In game observations: Jazz vs. Trail Blazers

A few missed shots later and this one is done. Jazz 93, Blazers 80. The only stat you really need to know: Jazz out-rebound the Blazers 47-28.

See you in the regular season.

There's still 53 seconds left, but this one is cooked. Jazz 93, Blazers 79. The final buzzer can't come soon enough.

Luke Jackson calls his own number, ends up with a bucket and the foul. Another three point play brings the score to 89-75 Jazz.

Joel Przybilla gets the lucky bounce on the putback, and a foul! Joel makes the freebie, which is nice for a guy battling bronchitis. Utah 89, Portland 72.

Gerry McNamara, he of Syracuse fame, checks into the game for the first time tonight. I wonder if he can Carmelo still talk.

Ike Diogu all but shoves the ball in Kirilenko's gut, and that's an easy dunk for Andrei. At 83-67 Jazz, this one is starting to get away from the good guys. Batum is still putting in work though, getting yet another block (against AK-47 of all people) and hitting a mid-range jumper. To quote a fellow journalist here in press row, "That kid can play."

In summer league, almost every time Bayless attacked the rim, something good happened. So far in the preseason, every time Bayless attacks the rim, he ends up on his can and without free throw attempts.

Jerryd Bayless shakes Kyle Korver with thanks to some fancy dribbling, but he loses the handle while blowing by Ashton Kutcher Jr. Korver ends up getting a three on the ensuing possession. You could cook a London broil on Bayless' head right now.

End of the quarter and it's Jazz 69, Blazers 59.

Batum, aka the Double Snowman (as in, No. 88) shows again why he's not about to settle for spending the season in the D-League. Batum makes an athletic play to get to the rim, misses the layin, but gets his own board and the putback. He's filling up the stat sheet.

For some reason the shot clock keeps malfunctioning. The preseason for the clocks, too.

Nic Batum, the official Frenchman of the Center Court Blog, hits a baseline three to bring the Red and Black to within two. Thin No. 88 is the MVP so far of this one. He's got 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. That's yeoman.

We've hit quite the lull here in the 3rd quarter. Not many open looks or made shots. C.J. Miles gets a couple of free throws, and that puts the Jazz up 50-48 with 5 minutes to play in the quarter.

Travis Outlaw seems to have broken out of his preseason slump. He's 5-for-8 with 12 points so far tonight, which is like Christmas compared to his last three outings. Utah leads 46-45 with a little under 8 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.

Shavlik jumps on Carlos Boozers' back in an attempt to corral the offensive rebound, but he's called for the foul. I salute Duke-on-Duke aggression.

End of the first half, and the score is Portland 38, Utah 35. It hasn't been pretty, but it has been quick.

It's an old joke, but I'm not busting out my A-Game until the regular season, so I'm going to go ahead and throw out the old "Welcome to the block party, Mr. Randolph." Shav gets the Blazers 8th stuff of the night, then draws a charge, then hits an open jumper. That's hustle.

Nic Batum is having the preseason game of his life (that's not really saying a lot, but you get the drift). He hits a three to put the Red and Black up three, then stuffs Kirlenko on the ensuing defensive possession. That's at least two blocks this afternoon from our friend from Le Mans.

G.O. gets his first big dunk of the night. He's missed two jump hooks since then, but hey, he's still learning.

By the way, I'm going to have to start pulling out the video camera every time it looks like Greg is going to get a dunk. He's going to break that backboard one of these days, and I want to be the first guy in town with the youtube footage. Big money.

Batum, continuing his torrid play on defense, blocks 7-footer Kosta Koufos. No man is safe from the long arms of the Batum. 27-27 with 5:40 to play in the half.

Nic Batum, who's ankle seems to be fine, just elevated over Kyle Korver for a putback. For my money, Batum has easily been the surprise of the preseason for the god guys.

Joel Przybilla gets hit with a technical for giving Andrei Kirilenko a slightest of elbows after the play was blown dead. Even the technicals are easier here in the preseason.

Looks like Nic "The French Connection" Batum rolled an ankle in the waning moments of the first quarter. He finished out the quarter, but he didn't look comfortable. At the end of the first quarter, Jazz lead 19-18.

And another comment, this time from "eazy"

I cant believe the beavers lost to stanford still. either way the blazers will dominate tonight

Thanks eazy. Personally, I can completely believe that the Beavers lost to the Cardinal. In fact, I'm never surprised when the Beavs lose on the road. OSU often looks unbeatable at home, but when they get out of Reser, it's always a toss up.

As for the Blazers dominating tonight, I'd be surprised if that happened considering the Jazz are playing their first-stringers.

As promised, lets check out and answer some reader submitted comments.

Mery Blazers Fan asks ...

Is Rudy Fernandez going to play tonight?

Thanks for the query. No, Rudy will not play tonight. The ankle is feeling better, and if this were the regular season, you'd probably see him tonight. But as a precaution, Rudy will stick to the bench tonight.

Sergio drains a three, Oden stuffs a Deron Williams layin attempt, Travis Outlaw steals a cross court pass, and the Blazers are well on the way to making this game real respectable like. Shavlik at the line shooting two, makes one, and the score is Blazers 8, Jazz 7 with 6:26 to play in the first.

Trail Blazers come out looking crazy sloppy. We're less than four minutes in and the Blazers already have four turnovers. Greg Oden was called for a highly suspect offensive foul, Sergio Rodriguez threw a phantom pass into the second row and Nate McMillan calls a timeout. Not too hot of a start.

Pregame hoopla is in full swing, which means we're just a few minutes away from tip. Should be an ... interesting afternoon here at the Rose Garden, if for no other reason than we'll see some unorthodox lineups from Nate McMillan tonight. If you're a guy trying to get that 15th roster spot, tonight would be a good time to show your stuff.

The matchup of the night features two Duke power forwards at the height of their careers. Carlos Boozer laces 'em up for the first time this offseason, and Shavlik Randolph, coming off a 9-for-9 performance against the Hawks, gets his first start as a Trail Blazer.

Here are the starters, by the way

Utah Jazz

C.J. Miles
Mehmet Okur
Carlos Boozer
Ronnie Brewer
Deron Williams

Portland Trail Blazers

Travis Outlaw
Luke Jackson
Greg Oden
Shavlik Randolph
Sergio Rodriguez

UPDATE: Sunday at the Rose Garden

I've got some updates from Nate McMillan's pregame presser.

First off, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez will not play tonight. Roy and Aldridge are being held out simply to rest, and Fernandez, though McMillan said he probably could play if he had to, is being held out as a precaution. Sounds like the ankle is just about back to 100 percent.

The starters tonight will be Sergio Rodriguez, Luke Jackson, Travis Outlaw, Shavlik Randolph and Greg Oden. McMillan said he's keeping Jerryd Bayless in the second unit because the Blazers are limited at guard due to injuries. Joel Przybilla, who's battling a case of bronchitis, is available and will probably play around 15 minutes.

As for Steve Blake, McMillan said he ran through some offensive sets at practice on Saturday, and should be close or ready to go by the next preseason game.

Greeting Blazers fans. I trust you're all enjoying a pleasant, early autumn weekend in the Northwest. Leaves are changing, pumpkin futures are through the roof and preseason basketball is in the air.

This afternoon marks the final home game of the preseason, meaning the next time you'll get to see the Red and Black Attack in person (assuming you live in Portland-metro area and don't plan on traveling to distant locals for preseason games) will be on Halloween night in the regular season opener.

Today's Sunday matinee pits the Utah Jazz (1-1) against our Portland Trail Blazers. It's an act of futility at this point to guess who will and won't play tonight for both teams, but I think it's safe to say both Nate McMillan and Jerry Sloan would rather get out of this afternoon's game healthy than win a win.

Since there's no television coverage of today's game, I'll be providing some updates in this here blog for your reading pleasure. If you're following along, throw some thoughts in the comments section, and we'll get a good old fashioned web dialog going throughout the game. It'll be fun, I promise.

Motivation for tonight's game

Do players have a hard time getting up for preseason games? I don't know the answer to that question, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Sure, there's pride and competitive nature, but lets be real; there are 82 games, at a minimum, that actually count, and this ain't one of them. I could see how it might be difficult to psych yourself up in the exhibition season, especially on a neutral court with half of the team already injured.

But here's some motivation, at least for Brandon Roy: In a head-to-head comparison in Hoop Magazine (the official mag of the NBA), B-Roy is topped by Joe Johnson, for reasons that I'll let Hoop explain.

On defense:

Johnson has never been asked to check the opponent’s perimeter stud (that duty usually fell into the hands of Josh Childress), but with J-Chill off to the Mediterranean, Johnson might be asked to step up his defensive role. He certainly has the size to even match up against LeBron James; however, JJ’s problem will be against the smaller guards who rely on speed and quickness (think Dwyane Wade), where his lack of lateral quickness will be exposed. Because Johnson has the luxury of having a shotblocker like Josh Smith behind him, he can gamble for steals (he gets about one per game).

[snip]

This is the one area of Roy’s game that still needs plenty of work. He has pretty good size for a guard, but his foot speed isn’t good enough to keep up with the NBA’s more explosive slashers. He has, however, improved on his ability to at least channel his opponents into the paint for the bigs to contend with, something that will no doubt be an attribute with Greg Oden finally joining the frontline—a bunch already plenty big and versatile—this season.

Advantage: Johnson

Uh, excuse me? Joe Johnson is a better defender than Brandon Roy? Did the world just start rotating backwards? Is there another Joe Johnson who plays for the Hawks that I'm unaware of?

I find it strange that the writer starts the graph about Johnson's defense by stating "Johnson has never been asked to check the opponent’s perimeter stud." Who do you think Brandon Roy is checking? And on top of that, why do you think it is Johnson doesn't take the tough defensive assignment? Maybe because he can't hack it or is unwilling to put in the work. Either way, that's no argument for Johnson's defensive prowess.

Not only is the Brandon Roy that I know an above average defender, but he also managed to shut down Jo-Jo last season for a W. Sure, one stellar defensive performance isn't all encapsulating, but if you're going to compare the players head-to-head, should you at least consider how they played head-to-head in the clutch?

And speaking of clutch, the folks at Hoop Magazine also gave the edge in that category to ... Joe Johnson?

Atlanta is full of budding stars, but when the game is tight, the gameplan is usually simple: get the ball in Johnson’s hands and clear out. We saw it often during last season’s tightly contested seven-game playoff series against Boston, when JJ was unafraid of the big moments. In his Game 4 performance, he put up 35, including 20 in the deciding fourth quarter to put a legitimate scare into the eventual champs. That showing only raises his confidence level heading into this season.

[snip]

Despite the aforementioned pedestrian percentages, Roy almost always seemingly hits shots when he needs to. He imposed his will on several opponents last season, especially during the Blazers’ early-season 13-game winning streak. And he possesses an astonishing ability to get to the rim for a high-percentage layup, even when the defense is geared up for him. He still has no playoff experience, but we wouldn’t be surprised if that bell is answered this season thanks to Portland’s seemingly loaded roster.

Advantage: Johnson

Johnson is undoubtedly a heck of a player, but with the game on the line, is there any coach who would rather have Johnson over Roy? I've trying to be as objective as I can, and there's no way I see anyone taking Johnson over Roy late in the game. The first 46 minutes of the game, especially if you need scoring? Yeah, I could see that. But the last two minutes in a tight one? No chance. You go with Roy.

So if you're reading this Brandon, go out tonight and show 'em the error of their ways.

In preview: Hawks vs. Trail Blazers

Overview

In one of those strange twists that only arise during the preseason, the Portland Trail Blazers (1-1) play host to the Atlanta Hawks (2-0) in ... Kansas City, MO. Maybe the league decided to host the game in Kansas City because it's a rough midway point (though significantly closer to Atlanta) or maybe it's because the Sprint Center is a new upscale arena (tonight's game will be the first NBA game ever played in the venue). Whatever the reason, the Trail Blazers are the designated home team, which, along with general manager Kevin Pritchard's history in Kansas City, might tip the scales fan-wise toward Portland.

The Trail Blazers are coming off a turnover-laced 110-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors, while the Hawks enter tonight's contest having beaten the Suns 100-96 in Phoenix.

Head coach Nate McMillan intended on giving at least one of his regular starters the night off, but injuries to Martell Webster (foot), Steve Blake (hamstring), Rudy Fernandez (ankle), Channing Frye (ankle) and Joel Przybilla (bronchitis) leaves McMillan in the unenviable position of potentially having to play his regulars for extended minutes just to field a team.

Portland has faced Atlanta once in the preseason in its 39-year history, a 102-89 win in 2007. The Trail Blazers have won five of the last seven preseason games against Eastern Conference teams dating back to 2004.

The Trail Blazers went 2-0 against Atlanta last season, going into overtime once and having a combined margin of victory of just three points.

Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific.

Probable Starters

Atlanta

Marvin Williams, SF
Josh Smith, PF
Al Horford, C
Joe Johnson, SG
Mike Bibby, PG

Portland

Travis Outlaw, SF
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF
Greg Oden, C
Brandon Roy, G
Sergio Rodriguez, PG

Matchup of the Night

For the night's featured matchup we look to the shooting guards. Joe Johnson and Brandon Roy bring similar skills to the table (as noted in his comparison) though they utilize those skills in different ways. Johnson tends to focus more on scoring, relying on his steady jumper for the bulk of his points. Roy, while an effective scorer in his own right, tends to act as more of a distributor, often initiating the offense toward the end of games.

Pulling Quotes

Marvin Williams prepared to be target for Hawks, Sekou Smith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

With five returning starters from a playoff team, someone has to be the target of opposing teams.

Someone has to be identified as the weakest link, the one player on the Hawks’ roster who can be attacked — physically and perhaps even schematically — in the hope that he will break down and the entire team will falter.

Wednesday night in Phoenix the Suns targeted Hawks small forward Marvin Williams. And Williams made them pay, outlasting the rest of the starters on both teams in the final minutes with plays that helped the Hawks secure the 100-96 victory.

Williams finished with a team-high 19 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and a body full of sore muscles courtesy of the pounding he took from Suns reserve power forward Louis Amundson, who spent most of his night trying to get under Williams’ skin.

“I don’t know if that was the case, and I don’t feel like they were trying to hurt me or anything,” Williams said. “I used to play football, man, so nobody in this league is going to hurt me. Physically I’m not worried about getting beat up out here.

Broadcast Information

No television for tonight's game, or any of the remaining preseason contests. Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have the call on the radio side on the Trail Blazers Radio Network.

10.09.08 Edition of the Trailblazers.com Podcast

Welcome back all of you podcast fans out there. It's a pleasure to provide you with all of the archived audio you can handle. Please to enjoy this week's edition of the trailblazer.com podcast featuring Gavin Dawson of 95.5 The Game, Dave Deckard of Blazer's Edge and myself, Casey Holdahl, of trailblazers.com.

This week we discuss the first two preseason games, the implications of various injuries, Greg Oden's future as an assist man, trade scenarios (both realistic and outlandish), the awesomeness that is Joel Przybilla and Gavin pleads for fans to stop overvaluing their favorite Blazers. It's really a nice little podcast, if I do say so myself.



Download the podcast (42.5 MB).

We're not in Kansas City anymore

The Portland Trail Blazers are probably in the sky right now flying to Kansas City, MO for a home game (good luck figuring that one out) against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Not everyone is making the trip though. Rudy Fernandez (left ankle sprain) and Joel Przybilla (bronchitis) are staying staying behind to heal. I haven't heard about Martell Webster (broken bone in foot) or Steve Blake (pulled hamstring), but I bet they're not on the trip either.

Video: Post-game comments

Sorry for the delay on the video from last night's post-game presser. For some reason my Mac didn't render the audio. I don't know, maybe Mac didn't like what he heard.

So you've got Nate McMillan, Rudy Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden talking about last night's "game" against Golden State. I'd advise you to forget everything about yesterday's debacle as soon as possible, but if you're glutting for punishment, go ahead and give the video a look. Heck, maybe you'll even learn something.

Photos: Warriors 110, Trail Blazers 95

In game observations: Warriors vs. Trail Blazers

They say you can't win them all, and tonight is definitely proves that adage. The final will end up 110-95 Warriors. Personally, I just hope that Rudy is ok. I'd take a million preseason losses in exchange for a healthy Fernandez.

Ugh. Rudy stays down on the floor after turning his ankle. Looks like he stepped on Sergio's foot. Hopefully it's not to serious, but he's on his way to the locker room. My guess is he's done for the night. Warriors lead 106-93. This one is slipping away.

Travis Outlaw gets his first field goal of the game with 5:40 left in the game. He's 1-for-9 on the night. They'll need more from Travis with Martell out of the lineup.

Not a very good quarter for the Blazers thus far with just five points in the quarter to Golden State's 17. Lots of turnovers and not to many high percentage shots for the good guys. Blazes are going super small out of the timeout, with Rudy, Bayless, Jackson, Outlaw and Diogu taking to the floor.

Nic Batum is again looking nice, especially on the defensive end and in transition. Same goes for Rudy (natch). The good guys take a 78-77 lead going into the final frame.

An Aldridge dunk, a Batum layin (with a missed free throw), an Aldridge layin and a Batum layin gives the Blazers an 8-0 run. Still down 76-74 though.

Attendance tonight has been announced as 17,847. Not as many as last night, but still a great number for a televised preseason game. The home squad haven't given the home crowd much to cheer about in the second half though. Golden State leads 76-66 with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

Greg Oden and Andris Biendrins trade a few buckets before Bayless hits a three from the far baseline. Rudy with the assist.

Greg Oden gets the Blazers on the board in the second half with a (wait for it ...) power dunk. Young Oden has four dunks on the night, so far.

It took almost the entire first half, but Sergio and Rudy finally hooked up for an alley-oop with 4 seconds left in the quarter. LaMarcus set a pick for Sergio, which drew Rudy's defender in anticipation of the pick and pop. Seeing that, Rudy cut baseline, Sergio sent up the lob from behind the three point line, and the rest is highlight history.

It's a little sloppy out there as we close in on the end of the half. Rudy came real close to finishing a Sergio thrown alley-opp that would have brought the house down, but he couldn't get the handle. Luke Jackson did hit a few threes. Way to go LJ. 47-47 with 1:14 to go in the half.

Greg Oden, who has rejected a few shots in his day, ends up getting his own shot stuffed by Ronny Turiaf. Even he isn't immune to getting blocked every now and then.

Luke Jackson gets to the bucket for his first Trail Blazers points. The Duck fans in the crowd like that.

Joel Przybilla gets the kind bounce on the putback, and that gives the Blazers a 27-26 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Rose Garden is quite a bit sleepier tonight. Crowd looks a thinner and less lively. It's their preseason too.

LaMarcus Aldridge looks like he got the first game jitters out last night. He's making it happen inside out so far, leading all scorers with 10 points.

Corey Maggette is doing what he does, which is drawing fouls at a breakneck pace. Nate McMillan wants to talk it over, though I don't know there's anything you can do to keep Maggette from getting to the line.

I love Travis Outlaw. One of my favorite guys on the team. But he's making life hard for himself tonight on the offensive end. We know you've got ups Trav, but you can't just try to elevate for the jumper with a defender right in your grill.

Rudy finds Oden for a patented monster dunk, which is nice. The defensive three seconds on the ensuing play? Not so nice.

Tonight's game gets off to the same start as last night's, with Oden winning the tip, Blazers get nothing on the possession, then they commit a defensive three second violation.

Lets do it again lady and gents. Brandon Roy has the night off, and Martell Webster is out with broken bone in his foot, so tonight's game should look quote a bit different than last night's argle-bargle.

The injury bug bites yet again

If there's anything that can stop this franchise from achieving the highest of goals, it's injury. And today we find out another infirmity has stuck one of our starters. Martell Webster sustained a stress fracture in his left foot last night turning the Sacramento romp. It's a shame, especially considering how hard Martell worked in the offseason to get his game right.

Luckily, Travis Outlaw is up to the task of starting, but this one hurts. Martell is probably the best shooter on the team and a budding defensive force. We were already thin at point guard with Steve Blake's bad quad, thin at power forward with Channing Frye's bum ankle and now you can add thin at small forward to that list. In fact, outside of Outlaw, we really don't have a legit small forward on the roster. Roy can fill in at times. Maybe Rudy can, too, but it's just not the same.

No word yet on how long Webster will be out, but a broken foot is bad news for anyone, especially a basketball player. I don't know how long he'll be on the mend, but I bet it'll be longer than anyone would like.

Got any ideas on what we should do now? Does this give Luke Jackson the inside track on the final roster spot? How will the second unit look without Outlaw? How much more difficult does Webster's injury make that already brutal November?

In Preview: Warriors vs. Trail Blazers

Overview

The Portland Trail Blazers, coming off a stellar blowout victory against the Sacramento Kings, get no chance to rest with the Golden State Warriors already in town for tonight's contest at the Rose Garden. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Both teams are playing their second preseason game, with the Warriors having lost 106-103 to the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.

Golden State has won five consecutive preseason meetings dating back to 2002, including three straight in the Rose Garden. Portland is 19-21 vs. Golden State in the preseason, overall.

Golden State enters tonight's game with a lineup significantly different from last season. Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams and rookie Anthony Randolph join Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis and Andris Beindrins in coach Don Nelson's high-powered offense. Nelson, by the way, has more wins against Portland than any other current head coach in the NBA, posting a 49-51 (.490) record. The 100 meetings is also the most of any current head coach.

As for Nate McMillan's squad, changes in the lineups are coming in the second game of the preseason, and reasons are twofold. First, McMillan wants to make sure his regular season starters, namely Brandon Roy, don't end up wearing themselves down coming off of injury. Second, McMillan is eager to tinker with different personnel combinations. In tonight's game Jerryd Bayless will start at point guard, Rudy Fernandez at shooting guard Travis Outlaw at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward and Greg Oden at center.

On that same note, expect to see the players with non-guaranteed contracts (Steven Hill, Shavlik Randolph, Luke Jackson and Jamaal Tatum) get more playing time tonight.

Probably Starters

Golden State

Corey Maggette, SF
Al Harrington, PF
Andris Beindrins, C
C.J. Watson, G
Stephen Jackson, SF

Portland

Travis Outlaw, SF
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF
Greg Oden, C
Jerryd Bayless, PG
Rudy Fernandez, SG

Matchup of the Night

You probably wouldn't assume Andris Beindrins and Greg Oden have much in common, and to a certain extent they don't, but there are similarities. Both prefer to operate in or near the paint and neither sports a reliable midrange jumper. Both are decent passers at their position and both will block their fair share of shots.

But when it comes to style, the contrasts become evident. Beindrins, weighing in at 245 lbs, is a rail compared to the thick mass of humanity that is Greg Oden. That size and strength disparity won't do the Latvian any favors in the post, but with Don Nelson's offense predicated on speed up and down the floor, Beindrins might find himself not having to worry about getting pushed out of the block if he can beat young Oden to the spot.

Coach Quote

Nate McMillan on the new look Golden State Warriors.

"I think they'll play the same way. Coach Nelson has been about matchups most of his career since I've known him as a player and he will try to take advantage of where he feels he has an advantage.

Sometimes he tries to create matchups. he may play his small forward at center to try and force you to match up with him. We can;t worry about that. That's part of the adjusting we're talking about, adjusting to game, adjusting to what they're doing. It will be a battle of tempos tonight. Who can control the tempo? Can they get their game tempo going with the spread offense, isolation game? Can we get our tempo going with knowing when to run, when to set up and go inside and take advantage of our size?"

Pulling Quotes

Wright starting to show he has the right stuff, Janny Hu, San Fransisco Chronicle:

Coach Don Nelson spiced up the backup power-forward competition Tuesday by declaring rookie Anthony Randolph's superiority over incumbent Brandan Wright.

"It hasn't been close so far," Nelson said. "Randolph is clearly getting better every day and has earned a right to say, at least at this point, he's ahead."

Nelson essentially challenged Wright to pick up his game. Randolph has generated buzz with his confident play throughout camp, and Wright has been slowed by a toe injury that caused him to miss a night of scrimmaging last week.

"I don't know how much that's held him back," Nelson said, "but Wright needs to be more aggressive, there's no question. Show that he's a player. It's his second year. I expect more out of him. He's got to start stepping up."

Broadcast Information

Tonight's game is the only contest of the preseason that will be televised on locally. Mike Barrett and Mike Rice will have the call on KGW Channel 8 starting at 7 p.m. And as always, Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey hold down the radio side on the Trail Blazers Radio Network.

Video: 10.07.08 Nate McMillan post-game

Photos: Trail Blazers 110, Kings 81

In game observations: Kings vs. Blazers

This thing is just about over. Blowout city. Score sits at 110-78 with 35 seconds to play, so I think it's fairly safe to call this one. We saw everything you'd want to see out of the first game of the season. Should be another fun one tomorrow. See you then.

My main man Steven Hill gets on the board with two made free throws. You stay 100% from the line on the season and I'd bet you end up with a contract.

I don't really know what else to say about Rudy Fernandez tonight. Another alley-oop to Martell for another nasty dunk. Is he setting expectations tonight that he'll have a hard time living up to the rest of the season? I don't know, but for now, I'm just going to revel in the brilliance that is Rudy. Thank you Spain.

Rudy with another amazing pass to Webster for the dunk. This is some kind of introduction for Fernandez.

With 6:19 to play in the quarter, the Kings score for the first time in the fourth. That's domination folks.

G.O. finally gets the jumphook to fall, and that's 12 points for the big man.

On two consecutive plays, Nic Batum gets a sick block and a steal. That's the defense Kevin Prtichard envisioned when he made the move to grab our new French friend.

Spencer Hawes, you've officially been Odenized.

Sergio just can't help himself. He gets in the lane, passes it with two hands behind his head to Przybilla for the dunk. It's showtime.

Nic Batum gets in on the highlight reel with a powerful jam. This is getting to the point that Coach McMillan might have to call off the dogs. End of the third quarter and the Blazers have extended their lead to 85-63. That was a 30 point quarter for the good guys.

It's turning into an all Spanish And1 Tour here at the Rose Garden. Sergio with another alley-oop to Rudy, who this time finishes with the up-and-under off the glass acrobat. Each highlight seems to be better than the last.

Nic Batum joins the Trail Blazers books with a made free throw, the first points of his fledgling NBA career.

One preseason game in and Rudy already has a signature highlight. Rudy foul line extended threads a bounce pass to LaMarcus Aldridge through Jason Thompson's legs. Unreal.

Well, it took almost all of three quarters, but we have our first Sergio to Rudy alley-oop. Rudy cuts baseline, and Sergio fines him with the lob for the dunk. Again, lets hope to see more of that for the foreseeable future.

Oden and Roy work a textbook inside/out, resulting in an open tre for for Roy. Hopefully we'll see plenty of that for years and years to come.

Oden gets the second half moving with yet another dunk. He's got that down cold.

LaMarcus goes buckets for his first field goal of the game, at the buzzer no less. That's Blazers 53, Kings 50. Nice 16-5 rally by the good guys to get back into it.

A Sergio Rodriguez 3, then a Roy steal, resulting in an uncontested layin for Sergio gives the Blazers a rare lead. Kings tie it up again, but Sergio drains another three to take the lead back. Nice night so far for El Chaco.

After missing the first free throw, LaMarcus nets the second for his first point of the season. Bout time.

Martell Webster with a three and a fastbreak dunk gets the Blazers to within two. That's going to force Reggie Theus to call a timeout.

The surprise of the night so far has to be LaMarcus Aldridge without a point with 3:30 to play in the half. I figured he'd be holding court in this one.

Another dunk for G.O. That's 8 points, 3 boards and an assist for the big man. He did get out-maneuvered in the block by Kenny Thomas, but things like that are to be expected.

Oden with another missed jump hook, another successful dunk after missing said jump hook, and his first foul as a Trail Blazer. Having played as much as he has, the fact that he picked up his first foul with 6:37 to play in the second is impressive, maybe more so than the dunks, and certainly more so than the missed hooks.

Actually, scratch that last remark about pretty. Rudy just floated a a nice underhand layin for his first two of his Blazer career.

Ike Diogu gets his first two points as a Blazer. Wasn't pretty, but then again, nothing has been pretty so far in this one.

At the end of the first it's Kings 31, Blazers 21. I guess maybe I'm just out of game shape, but that quarter seemed to last forever.

Donte Green, who's sporting the close cut mohawk, makes an athletic move at the basket to get a putback two. Kings out-hustling and out-muscling the home squad.

Not a whole lot going on offensively for the Blazers right now. Between the missed free throws and mishandled passes, this one is rather ugly. Sacramento 24, Portland 18. Right on cue, Jerryd Bayless makes one of two.

And new Rudy Fernandez replaces Martell Webster. If Batum gets in sometime tonight the quad rookies will all have something to talk about tomorrow morning at shootaround.

Joel Przybilla and Jerryd Bayless check in. Welcome to Portland Jerryd, and welcome back from a broken hand Joel.

Greg is really going after it on offense. He hasn't found much luck with his jump hook, as it looks like he's over-rotating on his pivot away from the basket, but he's going hard after every miss.

The Blazers transition defense has been rather poor thus far. Mikki Moore, while svelte, shouldn't be beating every Blazer down the floor.

The Kings jerseys seem to be more purple this year. Must be a part of the rebuilding.

The crowd is roaring every time Greg gets his mitts on the ball. After a few failed attempts, G.O. gets a dunk and an And1 over Spencer Hawes. No away a guy Hawes' size can contain a motivated Greg Oden.

It's that time again. Back up in the Rose Garden with the resurrection. We've got a nice crowd on hand to see Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless go NBA-style for the first time in their careers. Should be exciting.

Kings are playing without Kevin Martin and Brad Miller, so on paper, the Blazers should roll. I've heard they don't play on paper though.

Greg Oden wins an ugly tip, and the 2008-2009 season is underway.

Nate McMillan: 'We set the tone tonight for who we want to become'

The first preseason game of the year against the Kings is only about 10 minutes away, but I wanted to give you a few last minutes quotes from Nate McMillan before we set this thing off.

“It’s game time. It’s here. All the talk, all the hype of this season and who we are and what we’re going to do and all of that, it starts for us tonight.

“We’ve got six games to see what we need to do to get ready for the Lakers, our opening game, and that’s what it’s about. You play to win, there’s no doubt about that, but you can learn either way. I think it’s a little easier to teach off of the “W,” but it’s for us to see where we are, see who we are with this group of guys.

It’s like you hear so much and for our guys the message to them tonight will be: What is the hype about? Who are we? We have potential and I think the hype is because of the potential that we have. We have to understand that that’s all it is. There’s potential to be something good, and now, all the talk for us, our talking needs to happen on the floor. Our voice needs to be what we do on the floor. We’ve heard it all summer long. It was great. It’s good to be talked about in a positive way, but not is the moment of truth tonight. Not meaning we have to win, but who are we? We set the tone tonight for who we want to become.”

We set the tone tonight for who we want to become. That's powerful stuff.

Sellouts breed camp outs

It’s amazing how fast things can change. Two years ago you could walk up to the ticket booth on game night, regardless of the opponent, and pick up a couple of tickets for ten bucks a pop. Last season, maybe you’d have to plan ahead to get your hands on the more sought-after tickets, but a little bit of foresight and a touch of stick-to-itiveness could net you seats to just about any game.

But this season you’ll have to get up pretty early in the morning to get the good tickets. In fact, you may even have to camp out.

That’s what Ryan Hossner and Kait Trott did. Rather than missing out on the best single game tickets, Hossner and Trott hunkered down on a bench outside of the Rose Garden ticket office on Monday afternoon to make sure they’d be first in line for single game tickets on Tuesday morning. Some might consider waiting out an October night as overboard for choice Trail Blazers tickets, but for true fans, spending a night out in the cold is better than being left out in the cold come gametime.

“It use to be I could buy tickets a week ahead of time or two weeks or even show up the night of,” said Hossner, a college student, “but I got the news that they were only releasing 500 per game to start off with and with the demand like it is and with almost all the season tickets being gone already I didn’t want there to be even the slightest chance that I wouldn’t get to a game this season.”

As far as which games are the most desired, Hossner and Trott mention the usual suspects.

“For sure at opening night,” said Hossner. “That’s number one. If I’m going to get tickets, I’ve got to get Laker tickets. I was in 7th grade during the 2000 Western Conference Finals. That’s something that’s going to stick with me for a long time. Any time I can root against the Lakers, that’s a big deal for me.

“I’m definitely excited to see some of the game toward the end of the season,” said Trott, “because I remember how exciting the games were at the end of this last season.”

For those of you who weren’t able to stake out a spot for outside of the ticket office, there’s still hope. Due to high demand, the Trail Blazers have instituted a new ticket alert service that, for a fee of $19.95, allows you to get first crack at newly released tickets throughout the season.

Video: Wells Fargo Fan Fest Highlights

Here are some of the finer points from Friday's scrimmage. Hopefully we'll have more highlights in tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings. More behind the back passes, more dunks, more breakaways and more points.



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Video: Nate McMillan after practice

Practice went long today, probably thanks to the coaches trying to squeeze in a few last minute bits of knowledge before tomorrow's preseason game against the Kings. It seems crazy to play a game, even a preseason game, just a week into training camp, but that's the way it is. Then again, I got the sense that just about everyone was looking forward to mixing it up tomorrow night.

Here's some of what Nate McMillan had to say about today's practice.

Photos: Wells Fargo Fan Fest

Since I didn't have anything to do with the planning or execution of the event, I can say without fear of being self-congratulatory that th2 2008 Wells Fargo Fan Fest was fantastic. I figured the turnout was going to be record-breaking when I looked out the window here at the Rose Garden at 2 p.m. to see people already lined up, and sure enough, we packed in over 11,000 fans on a Friday night. There are a few NBA franchises out there that would take 11,000 for a regular season game, let alone a scrimmage.

Here are some of the sights from the Fan Fest. We'll have a video up shortly.

All images taken by Sam Forenchich. Click on any image to see a larger version.

Little bits from Training Camp

Hopefully you've been checking out Training Camp Central, as we've got all kinds of video and a little bit of audio (with more coming soon!) from the first few days of practice in Tualatin. We're going to fill that page up with new content daily up until the regular season, so do yourself a favor: bookmark Training Camp Central now.

Mike Barrett has been doing a fantastic job of keeping everyone (including me) apprised of the events at training camp, but I thought I'd piggyback on a few of his posts with a couple updates of my own.

-- As nearly everyone has noted, LaMarcus Aldridge looks fantastic. He's doing everything with a ton of confidence. I fully expect LA to steal the show this season. I didn't have an opportunity to watch much of yesterday's practice, but in the short time I was in the gym, I saw Aldridge poke away a Rudy Fernandez pass intended for Joel Przybilla and hit a tough double-clutch over Ike Diogu.

-- I didn't see it happen, but I think Jerryd Bayless might have taken a shot to the nose. I saw him stuff some gauze up one of this nostrils toward the end of practice. Maybe it's just all this dry Oregon air.

-- Brandon Roy looked a bit gassed at the end of practice, but he still looked great. The guy is always in total control. At one point toward the end of practice Roy got into the paint, then pulled up and nailed a turnaround jumper over Travis Outlaw. That isn't an easy shot to make even with fresh legs.