NBA Live 08
Sim Length - 12 Minute Quarters
Play Length - 6/8 Minute Quarters
Difficulty - Superstar
The Portland Trail Blazers
Roster
Starting 5
C - Greg Oden
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge
SF - Travis Outlaw
SG - Brandon Roy
PG - Jerryd Bayless
Bench
6 - Rudy Fernandez
7 - Martell Webster
8 - Channing Frye
9 - Sergio Rodriguez
10 - Steve Blake
11 - Jason Kapono
12 - Ike Diogu
Inactive
13 - Nicolas Batum
14 - Raef LaFrentz
It's late in February and the young Blazers, joined by big man phenom Greg Oden are clinging on to the Northwest Division title with the Denver Nuggets just one game behind. With no trade deadline and very limited capspace, it truly is on the Blazers team headlined by Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden.
Rookie Jerryd Bayless struggled early on in the season. He was a big turnover machine and failed to distribute the ball effectively and alternated heavily with Steve Blake for the starting job early in the season. He has since shown improvement but still shows more of a shoot first mentality.
There was no disappointment in Greg Oden. The big man averages a double double, even though he is not even close to Shaq's rookie season, he shows that he is very capable of passing the ball, averaging just over 3 assists as a Center. He has shown signs of brilliance including a spectacular 27 point, 14 rebound, 3 assist, 3 block performance against last season's best center Dwight Howard.
With the balance on the Blazers team you can really expect any of the Blazers to be dominant on a given night. With 6 players averaging double digits in scoring you can really see how well they play as a team. Brandon Roy stands out the most, as the leader of the Blazers and has proven to be the most consistent, averaging just over 20 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists in addition to 2 steals a game.
GM Kevin Pritchard was able to address the Blazers' 3 point shooting woes by bringing in sharpshooter Jason Kapono in a trade that sent Luke Jackson and Joey Przybilla to Toronto.
Several minor trades have been made in the league, with the biggest trade a swap of Ron Artest and Kevin Martin which bought Artest back to his former team. The Kings felt that they needed more perimeter defense and more of a veteran presence as they are unexpected close to making the playoffs, just a few games behind the 8th spot. The Rockets trio of Yao-McGrady-Artest did not perform as well as they expected and the Rockets are criticized for lacking any real young talent.
In the West, Dirk Nowitzki has been playing like a true MVP, leading the league in scoring and while grabbing 12 rebounds a game. His Mavericks are 3rd in the West and are not far behind last year's Finalist Lakers.
In the East, Detroit is in the lead with the James-lead Cavaliers right behind. Miami and Philadelphia are both pretty big surprises, especially Miami who was last year's worst team. The defending champions Boston Celtics seem to have fell off quite a bit, holding on to the 7th spot but they are riding a 4 game win streak so you can expect some change to come.
The MVP race is again headlined by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James with Dirk Nowitzki added to the mix. All star guards Dwyane Wade and Gilbert Arenas round out the top 5 as both show no sign of slowing down even after their injuries.
RIght now if the Blazers lose their division crown they will find themselves sitting on the 8th seed with the Artest/Miller lead Kings right behind them. The Blazers are on a 3 game losing streak with a 28-28 record and it does not help that 2 of their next 3 games will be played against the Lakers, currently the best team in the league.
