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Yes, it's preseason.  I know.  But can you really blame me for being so anxious to enjoy my Blazers?  I haven't seen them do really anything well in about five years now, and so even though these games count for nothing I can't help but feel giddy. 

This team has been building in a slow crescendo since 2006 when they drafted Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.  You could barely hear it then, even in Portland, but you could hear it.  Last year it was definitely audible leaguewide, but nothing that took your attention from the other teams.  And now it's just loud enough that you have to start paying attention regardless of where you are. What we here in the Rose City hope for is enough noise to take the attention away from all the other teams.  In other words, a title.  And now we can actually feel the possiblity for it to happen some day.

So while everything that I've observed thus far is merely a tiny sampling and means practically nothing, it's impossible to not get excited. 

Week Recap:

2-2 (2-2 overall)

After opening with an incredible bang against the Kings, the Blazers came back down to earth some in their other three contests.  Part of that is due to starters resting, part is due to rotation players being injured, and part of it was likely inexperience.  Still, the Blazers outscored their opponents by nearly six points a game and showed that when everyone plays they can be a force to be reckoned with.

Five things I liked:

1. Greg Oden in general-

Yeah, his conditioning clearly isn't up to snuff and his offensive game is basically dunks and short hooks.  However, A) he's finally on the freaking court in a Blazers uniform and B) his per-40 averages of 21.2 points and 12.1 rebounds are quite impressive.  He forces opponents to double when he catches it down low which opens up everyone else, especially Aldridge.  His defense is a little less than I expected at this point, but his offensive production and rebounding are better than I thought they would be.  Once he gets his body conditioned and can play closer to 30-35 minutes (which is what I expect he will average in the regular season) he should be a double-double machine night in and night out.

2. Rudy Fernandez's court vision-

What a showman.  In the Blazers preseason opening dismantling of the Kings Rudy had a handful of highlights, including some nifty behind-the-back assists on the break and a couple of pretty alley-oop lobs.  His scoring was expected, and he's shooting a pretty consistent three ball, but it's the passing that's really set him apart thus far.  In other games he's been a little more mortal and still needs to learn when a simple chest pass is better than a fancy one, but his passing still is better than advertised (6 apg in 28 mpg).

3.  Sergio Rodriguez's progression-

Rodriguez seems to have bounced back from a rough 07-08 season. With Steve Blake out with a minor quad injury the starting job fell on Sergio, and he took advantage.  His shot has improved, but I guess that means he has upgraded from "bad shooter" to "streak shooter."  Passing was never an issue, and his ast/to ratio of 2.5/1 is respectable for the preseason.  The greatest area of improvement has been his on-ball defense- a must on a Nate McMillan coached team.  It was his lack of defensive ability that earned him so much pine time last season, and it's clear he made defense his #1 priority in the offseason.

4. Early returns-

Blake is set to come back from his injury about a week in advance, and Channing Frye is due back THREE weeks early.  Given the way this team's medical staff handled Oden's injury, I highly doubt that they are rushing either of these guys.  Despite the progresses of Rodriguez, Blake is still the best PG on the team at this point and it is important for him to establish some chemistry with the first team unit, especially Oden, before the start of the season.  Frye is just as important in his return: Oden will probably not play a lot of minutes at first and thus adding a post adept at scoring takes some of the pressure off of his development.  The less pressure on Oden, the better.

5. The Fans-

Sure, it's preseason.  Just don't tell Rip City.  The first chants of "defense" started exactly five minutes into the first preseason game and the first chants of "Rudy" began five minuted BEFORE he first stepped on the court in the first preseason game.  After Oden dunked twice in the first five minutes and went to the bench, hundreds of those in attendance literally bowed to him.  Listening to the Blazermaniacs, you'd swear it was the playoffs already.  These people (okay, I'm one of them) have been waiting through some very dark days for something to cheer about and it seems that there finally IS something.   

Five things I didn't like:

1. Martell's foot-

Athough Rudy and Oden had notable debuts, the best player of the first game was without question Martell Webster.  Slotted as the teams starter at it's weakest spot (SF), he came out playing inspired defense and threw down a few oops and dunks on the break.  He also hit his outside shot and meshed very well with the starting unit.  His reward?  A stress fracture in his foot and 8 weeks on the shelf.  Now the team is left choosing from some undesirable SF situations: either Travis Outlaw (more on him later), putting Roy in as an undersized 3 and starting Rudy at the 2, or even inserting super-green rookie Nicolas Batum as the starter.  Losing Webster at the thinnest position really hurts.

2. Travis Outlaw in general-

With Webster down, Outlaw was the odds-on favorite to take his spot in the starting rotation.  One of the better 6th men in the league last year, Outlaw is a long 6'9" forward with a love for shooting and apparently not much else.  When he's hot he can drop 35 points, but when he's cold he'll shoot Portland right out of the game.  He seems to have a set routine when he's in the game: 1) get the ball on the perimeter, 2) put head down and dribble twice in the general direction of the basket, 3) shoot from whatever spot two dribbles attains and 4) jog back down court and play lackluster defense.  He's an absolute black hole much of the time and despite his great length and good first step he plays poor defense and rarely drives to the hoop.  Some rebounding probably wouldn't kill him either. Now with some poor preseason games in the starting unit the Blazers are actually working out Nicolas Batum (previously destined for the NBDL) in the starting unit.  Thing is, I can't blame them.

3. Turnovers-

Apparently inspired by the fun-n-gun show they put on against the Kings, the Blazers (especially the subs) are trying to run at times that don't really allow it, leading to thrown away or forced passes, over-dribbling, and general sloppiness .  Rookies Fernandez (3.5 turnovers per game) and Jerryd Bayless (3.25), along with Sergio (3.5) are most guilty of this, but everyone is to some degree.  Turnovers are a natural symptom of months of rust and bunches of rookies in the preseason, but what Portland is doing is ridiculous.  Getting Blake back will stabilize things some, but the second unit needs to play smarter.

4. Oden's free throws-

It's a small thing given all the good things he has done, but this guy shot over 70% from the line with his left hand in college, and now he hits under 60% with his good hand?  Maybe it's from the lack of conditioning, but I hope he can get back around that 75% he hit for Ohio State.  Big men get fouled shooting a lot and if Oden can shoot free throws well it makes him that much more dangerous.  I thought he could...maybe he should go back to shooting them lefty.

5. Stubhub.com-

I live all the way out in Pocatello, Idaho.  That's some 900 miles East of Portland through miles of sagebrush.  My buddy and I decided come Hell or high water we were going to the Blazers home season opener against the Spurs on Halloween.  It's no secret I'm broke, so we couldn't exactly afford 100 level seating.  Knowing getting first-sale tickets was a fool's errand, we went straight to stubhub.com, where I've had reliabler service for several events.  We got decent seats in the 300 level for $25 and were very pleased.  Then a couple days ago stubhub informed us the tickets were actually fradulent, and would be refunded.  Well, that's great but the remaining tickets were significantly more expensive by then and weren't as good.  So eff you, Mr. Fradulent Ticket Seller and eff you Stubhub for not telling us sooner.

Also of note:

On a much more pleasant Blazer ticket theme, another friend of mine was among the dozens that camped outside the Rose Garden the night before the tickets went on sale.  The weather wasn't terrible, but it was still cold and rain is always a threat in the Portland area.  So who comes to the aid of these diehard fans?  None other than Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. He showed up unannounced and unexpected, bought everyone pizza and beer and allowed them to sleep in the Rose Garden that night, and also gave them free tickets to the preseason opener against the Kings the following day.  

It's so refreshing to see a GM so geared toward the fans.  Pritchard is among the best GMs in the game and though his team started preseason the next day, and he still came down  to the stadium at 9 PM to help out the team's most dedicated supporters.  Could you see Mitch Kupchack or Kevin O'Conner doing that?  I didn't think so.  After so many forgettable at best, hatable at worst GMs that rolled through Portland, Pritchard sets himself apart.

Token non-Blazer thought:

I'm a Yankees fan.  Many of you know this.  Therefore, I am not entirely sure I can survive the Red Sox winning another World Series in my lifetime, let alone this year.  So while the Rays vival (it's not a revival because they've never been here before) largely attributed to the Yanks not making the playoffs, in some ways I'm glad it happened.  I don't honestly believe the Yanks would stand a chance against the Sox in a 7 game series, but the Rays sure seem to.

In other words, had the Rays not had such a huge season and the Yanks took their spot in the playoffs, the Sox would likely be barreling toward their second consecutive title and third in five years.  As much as I would like the Yanks to win the World Series, I would equally hate the Sox to win it.  So, to the Rays, I give out a grudging but completely heartfelt thank you.

Looking Ahead:

The team doesn't have another game until Monday in Sacramento, so it's practice, practice, practice for Portland.  Blake and Frye have returned to full-contact five on five, though at last check Rudy was still out with a mild ankle sprain and Webster of course is still gone.  Rudy should be good to go against the Kings but if there is any indication that he is still hurting he will be held out.

Parting Thought:

Player A: 9.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1 apg, 31.6% FG, 25% 3pt, .75 spg, 1 bpg, 24.5 mpg

Player B: 8.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 53.8% FG, 50% 3pt, 1 spg, 1.75 bpg, 20.3 mpg

One is supposed to be among the stars of this team, one is supposed to an NBDL-bound rookie.  You'd assume the player shooting under 32% would be the rookie and the guy over 53% the established player, and you would be wrong.  You would also think that the rookie would have a tougher time on defense and thus have lower defensive stats, and you would be wrong again.  Player A is Travis Outlaw, Player B is Nicolas Batum (pronounced "ba-doom," not "bate-um").  If Batum keeps this up Outlaw becomes very expendable.