all teams go through it. The teams ahead of the Blazers in the standings will go through it too.

It’s an opportunity to see others step up. Giving Bayless more meaningful minutes is a very good thing long term for this team.

We need Roy against Detroit— we can’t afford another home loss.

We HAVE to make a strong surge in the last 3 weeks of this month with the friendly schedule. The Det and GS games really need to be wins, and 3 out of 4 on the road trip is not unreasonable with Roy. The timing of this is really, really bad.

We need Oden to get the ball in the post and work on Buynum. Also LMA needs to bring his game up, so as Steve Blake. Rudy is doing Ok

Also who wanted to know if Rudy can start got their wish.
I wanted to see Bayless so im looking forward to it

Most people chose Roy cuz they said that he reached his sealing. So far Blazers are 1-1 without him.

Also most fans chose that LMA will be the leading scorer on the team and Roy will take lesser roll with Oden coming in. LMA will benefit the most from Oden. But looks like Roy benefits the most from Oden in there.

I think if the other players on the team will improve then Roy will surely improve cuz thats what leaders do. And that means he will score more too.

time to step up los blasers

I guess thats what fear brings.

We miss ya

1) Will the extra playing time allow Rudy to start expanding his offensive game?
We saw some more drives to the basket and jumpers inside of the 3pt line in this last game. He can be a much more valuable player if he starts getting to the basket more often.

2) Oden’s continued evolution
Greg has showed that he ready to take on a larger load if he stays out of foul trouble. He will get plenty of chance to cement his emerging post game with some of Roy’s touches going down in the post.

3) Bayless becoming a legit option off the bench
We saw a little more from Bayless against the Hornets. If he can get enough time to find his jumper and a niche, we’ll be better for it when Roy returns.

4) LMA getting comfortable in his own skin
We all know LMA has all-star potential, and gets in his way more than any defender. How many times will he shoot over 50% in the next 10 days? His best lines are when we see 7-11 FG type of showings from him. He can be an incredibly efficient scorer, but has had only one decent quarter in the two games Roy was out. If he flails all week, it could have detrimental long-term effects.

very good but too many injuries.

(TiH should have a field day with that one.) Seriously, this was entirely predictable. I couldn’t believe how Nate stayed with Roy in that double-overtime game even as his energy visibly flagged. Seeing Nate coach that game was like watching a junkie who can’t stop believing—against all logic—that the next hit will be as good as the first one. Not that I blame Nate. To go back to the horse racing analogy, Brandon Roy is definitely a thoroughbred.

But longterm, I truly believe that an extended stretch of Roylessness will be a blessing for this team. Call it going cold turkey. As long as they can mix a couple wins with the losses, it’ll all be good. Roy will come back rested and his teammates will have had to sink or swim without him.

Yes, Roy out for an extended time is a bad thing. However I think this adversity could really be the crucible that defines this team. It’s all on how we react and compete. We’ve struggled to have an identity as a team. Now is really the time for everyone to step up. Our best player is out. Now is the time for this team to show what we are made of, beyond Brandon Roy. If we really weren’t kidding ourselves about becoming a championship quality team 2,3,4 years in the future then we have to show we have talent beyond Brandon Roy. As a fan I now support them unequivocably! Now is the time for all the cliches. Let’s circle the wagons! Beat LA! Pull together. I’m a little upset at some of the “it’s all over now” attitudes that seem to be popping up.

If Oden can play with confidence and have fun like he did against Toronto and Boston, Lamarcus and Rudy will play better.

Pass to open Trout = shoot is GOOD.
Pass to Trout with a man on him which turns away into the fadeaway jumper= very bad.

will lma or greg be able to carry our team with brandon out? seems like anyone in the big three can step up in boston or san antonio. we havent seen as many dominant games out of lma this year as we have last year.

is this type of injury from playing too many minutes?

If u paid attention to Oden when he is out on the perimeter, he stands on his heels and not the balls of his feet like a boxer does and like a defender should. Thats why he looks like he is about to trip when he is moving backwards and cant move sideways fast enough. Do u think the coaches have noticed it about him?

Maybe this is KP’s way of lessening the blow when there is an injured player by telling us in baby steps.

somethings i like to see next year:

1. forget the early training camp….this team needs rest.
2. i heard they started to let these guys sleep in…i don’t know any 20 yr old who function before noon. Move practice on off days to 3-6pm.
3. if the game is close, keep letting the bench play the whole third quarter/beginning of 4th…No need to ride the starters when we supposedly have talent on the bench.
4. get a mole to work for the NBA scheduling office.
5. instead of those $2 folding chairs on the bench, replace with the massage chairs.

against the L*kers………… they might surprise us

the lakers have been shown to have defensive lapses and have occasional mental lapses, they are beatable as long as the guys show good hustle and play hard. We can match the lakers at every position except 2 guard, although the odds are against us winning, we still have a reasonable chance in my opinion to beat the L*kers.

       Start Bayless alongside Blake. Give him
the opportunity to take BRoys role slicing up
the D to the rack. Play Rudy with the 2nd unit
because of needed scoring punch & the Spanish
connection. Give Frye another shot to spread the
floor and if not Shav ! Come together, Smooth show up,
GO stay on your feet and out of foul trouble.
Round 2, begin !

then he’ll be ready for the playoffs.

the murderous rage will be helped immensely…….

in that right now we only have a “big one” and not a “big three”. As a result, I’m afraid we’re going to hurt bad until Roy returns. The attention the defense gives to Roy opens it up so much for other players like Blake. Now the defense will key on Blake and LA. It’s going to be tough.

Confidence in your role/niche whatever – - exploit your strengths – - intensity needs to be at 125% – -

we need to force turnovers…when we are fast on the floor its run and press – - doesn’t take special talent to play that kinda D just intensity .. it would be a surprise because the Blazers haven’t done it yet…

Would love to see some rotations that are different and force LA to react….

Like Rudy, Bayless, LMA, Batum, Travis for 3 minutes – - thats a long fast team that can score from anywhere on the floor and create a fair amount of pressure on D – - we’ve never had Batum and Trav on the floor at the same time .. they would either wreak havoc or get run off the floor…but if we can use the whole team to cause LA to become reactive rather than proactive we might create an opening…

…in the long run. May be a tough next couple of games but we still have a good chance if we can play team ball and solid D.

Brandon’s girlfriend is expecting a baby in January. Let’s just hope she arrives in the next 7-10 days, or everyone’s gonna have to freak out AGAIN before the end of the month.