The Blazers went 10 deep in the first quarter, and were able to rest pretty much everybody on a back to back night.  Andre Miller had the most minutes with only 27.  So with Thursday off, Portland should be fresh going into Friday’s game at New Orleans. What a luxury for Nate McMillan to be able to go to a second 5 that was legitimately better than Minnesota’s starters. Seriously, would you rather have Fernandez, Pryzbilla, Webster, Outlaw, and Bayless, or Ryan Gomes, Oleksiy Pecherov, Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn? Yeah, it’s not even close. Besides Flynn, and maybe Kevin Love (injured), there isn’t one player on Minnesota’s roster who I would take over anybody on the Blazers. The second unit broke the game open in the middle of the second quarter and never looked back.

The best player on the court all night was easily Greg Oden. Something’s clicked. It’s getting to the point where it seems like he is making huge strides every game, and I’m sensing we are watching a dominant force come of age. Oden had a double-double  at halftime, and didn’t commit a foul for the game. NOT ONE!! That’s incredible to me. He fought for every rebound, ran the floor , finished at least 3 baskets with his left hand, and even led a flawless fast break with Aldridge. They looked like they had done it a million times before, and it was easily my first genuine, feel-good Oden moment. It had me off the couch. After finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 8-10 shooting, I’m just hoping he can continue to develop and this isn’t some cruel joke on Portland fans. If it’s not, Portland will win the Northwest.

Once again, every guy on the team added something meaningful…..

LaMarcus was solid. With Oden dominating, he could kind of take the night off.

Roy didn’t have to do a lot, and he only took 11 shots. He probably has to sacrifice the most with this new lineup and my only concern is him getting out of rhythm on offense. It will be up to Nate and the point guards to make sure they keep feeding him, because he is too unselfish to make an issue of anything, especially while things are going well. I’m sure that will all take care of itself against better competition. When Portland needs Roy to score, he will.

Miller finished with 9 points and 10 assists. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think he was the right fit for the Blazers at first, but he’s continuing to look like the right signing. Kudos to Kevin Pritchard. The Turkoglu saga seems so long ago now.

How about Rudy’s line? 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. He was fantastic, although he got a little too flashy/sloppy in the 4th quarter and ended up with 4 turnovers.

Martell Webster had a good game. His defensive energy was outstanding early, with a couple of steals leading to easy buckets. He was the winner during garbage time and somehow wound up with 16 points.

Joel had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. What else is new? He just might be the perfect NBA backup center. I love him.

Blake’s shot wasn’t falling but he played a good floor game and had a couple nice lobs to Oden and Aldridge.

This is Portland’s best 9 game start since ’99-’00, the last time the Blazers made the Western Conference Finals. At this point, it’s looking like history can repeat itself. New Orleans will be a good test, though, especially since they fired Byron Scott. That just tends to be a wake up call for teams. Another win against the Hornets would make it 5 in a row, and Denver plays the Lakers, so if everything goes according to plan, Portland could find themselves alone in 1st place come Saturday morning.

The Blazer starters played much better than the bench. All five were at least +16 in point differential for the game. The best off the pine was Rudy at only +2.  I think we are seeing that this is Portland’s best lineup and is here to stay. There is so much balance with those 5. Size, scoring, ball handling, defense. You have a shot blocker and rebounder (Oden), 2 scorers (Aldridge and Roy), a penetrator (Miller), and a 3 point shooter (Blake).

LaMarcus played really well in the first half on the offensive end. I think he came out ready to go knowing he was going up against Randolph. Perhaps the best part of the Blazers new starting lineup is that they have 3 guys (Roy, Miller, Blake) who can all run the pick and roll effectively. This helps Aldridge immensely, because no matter who is bringing the ball up the court, they will either find him in transition, or initiate the possession with one of his screens. It’s great because everything LaMarcus is doing is within the flow of the offense, and it shows. 16 points, 12 rebounds!!!, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks. 0 turnovers.

Roy was great as usual. He scored 20 and only took 11 shots. He had 7 assists and helped keep Mayo and Gay in check.  He was in absolute cruise control. The addition of Miller really takes a lot of pressure off Roy. He doesn’t have to handle the ball as much, and has someone who can get easy shots for him, instead of having to be the distributor himself. In certain situations or at crunch time, Roy can always take over and creat offense, but now it’s a bonus, instead of  a must to score points. That’s a lot less energy he has to spend. Watch, he will be fresher this year towards the end of the season and playoffs.

Oden got in early foul trouble AGAIN. Teams are just starting to go straight at him early. He’s averaging 4.38 fouls per game this year. Fortunately, Oden was able to play extended minutes in the second half, and I have to say he looked REALLY good. He made good moves, he played hard and with a little bit of an attitude, and really dominated during the stretch where the Blazers took over late in the third/early fourth.  14 points, 6 rebounds 2 blocks.  There was a play in the third quarter when Oden jumped and missed a tip in and quickly elevated even higher to slam his own miss two-handed. He jumped twice in the same time Randolph jumped once. That’s encouraging.  And the alley-oop dunk he had might be the most athletic I’ve seen him in a Portland uniform. We’re seeing flashes people…

Travis Outlaw’s dunk at the end of the first half was one of the best I have ever seen. Seriously. I mean he pulled it all the way back on Rudy Gay. It wasn’t just a great dunk, but also a great offensive rebound to pluck it away from Conley and incredible athleticism to take one step and go up that high. By the way, it’s great when a guy like Gay, who dunks on other people a lot, gets dunked on. It somehow makes the dunk more legitimate, similar to dunking on a shot blocker. I think it was also the only good thing Outlaw did all night. He was 1-9 with 2 turnovers, no assists, and no steals. It looked like he was maybe pressing in front of all his family and friends. Who cares? What a dunk…

Portland has another good opportunity to extend their winning streak tonight against another bad team. After Sunday, they’ve now won 9 in a row over Minnesota, and 13 out of 15. On Monday, the Timberwolves lost by 41 and gave up 146 points to Golden State, so I would be shocked if the Blazers don’t win. It’s the second game of a back to back, but so what? Portland has enough depth to win the game. Only Outlaw played more than 20 minutes off the bench, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a little more balanced rotation.

We shall see…

The Blazers should win, but this game scares me for a couple of reasons. Memphis is only 1-6, but they are talented. They have a nice nucleus of young players in Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley. Zach Randolph is averaging 20-10 this year, and will no doubt be looking to play well against his former team. Allen Iverson has left the Grizzlies indefinitely, which I think will be a bonus for Memphis. AI has been nothing but a distraction so far, and I think his absence will be good for their chemistry. I fully expect Memphis to come out and play well, and I’m hoping the Blazers can match their energy. These are the type of games they obviously need to win.

Random facts…

The Grizzlies are coached by former Blazer great Lionel Hollins, whose NBA coaching record is 32-78, all with the Memphis franchise. Interestingly, Hollins has never coached a full season, and this is his 3rd stint as the Grizzlies head man. He coached for 4 games during the ’04-05 season, and for 60 during the ’99-’00 season (when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver). Former Blazer Johnny Davis also was the coach for two games last season.

Portland is 34-19 all-time against the Grizzlies, and have won 7 straight in the series.

Zach Randolph has played against the Blazers on 3 occasions, and is averaging 25.3 points and 10 rebounds against Portland. I hope to God that trend doesn’t continue tonight.

Mayo had 31 in the last matchup between these two, a 96-93 Blazer win last April 7th..

Expect the atmosphere in Memphis to be dull. The Grizzlies are currently 28th in attendance this season, and last year were 29th out of 30 (averaging only 12,745). Sacramento was 30th. Portland, by the way, was 3rd with an average of 20,524.

This isn’t to say the Blazers have it figured out. It was the 7th game of the season, on a Sunday evening against the 1-5 Minnesota Timberwolves. There’s a lot of work to do still, obviously. But I appreciate the effort and display. Going forward, I’m interested to see if this win triggers a hot spell. The Blazers are going on the road for the next 5. Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, Charlotte , Atlanta. Those are all games this team should feel like they can win on a regular basis. I think it could be a nice early indicator of what this season holds in the future. We’ll see how mature this team is, if they can put in performances like last night on a regular basis. Even on the road. Even on back to backs. I think this is where Andre Miller could have a big impact. He’s a veteran who can instigate offense even on sluggish nights. I’m expecting a good trip.

The new starting lineup seems to have made a difference. I don’t think Andre Miller was real happy about coming off the bench, and by having three guards the Blazers can play more up tempo, which I think fits their personnel. Blake and Miller complement each other while on the floor at the same time. Both are good decision makers who can get Aldridge and Roy easy shots in their favorite spots. Both were active on defense (especially Miller), which led to 16 Minnesota turnovers and 21 fast break points. San Antonio only had 10 turnovers, but the Blazers still played fast, and managed 12 fast break points. Easy buckets make a huge difference in a 12 point game. It will be interesting to see if McMillan sticks with this lineup, or if he’s just experimenting. If the Blazers continue to play like they did last night, I can’t imagine anything changing.

Greg Oden is easily playing the best basketball of his young career. He’s finally confident and it’s starting to show. After playing Duncan tough on Friday, Oden was even better against Minnesota. He was energetic, had some good post moves, and really looked like he belonged. 22 minutes, 4-8 FG, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks. That following a 14 point, 8 board, 4 block performance on Friday. For the year, Oden has shot 59% (81% from the line), with 8.7 rpg and 2.47 blocks. He’s starting to score, and even command some double teams. With hin giving the Blazers an inside presence, the team finally has true inside/outside balance. Because, let’s face it, Aldridge mostly plays on the perimeter and hits turn around fadeaways. That’s just his game, it’s who he is. With Greg scoring on the block, it gives LaMarcus freedom to play naturally (19 points, 10 boards, 3 assists last night).

I thought Jerryd Bayless and Dante Cunningham bot played well, which is great to see. Bayless attacks the rim, and Cunningham is a great pick and pop guy. If those two can keep developing, it really adds to Portland’s bench and gives them a ton of options for different lineups. The Blazers were already deep. They could be REALLY deep.

The most important thing I’ll take from this game is that, once again, Brandon Roy showed why he will lead Portland to at least one title before he’s done. Roy was laughing and having a good time on the bench at the end of the game, even though he took only 6 shots and scored 2 points. He didn’t care. It wasn’t his night to score, and he didn’t need to. He only cares about winning. So he became a role player for the night. He played D, passed to open teammates, rebounded. He did the little things, without any fuss. It seemed like he enjoyed the night off really. Roy is a leader and a team player. And he’s one of the 10 best players in the league right now. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone except Lebron. Not Kobe. Not Dwayne Wade. He’s the best combination of age, talent, and attitude in the league right now besides the King. We’re lucky to have him.

I’m liking what I see Blazers. Next stop Memphis.

Anyway, being that this IS the 40th season of Blazer basketball, I figure there is no better time to unveil my list of the 40 greatest Blazers of All-Time. Now, a top 40 list is probably more appropriate for a franchise like the Celtics or Lakers, and this may seem like overkill, but 260 men have played in a game for Portland. So I guess you could say this is the top 15%. The cream of the crop. Or not (depending on your opinion of them).

There really are no rules to this list. I took into account the entire history of the franchise up to this very day. My criteria is a combination of longevity, success (in terms of winning), awards, statistics, records, and their overall relevance in the city of Portland (good or bad).

Well, here goes, I’ll be adding one at a time….

(Note: all statistics and achievements provided are for that player’s Blazer career only)

Okay, so I actually have a tie for 40th place on this list if you can believe it. Don’t worry, it’s the only one I have. The problem was, I just couldn’t pick between Johnny Davis and Dave Twardzik for the spot. They played the same position during the same years in Portland, and had almost identical statistics. Twardzik started in ’77, Davis was the backup. In ’78 Davis was the starter, Twardzik the backup. In ’77 the two combined for 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. In ’78 it was 19.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. Considering those were two of the best seasons in Blazer history, I figured these two should go in together at No. 40.

40) Johnny Davis (1977-1978) 6’2  170 Guard

Drafted 22nd overall in the 1976 NBA Draft, Davis had two very successful season in Portland. As a rookie out of Dayton, he was the backup guard in the Blazer’s run to the NBA title in ’77, averaging double figures during the playoffs. After moving into the starting backcourt the next year and playing in all 82 games on perhaps the best team in Blazer history, you would have thought Davis was poised for a long, productive career in Portland. Instead, following the 1978 season, Harry Glickman traded him to the Indiana Pacers along with a first round pick  for the No. 1 pick in the 1978 draft. Looking back, it was a solid piece of business considering the Blazers were loaded at guard during this time (Lionel Hollins, Dave Twardzik, Bob Gross, Larry Steele). The Blazers ended up picking Mychal Thompson with the first overall pick , who went on to have a very good career. Interestingly, there was another player in that draft the Blazers DIDN”T pick, and his name is Larry Bird, who went 6th to Boston.  Yes, I know Bird and Magic played in the ’79 NCAA Championship game. So how is it possible the Blazers missed him in ’78? Red Auerbach picked the “junior eligible” Bird, not knowing if he would stay in school for his senior season or jump to the league. When he decided to stay at Indiana State, the Celtics still retained his rights until the 1979 draft. Essentially, they had an entire year to sign him before he re-entered the draft (which they did just before the deadline). This quirky rule was quickly outlawed.

Career: 9.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.3 apg. Averaged 14.3 ppg in the ’77-78 playoffs.

Dave Twardzik  (1977-1980)  6’1  175  Guard

He only spent 4 seasons in Portland, and his only statistical achievements of note are ranking 3rd in Blazer history in career field goal percentage (.552), and 10th in steals per game (1.4). Still, Dave Twardzik’s #13 is retired by the Blazers. This is because there are some players whose contributions are not always on the stat sheet. They do the little things, hustle, make others around them better, sacrifice for the team. Twardzik, like fellow guards Johnny Davis and Larry Steele, was one of these players. He was the starting point guard on the ’77 team, and averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 assists for the season. For his Blazer career, Twardzik shot 55% form the field and 82% from the line. Although he was drafted by Portland in the 2nd Round, 26th overall, of the 1972 NBA Draft, he played his 1st 4 seasons in the ABA with the Virginia Squires, where he was an All Star in ’74-’75, and didn’t disappoint with 14 points, 4 steals, and  3 assists in 15 minutes. It wasn’t until the ABA-NBA merger after the ’76 season that “Pinball” finally arrived in Portland. After retiring after the ’79-’80 season at the age of 29, Twardzik transitioned into the Blazers front office and worked there until 1985. He is currently the Assistant GM in Orlando.

Career: 9.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.3 apg