After watching the Milwaukee Bucks last night, who may very well be the worst team in the NBA right now, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Yes, the Trail Blazers have been decimated by injuries. But at least Portland still has talent left to fill the remaining uniforms.

Milwaukee has very, very little talent. Losing Michael Redd last week to yet another serious knee injury just about sucked the life out of this team. My goodness — he was their guy, their Brandon Roy. A member of the Olympic team and one of the best outside shooters in basketball, Redd again suffered a torn ACL and MCL, to the same knee he was recovering from a similar injury.

And the sense of gloom it caused the Bucks was obvious last night as they sleepwalked through a 12-point loss to the Trail Blazers that just as easily could have been a 30-point loss. Honestly, that team we saw last night in the RG was worse than the Nets or Timberwolves. Ugh.

And Brandon Jennings seems for the moment to have forgotten what type of player he is. Instead of trying to penetrate and get the Blazer defense back on its heels, he mostly passed the ball softly around the perimeter or parked behind the three-point line and lofted long, often erratic jumpers. That’s not going to work for him. Would love to seem him back in the paint, lofting that pretty tear drop he has.

But I have to say there’s another team out there I’m feeling sorry for, too. There are actually Los Angeles Clippers fans out there, people. And you have to feel bad that they woke up to the news today that their marvelous No. 1 pick in the draft, Blake Griffin, is out for the season.

Man, this kid was going to be the reason the Clippers stepped up a notch this season and probably competed for a playoff spot. Chris Kamen is playing very well and Baron Davis, for the time being, is paying attention. Griffin would have been a difference maker.

Now — and Trail Blazer fans can identify — the Clipper faithful will have to sit around and wait a year to watch their No. 1 pick play, an ironic parallel with Greg Oden.

That really stinks.

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My buddy Ben over at Blazers Edge has a post today telling us that people even now (including Clyde Drexler) are saying they are. He adds some positive comments from John Hollinger, too.

I think it’s at least 50-50 that it will happen as early as this season. But I’m thinking that after this season, it’s surely going to happen. It seems to me that San Antonio has made the most positive moves this summer in the West — but that given the age and injury history of the Spurs’ key player, Tim Duncan, and the injury problems of Manu Ginobili, you can’t project them very far out. I will, though, give Gregg Popovich this season and say he’s going to have the Spurs nipping at the Lakers’ sneakers.

Dallas made some decent moves this summer, too, but its window is beginning to close and I’m not sure this bunch is ever going to overcome the memory of blowing that NBA title that Miami stole from them.

Denver? Well, perhaps George Karl can hold that circus together for one more season but I sense implosion will eventually occur. I am just not fond of the mix of players in Denver and I think there are selfish players there. Chauncey Billups is going to have his hands full trying to keep everyone happy about getting the ball enough.

Houston? A long shot to even make the playoffs now, without Yao and with Tracy McGrady questionable. It’s a shame a team can go from that good to that bad in such a short time. Phoenix is kind of the same story — the best player is aging, the rest of team full of question marks. Maybe, MAYBE, one more playoff run if Amare Stoudemire is healthy. But the long term future of the Suns is pretty cloudy.

One team that is on the rise, though, is Utah. If Trail Blazer fans are sitting around waiting for their young team to get better, I think Jazz fans are doing the same. If Utah can find a way to move Carlos Boozer and get value in return, you know Jerry Sloan is likely to milk a pretty good season out of the Jazz.

I also look for the Clippers to be much better this season and a probable playoff team. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy and they’re certainly not going to be a threat to the Lakers, but if you’ve seen anything of Blake Griffin, you know that he’s going to be an impact player.

Oklahoma City (it still pains me to write that name down as an NBA franchise holder) is going to be a factor very soon, too. I expect them to make a big leap in wins this upcoming season.

Overall, though, I think the West is slowly starting to regress back toward the East, which is getting better each year, thanks to a lot of high draft picks and the presence of superstars like D-Wade, Dwight Howard, LeBron and The Big Three in Boston. It always runs in cycles and I think we can see, out there on the horizon, the West’s cycle coming to an end.

I can see in a couple of seasons, the balance of power shifting eastward and by then, it’s going to be the Lakers and Trail Blazers kind of alone at the top in the West. Not sure, though, if the thinning of the conference talent helps Portland or not. That remains to be seen. Certainly it will lead to more gaudy won-loss records — which is a bigger deal than people think because of all those playoff homecourt advantages gained based on season record – even though it’s a league where nobody plays the same schedule.

I’ve not been sure all summer that the Trail Blazers would be able to improve much on those 54 wins of last season, just because they were so fortunate last year to win so many close games. Stat guys will tell you that over time, that’s not much due to skill as it is good fortune and that eventually, it evens out, even for the good teams. What the good teams do is win a lot of games by big margins — which the Trail Blazers will begin doing.

And now that I see the conference rapidly aging and the younger teams still not quite ready to step up another level, I think Portland actually does have a real chance to get up close to that 60-win level, assuming no major injuries, which, as we know is a major assumption.

Of course, it’s still early. Between now and late October there’s still time for Martell Webster to reinjure that foot, Greg Oden to step on someone’s ankle, the Clippers to lose two or three players to injury or for Ron Artest to do something stupid.

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That was all that was required of the Trail Blazers on Saturday night. And that’s about all they did. There was nothing pretty about this game. No matter — who can get up for a game against the sorriness of the Los Angeles Clippers?

Interesting trend continues, though — even though the Trail Blazers were understandably tired, they were fresher than the Clippers. For the third game in a row, Portland was stronger down the stretch than its opponent.

Ah, to be young again.

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It’s 2:25 a.m., a Rolls Royce is weaving all over the freeway. Mike Dunleavy, do you know where your power forward is?

He’s in jail now, with no bail.

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As best I can tell, Marcus Canby, Chris Kaman, Brian Skinner, Mike Taylor and, for sure, Zach Randolph will not play this afternoon for the Clippers.

It reminds me of my freshman year in high school when I hated breakaway layups. Nobody around, easiest shot in basketball — gulp, too easy. A guy can blow that shot. I’d rather have someone contesting it.

The Blazers have a team they should beat with ease, unless some  of those Los Angeles gunners — Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton — get scalding hot. And the teams who want to go small sometimes give Portland problems.

But the Blazers should punish the Clippers on the boards and in the paint and score easily. Can there be any other acceptable result? No — and a defeat here would be disastrous.

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Let me say at the outset, Mike Dunleavy is a good coach. Anyone who watched him deploy his depleted troops Monday night who also watched the Washington Wizards’ pathetic effort Saturday understands that. The Clippers played hard and even played smart Monday. But wow, that isn’t much of a roster with all the injuries they’ve suffered.

For most of the first half, the Blazers stood around and watched Brandon Roy and Greg Oden make shots. And it was a nightmare at the defensive end for three quarters, as the worst field-goal shooting team in the league flirted with 50 percent shooting. Fortunately for the Blazers, the Clippers couldn’t maintain it.

Yes, Roy had a great dunk. Yes, it turned into a rout in the fourth quarter. But the defensive intensity that this team is going to need later in the season was still lacking. I suppose it may be hard to summon that on a night when you know you’re playing against that roster, but still . . .

And I’ll not belabor this, but Oden was 7 for 7 from the field. He should have had double that many shots against the Clippers. He’s beginning to develop in spite of being squeezed on shot attempts on almost a nightly basis. Guards can get shots any time they want, but big people need someone to get them the ball. And when you work hard to gain post-up position, or when you roll off a pick wide open and don’t receive a pass, it discourages you from continuing to work hard. At the same time, his teammates need to improve on getting him the ball. There’s still a skill level on the lobs and the entry passes that’s not been attained yet.

Man, there are some old-school coaches who must be cringing when they see how seldom Portland uses what should be a powerful resource. The game is supposed to start inside and he needs to develop his enormous potential in games like this. Oden could have scored in the 30s last night with a reasonable number of attempts. The Clips had nobody to guard him. Oh well . . .

Just don’t go crying about it late in the season or in the playoffs when Portland needs him in a big game because it can’t buy a jump shot and the Blazer guards still aren’t skilled at post-entry passes or Oden can’t make tough shots because he hasn’t had the opportunity to get into an offensive groove.

Charlotte Wednesday and then a real showdown Saturday against Utah, which is going to badly need that game.

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Right off the top, you can just write this loss off to complete bad luck. Honest. Steve Blake has never gone 1 for 5 at the foul line in his life. Not even in first grade, I bet. And he won’t ever do it again. If he goes 2 for 5 in the final 20 seconds, the Blazers walk off winners. That’s what a long-shot loss this one was.

And be careful about making sweeping generalizations about a team off one game. One game that was decided by such fluky circumstances.

One thing I liked a lot: Greg Oden played down the stretch. Yes, he had the usual fumbles, strips, etc. But I’m beginning to think the only way for him to get better is to for him to play and play and play. And get the ball thrown into him. Frequently. It may cost a game or two along the way, too. But the reward for his improvement is so large, it’s an investment that must be made. That said, it didn’t cost the Blazers the game to play him last night. You’re talking a 15-15 night.

The schedule has been a lung burner but the tough part is over. You can run an excellent marathon and still stumble at the finish line.

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According to the Los Angeles Times, he’s working out for the Clippers, among other teams. The story says:

We have an extra roster spot,” Clippers Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy said Wednesday. “He is starting to work out for teams. And so, we’re just looking into the situation.”
Based on what they have seen and what they need, the woefully lacking-in-depth Clippers would jump at signing the 6-foot-9 free agent Miles, who was close to making the Celtics in training camp. The thought is that Boston wanted to keep Miles, 27, but a roster spot simply wasn’t available.

Later, the story said:

The Trail Blazers have to be squirming a bit with Miles working out for teams again. It has been reported that Miles’ $9-million salary for this season goes back on Portland’s books if he signs a deal and plays in 10 or more NBA games.

I have been watching, and have seen no signs of “squirming” anywhere in the Rose Garden.

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Several things in the LA Times story today by Lisa Dillman that you may not have heard about. She says that the Clippers’ Ricky Davis put up a $500 bounty for the first guy to dunk on Oden during last night’s exhibition loss to the Trail Blazers. He had read about the $1,000 bet between Sacramento players Monday night that led to Kevin Martin earning $1,000. Nobody earned the $500 Wednesday.

You know you’re good when opposing teams start figuring out financial incentives for their teammates to do things against you that they ought to be trying to do, anyway. The story also said that Oden needed four stitches after the game to close a cut near an eye.

Here’s what Clippers’ center Chris Kaman said about Oden:

“He’s a big boy,” Kaman said. ” . . . I think he had all dunks tonight and one left-handed jumper. Once he figures it all out defensively, I think he’s going to be a monster.”

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