Did Bill Simmons Jinx Ricky Rubio and The Minnesota Timberwolves?

It's looking like he kinda, sorta did.

Yesterday, I read part one and part two of Bill Simmons' annual "Trade Value Rankings" column.  As we've come to expect with Simmons, it was a good and long (!) read.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Simmons take over as GM for an NBA team one day, if that's something he wanted to do.  The guy is always wheelin' and dealin' in his mind.  And it's just one man's opinion, but most of the trade ideas he has make a considerable amount of sense.

So in part two of his column yesterday, Simmons was talking about Ricky Rubio's trade value (Rubio came in at 23rd overall, by the way), and he wrote the following sentence:

"A. Minnesota is going to make the playoffs unless somebody gets hurt."

Annnnnnd, jinxed.  Just like that.  The column was posted yesterday in the early afternoon.  Last night, the Lakers and Timberwolves played, and Rubio tore his ACL, after colliding with Kobe Bryant.  Hmmm, that's a little eerie if you ask me.

Highlights From The '50 Most Worthless Players In The NBA' List

These days, sports themed lists are a staple of a good sports blog.  Bleacher Report is one of the sites out there that uses them quite often.  Their '50 Most Worthless Players in the NBA' is pretty interesting for a few reasons.  Out of the 50 players on the list, there are exactly seven that I've never heard of, and are still in the league mainly to fill a roster spot.

I was surprised to see that one Blazer did make the list.  Some quick thoughts I had while reading through the list:

1. DeSagana Diop.  I don't think they ranked the players, I think they just listed them in no particular order, but DeSagana Diop is the first player you see.  I can't help but think that Diop almost came to Portland along with Gerald Wallace in the trade with the Bobcats.  Now that's a scary thought.  The state of the Blazers could actually be worse than it presently is, if you can believe that...

Beating A Dead Horse: The Steve Nash Trade Rumors

As we get into the last couple of weeks before the March 15 trade deadline in the NBA, it's going to get pretty crazy for the Blazers.  If you're already growing tired of hearing about all the potential moves Portland is going to make, then hold on.  It's only a couple of weeks before it's all over, but it's going to get worse for you, before it gets better.

Personally, I don't mind the trade deadline.  It's nothing, if not entertaining.  Even when Portland doesn't pull the trigger and do anything, it's still fun to talk about.

As far as Portland is concerned, all the talk is still focused on Steve Nash.  I've written about the Nash rumors previously here and here, and have said that I would be in favor of Portland going and getting Nash, no matter what the cost, even if he is a "rental" for the rest of this season only. 

ESPN's Marc Stein posted an article on Wednesday about Nash's current situation and mentioned that the Blazers are one of the teams still interested in acquiring the point guard from the Suns.  The other team that has been mentioned recently is Orlando. 

In response to Stein's article mentioning Portland's desire to get Nash, a couple dudes over at Bleacher Report posted their thoughts on the matter.  In the first article, the guy argues that Steve Nash-to-Portland makes absolutely no sense for the Suns or the Blazers to pursue.  (Let me just interject here and say the thing that makes even less sense than a Nash to Portland trade is the Blazers' current point guard situation.)

He points out that unless the Suns get Batum back from Portland, it wouldn't help them at all.  He then points out that even with acquiring Nash, the Blazers are still "a player away from being a true contender."  Both of those points are valid, and I don't completely disagree with them.

Friday Wrap Up: Rich Cho Aftermath, NBA Finals Are Set, And Ohio State is Dirtier Than We Thought

Happy Friday, folks.  My last post was a review of Maxim's 2011 Hot 100 list that I took way too seriously.  But hey it was fun, okay?  The lovely Sarah Shahi came in at #24 on the list.  I didn't mention her in my overrated/underrated post because I thought 24th was a good place for Shahi to be at on the list.

The Aftermath: So we've had a few days to recover from the madness that we call "Paul Allen's management style".  Rich Cho is long gone, and Allen stated that it was a "chemistry" issue that sent Cho packing.  I still think it's nonsense.  I mean, if Paul Allen wants to have chemistry with someone, he needs to go out and join eHarmony.  Paul Allen is kind of a weird guy, and can be socially awkward.  Guess what?  Rich Cho is the same guy, who is quiet and keeps to himself.  So when Allen and Cho aren't BFFs right away, it shouldn't surprise anyone.  Allen obviously has a different opinion.

Since Cho was fired, all Blazers fans have been getting is a steady dose of "hey, it's Paul Allen's team and he can do what he wants with it, so shut the hell up".  I'm still of the opinion that this change of direction at the top for Portland is troubling and shows a clear lack of direction.  Some Blazer fans have sort of bought into the change, convincing themselves that it was a positive move.  But I'm not so sure about that.  Regardless of all the craziness, Joel Freeman says that the Portland GM position is still an attractive job. 

I guess we'll see in the next few weeks.  I think Paul Allen should just go ahead and hire himself as the GM and save himself the trouble of firing about 3 or 4 more GMs in the coming years.  It would probably save him some time as well, and definitely save him some cash.  Whoever the Blazers hire as the next GM is going to be even more of a puppet than Rich Cho was anyway.

Grading The NBA Season: Portland Gets An A-Minus

Now that the playoffs are upon us, Sports Illustrated's Britt Robson has put out his yearly regular season grades for each team.  The teams with the best grades are Chicago (A+), Oklahoma City (A), San Antonio (A), Memphis (A) and Portland (A-).  The teams with the lowest grades are Utah (D+), Minnesota (D-), and the lowly Detroit Pistons (F).

His take on the Blazers:

The Blazers remain remarkably competitive, persistent and resourceful in the face of adversity. Coach Nate McMillan compensated for center Greg Oden's season-long absence and guard Brandon Roy's long break and current part-time status by mixing and matching personnel. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has had a career year by concentrating his scoring in the low post, where Oden was meant to be. Free-agent signee Wesley Matthews has expanded his role as a versatile, above-average wing defender in Roy's stead. Meanwhile, for the second straight year, the front office picked up an invaluable rotation player at the trade deadline, with forward Gerald Wallace following last season's addition of center Marcus Camby. The result is a roster brimming with diverse talent, making Portland a dangerous playoff foe. 

Portland 103, New Orleans 96

I have to admit that lately, I have missed more complete games than is usual for me.  I'm not sure why this is.  Sometimes I'll totally forget that the Blazers are playing, and sometimes I'm so tired from the workday, that I just will hit the sack early.

Last night, Portland used it's 12th 4th quarter comeback of the season to beat the Hornets, who badly needed a break.  The Blazers' twelve 4th quarter comebacks are the most in the NBA this season.

Aldridge led all scorers, as is quickly becoming his habit, with 34 points.  Twelve of his points came in the Blazers' 4th quarter comeback.  Wesley Matthews put up 24 points of his own.  And maybe even more impressive, Batum was locked up with Chris Paul for most of the night and held one of the three best point guards in the NBA to 8 points and just 5 assists.

So now we have the much needed All-Star break, where the Blazers will have a chance to rest up and recharge the batteries.  And more likely than not, when we see the team get back on the court after the All-Star game, there may be a few new faces on the team.

Because the trade rumors are sure starting to pick up...see here and here.

In his game breakdown, Jason Quick of the Oregonian makes a couple notes about the team's two best defenders, Nic Batum and Wesley Matthews.

"He (Coach McMillan) told the youngsters that the season's home stretch is the time to showcase their skills.

Specifically, he told Batum that games like Wednesday's against New Orleans are why the franchise values him so: He is so versatile he can guard anyone from All-Star Paul to power forward David West, also a former All-Star.

And to Matthews, McMillan said the upcoming games against the Lakers, Denver and Atlanta are the reason the Blazers made such a big push for him in free agency last summer. They need Matthews to shut down, or at least slow down, the likes of Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Joe Johnson."

Portland 95, Minnesota 81

This game was supposed to be LaMarcus Aldridge against Kevin Love in the battle for who really deserves to be an All-Star.  Instead, Dante Cunningham stole the show.  Cunningham had career highs in both points and rebounds, with 18 and 13, respectively. 

LaMarcus Aldridge took it easy on the Timberwolves and only scored 21.  Wesley Matthews led all scorers with 23, and Rudy chipped in a solid 4 threes and 18 points off the bench.

Kevin Love was held to 12 points and 11 rebounds, which barely extended his streak of double-doubles to a total of 41 games in a row.  I think since he let Dante Cunningham outperform him with 18 points and 13 rebounds, that Love should be forced to let Cunningham take his spot in the All-Star game!  How awesome would that be?

Take that Kevin Love.

Portland 105, Detroit 100

I didn't watch a lick of this game, but this is all you need to know about it.  The Blazers almost let this one slip away, but Aldridge saved the day for Portland.  Aldridge dominated yet again, by tallying 36 points.  In the past 7 days, LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 38 points per game and has pretty much literally carried the team on his back.

And also, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian, LaMarcus Aldridge "scored 36 points to become the first player in franchise history to score at least 36 points in three consecutive games."

And since I like to offer a bit of something that makes logical sense with every post, here's part of the game summary done by Dave over at Blazersedge.com:

"Having run throughout most of the third and working on his millionth straight 40+ minute game, Aldridge was visibly gassed in the fourth.  Instead of the first player down the floor, he was often the last.  His rebounding went the way of the dodo.  Fortunately for Portland the pick and pop never gets tired.  LMA hit jumper after jumper to keep Detroit at bay.  With a chance to tie and less than a minute on the clock, the best the Pistons could do was barf up a sideways, covered three-pointer.  The Blazers got the rebound they needed and free-throwed their way to the win.  105-100 Portland."

Portland 102, Toronto 96

If LaMarcus Aldridge isn't bothered that he was left off the Western Conference All-Star team last week, he sure has a funny way of showing it.

Aldridge scored 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and hit a couple clutch shots down the stretch the help lift the Blazers over the Raptors, who did their best to make a late run to steal the game.  But Aldridge was not having any of it. 

Rudy Fernandez played the game of his life -- in the first half.  But he didn't miss a single shot in the first half, made 6 three-pointers and finished with 23 points.  I think Rudy should have kept going and tried to get 40 points.  I know that's a selfish thing to do, but hey, when is Rudy Fernandez going to get close to scoring 30, let alone 40 points again?

Probably not ever.  But I have to hand it to Rudy.  After the offseason from hell for him and the team, he's rebounded nicely.  It'll be very interesting to see what happens to Rudy's morale when B-Roy starts playing again.  Some of Rudy's minutes will definitely be taken away by Roy, and we're guessing Rudy is not going to be very happy about it.

Then, we just trade him, right?

Jerry Sloan Has Resigned As Coach Of The Utah Jazz. I Sure Hope Deron Williams Is Happy Now.

Yesterday afternoon, after 23 seasons with the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan resigned his post as head coach.  The announcement shocked and surprised pretty much everyone.  No one saw this coming, to say the least.

This morning, everyone seems to have an opinion.  No doubt both ends of the spectrum will be covered, from "Jerry Sloan is an old fuddy duddy who isn't cool enough to coach modern athletes" to "Deron Williams is your typical prima donna athlete and ultimate coach-killer", and every shade in between.

My opinion lies somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.  One fact that I don't buy is that Deron Williams had nothing to do with Sloan's decision to resign, as D-Will himself has declared.  When asked if he had a role in forcing Jerry Sloan out as coach, Williams responded "No sir."

But c'mon, are we really supposed to believe him when he says that?  Gimmie a break.

While I am not ignorant enough to deny that the present-day NBA is a place where, as Adrian Wojnarowski puts it, "talent trumps everything, where the best players always beat the best coaches", can I ask how far is too far though?  I'm not saying that players should have no say, or should just shut up and play, or have to play on teams that are run as dictatorships or anything close to that.

I'm just wondering that if the current trend continues in the NBA of talent trumping coaching, why will we need coaches at all in ten years?  Why not just let the players coach themselves?  I mean, that's pretty much what we have going on in Miami this season, is it not?

Portland 109, Chicago 103

It sure looks like someone messed up on the All-Star voting, huh?  Personally, I've said that I am glad Aldridge is getting to stay home and rest, rather than play in the All-Star game, but still.  The principle of it is still worth mentioning, I think.

For the second straight home game, LaMarcus Aldridge scored over 40 points and helped carry the Blazers to a victory over a top five team in the NBA.  Last night, he topped his career high of 40 points (scored this past Monday against the Spurs) with an equally impressive 42 points, coupled with 8 rebounds for good measure.

There really isn't too much you can say about Aldridge and the way he's playing right now.  It's just flat out amazing.  And sort of unexplainable, to be honest.  But we're not complaining.  We'll take it for as long as he wants to keep dishing it out.

Look, I don't care if Aldridge got snubbed for the All-Star game or not.  I just would like to point out that when LaMarcus Aldridge scored 34 points and grabs 11 rebounds, it actually helps the Blazers win the game.  Contrast that with Blake Griffin.  Blake Griffin may score 34 points and pull down 13 rebounds, but more often than not, it doesn't help his team win games.  I think that's a very important point to make in the discussion of who is the better player and/or all star worthy.

Some may say that the top to bottom, the Blazers have the better team.  Not so fast though.  They both are currently the best player on their team.  We can all agree on that, right?  And they both are surrounded by a lot of good (but not great), talented guys.  But at the end of the day, I wouldn't say that one guy has a significantly better supporting cast than the other.  But that's another part of this argument for another day.

Veteran NBA writer Sam Smith, who writes for Bulls.com, compared Aldridge's game to Kevin Love's on Twitter, after seeing Aldridge up close and personal:

"I've mentioned it before, but it's pretty amazing Love is an All Star over Aldridge as Love doesn't have a fraction of Aldridge's game"

Fact remains, LaMarcus Aldridge is balling out of his backside, folks.  And it's truly beautiful to watch.

Portland 111, Cleveland 105

If the Blazers would have lost this game, I would have stopped watching all of their games for the rest of the season.  Seriously.  My temporary fanhood was on the line in this one.  Not that anyone cared or was even aware of it, but it was.  

So I'm glad that Portland was able to pull this one out.  It was quite the team effort, with Wesley Matthews leading the way with 31 points.  Batum had 21, Aldridge had 20 and Fernandez even contributed 17 points off the bench.  Andre Miller was dishing left and right and finished with 13 assists.  It was an ugly win, but still a win nonetheless.  Losing to the Cavs, as they are presently constructed would have been devastating.  It would have cancelled out any kudos that the team deserved for that beautiful game last week against the Spurs.

Dave from Blazersedge summed up what sounded like a spectacle of a game for us:  "Please do not make me dissect this game.  Please.  As someone who's been to Vegas a few times in July, I can say with some confidence that this was a Summer League game with bigger, faster players.  Had the opponent been anyone but who they were Portland would have died a miserable death on the floor.  As it was, the Blazers had to rely on abysmal defense on Cleveland's part followed by some inopportune offense negating Portland's own defensive deficiencies."

Indiana 100, Portland 87

First of all, this game started way too early.  Four o'clock is 2 hours before I even get off work.  So this game was pretty stupid from the jump.  And it didn't get any better.  I didn't see any of the game highlights even, and I've been much too busy this weekend, so I don't have any further comment on this game.

Just read the final score to yourself a couple of times and you should get a feeling of how good this game went for the Blazers.  We lost to Indiana, folks. WE ACTUALLY LET TYLER HANSBROUGH CONTRIBUTE, PEOPLE!  WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF OURSELVES!!  That is all.

Denver 109, Portland 90

Well that went well.  I still believe that somehow, the sheer number of tattoos that the Denver Nuggets have provide some sort of magical power boost for them.  We are going to need a few more arm sleeve and neck tattoos before we can expect to start winning in the Mile High city, folks.  Plain and simple.  Until then, the losses won't bother me too much.

I've learned to accept it and once you do too, losing to the Nuggets in Denver won't bother you one bit.  Oh and Wesley Matthews' injury didn't help us either, so there was that too.

I can't wait until Carmelo Anthony gets traded and Denver starts the "rebuilding" process and sucking.

LaMarcus Aldridge's Career Game Last Night Helped His Case For The All Star Game

SI.com's Zach Lowe actually picked LaMarcus Aldridge for the all star team last week, with the rest of the basketball writers at Sports Illustrated.  But Aldridge's career night yesterday evening seemed to have vindicated his choice.  And it should also prove some of the doubters wrong too.

And still, I went with Aldridge for two reasons:

1. He has turned into a monster over the last six weeks as injuries have robbed Portland of Brandon Roy, Marcus Camby and others. Aldridge averaged 25 and 10 in January, maintained a 50 percent mark from the floor and got to the line more often than he ever has. Circumstances had thrust Aldridge into a larger role, and he flourished in a scenario in which many players see their shooting percentages and overall efficiency drop. He gets major points for that.  

2. He means everything to the Blazers now, and that extends to their defense, too. That was ultimately the selling point to me. Nash has an equally heavy burden in Phoenix — the team often crumbles without him — but he only helps you on one end of the floor. The difference in production between Randolph and Aldridge is negligible overall and has tilted in Aldridge’s favor over the last month, and Randolph does not have Aldridge’s versatility on defense. 

I can make an argument for Aldridge over Anthony on stats alone, without even getting into the fact that ‘Melo’s defense too often veers toward mediocrity. 

Aldridge isn’t a star on defense yet. He still doesn’t rebound well enough on that end, and he’s not a major producer of blocks and steals. He’s not quite an at-the-rim intimidator.

Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer, who runs the Ball Don't Lie blog, put LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin on his all star team as reserves. 

"LMA, I'm sorry for sounding so flighty, but Tuesday's 40-point performance pushed it over the top for me. The Blazer big man is averaging over 25 a game since Brandon Roy went down, with more than 21 points and nine rebounds overall. I wouldn't be too upset if he were left off the team -- the first month of the season counts as much as January did -- but I'm sticking him on my list of reserves."

As we said earlier, just put LaMarcus Aldridge in the damned game.

[ Aldridge makes strong case for All-Star bid -- Zach Lowe ]
[ The should-be Western All-Star reserves -- Kelly Dwyer ]

Portland 99, San Antonio 86

Even though Aldridge missed the alley-oop dunk pictured to the right there, it pretty much sums up how last night went for both Aldridge and the Spurs.

Last night, the Blazers put together what could quite easily be considered their best game of the season so far.  All you have to do is look at the final score to tell that it was something special.  In what turned out to be perfect timing for a last minute tryout for the NBA All Star game, LaMarcus Aldridge completely dominated the Spurs with a career-high 40 points on 16-23 shooting, and brought down 11 rebounds as well. 

“I think we held him to 40,” Popovich said chuckling. “I stopped counting after a while.

Sounds like it was just one of those nights for Aldridge.  Tim Duncan and the San Antonio defense tried everything and couldn't slow him down.  Joe Freeman sums it up well in his Oregonian report.

"It's no wonder after Duncan watched Aldridge make 16 of 23 field goals through a variety of defensive looks. Aldridge started hot, scoring 16 of the Blazers' 24 first-quarter points -- scoring 14 of 16 Blazers points during one stretch. And he ended just as torrid, putting up 13 points in the pivotal fourth.  From beginning to end, Aldridge flashed his entire repertoire, mixing bullish post moves with alley dunks and midrange jumpers. And the Spurs had no answer."

Almost as amazing as Aldridge's performance, and maybe even on the same level of unexpected, was that the Blazers handling the NBA's best team in the Spurs.  The loss to the Blazers was only their eighth of the season.  A little perspective on just how good the Spurs are, from Mike Tokito of the Oregonian:

"It took until February until they got their eighth loss. The Blazers got their eighth loss on Nov. 28, the Heat on Nov. 27, and the Rockets on Nov. 17."

So there you go.  Great game all around for the guys.  It's a game that you wish you had more than one day to soak up the satisfaction of winning.  If nothing else, Aldridge's performance last night should finally get him over the hump and into the all star game.

Aldridge's stat line:  40 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block

Boston 88, Portland 78

I worked late last night, sat in horrible traffic, and then had too much going on when I got home to even catch a glimpse of this game last night.  So I have no idea how it went.  All I saw was the final score this morning when I woke up.

From all the stories I've read about the game, it was an all around shooting crapfest for the Blazers, but somehow they had a slim chance of actually pulling it off late in the game...until Kevin Garnett grabbed a rebound.  From Joe Freeman of the Oregonian:

But out of nowhere, a Blazers team that had made just two field goals and scored five points over the first 8:54 of the fourth quarter got hot. Wesley Matthews swished consecutive three-pointers. Rudy Fernandez followed with a deep three with 48.9 seconds remaining.

Suddenly, the Celtics' lead shrank to 82-77.

When Marquis Daniels missed two free throws with 42.3 seconds remaining, the Blazers seemingly were back in the game ... except Garnett snatched the rebound on the miss. Glen Davis made two free throws afterward, killing the rally, and Boston cruised from there.

Man, I hate Kevin Garnett.  Just seeing his stupid name in that last sentence pisses me off.  I can't wait until his old-ass knees give out and he has to retire.  I also can't wait until someone finally steps up to his childish antics and punches him straight in his big mouth.  It would be well worth however many games they suspend a guy for to see Garnett get what's coming.  One day, I suppose.

This game also saw Nic Batum go down in the 2nd quarter with (you guessed it) a knee injury.  But the news today is saying that it's not serious and that he's day-to-day.  The fans in Portland can actually exhale on this one.

[ Oregonlive.com story ] 

A Visual Reminder Of How Simultaneously Arrogant And Stupid Looking The Boston Celtics Can Be

These clowns are heading into town to take on the Blazers tomorrow night.  I'm still waiting for LaMarcus Aldridge to haul off and smack Kevin Garnett in the mouth.  It might never happen, but hey, I can dream.

Sacramento 96, Portland 81

Uhhh, how the hell did this happen?

I was out and about during the end part of this game, and had to follow along on my phone.  Once I had arrived to my destination, I was able to check the final score, and you could say I was a little surprised at what I saw.  I actually thought it was an error and my phone's app wasn't working correctly, so I had to go to my computer and check there.  It wasn't an error.

This is the kind of loss that just pisses me off to no end.  Nothing like a loss to Miami in overtime by 7.  That kind of loss is at least tolerable.  No, this pisses me off, to the point of wanting the Blazers to start tanking and blow up the team just for the hell of it.  Cannot stand losses like this.  I couldn't imagine what it'd be like being a player and losing to the effing Kings.

I mean, the Kings?  Really, Portland?!?  You got owned by the Sacramento Kings???  I would rather take a Blazer forfeit over actually playing the game and still losing.

Ok, I'm over it.  I better go to bed before I start cursing.

Portland 97, Indiana 92

Well this game could have gone down the toilet real quickly.  And it very nearly did.  I was only able to watch the beginning of the game and the end, so it was hard for me to get a good feel of how the game went.  

But luckily, they were playing the Indiana Pacers, and not a better team, or it could have been a lot worse.  The Blazers trailed at one point by 16 to the Pacers, until they pulled their head's outta their a$$es and came back for the win.  Aldridge dominated again with 25 points and 12 boards, and Nic Batum couldn't miss from deep and added 5 three-pointers.  And that is all the description that I can muster for this snoozer of a game.

A quick summary from Ben over at Blazersedge.com:

"Adapt" was really the theme tonight. The Blazers first made due without Miller after the initial hiccup and then played lights out shutdown team defense in the fourth quarter again. The key adaptation there was switching Batum onto Collison -- it's always a favorite adjustment of mine when Batum gets to guard point guards -- and then using an interchangeable lineup to keep Collison from getting into the paint and forcing a general stand-around stagnation from his teammates."

If there is one thing that Portland has had to do plenty of this season, it is adapt.  And they've done it pretty well, all in all.