I’m not sure where the exact line is that divides us but there is a generation that will never see him play. That will never know how great of a basketball player Scottie Pippen is. It’s unfortunate (and scary) but it is sadly a reality. They may know he was Michael Jordan’s sidekick, or he once threw a temper tantrum in the playoffs. Or the failure in Houston. I fear his entire Blazer run will be wiped out as well. A run that, let’s face it, had it not been for Pippen’s guidance and leadership, would not have existed.

The thing about watching Scottie Pippen play is I always admired how smooth he looked on the court. Every move seemed to have a purpose, all blending together to create a smooth symphony on the court. He just seemed to always be in control of things. On a personal note, I learned a lot about the game simply watching him. In middle school, I hated bringing the ball up the court. I didn’t like pressure defense, didn’t understand the art of changing speeds and just generally didn’t like being completely responsible for something while my teammates clapped for the ball. I credit Scottie for teaching me how to bring the ball up the court, there was something about the way he moved the ball from one hand to the other that gave me confidence to go out and try it. He deserves to be remembered.

And from one spectrum to the other, how can we forget about Rasheed Wallace. Hate him or love him, there’s a reason he was #12 on The Oregonian’s list of the top 40 Blazers of all-time. The man deserves his due, whether you want to give it to him or not. I’m sure there are many Blazer fans out there who have attempted to erase the ‘Jail Blazer’ era, and hence the Rasheed Wallace era from their memory. To each their own.

I’m not one of them.

You need a little perspective to see where I’m coming from. As the Drexler Era team faded, crumbled and slowly fell apart, as a little boy I couldn’t help but see the change. The new faces, the new jerseys, the new arena. Drexler, Kersey, Porter, Williams, etc. all gone until Cliff Robinson was the last link to my early childhood. And as he faded away, I searched for a new Blazer to attach my allegiance too. I had too because while I loved the Drexler Blazers, I was at best 5 during their peak, too young to really understand what was going on. For example: during the 92 Finals, I ended up alternating between cheering and tears because I was torn between Jordan and the Blazers.

Back to the story, I chose Sheed. To this day I don’t remember why, but from that day on Sheed was my guy. I remember in middle school I was shorter than Coup and a lot of people I played against, so I’d practice Sheed’s two dribble fadeaway over the right shoulder.A couple years later that leap of faith would pay off as Sheed was an All-Star and the Blazers were one of the top teams in the league. Hearing the crowd yell ‘Sheed’ on those (rare) post ups, or watching as he nailed a clutch three that made the Rose Garden go nuts. That’s what I’m going to remember from Sheed’s career.

What is Sheed’s legacy? Well, it’s going to be the technical fouls, the attitude, the laziness and the fact that he could have been one of the best power forwards to have played this game. This is all true. I remember when Coup was in Boston this year, joining the million C fans in dogging Sheed. I texted him and said ‘wait till the playoffs’ and sure enough Sheed finally showed up in the post-season. To me, that’s the beauty and the beast of Rasheed Wallace. He was so talented that you knew what he was capable of, which either raised your expectations setting you up for disappointment, or lowered them as you braced yourself for the worst.

Whatever you may think of him is fine. I’m gonna miss that guy in the NBA. The dances, the fist pumps, the screaming, the scowls, the championship belts, the fadeaway, the quick three’s, the headband, the gray spot, the whole package.

So far at the RCP, the off-season talk has centered around what the Blazers need to fix. It’s been a lot easier than in years past. No sweating over the lottery, no having to dump 2-3 players, no freaking about if the Blazers can make the leap to the playoffs. There really isn’t that much to talk about because when you have a 54-win season and are a regular season win away from who-knows-what happening, something is working. And yes that was a shot at Denver, because everytime I think about them being in the WCF I think about how we crapped the bed in Oklahoma City and….yeah. We’ve talked about the future PG dilemma and the current SF issue (that really isn’t an issue but it could be an issue, like leaving your house without any cash). Now it’s time to talk about the position that Portland has to address this off-season: the power forward.

LaMarcus Aldridge is hombre numero uno at that position and will be for years to come. That’s the good news. The bad news? He has no backup. Channing Frye, Shavlik Randolph and Michael Ruffin are all free agents and are all more than likely headed out of town. And besides that point, none of them were or would be effective in that role. Any dreams of Channing Frye working out in Portland were dashed this season and buried during the playoffs. Channing just isn’t the type of big man we need to take the next step. We need a beast not one who will get beasted, and the last thing we need is another jump shooter who doesn’t rebound. Bless their hearts but Shavlik and Love Muffin Ruffin definitely are not the answers. They may be able to provide energy, physicality and rebounding…but what else do they bring? They aren’t the answer to our problems and definitely wouldn’t be able to push us to the next level. As far as my stomach sank when Channing was in during the playoffs, I would have had a panic attack if either of these two were put in. Travis Outlaw has seen minutes at the 4, and that’s beautiful at certain times thanks to the matchup issues…..but long-term…no, thanks. He’s allergic to rebounding and would get punished by the majority of the 4′s in the league. He doesn’t have the beef like Chuck Hayes so he’s double undersized.

Point blank, Portland needs a physical big man. A tough guy, a beast, a low-post operator, a rebounder, the guy has to have most of those tools. I don’t think too many people are going to argue with that. When Brandon Roy is our fourth leading rebounder, something is a little fishy. Where do you find one of these? Three ways: free agency, a trade or the draft. Today in part 1, I took a gander at the free agent list for this summer and put together a list of big men I think might work in Portland. Keyword…might. Divided into convenient groups:

YES-MEN

These are the four names that jumped off my list as really being able to help this Blazer team. I might be dreaming with being able to get them here but there is no doubt:

• Paul Millsap (restricted): Huge reaches here for a couple reasons. Number one, I’m assuming that the Jazz let Boozer walk/Boozer stabs them in the back and Millsap becomes priority number one. Number two, I doubt that Millsap wants to continue playing second fiddle after playing 30 minutes a game. But if it could happen, oh boy I wish we could get Paul Millsap. Forget dreaming of Jeannie, I dream of Millsap. That came out wrong. He has murdered the Blazers all sorts of different ways over the pat few years and it would be great to have that man-beast on our side. Rebounding, scoring, low-post, defense, energy, toughness…you see what I’m saying. Highly unlikely but still if you let your mind wander. Damn.
• David Lee (restricted): He’s a restricted free agent and I’m sure the Knicks will want to keep him so that kind of pokes a hole in the logic. But you never know. I have a man-crush on David Lee so my bias is probably going to show. It’s obvious the tools that he brings to the table, but I wonder about his defense. And I also wonder how he would play with the limited PT, or does he cut into LMA time? But those are the type of questions I’d love to debate, if we can we should get David Lee. Double-double machine? Sign me up.
• Brandon Bass (unrestricted):  He’s in the same mold as Milsap and Lee but gets far less publicity if you ask me. He’s played phenomenal in the playoffs, the kind of performance that would usually get a free agent overpaid in the off-season. Patented by Jerome James. The economy is probably going to X-nay that but still, you can’t deny that Bass is emerging. I don’t know how you can’t like his game? He has toughness and enforcer-type qualities which makes him the anti-Channing Frye. Simply put, he does the dirty work in the paint, he’s a difference maker off the bench. His energy and athleticism are something the Blazers could use backing LMA up. Could you imagine the offensive rebounding prowess of a LMA/Oden/Joel/Bass frontline?!?! Yikes.
• Antonio McDyess (unrestricted): Say what you want about McDyess being old and busted but he can still go. Check out his game log and tell me you don’t like what you see. All the tools we need. Good size, defense, tough-minded, and what’s that word everyone loves…oh yeah, experience. Can score and bang in the post but also hit the mid-range jumper. Notice how it’s ALSO hit the mid-range jumper and not JUST hit the mid-range jumper. Have to love the rebounding numbers. I’d imagine limited minutes could work big time. A major plus is how he’s been guarding top forwards for years just to throw that in there. The main issue? Getting McDyess out here. Can Portland convince Antonio McDyess to play for them? I don’t know. I’m sure if he decides to return he’ll want to play for an immediate contender and I’d sense Boston would want to snag him ASAP. But if KP and co. can I think he would be a great fit to backup LaMarcus Aldridge.
• Chris Andersen: It pains me to say it but the Birdman is nice. Tell me you didn’t love the way he played during this Dallas/Denver series and I’ll call you a hater. There’s no chance in hell Denver lets him get away though but I thought I’d put him on the list. He plays so hard it isn’t even funny. How can you not like a frontline with Big Joel, an improved Oden and the Birdman? Nightmare for offenses. Blocks, rebounding, energy and a little bit of swagger. What’s not to like?

In my eyes, these are the top names that Portland should target in free-agency. Realistically I think it’s going to be really tough to get any of them for assorted reasons. I’m not sure money is going to play as big of a role in this economy because of the lack of teams with money to spend, but it always could. Then you look at playing time and roles. Do we have enough PT for these guys to be effective? David Lee needs minutes to be effective. Ditto for Millsap who I’m sure doesn’t want to be a second-fiddle again. Then you wonder if we have the ability to lure the other guys here? Bass and Birdman are likely to be high on their teams priority lists and McDyess will either retire or have a top of top-tier contenders. All 5 are great players and great fits but all have obstacles in getting them here.

INTRIGUING

These are names on the list that I literally made the noise ‘hmm’ when I saw them.

• Glen Davis: I know Coup will have something to say about these first two names. No argument that Big Baby has come into his own during the playoffs. He’s big and physical with the ability to hit the mid-range jumper. My only qualms with his game are his lack of rebounding. He averaged 4 a game during the regular season (less than Brandon Roy) and during the playoffs has only averaged 5.8 rebounds in nearly 37 minutes of play. I’d like to see a man of his size hit the boards a little more. He also tends to love to shoot which could be both a positive and a negative. Big Baby in the second unit gives you another scoring option but he also may take some ill-advised, Channing-type shots.
• Leon Powe: If he didn’t just have microfracture surgery he would have been in the other list. 7 points and 5 rebounds in only 17 minutes a game? I like. Add in his scrappiness, effort and ability to operate in the low post and you can see how he fits in. But he’s out for at least a year and who knows how he will comeback.
• Chris Wilcox: This name intrigues me at best. It’s hard to remember that this guy has been in the league for 7 years and was once upon a time the #8 pick. My beef with Wilcox is what you know what you’re getting and not much more. He can run the pick-and-roll, dunk, rebound and give you some interior defense. That’s about it. I still think he’ll give oodles more post D than Frye or Outlaw. If we end up with Wilcox, it isn’t the end of the world and he can contribute…but just how much can he contribute? He could be what the Blazers need though but just thinking that Chris Wilcox is going to be the big move kind of rubs me the wrong way, ya know?
• Louis Admunson: Do not shake your heads and sleep on this guy. He plays with a high motor, willingly does all the dirty work, rides a bike everywhere so he’d fit in Portland. Not to mention he has bounce and could bring the Rose Garden to their feet with ease. Is this not the protoypical Blazer fan favorite? Against him? Not really going to create the majority of his offense and if he gets fouled it’s ugly. 44% type ugly.
• Joel Anthony: 6-9 with 1.4 blocks a game? Yes, please. Also in Portland he wouldn’t have to be an undersized center. Very raw everywhere else, but would give us some much needed interior defense.

Boston more than likely isn’t letting Big Baby go and I’d imagine they keep Powe in a measure of good-faith but you never know. I’m not entirely sold on Chris Wilcox for some reason, maybe someone can help me out I just find him to be so ‘meh’. It just feels like he’ll always be better on paper than he is in real life. Admunson and Anthony fit every need Portland needs at the backup 4 except for an ability to score. I’m a little scared of having Big Joel and one of those two in at the same time, although they can both finish, I wouldn’t dare throw them the ball with their backs to the basket.

THE IKE DIOGU SECTION

• Ike Diogu: I know, I know, I already know what you’re thinking. Hear me out. When you finish the season with 32 pts and 11 rebounds on 14-20 shooting and 28 points and 13 rebounds on 10-17 shooting, you get on the list. We all know the deal with Ike and the thing with Ike is that he needs minutes to produce. And when gets minutes…he generally produces. Ike as the primary backup raises my eyebrow. I doubt it happens and I’d rather he go to a team that will use him properly…but still.

Not So Much

• Rasheed Wallace: Probably one of my top 5 Blazers of all-time. I loved Sheed growing up and nearly ended being a fan when he was replaced by Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff. But….nah. As much as I would love to see Dirty 30 back in a Blazers uniform, it just isn’t happening for obvious reasons. And I can’t even really make an argument for it. First off Sheed wants to get p-a-i-d. Second I doubt this is the place which would motivate him. And trust me unmotivated Sheed is one of the worst players in the NBA, up there with crazy Ron Artest and Dickey Simpkins.
• Zaza Pachulia: Physical, banger who isn’t afraid of anything…but what else does he do? Also, personnally he just drives me up the wall.
• Drew Gooden: If he can’t work in San Antonio, he can’t really work anywhere.

First, a trip down memory lane. A trip to the last time I can recall ever feeling something  quite like this. April 13th, 2003. A Sunday afternoon in the Rose Garden. It was the first time I’d seen ABC in the building instead of NBC. Rasheed Wallace’s three with 4 seconds left sent the Rose Garden into a frenzy. More importantly, it sent the Shaq/Kobe Lakers packing withan L on national TV. This 2002-03 season marked the last Blazer appearance in the playoffs for six season. It was also the last time the Blazers won 50 wins until this season. You’d also have to go back to this date to see the last time Portland beat Los Angeles at home in a meaningful contest. One where both teams were headed to the playoffs. And let me tell you, there’s nothing better then watching the Blazers beat the Lakerswhen it matters to both teams.

Why did I take that trip down memory lane? Because it was the first thing I thought of after watching last night’s game.

The intensity. The strong play. The atmosphere. The passion and desire. It was all on display and some last night. Portland beat a healthy, 63-17 Los Angeles Lakers team in an intense, back-and-forth, playoff-like game. It does not get any better than that. And after the past few years, I’m so glad this fanbase gets to experience it again. There’s a different feeling you get as a fan when a really good Blazer team takes down a really good Laker team. This wasn’t the typical home win over the Lakers of the past few years. Those wins were kind of like cocaine: you felt pretty good for a while until you realized you’re in the lottery….again. This was different. It’s the kind of win that’s hard to describe. This was one of those wins that everyone in the city got hyped about. The type of win that gets strangers high fiving strangers in a bar. The type of win that makes that walk in the concourse feel special. The type of win that gets horns honking in the parking garage. One of those wins where people rushed to their Facebooks to update their status withpride. It’s a feeling that on the outside cannot be understood. Kind of like girls obsession with the Jonas Brothers.

Also if you wanted anymore proof that this team is legit, you also got that last night. Last night confirms what we’ve been saying: if Portland can get home-court advantage they will make some noise in the playoffs. Not only that but they are playing witha ton of confidence right now. The swagger transplant was scheduled at just the right time. How many teams can say they’ve traded punches with the Lakers in the 4th quarter and come out on top? I’d venture to say not too many.

To the game. As I said, this was a great back-and-forth contest. You know when commentators say that “it’s a game of runs” and you want to clothesline them? Well….tonight is an example of what they were talking about. This might have been the definition of a game of runs. The first quarter was the obligatory feeling out process. Neither team seemed like they had their footing quite yet. Odom and Rudy Fernandez gave offensive sparks for their respective teams. In the second, things continued this way until the Lakers landed the first blow. A 16-2 run from the 7 minute mark to just about the 2 minute mark gave the Lakers a 50-40 lead. It seemed like the type of lull which had doomed the Blazers all year against the better teams in the league. It wasn’t as the Blazers ran off 9 straight off their own before a Sasha three before halftime put the Lakers up 4. In the third, the fighting continued. Bolstered by LMA’s 10-point performance, the Blazers at one point went up 7 but watched the Lakers go on a 12-2 run. That run was stopped by Greg Oden absolutely beasting Pau Gasol and dunking. That type of stuff…that makes me drool. I thought I had stumbled across Cinemax for the first time all over again. Also, helping Oden out were Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez  hitting huge three’s and the Blazers went into the fourth with an advantage.

The fourth saw Rudy and Sergio go all Spanish Connection on em’ and give me a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling. I felt like I was watching Muppet Babies. That was until, Shannon Brown had a throwback moment to when he had cornrows and played for Michigan State. I had forgotten he could shoot the ball and there he goes draining two three’s. And this was where I wish the years of Lakers torturing the Blazers hadn’t been ingrained in my head because I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Shannon Brown was Robert Horry in my eyes. Of course his three’s bled right into Mamba Time as Kobe scored 9 of the Lakersnext 11 to keep them in it. Matching him? Brandon Roy. During that stretch, Roy had 6 points, keeping the Blazers ahead. None more fun to see than Roy sticking a nasty pull-up jumper with Kobe guarding him. And I say nasty because it was one of the rare times Kobe was frozen as a defender. Neither superstar would score another point the rest of the way. Steve Blake’s huge pull-up put the Blazers up 3 and I just about had a heart attack as Kobe and Fisher took three’s and the Blazers missed free throws.

(Sidenote….umm…even though I was freaking out when they took them…why did they take them? I’m not complaining at all but I was definitely expecting Kobe to try and bulldoze his way to the cup. Also weird, I’m pretty sure that D-Wade took a three in Boston tonight when he really didn’t have too. LeBron? He took pictures, played air guitar and hummed Afrikaa Bambataa.)

 Both teams saw their superstars “struggle” if you will. Brandon Roy….not-so-much. He was phenomenal down the stretch, just doing the sorts of things that Brandon Roy does. You can’t help but be impressed by his poise as Kobe tried to will the Lakers to victory. One of the keys to success that Coup mentioned in his pre-thoughts was the battle of the benches.Anytime Kobe Bryant goes 9-for-24 and Bynum has equal amount FGA’s and PTS (13) the Lakers are going to need some help. Ditto for the Blazers when LaMarcus Aldridge goes 6-for-18. Both second units showed up in a big way. I bet if you told Laker fans they were getting 35 points from their bench tonight they would have celebrated. Odom’s 17 and Brown’s 10 off-set Kobe’s 9-for-24 performance. Portland’s guys showed up to play big-time basketball as well. Greg Oden has quietly put together two of his better games of the season against two of the tougher teams in the NBA. It’s not just the 10 points and 6 rebounds, it is also the presence he brings to the table. Watching him play the last two games, it feels more natural when he’s on the court. I’m not checking to see if Joel is in foul trouble or got injured as much. Travis had 10 but struggled (2-for-8 from the field, 5-for-9 from the line). You can tell by the way he was defended tonight that his X-Factor’ness may not be as much of a secret as we thought. Rudy Fernandez was the game changing x-factor off the bench. We’re shockingly only 11-5 when Rudy scores 15+ but it makes a world of difference when he can go all Microwave off the bench. These two and Blake are going to have to start bringing it consistently.

I was impressed with a couple of stats. Portland won the battle of the boards (44-39) and also the battle at the free throw line (37 attempts to LA’s 20). I know that Laker-land will probably point to that was a poorly officiated game. I won’t. There were a few times when Oden should have been at the line and wasn’t. I really like when Portland plays aggressive and attacks and tries to get in the paint and get fouled. We need to pull a Sugarland and stop settlin’ for the rest of the year. (+5 to me for sneaking a country reference in there)

Portland has done a phenomenal job finishing up the season. The trap is set though. Playing at the Clippers on a back-to-back after such an emotional high is just the definition of a trap game. As great of a feeling as this win was, a loss to the Clippers will be just the opposite.