2008 Woodie Awards
Loss of Number One Draft Pick doesn't dim Blazers future
Blazing a trail to recovery
Jeffrey Sawyer
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Big Red Sports
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For years I have watched my beloved Trailblazers continue their substandard level of play. Long gone are the days of Rip City including names such as Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey and Clifford Robinson. Long gone are the days when they made it to the NBA Finals twice in three years only to be stopped short by his Airness and Detroit's Bad Boys.
True Blazer fans have experienced the departure of one of the franchise's greatest players in Drexler, forced to endure the dark "Jail-Blazer" days and the last five years of "rebuilding." For Oregon's only pro sports team, a team that once boasted one of the loudest crowds in the league, this is a terrible track record.
After several years of disappointment, things finally started to look up this summer when Portland was awarded the first pick in one of the deepest NBA drafts in recent history. A draft that included such names as Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. With the first pick the Blazers selected one of the most promising big men in years; Greg Oden. Blazer fans know what has happened since, and there have been many comparisons to the Blazer's selection of Sam Bowie in the 1984 NBA Draft when he was chosen before Michael Jordan.
Even with such a disheartening loss to a seemingly plagued franchise and a continuation in the rebuilding process, I believe the Blazers have looked better in several games this year than they did last year. It would have been tough to find many positives after the loss of such a highly-prized player in Greg Oden to microfracture surgery, but the youngest team in the NBA has made improvements over last year.
The loss of the team's highest scoring player, Zach Randolf, has not had much effect on their winning percentage as it is nearly the same as it was last year (as of Nov 23). The statistics of guard Brandon Roy and forward LaMarcus Aldridge have been up nearly across the board. Roy has also shown increased leadership by averaging more assists and scoring points in the crunch several times this year. While he has had some up and down games this year, Aldridge has shown some remarkable improvement. If you were able to catch the first game of the season you would have been able to see him outscore the former NBA Most Valuable Player, Tim Duncan.
True Blazer fans have experienced the departure of one of the franchise's greatest players in Drexler, forced to endure the dark "Jail-Blazer" days and the last five years of "rebuilding." For Oregon's only pro sports team, a team that once boasted one of the loudest crowds in the league, this is a terrible track record.
After several years of disappointment, things finally started to look up this summer when Portland was awarded the first pick in one of the deepest NBA drafts in recent history. A draft that included such names as Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. With the first pick the Blazers selected one of the most promising big men in years; Greg Oden. Blazer fans know what has happened since, and there have been many comparisons to the Blazer's selection of Sam Bowie in the 1984 NBA Draft when he was chosen before Michael Jordan.
Even with such a disheartening loss to a seemingly plagued franchise and a continuation in the rebuilding process, I believe the Blazers have looked better in several games this year than they did last year. It would have been tough to find many positives after the loss of such a highly-prized player in Greg Oden to microfracture surgery, but the youngest team in the NBA has made improvements over last year.
The loss of the team's highest scoring player, Zach Randolf, has not had much effect on their winning percentage as it is nearly the same as it was last year (as of Nov 23). The statistics of guard Brandon Roy and forward LaMarcus Aldridge have been up nearly across the board. Roy has also shown increased leadership by averaging more assists and scoring points in the crunch several times this year. While he has had some up and down games this year, Aldridge has shown some remarkable improvement. If you were able to catch the first game of the season you would have been able to see him outscore the former NBA Most Valuable Player, Tim Duncan.
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