Oregon Sports Live

Stu Holdren:

Before the season started, the Portland Trail Blazers were running out of room in their bandwagon. Hanging their hats on young rising talent and depth at every position, the Blazers set a goal to win the Northwest Division and quietly plotted a Western Conference takeover. But these days, the bandwagon is looking more and more like an ambulance.

Add (the now-starting center) Joel Przybilla to the list of Blazers casualties this year. In the first quarter of tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Przybilla came down awkwardly on a defensive possession and came crumbling down to the floor gripping his right knee. His diagnosis would later be revealed to be a ruptured patella tendon, accompanied by a patella dislocation. Although the Blazers haven’t provided a timetable for Przybilla’s return, this injury was worse than that of Greg Oden’s – who is done for the season. I’ll let you do the math.

Przybilla joins Oden, Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez and Patty Mills on the Blazers’ injured list.

The injury leaves the Blazers incredibly thin in the frontcourt, with no true center on the roster. If tonight’s game is any indication, the Blazers will be playing a more up-tempo style of play with a small-ball lineup. The Blazers will rely on the trio of LaMarcus Aldridge, Juwan Howard and recently re-instated rookie Jeff Pendergraph to man the center position.

Aldridge has frequently been criticized for his lack of intensity in the paint, especially in the defense and rebounding departments. Aldridge will have to turn his focus to prowling the paint and crashing the boards on defense, and work on establishing more of an inside presence on offense instead of floating around outside of the paint and lofting up mid-range jumpers. It’s a challenge that Aldridge has to meet and surpass if the Blazers hope to be successful on a regular basis.

As we’ve said before, even with the injuries, at least the Blazers still have all-star level players like Brandon Roy and Aldridge to rely on. As long as they remain healthy, the Blazers will at least be competitive. But the Blazers certainly have had to readjust their expectations for what is possible this season. While they certainly aren’t out and done,  they will be lucky to find themselves squeak into the playoffs with the severity and quantity of injuries they’ve endured this year.

Andrew Theen:

I am not much of a fantasy sports guy.  I don’t really understand the true nature of the fantasy system.  I care much more about wins than points or rebounds.  It’s always perplexed me why wins don’t factor into the scoring system.

You play to win the game, right?

Stats are what makes Ricky Davis circa 2006 so irreproachable.  Stats don’t always tell the story.

You win games with guys like Joel Przybilla not Ricky Davis.

Perfect example of my idiocy: my selection of Joel Przybilla as my fantasy center in the 2005-2006 season.  Understand, this was my virgin voyage on the fantasy basketball bandwagon.  It also proved to be my last.

My fantasy picks were….moronic.

I loved the way Przybilla played the game then, and still do today.  The guy is selfless.  He doesn’t care about his points.  Obviously that’s because he doesn’t have the scoring abilities of his peers.  The guy is simply a warrior.  I’d want Przybilla in my corner in any bar-fight in any part of the world.

If Tim Duncan is “The Big Fundamental” than Joel Przybilla is “The Big Intangible.”

His impact can’t be quantified.  John Hollinger better start on a new system that documents what Przybilla means to this team.

He didn’t deserve this.

Throughout much of the past three years discussion amongst my friends inevitably centered around the Blazers.  Nary a conversation passed without a quote along these lines: “They’d be so f$%#*! without Joel.”

Stu outlined the current situation perfectly.  Now we see how truly f$%#*! the team really is.

I may be an unemployed journalist, but I am still a journalist.  I’ve become as impartial as a Portlander who loves the game of basketball can possibly get when it comes to this squad.  I’ve covered the team as a reporter and analyzed strengths and weaknesses over the airwaves and the internet.

That being said through it all I carried a healthy respect and admiration for Joel Przybilla.

He’s not the greatest interview but the man is the consummate professional.

Now Joel isn’t dead.  He’s been knocked out.  He’s a tough customer, and if any 30 year old center can rebound from such a catastrophic injury it’s one affectionately called “The Vanilla Gorilla.”

My roommate poignantly said the outcome of this game is “like a nightlight in a warehouse of horrors” for Blazer fans.

No team in major professional sports has endured so many injuries and illnesses to such significant components in such a short period of time.

In our society we’re collectively taught that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

If that’s true, the Blazers will come out this like Titans.

A day removed from Blazers’ coach Nate McMillan rupturing his tendon in practice, the bad news for injuries continued for Blazers fans today during their game against the Houston Rockets. Only seven minutes into the first quarter, Greg Oden was sent to the ground, writhing in pain and holding his left knee after attempting to block an Aaron Brooks layup. After being tended to for several minutes, Oden was eventually carted off on a stretcher with a heartbroken crowd chanting his name. It was later determined that Oden fractured his left patella, will require surgery, and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Oden’s career has been plagued by injuries thus far, starting with missing his official rookie season due to undergoing micro-fracture surgery on his right knee. He missed time during his second season with an ankle injury and also missed three weeks after fracturing his left knee-cap after a collision with Corey Maggette. Much of Oden’s difficulties on the court, including his proneness to fouls, can be attributed to his injuries – as they have restricted his ability to remain conditioned. Of course, all of the time he spends on the sidelines has hindered his opportunities for experiential growth.

What makes this injury even more tragic was the impressive development we’ve seen from Oden. Just a game ago, Oden grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds while pitching in 13 points and 4 blocks in a spirited effort against the Miami Heat. Oden was beginning to learn how to play with fouls, and was always a force on the defensive end. At 2.4 blocks per game, Oden ranks second in the league. While he is still far from a polished offensive force, we’ve seen an improved jump hook and frequent emphatic dunks. It feels like Oden was just coming into his own, but these constant injuries definitely lead one to wonder if Oden can ever have a productive career that isn’t inhibited by health issues. Before Oden was carted off, he clapped his hands together just as we have come accustomed to him doing to amp himself up on the defensive end.

Add Oden’s injury to that of Nicolas Batum, Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez, Jeff Pendergraph and Patty Mills – all of whom are currently out of the Blazers’ lineup due to injury. Oden’s absence will certainly give Joel Przybilla an expanded role within the system, and we will obviously see more out of reserve bigs Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham (where’s Jarron Collins when you need him?). We will also likely see a return to the Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge two-man game that we’ve come accustomed to over the past couple of years, with heavy utilization of the pick-and-roll. With the depleted state of the Blazers right now, the Blazers may have to explore who is available among free agent big men. The Blazers will have to take a cue from the Rockets, who have relied on grit, teamwork, and hustle to overcome key injuries to star players Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Fortunately for the Blazers, they still have a couple great stars to lean on.

Hello, dear readers. Before I get going, I’d like to ask you all one question:

Who else is totally stoked that there’s no Trail Blazers TV coverage during the preseason?

Oh, you mean you were actually really looking forward to watching your favorite team for the first time this year, but you’re unable to because you can’t attend even the home preseason games?

I’m thinking that there are a lot of folks sitting in that blackout boat, and it’s really a shame that the Trail Blazers or Comcast Sports Net or whoever is responsible for the lack of coverage apparently thinks that it’s no big deal. Because it is a big deal to the fans.

Anyway, Stu wasn’t the only OSLer who was able to attend the Blazers’ preseason opener against Sacramento. Both Joe Jackson and I were mobbing deep in the 300 level, and we had a bird’s eye view of all the action. Here’s what we saw:

– First and foremost, the Trail Blazers are trying to run this year. When I interviewed the coaches and players on media day, nobody would come right out and say that they were putting more emphasis on getting fast break buckets, but believe me, that’s the plan. Off of every miss, the wings were flying out to the sidelines and LA was making his rim run. Don’t be surprised when this happens against Houston in the season opener. Personally, I like it. The Blazers have two smart guys at the point who know how to get the ball up the floor. With the caliber of athletes wearing the red and black, why wouldn’t they look to out-quick the opposition?

– Remember the tentative, winded, nervous Greg Oden who played most of last year? He’s long gone. Seriously, Greg looked like a totally different player. He’s playing aggressive — asserting his will on his opponents and asking questions later. I’m not saying that he’s going to be an All Star this year. I’m not even saying that he’s going to be the starter right away. But what I am saying is this: if he can stay healthy, he’s going to have a big impact as the season wears on and he becomes even more confident in his new offensive abilities. And a big reason why he’s doing as well as he is so far is his new teammate…

– Andre Miller is going to have a Gestalt effect on the Blazers. He’s not the greatest athlete in the world, and he can’t shoot the three to save his life, but dang he’s a smart player. He’s the ideal floor general, and it was clear that his primary objective in game one was to get G.O. the rock in advantageous positions. On one of the first offensive possesions, Dre fed Oden deep in the post. Greg busted a super-fast baseline spin and tried to throw down with two hands before getting hacked across the arms and drawing a whistle. Miller walked over to the big man and shoved a finger in his chest, spouting encouragement. I can only imagine he was saying something like, “That’s what you do now.” I say again, Andre Miller is going to be a positive influence on this team.

– Nicolas Batum looked a little leg-weary (as did Rudy Fernandez), but it was clear that he wants to be more active with the ball in his hands this year. It’s difficult to say how many times he’s going to actually be given the opportunity to create within the offense, but don’t be shocked when Nic takes somebody off the dribble and pulls up from 15.

– On defense, there was still a lot of switching when screens were set rather than fighting through the picks. While one could argue that because the Blazers sport such a young, athletic and versatile lineup,  switching on D isn’t that big of a deal. I don’t buy it. Fighting through those screens lets the other guys know that you aren’t going to settle for anything they want to do on offense. And obviously, if you switch enough picks, you inevitably end up on the wrong end of a bad matchup.

To anyone who was able to watch either preseason game: what do you think? Am I way off base? And to the rest of you: which of these observations is the most encouraging? The least encouraging? In the words of KISS, shout it out loud in the comments.