Tucked away on a rainy Friday night at the Rose Garden, 11,021 Blazer fans got a free glimpse into Portland’s future. And what a site it was.
Full scrimmage. Two teams. Two 20 minutes halves.
Let’s go to the tape….
Greg Oden was winded early and often and struggled to make it past halfcourt on some breaks. But at least he was out there.
Finally.
Especially after all the hoopla about his rolled ankle all last week. Besides poor conditioning, he performed moderately. Look for him to play 15-20 minutes come Tuesday against Sacramento in Portland’s first preseason game.
Truth be told – G.O. has to already be exhausted from the media exposure. Think about it. How many times last year do you think he was asked how his knee is feeling? This year though, inquires include the status of the knee (of course) and also how excited he is to be out on the floor.
Hope you all like tin.
There’s going to be a lot of canned answers going around from the big fella.
Rudy Fernandez did not disappoint. That’s for sure. His behind-the-back left handed pass to Travis Outlaw on the wing was straight sick. If you missed it, don’t worry. There will be another showing- like 82-plus games worth. Here’s the best part – talking to Nate McMillan afterwards, he didn’t mind Rudy threading the needle one bit. Said he wouldn’t stop him from busting that out during the season either.
Surely, the same doesn’t apply to Sergio Rodriguez.
This Jerryd Bayless kid is as advertised. On a scale of 1-10, he was easily pushing double-digits on his aggressiveness and ability to get into the paint alone. With Steve Blake out this next whole week with a bad hamstring, Sergio is going to have some unwanted company at the point.
Not sure how many fans or fellow writers picked up on this, but Bayless and Sergio were going at it pretty hard a few trips down the court. A lot of full-court press from Bayless. A couple shove-offs from Sergio. You have to wonder how those to are going at it in camp.
The other usual suspects -Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster and Joel Przybilla – all handled their business and appeared overly excited to get this show on the road for keeps.
Without giving too much away, keep an eye out for features on Ike Diogu and Luke Jackson early next week on HOOPSWORLD. Two similar NBA experiences: lottery selections that have yet to live up to the hype. Ike already has a role with Channing Frye on the shelf. Jackson, however, is on the outside looking in.
But will that change in the coming weeks?
Stay tuned….
pic via: oregonlive
beyond the beat 