One of the descriptions most applied to my blogging work, for better or worse, is "even-handed". This morning Mr. Dawson summarized the sentiment by saying I don't tend to get too high or too low. This prompted reader Eric to write and, in essence, call me out. To wit:
Come on Dave! We know it's in there. Let it out! What gets you really pumped or depressed?
Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I have picked up the gauntlet. For Eric and everyone else who might be wondering, I've come up with a list of things that get me really thrilled about our players, plus a corresponding list of things about which I'm relatively chilled. Note that the latter are not necessarily the worst attributes of a player. They may not even be a bad attribute or weakness. They could just be things that others seem pumped about that I'm not so convinced of. So here we go.
Greg Oden
Thrilled About: His body, strength, those amazing dunks, the anticipation of the first big alley-oop, and his eventual dominance.
Chilled About: His prospects in the first two months of this season.
Brandon Roy
Thrilled About: Pretty much everything about his game, save maybe his defense, drives me completely out of my tree. Also that he’s such a media-friendly guy.
Chilled About: His ability to play 37+ minutes per game, 100 games a year, for his whole career.
Lamarcus Aldridge
Thrilled About: His physical progression, his perimeter defense, his footspeed, his multi-faceted offense
Chilled About: His rebounding probably. I’d like a little more aggression.
Travis Outlaw
Thrilled About: His incomparable 1-on-1 scoring ability and recent clutch play.
Chilled About: His prospects of becoming a huge scorer.
Martell Webster
Thrilled About: His steady improvement in all areas.
Chilled About: His happiness in
Rudy Fernandez
Thrilled About: His passing, shooting, and fearlessness
Chilled About: His immediate impact on the team
Jerryd Bayless
Thrilled About: His penetration and the physical strength to get shots up when fouled
Chilled About: His long-term fit
Steve Blake
Thrilled About: His willingness to do anything and shape himself to the needs of the team.
Chilled About: The possibility of him always being a bridesmaid and never a bride.
Channing Frye
Thrilled About: His amazing knack for PR and his confidence
Chilled About: His prospects for playing time
Joel Przybilla
Thrilled About: His rebounding!
Chilled About: His production in limited minutes
Sergio Rodriguez
Thrilled About: His potential to become the most imagination-catching point guard since J-Will
Chilled About: His commitment and ability to work himself into an NBA rotation
The Team Overall
Thrilled About: The multi-layered awesomeness that is about to be released upon the NBA for the next decade. Seriously, I salivate.
Chilled About: The speed of that progression if we hit some bumps in the short term.
Feel free to add your own chills and thrills below. They can be about the players, the team, the organization, or whatever.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)