Coach Nate loves Jay Z, is totally down with the kids

From the other Quick:

"The emergence of Oden is getting the Blazers close to completing the diamond that coach Nate McMillan likes to make with his hands when talking about this team. McMillan puts his forefingers and thumbs together to symbolize the connection between Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Oden, and himself."

I imagine its just a coincidence (Nate seems incapable of pandering), but that would be hilarious if this is Nate's way of showing he can be down with the players. It makes me want to picture him awkwardly pulling out all kinds of outdated pop rap references, "Nice shot Blake, now thats gettin jiggy with it!" All you need is the R-O-C baby.

Channing Frye set to receive death penalty

Unless I'm confused about something.

How long before Rudy Fernandez is run out of town?

Rudy's latest hinting at his potential to earn a malcontent label:

“Right now, I don’t know my situation in the team,’ said Fernandez, who dealt with back spasms during training camp and missed four preseason games. ‘Blake play in the 2 (guard) position. For sure (that) is one more player in that position. Right now, I’m focusing in my work and taking (care of) my back. And when I’m on the court, play hard to help my teammates.’

We've heard the sniffles of dissatisfaction before. Part of me wants to think that once Portland takes care of their log-jam situation Rudy will be happy. The more we hear from Fernandez though, the more I wonder if making room for him to have a larger role would even be worth it in the long term. He will never be a top three guy on this team, can he be happy with that? I get the sense that the answer is no. Is Rudy the type of guy that would rather be a star on a bad team than a complementary player on a great team? If that answer is yes, Portland should be looking to move him while his value is somewhat high.

And when do the fans turn on him? If Rudy keeps talking we have the potential to witness one of the biggest swings from total euphoric fan support to get-him-the-hell-out-of-here-now in Blazers history.

Maurice Lucas classic

So awesome. Thats all.

(Via SI.)

Donald Sterling ok, players wearing jewelry bad

So goes the logic of David Stern, I guess. In a league that frets over its image to the point of banning players from wearing too much jewelry or shirts without collars it is hard not to be a little disgusted that man like Donald Sterling, who, um, OWNS AN NBA TEAM gets a free pass. Human rights violations are fine, t-shirts are the real enemy. Got that? If you want a refresher read the latest on the Clippers owner.

The Awesomeness of Manu Ginobili is undeniable

The bald spot is more pronounced than ever which makes Ginobili pretty cool with me. I guess he's pretty good at basketball also. But what really separates Manu is his ability to knock bats out of the air. With other humans paralyzed from fear Ginobili saved the day:

Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair simply scurried away as if his hair was on fire.

Over on the Spurs bench, they knew what was about to happen.

“If that thing gets anywhere next to Manu,” one veteran Spurs player told the person next to him, “he's swatting it out of the air.”

Seconds later, before anyone else could blink, that's what happened.

“I guess in Argentina, bat hunting is part of everyday life,” Kings center Spencer Hawes said. “Somebody had to do it, and it wasn't going to be me.”

Ginobili seemed unfazed by the flying pest.

“It's just a mouse with wings,” he said.

With the bat disposed of, and Ginobili's future in extermination secure, play was able to resume. With one flick of his left wrist, Ginobili saved the day.

“The legend grows,” Popovich said.

Indeed Popovich. Indeed.

Don't worry your delicate sensibilities, it seems Manu just stunned the little fella. I'm not sure which is funnier, Manu hitting the bat out of midair or the fact that his teammates knew he would hit the bat out of midair. I officially can no longer dislike the Spurs. The organization even had a good enough sense of humor to fill out an injury report for the bat. (Found via Sam Amick's Twitter.) Enjoy the video.

Nuggets Blazers Recap

Remember when I said that I would never do another game recap? No? Oh, good. I just put one up over at Bust a Bucket. Click here to read my rambles.