After losing four starters and their sixth man over the summer, it seems so unlikely insane that the Portland Trail Blazers are currently tied for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The reason why Portland is the hottest team in the league aside from Golden State is the play of its backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, which has quickly become one of the league’s elite guard pairings. The Blazers have now won 10 of their last 12 and
Last week at the Las Vegas summer league, a 19-year-old, seven-foot rim protector averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. It was not Kristaps Porzingis, but Noah Vonleh, who has somehow become Portland’s summer afterthought in spite of his overwhelming potential. After excelling in Vegas, all Vonleh has to do is try and fill LaMarcus Aldridge’s shoes as the Blazers— who acquired Vonleh and Gerald Henderson from Charlotte in exchange for Nicolas Batum on the night before June’s draft— begin
The three best records in the NBA belong to the Warriors, Grizzlies and Blazers. What do all three Western Conference teams have in common? Continuity. Besides for some minor tweaks, (Shaun Livingston, Vince Carter, Steve Blake and Chris Kaman) Golden State, Memphis and Portland retained their core players and have been extremely successful over the first quarter of the regular season. For Portland, now at 16-4 after Sunday’s win over New York, this is the third season the LaMarcus Aldridge-Damian Lillard-Nicolas Batum-Wes
Not every day a college freshman scores 41 points, actually, it’s only been done twice in the past 18 years. If any kid is going to amaze, it’s Andrew Wiggins. On Saturday Wiggins lit up the West Virginia Mountaineers with 41 points in a losing effort that saw his Kansas Jayhawks falling 92-86. The 41 points are impressive, but how he did it is even better. On only 17 shots he somehow managed to score nearly half of his team’s points. Portland Trail Blazers
The gambling life ain’t easy, folks — which is where today’s tale begins. But by the time you get to the end of today’s column, hopefully you’ll be amused by my personal adventures and enlightened by my leaguewide analysis. We are at the quarter-pole of the NBA season, and trends have emerged. First, to truly appreciate what it means to gamble on the NBA on a daily basis, you had to experience what it was like to bet on the Philadelphia 76ers
Portland Trail Blazers’ forward Thomas Robinson put an entirely new meaning to speeding through the lane this weekend. The third-year player was cited going 107 miles per hour in a 55 MPH zone Friday on the three-lane Interstate 5 in Portland. An officer “observed a white 2013 Porsche Panamera traveling at a high rate of speed on the freeway,” said Sgt. Pete Simpson, Portland Police Bureau, in an email to Wendy Owen of The Oregonian. “The officer’s LIDAR would clock the
Damian Lillard quickly became a standout player in the NBA after his breakout rookie season in Portland last year, but the Blazers’ second-year guard is offering some advice to young players that may be the ‘shot happy’ type. Young players… That place so much value on “gettin buckets” , how valuable R U when you’re on a team that doesn’t need U to “get buckets” — Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) August 11, 2013 The reigning Rookie of the Year can back up his tweet