Pick & Scroll: FRIDAY, April 6, 2012. Every team has its change

Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related.

Portland(26-29) is in Dallas tonight to take on a playoff-caliber Mavericks(31-24) club. 

It’s the second of three meetings against the Dallas this season. The first game ended in a double overtime 97-94 loss down in Dallas.

At that point in the season, Portland sported a (just barely) winning record and the roster hadn’t morphed into the unit it is now. Around that same time Portland was labeled as a dominant home team that had serious road woes. The playoffs seemed to be a lock, trade rumors were nonexistent and the Sarge commanded everybody’s uh-tennnn-shun.

Now, like any Michael Bay film, all the storylines are long gone.  

Tonight is about contemplating the future of budding talent, keeping tabs on lottery position and — oh yeah — winning a game if it serves the team’s best interest (hint: it doesn’t). 

Links:

• Oregonian Sports preview of the Trail Blazers/Mavericks debacle in Dallas.
• Despite LaMarcus Aldridge scoring more points per game than Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Morning News offers their insight for tonight’s contest saying Portland’s squad is “toothless.” Them’r fightin’ words. 
• J.J. Hickson has been a sort of savior during his limited stint as a Blazer. Joe Freeman of the Oregonian shows that, so far, Hickson is clutch in fourth quarter situations and is becoming ever-comfortable with his new comrades. 
• 3-Point contest: Luke Babbitt vs Wesley Matthews. Who ya’ got? Matt Calkins of the Columbian (correctly) chose the Chapulacabra.
• Calkins also claims Nicolas Batum, despite the accent, is the best quote on the Blazers.
• Chris Haynes for csnnw.com caught up with Greg Oden’s agent Mike Conley Sr. to discuss Oden’s future.
• Nets Lottery Pick Watch: New Jersey owns the seventh worst record in the NBA at 19-37 heading into tonight’s winnable contest against Washington. Go Wizards.

Thoughts, ideas and challenges to 1-on-1 games, are happily accepted in the comments section. 

Comments

[Al]

I Love Nic's interviews. His accent makes him a little difficult to understand, but he speaks really well. My personal favorite was earlier this year after the game Michael Holton was interviewing Nic on the live broadcast. Hotlon asked a question about the first half and Nic said something like "they were kicking our @$$ out there" but he did not even skip a beat. Holton did not know what to do any you could hear the Mikes in the background cracking up. It was priceless.

[Jack]

Al-

You're right. Batum is more interesting and candid in the way he talks about the game compared to other players. He's got the good bits of European culture in him--it's about more than sports.