I've been a big Blazers fan this year but I was right on the verge of needing a break from them tonight when the rookie Bayless finally showed some fire and the team became entertaining again.
They've been playing too damn carefully lately and they need to go off more. I'd rather see a bunch of crazed emotion than a polite, cautious controlled safe approach.
Yes, the Oden fouls are annoying but I'm willing to endure some problems. Hell, this team is still a lot of fun to watch on a rainy winter night in Portland, Oregon.
In this game Rudy had a sensational rebound and Travis was money at the end. That reminds me....
For me the single most annoying thing about watching the Blazers remains this one habit Mike Rice has that drives me absolutely nuts.
I've made my peace with the fact that I don't like his voice starting with the way he can't pronounce "Blazers" correctly. I see him as a real character with vast knowledge and a pleasant sense of humor and the other guy is an absolute gem.
But when he goes into his routine of telling you exactly what will happen as if he's frigging Nostradamus, it makes it all about him. Just say, "Look for" or "Maybe the Blaczhers will try this..."
Tonight with the game on the line he said it would be a pick and roll play for LaMarcus Aldridge at the top of the key and then LaMarcus would shoot a 12-foot jumper. Not 14 feet, not 16 feet. 12 feet.
And it wasn't: "it might happen" or "I'd suggest they"...No, it's "I'm Mike Rice --- it's all about me -- my basketball knowledge is so advanced that I can SEE the FUTURE!!!"

Well, guess what, Mike? None of it happened. Not one bit. God, that's irritating. You occasionally make little comments about how a ref is reacting to your presence or how your comment is affecting freethrows. That's fine. But to insert yourself into key moments in the game in such a vain manner...If you can see the future just tell me who's going to win and I'll move onto something else.

I am now researching to buy a wifi radio so I can listen to radio announcers from the visiting teams. I tried it with ours and it's out of synch with the televised game so unless I can get a delay hooked up, I am stuck, but I'm not going to listen to this anymore if I can help it. Don't make the most exciting parts of the game all about you.

And it's "Blazers" - not "Blashjers".

He didn't get in great position for rebounds tonight. But those refs are hazing the hell out of him... at least half of his fouls are the result of overzealous whistles. He'll have to figure out how to compensate for that until they allow him to play his size.

until they allow him to play his size.

If ever.

Interesting new book called "Sway" about how we act irrationally and are swayed by unconscious errors. The Blazers and drafting Sam Bowie make an appearance at the head of one of the chapters.

Perhaps you should consider retracting your "Outlaw = Deadwood" comment from a few days ago . . . unless you were referring to the awesome HBO series and were in fact paying Outlaw a compliment.

Not a lot of deadwood has NBA coaches telling it to take the game-winning shot.

Some of those "overzealous whistles" are even beyond imaginary. If I had to play thinking about "going up straight", "not going towards the offensive players" I would play tentatively too. There's room for improvement and some of it has to come from the refs.

Perhaps you should consider retracting your "Outlaw = Deadwood" comment

Outlaw has been in the league five or six years and still doesn't know what he's doing out there about a third of the time. They ought to package up him, Sergio, Frye and/or Webster and get an older guy who's always in the right place on the floor.

Outlaw does hit clutch shots, but if his all-around game were better you wouldn't need him to.

With those stats, Oden could making a double double every night (nearly 16 points, 4 rebounds and 12 fouls) if he played 48 minutes.

"Outlaw does hit clutch shots, but . . ."

Reminds me of when Buddy Ryan complained about Cris Carter, "All he does is catch touchdowns!"

Hitting clutch shots - usually a place for you on a roster if you can do that.

Outlaw played a better game than usual. He's a streak shooter and he was hot tonight. He also played some tenacious defense on Tashawn Prince--at times. He still was out of position quite a bit, resulting in missed rebounds or open shots for Detroit. So had he played smarter, the Blazers would not have needed his last shot.

Hitting clutch shots - usually a place for you on a roster if you can do that.

Sure, let Brandon Roy carry the team on his back for 40 minutes a game. See how long his legs hold up.

Brandon's legs will have to do a lot less if Outlaw is on the court as a genuine threat to hit big shots.

And you seem to be forgetting that L. Aldridge is developing into a righteous stud. Outlaw's not a terrible third or fourth option.

Aldridge is great, for a giant jump shooter. But who said anything about him?

Let's get back to Outlaw. He's an 11 and 4 guy whose scoring, rebounding, and shooting and free throw percentages are flat or on a slow decline. He's out of position on the court often. His plus/minus for the year is -6.7. He doesn't seem to be maturing much after five-plus years in the league.

He does hit shots down the stretch, and he's not a cancer in the locker room, but at $4 million he's no bargain.

I brought up Aldridge because you wrote as if Outlaw was the only guy the Blazers have to help Brandon Roy win games. I don't think that Outlaw is going to be the Blazers #2 or even #3. But as a guy who has a proven ability to hit tough jumpers and clutch shots, he's got a key role to play.

As for the $4 million salary, he's in good, overpaid company. The NBA has no "bargains."

Umm, Rudy is a bargain in the sense that he could be making 3 times as much playing in Europe.
The 4 million for Outlaw? Paul Allen has that in his change drawer.