Here is one of the only images I could find that didn't feature Chris Paul or David West when I Googled "New Orleans Hornets." Photo courtesy of Sportslogos.net

Blazers: 7-5 (4th Northwest Division)

Hornets: 3-9 (5th Southwest Division)

Game Details: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA. 12:00 PM. TV: CSNW Radio: 750 AM (KXTG)

Projected Portland Starting Lineup: PG Raymond Felton (#5, 6’1”, North Carolina), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6’5″, Marquette), SF Gerald Wallace (#3, 6’7″, Alabama), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6’11″, Texas), C Kurt Thomas (#40, 6’9″, Texas Christian)

Projected New Orleans Starting Lineup: PG Jarrett Jack (#2, 6’3”, Georgia Tech), SG Marco Belinelli (#8, 6’5”, Bologna, Italy), SF DaJuan Summers (#22, 6’8”, Georgetown), PF Chris Kaman (#35, 7′, Central Michigan), C Emeka Okafor (#50, 6’10”, Connecticut)

Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day, and congratulations to those individuals who are not going to be watching this game at work. Portland is 0-2 on this six-game road trip, they’ve lost three straight, and they’ve fallen from 1st, to 2nd, to now 4th in the Northwest Division.

All is not lost though. Looking at the schedule, it will be totally possible for Portland to finish this excursion with four straight wins, not to mention, almost all of the remaining games in January are very very winnable. Starting with what might be the most important game of this trip: Monday afternoon in New Orleans against the Hornets.

Wait, did I just say that a game against a 3-9 team that is without two of its best players and has only one win since December 28th is the most important game of this trip? I did, and here’s why. Portland needs to find a way to win on the road. They need to build confidence that they can finish games on the road. And they need to beat bad teams (on the road or no). Beating New Orleans might just be the spark this team needs to get back up to the top of the conference, where they belong.

But not only that, losing to New Orleans would not be good. A four game skid is a no-go; dropping a game to an inferior team is equally not good. Any heat still on the Blazers will be gone should they fail to beat to Hornets on Monday. What a win could mean for the rest of this road trip, not to mention the rest of the road season, coupled with how bad a loss to the Hornets would be, is why Monday’s game might be the most important afternoon of Portland’s early season.

How should Portland go about winning this game? That’s the easy part. Play their game. Friday in San Antonio, Portland’s offense didn’t show up. Saturday in Houston, Portland failed to execute down the stretch. The Blazers will have to do a lot wrong to lose to New Orleans, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. To avoid that outcome, Portland has to establish what they want to do on offense and defense, and carry that through for 48 minutes. That means getting LaMarcus Aldridge involved early, letting Gerald Wallace relentlessly attack the rim and New Orleans’s front line, and figuring out a way to get the shooters to click.

It might sound like a tall order, but it isn’t. This team can put together a winning game plan every night. It’s just an issue of executing that game plan. Maybe the best way to to get into the groove of executing on a nightly basis is to get a blow out victory on the road.

A couple of things I’m going to be looking for:

• Can Portland get and hold a lead: Portland was never really in the loss to Phoenix or to Orlando (except of course at the very end of that one), but they had leads in San Antonio and in Houston. And both times they had leads in the fourth quarter. The key, of course, isn’t getting a lead, it’s hold onto that lead. Against Houston, Portland got ahead by three late into the final period, and couldn’t push that lead and it ultimately cost them the game. A couple of possessions in a row the Blazers turned the Rockets over, and were unable to make those turnovers count. At one point, Portland got a big-time steal that turned into a three on two fast break. Instead of a lay-up, Nicolas Batum was called for charging, and the ball went right back to Houston. At this point a little more than five minutes remained to be played. A five-point lead with five minutes to play isn’t a done deal by any stretch, but at that point the Rockets hadn’t scored a point in almost two minutes. If, instead of rushing to turn overplay a three on two fast break, Portland had pulled the ball out, setup a play, and taken the time to get a good look at the basket, they might have been able to give themselves enough breathing room to finish Houston off. Again, that’s about execution. If Portland can get a lead, then execute their offense to hold that lead, they should be fine.
• Will Portland avoid getting down by double digits: Portland has lost in pretty spectacular fashion in three out of four failing efforts. Even in the OT loss on Saturday, the Blazers trailed by 14 points. Avoiding double digit deficits is always a good idea, doubly on the road. Playing against a fired up crowd is always tough, and battling back to close a gap only to have see that gap opened again by a couple of made jumpers can really knock the wind out of a team. Also, when trailing late, a team has to basically play every possession perfectly. A turnover in the midst of a comeback can derail the whole effort. If Portland doesn’t get out to an early lead, they will at the very least have to play to keep the game close. If they get behind by 10 or more at any point Monday afternoon, they’ll be in trouble.
• Can Portland NOT overlook this team: Trevor Ariza is out, Eric Gordon is out, Jarrett Jack is the number one guy. This is one of the worst teams in the NBA. But it’s still the NBA. Any time can win on any given MLK Jr. Day. Portland needs to take this team seriously. They have a couple of players that tend to have big games against the Blazers, Chris Kaman is one Carl Landry is another, and if Portland sleeps on this team, or gets too caught up in preparing for Atlanta or whatever leads to teams overlooking their opponents, the Hornets can win.
• Nicolas Batum: I left my projected starting lineup with Kurt Thomas, mostly because NOLA has a pretty burly front line, but I think there is a chance Nicolas gets the nod. He had an amazing game against Houston, but I’m willing to bet it felt incomplete to him because it didn’t end in a Blazer victory. Nicolas wants to win games more than anything, more than starting, more than getting his looks. And most of all, he wants to help Portland win games. I expect him to come out with a vengeance on Monday.

email me: mike.acker1@gmail.com

Twitter: @mikeacker | @ripcityproject

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.

That’s right, one of the most anticipated seasons in recent Blazer history begins tonight at the Rose Garden. Fun fact: this is the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Blazers actually kick off their season at the Rose Garden. Fun fact #2, the Blazers have not lost a home season opener (i.e. the first game at home) since the 00-01 season. Just throwing those out there if you want to feel extra knowledgeable at lunch or something. Before we talk about the Blazers, we must talk about the opponents. *cue ominous music* The Houston Rockets.

(Sidenote:  Just to throw it out there, I would like nothing more than to pummel the Rockets by 20. Not bitter or anything. Moving on.)

Now plenty has changed since we last saw the Rockets play the Blazers. There is no Yao Ming to cause us all undue stress and anxiety. There is no Tracy McGrady…oh wait he wasn’t there anyways. There is no Ron Artest to jack up crazy shots. Actually I’m going to miss that. It seems like it should be a cakewalk tonight, right? Not too fast. The Rockets have been without Yao and McGrady so many times over the past few years it would almost be a chore to point them all out. The key is that they have always found ways to be successful without them on the court. I do not expect this to change at all. Why? Rick Adelman does a tremendous job of getting his guys to buy in to the system. And the system works. The Rockets are going to work hard and work together. Offensively they’ll be more open but looking to move the ball more. Without one guy to really consistently feed, their offense could have more of a natural flow to it. Also, without a superstar, the need for defense goes up a bit. They’ll be looking to not give anything up easy. Remember, there were times in last season’s playoffs where their second unit came up huge. The lineups that shouldn’t have been scoring (Lowry/Wafer/Landry) were scoring.

What the Rocket lack in proven top talent, they make up for in hungry guys looking to seize an opportunity. Without Yao, McGrady or Artest, guys are going to have to step up offensively. Aaron Brooks comes into tonight looking to repeat his impressive post-season numbers and you know he’s salivating at the chance to match-up against Portland. In last year’s first round series, Brooks averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 assists, shot 44% from the field and 44% from behind the arc. Trevor Ariza will be asked to shoulder a major load. There are questions about whether he can do it, but you have to understand a guy like him has always wanted this kind of role. You never know what kind of explosions they might produce. Another key to this game is going to be Luis Scola. He’s been known to score (gave Blazers fits last year), but now without Yao he IS the post-offense. Will he be able to improve with more attention or will more touches mean more production? Not to forget about the undersized–but tough duo of Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes and the always reliable Shane Battier. I just expect a lot of scrap from the Rockets tonight, and I’m hoping the Blazers know they’ll have to fight.

Speaking of Portland, it’s Game #1 of 82+. There has been a ton of hype and hooplah surrounding this Blazer team coming into this season. Tonight we finally get to take a look at this season’s team. I’ve tried to avoid the preseason like the swine flu and for the most part have succeeded. Now with my own eyes I get to see  what we’ve got going. The unanswered questions are spinning around in my head. How good will the second unit be? How good is Oden? Are Roy and LMA still good with paychecks? How will Martell Webster look? What kind of chemistry do Roy/LMA/Oden have? Or Roy/Miller? Or Miller/Oden? I’ll admit this, the person I’m most excited to see is Greg Oden. And yes, all eyes will be on Mr. Oden tonight. I’ve always tried to temper my expectations with him and not give him any attention, but he’s done enough to make me take notice. Can he carry over that pre-season dominance to the regular season? And how giddy will Blazer fans be if he can? He’s got a nice opportunity but tonight will also be a nice test for Oden. What Scola/Hayes/Landry lack in size, they make up for in physicality and effort. Sometimes the undersized big men can get under people’s skin. I’m interested to see how he handles it.

Keys to the Game

• Be prepared to fight. Houston might not have a lot of ‘superstar’ talent offensively, but they’re going to make up for it. They won’t be letting Portland get anything easy. They may not concentrate as much on Roy as they did during the post-season, but believe you me they’ll be looking to make everyone not number 7 beat them. My biggest fear is Houston just out-working and out-scrapping a more talented Blazer team and winning a game they shouldn’t because Portland wasn’t ready to out-tough the Rockets.

• Take advantage inside. With the exception of 6-11 Chris David Andersen from Australia, the Rockets have next to no size. Take advantage of this. Look to post Oden and Aldridge up. Perimeter players need to attack the basket and try to get to the foul line.

• Limit turnovers. Make Houston earn every bucket, don’t let them get easy ones.

For many of you, this is your first look at this Blazer team. I myself am included. One of the big issues with a season opener is that as a fan you have 6 months of pent-up thoughts. There’s about a million questions that are going to go unanswered tonight. It becomes easy to just nitpick every little thing. ‘Oh snap, LaMarcus dribbled off his foot we shouldn’t have paid him’ or ‘Dang, Brandon’s 3-10 right now we shouldn’t have paid him’ or ‘Oh no, Greg’s in foul trouble again it’s a lost cause’. All those are human nature…but realize this is the frist game. There’s so much basketball left after tonight it’s not even funny. This team shouldn’t be at its best tonight and the sooner people realize this the better it will be.