Nets: 5-11

Game Details: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ. 4:00 PM. TV: CSN. Radio: KXTG (95.5 FM)

Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Andre Miller (#24, 6′2″, Utah), SG Brandon Roy (#7, 6′6″, Washington), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6′8″, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6′11″, Texas), C Marcus Camby (#23, 6′11″, UMass)

Projected New Jersey Starting Lineup: PG Devin Harris (#34, 6’3″, Wisconsin), SG Anthony Morrow (#22, 6’5″, Georgia Tech), SF Travis Outlaw (#21, 6’9″, Starkville High School), PF Kris Humphries (#43, 6’9″, Minnesota), C Brook Lopez (#11, 7’0″, Stanford)

You know it’s a rough stretch of season for Portland when you’re writing about a game in November against the Nets like it matters, but with every day that goes by it gets harder to rationalize the Blazers’ recent string of games. The losses against playoff teams are starting to add up, and the team’s barely-above-.500 record gets more painful when you realize that three of those losses (the two against Oklahoma City and the one against Utah) were games the Blazers controlled most of the way and then let slip. With the month of November almost over, the Blazers have had a pretty tough early schedule, but you’d think that a truly elite team could beat at least a few of the other contenders they’ve played, right? At this point, the only likely playoff teams the Blazers have beaten are Milwaukee and Denver. Every other team going somewhere this year–the Bulls, Lakers, Thunder twice, Hornets twice, and Jazz–have beaten them. And this is a problem.

At 5-11, the Nets are not one of these teams. They’re not nearly as bad as they were last season, when they flirted with losing more games than any team in NBA history, but if the Blazers can’t find a way to beat them, then we can truly start to panic. New Jersey has some nice pieces, and can play well together on occasion. Devin Harris’ All-Star days are likely over, but he’s averaging 17.8 points per game. Brook Lopez is quickly developing into one of the league’s elite rebounding and shot-blocking centers, and with Joel Przybilla continuing to be sidelined with stomach flu, this will be another game in which Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge will be expected to do a lot of the heavy lifting inside. No. 3 overall pick Derrick Favors has been erratic but has a ton of potential. Anthony Morrow and our own Travis Outlaw are streaky shooters who can do some damage if you let them.

Normally, this is the kind of team the Blazers should be able to take care of, but their play lately has been pathetic, to put it kindly. The only silver lining of Friday’s abysmal performance against the Hornets was the return of Brandon Roy, who scored 27 points and (for the most part) didn’t look like his knee was bothering him. The problem was that nobody else on the team could hit anything. Roy looked fine on Friday, but given the increasing liability that is his knee, other players–be it Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Andre Miller, Wesley Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, anybody–need to step up and take on some of the scoring load. Making Roy carry the team on his back, especially against highly beatable teams like the Nets, is not in the Blazers’ best long-term interests.

Tonight’s game kicks off a four-game road trip that will also see the Blazers make stops in Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. Realistically speaking, we can’t count on the Blazers beating the Celtics, who have looked as good as ever so far this season. But the other three games are against teams the Blazers need to be able to beat. Give them this road trip before we really start assessing where the season is going, but anything less than a 3-1 showing will not bode well, to say the least.

Houston sends: Trevor Ariza (to NO)

Houston receives: Courtney Lee (from NJN)

New Orleans sends: Darren Collison, James Posey (to IND)

New Orleans receives: Trevor Ariza (from HOU)

Indiana sends: Troy Murphy (to NJN)

Indiana receives: Darren Collison (from NO)

New Jersey sends: Courtney Lee (to HOU)

New Jersey receives: Troy Murphy (from IND)

The team that jumps out as a winner to me are the Pacers. All year we’ve been talking about their need for a young PG and they sure got one. I question the Hornets giving up on a talent like Collison so soon and part of me feels like they are the ‘losers’ of this deal. Giving up Collison and James Posey for Trevor Ariza is not ‘winning’ a deal. No disrespect to Ariza, who has shown he is talented, but he has yet to show he can handle being the #1 perimeter option. I wonder how Chris Paul feels right about now.

As you know I’m pretty high on Courtney Lee so I like the Rockets getting a cheaper option to replace Ariza. Lee should excel on a Contender where he will not have to shoulder much of the offensive load. Think of how well Von Wafer played for the Rockets, and Lee is a little more talented if you ask me. The Nets also did well for themselves by getting Troy Murphy, not only because it could give Derrick Favors breathing room to develop, but also because of his expiring contract .

One can’t help but think that perhaps the Blazers could have snuck into this deal a little while back. Can’t help but wonder if a 4 or 5 team deal would’ve been the ideal setting to dump Rudy Fernandez and get some value in return. It’s odd to see such a big deal go down and all remains quiet on the Fernandez front.

But you do bring up an interesting point about Aldridge. I keep hearing he’s out there. The Blazers offered Aldridge to the Nets for Derrick Favors and Devin Harris during the draft. Looks like he’s in play.

Yet another aggressive move the Blazers tried to make during the draft. What do you think of the deal? This is one I’d have to think about for awhile, but it’s definitely a move to consider — especially if, like me, you thought Favors would be a great fit next to a center like Brook Lopez. If you think that, it’s tough not to think the same of a Favors-Oden pairing.

Now that I’ve had the chance to think about this deal, it’s one Portland makes and New Jersey says no to first — hence the offer and rebuke. Harris is incredibly affordable at $27 million over the next three years, and the chance for Favors to develop with all that talent around him is a nice situation. Risks like these can be the difference between years of second-round exits with a few appearances in the Conference Finals, and going to the NBA Final multiple times.