Welcome everyone to the PTB VS Series. The VS Series will be a team by team breakdown of how the Blazers match up against the rest of the league. We’ll be posting a new entry in the series every day until the season opener against LA. 29 days. 29 teams. Let’s get started.
Last season’s result: 1-3
Games this season: 3
Team Breakdown
The Kings will be one of the worst teams in the NBA this year. One of their core players, Ron Artest, is gone to Houston, leaving Brad Miller and Kevin Martin to lead the team this season. Kevin Martin has put up decent numbers the last few years, but I view it as the Zach Randolph effect: A decent player can look like a star on a losing team.
Last season, Portland dropped 3 of their 4 games against the Kings. If the Blazers are looking to make the playoffs this season, they will need to win games against teams of the King’s caliber. The one consistant last season for the Kings against the Blazers was Ron Artest. In all 3 games he was involved in against Portland, he had over 20 points. His scoring will be missed this season as the Kings will be very undersized in the post and outplayed in the backcourt by the Blazers.
The Kings will be wearing new jerseys this season, but it will take more then bright purple jerseys for them to be a serious playoff threat.
Position by Position
Point Guard: Blake vs. Udrih
Beno Udrih is a good NBA player. He would probably see decent minutes on many NBA teams. Is he good enough to start on a playoff team: no. Steve Blake on the other hand is good enough to start on a playoff team and will attempt to prove that in every game he plays this season. Udrih will see in increased scoring responsibility this season with Artest gone. He had somewhat of a breakout season last year, averaging over 12 points and 4 assists.
Advantage: Steve Blake. All reports from Camp Blazers is that Blake is in the best shape of his life. Udrih will probably still get his points, but he will also allow Blake to get his.
Shooting Guard: Roy vs. Martin
Who wins the shooting guard matchup will be key to what team wins the game. Roy is a proven all-star who can score, lead and distribute the ball. Kevin Martin is a solid player who can score. Martin averaged only 2 assists a game last season, not great for a backcourt player. I expect Martin to probably go off in one game, and the Kings will win that game. In plain English, the Kings can not win without a strong showing from Martin. Brad Miller can hold his own, but Martin will be the defining factor in Ws and L’s. And, expect a lot more L’s then W’s. Martin played well in all but one game last season against the Blazers (where he was held to just 6 points). I expect Martin’s scoring numbers to go up this year. He averaged over 23 points a game, but look for that number to increase to about 25 to 27 points a game. With Artest gone, Martin is the clear #1 scoring option. Roy is a much more balanced player then Martin. Roy might not go for 20 a night, but with Oden and Aldridge down low, he won’t need to put up very many points.
Advantage: Martin. Okay, Roy might be a better player, but Martin will mean more to his team when the Blazers play the Kings. This will be a tough matchup for both players, but I expect Martin to be able to get his points. Brandon Roy won’t exactly struggle against Martin, but Martin is better on offense then Roy is on defense.
Small Forward: Webster vs. Salmons
Salmons is a pretty decent small forward. He saw much improved scoring last season averaging over 12 points a game (career average is just over 7 points a game). In the last meeting of the season with the Blazers, Salmons lead the Kings with 18 points. He had many games where he went for over 20 points, showing he has the abilitiy, but lacks consistency. Now, let’s think of another player who has the ability but lacks consistency… Webster. I was at the game where Webster scored 24 points in the 3rd quarter aginst the Utah Jazz. I sat in awe. I know Webster can be a spark and a huge game changer when he’s on. The problem is Webster often seams to lack confidence in his shot. He is a player who depends on addrenanline. Some nights he has it, some he doesn’t. Salmons is the same story, you are never quite sure what you will get out of him.
Advantage: Push. On some nights Salmon could dominate Webster, on others Webster would own Salmons. On other nights, both would struggle, shooting low percentages and seeing a lot of the bench.
Power Forward: Aldridge vs. Moore
Mikki Moore is a big power forward. He stands 7 feet tall and can use his body to bother his opponent. He is not a great defender though. Aldrdige was a key for the Blazers against the Kings last year and he played some of his best games against Moore. Expect Aldrdige to shine again this season. Brad Miller will be 100% occupied with Oden, and if Moore has to cheat over at all, Aldridge will see huge production. I am a huge fan of Aldridge and see him as the key for the Blazers winning most games. Teams will focus on Oden and Roy, leaving Aldridge as the wild card. In this matchup, Aldrdige will dominate in all 4 games.
Advantage: Aldridge, all day long.
Center: Oden vs. Miller
Brad Miler is a seasoned veteran who is a consistant rebounder and respectable offense player. Greg Oden is a rookie* with huge potential to be the best NBA big man. In this matchup, the edge has to go to Miller. I love Oden as much as anyone, but all of the matchups with the Kings are early in the season, that means that Oden will be fresher, but also just adjusting to the NBA game. I expect Oden to play well against Miller, but I also expect Miller to play well aginst Oden. Miller won’t be able to rebound quite as well against the Blazers, with Aldridge and Oden down low, but he shouldn’t be slowed too much on the offensive end either. Brad Miller playing well won’t be big enough to win games for the Kings though. At most, he could get 20 points and 15 rebounds, that’s not good enough production to overshadow the thrashing Aldridge will be laying down on Moore.
Advantage: Miller. Experience wins out in this battle.
Key Bench
Blazers: Bayless, Fernandez, Outlaw, Frye, Pryzbilla
Kings: Bobby Jackson, Quincy Douby, Francisco Garcia, Spencer Hawes
Wow. The Blazers bench is so good. Imagine if the Blazers starting five was really the bench players listed above. I give Bayless, Outlaw and Frye all advantages over their starting counterpart on the Kings. Miller and Pryzbilla would be a push, and even Fernandez could hold his own against Martin.
Bobby Jackson can play the point, but he is getting older and is a step slower. Hawes has nothing on Pryzbilla, and that might be one of my favorite bench matchups of the season. Garcia is a good player, I will give him that, but so are Outlaw and Fernandez. The Kings bench looks sad against Portland.
Advantage: Blazers.
Series Outcome
I am going out and making a big statement here, the Blazers will win all 3 games against the Kings. I know, even bad teams can win games, but the Blazers matchup great agsinst the Kings two weapons: Martin and Miller. The Kings have no answer to Aldridge or Blake for that matter. Once the games go to the Bench, the Blazers will prove they are a much deeper team.
I see eye to eye with you on the Martin over Roy, but I have to pick Oden over Miller. If for nothing else, Aldridge can cheat and help on Miller. Moore is no threat.
Hopefully we will carry all three games…
I think your post is pretty fair, any even though I am a Kings fan I agree with u on most points. I disagree that it will be a 3-0 series though, because you forgot to mention Jason Thompson, Donte Greene, and Bobby Brown. No body knows just how good those three will be, but I expect alot from them. I say 2-1 blazers, with two close games, and one 15+ Kings victory.
sorry bro, just a bit to one sided for anyone other than a blazers fan to agree with.
I wouldn’t discount Kevin Martin, he is not just a big fish in a small pond player. Go on ESPN or check out Martin’s stats throughout the season, and you’ll see a player who scores a lot of points on very few shots. While playing third behind Artest and Bibby, Martin still made his name through his efficiency and scoring ability.
Also, while I agree that Oden is great, you are placing a lot of your argument on the backs of rookies who have yet to see an actual NBA game and a center who just came back from microfracture surgery before even starting in the NBA. I think the Blazers have a lot to look forward to, but there are usually quite a few learning experiences along the way during a rookie season.
I have to admit, I don’t like Steve Blake. I don’t see him winning the matchup against Udrih. You are completely correct on the Moore/Aldridge matchup. Salmons is a better player than Webster, compare their stats as starters. If Oden is able to play to his ability, he will dominate Miller, as Miller always has had issues against strong big centers (e.g. Shaq). Roy and Martin bring something very different to the table, so I see it as an even matchup. The benches are the big mystery here, as we do not know which bench will bring it on a particular night. Both teams have some rookies with huge upsides on their bench, so that one remains to be seen.
I think the Blazers are the better team, but I expect the series to be closer than 3-0. I think the team with more home games in this series should come out ahead.
Cheers!
Man, I agree with Blakers. Miller is solkd, but he won’t be able to get anything by Oden. He’ll have some savvy moves, but he, along with every other NBA center is going to struggle against Oden. Also, Roy-Martin is at worst a wash.
correst Matchups
Udrih>Blake
If he’s such a great “playoff point guard then why has he spent his career with the blazers and nuggets? the nuggets never made it out of the first round that year. Stats are inevidable. Udrih wins this one.
Martin>Roy
Brandon Roy is a great player to start out with. but here, not good enough. MArti is the opposite type of player. Roy is the power guard. Marin is the quick finnesse guard. in this case MArtins style prevails, plus he is just a better player.
Salmons>Webster
Consistency, consistency, consistency. As a starter i’ve seen great things from salmons. I think webster is the weak link in the blazers line up.
Aldridge>Moore
The one comparison i have to agree on as anyone would.
Miller>Oden
So let’s put all our stock into a guy who: 1. has never played an NBA game. 2.JUst recovered from knee surgery. 3. Is a rookie and has just as good a chance to bust as anyone else does. Honestly, you blazer faithful piss me off because you act like your hot stuff. Draft picks. tha’s what you have. Draft picks. Just because of one run last year, which may i add got you nowhere in the end, you think you are suddenly a championship caliber team. YOUR NOT.
If you’re going to look at the best case scenario for all the Blazer players, can you please do that for the kings then too? Udrih and Blake are basically the same player, except Beno scored a little bit more and is younger, all Blake has on him is he has a 3 pt shot and is more experienced.
If you want people to take you serious, you need to look at things from the other teams perspective as well.
Udrih>Blake
If you look at Udrih’s starting averages, he put up 14.4 PPG and 5 APG in his first year getting significant minutes. That’s better than what Blake has ever put up in a single season. Playoff starter? Beno might have sat on the bench, but he sat on the Spurs’ bench, has 2 rings and learned from Tony Parker.
Martin>Roy
No Artest? Martin is good for at least 26 PPG this year. Martin averaged 28.7 PPG w/out Artest on the floor last year and he’s looking better than ever after watching him train with David Thorpe on video. He also makes 8.2 (#1 in NBA) out of 9.5 free throws per game.
Salmons>Webster
No Artest? Salmons shines. Only reason he wasn’t consistent was because Artest would get hurt and keep on coming back. In 41 starts he averaged 17.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.6 SPG and Webster ain’t got nothing on that. Some nights Webster will own Salmons? No.
Aldridge>Moore
The Aldridge-Moore match-up is true, except that Moore isn’t that big. He’s only a skinny 225 lbs. If Aldridge double teams Brad with Oden, it’ll be outside the paint where Moore will be wide open to slam it down.
Miller>Oden
Oden won’t be able to guard Miller outside the paint. Brad isn’t a paint guy. Oden can’t guard a shooter because his defense doesn’t extend outside.
Bench
Hawes has nothing on Joel? Didn’t he drop 15 and 7 starting against the Blazers?
I’ll take the Kings 2-1 in a good series. 13 wins in a row is the only reason Portland even got to .500 last season.
I can’t believe people are arguing about Blake and Udrih. Who cares? Which player is more mediocre? The truth is that the Blazers are a little better than the Artestless Kings, and I’d expect them to win 2 out of 3.