• One observation I left out of Monday's Daily Dime: This was the first time I'd seen Portland play in person this season, and I was very impressed with the improvement of Rudy Fernandez on defense. His activity off the ball was far greater than I'd seen in his rookie season, and he was really disruptive in passing lanes, as well.

My spies in Portland concur that he's improved quite a bit at that end, which is one more reason the Blazers rank a surprising third in defensive efficiency.