PICK AND SCROLL: Monday April 9, 2012. Another Texas two-step

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

(In case you missed how LaMarcus likes to handle his business, Texas-style). 

The Houston Rockets (31-25) travel to the Rose Garden tonight to take on the waning Blazers (27-30). The prior two matchups this season went in favor of the Rockets by the slimmest of margins. 

So once again, the question remains: Do you want the Blazers to win tonight?

Links:

• Oregonian Sports’ preview for tonight’s Blazers battle against the Rockets.
• Catching up with the game over the weekend, Mike Tokito breaks down the loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. Tokito writes an ominously and supposed-to-be depression inducing lead, which actually ends up being a point of positivity: the lottery. 

Maybe in a different season, a split of a two-game-in-two-nights road trip late in the season would be acceptable

But the Trail Blazers had long lost that kind of margin of error this season, so their 116-94 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday at the Bradley Center took them one step closer to what is seeming inevitable by the day – a date with the draft lottery.

• Rahat Huq over at Truehoop Network Affiliate red94.com ponders if the Blazers would have settled for Terrence Williams rather than Jonny Flynn. No, no they would not have. 
• The crew over at hardwoodparoyxsm.com gathers around the round table to discuss team grades thus far in the season. Jared answers the question “Which team has underwhelmed and disappointed you this season,” with — unsurprisingly — the Blazers!

Jared: And Portland… well, I suppose Ray Felton and Jamal Crawford happened, but I didn’t expect this group to completely collapse and fall out of playoff contention altogether pre-deadline. By that point though, I admired their decision to tank the season… only that didn’t exactly go as planned either. Disappointing in more ways than one. 

• LaMarcus Aldridge is fine with rebuilding, he told csnnw.com’s Chris Haynes. Aldridge sees himself as having plenty of gas left in the tank.

“You don’t reach your prime until you’re about 28 or 29,” Aldridge said. “I’m 26 so I got a few more years until then. If we bring in the right guys, we’ll be very good down the road.”

• Matt Calkins of the Columbian plays teacher and has your Blazers players’ report card. J.J. Hickson is at the top of the class.
• Lake Oswego High School product Kevin Love has double-doubled himself into MVP consideration this season and also could be a top player in the world according to Israel Gutierrez for ESPN.com.
• Nets Lottery Pick Watch: the Nets Own the ninth worst record in the league 21-37 (one notch below the Blazers). Up next they take on the 29-27 Philadelphia 76ers.

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