Click here for Part 1

With or without Oden we need to take a health assessment of the current situation:

With or without Oden I believe we can and will still make the playoffs.  We have our core team back from last year plus some great new pieces.  The good news is, it looks like we won't be going the full season without him.  But in the meantime we can still not only be competitive with the best teams, but we can expect to win.  In fact if Oden turns out to be what some of the pessimists are now saying (Sam Bowie), we can still be the rising star we have all talked about through the entire offseason.  Now that's the positive side of things.  With or without Oden we can still be great!

The bad side is, we still looked awful on Tuesday night.  If we don't improve drastically we will be toast this season.  Don't worry, I believe we will improve drastically.  But I don't fault the people who are very upset by our Tuesday night debacle.  Because it made us look embarrasingly bad!  I was waiting for Nate McMillan to hold up a giant sign saying "Mayday".  I thought the Titanic sunk a hundred years ago.  Okay, overexagerating.  But for that moment in time, in my living room, that's what it felt like.  (Admit it, you can relate.)

Yes it was just one game in the standings, but it was a barometer game.  In a big game like that, you get a chance to check your temperature and get a general health check.  Yes we can and probably will still make the playoff this year, but that game told us alot about just how much improvement we still need.  Sure we will rise to the challenge.  But you can't justify present poor performance with the hope of future improvement.  In the real world people lose their job when they lay an egg like that.  A real world boss doesn't excuse a monumental failure by saying "Hey, I know you'll eventually get it right in the next 7 months."  Fortunately, sports are not the real world, and Nate McMillan can, over the next 7 months, bring us to our feet and make us into Blazer-maniacs.

Ultimately, I'm saying I can see both sides.  I relate to the person who is ticked off and mad about how bad we played and upset Oden is injured (again).  I also relate to the crowd who is saying Oden is still the same guy he was before he stepped on Derek Fisher's foot.  And these are the same guys who we all believed would make the playoffs this year. 

Yes it was embarrasing to see us not be able to penetrate to the hoop, and to not be able to hit a jump shot.  But don't forget why we all love sports.  Why we love this team.  Sports are an escape from the pressures of real life.  The rollercoaster ride of emotions we experience by following a team is what makes it so sweet when we finally reach the top of the mountain.  In the end, this team gives us something quite valuable.      Hope.      When the rest of life gets us down, and we feel lost in the mundane, we can still turn to our friend at the watercooler and talk about our Blazers.

With or without Oden we have areas to improve, and much promise we will rise to the task!