We're closing off our second Rate-a-Nate poll, which we started on December 4. This was just before the wheels came off of the Blazers' season. With 161 votes cast, Nate rates just a 4.9 on a scale of 1 to 10. That's quite a bit lower than the 5.4 he scored at the start of November.

Whatever happens next, Coach has the perfect excuse: injuries. But even before they struck, he didn't seem to be the leader to take the team to the next level. One has to wonder whether he'll still be around next year, for better or worse. We'll take another Rate-a-Nate poll in a few weeks, to recheck our reading public's sentiment.