**"The Blazer"** Gone out of Business

[Mark.]

I've decided to redo my thread to where i am up to. Basically I wanted to make it more organised so its earier to follow. It will be sort of like the new style that people are using, but it will still be in the magazine format, imagine "The Blazer" is a "web mag".

Settings
Season Length: 29 Game
Sim Quarters: 12 Minutes
Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Simulation Type: Intervention (Although I will endevour to play every game)
Rosters: Default, Just updated as best I could with some minor tweaking.
Sliders:Frgep's TWEAKED


Some tips on navigation:
Following this post there will be posts for Current Roster, Current Team Record/Team Leaders, and for "Dunk of the Week".

Oh yeah "Don't post until those three posts are up"


.::|Opening Issue of "The Blazer"|::.

[Mark.]

Portland Trailblazers - Current Roster


Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Maurice Cheeks (College - West Texas State ''78)

Assistant Coaches: John Loyer (College - Akron ''88), Jim Lynam (College - St. Joseph''s (PA) '63), Dan Panaggio (College - SUNY Brockport ''77), Bernard Smith (College - East Stroudsburg (PA))

Strengh and Conditioning Coach: Bob Medina (College - UNLV ''88)

Athletic Trainer: Jay Jensen (College - Loma Linda ''80)

Players:

Starters:
Center: Theo Ratlif

Power Foward: Zach Randolph

Small Foward: Darius Miles

Shooting Guard: Derek Anderson

Point Guard: Damon Stoudamire

Bench:
6th: Ricky Daivs (G/F)
8th: Antonio Davis (F/C)
9th: Raef Lafrentz (C/F)
10th: Sebastian Telfair (G)
11th: Ruben Patterson (F/G)
12th: Qyntel Woods (G/F)
IR:
13th: Troy Bell (G)
14th: Viktor Khyrpa (F)
15th: Travis Outlaw (F)

(Pics will be up later)

[Mark.]

Current Blazers Record:


W/L: 6-4
Win %: .600
Streak: 1 Win
Division: 2-0
Conference: 4-2
Last 10: 7-3


Team Leaders:

PPG:
1. Zach Randolph 23.1 (8th in League)
2. Ricky Davis 22.7 (10th in League)
3. Derek Anderson 17.4

RPG:
1. Zach Randolph 12.7 (3rd= in League)
2. The Ratlif 11.5 (9th= in League)
3. Ricky Davis 7.3

APG:
1. Damon Stoudamire 7.7 (4th in League)
2. Darius Miles 4.6
3. Derek Anderson 4.0



Dunk of the Week

Zach has been showing a lot of aggression going to the hoop lately, and this dunk over Walker showed it.

[Mark.]

**.::|Issue One of "The Blazer"|::.**


Season Preview

The Blazers come into the 2004-2005 season with a squad that hasn't really changed since 2003-2004.

Subtractions

The main loss was of Center Dale Davis, but this should open up some more playing time for Vladimir Stepania and Joel Przybilla.

Additions

Sebastian Telfair



The extemely talented Telfair brings outstanding ball skills and a great scoring ability, especially driving to the basket. He will need to get stronger and improve on his jumper to establish himself.

Bassy has a huge amount of potential, however he is going to be competing with two established point guards (Van Exel and Stoudamire) for court time. Telfair is going to have to work hard for his playing time.


Nick Van Exel



Nick the Quick brings experience and brilliant scoring ability to the Blazers, trading Dale Davis was deffinately worth Nick, Van Exel can play both guard positions and he is a great cluthc performer, he may not be the best defender but he has been around long enough to know a lot of the tricks in the book.

With Van Exel and Telfair the Blazers have bolstered thier back court, in a lot of teams Nick would be starting but we expect to see him playing off the bench at either guard position, this is really a good decision by the coaching staff as Nick played great as sixth man in Dallas.

Key Players this season

Zach Randolph



While Zach has been loggin up the minutes practising over the summer, the big question is going to be wether he has matured enough to lead the Blazers this season. After last season, where he earned the MIP award, nobody doubts Randolphs scoring ability, however he has been known to think for himself first, he needs to focus more on leading the team rather than himself for the Blazers to suceed.


Shareef Abdur Rahim



Many questioned the Mid season trade that bought Rahim to Portland, the Blazers already had a great young power foward (Randolf) who was showing vast amounts of improvement, and Randolf was not giving up his spot for Rahim. However Rahim calmly did his job wiht out a complaint and contributed well coming off the bench to rest either Randolf or small foward Darius Miles.

But this changed over the offseason, Shareef openly questioned the Blazers motives involving himself, and suggested that he should be traded. The Blazers management has not yet made a concerted effort to move Shareef, so at this point it looks like he will still be a Blazer for the start of the season.

We expect to see Rahim either in the same bench role, or playing at small foward. Both situations Rahim is not happy with. While Rahim is not a born leader the Blazers will need him to be contributing to his full ability this season.


Darius Miles



Having never lived up to his true potential in either LA or Cleveland, Miles continued his travels in 2003 and joined the Blazers. He was given a starting job and did not let the coaching staff regret the decision. While he still has not shaken the "Inconsistant" label, Miles had a great season with Portland, and gave glimpses of what he is truly capable of. With his great leaping ability and athleticism to go along with his great ballhandling, defensive and playmaking skills, all Miles needs to work on is his shooting to become a major threat on the court.

But with the posibilty of Rahim starting at small foward, Miles is going to have to work for his playing time. And if his minutes go down we may see his imprvement come to a halt. However with the big contract Miles signed this offseason we should still see Miles playing a considerable amount of time.


Projected Starters and Bench Rotation

C: Theo Ratliff (PF)
PF: Zach Randolf (C)
SF: Shareef Abdur Rahim (PF)
SG: Derek Anderson (PG,SF)
PG: Damon Stoudamire (SG)

6th: Darius Miles (SF, PF, SG and even possibly some PG)
7th: Nick Van Exel (PG,SG)
8th: Richie Frahm (SG)
9th: Joel Przybilla (C)
10th: Sebastian Telfair (PG)
11th: Ruben Patterson (SF,SG,PF)
12th: Qyntel Woods (SG,PG,SF)

IR
Viktor Khryapa (SG,SF, PF)
Travis Outlaw (PF,SF)
Vladimir Stepania (C,PF)


Season Prediction

The Blazers are really an unknowen commodity, we wouldn't expect to see them fall last in their division, but neither top. The best guess would be 3rd in the division and possibly a playoff berth. But it all depends on wether the team can work together.


Trade Rumors

Sources have given information that the Blazers could be looking to ship Rahim to Boston. The most likely player that Portland would be looking at would be Ricky Davis. However the salary difference is too much, and other players would have to be included.

Also the Blazers appear to be looking to ship one of their point guards, while Stoudamire seems to be staying, Van Exel could be looking at an early departure. No teams have been linked with a deal yet.

[Mark.]

**.::|News Update|::.**


Przybilla cut to make way for Bell


Only a day before their season opener against the Magic, the Blazers announced they had cut third string center Joel Przybilla to make way for second year Point Guard Troy Bell.

While Bell has a lot of potential, it is unlikely he will play many games, let alone minutes. Przybilla may not have been a often used player in the Blazers rotation, but he was a body to throw in the paint in the case of Ratliff or Stepania getting injured.

The only justified reason for the change is the possibility that the Blazers may be looking to shift one of their 3 other point guards in the near future.


While Bell will be happy he's back on a NBA squad, he won't be happy about the lack out court time he will find in Portland

[Mark.]

**.::|Issue Two of "The Blazer"|::.**



Fighting for Position

Randolph and Reef are fighting for position, in two ways. First they are doing what every player on the Blazers has been doing, fighting for a good position in the league, but also (especially Abdur Rahim) they are fighting for postion on the court.

While Shareef did request a trade, he still wants court time to prove his ability to interested teams, and in many similar situations the player can find his minutes slashed considerably until a deal is struck. Reef knew this and has been doing his best to prove the Mo-Cheeks that the Blazers need him on the court.

With Darius Miles injured during the second game of the season Shareef hasnt had to fight for his minutes as much, but is still making the most of every minute out there.

With the support of the orgaisation behind him, many would expect Randolph to feel he has no need to prove his place in the team, and simply sit back and watch Shareef go at it. But it seems that Randolph wants the Blazers management to have no doubt they made the right decision in making him the future of the Blazers.

Both Reef and Zach have been impressive over the first 5 games of the season, with Rahim scoring 31 and 21 in the last two games and averaging and healthy 21.4ppg, and Randolph playing more consistantly than many would expect averaging a double double with 34ppg and 12.8rpg.

Injuries

Injuries have already become a problem for the Blazers. First only two games into the season, Darius Miles went down with an ankle injury that put him out for 11 dats and 3 games.

Then during practice a day after the 5th game of the season, Abdur Rahim went down with a sprained right ankle which put him out for 2 weeks.

During both games 3 and 4 Zach Randolph has had to sit out for at least 10 mins each time, for a niggling arm injury.

5 Game Recap

(note: Games 1 and 2 were played on All Star difficuty, then game 3 onwards were played on Super Star difficulty)

Blazer Starters for Beginnning of season:
F: Darius Miles
F: Zach Randolph
C: Theo Ratlif
G: Derek Anderson
G: Damon Stoudamire

Game 1 Vs 0-1 Orlando Magic

This game was very pleasing for the Blazer coaching staff, every player was doing his job perfectly. A great defensive effort held the magic to just 11 points for the first quarter.

The Blazers held on to their lead and never looked like letting go, going into the second half up 70-48.


DA had a feild day scoring 27 points against the Magic
The rest of the game gave coach Maurice Cheeks a chance to have a look at his bench players and see hot they would perform, as well as trying out different combinations.

Final Score: 116-92 Blazers Victory

POG: Theo Ratliff 14p 16rebs 2blks 1stl 3ast 25mins

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 24p 9rebs 2blk
Abdur Rahim 20p 10rebs 2ast 2stl
Anderson 27p 12/25 3rebs 5ast
Stoudamire 11p 3rebs 10ast
Miles 14p 10rebs 2ast

Orlando
Francis 29p 4rebs 3ast
Cato 14rebs 4stl
Howard 14rebs
Hill 19p 8rebs


Stevie was the only bright spark for the Magic, knocking down 29.

Game 2 @ 1-1 Utah

(Sorry poor notes for this game)


Frahm shot 3/4 from 3 point range.


Woods brought hustle and determination off the bench.

Final Score 124-101 Blazers Victory

POG: Randolph 19p 9/23 17rebs 1blk 2stl

Key Stats

Portland
Abdur Rahim 17p 6rebs
Frahm 13p
Stoudamire 14p 7ast 3stl
Anderson 19p 6rebs 4ast 3stl 8/10
Miles 18p 8rebs 3ast 2blk 22 mins (Injured 2:35 left in 3rd Q)

Utah
Boozer 13p 15rebs
Kirilenko 20p 6rebs
Giricek 28p
Arroyo 20p 4ast

Game 3 @ 1-1 Houston

The Rockets came out with some effective fast break offense to supprise the Blazers into so key defensive mistakes and scrappy turnovers, to lead going into the 2nd 24-23.


T-Mac was stunning on the break for Houston.

The Blazers managed to pull together some brilliant offense breaks and defensive stops behind 21 points and 5 rebounds from Randolph to take a 60-41 half time lead. Despite Randolph increasing his point total to 32, the Rokcets managed to come right back into the game to trail by 2 81-79 at the end of the third.


NVE pulled of a brilliant circus shot during a 2nd quater run.

The fourth was closely contested, but some great shutdown defense saw the Blazers miss their last 3 FG attempts to lose the game by 4.

Final Score: 106-102 Blazers Defeat

POG: McGrady 29p 10/16 3rebs 6blks

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 43p 11/20 12rebs 5ast 3blk
Abdur Rahim 18p 7rebs
Stoudamire 14p 3rebs 5ast 3stl

Houston
Ming 14p 5/6 9rebs
Lue 14p 9ast
Taylor 13p 5rebs

Game 4 VS 0-2 Chicago

The Bulls took the advantage of some weak rebounding from Portland to take a 30-28 lead into the second. Chicago continued the dominance on the rebounds, and thanks to 23p and 7rebs from Antonio Davis took a 68-48 lead into the third.

The Blazers managed to sort out their rebounding woes to establish a run which bought them to within 3 at the end of the quarter. Randolph suffered an arm injury early in the Q.

The fourth saw a fast pace up and down game but the Blazers showed they wanted the game mroe and took a 4 point victory at home thanks to a great clutch 4 point play from Reef.


DA helped the Blazers comebakc during the third to take a exciting home win.

Final Score: 119-115 Blazer Victory

POG: Abdur Rahim 31p 12/20 2/4 3pt 5rebs

Key Stats:

Portland
Randolph 14p 10rebs (26min)
Ratlif 14p 14rebs 4blk
Anderson 22p 5rebs 4ast 2stl
Stoudamire 18p 14ast
Stepania 12p 8rebs

Chicago
Curry 11p 17rebs 2stl 2blk
Chandler 12p 14rebs 3stl
Gordon 22p 8TO
Davis 29p 9rebs

Game 5 @ 1-1 Boston

Despite 7 rebounds from Theo Ratlif, the Blazers found themself down 24-23 at the end of the first. The deficit increased by 2 in a 2nd quarter that saw Randolph injured for the 2nd time in 2 games. The Celts led 52-29 at the half.

The 3rd saw Makr Blount foul out and the Blazers take the lead 75-73 going into the final period. The Celtics showed far more composure to take out a scrappy win by 9.

Final Score: 105-96 Portland Defeat

POG: Pierce 28p 10/20 4rebs 5stl 5TO 3ast 2blk

Key Stats

Portland
Ratlif 12rebs 3blk 3ast
Randolph 29p 14rebs 4ast
Abdur Rahim 21p 7rebs
Anderson 19p 4rebs 3ast
Stoudamire 10p 6stl 9ast

Boston
Davis 28p 1stl 2rebs
LaFrentz 10p 16rebs
Payton 17p 6rebs 2reb 3stl


Stats Update

Team Leaders

Points:
Randolph 24.0, Rahim 21.0, Anderson 19.2

Rebounds:
Ratlif 12.8, Randolph 12.4, Miles 9.0

Assists:
Stoudamire 9.0, Anderson 4.0, 3 tied 2.8

[Mark.]

*.::|Issue Three of "The Blazer"|::.*


New Faces, Same Team

With Shareef standing by his trade request there was no doubt that the Blazers were looking to trade. But with the season 8 games in and the Blazers sitting comfortably at 4-4 the talk of trades was begging to die down. But thats when Portland made the first of two trades.

With many people questioning the wisdom of having the backlog of Point Guards that the Blazers possessed, it was only a matter of time until a deal was found. Nick Van Exel was the most likely to get moved, and move he did, to the windy city. NVE was sent to Chicago for Veteran bigman Antonio Davis.

While Chicago has a very talented back court in Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, they needed some vetern leadership in the back court to take over when needed, NVE not only brings this leadership but also a excellent scoring ability which he will be able to use instead of fighting for time off the bench with Bell and Telfair.

Davis goes from being the tutor of young stars Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler to being the new mentor of Zach Randolph, while Randolph will obviously be starting over Davis, Davis will be able to give Randolpg some important tips to help the young rising star to fullfil his potential.

The second trade, which was made after the Blazers 10th game of the season, had been brewing for quite awhile, the only thing holding it back was that two of the major players had been injured and neither team was interested until their conditions were stabilised. Abudr Rahim finally got his release from Portland, but the Blazers were determined to get his worth in exchange. The Blazers ended up sending Shareef and back-up center Vladimir Stepania to Boston in exchange for flashy guard Ricky Davis and soft shooting center Raef Lafentz.

While Portland loose Rahim, they have upgraded their back up center considerably and improved their swingman situation to one of the best in the league. Raef will be backing up Ratlif, while Davis will be competing for a starting spot at either SG or SF, but could very well be playing as sixth man.

The Celtics managed to get some reliable inside presence in Abdur Rahim, he will deffeinately take some pressure off Pierce, and get a lot more shots than in Portland.


Ricky Davis showing some of his flair during a recent media shoot. Fans will be stoked with Tricky Ricky and D-Miles running the open court.

5 Game Recap

Game 6 @ 3-3 Toronto Raptors

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Shareef Abdur Rahim
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Raptors
C:Chris Bosh
PF:Donyell Marshell
SF:Vince Carter
SG:Jalen Rose
PG:Rafer Alston

Both teams started out strong running their "run and gun" style of offense, but the Blazers couldn't take a good care of the ball as the Raps, still, the difference after one was only 3, 26-23 to the Raps. Zach Randolph picked up his game and helped pull the Blazers in front to go into the Half up 47-41.

Mighty Mouse shot well from 3 range

Despite some great all round play from Darius Miles, the Raptors snuck back into the game after a late run in the third to tie the game at 70 going into the final quarter. The game was close until with 50 seconds left and the score 100-98 infavour of the Raptors, Zach Randolph went strong to the hoop only to miss the dunk, the Raptors scored again and the Blazers couldnt managed to score again.

Carter had a good all round game for Toronto

Final Score: 102-98 Blazers Defeat

POG: Jalen Rose 26p 11/25 7rebs 4ast

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 26p 20rebs 3ast
Miles 25p 12/18 11rebs 6ast
Ratlif 10p 14rebs

Toronto
Bosh 11rebs 2blk
Carter 16p 12rebs 3stl
Alston 22p 6ast 3stl 4rebs

Game 7 @ 4-1 Sacremento Kings

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Shareef Abdur Rahim
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Kings
C:Brad Miller
PF:Chris Webber
SF:Peja Stojiokavic
SG:Doug Christie
PG:Mike Bibby

The Kings used their home court to fuel a great shooting display from the whole team during the first, but the Blazers replied with their own nice shooting. The Kings amanged to lead into the Second 30-27. The second saw the FG% stay high and the game stayed close with Miles keeping the Blazers in it amassing 20 and 7rebs by the half, howver the Kings kept the lead to go into the second half up 59-57.

Miles was too quick for Peja today

The pace upped even more during the third and the Blazers continued to trail until Van Exel hit a buzzer beater to end the quarter, Blazers on top 88-86. The Home Court really came to help the Kings in the final quarter as all the calls wen their way and they shot just better enough to hold off the Blazers and take the game by 4 points.

Final Score: 118-114 Blazers Defeat

POG: Chirs Webber 21p 7rebs 3blks 2stls

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 26p 11rebs
Miles 26p 8rebs 5ast 4blk
Stoudamire 24p 6ast 4rebs 2stl

Sacramento
Christie 26p
Bibby 22p 6ast
Miller 12p 11rebs

Game 8 vs 4-1 Dallas Mavericks

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Shareef Abdur Rahim
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Mavs
C:Eric Dampier
PF:Dirk Nowitski
SF:Michael Finley
SG:Josh Howard
PG:Jason Terry

A great performance on the offensive boards, despite trouble on the shooting side, saw the Blazers take a lead into the second quarter behind 7rebs from Randolph, 25-23. The second saw Dallas make a run back to takce a one point lead into the half 50-49.

Damon was too quick for Terry today

During the third Finley lit up, but the Blazers managed to hang on and tie the ggame going into the fourth 72 all. During the fourth the game was back in forth, but the Blazers showed soem excellen cluthc play, especially Derek Anderson to take a hard fought 4 poitn victory.

Final Score: 100-96 Blazers Victory

POG: Theo Ratlif 15p 17rebs 5blks

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 16p 18rebs
Miles 24p 12/12 3rebs 4stl
Anderson 21p 3stl 2ast 2rebs

Dallas
Dampier 16p 12rebs
Nowitski 19p 12rebs
Finley 24p 4rebs 5blk

Game 9 @ 2-2 Miami Heat

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Shareef Abdur Rahim
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Heat
C:Shaquille O'Neal
PF:Udonis Haslme
SF:Rasual Butler
SG:Eddie Jones
PG:Dwayne Wade

(Sorry poor coverage due to weather)

Final Score: 107-100 Blazers Victory

POG: Zach Randolph 30p 13/17 13rebs 2blks

Key Stats

Portland
Abdur Rahim 12p 5rebs
Miles 13p 10rebs 6ast 3blk
Stoudamire 14p 4rebs 7ast

Miami
O'Neal 41p 19rebs 3blk
Wade 23p 3ast 3rebs

Shaq was very dominant against the Blazers

Game 10 vs 8-4 Memphis Grizzlies

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Shareef Abdur Rahim
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Grizz
C:Pau Gasol
PF:Stromile Swift
SF:James Posey
SG:Mike Miller
PG:Jason Williams

The Blazers dominated the boards in the first quarter to take a 25-20 lead into the second. During the second the Blazers held Memphis to a measley 8 points while scoring 31 of their own. The score at half time was 56-28.

During the third Memphis managed to outscore Portland but the still trailed 88-61, while Portland managed to tally 12 assists for the quarter. The fourth was mearly a scrub battle for the Blazers, the challenge being to get everyone decent minutes, Memphis hit a lot of threes during this quarter but it was far too late.

Final Score: 115-89 Blazers Victory

POG: Pau Gasol 25p 20rebs 3blks 3ast

Key Stats

Portland
Randolph 14p 10rebs 2blk 17mins
Miles 17p 7ast 3blk
Stoudamire 13p 14ast

Memphis
Miller 14p 7rebs
Williams 12p 7ast 5rebs

[HuskiesCeltics]

Looking good, nice job and nice trades. Treat Ricky well.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Good update, nice to see that trade working out for you, and I like the new format as well

[cocobee]

I hope Ricky can blend well witht he team you got going. Very nice trade.

[The Future]

nice update..nice shaq pic

[Wormy10]

Looks great
Ricky still has green shoes

[Alcoholic]

Haha look at Shaq dominate!!!

[Mark.]

Looks great
Ricky still has green shoes

Yeah he lost his brand new Red ones

[Mark.]

**.::|Issue Four of "The Blazer"|::.*


All Attitude, All Wins

The Blazers still may not have shaken the reputation of bad attitudes, but they have showen the league that they can knuckle down and work hard if they have the right motivation. Since our last Issue Portland has gone 4-1 with their only loss being a nail biter against Atlanta.

When Ricky Davis arrived many thought he would fit right in, as he is known for his free lancing and shunning of rules and laws, but he has fit-in in a totally different way. Instead of protesting his position of 6th man (When most would expect him to come straight into the starting lineup) Davis has shown that he doesnt need to be a starter to help his team, in fact Davis is contributing more off the bench for Portland than he did starting for any other team in he career. Since arriving in Portland Davis has averaged a team leading 27.8 points, but also contributing on the boards, dishing the ball well and playing tough nose defence. If Davis is going to be eligble for 6th man of the year he will be a sure winner.

The arrival of Davis has also lifted the team spirit of the Blazers, now they play every moment of the game with energy and the bench can always be seen celebrating every great play on offense and defense. The rise in energy can be seen in the way the Blazers now go to the hoop, instead of mearly settling for the lay-up every chance they have the Blazers will be looking to throw it down to energize the team.

If the Blazers can keep playing with this level attitude and game we could see Portland go far this post season.


5 Game Recap

(These updates will be pretty short becasue, after the 10th game i decided to capture screens of the Box Scores but i didnt realise that F12 doesnt work on the menu's, so when i went to get the Box Scores i found nothing , plus there will be a lack of pictures for some games because i accidnetly deleted them thinking they were spares from the last update)

Game 11 VS 5-8 New Jersey Nets

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Darius Miles
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Nets
C:Alonzo Mourning
PF:Aaron Williams
SF:Richard Jefferson
SG:Bernard Robinson
PG:Jason Kidd

First Quarter: 33-29 Blazers - Despite some poor rebounding Portland used offense to take the lead.

Second Quarter: 53-52 Nets - Behind some very strong play from Mourning the Nets fought back and took a 1 point lead.

Third Quarter: 88-76 Blazers - Ricky Daivs too an Injury but the Blazers picked up theri game and stretched the lead out behind some great offense.

End Score: 110-106 Blazers - New Jersey would fight back but Portland would shrug off the attempt and coast to the end. Mourning was a monster.


Game 12 VS 6-3 Detroit Pistons

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Darius Miles
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Pistons
C:Ben Wallace
PF:Rasheed Wallace
SF:Tayshuan Prince
SG:Rip Hamilton
PG:Chauncy Billups

First Quarter: 23-20 Blazers - Behind 11 points from Ricky Davis the Blazers had a solid first quarter

Second Quarter: 49-44 Pistons - Lindsey Hunter shot Detroit back into the game.

Third Quarter: 75-74 Blazers - Both teams played a great offensive quarter but neither could get out infront by much.

End Score: 98-98 - With 40 secs left Big Ben grabs and O-Rebound and puts the Pistons up 98-96. RickyD misses a jumper but he and Ratlif force a TO and gice the ball to Zach for and easy two.

1OT: 109-109 Blazers were down by two, Derek Anderson trys to get open but cant so pulls up in Rips face and drops the 2 to tie.

2OT: 125-116 Blazers - The Blazers used the homecourt energy to out shot the Pistons on route to a hard won victory.

Game 13 VS 2-7 Seattle SuperSonics

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Darius Miles
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Sonics
C:Vitaly Potapenko
PF:Vladmir Radomanovic
SF:Rashard Lewis
SG:Ray Allen
PG:Luke Rdinour

First Quarter: 22-20 Blazers - Ray Allen dropped 11 but the Blazers controlled the boards with 18 rebs.

Second Quarter: 46-45 Soncis - The whole Sonics team showed some good shooting to take the lead.

Third Quarter: 74-68 Sonics - The Sonics continued the good shooting while the Blazers racked up the hustle points.

End Score: 97-94 Blazers - The Sonics lost their shot in the fourth and the Blazers snukc by for the quiet win.

(Does anybody reckon the fourth is too easy now?? Like the other team plays worse than the rest of the game)


Zach has been taking it to the hoop a lot more lately


Ricky D's shot has improved since arriving in portland

Game 14 @ 4-6 Atlanta Hawks

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Darius Miles
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

Hawks
C:Peja Drobinjak
PF:Antoine Walker
SF:Al Harrington
SG:Jon Barry
PG:Kenny Anderson

First Quarter: 31-26 Blazers - The Blazers shot an amazing 100% for the first 8 minutes of the game, then continued to play at a fast pace.

Second Quarter: 58-57 Hawks - Drobinjak hit a cluth trey to top a Hawks comeback at the end of the quarter.

Third Quarter: 82-79 Blazers - Both teams shunned defense to play an up tempo offensive game, much to the delight of the fans.

End Score: 100-98 Hawks - The Blazers looked like the sure victors but the Hawks werent finished, the Blazers missed 5 straight FT's to only have a 1 point lead, then Kenny Anderson hit the 30 foot trey with 3 seconds left to take the game.


The Hawks taking a time out late in the fourth


Anderson struts back after hitting the game winning Trey

Game 15 VS 8-10 Phillidelphia 76ers

Starters

Blazers
C:Theo Ratlif
PF:Zach Randolph
SF:Darius Miles
SG:Derek Anderson
PG:Damon Stoudamire

76ers
C:Samuel Dalembert
PF:Kenny Thomas
SF:Glen Robinson
SG:Andre Igudola
PG:Allen Iverson

First Quarter: 27-20 Blazers - Tricky Ricky and Zach combined for 24 to lead the Blazers.

Second Quarter: 44-36 Blazers - The Blazers played poor offense but made up for it on defense.

Third Quarter: 76-53 - The Great D continued but it was complimented with some good offense.

End Score: 98-83 - The Blazers scrubs managed to finish off the 76ers quite easily.


Willie Green with one of the highlights of the game


This dunk a top contender for "Dunk of the Week"


Corliss shows his dispear as their 3 game winning streak is ended


Season Standings


Western Conference





Eastern Conference






(Dunk of the Week updated)

[Micchy_boy]

very nice dynasty.
nice update bro

[HuskiesCeltics]

Looks great
Ricky still has green shoes

Lol, that happened to me with Okafor in my first dynasty. He still had blue shoes

[The Future]

nice update...gj

[Donatello]

congrats on sticking with this dynasty I'm glad that we've both moved past our habit last year of saying "I'm gonna stick with this one, I promise...."

[Jing]

nice dude.. nice

[Wormy10]

Very nice
Not much to say but im lovin' it Mickey D's

[Mark.]

Thanks for the nice words guys, this is what keeps me posting and searching for new ideas.

congrats on sticking with this dynasty I'm glad that we've both moved past our habit last year of saying "I'm gonna stick with this one, I promise...."

Yeah its soo much easier to stay with a team this year, well done on keeping with NJ

[Jay-Peso]

I liked it last year, and I mos def like this year.

[Mark.]

Team Leaders updated to game 15

[HonorGlow]

Alright, the first ever submission to the 2005 Birdie Board! Thanks Match 66 for the pstat submission!

from the annals of the 2005 Birdie Project: (info)
Match 66's Portland Trailblazers: 2004-05 Mid-season


(sorry about the Pistons background, I'll get that fixed soon enough)

Congrats goes to Zach Randolph, who was the runaway team MVP with a weighted Birdie score of 27.27. And earned the right to 'reversible' Live Card status!

Well, as this is the first submission this year:
This Dynasty is currently ranked #1 on the all-time Birdie Board (however, it did obtain 36.33 points in team penalties!)

For the complete 'Birdie Breakdown' AND to see Randolph's reversible' Live Card click here.

Hey MATCH66: Please send me an action screenshot of Zach Randolph so I can replace it with the temporary shot of him on the Live Card. and you're right, Bell doesn't seem to be getting much opportunity on the team.