Dude, is this a Portland chat? by John Hollinger (4/10)

by leeroyjenkins on Apr 11, 2009 9:09 AM PDT

Lots of good stuff in here:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=25867

A few tidbits:

Jeff(Bakersfield, Ca): Will Greg Oden ever be better then Joel Pryzbilla?

John Hollinger: Yes, of course he will; in fact he might be already on a different team, but Przybilla's skills fit this group really well. I mentioned this in the Insider Gems yesterday, but if you break it down Oden's actually had a pretty good rookie season -- he just needs to stay on the floor.

BONUS: SOME TEXT FROM THAT INSIDER ARITCLE:

Oden's season PER is now 18.03, which is pretty darn good for a rookie that everyone's falling all over themselves to call a disappointment. He's averaging 16.2 points and 12.9 boards per 40 minutes, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor, and leads the NBA in Offensive Rebound Rate. The jury's still out as to whether he'll be a franchise center, or if he'll prove to be a better player than Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, but for a rookie coming off microfracture surgery you could do a lot worse than this.

Jay (Burke, VA) [via mobile]: Who is the one team the Lakers hope goes/stays in the 2,3,6, and 7 bracket and they avoid until the WCF?

John Hollinger: Portland, I believe. Blazers are probably playing the best of that gang right now and have fared pretty well against L.A. over the past couple years.

Shawn (Dallas, TX): Dude, is this a Portland chat? my edit: (ROOOOOOOFL) Shaq and CP3 to Dallas next year?? Cuban is one of the few willing to take on big contracts!!

AND THERE'S A TON MORE CHECK IT OUT OMG (heinrich, eating in portland, KP and the trade deadline, Nate props, etc etc etc etc!)

I'll leave you with this:

Disgruntled Nation: Next time, warn us when it's going to be a Portland chat and we'll tune in another time.

John Hollinger: Hey, I can only answer what's asked.

Buwhahahahahaha!

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Comments

Nice

Nate has done a fantastic job here and I think he has to be considered among the league’s elite coaches at this point.

by keepfryealive on Apr 11, 2009 9:25 AM PDT reply actions

Why the rush to judgement with Greg?

Go back and look at LMA’s first year, the things said about him, what he was and more importantly what he was not.

And just look at him now with nearly 3 full seasons later under his belt.

Big Men simply take time, this negative stuff about Greg is all worthless yapping.

The Oden Era, Day 660

by Heymoe on Apr 11, 2009 9:33 AM PDT reply actions

Nobody has patience anymore

Luckily we in Portland have had to learn patience. When we got Roy and Aldridge, and did like a trillion trades in 45 minutes, we didn’t automatically become playoff contenders. We won way more games than 05, but it was still only 32 wins. People expect a lot out of #1 draft picks, but all I see is a two headed monster at Center.

My brother moved to San Jose during the Jail Blazer era and immediately became a Warriors fan (stop laughing, I already bruised my ribs laughing at him). He is not aware of what the Blazers do, nor is he aware that we are the team of the future (OKC is unaware too, but they have to be that way).

Greg’s progress is about what we should have expected. My section last night joked when Greg didn’t get called for his first foul until the 2nd quarter. We’re pretty sure that was a record. I personally think he is an amazing player who will get to where we want him, but dang, he’s 12 feet tall. I would expect (and we’ve been told) that it’s harder for Centers to adjust than everybody else. We got what we needed in Oden, and his skills are worth the wait. We got a preview of things to come in 06-07, a taste of a team we love to love in 07-08, and this year it’s wild.

The definition of irony: Mike Barrett telling us it doesn’t matter how young the Blazers are, and then commenting throughout the whole Memphis game on how young the Grizzlies are. Maybe the Blazers are the exception that proves the rule.

by martinezec on Apr 11, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions

I didn't make it past your subject line. Could you summarize in one sentence??

;)

Subject 24 will be tranquilized and carted back to Hollywood for further examinations.

by pxilpooshr on Apr 11, 2009 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Patience is a true virtue and we are now reaping the rewards.

Greg & LMA are going to be everything we had hoped for.

This year and for the next decade.

The Oden Era, Day 660

by Heymoe on Apr 11, 2009 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions

TL;DR

"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"

by Magnum on Apr 11, 2009 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions

It always amazes me that other team's fans seem to really dislike

any mention of Portland.

Its not the team’s fault that their fans are more adept online, smarter and generally better looking.

"She turned me into a newt!
A newt?
...I got better."

by Seijeff on Apr 11, 2009 9:45 AM PDT reply actions 9 recs

they are jealous

It's spelled "PRZYBILLA."
vanillathrillagorillaprzybilla

by RenoBlazerFan on Apr 11, 2009 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Very well put.

One of the other things you’ll notice is that we tend to be literate. L*ker fans in particular have a very difficult time putting sentences together. At least they’re trying, though. Keep it up guys. You’ll get there one day.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Apr 11, 2009 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions

I can cope with their failure at grammar. If only they could spell actual words.

It’s too much effort to put together the misspelled words into poorly construed sentences to be only rewarded with incoherent fanboism. (Take it as a word, given the roots I’m sure you can all comprehend it, after all, this isn’t L.A.)

by lurtsman on Apr 11, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions

haha nice

although, i can understand SOME of their frustration.. have you ever read like an ESPN comment section? If not I will summarize every single blazer post for you:

“ZOMG THE ZERS ARE THE BEST TEAM EVER! I PREDICT 10 TITLES IN A ROW! GREG ODEN IS BETTER THAN SHAQ!! DYNASTY! NO ONE ELSE CAN HANG WITH US! KP IS GOD!!!!!!!”

and that my friends, is why everyone hates us. try reading that with the words Lakers instead of Blazers 1000 times in a discussion

Other than death and taxes, only 4 things in this world are indisputable:
Brandon Roy is the BEST player in the NBA in the clutch.
Montana to Rice were the greatest to ever play the game.
The Four Horsemen of Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine and Avery were unstoppable.
No one protects the pipes like Luongo.

by GreatOden'sRaven on Apr 11, 2009 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions

That is the reason why you see stuff like this on other people's blogs:

I welcome the hornet’s nest. I got to cheer for Jordan through his whole career, when was the last time the Blazers won anything?

I’m delighted that they passed on Durant for Oden. It means I can better enjoy Durant’s career, if he had gone to Portland, I wouldn’t want to cheer for him because Blazer’s fans can be so obnoxious.

by fundamentallysound

That is from Blog-A-Bull

Can I get a headband? One for my peeps, one for the fans in the really cheap seats, one for my momma, one for the mayor, and if you wanna get down with the players, YOU GOTTA GET A HEADBAND!

by peseme16 on Apr 11, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Just imagine how obnoxious Blazers fans will be when the have Oden AND Durant. 2012 master plan baby!

Greg Oden = Robert Parish (HOF, 4x NBA champion, 9x NBA All-Star). The only other rookie with more than 500 points, 400 rebounds, and 65 blocks in under 1400 minutes played. Since 1946.

by Norsktroll on Apr 11, 2009 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Hopefully by then Durant will realize he can't win by being option 1, 2,3 & 4.

by tweener on Apr 11, 2009 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Portland fans do have an aura of obnoxiousness to them, but I really don't care about that.

The one thing that totally bugs me is some folks’ homerism around here, although that’s just me.

by AK1984 on Apr 11, 2009 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Anyone who calls the Blazers the 'zers is not a fan, just someone looking to stir things up. Hope other teams can realize that.

by BlazerGal on Apr 11, 2009 10:36 PM PDT up reply actions

you nailed it

Joel doesn't look to start trouble--he looks to end it. --LetsBlaze

by prezofdeath on Apr 11, 2009 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions

and compared to most of the teams in the league

the players on the team are also generally better looking. (minus roy with a patchy beard)

"There are a few teams you have to watch out for in the fourth quarter."
"Yeah, but Portland definitely is not one of them."

-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters at the end of the third quarter with the Hornets leading 74-59. Portland later ends up winning 97-89.

"They don't mind him shooting that shot at all. Rudy Fernandez is not that great of a 3pt shooter."

-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters right after a Rudy Fernandez missed 3pter. Rudy Fernandez finished the game with three 3pters on six attempts.

by Tofu Anonymous on Apr 11, 2009 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions

I like

How Hollinger obviously respects Porland, the same can’t be said for most the media.

- Sam

by RipCitySam on Apr 11, 2009 8:32 PM PDT reply actions

Before the season he predicted 42 wins based on his point differentials machine. That sounded low even when you use statistics as your main criteria.

Forecast. And at that time he called “youth” our biggest weakness, while in the meantime he claims to have discovered youth is actually not that bad in the playoffs. I like Hollinger quite well, but in politics that would be called flip-flopping by his opponents :)

Greg Oden = Robert Parish (HOF, 4x NBA champion, 9x NBA All-Star). The only other rookie with more than 500 points, 400 rebounds, and 65 blocks in under 1400 minutes played. Since 1946.

by Norsktroll on Apr 11, 2009 11:20 PM PDT up reply actions