The Blazers went through a short walkthrough practice today after returning from last night's win in Los Angeles. Unlike the last time the Blazers prepared for the Dallas Mavericks, the media was not let in early enough to watch the team go through its defensive adjustments. Considering the stakes at play tomorrow night, that's probably a good thing. Brandon Roy participated in the walkthrough today and is expected to play tomorrow.
Camby's Hammy
Marcus Camby is officially listed as questionable for tomorrow night with a slightly strained hamstring suffered during last night's game. Nate McMillan said, "Today he got some treatment. He'll get some more tomorrow and he should be ready to go." Camby gave no indication that he would miss the game.
Playoff Opponents
As for his preferred playoff opponent, Camby opted for a humorous take in saying he would like to face the Lakers. "Me, I'm kind of biased, I'd like to be in LA so I can see my wife and kids. If not, wherever it takes us, we've got to be prepared... I think we match up good against anybody. But any team that has Kobe Bryant on it, he's going to be prepared, they're going to be prepared. They've got Kobe Bryant on that team, Pau Gasol, I'm sure Bynum will be back... we can only worry about what we can control."
"It doesn't matter," Juwan Howard joked with a reporter a few minutes later. "You got a team? Bring it."
Nate McMillan came right out and confidently declared that he would prefer to face ... no he didn't. He talked in circles any time the question was raised. "That's conversation for people to talk about," McMillan said. "The thing is, you're going to be facing somebody. To say who you want to face or who don't want to face. You're going to get somebody. You've got to be ready for whoever you're facing in the postseason. Right now it looks like we will be facing somebody and we won't have home court. It's going to be a challenge. For us, whoever we're facing we're going to have to be playing our best basketball."
Nate McMillan on Greg Oden
Greg Oden's comments during an interview on Tuesday regarding his current status suggested that perhaps his rehab isn't going totally smoothly. Oden, at home in Indiana, reported that he was mostly staying off of his leg and icing it as much as possible when, as recently as three weeks ago, Oden told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune that he was riding bicycles and swimming in a pool. In that same piece, Oden notes that running on an anti-gravity treadmill had caused soreness and swelling.
"He's doing fine. He's doing fine," Nate McMillan told me after today's practice. "The trainer is in contact with him, making sure he's doing what he needs to do. He's doing well." Asked directly if perhaps there had been some setback or complication in recent weeks, McMillan shook his head no and said, "Our trainer is up to speed with where he's at. And he's doing good."
Oden is now a full four months post-injury and is nearing the halfway point between the date of injury and the start of next season's training camp.
The Blazers handed out copies of this EuroCupBasketball.com article today, touting the recent stellar play of last year's first round draft pick Victor Claver. Marca is quoting a source close to a hot tub time machine that reports Claver is unhappy with his role on the 2013 Blazers and that he's made it known to close friends that he feels that Nate McMillan's slowdown offense is stifling his potential.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter