The Start of Something New
Sorry big fella, it looks like you'll have to wait before you can play with the big.. err, um experienced boys.
"With the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail-Blazers select... Greg Oden from Ohio State University". Those were the words many Blazers' season ticket holders wanted to hear on draft night. These were the words they didn't want to hear:
"BREAKING NEWS! Portland Trail-Blazers' new center, Greg Oden went through microfracture surgery a couple of days ago. He will miss the entire NBA season." A shocker to many, Portland's dream season has most likely come to end... right?
Maybe. The Blazers were so confident they were ready to start a new beginning that they traded their superstar,
Zach Randolph to the New York Knicks. But with Bill Russell's dad out for the season, the Blazers had to put a wider load on the back of their new leader. The question is, who is it?
The answer? 2006 Rookie of the Year,
Brandon Roy. You may wonder if the 23 year old Roy is ready to take on the leadership role in Portland. The same question was asked about some other young players including
LeBron James,
Carmelo Anthony,
Chris Bosh and
Dwyane Wade, all who became all-stars this season. So Portland fans will probably have high expectations for Roy.
"Unless you have League Pass, you probably haven't seen me play." said Roy. "Most people have seen the highlights on television and heard about me from other sources, but until you actually see me play.. you'll still be wondering what I can do. Now with Zach (Randolph) gone, the team's relying on me to carry a wider load. So until you actually see me play, the highlight reels are going to have to do for now. But believe me, I won't dissapoint."
"The guy's a fucking baller!" said Blazers forward
Darius Miles. "He has so much heart. He's always the first one in the gym and the last one out. Now with Greg out for the season along with me, he's going to be the main threat in Portland. Here's a message to the season ticket holders, Get'cha popcorn ready."
Roy had an amazing start to the season, averaging 32PPG in the first 5 games. Though no matter how good you are, one man can't do it by himself. While Roy was playing like an all-star, the rest of the Blazers' lineup was struggling. Other than Roy, the only guys to average double digits this season were
Martell Webster and
James Jones (Jones came off the bench). At the end of November, the Blazers were right at .500 with a 8-8 record.
All-Star Weekend 2008: iRep Portland
Before All-Star break, the Blazers had a below-average record of 18-35. It's not the best way to start the season, but they have a good excuse with Oden out. Besides
Brandon Roy and
LaMarcus Aldridge being selected to participate in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, no other Blazer has been invited to participate in the festivities in All-Star Weekend 2008. This upsetted Blazers' fans when they found out their star (Roy) hasn't been selected to be part of the 2008 NBA All-Star game.
Heading onto the Rookie Challenge. At one point in the game, the Rookies were up by 5 with 1:08 left in the second half. But Sophomore all-star,
Ronnie Brewer hit two clutch three pointers to give the Sophomores the 137-136 edge over the Rookies. Brewers efforts earned him well deserved MVP honors. Brewer led the Sophomores in scoring with 32 points.
Brandon Roy and
Rudy Gay chipped in with 24 and 18 respectively.
Kevin Durant led the Rookies with 34 points, two shy of
Amare Stoudemire's 2004 mark for points.
Al Thornton finished with 20 points and
Luis Scola added 12.
Moving on to the All-Star game. There are two first time all-stars this year, including hometown favourite
Chris Paul. The other first timer is 76ers leader
Andre Iguodala who was probably the biggest surprise of the season averaging 25.8PPG so far into the year. Other players will also make their return to All-Star weekend, including
Rashard Lewis' first selection since his first all-star game back in 2005. Kings forward
Ron Artest also makes his return to the all-star game since his first selection back with the Pacers.
Most All-Star games in the NBA consist of alley-oop dunks, fancy passes and big men who try to act like point guards. This year? Pretty much the same besides Shaq not making the All-Star game for the first time in his career. The East took the 76-72 lead at halftime with
LeBron James already having 18 points. Another All-Star game MVP trophy perhaps? The West came back to take a 123-118 lead with a few minutes left. But King James' heroics gave the East a 126-123 lead with little time remaining. Who does the West turn to? The Black Mamba in
Kobe Bryant? Nope. Instead, hometown hero
Chris Paul nailed a three that tied the game at 126. This calls for overtime. CP3 gave the fans in New Orleans what they wanted giving the West the 146-142 OT win and some MVP hardware.
I'm back.
Remember me? Right after the festivities in New Orleans, the Blazers managed to pick up a familiar face before the trade deadline. They sent off a
2008 2nd round draft pick and center
Raef LaFrentz for former Blazer
Theo Ratliff. Ratliff had some of his best years in Portland. This was probably the biggest trade of the season (no seriously, it was). The young guns in Portland needed some veteran leadership, and that's what they got.
"Wow, it feels good to be back in this city" said Ratliff. "I had some of the best games in my career here, and hopefully I can relive those days."
Usually now, the Blazers GM would be making comments on the trade..
But to make it more interesting, let's see exactly how the trade started.
In Need Of A Veteran
A long sigh comes out from Portland General Manager, Kevin Pritchard. The Blazers are 17 games below .500, he had to make a roster move.. but what? Kevin looks at a list of team's roster and other info. They have only have one free agent on their team this summer, Von Wafer. His salary wasn't big enough to get the Blazers some cap room. It was time to start making some phone calls. Kevin picks up the phone and starts dialing.
"Hello, San Antonio Spurs office, Kim speaking."
"Hi, may I speak with R.C. Buford?"
"Just one moment sir."
Kevin crosses his fingers, hoping he could pull something off.
"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT DEALING MANU GINOBLI!"
"Whoa, take it easy R.C. I don't want Manu."
"Oh Kevin, it's just you. How can I help you?"
"Well I was wondering if you were interested in trading Kurt Thomas?"
"What do you got?" R.C. asked in an impolite manner.
"How's Raef LaFrentz and some extra cash?"
"Phhht. You're gonna have to do better than that Pritchard." said R.C.
"How's this, I'll give you Thomas for Brandon Roy." R.C. replied.
"What the fuck? I ain't dealing him!" Kevin yelled.
"Oh, I'm so sad. Well bye!" R.C. said as he hung up the phone rudely.
Kevin was pissed off after that call. He wondered how long it could take to pull off a good trade. While looking at a portrait of the 2003-2004 Portland Trail-Blazers, an idea came to mind. Kevin quickly picked up the phone and started dialing.
"Hello, Minnesota Timberwolves office, Tim speaking."
"Hi, may I speak to Jim Stack?"
"No problem sir, please hold for a minute."
After a minute and 3 seconds, someone answered.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Hi Jim, it's Kevin Pritchard of the Portland Trail-Blazers."
"Hey, what would you like?"
"I'd like to make a trade offer."
"Sure, lay it on me."
"Raef LaFrentz + cash for Theo Ratliff. We really need a big expiring contract."
"So you want Ratliff back eh? Nah. I'd rather have him than LaFrentz. Goodby.."
"Wait." Kevin said rapidly.
"You guys are still in the rebuilding process right?"
"In a way, yes we are. The more young talent, the better.
"Ok, how about LaFrentz and a 2008 2nd round draft pick for Ratliff."
"Wow, much better than your previous offer. I'll have to think about it. Give me some time." Jim said as he hung up the phone.
Kevin was sweating buckets. Could he have possible brought Theo Ratliff back to Portland?
32 minutes later, the phone rang. Kevin answered.
"Hello?"
"I was talking with my staff and... we accept. I'll fax you the paperwork and we can send our guys to our cities. Thanks Kevin."
"Your welcome Tim."
"It's Jim."
"Yeah, whatever." Kevin said as he hung up the phone in excitement.
In Ratliff's first game back in Portland, the fans were roaring with applause. "Starting at center, from Wyoming.. Blazers fans please welcome back.. THEEEEEEOOOO RATLIFF!" Ratliff came up with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in a losing effort. But when
Joel Pryzbilla returned to the lineup, Ratliff went back on the bench, so he wasn't really able to deliver as much. At the end of the season, the Blazers finished 35-47 missing the playoffs. They finished the season hard with
Brandon Roy and
Martell Webster averaging a combined 42.4PPG in the last 5 games of the season.
Below are the Blazers' individual stats for the 2007-2008 season.
2008 NBA Awards
MVP: Kobe Bryant
It's been long awaited. The 31PPG, 5APG and 5RPG was good enough to get Kobe enough first place votes to win the hardware.
Most Improved Player: Andre Iguodala
A full season without the original AI provided more scoring oppurtunities for Iggy. His career high, 22.5PPG will make him the main scoring threat in Philadelphia for times to come.
Defensive Player Of The Year: Tim Duncan
Had the best overall defensive game of the season. Was in the top 3 for defensive rebounds and blocks, that was good enough to win it all.
Rookie Of The Year: Kevin Durant
A big surprise? I think not. With Oden's season ending injury, Durant's rookie-high 23.7PPG made it easier to become the unanimous choice for ROY.
Sixth Man: Donyell Marshall
Another Sonic? Marshall proved to have one of his best seasons coming off the bench with 15PPG, 6RPG averages.
Coach Of The Year: Gregg Popovich
"Pop" has been calling the shots in San Antonio for a while, assembling a team that could possibly beat any other team in sight. The NBA rewards for his efforts.
All NBA Team
C - Dwight Howard
PF - Dirk Nowitzki
SF - LeBron James
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Allen Iverson
All NBA Second Team
C - Rasheed Wallace
PF - Chris Bosh
SF - Carmelo Anthony
SG - Tracy McGrady
PG - Gilbert Arenas
All Defensive Team
C - Marcus Camby
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Andrei Kirilenko
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Allen Iverson
All Defensive Second Team
C - Rasheed Wallace
PF - Ben Wallace
SF - Josh Smith
SG - Dwyane Wade
PG - Gilbert Arenas
All Rookie Team
C - Al Horford
C - Joakim Noah
F/G - Kevin Durant
SG - Juan Carlos Navarro
PG - Mike Conley
All Rookie Second Team
PF - Yi Jianlian
PF - Luis Scola
PF - Al Thornton
PF - Thaddeus Young
SF - Jamario Moon
2008 NBA Playoffs
Anyone hoping the playoffs would be more interesting than the season itslef? Well, I guess your wishes can be.. somehwhat granted. Many high seeds of last years' playoffs went down a lot while some low seeds went up, and there were also many surprise teams that made it with a win. The New York Knicks got an OT win against the Philadelphia 76ers to squeeze into the final spot in the East, which made a lot of Knicks fans happy and
Isiah Thomas got to keep his job. The Atlanta Hawks managed to make the #6 spot by winning the last 7 games of the season. After having an amazing 20 game improvement and becoming the division champs, the Toronto Raptors slid to #7 after having
Chris Bosh out for the remainder of April. He will play in the playoffs though.
Heading west to.. well, the West. After acquiring supersized big man
Shaquile O'Neal, the Phoenix Suns could not incorporate him into their fast paced offense, dropping them down to the #6 seed. The Golden State Warriors managed to rise to the occasion this season after claiming the #3 spot in just 75 games. The addition of
Pau Gasol was not enough for the Los Angeles Lakers to get in the top 3 this year as they slide to #6. The other Los Angeles team, the Clippers shocked the world after
Elton Brand had one of the best seasons of his career, playnig all 82 games.
In the first round of the playoffs, all the top seeds got in except the Cleveland Cavaliers who lost an upsetting battle between the Atlanta Hawks in 7 games. The second round didn't bring many surprises. The Dallas Mavericks finally got sweet revenge over the Warriors after last year's first round knockout. The conference finals.. that's another story. Both of the top seeds in each conference made it/ The Boston Celtics' dream team couldn't handle the more playoff-experienced Detroit Pistons losing in just 5 games. The San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks had their perfect Texas Showdown. The Spurs came into the season hot and looking for a second straight title, but the Dallas Mavericks put up a good fight and knocked out the Spurs 4-2. The finals matchup? Dallas vs. Detroit. A spectacular series awaited with the #2 spots squaring off for the gold. After being down by 2 games, the Mavs managed to come back and win 4 straight to win the NBA championship.
Dirk Nowitzki earned MVP honors averaging almost 34PPG in the entire series. This concludes the 2007-2008 NBA season. Next up.. THE OFFSEASON!
System: PC
I'm just making it seem like Greg doesn't know much about the NBA and it's rules as you'll see later on.. 
