, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Portland’s only recent road victory of note was during that extended period of losing when they stole one from the Jazz in Salt Lake City. So the question again; is Portland doing [...]

Blazers: 26-23 Pacers: 19-27 Game Details: Canseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN. TV: CSN. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM) Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6′5″, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′9″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Joel Przybilla (#10, 7′1″, Minnesota) Projected Indiana Starting Lineup: PG Darren Collison (#2, 6’0″, UCLA), SG Mike Dunleavy (#17, 6’9″, Duke), SF Danny Granger (#33, 6’8″, New Mexico), PF Tyler Hansbrough (#50, 6’9″, North Carolina), C Roy Hibbert (#55, 7’2″, Georgetown) The Blazers beat the Pacers at the Rose Garden last month, but that game [...]

One of the most intriguing stories in sports so far in 2011 is the NHL’s break with tradition in the assembling of its All-Star teams. Rather than leave the rosters up to popular vote and coach selection, the league opted instead to have the two teams selected by a pair of captains. This idea has been near-universally praised, as it should be: in addition to mixing up the rosters and not limiting it to conferences, it opens up a whole new level of potential “he snubbed me on the All-Star team, I’m killing him in our playoff series” drama. Needless [...]

So Wednesday wasn’t Portland’s night, that much was clear. Coming off one of the very best victories in recent memory, one could expect the Blazers to have a let down, and those with that expectation were not disappointed. Those that wanted to see Portland build on a big win, and add to it with another big win, were. Disappointed that is. Things didn’t start out poorly for the visiting team, Portland led by one after one and at the half, but everything started to turn sour for the Blazers just before halftime. Wesley Matthews, one of the few Blazers this [...]

Blazers: 26-22 Nuggets: 28-20 Game Details: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO. 7:00 PM. TV: KGW. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM). Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6′5″, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′9″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Joel Przybilla (#10, 7′1″, Minnesota) Projected Denver Starting Lineup: PG Chauncey Billups (#1, 6’3″, Colorado), SF Arron Afflalo (#6, 6’5″, UCLA), SF Carmelo Anthony (#15, 6’8″, Syracuse), PF Kenyon Martin (#4, 6’9″, Cincinnati), C Nene Hilario (#31, 6’11″, Brazil) Another day, another playoff team that blew Portland out in December. A win tonight in [...]

Even the most die hard fans probably did not see this coming. San Antonio rolling into the Rose Garden with 40 wins and seven losses, and rolling out with 40 wins and EIGHT losses. I certainly didn’t. I thought, for sure Portland would get up for Tuesday’s game. They weren’t exactly embarrassed in their last two outings, but they were well on the way to erasing all the good they’d done with their recent five-game winning streak. A couple of days off, a chance to reflect on their recent struggles, and likely the Blazers would be able to put up [...]

Blazers: 25-22 Spurs: 40-7 Game Details: Rose Garden, Portland, OR. 7:00 PM. TV: CSN. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM). Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6′5″, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′9″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Joel Przybilla (#10, 7′1″, Minnesota) Projected San Antonio Starting Lineup: PG Tony Parker (#9, 6’2″, France), SG Manu Ginobili (#20, 6’6″, Argentina), SF Richard Jefferson (#24, 6’7″, Arizona), PF Tim Duncan (#21, 6’11″, Wake Forest), C DeJuan Blair (#45, 6’7″, Pittsburgh) The Blazers have generally played the Spurs well at home, but the [...]