It has been feeling sort of revolutiony around here

No doubt Nate McMillan has been a major factor in this better than expected season. His values and beliefs on things like hard work, discipline, and defense have permeated the team-culture and the results have been impressive. We know this.

What we don't know is what celebrity he most closely resembles. (Awesome segway) So we at the DeceptivelyQuick Institutional Center for Knowledge (also known as DIC...never mind) took on the challenge of finding Nate's celebrity look-a-like by utilizing cutting edge, validated technology*. Without further delay, here are the results:



Obviously, Nate is a dead ringer for Che Guevara. Yet the similarites don't stop there.

Nate was hired in 2005. (They gave away free hotdogs at the press conference, it was awesome) His first tour of Blazerland included a bad team (21 wins), some legal issues (21 convictions), and a smattering of organizational issues (21 front office douches). It was upon observation of this and the resulting Blazer fan suffering that Nate had an epiphany. Drastic action was needed. Che had a similar yet slightly more intense experience and started a revolucion. The Blazer revolucion is unfolding before our very eyes. Viva Nate.




*I first applied the comparison to pictures of myself. The first time I got a random Asian guy I didn't know. The second picture came up with Penelope Cruz. I'm a white guy. In layperson terms, the thing works.

More like a Re-Up

These last few days I have been in a basketball-less void due to some travelling for work. Terrible what they did to me. So the Blazers beat Dallas? Wow. Now only Memphis and Phoenix stand in the way of 42 wins. The team has overachieved this season already and is still finding ways to impress. A beautiful thing.

Canzano article a must read

That makes back to back headings that I never thought I would write. The Big Lead has an absolute must read interview with Oregonian columnist John Canzano (found via SLAM). There are a lot of juicy stories about how bad things used to be in Blazerland. Reading reactions to the article, people are having a good time learning these anecdotes. I agree there are fun moments (who knew Nedzad Sinanovic was so gangster?) but there is definitely some heavy stuff from those very dark days. Being a Blazer fan, that era is still a little too fresh in my mind to get that sheer enjoyment out of this. I experienced that tense, creeped-out feeling going through Canzano's stories. It is comparable to watching There Will Be Blood, where you are simultaneously totally engrossed but feeling that unease circulate through your system. Seriously, you need to read this. I would "borrow" excerpts, but wouldn't know where to stop.

Steve Blake gets no respect

Thats a headline I never thought I'd write. But in a season where Jack has disappointed with his inconsistent ability to run the team and Sergio hasn't been able to convince Nate to lend him decent minutes, Blake's competence at pointguard has kept this team watchable.

No, he is not the dream starting pointguard fans have been pining for. He's undersized and probably better suited as a quality back-up, but it is scary to think of what this season would have been like if the Blazers didn't sign him last summer. I was lukewarm on the deal at the time, to say he won me over is a bit of an understatement. I abandoned all logic and just started referring to the guy as The Port of Miami. Stick with me. The 305 roots, the bald head & beard, and you know, every day he's hustlin'. Just another day in the life. With his steady play and the stagnation of Jack, I was a little surprised when I noticed this shirt at a local store:





No, it wasn't on clearance. Yes, it likely will be this summer.

On Webster's Heart

It was scary when we heard Martell Webster missed the Houston game due to "flu like symptoms and dizziness" and was being held in a hospital for observation. The early statement of an irregular heartbeat is a little more frightening. A big chunk of this fear is coming from the fact that we know so little at this point. We remember the heart problems of LaMarcus, that were supposedly easily taken care of. Hopefully we'll hear some positive news next week. Martell, while still trying to find consistency, has had his best season so far. He has been able to show Blazers fans a little more of his immediate value and that he is still improving. This city has no reason to give up on the guy drafted straight out of highschool. By all reports I've heard, he has always been a hard worker and a good person. It would be sad to see a positive year end with sad news. Good luck Martell. I find this clip is always good for a boost in spirits:

Whats with all the news?

Unless your team is playoff bound, the final stretch of the season is usually pretty dull. The most upbeat fans might manage to get excited by watching the guys who didn't play much all season get their time. For the rest of us, the drop in enthusiasm and quality of play gets draining. So we check out until draft time. Understandable.

But there has been an unusual amount of Blazer news lately. These gifts are providing us all a paddle through the doldrums:

• Rudy Fernandez said he's 90% going to be a TrailBlazer next season. Duh. Hopefully the more neurotic of Blazer forum posters will calm down a bit.
• Assistant Bill Bayno (who I fell in love with here) is going to coach Loyola Marymount. Probably a good move for him, but I would've thought an NBA headcoaching job would have presented itself if he hung around for a few more seasons of Blazers success. Who knows, maybe that isn't his goal.
• Brandon Roy, the Roybot, the Everything, may come back this season. I know a winning record would be nice, but I'd rather Roy not attempt to help save the short-term goal. He's had a great year, the team has had a great year. Roy, take the time and get totally healthy. Please. We have a long trail yet to travel:

The race to 500

It wouldn't mean much in the standings, but the Blazers completing the season with a winning record would be a nice symbolic statement that this team is emerging on the landscape of basketball relevance. More directly, it would be a nice encouraging reward for this young team that has been working so hard. It would also serve as a positive end-note for fans who have endured some rough times. Puppies and sunshine, I'm telling you.

For a time it felt like the team would eclipse the 42 win mark. Then the team came back to Earth, and the odds of making the mark seemed like a push. Next the team lost Roy, and wins are harder to come by without your Everything.

As of tonight, the team sits at 38-37. There are seven games left, with four wins needed to get to .500. Here's a quick at the final opponents: Houston, San Antonio, Lakers, Sacramento, Dallas, Memphis, and Phoenix. Five Western Conference playoff teams, fighting for seeding and not likely to overlook the young Blazers. Memphis and Sacramento are both playing better than usual, both with five wins over their last ten. Sadly, there appears to be no gimmies.

The ray of hope is that these are home games with the exceptions of at Sacramento and at Phoenix. This Blazer team remains especially capable at home. The players want to reach at least .500. Will it be done? Conventional wisdom would say probably not, but this team wasn't supposed to be in this situation in the first place. One more burst of overachievement would be the perfect end to an excellent season, and yet another precursor of greatness to come.