These are the things that make this the Portland Trailblazers and not just an NBA team: Excellence in player performance, success in team chemistry and committment to the community.  

This weekend, Quick blogged about Sergio and his impressions of the NBA.  From a player's perspective, I could appreciate the comments that Sergio made about the game.  Where I find some things a little disturbing in his revelation, where he mentions the cosmetic approach that the team is taking towards community involvement.

Now I can only assume that this is a staple for all NBA teams, making short appearances at community events to get some positive publicity.  But Sergio's contention that the Blazer's involvement is only for the cameras, caused me pause.  

I can only hope that next year of outreach will be more from the heart, rather than for the cameras.  

I know that as a team, the Blazers commit to many different types of community and charitable organizations.  So I'm hoping that Sergio's involvement may have been limited because he was a rookie with a language barrier.  

I'd be curious to know how many of the players contribute outside of their team obligation.

I just wanted to get this off of my chest. By far, the team has made so much progress in just about every aspect of the franchise, that I feel positive that the Blazer's community involvement will improve and be more relevant to the causes they support.

The Blazers are going to win most the Portland fans by continuing the genuine sincerity between the franchise and the community.