I just got back from the Clash of the Classes high school showcase.  Much larger than (I) anticipated crowd-- a few thousand packed the Lewis and Clark gym to see the likes of Mike Moser, Abdul Gaddy and Nigel Williams-Goss.  Really well-executed show, from start to finish.

Play a game with me for a second.

Let's say you're an NBA All-Star guard.  You just played a preseason game last night 2,000 miles from home (although there is no televised evidence that this game took place, it did take place, or so my sources tell me).  You have another exhibition game tomorrow afternoon.  You're coming off 2 weeks of 2 a day training camp. It's 9 oclock on a Saturday Night.  Where are you? 

In bed?

At the club?

On the couch watching the Ducks?

If you're Brandon Roy, you're at the Lewis and Clark gym, taking pictures with a high cheerleadering team (who are squealing), exchanging phone numbers and words of encouragements with the team of high-schoolers that made the trip down from Washington (who don't seem at all surprised to see him), and signing autographs for Blazers fans of all ages (who do seem surprised to see him).

Tomorrow afternoon, when he's once again wearing a Blazers jersey in front of television cameras and thousands of fans, remember that he spent tonight encouraging young basketball players with no fanfare. 

I'm not sure if his appearance will make the news, but it should.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Here's round 2 of the NBA previews, as compiled and organized by Jeff at Celtics Blog.  Check it out: it's the Southwest division.

Dallas Mavericks
Jake Kerr: Mavs Moneyball

Houston Rockets
grungedave and UofTOrange: The Dream Shake  

Memphis Grizzlies
Joshua Coleman: 3 Shades of Blue

New Orleans Hornets
Rohan: At the Hive
ticktock6 & mW: Hornets Hype
Ryan Schwan & Ron Hitley: Hornets247.com

San Antonio Spurs
Graydon Gordian: 48 Minutes of Hell

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

In between not televising last night's game, running obnoxious and insulting television commercials, still refusing to make deals with the major satellite providers, and stealing candy from little girls while at lunch recess, Comcast cleared some time in its busy schedule to fire an NBA Hall of Famer.

Bob Cousy, thanks for your lifetime of service to the Celtics organization, "logistics" simply don't allow for you to participate in broadcasting games any longer.

Cousy's reaction:

"I would have liked to have continued," Cousy said yesterday. "I'm only involved in 10 games a season, so it's not that big a deal. But I would have liked to have been allowed to keep my hand in, especially after 22 years of [Celtics] mediocrity - last year was kind of fun, frankly, and I was looking forward to doing it again. Comcast can choose to do the hiring and firing, but if it's a financial situation, I'm not being overpaid. What they pay me is what they spend monthly for office supplies."

Cousy said he was dissatisfied with how he was informed of the decision.

"I got a call from somebody I hardly knew, not even the head honcho, saying they decided to go to a two-man booth," Cousy said. "I said, 'Thank you, very much,' and hung up. When you're 80 years old, you run out of leverage."

Comcast's lame statement:

Comcast general manager and vice president Bill Bridgen decided to eliminate Cousy from the broadcast setup of Mike Gorman and Donny Marshall. Tommy Heinsohn's role will also be reduced; he'll join Gary Tanguay in the studio for road games. On-court reporter Greg Dickerson will join Gorman and Marshall.

"This is a unique situation, for a start," Bridgen said. "I like the consistency of a two-man booth, as opposed to going with a three-man booth for nine or 10 games. This is not anti-Bob Cousy or for financial reasons. It's logistics and part of that is I believe Donny is a fantastic new addition.

Flashes of Schonely being forced out in the mean, old days are rushing back.

Anyway, perhaps it's not just the NBA fan that Comcast doesn't understand.  Perhaps it's the NBA as a whole.

Tony: "Tell them what they've won!"

Michael: "Nothing.  The fans have won nothing."

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Ouch!

Ezra Ace Caraeff of the Portland Mercury with a very nice scoop:

This "Jolly Rancher green" 1996 Impala is really something--although it sort of looks like the Incredible Hulk threw it up--and while I'm a little confused on why the gentle, if not downright goofy, Outlaw went with the whole airbrushed evil skull shooting the playing cards motif, I'm just jealous that this isn't on the trunk of my car.

Head over to the Mercury's blog to read about who designed it... you probably won't be surprised which other vehicles he's done.  Click here for an interesting video tour.

The skull looks like it's holding two six-shooters to me.  Perhaps this was the inspiration for Travis's 1 for 12 performance on Wednesday night?

Sort of related: If you haven't seen Greg's custom Dodge Charger, check out the guys at 503 Motoring... I've heard from a few people that 503 is THE SPOT... Maybe some of you can confirm that?

I guess if today's market crash has you homeless and thinking about living in your car, maybe head over to 503 and have them put in a custom sleeping bag and pillow embroidered with your initials in the backseat. Sure beats a mortgage!

That's all I've got in whip-related news, although right now I am thinking about buying a pair of those rollerskate shoes and putting rims on them.  If and when that happens, I'll go ahead and post some pictures.

UPDATE: This just in: Ezra is now reporting that, "in other car news, Luke Jackson got his learner's permit and now can drive his mom's AstroVan to practice." Cold.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) 

Hate to say it, but it's true. 

When Brandon went down, there was basically a city-wide candelight vigil.

When Greg went down, this site's readership collectively re-worked their workout plans, losing something like 12,000 pounds (or 4 Robert Traylors, for those of you who use the metric system).

When Frye went down, it wasn't quite as drastic but there was definitely some mourning.  A LOT of "get well soon, channing!!!!! xoxooxxoo" were flying around.

When Steve Blake went down, well... it's Steve Blake.  No one, ever, has gotten worked up over Steve Blake.  That's why he's Steve Blake.  That's why I love him.

When Rudy twisted an ankle last night?  There were 27 cardiac failures reported and the rest of the crowd that survived gathered together the largest chant of the night: "RUDY RUDY RUDY" until he got up.

But when Martell goes down? No one seems to care at all. 

He's out 8 to 12 weeks. 

We won't be seeing him until 2009. 

He's our starting 3, he was better-than-average trade bait, he's a good locker room guy, and he seemed more confident than ever (poised for a breakout?).  

This is trouble.  This isn't good.  But, if a stress fracture happens in the woods, does it make a sound?

What's the deal with that?  Help me out, I don't get it....

Maybe we're just desensitized to violence?

For the record, I don't love Martell, but I was finally starting to really appreciate what he brings to the table.  And it's a lot.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

... To bring word of a local high school hoops event. 

Here are the details, courtesy of Courtside Entertainment:

The first-ever "Clash of the Classes" 

Saturday, October 11, at Lewis & Clark College

• 5:30PM   Elite Youth "Clash of the Classes" Game
• 7:30PM   Elite HS "Clash of the Classes" Game    

Both games will be played at Lewis & Clark College located at:

0615 SW Palatine Hill Road Portland, Oregon 97219.

Here's a partial list of players that will be there.  It's basically a who's who of Oregon and Washington high school hoopsters:

Mike Moser, Max Jacobsen, Terrence Jones, Stephen Holt, Garrett Jackson, Jordan Railey, Kyle Wiltjer, Cameron McCaffery, Cody Hickey, Jordan Tebbutt, Abdul Gaddy, Peyton Siva, Cody Thurmond, Aaron Bright, Josh Smith, Cole Dickerson, Colton Christian.

The two young'uns to keep an eye on:

Arguably the top player in the country in the Class of 2011, Tony Wroten, Jr.

The nation's top eighth grader, Nigel Williams-Goss of  Happy Valley.

I will also be on hand taking pictures and signing autographs watching the game. Can't wait to see this.  

There's at least a 50 percent chance that Nigel gets called up to the Blazers if one more guard goes down with injury, so come take a look at your team's next floor general!

Support local hoops and make an appearance. Courtside always puts on a good show. 

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Dwight said that after tonight's performance there was no way I could write another yeehaw post.  True Dat.

Last night was like Carnival; tonight was like funeral. 

(That line reads better if you pronouce funeral "funer-al," with the stress on the last syllable. Go with it.) 

The crowd was dead, the team was half-dead, what can you say?  The hangover was in full effect.

I was all set to break news today-- I went to Washington Square to get my Blackberry fixed this morning and randomly ran into Maurice Lucas.  So the plan was, after last night's game, to make up a story about how Coach was going to Zales to get his ring finger fitted.  You know, because we were pretty flippin sweet last night .

But given tonight's performance, hopefully Coach was at the Sony Store copping a DVD player because there were so many teachable moments out there tonight it felt like a giant Montessori classroom.

Where to begin?  Point guard problems?  Sure. 

• Bayless: 0 assists, 5 turnovers, one awesome sweater straight out of the Caddyshack clubhouse. 
• Sergio: 10 assists (ole), 6 turnovers (ay yi yi).

Paging Steve Blake.  Paging Steve Blake. Please report.  Seriously.  PLEASE report.

What's up next on the panic platter? Injury concerns?  No problem.

• Marty, the starting 3, is looking at a stress fractured foot -- out 4 to 8 weeks.  What do you do?  Start Travis at 3?  Start Rudy at 3? Start Rudy at 2 and move Brandon to 3?  Not questions I want to be pondering at all right now.
• To make matters worse, Rudy, champion of the world, went down in a heap with a twisted ankle, will be held out indefinitely although it's not serious.
• Ike Diogu, presumed POWER forward, came down with a case of Wizard-of-Oz-Lion-Itis.  When you get the ball on the block, GO UP. Brutal.

On the bright side:

Nic Batum.  Wow.  Those open court passing skills came out of nowhere.  Time to make him an honorary Spaniard so we can go with the nickname Three Amigos for him, Rudy and Sergio.  Who's got a pinata?

Greg Oden.  Greg's performance might get lost in the shuffle because he did most of his damage before the game turned ugly.  But it shouldn't.  Greg put in work tonight, drawing lots of attention from the undersized Warriors, doing his dunk thing and cleaning the boards quite well (9 rebounds in 19 minutes).  Again he failed to execute a real go-to offensive move.  The half-hook is quite wild.  It's time to recallibrate the joystick on that one.

The lineup that really did us in during the second half:  Bayless, Rudy, Outlaw, Aldridge, Przybilla. They were getting killed on both ends.  It didn't help that Travis shot 1 for 12 tonight (yes, it was that bad).  The uptick to the flow of the offense was immediately noticeable when Sergio checked in.  He just clicks with Rudy in a way Bayless doesn't.  Obviously, this could be his ticket to increased PT if he can hang on to the damn ball.

Aldridge ran the floor well tonight.  He is finding himself with the ball in places and at times this season that I don't remember last year.  And he shoots the ball with such confidence.  No hesitation.  I would love to see him do the same down on the block a bit more, particularly when he's in there with the 2nd team, particularly when he's playing against the Golden State Supermodels.

Some other random game notes before I call it a night:

-- Sergio was out there early pre-game shooting 3s.

-- Brian Hendrickson threw a sick pass to Anthony Randolph during pre-game shootaround.  He can write and dime.  What more could you want?

-- Warrior Richard Hendrix (son of Venard and Valerie.... Venard... awesome... writing that one down to suggest if Dave ever decides to have a Baby Shooting Guard) has a website where he blogs, www.Richard-Hendrix.com. 

-- According to the Warriors Media Guide, Richard Hendrix's 3 favorite items are his Bible, his laptop and his phone.  Funny thing about that: Marcus Williams also listed Richard Hendrix's laptop as one of his 3 favorite things.

(someone hit the drums after that one right?)

-- Hendrix had a DNP but I wrote the joke like 5 hours ago and told everyone in sight, so I'm still going with it.

-- Also courtesy of the Media Guide -- How the heck did I miss this (why wasn't I invited?): "In honor of Jackson's continued commitment to the community, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaimed April 12, 2008, as Stephen Jackson Day in the city of San Francisco."   Paper Planes by MIA was the official theme song, I'm sure.

-- Rudy channels Kevin Love when it comes to the outlet pass.  Someone made the comment yesterday (sorry forgot which post) that Rudy plays basketball like a soccer player.  This is true.  He does "play the ball into space" quite often, putting the ball in what seems like a dangerous, unoccupied location, but which is actually not dangerous because it's a spot only a teammate can receive it, and which usually leads to an advantage because the defense isn't expecting it.  Fun to watch.

-- Rudy was guessing a little bit tonight on defense, positioning himself in ways that made him vulnerable to backcuts, generally by overplaying his man away from the ball.  He has great instincts for what his opponents plan to do, whether a driving guard plans to shoot or pass, for instance, but he does have a little gambling streak in him.

-- Sergio has a knack for making passes that lead to layups and dunks, for both teams.  His turnovers consistently went back the other way for transition 2s tonight.  That's exactly what Nate doesn't want to see, because Sergio did well putting 20 points on the board for his teammates, don't give 8 or 12 back!

-- I saw a Triple Five Soul sweatshirt in the crowd tonight.  Which is awesome.  Didn't know they were still doing their thing.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Well, a few days ago I said that one of the top five storylines for the team this October was whether or not we would enter the season with 5 healthy starters.

Um, bad news...

WEBSTER SIDELINED WITH FOOT INJURY

PORTLAND, Ore. - X-rays taken last night of Martell Webster's left foot showed that the Trail Blazers guard suffered a stress fracture of his fifth metatarsal. The injury occurred during Tuesday night's preseason game against the Sacramento Kings. Further testing today, which included a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT Scan), confirmed the injury.

Webster will be further evaluated tomorrow to determine a course of treatment and timetable for his return.

When there's an update (probably tomorrow), we'll get that to you...

In the meantime, #25 all day homey don't forget it.

Just saw Timmay! had this first in the sidebar.  Good job, solider.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Basketball

Is

The

Most

Beautiful

Sport.

You

Expect

Me

To

Write

After

That?

It was halfway through the fourth quarter of an exhibition game, a 30 point blowout, and I absolutely did not want it to end.  Time: move slower so this moment stretches.

Dunk Parade.

Forever.

I could have stayed all night. I cannot wait for tomorrow.

I could have slept in a chair in an empty Rose Garden.

I was warned not to overhype the first game. Nate told me to keep the result in perspective and that the team had a lot to work on.  The radio guys were quick to remind me that tonight's exhibition doesn't matter in the win and loss column.

Cool.  

Good luck with that.

You can't feign joy.  

You can feign happiness.

You can't feign joy.

I just spent the last 45 minutes walking around in a daze, listening to Nate in a daze, watching Brandon and Greg take this in stride in a daze, driving home in a daze, typing this in a daze.  

Red, black and white.  That was us out there.  That was Portland.

The fans.  Standing ovations. For at least half the team at various points throughout the night.  That was us out there.  That was Portland.

The press.  Unable to keep the mandatory composure, hands thrown in the air, heads shaking, stat sheets placed on top of the head (that was me), joking, laughing, giggling, awe-struck, seeking some perspective, eschewing that perspective, settling back, having fun, having a laugh, taking it in, absorbing the moment, this team is awesome.

It was past poetry, I'm not sure what is past poetry, but this was.  Choreographed.  Ruthless. Efficient. Emphatic.  

If you had a pulse, and you were there, you will remember tonight, no matter what happens the rest of this season.     

Go ahead, come through, be cynical, mock, downplay, whatever.  

Good luck with that.  

You can have that.  

I will take this. I will treasure this.

This was a crowning achievement, not because of what it was, but because of what this can become.  

See you tomorow.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Fun practice today.  We got to see the Blazers work through some things on both offense and defense -- from a team standpoint. Because it's a hot topic, I thought I'd start with the units that we were seeing working together...

• Black Team ("first team"): Sergio, Brandon, Martell, Aldridge, Oden
• White Team ("second team"): Bayless, Rudy, Troutlaw, Ike, Przybilla
• Red Team ("third team"): Tatum, Jackson, Batum, Randolph, Hill
• Blake and Channing were out injured.

Obligatory note: Nate said at the end of last week not to read too much into that.  So, alright.  But I thought you'd like to know that's where they were at again today.

We were allowed to watch more than usual today, which was a nice treat.  When we entered, the guys were going through 4 on 4.  Essentially, the point guard would check it up at the top of the key, two post men would set screens and a wing would run off the screens looking to get the ball and either shoot or attack the basket.  The teams would go for about 6 or 7 reps and then rotate offense/defense.

The points of emphasis on defense were not surprising: pressure the ball, help if someone gets caught on a screen, do not foul a jumpshooter (Nate got into Batum a bit for this), and step out to bump dribblers that are trying to curl off of picks. 

Ike was having a bit of trouble with that last one.  Last Thursday, KP noted that he has spoken with Ike about the importance of team defense.  Indeed.

Most of the coaching aimed to emphasize the basics of team defense:

-- Nate told Greg to increase his volume when calling out picks: "I heard you... but still.. be LOUDER."

-- Switch on screens more frequently when the shot clock is running down, so as to not let a shooter get a clean look after playing solid team defense for an entire possession. 

-- Especially when the first team was playing defense, there was a concerted effort to trap the ball in the corners and force a long diagonal pass across court.  They were going after Bayless pretty good in this type of situation.  The weakside defender was instructed to be on his toes for that pass, presumably to intercept it and take it to the house.  Slip and slide.

-- Avoid leaving a shooter wide open in the corner while taking a swat at a player who is penetrating into the key.  Nate said something to the effect of, "We'd rather have a contested 2 than an easy 3."  This was said while Greg was playing defense in the middle, and for a lot of wing defenders not collapsing might be a little bit counterintuitive.  It's hard to let someone run unscathed towards the rim.  But with Greg in there, doing so would be counterproductive.  The implication was that all 2's going to the hoop when Greg is in the game will end up being contested.  So, wings, just let the big fella handle it and stick with your man.

On the offensive side of things, the main point of emphasis seemed to be on the wings working to get open by using off-ball screens effectively.  Nate got on Martell a little bit for not using the picks rigorously enough, but Batum was guarding him and Martell didn't exactly need a pick to get any shot he wanted. 

Some other random observations:

At one point, Nate had Rudy and Bayless switch spots on defense, so Rudy could get some reps guarding the point and Bayless could run the gauntlet of screens guarding the wing.  This only happened for a few reps, the rest of the time they were in their usual spots.

When the first team was on defense, the second team really struggled to score. Even with both Bayless and Travis (or Rudy) on the court, the 2nd team often found itself unable to get a shot up in 24 seconds or simply taking contested shots that weren't falling. 

Greg looked quick today on both sides of the ball.  At one point, playing offense, he was coming clear out to the 3 point line to set screens.  It wasn't the lumbering move to set a pick that we're used to from most centers in the league.  It was quick out to the 3 point line, set his feet, then quick back to the basket. 

My favorite sequence of the day occurred when Batum was guarding Brandon with the ball near the 3 point line, and Greg came through to set a pick.  Well before Greg even got there, Batum was looking over both of his shoulders, trying to sense where the pick was coming from.  Nate blew the play dead and told Nic that his job was to concentrate on the dribbler and control the ball, and not worry about getting hit.  Nic nodded in agreement but it was a funny moment.  "Easy for you to say coach, you don't have Big Greg rolling up on your blind side about to lay the wood to you."  That scene underscored how good Brandon is with the ball too, because he wasn't tipping off the direction of the screen with his eyes or his body.  So, imagine you are Nic: you've got a brick wall showing up to your left or right side, and you know it's coming, but you don't know when it's coming and you have no idea from which direction it's coming, but when it comes, your man is pretty much guaranteed to fly by you instantly.  Well, jeez, coach, of course there's a temptation to check the rearview mirror.  Nic will not be the only person in that position this year.

Speaking of Brandon, he again looked smooth with the ball, and he and LaMarcus are looking very, very fluid together.  They are doing the small things, like ball handoffs, essentially without eye contact, just based on a familiarity with each other.  It's a beautiful thing to watch.

Last but not least: the Sergiomaniacs can rejoice.  Sergio took Tatum to the rack from the left elbow, drawing all sorts of defensive attention, and then flipped the ball behind his right ear to Greg who was standing wide open and ready for the pass on the left baseline.  Greg caught the quick pass and threw down a big slam. 

It was the play of the day.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

PS... if you've read this far you deserve a treat.  KP just wrote back about our Thanks KP post to say, "I read it the other day and I am very appreciative of all the comments. When I looked it was at over 180 comments." 

Really, really good stuff Bedgers!  If you left a message, your voice was heard.  How many teams' fanbases can say that?