I came to school in Oregon for many reasons, but in particular, I knew I was coming to Oregon for an amazing athletic atmosphere. To me, there is nothing greater than Pac-10 football and basketball. So it makes sense, to me, that in a state with only one professional sports franchise, collegiate sports rule. Perfect.
That is, until the Blazers start playing.
The NBA preseason is underway and for the droves of Blazer fans who are already predicting six straight NBA titles with the additions of Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez, I say unto you in the words of my boy Lee Corso: not so fast!
The playoffs, in the Western Conference, anyway, will look very much the same as last year. The way I see it, the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot is really the only one up for grabs. We all know the Nuggets won’t be there again because they employ two of the biggest volume shooters in the league and have that knack for always coming up short. Until Iverson retires, the team won’t be back. So if that one spot is the only vacancy in the playoff bracket, let me be the first to tell you it will belong to the second-favorite team on campus, the Golden State Warriors. On a campus filled with Bay Area natives, I know at least somebody will give me an ‘Amen’!
I am probably asking for all kinds of crazed Blazer mania to come crashing down on me by writing this, but it simply must be said. I cannot take the incredulous Blazer hype anymore. Please don’t tell me Brandon Roy is about to take home the MVP this year. Please don’t tell me Oden is the second coming of Shaq, because he’s not.
I’ve got news for you, Blazer fans: Rip City isn’t back just yet. You won’t make the playoffs. Don’t get me wrong; this is certainly the most formidable young team in the league, but the inexperience that comes with that youth should not be overlooked. Patience, Blazer faithful. Your time will come. But this year, the race for the last spot is the Warriors’ to lose.
Since all those Blazer bozos just quit reading, let me talk to the best fans I know: Warrior Nation. Remember the magic from two years ago? I’m thinking we’ll see it again. I’d be hard-pressed – and possibly insane – to predict anything more than knocking off just one team in the playoffs, but I will tell you flat-out that Oracle Arena is the one place I would not want to play come playoffs time. Golden State took out MVP Dirk Nowitzki and out-hustled a more talented Dallas team because of that raucous Bay Area atmosphere and a vastly underrated mastermind coach, Don Nelson. He is, without a doubt, the brightest in-game coach in the league. Nate McMillan might do a better job of motivating his younger players, but make no mistake about it, he could never play x’s and o’s with Big Don.
Last season the Warriors got off to a poor start and dug themselves a huge hole, in large part due to the suspension of Stephen “Captain Jack” Jackson, but they still only finished two games out to Denver. Even without the quiet assassin Monta Ellis, who is nursing a bum ankle after an extremely questionable moped accident, the Warriors are primed to make a run. Golden State is back with Jackson, 22-year-old Windex man Andris Biedrins, and veteran Al Harrington. They brought in wingman Corey Maggette, Marcus Williams and the hard-nosed Ronny Turiaf. Couple those major contributors with Brandon Wright and a greatly improved Kelenna Azubuike, and together this team of journeymen and relative unknowns will unite under Nellie to get to the playoffs and edge out the Blazers. In a perfect world – and Blazer fans could probably get around this, too – the Warriors would get the eighth spot and knock off the Lakers in the first round. The Lakers would wallow back to L.A. empty-handed again and Kobe would start blaming everybody around him.
God, I love it when he’s unhappy.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Blazers and Warriors were both elite teams in as little as three years. One thing is clear, though. In the ultra-tough Western Conference, there will be a race to the finish. Here’s hoping the students from the Bay Area get to rub it in the face of their Portland-loving peers, just once. After all, the Blazer fans have been jabbering about what “will be” since the day Oden was drafted. I didn’t sign up for that.
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Point/counterpoint: Whose time is it now?
Daily Emerald
October 14, 2008
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