Portland native and new buddy Eric sporting his latest tattoo. I am so jealous, for real.

Well now that was a fun game to watch.  For the first time in a while the Blazers took a team apart, although to be fair, the Wizards are awful and didn't seem to be trying.  Are they already working towards getting Blake Griffin? For a very in depth and quite hilarious take on the Wizards, please go read Ben's Media Row Report.

On to the game and the only two Wizards who really matter, Butler and Jamison.  I was worried that these two All-Stars would torch us, despite Bullets Forever's discussion on the two never being good on the same night. Well, if you take a quick look at the box score, you might think they did have strong performances. But when you take a harder look, Jamison only had 4 rebounds and Butler had 9 turnovers.  Those are pretty glaring, much of the reason why I won't say they had outstanding games.

I began watching the game in section 308 then moved to a suite for the second half.  It was nice to see all the fast breaks and ridiculous amount of steals from a better vantage point. The Blazers had 20 total steals including Roy who had an incredible 10 steals for the game.  Many of the 20 were due to Wizard carelessness. But seriously, 10 steals is crazy to go along with Roy's 22 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, quite a night from our All-Star.

I would also like to point out to all the haters that Greg Oden was a monster again tonight. I know what you're thinking haters, he did it against a bad team.  Well, maybe so, but production is still production and he played 38 strong minutes finishing with 18 points and 14 boards.  He looked more athletic and active, continuing to progress in his development.  The good games against better opponents will come, it might be next year but it will happen.

From a personal stand-point, I have to say I am very dissappointed in those Blazer fans who have already been calling Oden a bust.  It's really not his fault that everyone thought he'd come right in and dominate.  It's a long season and he is still so young, I hope those people who called out Oden despite not understanding the situation will admit when they are wrong. Because they will be wrong, it's only a matter of time.

Box Score

NBA.com Recap Video

NBA.com Nightly Notable

Truth About It - Wiz Perspective.

Bayless struggled in his 15 minutes, 0-3 fg and 2 to's.	Roy's big game and 10 steals.
Rudy 2-11 from the field.  Strggling still to get acclamated to the NBA game.	Oden playing a full game and putting up legit numbers.
Washington still shot 48% from the field and made 10-16 threes. Troubling.	Outlaw was efficient, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
Butler, despite the turnovers, had a huge game. 31 pts, 10 rbs, 5 asts.	Wizards only scoring 31 points in the first half.
1-10 from three in the first half.	Fast break dunks. Awesome.
	UPDATE: Sergio really was solid, 33 minutes, 12 points, 8 assists, shot 5-9 fg and made 2 threes.

I'm working on a Trail Blazer Blackberry Bold Theme, just thought I'd share the initial product.  I might be able to make one for other blackberries, so hold tight, the best is yet to come. Click the OTA link below from your Blackberry Bold to download this theme.

OTA Link

I had the great pleasure of meeting and doing a Q & A exchange with Kyle at Truth About It. It's a great site, check it out and if you need Wizard information in the future you can find them in our Team Blogs sidebar at the lower right.  There is plenty of comedy so read through the questions and answers here, then check out my answers over at Truth About It.

Bust a Bucket: Despite the Wizards 9-33 record, there have been a ton of close games. Why can't they close? Is Gilbert Arenas' absence affecting the team as much as it seems? What's going on with his injury?

Truth About It: At the end of games, opponents focus heavily on Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. Add that to the fact that neither of those guys can really penetrate off the dribble and the issues are compounded. Nick Young has shown many flashes of scoring brilliance, but there have also been many instances of late game bumbles.

Mike James has done a fairly decent job at dribble penetration/creation, but he's pretty much the only one......and he is also Mike James.

Despite Gilbert's gunning ways (at times), his ability to get into the lane and draw a foul, and limitless range, really opened up the floor for others.....Can't it be when it was all so simple then?

As far as Gil's injury....who knows? I'm not even sure Arenas knows. Every couple of weeks we get a conflicting message (and it's usually from a teammate). Oddly enough, Gil himself has been pretty quiet lately....no blogging, etc.. There have been reports of him playing games of 2-on-2 and 3-on-3, but no word on how he actually looks. At one point I thought it'd be good for him to come back this season and get some run despite our crappy record (if anything, to remember was a game feels like). But now, I really don't care.

Bust a Bucket: Is the Wizard situation something where you blow up the team and start over or is this season merely a bump in the road? Could a healthy Arenas and maybe an emerging player like Blatche change everything next year?

Truth About It: I'm hesitant to blow the team up. With healthy veterans and a developing young core (and two other added key role-player pieces: post defender/rebounder and 3-point sniper), who knows what this team can do?

But then you look up, see guys like Jamison getting older, track the team's uncanny ability to always have a crucial player injured at the worst time (end of the year), and observe how horrid the current players are at playing defense, and you just don't know.

The aforementioned Blatche? He's much too inconsistent for a fourth year player. I question his dedication to the game and if he'll ever live up to what his potential has shown. Andray's got skills that other GMs drool over....maybe we can pawn him off in a trade.

Any way you slice it, I don't envy Ernie Grunfeld (but I do trust him as a GM....sorta).

Bust a Bucket: If the Wizards did trade Jamison or (God forbid) Butler, what kind of player(s) would be necessary in return? What is the scenario that would help this team finish the season strong?

Truth About It: Yes, god forbid Butler, so I won't even discuss. Jamison? Well, I'd like to keep him because although he is getting older, I think his crazy-silly offensive skills will benefit him (and the team) as a role player in the future (although he'll always be terrible at defense).

I'm weary of trading AJ for just an expiring contract (such as to the hated Cavaliers for Wally Shizzleback -- why the eff would I want to help LeBaby James?), but I suppose it must be considered since we have an owner, Abe Pollin, who is adamant about not having to pay the luxury tax.

You guys want Jamison? How about him, Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila for Ike Diogu, Travis Outlaw and Raef LaFrentz (that's just the very first trade I tried on the ESPN machine).

Finish this season strong? Surely you jest.....it's all about the future now.

Bust a Bucket: A week ago Nick young was putting up a ton of points and playing decent minutes. Just as suddenly he is back to being a back-up while some dude named Dominic McGuire is starting? What's the deal with Young? Who the Hell is Dominic McGuire and why is he starting?

Truth About It: Dominic McGuire has been starting (last 17 games) since DeShawn Stevenson took himself out of the starting lineup because of a slump (DeShawn has since been injured.....but actually, he's been dealing with a disk issue in his back which has caused nerve issues in his leg since the beginning of the year).

D-Mac is a second year player and is our developing Bruce Bowen (without the dirty). He is consistently matched up against the other team's best player (Kevin Martin and Kobe in the last two games). At 6'9", McGuire has length, a rebounding nose for the ball, decent hops, and great timing in blocking shots. He does need to work on lateral movement, but he'll get that instinct with more experience.

Look for McGuire to match-up against Brandon Roy.....I'll be very interested to see how he does.

Oh yea, Nick Young....he'll come along. There will be more 30 point games in his future. He just needs to adjust to teams focusing more on defending him, and it'd also behoove his playing time if he were better on D himself.

Bust a Bucket: What was the real reason for changing the team name from Bullets to Wizards? I loved the Bullets name, and Wizards doesn't really fit in with anything, unless there is a huge Harry Potter following in D.C. that I don't know about.

Truth About It: Aww shyte. Well, owner Abe Pollin said he did it because "bullets" represent violence, and we do like to shoot fools in DC (the name "Bullets" actually came from when the franchise was in Bawlmer -- that's Baltimore, just spelled how those folks up there say it....anyone out there watch The Wire? -- and was inspired by the local WWII munitions factory), but I believe that Pollin would not have changed the team name unless it benefited him financially.

See, at the time, Pollin & Co. were getting ready to move the team to a downtown Chinatown arena (a great thing for the city), and by changing the team name, colors, etc., he stood to make a ton of loot off merchandising, especially from the masses who began to associate Bullets with losing.

A contest was held and Wizards was ultimately chosen from a set of epic fail names (Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs).....I guess 'Wizards' was the least of many evils, but eff that....bring back the Bullets!

Thanks again to Truth About It for the Q & A, it's always good to get a little perspective, especially from the East Coast.

The Blazers start a mini stretch of three games against teams who shouldn't really be competitive. If the Blazers want to consider themselves a top tier team that is going to the playoffs, they should beat the Wizards, Clippers and Bobcats.  I expect nothing less than 3-0 on this stretch but with the inconsistency lately, you never really know.

Wizards info at Truth About It.

OVERALL DECISION

TRAILBLAZERS

One question this season that has plagued, and will plague Trail Blazer fans, is whether they'll make the playoffs this season.  As was the case last year, there are 9 teams vying for 8 spots in the Western Conference playoffs. Some of those teams are a virtual lock to make the playoffs but a few others are still questionable.  The questions for Portland are all the same, can the Blazers finish? Are they a legitimate playoff team? What team will they beat out?

No one knows how it will play out.  I happen to think the Rockets are too injury prone to sustain a whole season.  I also think the Mavericks have fallen off the wagon to a certain extent.  But, our very own hometown team seems to go up and down as far as perception and motivation.  The Blazers are a very young team, I think a playoff trip would go a long way towards the development of every player.

We've got a discussion going on in the forums about this topic as we speak, it's the reason I'm writing this post right now.  The forums are a good place to get the chatter in one place without it being lost to a post that moves down the page.  So head over there and start up a thread or respond to the current playoff post.  There is also a poll to the right which you should vote on, I'd like to hear some conspiracy theories.

More ways to get into the playoffs, Clearing Room out West.

Tests showed Bust a Bucket WM Sheed's right hand injury is not considered serious, and he is day-to-day.

Sheed, injured late in the 3rd game of pick-up basketball Wednesday morning, was examined by local Doctor Erik Blake yesterday. An X-ray revealed a possible non-linear fracture of the capitellum bone. The x-rays were inconclusive and a follow up will be done next week.

When asked about the injury, Sheed revealed some interesting hurdles faced over the next few days.

My explosiveness on the keyboard won't be the same. I'll have to settle for more one-handed posts. Also, mouse control will be limited, don't expect me to go right with authority for at least a week.

Sheed won't play in tomorrow's early games but may return next Wednesday if further tests are negative.

Bust a Bucket and Blaze, happier times during pregame.

Okay, we actually had two recaps for the Cavs game, so we'll post both.

O Storm!:

Something surprising from last night: Wally Szczerbiak had 10 rebounds (7 more than LaMarcus!), 2 assists (1 more than Bayless!) and caused five women to faint because of his dreamy good looks. LeBron James was also involved in the game somehow.

Something not so surprising from last night: Cleveland shot 52.6% from the field.

A team shot better than 50% against our perimeter defense?! Stop the presses. Seriously, we can debate the maturation of Oden vs. the progression of LaMarcus vs. the value of Trout until the cows come home but it's all just noise. The reason that we lose games and the reason that we will be in trouble come playoff time is because of our perimeter defense. If I had a nickel for every time that a team shot better than 50% against us I'd have a crap load of nickels.

People routinely blow past our guards and one of two things happen: Oden tries to help and ends up committing a foul (Do you remember that sketch with Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live where he plays Lenny from "The Grapes of Wrath"? The one where he is playing with the little puppies in the barn and all he wants to do is "love them and pet them and squeeze them and love them" and he ends up breaking all of their necks? That's Oden at this point. It's not his fault, he shouldn't have been around those puppies in the first place. He's a big lovable guy who doesn't know any better and all he wants to do is help but he ends up hurting everything that he touches. What? You don't remember that? Me either.). Or...

the guard kicks the ball out to the perimeter for a wide open three.

This isn't a fluke. If you open up a box of donuts in an office and walk away they're going to get eaten, and if you leave professional basketball players wide open on jump shots they're going to make them. Because that is what professionals do, they take care of business. Now if you'll excuse me there is a maple bar downstairs with my name on it.

Go Trailblazers.

Sheed:

This was a tough pill to swallow.  The Blazers really could, and should have won, considering the injuries Cleveland had with West and Ilguaskas out. Throughout the game Portland had tough stretches, including the end of the first half where Cleveland extended their lead effortlessly. Ultimately, the Blazers hung around, but didn't execute down the stretch, missing open jumpers and lay-ups while Mo Williams kept twisting the dagger on the other end of the floor.

I knew coming into this game that Mo Williams would be tough to handle, he was beyond good tonight, co-carrying the team.  He and LeBron combined for 67 points in this one.  As I watched from my surprisingly well situated section 315 seats, the Blazers felt like they were at a lower level then the Cavs still, not quite cut throat or truly determined mentally.  I think the team is still young, and games like this help in the long run.

One note regarding LeBron James. He is obviously an outstanding player, one of the best in the league.  Which causes me to ask this question. If LeBron is already the best or 3 best players in the league, why does he also need preferential treatment?

The officiating is a joke. I know, I know, don't blame it on the refs. I mean, they did call a carry and a travel on LeBron at one point, but they were SO obvious, it had to be called.

Basically what I'm getting at is, the "no call" with about 4 minutes left where Przybilla set his feet clearly outside the circle while James pummeled him, was the game changer.  How is that not a charge? Incredibly bad, then Cleveland gets the ball back and hits a three.  Game over.  It wasn't the last shot but it was the nail because Portland can't play 5 on 8, it's just too tough sometimes.

PS. This was the first time in about 9 games this season that Portland lost while I was there. Wins that previously included Boston and San Antonio.  Too bad, streaks over. Let's start a new one Saturday.

Curse of Cleveland Recap

Box Score

Too many LeBron clones in the crowd.	Sergio and Jerryd efficient at the point, combined: 17 pts, 6 asts, 1 to.
Mo Williams doing work from beyond the arc.	Przybilla grabbing an epic 15 rebounds in only 21 minutes.
Refs swallowing their wistles for the King.	Oden 10 and 8 in limited minutes. Ticky tack fouls killed his pt.
Roy and Aldridge struggling to execute down the stretch.	Playing with a sense of urgency in the 3rd quarter.
Oden and bayless fouling out.	Anderson Varejao is still a sideshow.

There is a lot of chatter on the internets about Lebron and Oden having a similar look, the look being that of an old man. Some say that Oden looks like he should be Lebron's dad, or old Lebron from "The Lebrons" commercials. Lebron doesn't look quite as old as Oden, but when he sports the beard, the old man comes out.

We do know that Greg is a lot older than he really lets on, from some research we did last year. Lebron? He's probably just a couple years older than he says, so that he could dominate in high school and make a name for himself.

Kidding....don't get mad King James. I don't need you taking it out against the Blazers. Anyway, here's a little more fun about their "old age".

Also, a video I found on funnyordie.com

I had the opportunity to do a quick Q & A with Kirk from Curse of Cleveland last night, plenty of interesting questions by both parties.  Head over to Curse of Cleveland for the my answers, they should be up shortly. Here are his responses:

Bust a Bucket- The Cavaliers have been outstanding so far this year, but in the last three games without big Z and West, they've struggled a bit, losing 2 of 3. Can this team get by with LeBron as the main attraction?

Curse of Cleveland- Well, Matt, as a die-hard Cavaliers fan, this truly has been an outstanding year thus far. The Cavaliers have shown that, when healthy, they are ready to compete for the Larry O'Brien trophy NOW! With that being said, the loss of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West have really hit the Cavaliers hard. Z is the Cavaliers' only true consistent scoring option down low. Anderson Varejao has filled in admirably, but he has struggled of late. The Ben Wallace-Varejao frontcourt allows defenses to key in on LeBron much more than with Z in there, just as the Lakers did Monday night. Delonte West has been a shot-maker, our team's best perimeter defender, and has the ability to create for himself as well. The Cavaliers now are forced to use Sasha Pavlovic, who was the starting SG on the squad that went to the Finals in '06. He is capable, and he has size, something the Cavalier backcourt is short on currently. As for the question of can the team get by with LeBron as the main attraction? Yes. Can they obtain the 1 seed and homecourt without the pieces they're missing right now? No. They are good enough as is now to beat most mid-level and lower-seeded playoff teams. But, teams like the Lakers are just going to overpower them.