Darius Miles was placed on the Memphis Grizzlies active roster today after sitting through a 10-game suspension. Well, the good news is that the Grizzlies beat the Mavericks, the bad news is this is the first of 10 games that Miles must play for his contract to come back on the Blazers’ book. He played two minutes and had no other statistics. Yup, no assists, fouls, turnovers, steals, blocks, rebounds or even shots. It was only two minutes. It does look like Darius will play the 10 games, I have a feeling that Memphis will put him in for 30 seconds to finish the half or game just to ensure he gets to that ten game mark. Honestly, who can blame them. They have the opportunity to punish another NBA team, so they might as well make the most of it. It’s bad news for Rip City, but now that it looks like Miles is back for real, I wish him the best.
Author Archive for John
One Down, Nine To Go
I was at the game on January 2nd against the Hornets. I saw Tyson Chandler take a cheap shot on Joel’s injured wrist, then Joel push Chandler off, followed by Chandler throwing his elbow at Joel (essentially throwing a punch, but with his elbow). I thought the officials did a great job, took their time and watched the replay. In the end, I felt the right call was made, Joel deserved a technical, but Chandler deserved a flagrant two and an ejection.
Then, I read this on ESPN (from the AP):
Przybilla shoved Chandler with a forearm in the abdomen, which caused Chandler to lunge forward and smack Przybilla with a harder, more blatant forearm. Officials Sean Corbin and Gary Zielinski, working as a two-man crew with Jack Nies missing the game due to injury, watched the replay screen before deciding to eject Chandler for a flagrant-2 foul. It was the third time that seven-year veteran has been ejected in Portland.
So, “Przybilla shoved Chandler?” That’s how this started? I’m pretty sure that Chandler took a complete cheap shot on Joel’s injured wrist/hand. This makes me fully believe that the author of the ariticle that ESPN is using (from the AP), didn’t likely watch the game. I don’t deny that Joel did shove Chandler, but get it right, that’s not what started this little tussle.
This was the turning point in the game, and of course, not in a good way for the Blazers. Also, New Orleans plays Denver next, so Chandler getting a suspension would almost be worse for the Blazers… What a crazy world we live.
We Need A 2nd Option
Coming into the season, LaMarcus was supposed to emerge as the second scoring option after Roy. Well, LaMarcus has played well, but he is in no way a solid second option in crunch time. He is often established down low early, and will get a nice mess of points in the first half, but all to often, he is lost in the second half. Maybe it’s because the ball is in Roy’s hands, maybe that’s the plan but he is not a real viable option. That leaves us with two other real scoring options: Blake and Outlaw. In essence, Blake is a shooter (a damn good one) and Outlaw is… Outlaw. I have no beef with Blake and I think he has been the most impressive Blazer this season (tied with Joel). I count Outlaw as a starter, because he plays the minutes of a starter and he plays in the minutes of a stater (i.e. late in the fourth). If Roy is off, like against Dallas, the ball often goes to Outlaw. He is great at driving and getting to the rim, but he hardly does, because all to often he pulls up or takes a dribble fade away. Two terrible plays. Okay, not terrible, but if you have seen him move with the ball, you can see his complete lack of fundamental skills.
Outlaw is an important part of the team, but also (along with Frye), he is seen as the most tradable player. He averages just over 10 points, could start on most lottery bound NBA teams and still has quite a bit of upside. While Outlaw might get points, I would argue that he is not a good scoring option. See the difference between scoring and getting points, because that is key.
If I look at what players are out there for the getting, it’s basically Gerald Wallace for me. Trade Outlaw, Frye and LaFrentz for Gerald Wallace, Sean May and Nazr Mohammed. ESPN says the trade will work, but would Charlotte agree? They would be getting a starter in Outlaw to replace Wallace, along with about $14mil in expiring contracts, with the LaFrentz contract being paid primarily by insurance. Quality for quality, Charlotte would not do this deal, but if they want to clear up cap room, which they just might, the deal could happen.
Would Portland really do this deal? Probably not. I think the idea is wait for Webster and see if he can really provide the scoring. I doubt he can. Webster is a shooter, not a scorer. If you look around, only one player for the Blazers can really create their own shot, and that is Roy. Maybe Sergio can too, but he is not on the level of play to be in late in the game. The other player would be Bayless, but at this point, it’s not worth going there.
Gerald Wallace could provide consistent scoring for Portland. He wouldn’t take any shots from Roy or Aldridge, just form Outlaw and maybe Blake/Webster, but I can live with Wallace getting those shots. He is a player who is still yet to peak and has decent upside but still being a sure bet. I know, this is my rant, but I think Wallace is almost the perfect fit for this club. You’d dish Outlaw and Frye in the deal, but that just opens up the minutes for Wallace and you still have Diogu as a backup PF/C.
Will it happen, no, but if any deal were to happen, Wallace would likely be a top candidate. I get the feeling that no deal will happen this year, but play like this Dallas game was so frustrating and proved to me even more how we need a true second scorer (who can get their own shot).
Greg Oden Interview
NBA TV has a new interview (sort of new, it was done before the Clipper game), with Greg Oden. They talk about the Charles Barkley “advice” and G.O. (as he likes to be called) lights up a little.
Cheeks Fired
Just a quick note to let you know that former Blazer coach Maurice Cheeks has been fired after the disappointing start to the Philadelphia 76ers season. Not much else to write about that. He’s a great guy but I was never too impressed with him as a coach. Regardless, I wish for the best for a man with a stint in Portland.
Miles is About to Land
Here it is, the news that you didn’t want to hear following a three game losing streak. Darius Miles is about to sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s apparently all but done says Yahoo! Sports:
In a move that could damage the salary-cap flexibility of the Portland Trail Blazers, Darius Miles is close to signing a minimum-salary contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, two NBA sources said Friday.
Miles recently worked out for the Los Angeles Clippers, who drafted him third overall in 2000, but team officials said they would prefer to wait until January to decide whether to sign him. The Grizzlies had room for another player after trading guard Javaris Crittenton to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and appear to have settled on Miles after looking at D-League options. One source said only a last-minute veto by Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley could keep the team from signing Miles.
Trouble in Paradise
A three game skid. Bad. Losing to the Clippers. Bad. Losing Outlaw to injury. Indifferent. Roy emerging as the only scoring option. Terrible. Oden going 14 and 12. Good.
I am in awe. Things were going so well, then, this happens. A loss to Utah is fine. A loss to Orlando, especially at the last minute, no problem. But losing to the Clippers at home is terrible. I won’t blame the game on Blake, but he did choke. Roy is on the boarder between forcing his own shot and realizing he is the only option, Im not sure which is currently true. I’m not going to go into a ton of detail, just to say things are bad right now. What I do think is that it will turn around. Oden is doing better (not great or even good, but better), Aldridge is playing poor but Roy is doing great.
I think more then ever, fans will be calling for trades, which might be the best move, but remember, we have Bayless sitting on the edge of the bench, which might be the biggest acquisition of all, that is, if he can acquire some minutes.
Ghost of Blazers Past
This, from Ball Don’t Lie is pretty hilarious. Gatta love the Channing Frye bit.
