New York Knicks coverage at Knicks Fanatics.

Overall Winner:

Since the Portland Trail Blazers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Utah Jazz at the end of February, they have lost only 3 times (2 of those times against Western Conference playoff teams). Perhaps a combination of an easier schedule, more time off, a healthy(ier) Brandon Roy and solidified starting unit, the Blazers are finally taking care of business and headed down the home stretch all but guarantying their spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Not only are they sure to make the playoffs, it appears that a first round exit is no longer imminent as a 7th seed and a decidedly more favorable matchup seem likely.

Indeed, it has never been more fun this season to be a Blazer fan than this last stretch of awesome play. All the front office drama, ticket price increases, and absurd amount of injuries haven't deterred the Blazers or their fans, as the team and seemingly entire city gear up for a playoff run.

With everything clicking at the right time, what is there to criticize? After a brief respite from life and an awesome trip to Florida, I came back this week to watch some game tape hoping to see what everyone has been raving about. Although I was impressed by the offense and increased energy on defense, one thing stood out to me the most:
Where have the Blazers' second unit gone?

I checked out some stats on the second unit in order to find out whether I am just imagining the "bench woes" or if the second unit is indeed struggling. To clarify, the second unit is most commonly comprised of Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, Martell Webster, Juwan Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge ( or another starter such as Andre Miller or Brandon Roy). With the addition of Marcus Camby , Jeff Pendergraph's minutes have understandably plummeted and to much fan chagrin (including my own), so have Dante Cunningham's .

At first glance, the second unit seems to struggle most with creating offense and getting back on defense Upon further investigation, what I found is certainly indicative of this. On 82Games.com, the 5 man unit of Fernandez, Bayless, Webster, Aldridge and Howard shoot 37% while allowing almost 48% opponent shooting. What is more, the majority of their shots are not close range. With Webster and Rudy on the floor, it is obvious many shots will be deep jumpers (3 pointers) and the numbers certainly indicate this.

Sadly, both Martell and Rudy seem to have lost their shot at the same time, which appears to be the main reason offensive production for that second unit is so low. Even with Howard or Aldridge and Bayless to score, much of Nate's offense relies on the two wings drawing the defense from whoever is in the middle. If the two wings can't hit a shot, defenders wont bother to stay out on them and this is certainly a trend we have seen lately. Rudy has been struggling with nagging injuries all season and especially of late, so I think in a fit of magnanimity I'll just allow that Rudy most likely struggles because of those injuries. Martell has no such excuse and whatever the problem is, whether it's insecurity or lack of confidence, the Blazers need him to reignite his shot and pose a legitimate threat to opposing defenders.

A perfect example of the above analysis would be Sunday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. During that game, the Blazers boasted an early 10 point lead and then the starters watched from the bench as the second unit allowed the Thunder a huge run and ability to briefly gain a lead. This occurred again later in the game as the first unit built another lead right out of half time, only to watch the Thunder get right back into the game once the starters sat for rest. Frustrating to watch as a fan and even more so for Nate McMillan, who no doubt needs to be able to rest the likes of Brandon Roy and Marcus Camby.

What became apparent during this game was the second unit's decided inability to create any offense or offensive rhythm without the guidance of Brandon Roy or Andre Miller. The second unit came in as quick shooting, trigger happy, and almost reckless bunch of guys who failed to control the game as their starters had. They were sloppy, too relaxed, displayed poor spacing and allowed poor ball movement.

Defensively, the second unit fared even worse as simply put, they played lazy. Whereas the first unit stifled the Thunder's offensive firepower with energy and execution on defense (perfectly executed switches on picks, great movement on the perimeter and several heads up plays, just to name a few reason why the first unit's defense was awesome) , the second unit looked the polar opposite in every way . Their rebounding was stagnant, there were numerous miscues and players missed assignments all over the place. I hardly expect a unit composed of Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez to be defensively on par with the first unit, but what they lack in raw skill they can at least make up with effort and energy. Of late, there has been little of that on the defensive end.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "leave it to Sophia to find something negative about the team when they have clearly been playing so well". Although the team has been playing extremely well overall and there have been brilliant flashes and clutch plays from bench guys, lately the second unit has been more consistently bad than good and this is a serious concern. And it should go without saying that no team goes far in the playoffs without a solid bench and reliable role players in the second unit.

Through all the trials and tribulations of this season, I am truly elated that the Blazers are poised to get into the playoffs with good position. There was a time not too long ago when I thought the Blazers wouldn't even be able to get into the playoffs. Now , my competitiveness sets in and I'm in attack mode, as a fan I want the Blazers at the very least, to get into the second round and in order to achieve that we need our bench unit to step up and start playing solid basketball.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter! | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The following is a reflection and commentary on my time as a Portland Trailblazers season ticket holder, but it easily applies to anyone who has ever owned season tickets to any professional sports team. NBA? NFL? MLB? NHL? NCAA? Whatever the acronym is for soccer? Different sports, same experiences. Read on and tell me if I'm wrong.

Four seasons ago two friends and I bought a half-season ticket package for the Portland Trailblazers. At that point in franchise history Zach Randolph was the king of Blazerland, Roy and Aldridge were a couple of rookies, and the playoffs were just a gleam in Kevin Pritchard's eye. They were terrible, arguably one of the worst teams in the league and tabbed as the oh-so-clever "Jailblazers". They were so bad that they couldn't even give away tickets, which was a great opportunity for us because we couldn't really afford tickets.

As kids who grew up in a one sport city we were naturally huge Trailblazer fans. Going to a game was a rare luxury. Tickets were saved. Stories were told. Memories were made. Season tickets were nothing more than a dream, something to aspire to when we were old and rich. So, naturally you can imagine our delight when we discovered that season tickets were AFFORDABLE. We were 24 year olds fresh out of college with roommates and mediocre jobs, surely we weren't the kinds of people with season tickets.

But we are! Or, at least we were...

That first season in section 223 was magical. The arena may have been half empty but we didn't care, we had tickets to 21 games, guaranteed. And even though the Rose Garden was half full, the fans that were there were true fans, and we were loud. When expectations are that low any success is met with passionate cheers and support, and the players responded to it. The better they played, the louder we cheered, which made them play even better. And then a funny thing happened, they started winning.

That's when the season ticket holder dream started to die.

We have had season tickets for four years. When we bought the tickets it was with the underlying assumption that we would have these for many, many years. Someday we were going to be bringing our kids to these seats. But, with each winning season came increased expectations, an increased fan base and of course, ticket prices increased to the maximum rate allowed by the NBA.

This is definitely about money, but it's not only about money. It's about respect for the fan.

See, when the Blazers got us as season ticket holders they got what should be their ideal customer. They got passionate, committed, middle class men in their 20's. We encourage other people to buy season tickets, we buy apparel and bumper stickers and merchandise, we adorn our cars and cubicles with Blazer memorabilia, we run a dedicated blog for fans. We have made the Blazers a part of our life. If you were starting a company could you think of a better possible customer? They can think of a better customer and unfortunately it's not us, it's corporate sponsorships who buy seats and use them as a tax write off.

I know this because they've told me. They aggressively court businesses to buy luxury suites and season tickets in the lower level. What better way to impress clients and reward customers than with a trip to a Blazer game? They get a fun night out, the business gets a tax write off, and the Blazers get to increase those ticket prices and cash those checks, while pushing the real fans to the rafters or out of the arena all together.

It makes perfect sense for businesses to buy tickets for those very reasons and I don't blame them one bit, but I do blame the Trailblazers. I blame them for caring about nothing more than the bottom line and marginalizing true fans in the process. When we first started going to games the arena was empty, but we still managed to build an incredible home court advantage. Those fans were loud and passionate because they wanted to be there. They chose to spend their time and money on a Blazer game because they genuinely cared. The Rose Garden became a nightmare for opposing teams, with crowds so deafening that fans would go home with their ears ringing.

That home court advantage has disappeared this season. The Blazers have slipped from the 4th best home record in 2009, to the 14th best home record in 2010 and it's no coincidence. The raucous fans have been replaced with clients from out of town, or with secretaries rewarded for handling an especially stressful month, or with empty seats because the game isn't "big enough" to attract a crowd. It's a joke, and the Blazers have done it to themselves.

Other ticket pricing "innovations" include tiered pricing based on the quality of the opponent, and a price chart with so many different colored sections that it looks like the seating chart is sponsored by Craylola. All of these things help the Blazers bottom line in the short term, but they drastically damage their fan loyalty in the long run. By alienating their loyal fan base and catering to passive fans they have created an unstable business model. Whereas loyal fans like us would buy tickets in both good seasons and bad, fickle fans and businesses won't because they won't be able to justify the wasted expense on an inferior product.

Anyone who pays attention to the NBA has heard the not-so-quiet whispers about an impending lockout stemming from the fact that at least one third of the teams are losing money. And, if they haven't heard the whispers, surely they've turned on a game in Minnesota or Sacramento or Washington or Houston and seen arenas so sparse that they could be confused with the WNBA. They think it can't happen here because the fans are so passionate. That's true, we are passionate, but they no longer want our business.

Golden State had similar passionate fans when they went to the playoffs as an 8th seed and knocked off the Mavericks. They increased their prices in the following years but failed to achieve any measure of success. Their passionate fans are gone and the team is currently for sale. Whoops.

There is a major problem in professional sports, and it stems from the fact that real fans are not coveted and respected by the teams that they support. It's a one sided relationship devised by their own hand. When they're losing they will beg for your eyes, ears and dollars, but when they're winning they jack their prices to the moon and step on your head so that they can get to the big fish that can afford the exorbitant prices.

In our case they could have cashed our checks for the next 40 years. We were built to be lifelong fans who go to games, buy the merchandise and support the team. But they spit in our face, and we won't soon forget it. In the era of I-phones and gamecasts and HD TV's so clear you can see the beads of sweat on Brandon Roy's face it is easier than ever to be a fan without spending a nickel. I don't NEED to go to Blazer games. I'd like to go, but I'd just as soon go to a packed sports bar, a friend's house or my own living room and enjoy the game with the other real fans who couldn't afford tickets.

As a consumer there are more products/events than ever that are vying for your decreasing discretionary dollars, and it is foolish and shortsighted of the Trailblazers to shake down their fans in this manner. It is a business, and their goal is to make money. Their strategy is working right now, but we'll see what happens when the winning stops.

I will always love the Blazers, I just wish they loved me back.

Box Score

For the first time since the '98/'99 season, the Blazers took a season series from the Dallas Mavericks. Thanks to a steady performance from our main contributors, Portland fought off the Mavericks all night and eventually finished strong with a 101 to 89 victory to make the season series 3-0 with only 1 game remaining next month.

Considering the trouble Portland has had against the Mavericks in the last decade, these three wins against Dallas have been even more impressive. To not only beat them twice in Dallas, once without Brandon Roy, and then to continue the intensity in Portland and put a complete game together, is very positive for a team trying to move up in the Western Conference standings. All week I wondered which Blazers team would show up against Dallas, with the second long layoff of March, I figured we were bound for a let down. But Portland came out determined, grabbing the lead in the first quarter and holding on throughout.

One thing about this game that I thought about early on was the starting line-up. When TNT flashed it on the screen before the game started, it really had me thinking back to earlier in the season. There was so much uncertainty and confusion about who would or should start. Now, everyone is right where they should be. This group is meshing, playing well together, and honestly our starting five can, and will, put up a fight against any opponent down the stretch and in the playoffs. One of the keys to the group is having veterans like Andre Miller, Juwan Howard, and Marcus Camby who flat out don't allow the young guys to have let downs during tough stretches of a game. It's nice to at least have some stability with the basketball personnel even if the front office is in a bit of uncertainty.

From an individual stand-point, Marcus Camby's offense was somewhat of a surprise in this game. He was aggressive offensively for no apparent reason. His aggressiveness seemed to rub off on everyone else and the Blazers were going hard the entire game. Camby ended up with an impressive 17 points and 11 rebounds. From one veteran to the next, Andre Miller continues to be so impressive and such a good fit for our team. With Brandon still somewhat passive due to his recent slump, Andre had no problem taking the reigns and controlling the game. Andre ended with a quiet but outstanding 17 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. He very much outplayed Jason Kidd and may have been the difference in this game.

Another bright spot for me had to be LaMarcus Aldridge. He put his immense potential to work in the first half, and when his shot wasn't falling in the second half, he crashed the boards, played tough defense and eventually made a few free throws and big bucket down the stretch. LA is a great weapon against the Mavericks, and if we end up playing them in the playoffs, Aldridge will have to be there and focused for every game. His length and ability to run the floor could really hurt Dallas and open things up for every other Blazer on the floor.

Last night was the first of three big games through the weekend. I consider this win against Dallas to be one of the bigger victories all year considering the situation and timing. This weekend games get interesting on the road against New Orleans and Oklahoma City. We should beat both teams in my opinion but that would be if we see the same intensity we saw last night. Either way, the Blazers are gellin' and I'm happy about how the season is closing. Hopefully I will feel the same way on Monday.

Main Entry: dra·ma
Pronunciation: \ˈdrä-mə, ˈdra-\

3 a : a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces b : dramatic state, effect, or quality

Last week, fans and local media were thrown for a loop when Tom Penn, Vice President of Basketball Operations was fired for no apparent reason. It was a slow week for a fan-base that is in tune with so many aspects of the team and this was a huge surprise which would be the beginning of a nightmarish couple of days for some higher up members of the organization. Although, the team did win a game on Friday, so that was good.

Following Penn's dismissal, the attention began to shift from Penn himself to Warren LeGarie who represents both Tom Penn and Kevin Pritchard. People wondered how this firing would affect Pritchard, whether or not there were bigger problems, etc. Over the weekend the most recent bout of drama began with Henry Abbott of TrueHoop who had this to say about A New Kind of Blazermania:

But in Portland, things are different, because the firing of Penn is the first serious crack in the facade of the new-era Blazers. And through that crack, fans can peer into the team's inner workings. The scene is ugly. It may even foretell the end of the happy Blazers story Portland fans celebrate as real-time folklore.

This was only the beginning, as Dwight Jaynes quickly chimed in with his take on LeGarie:

Look, I understand the role of an agent. His one and only responsibility is to do what's best for HIS CLIENT. Not any team or any fan base. I totally understand that and it shouldn't be any other way. If I'm paying an agent, I want him to do the same thing. But please, folks, when you're listening to this character rant and rave and talk about "drive-bys" and all the rest, remember where he's coming from. He'd like to get the attention yanked away from Penn and he'd like to get Pritchard a contract extension. That's his job.

So now we've got a questionable firing, an unstable front office and an agent who's got his own agenda. It would seem that things are beginning to unravel in Portland. Then of course, the story goes bigger with a column from Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. Vecsey hit on LeGarie personally and all of his clients in the past. He builds a case of disdain for LeGarie, then finishes with these accusations about the situation in Portland:

LeGarie relayed this message to team president Larry Miller, and the Blazers fell for it. After they extended Penn's contract, LeGarie pushed the envelope further by attempting to get the relatively underpaid ($800G) Pritchard a new contract. For some strange reason, Allen's group felt manipulated . . . and didn't hide its displeasure.

Fans were hit hard over the weekend, but that was still only the tip of the iceberg. The focus was once again shifted today as Adrian Wojnarowski went after Kevin Pritchard once again saying he is "largely incapable of running the organization," and making plenty of harsh accusations with the support of numerous anonymous NBA league sources. Whether or not any of it is true doesn't matter to Woj, he loves to hate on KP any time the opportunity presents itself. Here's one of Wojnarowski's more impressive catastrophe induced paragraphs:

Now, LeGarie has overplayed Pritchard's hand in Portland, ripped his bosses, and here's Pritchard's dilemma: Does he stand strong with LeGarie on his scorched-earth policy, or dump the agent and throw himself upon Allen's mercy?

But this was a bad situation getting worse, leading to the inevitable pseudo press conference this afternoon in which Kevin Pritchard and Larry Miller both took questions and discussed the situation. It wasn't exactly the medication we needed, and may have led to more questions. Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge has all of the audio and transcribed answers here.

If you've been paying attention today, your head is probably spinning. What happened to our airtight front office? We all thought things were gravy. Within a week Tom Penn has been fired, the executives are apparently in disarray, and Kevin Pritchard is now the bad guy? Strange but true right now, even if it's not KP's fault.

Hopefully this is just another over scrutinized situation that just needs a little time to pass. I don't believe it's as bad as everyone is making it out to be, but who knows? Do any of us know what goes on behind closed doors, or even who these Vulcan's really are?

It's time to turn our attention to the stretch run as it pertains to actual basketball games. Portland has a chance to move up in the standings, but the road gets tough. Dallas at home on Thursday then on the road in New Orleans and Oklahoma City over the weekend. These three games against playoff caliber teams could prove to be a breaking point. 3 wins and we'll be eyeing the 5 seed, 3 losses and Portland hangs on for the 8 spot. Still a lot left to be determined on the basketball court, the other drama can wait until after the season ends.

Oh and last but not least, if you feel the way we do about Kevin Pritchard, go sign the petition to keep KP in Portland.

Sign Here

In the last two weeks, since getting trounced by Denver on March 7th, the Blazers have had a lot of rest and beat plenty of non playoff worthy opponents. A five game winning streak kept Portland's hope alive to move up in the Western Conference playoff seeding. But last night was a different test. A nationally televised game against a playoff team from the West. There was plenty of good to take away from this game, but ice cold shooting late would be the downfall of the Blazers in Phoenix.

For the most part, it looked like the time off last week benefited the Blazers. Veterans like Camby, Howard and Miller were playing at a high level, keeping Portland in the game. Phoenix shot the ball poorly throughout the first 3 quarters, allowing Portland to lead most of the game. But Portland couldn't hold off the Suns in Phoenix any longer. It showed that this team can only survive for so long when Brandon and LaMarcus are struggling to make their jumpshots.

This game to me was an indicator of things to come. Playing a playoff team on the road and getting tested in more than one aspect of the game means a lot. Like I said before, I can't say enough for how Miller and Camby are contributing to the team right now. What this game came down to for me was finishing. Portland started off fine, sustained good play through 3 quarters, but then fell flat in the fourth. If we want to win a playoff series, everyone needs to play 48 minutes. Most of the time we're relying on Brandon in the 4th, but with teams locking him up down the stretch, LA, Andre, Batum and everyone else will need to step up.

During the game, I kept thinking to myself how huge the contributions of Andre Miller and Juwan Howard have been all year. Then of course Camby since he arrived a few weeks back. Last year at this time I could have never imagined these three veterans joining the team, but where would we be without them? In such a crazy and dramatic season, the veterans have seemingly carried our young guys through it all. Then of course you think about how they are effecting individual games like last night. Camby was all over the boards and playing great defense while Andre Miller was changing the pace, picking up Brandon's offensive slack, and really keeping them in the game. It's been a major bright spot all year in my eyes.

On an individual note, whenever the Blazers play the Suns and LaMarcus Aldridge faces Amare Stoudemire, I'm frustrated. Granted they have completely different playing styles, but it seems like LA tries play Amare's game inside but always gets outplayed. Whether it's the physicality on the boards or just the aggressive dunks, Amare is a beast and nearly impossible to defend. The thing about it too, is they are similar in size and stature, but LaMarcus has no real interest in taking his game inside. He's perfectly happy with jumpers and the jumpers weren't falling last night. At least for Amare, he's always getting easy buckets and never has to worry about a bad night. When Aldridge isn't hitting his jumper, he should mentally transition and start working in closer to the basket. Easy buckets lead to good things.

A frustrating loss last night considering the Blazers had the win in their sights. But there is no time to sulk over it, they play another huge game against the Mavericks on Thursday and then the Hornets on Saturday. WIth only 11 games left and playoff seeding from 5-8 still very much undecided, the Blazers can still make their playoff life a bit easier. A win at home against the Mavericks would go a long way towards improving the outlook of the team in the post season.

There is only one way to prepare for Hippo's latest update: DINOSHARK! His words after the shark.

Last three weeks have gone by quietly in the Blazers' Italian front. While Blazers have turned their slump into a winning streak, Petteri Koponen has been performing steadily for his Serie A team, Virtus Bologna. After the Italian cup final loss against Montepaschi Siena, Virtus has defeated Banca Tercas Teramo (77-67) and Cimberio Varese (80-67) at home and losing a nailbiter on the road against Armani Jeans Milano (71-73).

This isn't going to be very long tonight. What should have been a blow out turned out to be a defensively deficient, low scoring, jump shot , chuck-fest on behalf of the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards. The Blazers barely escaped with a win on the last second buzzer beater by Brandon Roy. The Wizards have now won 0 games in 10 consecutive contests . The final score: Blazers 76, Wizards 74.

Whether it was the prolonged time off, the unaccountably nice weather, or a case of indigestion, the Blazers came out with low energy and showed significant complacency on defense. They allowed the Wizards to get easy buckets at the rim and were unable to maintain a significant lead.

The Blazers shot just 32.1 % and were 2-12 for 16.7% from the 3 point line. They grabbed 53 rebounds and only logged 10 assists. The Wizards meanwhile, shot dismally throughout the game as well , but much better at 39% than the Blazers. Once again, the Blazers were outscored 40 to 34 in the paint. If ever there were a game to say "the Blazers didn't deserve this win", tonight would be the night.

In the end however, what mattered was the last second shot at the 4th quarter buzzer from Brandon Roy, who struggled mightily to find a rhythm on offense all night but got the most important bucket of the game to fall. The game was tied at 74 and as we have seen approximately 100 billion times before, Brandon had the ball at the top of the key while everyone else cleared out. He dribbled the clock down, got about a step inside the 3 point line and created just enough space to drill the game winning, 2 point, bucket.

I couldn't help but smile. What a blessed end to a cursed game.

The top performer for the Blazers tonight was undoubtedly Marcus Camby, who played 36 unending minutes, grabbed 19 rebounds and had four monster blocks. He even deflected the Wizards last attempt to win the game as they inbounded the ball with .5 seconds left on the clock. His presence on the team has become more fluid of late as he's seemingly grown more comfortable with his teammates. The starting unit (including Camby) is playing very well together (except for tonight) and I'll say once again his presence alongside Batum and Aldridge defensively is so important.

Brandon Roy struggled to make any shots tonight. He worked to get good spacing and decent looks but he couldn't convert. He finished the night with 14 points off of 4-18 shooting. Of course, his most important attempt actually went in and I guess that erases his horrid shooting tonight. I hope he finds whatever went missing for Sunday's game against Phoenix.

Other important contributors tonight were Jarryd Bayless and Juwon Howard who both had 9 points. Andre Miller dropped 14. Nicolas Batum struggled with his shot tonight but had some fantastic blocks and played solid defense despite a couple lapses.

Not to be overlooked is LaMarcus Aldridge who contributed 19 points for the game on 6-17 shooting. He struggled at the start of the game but got to the line to wrack up the much needed points. He also had 12 rebounds and was 7-10 overall from the stripe.

The happiest fact about the Washington Wizards is that they have signed Shaun Livingston for the remainder of the season. Livingston ‘s story makes me smile and it was a pleasure to see him play tonight. He started the game (!) and finished with 6 points. Mike Miller was the Wizards' top scorer with 16. Their team has potential for the future, played like they really wanted the game tonight and almost got it after a late flurry of 3's from Randy Foye. If not for Roy's last second shot, the game would have gone to over time, where the most hungry team will often win. Tonight, the Wizards were seemingly the more motivated squad and would have won in over time.

As my grandfather loves to say, "Close! But no cigar"

The Portland Trail Blazers travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Sunday in a Western Conference showdown. No one doubts that this game will be huge , win or lose. Clearly, the importance of tonight's win goes without saying. The Blazers needed the victory tonight against the Wizards but will need the win against the Suns come Sunday night much more. Let's hope they can find their offense, else Sunday night will be an early one for many Blazer fans.

Sophia Brugato | http://www.twitter.com/sophiabiabia | s.brugato(at)gmail(dot)com