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<b>Good shot at the postseason</b>
You have to admit, the Blazers by any measure are ahead of the development stage you’d expect from a team of relative newcomers. The 13-game win streak was a remarkable run, and they’ve played well since.
Brandon Roy is a rising star, and the fact is they’re a young squad that really sticks together and spreads the hustle and effort around on both ends of the court.
This team is HUNGRY, and you can see it in the way they’ve bought into coach McMillan’s game plan. Building blocks.
I think the Blazers, if they continue to bond the way they have, will make the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. They’re 23-13 now, and probably on track to win maybe 50 games.
And who knows? The playoffs are completely different from the regular season, and to me they’re looking like “the team that no one wants to face. ” Not to mention the invaluable experience for next year and the return of Greg Oden.
This team has been embraced by its fans, because its style of play brings back what the Blazers were all about at their peak: Guys like (Clyde ) Drexler, (Buck) Williams, (Terry) Porter. Team basketball, class acts. Rip City II?
My compliments to the Blazers management, demonstrating that you can draft talent and character at the same time and don’t need to put up with the stupid antics of (Bonzi) Wells, (Zach) Randolph and (Damon) Stoudamire.
<b>Joe Cooper</b>
<i>Engineer technician, Roseburg</i>
<center>• • • • •</center>
<b>Other things likely to happen ...</b>
With the recent bout of good luck that the Blazers have stepped in, the usual Blazer-maniacs have begun to have flashbacks to the headband and short-short wearing days of their 1977 championship run.
I, once again, will become the voice of reason in the Umpqua Valley and compile a list of things more likely to happen than a Blazer 2008 NBA playoff appearance.
1. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens unite to co-author a book titled “Body Building the Natural Way.”
2. Their book is overtaken on the Best Seller list by Britney Spears’ “A Guide to Responsible Parenting.”
3. Pamela Anderson is kicked out of PETA only to be replaced by new celebrity spokesperson, Michael Vick.
4. In a vodka-induced moment of honesty, Lakers coach Phil Jackson admits that “I really stink as a coach; the triangle offense only works when you have two Hall-of-Famers like Michael and Scotty or Shaq and Kobe.”
5. Tom Brady gets bored of winning Super Bowls and dating supermodels and moves to Roseburg to become a super-sexy News-Review sports reporter.
6. The Yankees pass on a high-priced free agent in an effort to “develop their farm system.”
7. Reigning hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut is narrowly dethroned by a portly Paris Hilton.
8. After his dominant performance against the University of South Florida Bull, the Oregon Duck defeats Chuck Liddell with a rear-naked choke to gain the UFC middleweight crown.
9. Al Gore adds global warming right behind the internet on his list of “things that I invented.”
10. Blazer owner Paul Allen brings a date to a Blazer game, and it is not his mom.
<b>Bob Grubbs</b>
<i>Engineer, Roseburg</i>
<center>• • • • •</center>
<b>No NBA fan here</b>
Who cares?
All I can tell you is that I don’t watch professional basketball — or rather I CAN’T watch it. I am too much of a purist. I will watch college basketball almost anytime; college basketball highlights patient skills while emphasizing team play. The team aspect of basketball is completely lost in the NBA. It seems that every team has a one or two players who dictate the offense — or rather, hog the offense. And is there any defense? Not much.
In basketball, offense and defense are a craft at the college level and even the high school level, and they are more important to the outcome of the game than one player’s shooting skills. When March rolls around — who doesn’t love cheering for the 16-seed team who makes it to the Elite-Eight during March Madness?
<b>Tana Naughton</b>
<i>Physical therapist, Roseburg</i>
You have to admit, the Blazers by any measure are ahead of the development stage you’d expect from a team of relative newcomers. The 13-game win streak was a remarkable run, and they’ve played well since.
Brandon Roy is a rising star, and the fact is they’re a young squad that really sticks together and spreads the hustle and effort around on both ends of the court.
This team is HUNGRY, and you can see it in the way they’ve bought into coach McMillan’s game plan. Building blocks.
I think the Blazers, if they continue to bond the way they have, will make the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. They’re 23-13 now, and probably on track to win maybe 50 games.
And who knows? The playoffs are completely different from the regular season, and to me they’re looking like “the team that no one wants to face. ” Not to mention the invaluable experience for next year and the return of Greg Oden.
This team has been embraced by its fans, because its style of play brings back what the Blazers were all about at their peak: Guys like (Clyde ) Drexler, (Buck) Williams, (Terry) Porter. Team basketball, class acts. Rip City II?
My compliments to the Blazers management, demonstrating that you can draft talent and character at the same time and don’t need to put up with the stupid antics of (Bonzi) Wells, (Zach) Randolph and (Damon) Stoudamire.
<b>Joe Cooper</b>
<i>Engineer technician, Roseburg</i>
<center>• • • • •</center>
<b>Other things likely to happen ...</b>
With the recent bout of good luck that the Blazers have stepped in, the usual Blazer-maniacs have begun to have flashbacks to the headband and short-short wearing days of their 1977 championship run.
I, once again, will become the voice of reason in the Umpqua Valley and compile a list of things more likely to happen than a Blazer 2008 NBA playoff appearance.
1. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens unite to co-author a book titled “Body Building the Natural Way.”
2. Their book is overtaken on the Best Seller list by Britney Spears’ “A Guide to Responsible Parenting.”
3. Pamela Anderson is kicked out of PETA only to be replaced by new celebrity spokesperson, Michael Vick.
4. In a vodka-induced moment of honesty, Lakers coach Phil Jackson admits that “I really stink as a coach; the triangle offense only works when you have two Hall-of-Famers like Michael and Scotty or Shaq and Kobe.”
5. Tom Brady gets bored of winning Super Bowls and dating supermodels and moves to Roseburg to become a super-sexy News-Review sports reporter.
6. The Yankees pass on a high-priced free agent in an effort to “develop their farm system.”
7. Reigning hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut is narrowly dethroned by a portly Paris Hilton.
8. After his dominant performance against the University of South Florida Bull, the Oregon Duck defeats Chuck Liddell with a rear-naked choke to gain the UFC middleweight crown.
9. Al Gore adds global warming right behind the internet on his list of “things that I invented.”
10. Blazer owner Paul Allen brings a date to a Blazer game, and it is not his mom.
<b>Bob Grubbs</b>
<i>Engineer, Roseburg</i>
<center>• • • • •</center>
<b>No NBA fan here</b>
Who cares?
All I can tell you is that I don’t watch professional basketball — or rather I CAN’T watch it. I am too much of a purist. I will watch college basketball almost anytime; college basketball highlights patient skills while emphasizing team play. The team aspect of basketball is completely lost in the NBA. It seems that every team has a one or two players who dictate the offense — or rather, hog the offense. And is there any defense? Not much.
In basketball, offense and defense are a craft at the college level and even the high school level, and they are more important to the outcome of the game than one player’s shooting skills. When March rolls around — who doesn’t love cheering for the 16-seed team who makes it to the Elite-Eight during March Madness?
<b>Tana Naughton</b>
<i>Physical therapist, Roseburg</i>
