I have some audio from the interview I had with Joe Freeman from the Oregonian. The first clip Joe talks about where he started and how he got involved with the Blazers. The second clip Freeman addresses possible off season moves and the importance of James Jones to this team. Thanks again to Joe for taking the time to do this with me.
Clip 1
Clip 2
Sorry about the recording quality. It will be better next time. I had some bugs I needed to work out. I guess it's always a learning experience.
What do you guys think the Blazers should do this off season with all of the possibilities that they have? Are you willing to scrap the '09 free agency plan to make sure we retain everyone or do you think they should keep their flexibility?
I will have a written piece up in a few days that goes over more of what we talked about including some more about Joe and of course some Blazer talk.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Interview with Joe Freeman
I will be doing an interview with Joe Freeman, Blazer beat writer for the Oregonian. We are going to discuss what it's like to follow the Blazers and how Joe is making the transition from writing about highs school sports to covering the only major pro sports franchise in Portland. We will also talk Blazers, and there have been a couple of rumors that have come up in the last few days that I will ask Joe about. So if you have any questions you can post them in the comments or you can send them to trailblazerblog@yahoo.com.
I will also try to post some of the audio from the interview here afterward so look for that.
I will also try to post some of the audio from the interview here afterward so look for that.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Jonesing for Jones
In the Rocky Mountian News there is a piece about the Denver Nuggets releasing former Washington Husky, and Brandon Roy teammate, Bobby Jones. In it Jones states that "Portland was intrigued but would have to make a trade because they are at the maximum number of 15 players." It is interesting that Portland would seek Jones out to talk to him given they have 15 players on the roster. It may have been more from Jones' people and Portland didn't want to burn any bridges in case they ever did have an opening. Jones has since signed a 10 day contract with Memphis. What do you guys think? Could Portland make a move this season to try and free up a roster spot?
Playing time for all
It was good to see Taureen Green get into the game last night. You could definitely hear the crowd when he got off the bench and every time he took a shot there was a collective exhale when he missed. It is great to see that he is getting some love because it must be hard for him to sit on the bench for so long when he was used to playing big minutes.
Also Josh McRoberts had his first game today in the NBA D-League for the Idaho Stampede. He played 23 minutes as was 4/9 with 11 points, 4 rebounds and a team high 6 assists. He was also 0/3 on three pointers.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Blazers give the fans a going away present
Have you ever been in a really good relationship where everything is going better then you could have ever imagined? Then work comes calling and you have to go across the country and you hope it does not affect your relationship. As the Trail Blazers prepared to embark on there longest road trip of the year they wanted to make sure they left the Portland fans something to remember them by.
On Wednesday night Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors came into the game knowing that they were behind Portland in the conference standings and that this would make an excellent opportunity to make up some ground in the battle for a playoff spot. With every thing that the Warriors had to play for it was the Blazers that came out with all of the energy and and pulled out to an quick lead. Just as the last time these two teams played Joel Przybilla got off to a quick start scoring six of the Blazers first twelve points. With the Blazers having their way inside the Warriors started to pack the inside. Blake made them pay for that by scoring 10 of the next 12 points going 4/4 on all jumpers including two three point baskets. Martell then got into the act and hit a couple of three pointers and the Blazers lead 14-30 at the end of the first quarter.
The scariest part of the game was during the second quarter. Brandon Roy was penetrating in the middle and jumped to make a pass but when he came down his leg got caught underneath him and he fell to the ground. As he sat on the ground writhing in pain, the Rose Garden went dead silent. You could feel the anxiety in the arena, and you could see it on the faces of Team Owner Paul Allen and General Manager Kevin Prichard. Roy was helped to the locker room and the Blazers went into halftime leading 41-56.
As the second half was getting ready to start Brandon came out of the locker room and came back onto the court. He was able to return in the second half but played sparingly because of the lead that Portland had. Golden State played most of there second and third string players heavy minutes as starters like Davis and Stephen Jackson where largely ineffective.
The offense during the second half was very sloppy by both teams. Golden State stuck almost exclusively with a zone defense which the Blazers are not used to seeing a lot of. There were times that the offense was ineffective because the Blazers did not know how to attack the zone. The Blazers were still playing good defense and the Warriors could not make a deep run in the forth and the Blazers won the game 91-109
So the Blazers are going to be heading out to Toronto for a 9:30 am game on Sunday for the first game of the trip. The affair that the City of Portland is having with the Blazers will have it's tests during this road trip. Portland will be playing 7 games in 11 days all on the east coast away from the friendly confines of the Rose Garden where the Trail Blazers are undefeated when there is a sellout. So say your goodbyes but do not forget about these Blazers because there is something special about this team.
On Wednesday night Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors came into the game knowing that they were behind Portland in the conference standings and that this would make an excellent opportunity to make up some ground in the battle for a playoff spot. With every thing that the Warriors had to play for it was the Blazers that came out with all of the energy and and pulled out to an quick lead. Just as the last time these two teams played Joel Przybilla got off to a quick start scoring six of the Blazers first twelve points. With the Blazers having their way inside the Warriors started to pack the inside. Blake made them pay for that by scoring 10 of the next 12 points going 4/4 on all jumpers including two three point baskets. Martell then got into the act and hit a couple of three pointers and the Blazers lead 14-30 at the end of the first quarter.
The scariest part of the game was during the second quarter. Brandon Roy was penetrating in the middle and jumped to make a pass but when he came down his leg got caught underneath him and he fell to the ground. As he sat on the ground writhing in pain, the Rose Garden went dead silent. You could feel the anxiety in the arena, and you could see it on the faces of Team Owner Paul Allen and General Manager Kevin Prichard. Roy was helped to the locker room and the Blazers went into halftime leading 41-56.
As the second half was getting ready to start Brandon came out of the locker room and came back onto the court. He was able to return in the second half but played sparingly because of the lead that Portland had. Golden State played most of there second and third string players heavy minutes as starters like Davis and Stephen Jackson where largely ineffective.
The offense during the second half was very sloppy by both teams. Golden State stuck almost exclusively with a zone defense which the Blazers are not used to seeing a lot of. There were times that the offense was ineffective because the Blazers did not know how to attack the zone. The Blazers were still playing good defense and the Warriors could not make a deep run in the forth and the Blazers won the game 91-109
So the Blazers are going to be heading out to Toronto for a 9:30 am game on Sunday for the first game of the trip. The affair that the City of Portland is having with the Blazers will have it's tests during this road trip. Portland will be playing 7 games in 11 days all on the east coast away from the friendly confines of the Rose Garden where the Trail Blazers are undefeated when there is a sellout. So say your goodbyes but do not forget about these Blazers because there is something special about this team.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Nate named Coach of the Month
Nate McMillan was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for December.
It is good to see that everyone is getting recognition during this streak. There were some at the beginning of the year who began to question whether or not McMillan was the right coach for the Blazers, but I would have to say that the way he has coached this year and his ability to adapt his style of coaching is one of the biggest reasons for the great play of late. There are a lot of coaches out there that would have said, Hey this is my style of coaching and I am going to stick with it. Nate knew what was best for the team and even stepped back a little to free the players up.
On a down note Brandon Roy was not named POTM for December, he was beaten out by Chris Paul of New Orleans. Paul averaged 24.5 points, 10.4 assists and 3 steals. It was a toss up on who would win it this month and I thought team record, Portland 13-2 NO 9-5, would give it to Roy but the NBA thought differently. Still a great month for Roy and the Blazers.
"McMillan led the Trail Blazers to a 13-2 (.867) record in December, which included 13 straight wins from Dec. 3 through Dec. 30. The 13-game winning streak is the second-longest in Trail Blazers history and tops in the NBA this season. At 18-13, Portland is second in the Northwest Division, trailing Denver by one-half game. The Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 16, their first win in Denver since Feb. 26, 2003."
It is good to see that everyone is getting recognition during this streak. There were some at the beginning of the year who began to question whether or not McMillan was the right coach for the Blazers, but I would have to say that the way he has coached this year and his ability to adapt his style of coaching is one of the biggest reasons for the great play of late. There are a lot of coaches out there that would have said, Hey this is my style of coaching and I am going to stick with it. Nate knew what was best for the team and even stepped back a little to free the players up.
On a down note Brandon Roy was not named POTM for December, he was beaten out by Chris Paul of New Orleans. Paul averaged 24.5 points, 10.4 assists and 3 steals. It was a toss up on who would win it this month and I thought team record, Portland 13-2 NO 9-5, would give it to Roy but the NBA thought differently. Still a great month for Roy and the Blazers.
Links
Brian Hendrickson over at the Columbian gives a look back at the streak. He gives out awards for play during the streak. A sampling
"Fourth Quarter Most Valuable Player, Travis Outlaw: Since the fourth-quarter performances were such a crucial part of the streak, I think it deserves to have its own MVP recognized. Everyone knows that Travis Outlaw emerged as a go-to player during the streak. But what hasn't been discussed as much is how well
Outlaw played in clutch moments during the fourth quarter. But only James Jones played more fourth-quarter minutes during the streak than Outlaw, who led the team in scoring (6.7 ppg), rebounding (2.0 rpg), steals (six) and blocks (eight) during the final period while burying 53 percent of his shot attempts and committing a total of two turnovers. And his projected value rating of 15.3 was only edged out by Mr. Fourth Quarter — Brandon Roy — who rated at a 15.4."
NBA.com has a piece about Portland's December to Remember. And it is the NBA so they had to get a Greg reference in.
"9. The Biggest Cheerleader in the League – Of course Oden would like to be helping his teammates on the court. The 7-foot centerpiece out of Ohio State has been working out furiously to get ready for next season and is a regular presence on the team’s bench when his rehab schedule allows, clapping it up for his teammates. Despite his progress, Portland officials insist they will not
rush him back to court this season. "
Mike Barrett writes a piece about the Blazers next game and mentions how they spent the new year celebration.
"We rang in the new year somewhere over the frozen tundra that makes up the Midwest. We weren't sure what time zone we were in at the time, so we went ahead and toasted several times. I think we may have even worked in Hawaii Time once we landed."
I hope they were only toasting sparkling cider since there are only a few guys over 21.
Casey over at the Center Court Blog has some audio from McMillan during the shoot around this morning. He also talks about the cold in Minnesota.
Bill Simmons is even jumping on the Blazer bandwagon.
"Now, if you're a Blazers fan, you're thinking, Wait, that sounds familiar! After enduring the debilitating Jail Blazers era, the locals despised the team so much that Portland's suits targeted chemistry guys out of self-preservation. Quite simply, Blazers fans needed to like the team again or the franchise was going to be run out of town. When the Blazers spent a 2005 lottery pick on Martell Webster, then-GM John Nash defended the reach pick by telling ESPN, "We think we took an outstanding young man. He's a terrific character, somebody that the community of Portland can be proud of." Was he drafting a councilman or a shooting guard?"
Wow Simmons says something nice about the Blazers it must be part of his New Years resolution.
DJ at the Wages to Win Journal gives a statistical analysis as to why the Blazers have improved so dramatically.
"Now it’s important to note, Roy was very good his rookie season. He’s
certainly an above average performer and currently leads this team in Wins
Produced. But we are trying to explain why this team improved. And
if Roy hasn’t really improved much, he can’t be the reason this team is winning
so much more."
It's interesting to see how statistics play a role in all of this. I think you can use information like this and what you see to make a good assessment of why the team is better. Last year the Blazers went through Zach for their offense and he would get his numbers. This year the offense is going through Roy who is looking to get other people involved in the game and he still gets his numbers. The other guys on the team have done an excellent job of finishing plays which did not happen last year. These things combined to make this team better.
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