NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
Bryant Knox breaks down his predictions on which Portland Trail Blazers will be gone for the 2012-13 season. Portland’s year was filled with ups and downs. Players such as Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge excelled, but others can’t quite say the same. The likely candidates to be gone are Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith and Jared Jeffries. The more questionable ones are JJ Hickson, Elliot Williams and Eric Maynor.
Lillard’s Big Night Sitting 11 games under .500, and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Portland Trail Blazers had very little to play for heading in to last night’s contest against the rival Los Angeles Lakers. However, any time Portland hosts the Lakers at the Rose Garden, no matter the situation, there’s always something to [...]
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers writer Rick Stella gives us his weekly Rick’s Picks, naming the All-Star performances showcased in Rip City. Damian Lillard, JJ Hickson, and Eric Maynor all put on the show in Minnesota, ultimately leading to all three of them receiving a selection to this week’s picks.
NWSB Insider and Portland Trail Blazers blogger Jon Irwin breaks down the Blazers vs. Thunder matchup. The Headline: Despite doing everything else right, the Blazers can’t make their shots, landing their first loss of the season. Damian Lillard becomes just the third NBA rookie to get 20 points and 7 assists in his first two games. But not even that can erase the disappointing play from Batum and the bench.
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 Writer Bryant Knox recaps the Portland Trail Blazers’ most recent roster moves. Nearly 24 hours before the team’s season opener, the Blazers opted to decline team options on Elliot Williams, Luke Babbitt and Nolan Smith for the 2013-14 season. All three players have the potential to make a roster next season, but at this point, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be in PDX.
Resident NBA blogger and Portland Trail Blazers writer Steve Lee tells us today when you look at the Blazers backups, here’s hoping that those who hear their name announced at the beginning of the night have eaten their Wheaties! Joel Freeland, Myers Leonard, Luke Babbitt, Victor Claver, Sasha Pavlovic, Elliot Williams, Nolan Smith and Ronnie Price have their work cut out for them in the 2012 NBA season around the corner.
NWSB Writer Steve Lee gives you his five reasons on why the Portland Trail Blazers will not make the playoffs in the upcoming basketball season. With the ever increasing talent surrounding the teams in the west, Portland lacks the depth, and talent to make a run for the postseason. Plus, there is the injury curse that plagues Rip City. All in all, this Blazers team is just too young and unexperienced to beat out the likes of Dallas for the final playoff spot.
NWSB Writer Blair Thomas previews what is sure to be a very interesting matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers in 2013. Both teams look to compete for playoff spots in the Western Conference heading into the upcoming season. Here is a breakdown of how the teams match-up head-to-head in 2012-13. Key players are those such as Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard.
NWSB Insider Bryant Knox brings us a summary of how the Portland Trail Blazers did in the Summer League that just wrapped up. Damian Lillard was outstanding, earning co-MVP and owning one of the best moments of the tournament – a monstrous slam dunk. Second year player Nolan Smith was doing well until an injury sidelined him. And Kaleb Canales is showing why he was chosen as the replacement at the helm of the Blazers.
What might Portland do? Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? This question lingered for months leading up to the 2007 NBA Draft where the TrailBlazers overcame a 5% chance at the #1 overall pick in that year’s Draft lottery. The pick, used on Ohio State center Greg Oden, would later come back to haunt the Trail [...]
NWSB Insider and Portland Trailblazers writer Steve Lee has grades for the 2011/12 Blazers. RIP City finished the season 8 games out of a playoff spot. Jamal Crawford’s return to the Northwest did not end with as much fanfare as it start with. There wasn’t much that LaMarcus Aldridge did that could be classified as negative this season. Raymond Felton’s report card was a blueprint of a roller coaster.
