NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Jon Irwin breaks down the Blazers vs Pistons matchup. The Headline: despite a nagging back injury, LaMarcus Aldridge comes alive for Portland; unfortunately, it’s not enough to hold off the Pistons in this 101-108 loss. Also, the rookies show promise while the stars fade. The Blazers rolled with four bench players in this one, rookies Will Barton and Meyers Leonard were prominent.
Bryant Knox previews the Portland Trail Blazers Nov. 26 matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Portland has a legitimate chance at taking down an Eastern Conference foe on the road, but they’ll have to worry about Greg Monroe in the middle. They key matchup in this one will be between Moroe and whichever big man gets the assignment—J.J. Hickson or Meyers Leonard. LaMarcus Aldridge is questionable.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Jon Irwin breaks down the Blazers vs. Suns matchup. The Headline: the Suns come out blazing, shooting a near 60 percent against an ailing Portland team. The duel rookies Lillard and Leonard play pretty good ball, but a lack of defense and control lets the Suns runaway with this one.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Jon Irwin breaks down the Spurs vs. Blazers matchup. The Headline: Nicolas Batum asks for the ball in the fourth and delivers, but not even that saves Portland from falling just short. Batum and L.A. have solid nights, but still can’t match a small Parker-less Spurs.
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox explains why the Portland Trail Blazers would be better of bringing J.J. Hickson off the bench this season. The Blazers bench is averaging just 12.8 points per game, which is hands-down the worst in the entire NBA. Meyers Leonard may not be ready to take the starting center role, but Hickson would be a far better leader off the bench at this point in the 2012-13 season.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Jon Irwin breaks down the Blazers vs. Mavericks matchup. The Headline: The Blazers can’t do anything to stop O.J. Mayo, as they fall to the Mavs 114-91. L.A. and Matthews really came alive on defense, and the team played great on the boards. But ugly ball control—and an inability to defend the perimeter—led to this big loss.
NWSB Editor and Writer Jon Irwin talks about the ways the Portland Trail Blazers can overachieve and underachieve in the upcoming 2012/2013 NBA season. Big play from their rookies—especially Damian Lillard—could help Portland overachieve. But if Nicolas Batum and the centers falter, Portland’s going to lose a lot of games.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers writer Rick Stella previews the 2012-13 season. If Portland has any shot at earning one of the eight playoff spots, they have a lot of work ahead of them. Stella predicts that patience will be required with Terry Stott’s team, and that Rip City’s final record will be 35-47. He also projects the season’s stats for LaMarcus Alddridge, J.J. Hickson, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews and Damian Lillard.
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox recaps the Portland Trail Blazers’ first preseason game of the 2012-13 season. The Portland Trail Blazers played the opener against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night, and with a score of 93-74 in Rip City’s favor, you can’t help but feel good about what you saw in the team’s performance. Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard both played well in their first NBA action.
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox makes Portland Trail Blazers predictions as we approach the 2012/2013 NBA season. The Trail Blazers are a young, inexperienced group, but with so much potential waiting to be let loose, there could be some surprising results in 2013. In the news J.J. Hickson has been named the starting center. LaMarcus Aldridge is returning to full health. Damian Lillard will compete for Rookie of the Year.
NWSB Writer Bryant Knox talks about the Portland Trail Blazers training camp as we approach the 2012/2013 NBA season. Last season was one of the more disappointing years in franchise history, but with the 2012 youth movement in full effect, there are some things we should look for as Rip City gets ready to go back to work. IN the news J.J. Hickson has been named the starting center. LaMarcus Aldridge is coming off of season-ending hip surgery.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Byrant Knox gives us his 2012 starting lineup strength and weaknesses breakdown for each player. With Meyers Leonard, Wesley Matthews at SG, LaMarcus Aldridge at PF, Rookie Damian Lillard at PG, and Nicolas Batum at SF RIP City has some real great players to build around. One thing we know pretty well at this point, is what each starting player brings to the table.
