This is the first of five somewhat nasty road trips and the beginning of a stretch where the Blazers will play 13 of their next 18 away from home. (A “nasty” road trip is one that features 4 or more consectutive road games) To make matters worse, as of right now the Blazers are a bit allergic to winning games on the road, going a solid 0-for-3. The Blazers will be away from the Rose Garden for the next 9 days, taking on Orlando, Miami, New Orleans, Minnesota and Golden State.
(Don’t feel bad for the Garden though as Carrie Underwood will be invading on November the 17th. I’d do anything for that woman. Damn.)
Let’s be honest, the fact that the Blazers are 3-3 after the mini Tour of Doom start is pretty damn great. I for one am ecstatic, it could have been a lot worse. Anyone who complains about the start should be pummeled by those who like to do hoodrat things with their friends. I mean lets all be thankful it’s 3-3 and not 1-5 because…well….the Blazers were a hop, skip and a jump from being in that nasty 1=5 hole. And by hop, skip and a jump I mean Michael Finley not missing a midrange jumper and Brandon Roy not hitting a miracle fling to beat the buzzer. And by being in a nasty 1-5 hole I mean like waking up next to Tara Reid (2008 version). Just like that people…just like that.
And even though we should be thankful, the Blazers aren’t 1-5 they are 3-3. Now the task at hand is finding a way to win on the road. Sub-goal: finding a way to compete on the road because LA and Phoenix…yeah. While the Blazers are not facing the West’s elite, winning on this trip will not be easy at all. Each team brings it’s own difficulties for the Blazers’ struggling D. Each team has a superstar. Orlando has Dwight Howard (feel bad for Joel), Miami has D-Wade (and for some reason Beasley could give them fits), New Orleans has Chris Paul period (can’t wait to see Sergio try that), Minnesota has Al Jefferson and Golden State…well…granted the Warriors have taken a few steps back and are dealing with EMOHARRINGTON…but…the Blazers have won exactly twice in Golden State since 2004, the last being the opener of the 2004-05 season when Nick Van Exel dropped 20. For Portland. Yeah. We need Bonzi Wells trying to fight Chris Mills stat.
Realistically speaking, this road trip should not be measured by wins and losses. Don’t jump down my throat keep reading. Clarifying that I mean let’s not go crazy if and when the Blazers lose on this trip. It’s going to happen. This team right now struggles on the road and has only been competitive in 1 of 3 contests. Again, granted the competition will be a step down but this team has a ways to go both defensively and offensively before they can be counted on to win road trips. Let’s all just hope there are marked improvements in these losses. Three categories: offense, defense and competing. Obviously 0-5 would be horrid, but winning 2 out of 5 and coming home with a 5-6 record is not bad at all. As a matter of fact that should be the goal for the Blazers. Winning 3 would be above and beyond, but coming home with 2 would be just a-ok with this guy. Could be low-balling in your eyes but I remember a Blazer team last year that lost their first 9 road games including dropping their first 4 game East Coast road swing. That 2 out of 5 is sounding pretty nice right?
On paper the Blazers should have more than a solid chance of winning 3 (Miami, Minnesota and Golden State) and could definitely steal one from Orlando or New Orleans with improved play, but I don’t see them losing more than 3. That would be disappointing.