Darius Miles Update

So as I am sure some of you already know, if Darius Miles plays 10 games or more in the next 2 years, his $9 mil. Annual salary goes back on Portland’s books. Miles, made yet another huge step towards doing this last night in Memphis’ game vs. Dallas. Miles played a little under 2 mins in a blowout Memphis win. This is huge in the fact, that Miles has already made it through his 10 game suspension (for taking a banned weight loss drug). So Darius is 1 down, 9 to go.

What is intriguing about his current situation is as of Friday (01/09/09), any player that is on a team with a non-guaranteed contract, will automatically be turned into a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the year. Darius Miles is one of those players. So what if the Grizzlies decide to cut Miles? Well, if Miles gets cut and becomes a free agent then anyone in the league can sign him to a 10-day contract. However, Miles can only be signed to a total of (2) 10-day contracts, before a team has to give him a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season.

So lets run through a scenario (one that Portland fans such as myself would like to see). Memphis has three games between now and Friday. So what are the chances that Darius gets to play in any or all of those games? It’s hard to tell, because he only played 2 mins in a blowout win vs. Dallas. What if it’s a blowout loss? Memphis is playing, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Toronto this week. I am willing to bet at least two of those games will be fairly close, so I think its safe to say Miles could only legitimately see burn on 1 game.

Now lets say they cut him. He gets picked up in a few weeks by a team on a 10-day contract. Most teams play an average of 4 games in 10 days, assuming he gets 2 of those 4 games, that puts him at (5). Then the same for another 10 day contract.

So to me it basically comes down to if the Grizzles cut him this week or retain him for the remainder of the year. Let’s hope they cut him, so we have some room to work this offseason.

Laker Game Recap

Game Review

Well, we hung in there for a half. Then the same problem arose, we simply could not score for a long period of time. In the 3rd quarter, the Blazers had only 7 points in the first 9 minutes of the quarter. No one could hit a shot, and surprisingly enough they were all jumpers. Aldridge had a fantastic game offensively, but our guards couldn’t/wouldn’t get him the ball. He finished 11-19 for 22 points and 11 rebounds. Greg Oden also had some mild success in the post, but he did not get the ball either. During one series, the Blazers missed 4 three pointers, and one jumpshot, while getting fouled once and 4 offensive rebounds, to finally hit a 3. All of the shots were wide open too. It was a rough sight from some usually reliable shooters such as Blake and Rudy, who went a combined 10-29 (5-16 from deep). During the period, LA went on a 17-3 run, and never looked back.

A Few Random Thoughts on the Game:

1. I personally think Oden out performed Bynum, even though you can’t tell from the stat book. Oden changes so many shots and clears so much room for everyone else to come get rebounds. He also had multiple times where he tipped the rebound to keep it alive.

2. It would be nice to have someone besides Brandon Roy who can consistently create their own shot.

3. Kobe Bryant is good at basketball.

4. The Blazers hardly ever get easy baskets. They don’t run, no one besides Roy really gets to the hole, Oden isn’t consistant enough to get quality shots on the block, Aldridge takes difficult shots as with Outlaw. Blake never goes to the hoop. The list goes on and on….

Game Summary in One Sentence: The Blazers hit another one of their “dry spells” and could never battle back.

Hornets Preview

UPDATE: Joel Przybilla is a go for tonight's game (Wrist), and Roy is actually at about 50/50 (Hamstring). He will do some game speed before the game to see how he feels. It will be a gametime decision.

Tonight’s game against the Hornets will be an interesting and telling game for the Blazers. I am interested to see how they will play after such a big win on Tuesday. I think how they come out tonight will tell us how far along the Blazers really are. Most young teams have a hard time coming out and playing well after such an emotional win, so a good performance tonight out of our guys would be extremely encouraging.

It is reported on the Trail Blazers website that they will again be without Brandon Roy, who is officially listed as questionable. So it will again take a balanced attack tonight from everyone on our team to fill the offensive void left by Roy. Here are my keys to the game.

Keys to the Game

1. Aldridge Must Control David West Without Much Help
1. New Orleans has a ton of 3-pt. shooters who are great at what they do, so we cannot afford to send constant double teams at David West, leaving Aldridge one on one. If he can somewhat contain West, I think we will have a good shot at winning.
2. We Must Keep Chris Paul Out of the Lane
1. Easier said then done, but similar to West, we cannot afford to double team/help off too many of their players. They thrive on 3’s (3^rd best in the league), so limiting their open looks would be huge.
3. We Must Maximize Every Possession
1. The Hornets also play at a very slow pace (2^nd only to us). So that means the importance of every possession is magnified. We must limit their 2^nd chance points and our turnovers. If we do these I think we have enough offensive firepower to win this game.
4. Take Care of the Ball
1. No more Travis Outlaw bringing up the ball, we need to make sure and take care of it and limit our turnovers, otherwise New Orleans will have a hayday.
5. Build Off of Our Boston Win
1. We need to not forget the execution and focus that we had for the Boston game. Against elite teams, we must bring that every night. Let’s hope the Blazers do bring it.
2. 
   

I am anxious to see how Oden performs tonight, after what I thought was his best performance to date. Also will Aldridge have a hangover from his fierce competition with KG on Tuesday? I sure hope not because this is the 2^nd game of a 4 game stretch vs. Boston, New Orleans, Lakers, and Detroit, and if we could come out of that with a .500 record, I would be pretty darn happy.

Gamblers Corner

The Blazers are a 1.5 point favorite with an O/U of 183. I am going to take the Blazers and the under. Even though I think there is a risk of a hangover from the Boston game, I think the 2 days off will help. I like the under because as I mentioned before, New Orleans plays at the 2^nd slowest pace in the NBA right after the Blazers.

Goose is going to take the Blazers and the Over.

So Far…

Kyle vs. Spread 2-3

Goose vs. Spread 2-3

Kyle vs. O/U 2-3

Goose vs. O/U 4-1

And the winner of last game’s score prediction was Derek! Although it was a win by default (no one else made a prediction), it was the closest guess we’ve had so far this year! Derek predicted 94-89 Blazers, with the actual being 91-86 Blazers. Great work D-Block! It is now:

Yost – 2

Derke - 1