More than you think.

First of all, I think it’s amusing that a defensive specialist, Bob Ociepka, is being added to the staff. Trust me, he’s necessary, even though Nate McMillan is supposed to also be a defensive specialist. The Blazers need huge defensive improvement if they want to do anything in the post-season. I just hope Ociepka can make an impact.

Buck Williams? He should do just fine, even though he’s not had any experience as a coach. He’s also not anyone who ever wowed anybody with his low-post offensive skills. But his work ethic and intensity are top notch and I believe it will rub off on his players.

Bernie Bickerstaff should make a good advisor to McMillan in team matters and I’m not really sure what his duties will be. Certainly, he’s not known as a great offensive mind.

And that’s the real disappointment in these moves — that the Blazers have not added anyone known as an offensive innovator. And all indications are that the Trail Blazers are going to continue exactly as they’ve been on offense — not setting many screens, not moving the ball or moving bodies well enough to get easy baskets. Not running. Ugh.

The second unit, always important to the way McMillan plays, is shaping up as nothing but defense. It will be extremely shy of firepower but will be loaded with stoppers. It will probably need to slow the game’s tempo to a crawl.

McMillan probably just wants to keep playing like he’s always played — relying on the three-point shot to keep his team’s offensive efficiency high. Brandon Roy will continue to have the ball in his hands all the time and the other players will wait around on the perimeter, spotting up for their chance to make an open three created by a double-team on Roy.

Don’t get me started again about this. It’s a strategy that is guaranteed to wear Roy down, to not work in the playoffs and to lead to low scores. Folks, this team is trending — because of acquisitions — toward being LESS powerful on offense and not more. The biggest acquisition of the off-season has been Wesley Matthews — a defensive player. The most likely player to depart? Rudy Fernandez? And Martell Webster is already gone. Two of the team’s best outside shooters!

Where does that lead this thing? There’s NO QUESTION in my mind that a deal must be made for a point guard who can make shots from distance. I don’t know if that’s Mo Williams — considered the most likely choice — or Jason Terry or whomever — but the only way this offensive system is going to work is for another Steve Blake to be found. Man, I can’t believe I just wrote that. (I also believe that point guard is NOT Chris Paul. Getting Paul would require the Blazers to do a complete overhaul on offense. And I don’t see McMillan doing that.)

With Webster and probably Fernandez gone, how are they going to spread the floor well enough for Roy — or Greg Oden, if he’s healthy — to have room to operate? Miller would not have room to get to the basket.  This thing isn’t going to work unless there’s one more shooter on the floor. Man, right now, there’s not even another one on the roster.

I assume, as I have now for weeks, that Rudy, Jerryd Bayless and Miller would go in the deal. There’s really no point of keeping Miller if you acquire a big-minute point guard — and the team that trades a point guard always needs one in return. Joel Pryzbilla’s expiring contract could also be used in this trade.

If something like this isn’t done, you’re going to see a real offensive mess again. It’s just not going to work. And all the new coaches in the world aren’t going to be able to repair it.

I still have a hunch they’ve got the framework of a deal already done, just waiting for Rich Cho to push the button. If not, they better hope Cho can pull a rabbit out of a hat.

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Several sources within the league confirmed that this morning.

It’s considered dead, though, as New Orleans continues to shop him around, trying to see what his value might be. Apparently the Hornets are the ones who backed away from the Portland trade.

No surprise. I think it would be ridiculous for New Orleans to deal Paul, by the way. Talk about devaluing a franchise that’s already in a bit of trouble… without Paul it may as well move to Seattle.

If New Orleans was just looking to save money, Portland would be a great trade partner — it has Joel Przybilla and Andre Miller’s expiring contracts to barter, as well as a few young players that could fill roles.

If that trade gets made, would it save Kevin Pritchard’s job? Not sure. I would doubt it — if they’ve come to a decision to fire you, I think you’re going to get fired. And I mean, it’s not as if — at this point or maybe ever — he’s operating in a vacuum. The owner would be deeply involved from the start on a trade of this magnitude and everyone in the league knows Paul is being shopped — if just to assess his value. It’s not as if Pritchard would have unearthed a treasure that no one else knew was available.

All that said, getting Paul into a Blazer uniform would be a huge move. Putting him with Brandon Roy (assuming Roy could learn to function alongside him), LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden would mean an outstanding core of a championship future.

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John Canzano says today that Nate McMillan has been outcoached by Alvin Gentry so far in this series. Well, OK. But I would submit that it’s not as bad as it was last season in the playoffs when Houston’s Rick Adelman took him apart game by game.

But the real gem in the column is this one:

McMillan also managed Miller brilliantly in the wake of their well-documented midseason practice blowup (insiders believe McMillan came to practice that day planning to manufacture that confrontation to force the issue).

Well, first off — I find it so ironic that the only way Andre Miller, who many believe is the team’s MVP this season, could make it into the starting lineup this season was to have a 30-minute, profanity-laced tirade with the coach of the team within hearing distance of the media. It was the biggest coaching move of the season, but one that McMillan seemed to have been forced to make. (And people consider him a candidate for coach of the year? In some places, such a thing would get you fired.)

But now we learn that it was McMillan’s intent to start that spat? That he engineered the whole thing? That he figured THAT was the best way to make a change in his starting lineup? My goodness, by waiting so long to make the move with Miller, he cost the team two or three games. And to think he intentionally set out to start that whole thing? Well, I’m sorry but I just don’t think that makes a lot of sense. A shouting match? That’s what had to happen for Andre Miller to win that job?

Really?

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Yeah, I think Game 3 of this series Thursday night was worse than the first game of the Houston series last season. What a fiasco. And sorry, you aren’t going to read anything about gutty fourth-quarter comebacks here. If that’s what you came for, move on please. The Suns got so far ahead they quit paying attention for a few moments.

Dunks and wide open — and I mean WIDE OPEN — jump shots for Phoenix. And contested jump shots for the Trail Blazers. For. Ever. Or so it seemed.

I swear, at halftime of this one, Paul Allen, the Vulcans and the whole Trail Blazers roster should have been standing by the exits giving refunds to fans on their way out of the arena. I cannot remember seeing a home team go out and puke on itself like the Blazers did — uh, except that Houston game, of course.

Boos were raining down from the crowd with 20 seconds to go in the first half and my only question at that point was, “What took them so long?”

How could one team have been so poorly prepared for a home playoff game two contests into a series? It simply cannot happen. Hell, Oklahoma City was down 0-2 to the Lakers and went home and beat them. The Bulls came out down 0-2 at home to the Cavaliers and beat them.

Look, I know Brandon Roy isn’t playing and that Nic Batum is hurt. I’m not saying Portland can win this series. I’m just saying — there are still some talented players here and all I ask is that they play hard and smart. But it wasn’t even close to that Thursday in either department.

That was all Portland could muster in the Rose Garden? Against the Suns?

Sorry, Blazer fans, but that’s a joke. And questions have to be asked. Serious questions about the direction of this franchise and the way it’s been handled. Questions like this:

– Is there any real system for playing defense? Suns coach Alvin Gentry did a great job prior to the series setting up the Blazers — talking about how great their pick-and-roll defense is. Yeah, sure, Alvin — and your nose is growing quicker than LaMarcus Aldridge’s reputation for softness. I lost track of how many times ill-advised switching on that pick-and-roll ended up with Portland big men guarding little guys — or trying in vain to guard them. The Blazers — since Nate McMillan got here — have not been able to defend a pick-and-roll. It’s like a bad joke.

– And about that offense. I mean, you just can’t expect, in the playoffs, to rely on jump shots. It’s been said over and over and it’s true. Especially when you really don’t have good shooters in the first place. It’s an isolation team and in the playoffs, when teams have time to really prepare for them, the Blazers are sunk. Dead in the water. They can’t get anything going unless one player simply carries them on his shoulders, the way Miller did in Game 1. No ball movement. No player movement. How many times have I said that over the last few years? One more time with emphasis — NO BALL MOVEMENT AND NO PLAYER MOVEMENT!

– Rudy Fernandez, what the hell is going on, man? If you want to get yourself shipped out of here, you’re certainly on your way. In fact, I was surprised he wasn’t on a flight at halftime. Those fourth-quarter shots? Seriously — do it while it’s still a game.

– Nothing quite says “choke job” like 12 missed free throws, does it?

– LaMarcus Aldridge, what the hell is going on, man? You going to complain again about seeing double teams?You aren’t “the kind of guy” who is going to shoot over double teams? Well, uh, when you make that kind of money, you’re SUPPOSED to get double-teamed. That’s kind of how it works. And that grandstanding little set-to with Amare Stoudemire in the third quarter? Yeah, right. The guy tries to elbow you in the chops and you make a big show of doing something — well, next time why don’t you just wait until the next trip down and throw one of those ‘bows of your own?

– Yeah, I know — all those injuries. Well, sorry — that doesn’t explain away that game. Not in the slightest. Not in ANY way. Forget about that excuse. I made this point before, this team overachieved only a little during the regular season. There are still talented players here. This team won 50 games during the regular season amid a season that, on the morning of each game, was favored to win 48.

– Jason Richardson? Uh, fellas, he can MAKE that shot, OK? Might be a good idea not to leave him open every FREAKING time from the three-point line, don’t you think?

– I investigated this personally and I can report to you that it wasn’t those new compost bins every 15 feet in the concourse that were responsible for that stink emanating from the Rose Garden. Nope.

– The Suns were really dumb to engage in any sort of physical altercations with Portland in the second half. I mean, let sleeping dogs lie. And I do mean dogs.

– Oh well, Saturday’s another day. if the Blazers can muster enough courage to show up, it ought to be a better game. Well, just about ANYTHING would be a better game, wouldn’t it?

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Well, Trail Blazer fans, at least they don’t tally NBA playoff series the way the idiots running soccer do it. You know, those “two-game playoff” series where they carry over the score from one game to another to determine the winner.

You lose a game by 1 or by 31 here and it’s all the same. Doesn’t matter.

I think more than getting clobbered in the game, the thing that really mattered Tuesday night in Phoenix was that Nic Batum injured that pesky shoulder. That will have more impact on this series than the margin of victory Tuesday.

But a few more observations:

– Man, Rudy Fernandez needs to PARTICIPATE. I mean, PLAY, man! He’s so reluctant to take a shot it’s embarrassing. Seriously — what’s up? You’re not any help if you don’t make shots. And to make them, you have to take them! Guy looks frightened.

– LaMarcus Aldridge was doing his best Clifford Robinson impersonation. You remember Cliff, right? He was legendary in his playoff impotence. Guy shot 43.8 percent from the field in a long NBA career. And 35.6 percent from three and 68.9 percent from the foul line. A very good defender and a distinguished player. But in a whopping 141 playoff games, Robinson made just 39.3 percent of his field goals, 29.8 percent of his threes and 62.9 percent of his foul shots. Man, that’s a Heimlich Maneuver poster right there. And yes, I hope LaMarcus’ 39.3 percent shooting and 3.5 rebounds-per game in this series is just a two-game fluke and not an indication of Robinson-esque problems in the playoffs to come.

– Phoenix was crazy good. The Suns will come back down to earth Thursday night. But Portland has to find a physical match for the Suns’ energy.

– Now THAT’s the Marcus Camby offensive game I remember from previous seasons.

– Andre Miller is going to have to assert himself more against Grant Hill. Don’t let the ball denial keep you away from the ball — and work him a little harder on defense so that perhaps he doesn’t have the energy to make every shot he takes.

– All in all, you write this game off and move on. Forget about it. The Blazers still have the homecourt advantage and my guess is, they’re going to be very difficult to beat in the Rose Garden.

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The Portland Trail Blazers were terrific for the most part Sunday night. But no look back at the game would be complete without a nod to how bad the Phoenix Suns were.

The Blazers missed six foul shots and a wide-open dunk in the final two minutes of the game and still scored 35 points in the fourth quarter! I mean, wow. That’s not the kind of defense you win with in the postseason. But in spite of all the hype, the Phoenix Suns are still the Phoenix Suns — an offensive circus but not good enough defensively to be taken seriously in the poseason.

The Blazers outplayed the Suns at both ends of the floor all night and the game should not have been as close as it was. If LaMarcus Aldridge had made the shots he usually hits, it could have been a rout.

Now do you see why Phoenix is such a great first-round matchup for Portland?

Meanwhile, the Blazers put together a very good defensive game plan. Without Robin Lopez in the middle, Marcus Camby can cover Amare Stoudemire — which means real trouble for the Suns. Stoudemire is almost forced outside because he can’t get to the shots he wants against Camby’s length. It’s a real quandry for Phoenix, because it cannot win without a big contribution from Stoudemire. And it’s doing to be a problem for the Suns as long as Camby stays healthy and out of foul trouble.

As I said last night on television after the game, I have very few rules for the playoffs but one of them is that when Andre Miller hits a three-pointer — particularly in the fourth quarter — you should win the game. (Man, what a pro Miller is — his basketball IQ is off the charts and at times he seems to be able to get to anywhere on the court he wants to go).

You can add to that, when Jerryd Bayless goes 6-for-10 from the field, you should also win. Bayless shooting well from the outside is a rarity and a bit of a scary proposition long term, because he’s not going to do it often — which means you are inevitably going to have to live with some ugly misses in the next game or two while he adjusts to the fact that he’s really not much of a shooter.

But by that game, Aldridge will probably be making shots, or Rudy Fernandez, or Martell Webster.

I cannot make this point often enough — and I feel like I’ve made it for weeks now about the Trail Blazers: It’s not who is missing from your lineup, it’s who is playing for you. And the Blazers still have a bevy of talented players. And that’s something a good many people haven’t caught onto yet.

Look, Nic Batum is one of the best 20-year-old players in the world. Andre Miller is still a terrific point guard. Camby is a center worthy of defensive player of the year honors year in and year out, when healthy, during his career. Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez are guys who could start — and maybe even star — for a good many NBA teams. Aldridge is going to be an all-star some day.

Folks, even with Brandon Roy on the sidelines, this is a very talented collection of players. And right now, it’s a very comfortable situation for them, flying under the radar as underdogs against a team from Phoenix that’s still, after all these years, not made for playoff success.

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Without Brandon Roy against the Phoenix Suns, the Trail Blazers are going to have to be close to perfect to have a shot at winning the series. Very close to perfect.

But Portland has a chance. And better than a slim chance.

Rudy Fernandez is going to have to be the player he thinks he is. You know, I always say that in his mind, he came over here from Spain to be a star, not somebody’s backup. So now, let’s see it Rudy. Here’s your chance on a big stage — go show the world who you are.

Martell Webster is going to have to consistently make shots and continue his solid defensive effort. I don’t worry about him as much for one reason — Webster’s effort level has been high all season long. He shows up.

Nic Batum needs to make shots, too. The Blazers cannot afford him to check out this season during the playoffs. As heavy a load as he’ll carry in the playoffs at the defensive end, it’s going to be hard for his team to win if Batum doesn’t contribute on offense.

LaMarcus Aldridge? Simple — step up and be the main man. Leading scorer, solid rebounding, big minutes, clutch plays. That’s all. Just be the man. Yeah, I know — we may be asking a lot here.

Marcus Camby needs to also play big minutes and score. And expecting points from this guy is sort of  dicey. He’s not been a consistent scorer throughout his career. This is getting to be a theme — EVERY player needs to help on offense in this series because without Roy, points are going to be hard to come by, even against a defensively challenged team like the Suns.

Andre Miller is going to have to make sure he gets to the post and punishes whoever tries to defend him. Certainly Steve Nash can’t do the job. But Miller needs to remember that there’s a reason he gets open for all those 18-foot jump shots — and it’s because he can’t make them. So don’t take them. Please.

As well as the Suns have been playing, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them struggle in the playoffs. It happens. There’s often little connection between the regular season and the postseason. And the Suns, whose defense is up and down, are a prime candidate for change when play gets more physical, as it often does in playoff games.

Portland needs to run a little, too. You must take advantage of the Phoenix transition defense — which is when the Suns are most vulnerable. Do not think the Blazers have to stall the pace — that would be a mistake. The Suns will defend better in a slow-paced game. As Antonio Harvey pointed out this morning on the MSP, if you slow them down you only slow yourselves down — Phoenix will keep on running and get its points and you won’t get yours.

And I would expect the Blazers to try to get more physical. Make sure they get a body on Nash as often as possible. Push him around a little. Make sure the boards are cleaned up. Pressure them a little.

And the fact that Portland has already won once this season in Phoenix — without Roy — is important. This isn’t like asking for a win in Utah or Denver.

It should be a good series. Even without Roy I will be disappointed if Portland doesn’t at least win its home games. There is enough talent here to make it close.

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Mauer is a veteran official who has worked as deep into the NBA playoffs as the Finals, which means he’s a pretty good official.

He was miserable last night. So much so that if the NBA can send out a “We-screwed-up” e-mail after a failure to call one little foul on a last shot, it ought to send out a full press release explaining why Mauer isn’t suspended for a while after a game that bad. And yes, I’m blaming him and not his partners because he seemed to be in the middle of a good portion of the horrible calls.

And folks, those calls didn’t all go against Portland. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player get away with what ESPN’s John Hollinger called a “triple-dribble” the way Brandon Roy did. There were ridiculous misses both ways and Hollinger called it “the worst-officiated game I’ve ever seen.”

But he also noted that the Mavericks responded to the situation better than did the Trail Blazers and he was right about that. The Blazers lost their cool and it cost them dearly. All season long I’ve been begging for Nate McMillan to stand up for his players and take a “T” but when he did, with about three minutes to go in this one, it was way too late and too costly, given the situation late in the game.

But the players were composed compared to the fans. It was pretty disgraceful. Throwing stuff on the floor, getting ejected from expensive front-row seats and chanting “these refs suck” really isn’t going to help. In fact, folks, here’s a real scoop for you — with tough-minded officials like Mauer, it’s going to hurt.

At this level, referees are anxious to prove that you can’t intimidate them, no matter what the situation. This isn’t college basketball, where the stripes run for cover as soon as the final horn sounds, looking like scared sheep. This is the NBA, where they strut around daring you to react to them.

If you create an environment this nasty, it’s probably going to mean that veteran officials are going to stick it to you even more — just to show you they cannot be intimidated. I know that may not be fair or proper, but it’s human nature.

The real story of the game, in a long-term sense, is that the Mavericks made a real statement — so much so that I’m not sure their one win in the season series doesn’t mean more than Portland’s three wins. Dallas is now on the growing list of teams that seems to know how to play the Blazers.

It’s pretty simple stuff — just double-team Brandon Roy whenever you can, pack the paint and push them around. Getting physical with the Blazers is the way to handle them. And certainly putting the pressure on Portland to move the ball is very effective — because its ball movement isn’t good and hasn’t been for several seasons.

Take Roy away and the Blazers often have no answer. Giving Andre Miller open shots is very effective. Just sag off him and take away his penetrations. Same with Jerryd Bayless. These guys simply can’t consistently make shots and the more open you leave them the more they struggle.

Now the Blazers still have a shot at Dallas in a seven-game series because I’m still not buying the Mavericks as a team that can consistently execute a defensive plan and stay physical throughout a series. They’re a soft bunch, even after their trading deadline coup.

But I was discouraged, overall, to see Portland struggle in this situation where it wasn’t ready for the intensity a meaningful game against a good team can bring. Man, the caliber of officiating be damned, you have to be ready to play.

The Blazers really weren’t.

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I said it a while back and took some gas for it. But with Andre Miller and Marcus Camby in the lineup, the Trail Blazers could head into the playoffs this season with a much better chance of winning than last season.

Quite frankly, this is a better team than what Portland had last year. And it’s possibly even a better team right now than what Blazer fans expected this season because Camby’s experience may make them better than what Greg Oden would have provided had he stayed healthy. I say “may” because I don’t quite buy that but it’s possible for people to believe it.

Last night’s win was huge, going into Oklahoma City and getting a positive result right after the Thunder smacked the Lakers around at home.

I loved a lot of what I saw, including Miller’s consistent leadership and take-charge attitude on offense, Camby’s work on the boards and continued offensive contributions and the team’s improved hustle on defense.

I also remain concerned about what I continue to see on offense late in games. I’ll say it for the zillionth time right now — just handing the ball to Brandon Roy in a 1-4 set late in games is doing him a disservice. And in the playoffs against quality defensive teams it’s not going to work consistently.  He had a terrible time getting a good shot in the final couple of minutes Sunday night. It’s just too easy for the defense to gang up on him.

I just wish the Blazers would find a reliable set to use that allows Roy a better chance to get the ball to an open shooter for a better opportunity than what he has now. Get people going to the basket or how about some backpicks away from the ball? Why not try to get a dunk for somebody with all the attention on Roy with the ball? Doesn’t anyone else watch Utah play?

But really, that shouldn’t detract from the importance of winning this game. It was a season-turner, to a degree. It’s a game that allows Portland to think about a higher seed, but better than that — to build excitement, momentum and hope for the postseason.

And in this town, there’s no more fun than that.

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First off, is there any doubt this is the team Portland would fare best against in the first round of the playoffs?

Frankly, Dallas just doesn’t defend very well. The Mavs loaded up on Brandon Roy Thursday night and did a decent job of jumping him, double-teaming him and basically making it difficult for him to get off a shot. But at least Roy was able to make most of the shots he did get.

Portland did an even better job of throttling Dirk Nowitski. The Blazers crowded Dirk all night and I thought, did about as well as you can do with one of the most prolific offensive players in the game. It was a very nice job. And while Portland’s other players were able to step up and help take up for the slack of their leading scorer being held under his average, the Mavs were not.

Now that said, last night was a little easier than it could have been. In the playoffs, you’re probably not going to see a free-throw disparity of one team shooting nine times (Dallas) and the other (Portland) shooting 26 times. It’s probably not going to happen and it was a key part of the Blazers’ success.

Man, I love what Caron Butler brings to Dallas. His 25 points and nine rebounds were effortless yet spectacular at times. I thought Shawn Marion did an outstanding job on Roy and can still throw in a lot of those garbage shots he takes that look ugly but go in. I love to watch Marion’s release on shots from distance — he looks like a guy caught with a large hand grenade who is trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

And yes, while Marcus Camby was a huge help on offense, if you put his jumper alongside Marion’s on the ugly meter, I believe the meter would blow itself up.

But Camby stepped up with LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller to deliver this one for the home team.

A couple of notes here — the Mavs had zero fast-break points. Zip. That’s pretty incredible. Portland got 101 points off 80 shots even with a sub-70 percent free-throw shooting night. And had nine turnovers while shooting 50 percent. You’re not going to get much more efficient than that. … The Blazer bench played more than 70 minutes and had just seven rebounds and no assists. … Jerryd Bayless? I sense his playoff minutes are going to be very short unless he starts playing better. I could see a three-guard rotation in big games with Bayless out and Rudy Fernandez in. It just doesn’t look like the coach is going to trust him much — and with the way he’s been playing, I don’t blame him.

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