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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For some reason, The Oregonian did not have any interest in reporting on this story this morning. At times, I think they really don’t WANT you to buy their print product and would rather you find your news online somewhere.

Anyway, Wesley Matthews is a Trail Blazer, apparently, and the big question is what does that mean?

Well, as we said before, it portends more moves ahead this summer. Portland will be buying a backup for Brandon Roy at a very high price next season — $9.2 million. Which means Matthews is going to be playing a lot.

And it means there will be little or no playing time for Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez. Bayless is not a point guard — he’s established that. Fernandez is nothing but an off-guard — and one who has totally played his way out of the rotation here. So both are going to have to be dealt because neither is going to stick around for another season in a role where he doesn’t get significant playing time.

And it only makes sense that if you make any sort of 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deal it’s got to be the big deal we’ve been waiting for here for a couple of seasons.

That deal has to be for a point guard. All other positions are covered and Andre Miller isn’t expected to be the player who will see this group through its window of opportunity. He’s too old. Plus, it appears the front office has bought into Nate McMillan’s vision that Roy has got to have the ball in his hands all the time and that the point guard has to be a big-time outside shooter. Miller will never qualify for that role.

I also believe there is probably already something in the works in this regard. If there isn’t, Portland will be seeking a deal out of weakness and not strength. I mean, everyone in the league now knows Bayless and Fernandez must be dealt, putting the team in a real position of weakness in any sort of deal.

I keep hearing Mo Williams is the target but I’m not sure how Houston matching the Cavs’ offer for Kyle Lowry affects any potential Portland deal. Everyone expects Cleveland, a real mess with the departure of LeBron James, to be active this summer in a frantic effort to rebuild. And the Cavs need players — a lot of them.

Jason Terry and Devin Harris also seem like possible targets. You may have more. I also don’t think a new GM needs to be on board for this to get done. Obviously, Portland has a structure in place allowing it to function in a workmanlike manner or the Matthews deal would not have gotten done.

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Well, to me, this deal is pretty incredible. Once again, the Trail Blazers overpaid for a free agent — front-loading a deal for one who could end up never playing for them. And yes, once again he’s with the Utah Jazz. And I do believe, after much hand wringing, the Jazz will match this offer sheet.

But how would he fit in Portland?

Not bad — if a couple of other things happen. First, Matthews is an outstanding defender with a nice upside. I could see him being very solid as a long-term replacement, should Roy go down with another knee injury. Kid’s got a lot of upside and could someday be a starting two-guard in the NBA.

But in the near term, he’s going to get a lot of money and you don’t give that kind of dough to a guy who isn’t going to play at least a lot of backup minutes. Which, to me, foreshadows other Blazer dealings.

We’ve known since the end of last season that Rudy Fernandez is history. He’s gone. I believe if Matthews ends up  in Portland, it also means Jerryd Bayless will be dealt. We already know Bayless is not a point guard. I figured if he played much this season, it would be as Roy’s backup. But with Matthews on hand, that has to eat into Bayless’s minutes.

I hear from all over that the Blazers are still looking to trade for a point guard. Andre Miller, Bayless and Fernandez would probably be included in that deal — just as they were in the ill-fated trade for Chris Paul.

This is shaping up to be one interesting summer of change.

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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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Obviously, Jerryd Bayless has been struggling lately. Just as obviously, the coaching staff seems to be losing confidence in him — he’s been on a pretty short leash lately. And with good reason, he’s not making shots and he’s turning the ball over.

What if the Trail Blazers had an opportunity, this late in the season, to add another backup point guard?

Bayless has played 122 NBA games now and started 11 of them. He’s averaged 15.3 minutes per game, shot 40.3 percent from the field, just 28.9 percent from three-point range and 82.4 percent from the foul line. He’s averaged just 1.9 assists to go with 1.16 turnovers, committed 1.83 fouls while averaging 6.8 points per game.

But what if you could get a backup who has played 178 NBA games, having started 21 of them? He’s played 14.9 minutes per game, shot just 38.9 percent overall but 35.4 percent from three-point range and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line. He’s averaged 2.4 assists and just .56 turnovers (nice assist-to-turnover ratio!), with 1.12 fouls per game and accumulating 4.8 points per game.

Obviously, the second guy is a “safer” kind of player. He takes fewer chances, scores less but is more of a traditional point guard, getting more assists and fewer turnovers. He’s more experienced than Bayless and doesn’t foul as much.

For me, the other guy looks pretty good. So why isn’t Travis Diener, that “other guy,” at least getting a chance once in a while? What do they have to lose?

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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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What a season this is for the NBA. The Indiana Pacers were about the fourth team to come into the Rose Garden this year that I watched for about a quarter and said, “THAT is one of the worst NBA teams I’ve ever seen.”

And frankly, the Pacers could well be the worst of the worst. Ugh, they’ve got one player — Danny Granger — that you’d want on your team.

But what bothered me a bit was the way the Trail Blazers began the game. Roy Hibbard did not start in the middle for Indiana, which instead opted to start a small lineup. It was a bit of Golden State East, with a bunch of little guys out there hoisting up threes.

The result was the Earl Watson ended up being responsible for defending Nic Batum.

And the Trail Blazers responded by not even looking as if they considered running Batum down to the post and letting him punish Watson. Instead, Batum missed a couple of threes and a long jumper, then departed the floor for a long stay on the bench.

You can say that’s no big deal, but I think heading into the playoffs, you’d want your team to show signs that it recognizes and can take advantage of mismatches. It’s what playoff series are all about. I’m not saying make Batum your primary option, but there has to be some understanding of that kind of HUGE matchup advantage. There has to be a recognition, at least, that it’s there.

Down the line somewhere, there is likely to be such an opportunity and if the Blazers don’t recognize and take advantage of it, it could cost a game.

Other than that, this was just an example of the Blazers going about their business and dispatching a team that really has no business winning against any playoff team. I feel bad for that franchise. No talent and no hope is no way to go through life.

The Indiana transition defense is horrid and Jerryd Bayless loves feasting on those teams. A good measure of how good opponents are defensively is always how many times Bayless gets to the basket. Against the lousy teams, he’s always able to stomp to the bucket with his head down and score.

He doesn’t score much against the teams that pay attention.

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We’re about a week away from the trade deadline and I think that this time around, the Trail Blazers are going to pull the trigger on something.

Two reasons:

First, the obvious — the team needs another big man. And make no mistake, this is a long-term need, not just a temporary fix. Last summer, Portland chased free-agent Paul Millsap — indicating the team felt then that there was a distinct need for another big body who could rebound, play defense and provide inside scoring.

Now, with Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla out for the season, that need is magnified. So there is a definite need for another “big.”

But on top of that, the more serious motivation for a deal is the pending logjam at the smaller positions as Travis Outlaw and Brandon Roy return to the lineup after the All-Star break. Already, there are too many players for the available minutes. We saw at the beginning of the season how hard it is to keep everyone happy with playing time.

It’s not fair to coach Nate McMillan to keep making him deal with those issues. And the team’s roster is seriously out of balance with way too many small players and not enough big ones.

And really, doesn’t this team know by now who it wants to keep and who it is willing to deal? I would certainly hope so. My guess is that Martell Webster, Outlaw, Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless are all available.

Who will come back in a deal? Your guess is as good as mine. There are undoubtedly players out there available who we didn’t know about. Kevin Pritchard will find somebody. I would guess there’s a young big man, perhaps a little more untested than we’d like, out there who could grow with this young team.

With the deadline now less than a week away, it’s going to be a fun time.

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Chris Paul wide open at the end of a game for the eventual game-winner? The ball in Jerryd Bayless’s hands in the waning seconds for a jump shot? That’s what we saw last night. And in the end, the Trail Blazers gave back one of those hard-fought road wins they got last week.

Ugh.

Paul got open in a bit of a freaky play, falling down — and apparently out of sight — before getting up and finding himself open for what amounted to a free throw to win the game. It was like one of those football plays where the tight end goes to the ground as if to block and then gets up and into a pass pattern.

Then the Trail Blazers inbound to Bayless — way out almost near the halfcourt line. Now Brandon Roy might be able to get you a makeable shot in that situation — since just about any shot is makeable for Roy — but Bayless? Well, if he isn’t going to attempt to get the ball to the basket, I’m not sure I like his chances with a jump shot.

But that game was lost in the minutes before those last two possessions. The Trail Blazers, no doubt fatigued from their trip, didn’t seem to have enough energy to finish. Andre Miller, especially, seemed to have nothing left in the tank.

Next time around, I’d love to see Martell Webster or Rudy Fernandez get that final shot, by the way. It was another excruciating loss, quite obviously. And with the upcoming schedule, there may be more to come.

The All-Star break can’t get here soon enough for this team. It needs a few days off.

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Am trying hard not to post on weekends. Using them to rest up and since most people check this blog on the boss’s time Monday through Friday, I have been able to get away with it.

But that was some game. Probably the best one I’ve seen the Blazers play against a quality opponent in some time. Great focus at both ends of the court and an excellent defensive job.

Martell Webster was terrific on Kobe Bryant and is playing with great energy. He got plenty of defensive help, too, and Portland’s scheme on Kobe was terrific.

Andre Miller was solid, as he’s been for the most part lately and you have to give everyone who played a lot of credit. Brandon Roy, of course, was special. He seems to save his best for the best teams.

You just wish they came out with that kind of focus and energy all the time. Make no mistake, it was a special night.

(An interesting sidebar to the game: Jerryd Bayless did something in  the first half I don’t think I’ve ever seen. He hit four straight shots when he was basically behind the three-point line but had his toe on the line — getting credit for only two points. Each shot looked so close to a three-pointer. Man, look down next time, kid. You cost yourself four points.)

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