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Assemble Your Own Blazer Team

Kitten_tiny by Dave on

Since we have some time to whittle away over the next few days we're going to run a feature (in addition to our regular ones) that lets you build your own Blazer team.  Yes, this is a riff on the familiar "Greatest Blazers Ever" theme but it has a different format which makes the choices more interesting than simply splatting down five names and calling it a day.  Here's how it works:

  • You're going to build a rotation of eight players from Blazer history.
  • Each day you will be given a choice between three players to fill a position or role.  You have to choose one of them.  The ones you don't choose are GONE forever.  You won't be able to draft them later, so choose wisely.
  • You may assume that you will get the production that player gave as a Blazer and anything AFTER, but not before.  In other words if you were to select Fat Lever you could assume you'd get his Blazer years plus the production he later gave in Denver.  (You just wouldn't have traded him.)  But you could not get a young Scottie Pippen.  This allows you to use longevity as one criterion for building your team.
  • If a player you like isn't listed at his position, don't worry.  He's probably coming up later and you'll have a chance to draft him then.  In other words no, "I wanted Power Forward Z but you only listed P, Q, and X!" complaining.  You can get Power Forward Z later on and shift him into the starting role.  Just pick one of the players each day and watch how it plays out.
  • You can list the player you select each day in the comment section so we get an idea of who is the most popular.  You can explain why you took your player if you wish.  You may think he's the best overall or he may fit the particular team you're building better than the others.
  • At the end of the process we'll have a post where you can list your complete eight-man rotation and explain why you like it.
  • Because he's probably going to blow away everyone else on shooting guard day I think we're going to say that Clyde Drexler is injured and can't play.  Sad for all of us Blazer fans, but it'll make the selection more interesting.

So here we go.  This is Day One and we're picking centers to anchor our squad.  Your choices are:  Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis (remember the Blazer version and after only), or Greg Oden.

Make your initial selection below and enjoy!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

 

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Oden

Walton didn’t have much longevity, and Sabonis was a (still very good) shell of his pre-Blazer self.

So, I’m banking on the future, and taking a flier on G.O.

Rule #1 of nitpicking is to get it right.

by douglast on Jul 29, 2008 12:02 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

Sabas was great-but I’ll bet my money on Oden’s 20 year old knees vs Sabas crackly knees. I did not like Walton’s longevity either. I’m counting on Oden to anchor down the middle on D, be a force on the boards, & block a ton of shots.

K*be is a rapist.

by Pritchslap on Jul 29, 2008 12:03 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Sabonis4Ever

thats my pick….

RUDY > MJ

by myemic23 on Jul 29, 2008 12:04 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Sabonis, Greg has yet to prove anything.

Plus, I always remember Sabas giving Shaq the toughest matchup 1v1 in the league at the time.

by Odynasty on Jul 29, 2008 2:03 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Probably the best passing center I ever layed my eyes on.....

Although my time on this earth has been relatively short to this point(23 years old, 24 in a couple weeks)....

RUDY > MJ

by myemic23 on Jul 30, 2008 1:32 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

This is tough...

But I have to pick Greg Oden. Sabonis is one of my favorite Blazers of all time, an amazing basketball player. But Sabonis was too old by the time we got him to bring us a championship. And Walton was a great player for 2 or 3 years and a roll player after that. It is the youth and potential of Oden that makes me have to pick him.

Dose anyone remember the song 123 go Rip City?

by 123_G.O._RipCity on Jul 29, 2008 12:04 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

GO with GREG

Sabonis was good but no pre blazers years count for him. Walton was good but his production will be humbled by what Greg will go and do.

"Knowledge will get you from A to B. Creativity will get you anywhere." Einstein

by Garden of ODEN on Jul 29, 2008 12:06 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Ugh!

This is already a tough decision!

I have to go with GO. I’m tempted to pick Walton, but I want more than three or four solid years. Having a dominating big man in the NBA can spell success, and GO is the only one of those three who could dominate the league for 10+ years.

Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.

"I think it’s going to be very beautiful game next year."
-Nicolas Batum

by rockingharder on Jul 29, 2008 12:07 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

Love the other two selections, but you have to go with Oden.

hmmmkay

by TylerM on Jul 29, 2008 12:07 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

Sabonis i think is still the all time great passer at center, but he came too late in his career for me to pick him here, it is obvious bill walton’s injury problems are why he is last in this bunch, no disrespect to his game when he was healthy though!

by Trail Ducker on Jul 29, 2008 12:14 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

I believe in Greg

Walton was a flash in the pan. Sabonis was good but no rings. Greg still has a chance and might have been better in college than Walton ever was.

Aldridge said. "We feel like we can beat any team. We feel like we can beat the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, whoever any night right now, and we'll still be here when those teams get old and their guys retire. We're going to be here for a long time."

by lee3022 on Jul 29, 2008 12:21 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Lee, WHAT?!
Greg still has a chance and might have been better in college than Walton ever was.

Walton won 3 straight college player of the year awards. He was the backbone of two consecutive 30-0 seasons and was part of UCLA’s NCAA record 88 game winning streak. He was the 1973 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete.

Walton made 21 of 22 field goal attempts in beating Memphis State in the NCAA finals. Some regard this as the greatest ever offensive performance in American college basketball (I know I do … I’ll never forget that game). Some college basketball historians rate Walton as the greatest who ever played the game at the college level..

I remember telling him how impressed I was with a player during summer league. In Avery's unique voice, he replied, "Marc, it's summer league." I

by TwoDeep on Jul 29, 2008 8:43 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   1 recs

+1

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Jul 29, 2008 10:59 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Young whippersnappers !

They don’t remember those days and most
don’t read anymore. Walton might have been
one of the top three centers of all time if not
for foot problems. The 77-78 team was primed
for another championship before Big Bill
went down. That sucked so bad !
This is a tough choice, as these are three
of my favorite Blazers.
Bill Walton – favorite college player and leader
of my favorite all time team. Great defender, rebounder,
passer. Incredible BBIQ. Great team player and
underrated scorer. – BAD FEET & stupid management !
Arvydas Sabonis – WOW. He blew me away with his
package of skills. 7’3”, 290 and can handle and shoot
it like a SF. Unbeliveable line drive 3’s, bowling ball
outlet passes, behind the back to the cutter, money
at the line and the hook. Don’t forget the dominance on
the boards, the up & under and never leaving his feet
to get the block. Too bad he tore his achillies tendons,
or we’d have more rings in Portland.
Greg Oden – 7’0”, 275-285. THE BEAST !! The stories
of his Orlando workout, his weight room sessions
this last year, and the HILL get you pumped for his
strength & athleticism. We know he can intimidate,
dominate and throw down, but can he stay HEALTHY !
I love his humble demeanor and his burning competitive
streak. GO could be the anchor that dominates the NBA
for a decade. If he can stay healthy.

Walton + injuries = Sabas + injuries vs. GO + promise

Greg Oden by a sliver +1/2

It's GO time !

by walkoff41 on Jul 29, 2008 2:59 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   1 recs

Prognosticating on Oden's future to be greater than Walton's and Sabonis's past.

+1 Greg Oden

Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something! If it's not one thing, it's another! -Roseanne Roseannadanna

by naybobjoe on Jul 29, 2008 12:30 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden...

...If I could take all of Sabas’ career or a hypothetical injury free Walton career, then I would. I can’t though, so I gotta gamble and go with Greg.

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Jul 29, 2008 12:43 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

GO

But if we could get Sabas in to teach him how to pass!

by runningbol on Jul 29, 2008 12:44 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Depends

If I’m going for a player that I know has a chance to dominate for the next ten years, I’ll go with Greg Oden.

If I’m going for a player that would have dominated if not for some injuries, I’ll pick Bill Walton.

Screw it, he’s the guy to give us the championship. I gotta go with Big Red.

Bill Walton.

(Note: Sabonis is the pick if the pre-Blazer years are included)

by robrun2 on Jul 29, 2008 12:52 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

How can everyone pick Oden?

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch…”

--

by CaptainSexyJacob on Jul 29, 2008 12:55 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

who are you gonna pick captain?

Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something! If it's not one thing, it's another! -Roseanne Roseannadanna

by naybobjoe on Jul 29, 2008 1:02 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Easy Schmeasy

Go with GO. Rather have his potential than Waltons 2 good years and Sabas at the end of his career.

by coastrider on Jul 29, 2008 1:05 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Arvydas Sabonis.

Man I love tongue tacos - Mortimer
Only thing better is Trout on a stick roasted over an open fire - annthefan
I have a pic like that of my dog - tominhawaii

by Outlaw is Rejector on Jul 29, 2008 1:20 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Sabas

But only because we still haven’t seen Greg play yet.

by coolguyrob on Jul 29, 2008 1:57 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Blazer Dream Team

Bill Walton at Center.

If you say "basically" at the beginning of a sentence, you probably also put ketchup on everything you eat.

by CosmoPlavix on Jul 29, 2008 5:23 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Bill Walton

Without a doubt. For a few years he was one of the best centers in NBA history plus, he’s a top 50 player and he brought a title to town. No way I’m choosing a rookie coming off a serious injury who has never played a game before.

by erastus25 on Jul 29, 2008 6:10 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Ummm...do you remember Walton's first year?

He only played 35 games due to foot injuries. His second year was almost as bad. He had about 1 1/2 good seasons with the Blazers (and those seasons were fantastic). However, he never lived up to his potential – which is all the worse because he could have been one of the greatest centers ever to play a game (as it stands, he is still ranks in the top 10).

by DonkeyShins on Jul 29, 2008 3:12 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Walton

I hope that GO will be Hall of Fame good, I know that Walton will. Both are injury risks, but hopefully modern sports medicine can keep the big redhead on the floor longer.

by Gargen on Jul 29, 2008 6:26 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Excellent point about modern medicine

The doctor interviewed in Breaks of the Game makes Walton’s feet sound like a lost cause due to their unusual structure, but who knows what could have happened if he had the benefits of today’s science. If he could have played like he did in ‘77 and ‘78 for an extended period of time he may have been an all-time top 10 player.

by erastus25 on Jul 29, 2008 10:03 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

ODEN

It’s a gamble since he has yet to play an NBA game, but I think he will eventually become one of the all time great centers.

by RipCity2008 on Jul 29, 2008 6:37 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

At this point projecting Oden to be a future hof’er has almost (I said almost) as much validity as projecting Bayless to become a greater player than Drexler based on his summer league play. I believe Oden will become a more productive player than Walton but that remains to be seen.

I’ll take 4 or 5 championships with a team built around the known Walton.

Free Joel Freeland! (with the purchase of 1 Wafer)

by LaughingJon on Jul 29, 2008 6:46 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Duckworth

Live at Doug Fir Lounge on Aug. 7, 9 pm -- YEAR 5000 -- http://www.myspace.com/y5k

by Y5k on Jul 29, 2008 7:15 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

You might be joking ...

... but I’m a BIG Duckworth fan. Nothing came easy for him, but he worked hard and was really quite effective. When he was benched our points in the paint disappeared. A mistake by Adelman, I think, to reduce his role.

by jtanzer on Jul 29, 2008 9:38 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I was ...

joking, but you are right.
He was doughy, but worked his butt off. And those playoff years were great. They would not have happened without the effective big man.

Live at Doug Fir Lounge on Aug. 7, 9 pm -- YEAR 5000 -- http://www.myspace.com/y5k

by Y5k on Jul 29, 2008 9:51 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Man, all these guys have had bad injuries...

Oden, just because I don’t think he’ll have another… who knows though.

by ranma on Jul 29, 2008 7:16 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Sabonis

Since Duckworth is missing I assume that means he will be available as our shooting guard. Quack!!

by lukeyhere on Jul 29, 2008 7:40 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

What about that other guy that we got instead of Jordan???

Oh right, you’ll be offering him up later. Good!

I’ll definitely take Oden. The reasons have been listed above, but this is my comment so you must suffer through it again!

1.) Age: He’s young and I think I can get more than four years of decent play out of him.
2.) Strength: Channing Frye called him one of the strongest players he’s played against… BEFORE greg hurt his knee and started working out.
3.) Hardworker: This kid works hard. I don’t know that you can really say that about Walton or Sabonis. Or rather, maybe you could, but I believe greg oden works harder.
4.) Potential: He has the potential to be VERY good. Due to short timelines of the others, I take the risk of potential to actual. He has 15 years to show us his goods.
5.) Defense: This guy looks to be FAR better at defense than Walton or Sabonis and I like that intimidating presence in the middle.
6.) Size: Walton is a Shrimp compared to modern players and Sabonis was a big tubby when he came over. I think Oden is juuuuuust right.

Oden is going to rock it up. I take him. Plus, did you SEE that hottie he was dancing with before he was drafted??? The dude gets the girls! I want a little of that to rub off on me!

Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624

by ratbastird on Jul 29, 2008 7:43 AM PDT reply reply   1 recs

What he said

(Going with Oden)

Fore!

by prezofdeath on Jul 29, 2008 9:12 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

VAAAAT ?

A big tubby ! I be country strong !
I vill crush you !!!

It's GO time !

by walkoff41 on Jul 29, 2008 3:03 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Tough choice

Sabas’ knees make this decision tough, but I think abou the possibility of having him with his passing on the same team as BRoy and LMA and then adding Rex. Wow, the offense would be potent…

But…Oden has the possibility of becoming someone special over the course of 15 years and affect the team on both ends of the court.

I think I’ll go with GO on this one, but he should be thankful Duckworth wasn’t an option.

If you let them make you, they'll make you into paper mache.
At a distance your strong until the wind comes, then you'll crumble and blow away.
- Incubus

by ZooooomByU on Jul 29, 2008 7:58 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

I hope this ends up Oden in the future, but right now the pick has to be Walton.

by Replacement Level Poster on Jul 29, 2008 8:06 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

If I knew that a young Walton would not have injury issues, I go with him.

If I could have Sabonis starting the year we drafted him, he’d be my pick.

Since neither applies, I’m going to go with Greg.

by timg56 on Jul 29, 2008 8:10 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

Only becaue Greg hasn’t played yet. I am confident he will have a great career if he can avoid injuries but I want to see him play before I discount the other guys.

Sabas was my favorite Blazer during his time here. He was a fantastic passer and his court vision was unrivaled.

I go with Walton though because he had great court vision as well. He could score and rebound and set up other guys and dominate on defense which Sabas was a bit too slow to do by the time he came to Portland. It would be a tougher choice if we were considering Sabas’ pre Blazer days.

PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04

by tssbro on Jul 29, 2008 8:13 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

gotta go with Oden, love the other two but Oden’s potential outweighs all that

by TGreen on Jul 29, 2008 8:16 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton & Sabis

broke down young. I’d gamble that Oden lasts.

by Trutherlizer on Jul 29, 2008 8:19 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

Championship. Nothing more, nothing less.

by blazermaniac32 on Jul 29, 2008 8:22 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

GO

For all the reasons stated above, I’ll take the potential of GO over Walton’s 2 fantastic years and Sabas’ shell of himself.

by 2forLaRue on Jul 29, 2008 8:30 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

bummer

Sabas was too far past prime, and Walton didn’t get enough protein.

So… Oden.

by everett on Jul 29, 2008 8:33 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

Championships, that’s why.

Kevin Pritchard is a 4.0 Draft Day Student

by rmcdougall on Jul 29, 2008 8:42 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Arvydas Sabonis

Walton is wierd and whiny

Greg is gifted, but not guaranteed (yet)

Arvydas is awesome and…has a son named Tautvydas

by MavetheGreat on Jul 29, 2008 8:57 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Greg Oden

Bill Walton only won two NBA championships, albeit winning them with almost a decade in between is a feat in itself.
He also just got two All-Star nominations. I expect more from GOd ;-)

And I already wonder who will be our backup center choices. Bowie? Joel? Johnson? Cato? Or just a second power forward who could rotate to the five?

Oh, and to make it easier for Dave to keep score: Why no poll? Because most people wouldn’t explain their choice?

Odenied: Coach, I promise I wasn't running hard ...

by Norsktroll on Jul 29, 2008 8:57 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

I think

we are all assembling our own teams, as opposed to voting for one team to represent us.

by MavetheGreat on Jul 29, 2008 10:04 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

That is correct

You’re picking a guy for YOUR team, which will be different than everybody else’s team. Then at the end we all post our teams and try to make the case why our choices were best.

—Dave

by Dave on Jul 29, 2008 11:56 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Oden

Walton will never last long enough to build a dynasty. Sabas = too slow and soft. If Rasheed had thrown a towel in my face, I would have popped the sucka.

Koponen - PG of the future. Book it.

by Blazerholic on Jul 29, 2008 9:08 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

If only Sabas had popped Rasheed...

then every time I need a pick-me-up, I could just visit YouTube and get a fix. (Sigh)

LMA's reign as "LaMonster of the Low Post" has just begun!

by LaMarvelous on Jul 29, 2008 6:47 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Walton

You HAVE to go with the only center, and best player, to bring us a championship so far. Oden is a good choice too, but I like knowing the product I’m getting with Bill.

by OURVYDAS on Jul 29, 2008 9:29 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

tough choice

A lot of good reasons have already been included, so I’ll keep this short. I’ll trust modern medicine to maintain Walton, one of the best bigs to ever play on either side of the floor. But it hurts me pretty bad not picking my favorite player of all time-not my vydas, not your vydas, Arvydas.

by jc burg on Jul 29, 2008 9:29 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

I believe it would be a tossup between Bill Walton (+ modern medicine) and any other center ever—Wilt, Kareem, Olajuwon, Shaq, you name it. The best center of his generation.

by jtanzer on Jul 29, 2008 9:33 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

WALTON

Hopefully 5 years from now, my answer will be Oden, but it’s hard to cast a vote for 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.0 bpg at center. Similarly, I have a feeling if Sabas had come over sooner, this would be a no-brainer in his favor.

So, since GO hasn’t, and Sabas didn’t, gotta go with Red here.

And he can double as our color guy!

by 22 on Jul 29, 2008 9:34 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Hmm

We’d be hearing a lot of:

If LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t make the all-star team, it will be the greatest travesty in the history of western civilization.

and

Brandon Roy is doing things we’ve never seen from anybody, from any planet!

by MavetheGreat on Jul 29, 2008 10:13 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

My initial gut was to go with Arvydas

But looking at there stats Walton had much better perfomances. That being said, I think Walton is a big poof and would get gobbled alive playing against the likes of the 90’s centers ala Hakkeem, Mutumbo, Shaq, even the Admiral. Frankly, I would not draft walton just so that I never have to hear his post-game interview.

Since Walton outperfomred Sabonis and there is no way I could stand Walton’s mounth, I have to draft Oden. At the very least I’ll have a likeable player who isn’t as creaky as the big Lithuanian.

by NWfan on Jul 29, 2008 9:45 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton outplayed a young Abul-Jabbar

...who managed to hang tough with Olajuwon early in the Dream’s career. I think with some strength training he could use his quickness and passing to draw out the back to the basket guys.

by erastus25 on Jul 29, 2008 10:06 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

If you mean the '77 playoffs.....

....Jabbar was 30 years old. Not exactly a spring chicken by NBA standards.

by fat27 on Jul 29, 2008 6:11 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Well, everyone knows how I feel about...

unproven players.

Oden.

"I love this game!" -Moonbeam, from 'Rollerball' right before he was knocked into a permanent coma

by -ken on Jul 29, 2008 9:56 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Walton

Bill Walton was a great passing center. He would make everyone on the court better just with his ability to see the floor. His court length baseball type passes on the break were unreal to watch. This is a must have on this team. A player that can and will pass the ball. A team player, all he cared about was winning. Plus, his rebounding, shot blocking and scoring. Got to go with the big redhead. Oden has potential to be better, but has to prove himself, yet.

Killer instinct. When you have your opponent down, you do not help them up. You step on their throat!!!!!!

by Misplaced Blazermaniac on Jul 29, 2008 10:00 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

Brett Pill - Lord of the double.

by malarky on Jul 29, 2008 10:15 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Oden

I love Sabas and Walton as great passing centers who really showed me that a big man is more than just back to the basket shaq type gorillas. with that being said using the criteria set out here i am gonna have to go with Oden.

by shteveo on Jul 29, 2008 10:16 AM PDT reply reply