Thursday, November 29, 2012

Blazers Road Woes + New top 25 NCAA hoops

The Blazers fell to 0-3 on the current 7 road road trip after falling by 2 to the previously winless (and still Wall-less) Washington Wizards.  The team responded by holding a players only meeting, led by Wesley Matthews, where the team says it is at a crossroads.  If the team responds well, playoff contention will still be in the mix.  If not, it could be a long season, especially if we continue to drop games on this current road trip.  Boston is up next, and here are things that MUST be seen in order for the Blazers to pick up some wins again.

1.  LaMarcus Aldridge must play aggressively.  He was our greatest bright spot in the game against Detroit, but settled for jump shots against Washington.  He is our star, and has to play like it.  He is at his best when getting shots at the rim first, then supplementing his game with mid-range jump shots.  His lack of star productivity has even caused some analysts, such as Comcast's Dwight Jaynes, to ponder trading LA.  This is still a ludicrous option, as our starting unit still has lots of potential.  LMA is still our best post defender, and best offensive option at this point.  He has the tough role of guarding the opposing team's best post and having their best defender guard him.  He means far too much to this team to trade him, and, he is on a fantastic contract comparatively to similarly skilled players around the league.  Keep LA for sure, but he must be aggressive.

2.  Damian has to keep shooting.  He has been missing more and more shots lately, but the shots he is taking are mostly good shots.  Shooters have to shoot their way out of slumps, and I am not worried about Damian. 

3.  Someone from the bench needs to score.  When the starters score 78 out of 82 points, there is an obvious need for some bench scoring.  Can it be Barton?  Claver?  Hell, Babbitt may even be an option if we put capable defenders around him.  If we stay in contention, look for Portland to try and pry a bench scorer off of an underwhelming team.


College Basketball top 25:
  1.  Indiana
  2.  Duke
  3.  Syracuse
  4.  Ohio State
  5.  Louisville
  6.  Michigan
  7.  Arizona
  8.  Gonzaga
  9.  Michigan State
  10.  Kentucky
  11.  Kansas
  12.  Florida
  13.  Illinois
  14.  NC State
  15.  Oklahoma State
  16.  UNLV
  17.  Missouri
  18.  Cincinnati
  19.  Georgetown
  20.  Colorado
  21.  Creighton
  22.  Virginia Commonwealth
  23.  Alabama
  24.  San Diego State
  25.  UCLA
Next 5:  Butler, Xavier, Marquette, Wichita State, California

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