Blazer Scrimmage

My Nephew Austin and Blazer Buddy Brad went with me to the Blazer scrimmage yesterday. It was the first chance to see Greg Oden at the Rose Garden and the first chance to see Rudy Fernandez play in Portland. On the way in we got to shake hands with Travis Outlaw and assistant coach Monty Williams. Brad met Ike Diogu and Coach McMillan. Austin got a Greg Oden bobble-head doll. The Blazer media took some pictures of Austin and I, so look for us on a billboard on your street soon!

Getting up close and personal with the giants is something to behold, but the real excitement came during the scrimmage. Oden looked good, he's so huge compared to everyone else on the court. He is still not quite in NBA shape but had a few moments where you could tell he is going to be a great player, probably sooner rather than later. I give him until 2010 until he's an All-Star.

The real eye-opener for me was Rudy Fernandez. He zipped some amazing passes to several players, one was a complete wrap-around the back pass to that made everyone do a double take... was it real??? Oh yes! It was REAL! He also has a great-looking 3 point shot that has a cool looking back spin on it and seems to be going 100MPH. But it doesn't just look good, it's also very accurate. If Manual Ginobli doesn't return from his injury to his old form, my bet is for Rudy Fernandez to make 6th man of the year. He is smart on the court, deceptively quick, isn't afraid to take it to the hoop, shoots well from deep, doesn't seem to be a terrible defender, and passes waaaay better than I expected.

Of the 4 players vying for the last roster spot - Steven Hill, Luke Jackson, Tatum, and Shavlik Randolph - Luke Jackson showed he could play last night. He had a couple great moves to the basket, got teammates involved, rebounded, and defended surprisingly well. Tatum was quick and hit a nice 3-pointer. Hill and Randolph were OK but didn't stand out. Too bad we're so deep at the 3 or I'd say we should keep Luke Jackson. He should definitely be on somebodies team this.

LaMarcus Aldridge absolutely went off last night. He scored 25 and made it look easy. His 12-15 foot jumper is automatic. Like Austin pointed out, he shoots it Rasheed Wallace-ish, letting it go at the apex of his reach. He also looked good down low, something I think will become a common theme this year, as he benefits from other teams trying to stop Oden from getting too deep on the block and forgetting about Aldridge.

Brandon Roy was back in form and had one really great circus shot where he flipped toward the basket after he was fouled and somehow it made it in... he seems to get at least one of those per game.

Outlaw had a few good shots and looked active around the basket. Przyabilla was his usual self, scrapping for position and rebounds and even dunking one off a pick and roll.

Martell started out slow but then got in the swing of things in the 2nd half. He had a great follow-up dunk and hit a couple nice outside shots. Brad thinks he is the odd man out and will be gone before next year. I think he's a solid player and I like him, he got much better at rebounding last year and I think he'd be fine coming off the bench to back up Outlaw. His ability play the 2-guard gives him more value too.

Brad also thinks Jerryd Bayless is another Jarret Jack; a cocky point guard who has a shooting guard mentality. I agree with Brad on those points but I think he's much better in a few different aspects: his speed is much better, he is more decisive, and he is less prone to make the same kind of bumbling mistakes Jack made famous. How many times did Jack step on the out-of-bounds line? How many times did he lose control of the ball mid-move because he couldn't decide if he should pass, shoot, or drive? I think Jerryd will make plenty of mistakes and certainly needs to involve his teammates more often, but I think he has the capacity and determination to improve and become a solid NBA point guard one day. Maybe backing up Blake for a year will teach him to think pass first.

Ike Diogu was unimpressive until late in the game when he had a nice rebound and put-back. I was hoping to see more rebounding out of him, but now I just want Channing Frye to hurry back from his injury.

Overall, I left with mucho energy and excitement for this season - we're going to be good AND fun to watch!