The Blazers Will Win The Championship

I’m just going to say it now: the Blazers will win the championship this year. That’s right you heard it here first! I’m calling my shot!

The new look Blazers can make this happen. They do have a chance to be the team that comes out on top this year. Look, they don’t have the pressure on them to be the young up and coming team of the future anymore. Brandon is gone, Oden is gone that window has closed. I like what the Blazers did after the lockout ended and how they reacted to Brandon Roy retiring. The temp GM looks good because he made the Blazers faster and wiser. Not sure what Chad Ford was thinking when he gave the Blazers a D on roster moves? The temp GM made smart moves by picking up Crawford and Kurt Thomas. This gives them the shooting they needed and a veteran presence to go alongside Camby and Wallace. It has been awhile since the Blazers have had veterans on the floor.

This team reminds me of the San Francisco Giants when they won the World Series. The Blazers front office put a bunch of guys together that have individually made a name for themselves or have been solid NBA players their entire career but never got close to the big game. You put a good group of guys like that together in a strike shorten year and magic can happen.  They look loose, they look like they are having fun put those two things together and you have a recipe for success. Add the fact that Nate McMillan has given Raymond Felton the freedom to play his style of basketball tells me that a big change has occurred with the coach. It looks like we are seeing Coach Nate, as he was when he had Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis with the Sonics.

These guys want to win, these guys want to be in Portland and you have to love this style of play. It’s what the NBA was about in the 1980’s. It’s real basketball, not isolation plays, with the team’s star we have been watching for the last 10 years. This is team basketball and I think they can do this just as the Pistons did during their championship season without a superstar. This will be an entire team effort all season long and that might be the ticket that gets them to the big game. It’s going to be a different guy every night. Sit back and enjoy the ride and I will be in Pioneer Square celebrating with everyone this summer.