now I know its pre season against a non NBA team but... Roy and Cunningham ripping it up kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth K love is just nasty as well
• In position news, Terry Stotts noted that Nicolas Batum, the starter at small forward, is "probably my first choice as a backup two." Ronnie Price's injury means Nolan Smith is now the primary backup at point to Damian Lillard, which means Smith's minutes at off-guard are now up for grabs. It sounds like Stotts would like to give those minutes to Batum, who played some shooting guard last season, rather than Will Barton, Sasha Pavlovic or Adam Morrison, at least for the time being.
This was on Casey Holdahl's blog. http://blogs.trailblazers.com/BroadcasterProfile/BroadcasterBlog/tabid/188/EntryID/4359/BroadcasterID/4/Default.aspx Not a good idea. I think this is a mistake.Okay, okay, hear me out: yes, it's a Marvel comic about LeBron, but it's actually rather clever in places (such as when Russell Westbrook designs a bionic arm and uses it to jack up 72 shots per game). Give it a chance.
Wow. This Drummond guy really does have a HUGE potential. So much body control and explosiveness along with being coordinated. Im not wishing we had him instead of Lillard but im just admiring what I see in this video. Check it out.
I'm really impressed by the way Lillard analyzes his play with specificity. It's clear he is really learning from his play each night. In this interview he talks about thinking he is in the right place on defense while playing, but then realizing while watching the tapes that he wasn't. (Something that was very evident as I watched the games.) I think you have to have to be smart and have a high BBIQ to play PG, which he has, and that's going to enable and greatly accelerate his learning curve. It's also clear to me that Dame is already the best interview on the team and will be taking over the spokesman role as the season goes on.
LA had a lot to say to Chris Haynes. "I am the number one guy ... They [Trail Blazers organization] believed in me and I believe in myself and I think I'm going to lead this team to the promise land." "They drafted him [Lillard] as the franchise point guard ... I definitely see us creating chemistry over the years and becoming a very dynamic one-two punch." "It's always going to be articles about me trying to leave, that's what sells papers. I'm not worried about that. This is a good challenge for me to try to get better and try to lead this team. I've always wanted my own team and I have it." It sounds as if he likes being the big fish in a small pond, so we may not need to worry about him doing a Howard after a sour year or two.
Well I guess that settles that.
Joe Freeman at Oregonlive.com discusses the upcoming option deadline for Nolan Smith, Luke Babbitt and Elliot Williams. As he notes: "Combined, the team options on Smith, Williams and Babbitt approach roughly $7 million. That's a big chunk of free agent change, and if the Blazers refuse to exercise the options, they could have as much as $13.3 million in cap space next summer. That's less than $500,000 from bidding for a maximum-level free agent. " What do you think? Do you decline all their options on the chance the Blazers could sign a near-max free agent next Summer? (Does anyone feel up to checking the math?)
Chris Haynes from CSN has a short interview with Steve Nash following last night's game. Nash gives Lillard some nice compliments and a piece of advice.
