The NBA is a league built on its stars. Last Friday night when the Blazers played the Miami Heat, the Rose Garden was filled with them. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were in town, Scottie Pippen was sitting in the stands and, as always, the Blazers had their own star on the court in LaMarcus Aldridge. As I said the Rose Garden was filled with stars, including your own beloved sportswriter, and yet last Friday night wasn’t about any of them. Friday night marked the return of Joel Przybilla, the Vanilla Gorilla, to the Rose Garden floor. It turns out Trail Blazers fans love Mr. Przybilla and he loves them back.
The atmosphere in the Rose Garden was electric. Before Przybilla even shrugged off his warm-up gear, the fans started chanting his name. A timeout was called and Przybilla’s face appeared on the jumbotron. The roar that followed this image was unlike anything I had ever heard; it was honestly an incredible thing to witness and be a part of. Przybilla couldn’t help but be swept up by the cheering crowd. He was standing in the huddle trying to listen to what Coach McMillan was saying and he ended up fighting a losing battle with an ear to ear grin. When Przybilla finally came into the game, he blocked shots, attempted to take charges, and rolled around on the floor attempting to gather in loose balls. His toughness and energy are the things that make Blazers fans love him.
At the very least, it appears that Przybilla loves the Blazers and their fans at least as much as they love him. This is evidenced by his ear to ear grin when the Blazers fans chant his name as well as the fact that he’s chosen to play in Portland again even after they traded him away last year in the Gerald Wallace deal. Przybilla had a chance to play with the aforementioned Miami Heat, a team that looks like it very well could end this season as the NBA champions. He’s here and I, for one, hope he’s here to stay. He wrote a small piece for the Blazers program about why he chose to come back to Portland. In that write up, he said that he chose to come back because this city has become his home. That sounds like love to me.
I’m not one who is going to say that Joel Przybilla is the piece that will turn the Blazers season back towards championship contention. It is pretty obvious that he isn’t that piece, but the Blazers didn’t make this move because they thought it would bring a championship. The toughness provided by Przybilla will be helpful, especially in the playoffs but if the Blazers want to contend, they are going to need to make a few more moves. I’m hoping to see Rajon Rondo in a Blazers uniform by the end of the season but there are three players I’m not willing to sacrifice in order to make that happen. In a previous article, I wrote that Nicolas Batum needed to be considered untouchable and I stand by that statement. One of the other two players on that list should be obvious: LaMarcus Aldridge. The other player isn’t one who is ever going to be considered a star anywhere but Portland: Joel Przybilla. The guy has given us his heart and it is clear that he’s captured the Blazers fans’ hearts as well. The Blazers can’t afford to sacrifice a love like that and thus, they can’t afford to trade Joel Przybilla. Sports Love is a wonderful thing and it’s rare to find it as strong as it is in Portland right now.
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