For the record, it was 110-81
The Trail Blazers’ win over the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night meant very little — after all, the Kings, not overly talented in the first place, were missing their two best players, Kevin Martin and Brad Miller. And come on, this was just an exhibition game, the first one, in fact.
But the significant things to take away from the game concerned a couple of Trail Blazer newcomers, Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez. Oden was much better than he was in a public scrimmage Friday night, moving with more confidence and assurance on the way to 13 points in fewer than 20 minutes. He’s still not 100 percent in his conditioning and his explosiveness hasn’t returned yet. “I just need to get my wind up,” he said afterward. “Get my conditioning better. But it was fun to be out there with my teammates.”
It’s obvious he’s going to be a load for the opposition to handle. When he gets low-post position, he’s going to demand double teams. If not, he’s just going to overpower people. And when he learns the ins and outs of what he can get away with on defense, gets the illegal defense rules down and gains more confidence, he’s going to be a wall on the inside.
“He’s very effective around the basket,” said former NBA center Wayne Cooper, the Kings’ VP of basketball operations. “You can tell he’s been out a year but he was still very effective.”
Indeed, Oden isn’t getting off the ground well with any consistency but was still a major force inside. When he gets his legs under him, he’s going to be a big factor at both ends of the court.
But Oden’s home debut wasn’t as impressive as Fernandez’s. The guy was originally billed as a big-time shooter and scorer, which he may well be at some point. But his real value in the NBA is going to be as a playmaker. He’s one of those rare players who seems to see things before anyone else does. He’s like a chess player who is one move ahead of the guy he’s playing. He sets up teammates with ease and moves well without the ball. His basketball IQ seems to be off the charts and playing with him is going to make other players smarter, too. And make no mistake, other people are going to want to play with him. He’s like Clyde Drexler in that regard — get open and he WILL get you the ball.
When Rudy was out there with his long-time Spanish teammate Sergio Rodriguez, there was a lot of magic — particularly on a couple of alley-oop passes that brought fans out of their seats. On the first, Rudy slammed the ball home and and on the second, he pulled off a pretty amazing reverse layup.
“He’s creative,” Cooper said. “Really creative. He really sees the floor and has a great feel for the game.”
Nate McMillan said the same thing. “His court vision is great,” said the Blazer coach. “He made basketball plays. He and Sergio broke the game open.”
I can envision Rudy being on the floor late in fourth quarters, with the game in the balance, playing off Brandon Roy. I can tell you, with those two out there creating plays, someone is going to get some real good shots.
All in all, it was quite a night for Blazer fans, who rocked the building with standing ovations frequently. I feel like I ought to say, “Calm down a little, fans. Pace yourselves. It’s a long season.”
But what the heck. Enjoy it, folks. It’s some pretty fun stuff.
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | October 7, 2008
Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Sacramento Kings, Sergio Rodriguez, Wayne Cooper
I was at the game tonite and was AMAZED at the amount of dunks the Blazers got. Granted it was pre-season, but I remember Charles Barkley saying last year that the Blazers would not make the playoffs because they were a jump-shooting team and didn’t make easy baskets. He was right about that last year, but he won’t be able to say that this year… I hope that tonite is the start of many more dunks and easy baskets to come. It was a great game to watch live.
The only thing I could find “wrong” with the box score is Diogu’s 1 rebound (along with Ike’s 3 point shot attempt). What the heck? He needs to be boarding!
The rest of the box score is like a fantasy. Never mind the pretty, pretty, pretty plays from the Spanish Armada of Sergio and Rudy. That is the way to start off the Preseason!
Dwight -
The ‘win’ in the win column means very little, I agree with that. But the things that led to the win – having the team play together (32 assists), getting some nice individual performances that came within the scope of the gameplan, having 19,000 fans cheering loudly for a preseason game – those all mean a great deal.
Heck, we as fans don’t need to pace ourselves. As exciting as the Blazers will be this season, we’re just working on our (ovation) conditioning!
I listened to it on 95.5FM while sitting on my couch and watching the internet game tracker up on my TV. My wife couldn’t understand why I was sitting there, beaming.
“But what the heck. Enjoy it, folks. It’s some pretty fun stuff.”
Considering his grisled years as a sports journalist, this seems to be as close to a gushing review as we are going to get from Dwight. As for me, I am completely fine with suspending my disbelief.
I still wonder…who are bigger front runners? Blazer fans or Ducks fans?
Great recap. Was cool to see Mr. Cooper in the house and awesome to read his thoughts…
But, Dwight, you forgot to include the part about how you’re showing up with your chest painted tonight and you’re encouraging the rest of the media to follow your example.
I am currently reading the dictionary (just got done with the Bible), but I am only up to letter E. You have done an excellent job of proving my point though. Where has Blazer Fan (what would the dictionary say about using caps for that?) been these last few years while the team has not made the playoffs? Not filling the Garden for an exhibition that’s for sure. Maybe you can teach that trick for reading IQs based on internet comments.
Look, I know how to look things up too.
From Wiki: Front-runner can also be used to describe a type of sports fan who likes only the team that is winning. Also known as a fairweather fan, the person will quickly,and repeatedly change allegiance with athletes and teams as teams and players become “good” or “bad” based on records.
Hayduke, it doesn’t do any good to read if you don’t have comprehension along with it. If the fairweather fan changes allegiance based on records, and a front-runner is a sports fan who likes only the team that is winning, well I’m afraid your out of luck. The Blazer record last year was 41-41 with no playoffs. So far their record this season is 0-0, 1-0 in pre-season, and the fans filled up the seats when pre-season was still 0-0. The Blazers actually need to establish a winning record and make the playoffs to make your definitions fit your accusations. People in the stands are paying good money right now for potential, not accomplishment. You may want to consider going to school instead of simply reading. Knowledge without understanding is wasted.
Man it’s fun (and easy) to get you Blazer fans riled up.