Yeah, you can get all pumped up about the Trail Blazers summer team being 2-0 if you want. But so far, I have to admit I’m a little disappointed by what I’ve seen.

Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph? For a couple of guys who spent all of last season in the NBA, I don’t think they’ve been all that impressive. Both are rushing a little bit and not letting the game come to them.

Patty Mills has been OK, pretty good, actually. But while I think he’s going to be on an NBA roster next season, I’m not sure it will be Portland’s. I’m not convinced Nate McMillan likes him — or likes small guards.

Now keep in mind that you can’t get too carried away with summer league either way, but I’m so far very unimpressed with Luke Babbitt.

Man, that kid has a long way to go before he’s anywhere close to Martell Webster. In fact, he has a long way to go before he has a chance of even getting into an NBA game, unless Portland trades all its other small forwards away. And don’t even think about playing him at power forward. At least right now, that doesn’t look possible.

He just doesn’t look as if he’s going to be ready. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him before training camp if he wants to carve out a role.

Tweet This Post

– Pretty amazing how this team puked on itself right there in front of everyone. I’m not sure why Paul Allen has never appeared to listen to any advice regarding PR. He always seem to maximize damage for decisions he makes. This was incredible — firing Kevin Pritchard on draft night. I cannot believe it went down that way.

– That said, the notion that KP was fired for “no apparent reason” is ridiculous. There were reasons and they’ll come out. And they certainly don’t have anything to do with Paul Allen being jealous about how much publicity KP has been getting. Allen doesn’t WANT publicity. Doesn’t care about it. Now would he be concerned about someone getting credit for doing something he didn’t actually do? Yes, and I think rightfully so — if that happened.

– The story floating around that Pritchard tried an “end run” around Larry Miller as a franchise takeover — probably masterminded by Tom Penn, who would have become the GM underneath Pritchard as the president — has been confirmed by several Blazer insiders. You fire people for that kind of stuff.

– Rumor has it Pritchard, whom Allen didn’t want to speak with, was reporting directly to Hat Guy. Just sayin’.

– The Blazers messed with Warren LeGarie, which is not a smart thing to do. He turned the tables on them Thursday night and made a martyr out of Pritchard. Messy situation.

– Let’s really relax a little on the “tragedy” of all this. Pritchard will survive and so will the Trail Blazers.

– Incredible how far the value of Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez have fallen. All you can get is a No. 16 pick? Wow. I think the Webster trade is crazy — a guy who has proved he can defend the small forward in the NBA is a commodity. Whether he’s inconsistent on offense or not. Not sure if Luke Babbitt can defend anyone.

Tweet This Post

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.

Tweet This Post

A few observations about the Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles:

– One of the better Portland defensive efforts in a while. Not sure it was because of Portland’s effort, personnel or just that the Lakers are struggling so much with what they’re trying to do. Either way, it was outstanding, particularly on the perimeter players — and we haven’t said that very often, have we?

– I’m not going to tell you the Blazers are better without Brandon Roy. That’s absurd. But I will tell you is that they move the ball on offense better without him than with him. And they probably defend a little better, too. I believe Roy is having some injury problems that may be more serious than we’ve been told. He’s just not moving very well lately — and this was PRIOR to the knee tweak Sunday.

– I’m not going to tell you that the  Blazers have a better chance of beating Los Angeles than Utah or Denver or Dallas. I’m still not going there. I have to see Kobe struggle in the playoffs before I buy into that stuff. But I will say, that finger injury definitely seems to have impacted his shooting and unless he can be the real Kobe again, the Lakers aren’t the real Lakers.

– Rudy Fernandez, as I’ve said before, is VERY good with the ball in his hands as a playmaker. When he runs the pick-and-roll he actually looks for the guy who is rolling toward the basket — and can deliver it to him quickly. I would use him to run more of that stuff. He also looks a lot better on the floor when he isn’t looking over his shoulder, expecting someone to enter the game in his place. I’m just sayin’, OK?

– If I had one question to ask any player after that game, the one I’d ask would be to Martell Webster, and it would be, “What the hell were you doing on that “shot” with three seconds to go?” Man, if the Lakers hadn’t bailed him out by fouling him, he would have looked completely foolish. There was way too much time left for a desperation heave like that. Of course, give him credit for making the free throws. Nice work.

– If Kobe has to miss two free throws and Fisher another inside the final seconds of the game for Portland to win, I don’t like the Blazers’ chances of repeating this feat anytime soon.

– Monday night ought to be one dilly of a game against Oklahoma City. Of course it seems like every time I say that this season, one team doesn’t show up and bring it.

Tweet This Post

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.

Tweet This Post

Finally, there is no other choice.

Yet it’s still taking some measure of agony, apparently, to get that starting lineup changed. Martell Webster to shooting guard, Nic Batum sliding in at small forward, right? What other choice is there with Brandon Roy out?

Yet, here we are again, with Coach Nate McMillan doing the same old waltz when it comes to an obvious lineup change. Just do it, man. What’s the delay? What are we waiting for?

This should have been done a couple of weeks ago, but hey — what do you expect. Lineup changes around here come hard. At the start of the season, if Andre Miller had just been put into the starting lineup alongside Brandon Roy — one point guard, not two — the team would have probably picked up three to five more wins by this point of the season.

Instead, we were subjected to all the hand-wringing involving Steve Blake and the problems of the “second unit” and who Brandon Roy could play with best. All of it was silly. The best point guard was Miller — from Day One. But it sure took a long time to get there.

Batum was the starter all last season and his improvement this season is obvious. Man, he’s needed at both ends of the court and he needs to get a lion’s share of his minutes alongside Miller — who will reward all his off-the-ball movement.

Just do it, Coach.

Tweet This Post

Loved the Trail Blazer defense most of the game. They did a nice job stopping what the Spurs do best, ganged up nicely on Tim Duncan (who, by the way, isn’t moving a lot like Tim Duncan used to move) and after a slow start, held their own on the boards.

Loved the big play that resulted in Martell Webster’s open three-pointer that (should have) sealed the game. Andre Miller got great penetration, found Nic Batum in the corner, who didn’t hesitate in getting the ball to Webster, who had plenty of time to get his feet under him and settle into his three-pointer.

It was a smart play by smart players.

I didn’t like the misses at the foul line late. I expected more from Miller and LaMarcus Aldridge than that.

All in all, though, big game for the team to win against a Western Conference rival. A couple of other thoughts:

– The Spurs look so old and broken down. Their stars have so many miles on them.

– I think Batum is much more effective playing with Miller. His game is moving without the ball and Miller looks for him. I think, too, he’d fit better in a motion offense, rather than the standing-around stuff the Blazers do while watching pick-and-roll isolations.

– Huge game from Juwan Howard that was mostly overlooked by the media. He hasn’t made shots like that in a while.

– Brandon Roy needs to get back soon. I’m not sure how much longer the team is going to be able to hang on without him. Points are getting hard to come by.

– That may have been the Spurs’ A game last night. Not sure they have a whole lot left. They defend well at times, really well. But they can’t seem to do it consistently for the entire game. The energy just may not be there any more. Those guys have a lot of mileage on them from all those deep playoff runs.

Tweet This Post

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.

Tweet This Post

I’m hearing from all over that this may be Nate McMillan’s best coaching job. You know with the injuries and all that maybe he ought to be the Coach of the Year. But there are those who disagree and it seems many of them comment on this blog.

And I can kind of see where they’re going with their arguments. I mean, at the start of the season, this team had two big tasks — to integrate Greg Oden into the offense, thus moving to more of an inside-outside attack AND to somehow decide on a proper player rotation with all the talent on this roster.

I’m not sure either problem was ever appropriately dealt with. And in fact, the injuries eliminated them as problems. Rather than go inside-outside or really change their style of play at all, the Trail Blazers are now back to playing the way they’ve always played.

You could also make the case that McMillan’s stubbornness in regard to starting Andre Miller hurt the effort early in the season. In fact, the thing that seemed to get Miller straightened out was confronting the coach. I mean, if Miller doesn’t go off on McMillan, does that thing ever really going to get straightened out?

So you give McMillan credit for that?

Again, I’m not sure. You could say that in the face of all the injuries, he kept the team together, but really? Really? It seems to me that if you say that, you’re saying that the character of this team somehow was so weak that these guys wouldn’t have played hard if not for the coach. I don’t buy that.

I think it’s more the case that even though Portland has been hurt by an absolute avalanche of injuries, what’s left is still pretty good. In fact, it’s real good. And by lowering expectations, thus the pressure, they’ve prospered in an environment where they knew they had guaranteed minutes.

Martell Webster, for instance. This is a guy whose minutes always seemed to be jerked around. Often, when he made a mistake or two he was pulled out of the game in a hurry. Now, given the situation, he’s playing no matter what — because they have nobody else. And he’s been sensational.

It’s been one interesting season. And any coaching evaluations would probably be best delayed until the end. Let’s see how it all works out.

Tweet This Post

Man, that was something. I loved the defensive effort. The “bigs” did a great job, for the most part, of rooting Dwight Howard out of the lane all night and everyone else contributed to hounding Howard when he attempted to operate at the post with the ball.

Martell Webster continues to show what he can do with regular minutes and a consistent role. I mean, this guy is showing signs of either becoming a very, very good player or becoming an outstanding trade piece. He’s already a player other teams are talking about as someone, depending on Nic Batum’s development, who could be available.

Andre Miller and Steve Blake were terrific . . . oh, what’s the point of trying to single out individuals? This one was a great team win from start to finish.

One thing I must say, though, about the Orlando Magic: I’ve been around the league for a long time now and what I saw from them Friday night was downright shameful. And I haven’t seen it too often from what is a high-level team that was in the NBA Finals last season.

The Magic just sort of quit. Rolled over. And it appeared to me that the reason is simple — those guys want to get their coach fired. They aren’t listening to him and they’re actually embarrassing him with their on-court actions. Their effort level and attention span were just not there.

Stan Van Gundy has the reputation of a guy who grinds on his players and I’m afraid he’s gotten to this group. They appear, at least for the time being, to have tuned him out.

And once that happens, it’s usually only a matter of time before the coach finds himself on the street.

Tweet This Post