It is not even the start of the NBA season and I’m already behind on watching the Portland Trail Blazers. It just so happens I get paid to pay more attention to sports here at the University, so lately, my focus has been on everything Ducks.
However, I did catch highlights of the Blazers’ preseason opener against Sacramento last week. If you didn’t even see that much of the game, I’ll fill you in. There was Rudy Fernandez’s assist that went through Jason Collins’ legs and into LaMarcus Aldridge’s hands for an easy layup. If you were jonesing for something a little more powerful, there were Greg Oden’s four unforgettable dunks that followed the same simple recipe. Drop step, dunk, repeat. A lot.
But are a few highlights like those really enough to convince me the Blazers will hold off Western Conference teams like the Golden State Warriors and make the playoffs this year for the first time since 2003?
Well, yeah.
This year in Blazer franchise history is one of profound expectations for a team whose preordained keystone player isn’t legally able to drink yet. It could be the case that these expectations are too high. I argue they can’t be high enough. Why limit a team to the promise of just making the playoffs? Why can’t fans wonder aloud about its championship potential? The Blazers would do well to work under such pressure. No longer will missing out on the playoffs in the final week of the season or a near-.500 record be considered a modicum of success.
Are you telling me these players haven’t succeeded under high-pressure situations before? Greg Oden turned an average Ohio State team into a championship-level contender with the expectation the Buckeyes would end the season in the title game.
And what about Brandon Roy, the Seattle product who led the Huskies to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, then turned around the next year and won NBA Rookie of the Year?
There is an unmistakable energy around the team this year. The Rose Garden is sold out again. All those season tickets and luxury boxes that were given away during the lean years have been snatched up by eager fans who believe this team is young enough, talented enough and workmanlike enough to sustain success – as shown by last year’s 13-game winning streak – for at least five years. The best Blazers fans could expect during the “Jail Blazer” era was the once-a-year opportunity to watch LeBron James or Kobe Bryant play in Portland. Now the Blazers are the main attraction.
Unlike the Golden State Warriors, with whom the Blazers will likely be fighting for a playoff spot again this season, Brandon Roy is Portland’s established leader. The Warriors, on the other hand, can’t say they have one. Stephen Jackson is a proven scorer, but asking him for leadership is like going to Elizabeth Taylor for marriage counseling (I should note Jackson has played for five teams, still three away from Taylor’s eight marriages).
What the Warriors do have is playoff experience off their exuberant victory over No. 1 Dallas two years ago, but their heart and soul of that series, Baron Davis, plays for the L.A. Clippers now. Andris Biedrins is a good player, but is he what you want to bank your season on?
Injuries could tear the team apart, but is that different for any other NBA team? The injury bug has already hit, knocking Martell Webster out for at least six more weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot. In a good sign, Steve Blake (hamstring) and Channing Frye are back. Frye’s recovery from ankle surgery is even three weeks ahead of schedule.
There is that term: ahead of schedule. It’s something you’ll hear a lot in regards to the team this year. They weren’t supposed to contend in the Western Conference last year, but worked their way into the race for the eighth and final seed. Could a deep playoff run also be ahead of pace? From where I’m sitting, there’s no reason to think otherwise.
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