The Comeback of The Trailblazers

Do you remember the Trailblazers of 1999-2000 with a starting lineup of Damon Stoudemire, Steve Smith, Pippen, R.Wallace, and Sabonis? Man that was the best team ever assembled. Jermaine Oneal, Schrempf, Bonzi Wells and B.Grant "The General" were coming off the bench. Their second lineup was better than most teams today. For instance all the lottery teams and almost everyone in the playoffs except the contenders which were the Heat, Pistons, Spurs, Mavs, and Suns and maybe the Rockets, Cavs and Nuggets would stand a chance.

Heres the link to refresh your memory of their stats.
http://www.nba.com/blazers/stats/1999/index.html

The most exciting thing about this team was that anyone in the starting lineup and sometimes people on the bench could put up 20 ppg. These guys were just entertaining and better than every team they faced. I still think they were better than the Lakers because they had the Series pretty much rapped up and they collapsed under pressure. After that they never returned to form until now.

The Blazers are in a position to reclaim their former luster with the foregone conclusion of drafting Greg Oden and already having Brandon Roy (Steve Smith) and Lamarcus Alridge (Rasheed Wallace). Instead of having Sabonis though Oden will rebound anything that his fingers can touch and will dominate the inside. This big three is probably the most special group ever assembled and will feature the two centers who will define what twin towers really means. Scoring at will on opponents nothing will stop them.

The first thing that stands in their way is Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. They both can spoil the great chemistry that you have worked so hard for. Darius has requested a trade and so has Randolph in the past. Now is the time to get rid of them even if it means taking on bad contracts. Maybe Minnesota might pull the trigger or L.A. or the Warriors who want to get rid of Foyle. Either way you need to get rid of them.

The second thing is acquiring veterans to go around these three. A Veteran point guard is need and a small forward. I would not spend my money on Rashard Lewis. Rashard Lewis has no heart; he has great skills but no heart. You need someone like Gerald Wallace or Odom. You need someone who can understand that they are not the focal point of the offense. You need someone like Andre Miller or even Brevin Knight. An assist man who will lead the team on the court.

If the Blazers are smart and pick Oden I will definitely name myself among Blazer lovers (I don't like being called a fan) but if they don't they will be the most laughed at franchise in the NBA's history. Here lies the Comeback of the Blazers.

Thats all for now, See you next time when we say how to......SHAKE THAT UP.