I’ve Got A Feeling

I like this Blazers team.

That may sound like a simplistic assessment unfit for contribution to a public forum, but let me explain.

This is a successful franchise: numerous All-Star selections, 21 straight playoff appearances, and three trips to the Finals, including that golden championship season in 1977. We had a few uncharacteristically thin years last decade, but overall Portland is used to seeing quality basketball being played in the Rose Garden. Even in the midst of all those postseason trips, though, I haven’t always liked the team.

The Rasheed/Damon/Sabonis teams (though they came within one atrocious quarter of a trip to the Finals) felt too much like those Yankee and Red Sox teams that seem to rent high-profile players for a title run. Really, Shawn Kemp may have been a big name, but he was about eight cheeseburgers, drug busts, and illegitimate children past his prime when Portland picked him up—not too different from when the Yanks signed Darryl Strawberry in a similar state. GMs usually use the analogy of finding “the last piece to the puzzle”—this team had too many corner pieces. It never made a coherent picture.

The Zebo/Darius/Qyntel teams were unlikable for obvious reasons. Without going into the plethora of legal difficulties this team may got into, I will say this: though it may take considerable chutzpah to give a police officer your trading card instead of your ID when you’ve been pulled over, that doesn’t usually translate into gutsiness on the court. This group was more like Jenga—trying to get rid of pieces without the whole thing collapsing. (Two board game analogies in a row… not sure what that means…)

The Brandon Roy Blazers were good, both on the court and off the court, a definite step in the right direction. And yet… the team seemed to lack something. An identity, perhaps. Brandon was praised for his “quiet leadership,” but stoicism doesn’t get your team fired up during a timeout when you’re down by eight with three minutes left. It seemed at times as if the team so respected Brandon’s humility that they were afraid to look to him for that leadership. The team just sort of drifted into the playoffs and drifted out.

This team, though… I like this team. You’ve got your reliable scorers and your sparkplug off the bench, your rebounders and your defensive stoppers, your energy guys and your level-heads, your crafty veterans and your young bucks, all working together, all hustling and running the floor and making the extra pass. You’ve got locker room leaders to energize and rally the team. You’ve got guys with character and guts and heart who clearly love playing together. I like this team.

I like that Gerald Wallace, unlike some NBA stars, earns his nicknames. In opposition to Iverson being “The Answer” to a question no one asked, “Crash” careens across the court for the better part of 48 minutes, and you half-expect him to channel Ernie Banks in the post-game interview by saying, “Let’s play two!” While “Superman” Dwight Howard struggles to attain his usual levels of performance (apparently trade rumors are his kryptonite), “The Predator” prowls the court with ferocity to match most linebackers and an intimidating presence that nearly makes you second-guess his nice-guy off-the-court reputation.

I like that LaMarcus Aldridge can be the face of the franchise without it going to his head. I like that Nicholas Batum has worked as hard to improve on defense as he has on offense. I like seeing Kurt Thomas take charges at the age of 39 and inspiring the rest of the guy to take one for the team. I like the hustle that guys like Nolan Smith and Chris Johnson show in the few minutes of playing time they get.

I like that the announcers for their nationally televised games have noted the chemistry this team shows so early in the season, with so many new additions. I like that the grit they’re showing in close games makes Tim Tebow’s Broncos look pessimistic by comparison. I like that when I see the team get behind, I no longer automatically assume it’s over.

Folks, I’ve got a good feeling. I like this team.