Bucks 102 - Portland 95: Trail Blazers Can't Overcome Self-Made Mountain

Portland Trail Blazers

95

Final Recap | Box Score

102

Milwaukee Bucks

	LaMarcus Aldridge, PF43 MIN | 10-21 FG | 1-2 FT | 15 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 21 PTS | +1 Aldridge started off slow, but gained ground in the second half. His numbers ended off being pretty average scoring-wise and above average in the rebounding department. The only frustrating thing about his game, much like the others, is the fact he didn’t have much going early.
	Nicolas Batum, SF41 MIN | 6-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 15 PTS | -3 Batum was much better scoring tonight, but still has yet to look like his typical self on the road trip. Nicolas still was solid playing his man, but his overall contributions to the game didn’t seem up to par.
	J.J. Hickson, C30 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 11 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -11 J.J. Hickson wasn’t much worse than he typically is. As a rebounder, he gave about his typical effort. However, his defense on Samuel Dalembert was pretty pitiful. Dalembert averages 6.7 points per game, so watching him get 16 was very discouraging.
	Damian Lillard, PG45 MIN | 2-10 FG | 4-4 FT | 3 REB | 11 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 8 PTS | -3 Lillard was awful tonight scoring the basketball. Being fair to the rookie though, he had the daunting task of playing 45 minutes on a back-to-back away from home.His passing wasn’t great either because while 11 assists may be nice, but it also came with 6 turnovers.
	Wesley Matthews, SG43 MIN | 10-20 FG | 1-3 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 28 PTS | -2 Wesley played at Marquette University, so it wasn’t too surprising to see him play well in the state he used to play his home games. Watching Matthews was even a joy in the first half, which was uncharacteristic for any member of the team tonight. He was hitting threes from the left corner over and over again and it was nice to see.
	Luke Babbitt, SF13 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +13 Luke Babbitt got the most minutes off the bench, which is pretty frustrating. He actually shot a decent percentage, however. Interestingly, all of Babbitt’s shots the last two games have come from three, which seems like interesting shot selection. On the one hand, Babbitt gotta Babbitt, but on the other hand, maybe some other kinds of shots sometimes a little?
	Eric Maynor, PG9 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -13 It was more frustrating to see Maynor only play nine minutes than anything he did on the court. When he was on the court he didn’t really make much on an impact, but it was confusing to see him only play marginal minutes

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. Okay, the first note is the fact that that the Blazers only scored 8 points in the second quarter. Thank goodness the Hawks scored 5 points in a quarter earlier this season because that was already embarrassing enough.
2. The most positive note of the game is that the Blazers made a decent effort to comeback. Even though the deficit became way too large, it was nice to see some life breathed into the team.
3. Another frustrating part was the fact that the road-trip becoming more and more dark. The next teams on the trip are the Bulls, Hawks, and Thunder. All of those teams are solidly in the playoffs, so this stretch does have a possibility of going as badly as possible (or in the best way, if you want the team to get tanking).
4. I’m not necessarily the advocate of this argument, but interesting to note that Stotts didn’t empty the bench down 27 on a second night of a road back-to-back. It could be said that it would be nice to get young players like Meyers Leonard or Will Barton some minutes to develop.
5. For the second straight night the Trail Blazers actually shot better from three than from the floor. Portland shot 50% from behind the arc while only shooting 43.4% on the floor. The stat may not hold a lot amount of weight, but it certainly is interesting to see.

76ers 101 - Blazers 100 Grades: Portland Drops 1st of Roadie in Dispiriting Fashion

Portland Trail Blazers

100

Final Recap | Box Score

101

Philadelphia 76ers

	LaMarcus Aldridge, PF39 MIN | 13-28 FG | 5-5 FT | 14 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 32 PTS | -2 LaMarcus once again shouldered a large part of the load for the team. Aldridge started off strong with 16 in the first quarter, and still scored a solid 16 in the other three. LMA had been playing so incredibly well as of late, winning Western Player of the Week for his past three performances, and tonight was just him keeping the solid play rolling.
	Nicolas Batum, SF39 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | 0 Batum wasn’t as active as normal. He gave a nice defensive effort on Evan Turner, but that was about it. Nicolas just didn’t seem as engaged to the game as he normally does, settling for 8 of his 9 shots outside the three point line. Hopefully Batum shows more energy on the road trip going forward.
	J.J. Hickson, C16 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | -10 Interesting night for J.J. With no word on injury, Hickson played only 16 minutes. Maybe the lack of effort on defense finally ate through Stotts? Or maybe he felt stretching the 76ers defense was a solid basketball move. Interesting either way.
	Damian Lillard, PG42 MIN | 10-20 FG | 2-3 FT | 7 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 27 PTS | +2 Lillard was fantastic tonight. The rookie has normally been noticeably worse on the road than at home this year, but he bucked the trend tonight. Scoring 27 with 50% shooting is very nice, plus he added seven each in the rebound and assist categories.
	Wesley Matthews, SG40 MIN | 3-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 4 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | 0 Wes was a lot like Batum in relative lack of activity, and added really inefficient volume shooting to the mix. Matthews had four steals, which is nice, but outside of his passing wasn’t much of a factor otherwise. Just like Batum, I hope Wes shows much more in the other games of the road trip.
	Joel Freeland, PF12 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +3 Freeland was pretty good by his standards again. Joel can seem like he doesn’t belong on an NBA floor, so seeing a decent amount of activity out of him in back-to-back games is encouraging.
	Luke Babbitt, SF12 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +7 Babbitt was about what he would expect to be in his first game in a decent amount of time. Luke had fallen out of the rotation, so it was surprising to even see him get to the floor. Nothing about his effort while on the floor was noteworthy other than being Luke Babbitt being Luke Babbitt.
	Meyers Leonard, C17 MIN | 2-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +2 Meyers normally plays awfully on the road, so it was encouraging to see Leonard look like an NBA player in Philadelphia. It won’t seem an incredible feat, but Portland will take this over some of his other road efforts.
	Eric Maynor, PG17 MIN | 1-4 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -1 We saw Passive Maynor again tonight, which is perfectly fine. Like last recap, it needs to be stated that Maynor’s job is to bring stable point guard play off the bench. He did just that and didn’t add too much after that.
	Will Barton, SG5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -6 Barton really didn’t contribute much when he played, but he didn’t play enough to really point any blame at him.

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. Most importantly, the Blazers lost the first and easiest game on the road trip tonight. We hope to see Portland not go win-less during this stretch, but losing a close one to the worst team by only one hurts.
2. To cut them some slack, Portland is certainly not used to playing at 4 PM in the West Coast time zone. Lackadaisical efforts out of Batum and Matthews could be attributed to this fact if you’re being generous. Portland will try to adjust over the trip, but certainly some guys efforts tonight weren’t up to par.
3. The biggest question of the night will be if the Aldridge play was the best you could run in this time. The shot that they got as a result is certainly a shot I like to see Portland get in this situation, however I would like to possibly see a Lillard-Aldridge pick and roll. Either way, that wasn’t a bad possession to end the game
4. The lack of minutes for Hickson is definitely something to look out for going forward. I don’t feel it will be a continual trend, but I also didn’t feel that it would even happen tonight. Hickson is a rebounding and garbage buckets machine, who sadly kills all his play by porous defense. Babbitt didn’t seem better, but we will see what Stotts does going forward.
5. Though Batum didn’t have the greatest night, it was great to see Evan Turner get bottled up. Holiday, Wilkins, Hawes, Young, and Wright combined for 92 of the 76ers’ 101 points. Had Turner gotten things going offensively it may have never been this close.

Preview: Blazers at 76ers

The Portland Trail Blazers currently sit at 10^th place in the Western Conference as they kick off a five game road trip in Philadelphia tonight. Though the team’s chances of making the playoffs grow dim, the Blazers appear determined to remain competitive until they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Philadelphia looks to continue a strong three game stretch which included wins against the Nets and Pacers, and a competitive 4 point loss to the Miami Heat. Spencer Hawes played one of the best games of his career Saturday night against the Pacers. Hawes flirted with a quadruple-double, eventually finishing the game with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks. The 5^th year center has played a more significant role this season than the team anticipated after the blockbuster trade that landed Andrew Bynum has yet to pay off. 

The Blazers have struggled on the road against below-.500 opponents this year and need to buckle down defensively. The effort will start with Damian Lillard, who has sometimes had issues staying in front of quick point guards. In the last meeting between the two teams, 76ers All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday gashed the Blazers for 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

A flat performance tonight will leave the Trail Blazers in dire straits as each opponent on this five game road trip gets progressively tougher. With the second night of a back to back tomorrow in Milwaukie, a win would go a long way in setting the tone for the rest of the trip.  

Trail Blazers Outlast Pistons at Home Before Upcoming Five Game Roadtrip

Detroit Pistons

101

Final Recap | Box Score

112

Portland Trail Blazers

	LaMarcus Aldridge, PF38 MIN | 13-21 FG | 5-5 FT | 12 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 31 PTS | +11 Aldridge was everything the Blazers needed in the win. With Lillard playing not so well, the Blazers threw the weight on LaMarcus’ shoulders whenever he needed a hoop, and the 7th year man out of Texas carried the load. Only reason why he doesn’t get an A+ is his early defense on Greg Monroe wasn’t outstanding, but it was an overall great effort out of him.
	Nicolas Batum, SF38 MIN | 7-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 1 TO | 17 PTS | +6 Batum was very solid and well rounded in Portland’s win. The stat line isn’t reflective of how well he really played. Nic was his usual, always-hustling self, and made a couple huge defensive plays that won’t be noticed on the stat sheet tomorrow morning. Throw in 17 points on 50% shooting and 6 assists and you have a solid game.
	J.J. Hickson, C33 MIN | 7-14 FG | 4-5 FT | 15 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | +6 J.J.’s game tonight was sort of a microcosm of his season. Hickson was entrenched as a large part of Portland’s porous defense in the paint. He did however provide his typical energy, and posted his 10th 15+ point, 15+ rebound game of the year. Hickson isn’t the most enjoyable part of the Trail Blazers, but he is certainly better than matchup counterpart Jason Maxiell
	Damian Lillard, PG38 MIN | 3-12 FG | 7-7 FT | 2 REB | 7 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 14 PTS | +8 The rookie had a tough night. While Lillard had 14 points, it was on an incredibly ineffecient 25% from the field. Only way that Lillard gained any momentum on offense was when he would get to the free throw line, or passing out for the assist after good penetration. On defense, he did alright on Calderon, but greatly struggled with Will Bynum’s energy off the bench.
	Wesley Matthews, SG38 MIN | 4-10 FG | 7-7 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 17 PTS | +16 Matthews was pretty average tonight. 17 points is more than his typical scoring night, but he did so on pretty similar shooting percentages to his average. Also, he was usually the man on Rodney Stuckey. Even though it seemed Stuckey was getting baskets in transition or hitting the tough shot, I also feel Wes could have perhaps done one or two more things to slow him down.
	Joel Freeland, PF10 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | 0 Freeland scored as many points tonight as he has all month, which is pretty strange. It was nice to see Joel play with more energy than he had been before. Definitely on a pipe dream that he keeps it up going forward.
	Meyers Leonard, C15 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +5 Leonard didn’t have his best game, and he was also lost on some defensive rotations as usual. Batum throwing him the lob was probably the best highlight the Blazers had all night.
	Eric Maynor, PG20 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | +3 Maynor’s numbers weren’t big, but it was more him being passive than anything. He wasn’t shooting the team out of possessions and two turnovers isn’t awful. Maynor’s role is to be passive until he’s called upon and tonight the starters never gave him the call.
	Will Barton, SG10 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | 0 Will didn’t seem 100% lost, which was encouraging to see in his marginal minutes. The foul on Maxiell getting a clear path to the hoop was nice, and so was stealing the ball of the rebound and following up his miss right after. I would consider this one of his better games.

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. It was noteworthy that the Blazers went 23 of 24 from the free throw line. Some of the free throws came in bigger moments of the game, so it was certainly impressive to see the entire team to keep hitting them.
2. Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum took advantage of some weak efforts on the wing defensively, and proceeded to do the same to the help defense from the Blazer big men. The Pistons scored 62 points in the paint and the number felt as bad as it looks.
3. Damian Lillard for some reason struggled in both his games against Detroit combining for 7-22 from the feild in both games. I feel as though the Pistons game plan focuses on Lillard, as Aldridge is averaging 31.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game against Detroit.
4. The minutes the Blazers starters does come into play in these games. Will Bynum is a solid player off the Pistons bench, who always brings a ton of energy. Lillard, who was playing in college a year ago, typically struggles even more on a fresh Bynum while going over the 30+ minute mark and beyond.
5. Just an interesting stat, Rodney Stuckey easily had his best game of the season, and the best scoring game for a memeber of the Detroit Pistons at the Rose Garden since Joe Dumars scored 35 on November 20th, 1994.

On the Road Again

The band Tenacious D once sang, “The road is f***ing hard, the road is f***ing tough.” This season, the Trail Blazers realize that better than anybody.

The Blazers are currently 30-34 and seem to be on a trajectory for a slightly below .500 season. Depending on which exponent you use for Pythagorean expectations, the Blazers are probably a 36-46 team. Where it gets more interesting are the split stats. Portland is 21-11 at home, but just 9-23 on the road. Basically, in the Rose Garden, the Blazers have the win percentage of a middle-of-the-pack Western Conference playoff team. On the road, they might as well be the Magic.

In fact, the Blazers lose 5.3 points off their Net Rating when playing away games, well over the NBA average of around 3.7. So what is the problem with Portland that makes them play even worse on the road than would normally be expected?

Well, first of all, Portland isn’t very close to anything. Washington state and the Pacific Ocean are nice, but Portland has the farthest distance to travel to the closest NBA city of any team in the league. In their upcoming 5-game road trip, the Blazers will journey a total of 4,531 miles in just under a week. Add in the 1,480 miles home from the last stop in Oklahoma City and there is a significant amount of travel coming up for Portland.

Jumping into the home/road split stats and we can pinpoint one particularly troubling problem: the defense. I wrote about the nuts and bolts of Portland’s defensive breakdowns last week and the big picture is that the Blazers have a defensive rating of 108.7 on the road, which is roughly equivalent to how the Sacramento Kings defend overall. I’m no expert, but you aren’t going to get very far defending like DeMarcus Cousins and company.

Certain individual performances drop noticeably as well. Damian Lillard and Eric Maynor see pretty significant spikes in their turnover rates in road games. Maynor’s performance is vulnerable to the hazard of extremely small samples (he’s only played 3 road games with the Blazers) and Lillard, while having a strong season, is still a rookie. This means going from 30 games in college to 82 in the pros with significantly more travel, which can take its toll on first year players, most notably in the flaming train wreck that is Meyers Leonard’s net rating on the road. On the bright side, Wes Matthews seems able to keep it together with pretty similar stats no matter where he’s playing.

As if Portland’s road troubles weren’t bad enough news, this particular road swing appears additionally daunting. The trip will include two back-to-backs and four teams with .500 or better records. Starting in Philadelphia, the Blazers will face opponents that get progressively better with stops in Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta before the final destination of Bricktown for a matchup with the 49-17 Thunder. Clearly, the league scheduler didn’t decide to do the Blazers any favors.

The Blazers are in a tough spot for NBA teams. They are firmly out of the playoff race, but are winning enough to keep them away from the good ping pong balls. This road trip could be crucial in the development of a young team. Taking two or three of these games could show that Portland has made real progress over the course of this year. Dropping four or five could show that perhaps the rebuilding process is going to be a little tougher than the sunniest Blazers fans might be hoping. Either way, trying stuff.

Game 65 Preview: Pistons Come to the Rose Garden to visit Blazers

Tonight at the Rose Garden the Trail Blazers will be taking on the Detroit Pistons. This game is the last at home for the Blazers before their five game road trip, and Portland is a much better team at home (21-11) than on the road (9-23). This game may have to be a win for the team, as their five game road trip features four playoff teams. Having some momentum going into the game would be huge.

As for Detroit—well, things haven’t looked so well. They have lost seven straight, and haven’t looked very good in doing so. They lack depth in the front court without sensational rookie Andre Drummond, which is a shame, because Drummond provided most of the enjoyment for Pistons viewers. Truly, the Pistons have been bad, and the only real big news after the Drummond injury was Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight getting dunked on. The Trail Blazers should win, since they are the better team at home.

Regardless of your tanking priority, you should hope to watch the Blazers win this game. The Pistons are incredibly hard to watch without Drummond, with only Calderon and perhaps Greg Monroe providing any excitement. Also, with the road trip looming, this might be one of the easiest games Portland has in a while. So ideally, the Blazers can afford to pick up a win while keeping pace for the twelfth pick or better.

Closer to Ray Felton Closure

The Trail Blazers came into this game looking for a solid win against the Melo-less AND Chandler-less Knicks,  though the worth of the win itself and the lack of the Knicks’ starts took a backseat as Raymond Felton made his return to the Rose Garden. As you’ve maybe heard, Felton is widely loathed around these parts for poor play and a laziness many fans felt caused the disappointment of last season. Felton’s jokes about weight gain easily outnumbered the amount of solid games Felton had while wearing a Trail Blazer uniform; it was a year of torture for Blazer fans, though it became fruitful and lead to the Gerald Wallace Fire Sale, which in turn lead to Damian Lillard dawning a Portland uniform.

Felton’s behavior is much debated among league observers. Some basketball minds argue that it wasn’t Ray’s responsibility to be in shape while the owners locked the team out, while others consider that obviously unprofessional behavior. Portland’s fanbase certainly takes the latter position, and it’s understandable. When a guy seemd to do your organization wrong, it will always leave fans with a sour taste in their mouth, no matter how much you can rationalize the behavior.

However, it can be argued a lot of good for the organization came from Felton’s dark days. In a way, it feels almost like a karmic result for the Trail Blazer’s team. Gerald Wallace’s expiring contract became the 6th overall pick, which resulted in Lillard. Speaking of Lillard, the rookie shined in this game, which is becoming a trend. Lillard’s streak of 20 point games while shooting around 50% ended against Memphis, but he picked it back up with 26 points on 11-18 shooting tonight. More importantly, in my eyes, Lillard showed a knack for making plays for his teammates, posting 10 assists and 1 turnover.

Most importantly, Damian destroyed his opposing point guard:Felton. This allowed fans to witness the present good that may have came from a terrible situation. Felton, for better or for worse, indirectly led to Lillard, who is part of the foundation for a strong future. The Trail Blazers have the upcoming rookie of the year and a main core of LaMarcus Aldridge, Lillard,Wes Matthews, and Nic Batum. I feel much more confident in this squad than what the Blazers would be if they still had Felton, Wallace and even Jamal Crawford. Last thing to note—this was awesome:

That was incredibly crafty by the young point, and he’s helping fans get more excited about the future than hung up on the past.

Feltöndämmerüng! An outsider's guide to the least essential fanbase beef in the NBA

Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you’ve recently moved to Portland (coming up on my one year anniversary you guys!) or you follow the team from a distance. Hell, maybe you don’t even really follow the team, but you’ve heard a thing or fourteen about Raymond Felton returning to Portland tonight. Maybe you’ve felt a slight puzzlement over the fact that Carrie and Fred-ville has worked up such a seething vitriol over Raymond “13.5 points and 6.6 assists career average” Felton. Doesn’t it seem odd that one rotund and mediocre guard is the single-most reviled player by a specific fan base in the league? And what’s going on with this stuff—is Felton threatening people?

Never fear. I have assembled what I believe is a definitive list of articles, tweets, and photographs at the center of the millenia’s least essential beef. Presented chronologically, with brief commentary:

June 27, 2011: Blazers introduce Felton, a meme is born.

At the Blazers’ introduction of Felton, Nolan Smith and Jon Diebler, some poor soul unwittingly handed Portland’s stocky point guard a cupcake, thus building a nice little house out of kindling for any future sparks. Included in the timeline because this is the definitive origin of all the lame fat jokes and cupcake zingers.

January 6, 2012: “Trail Blazers are a team that wins, and watches, together”

Not many remember that last season’s bitter disappointment actually began with some promise, with the Blazers surging out to some early season wins and looking, however briefly, like contenders. This is a charming relic of that period by the Oregonian’s Jason Quick, who writes: “I still don’t know [Felton] very well, but what I do know of him, I like.”

He discusses Felton’s straight-forward, sometimes aggressive manner of handling the media, and addresses Felton’s weight. While interim GM Chad Buchanan and Nate McMillan do say they wish Felton was in better shape after the lockout, the concerns are low-frequency here. Choice Felton quotes: “I came to training camp not necessarily overweight, but not at my playing weight that I’m used to….“The trainer the other day said, ‘Dang Ray, you getting slim.’ I was like, ‘Now, is that a compliment or … how should I take that statement?’’’

February 11, 2012: “Clock Runs out on Felton”

You feel that whiplash? That’s right, scarcely more than a month after the Blazers are leading the Western Conference and the locker room air is positively thick with bonhomie, things have turned. Quick, like many others, points the finger at Felton: “The answer is obvious: It’s time for Felton to be benched.”

At this point, Felton is already to bristling about question of his poor play. When Quick asks him where his head is following a particularly rough loss, Felton responds “What kind of question is that?” In the lockout-compressed season, it seems, the schedule added to a feelings of desperation, and this article reads like everybody’s starting to feel sort of trapped in a pressure cooker.

Mar 14, 2012 (Happy 1st Birthday, Stupid Felton Beef!): The trade deadline

In an ESPN.com chat, Chad Ford airs rumors that have been circulating for some time in Portland: Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford have “quietly orchestrated a mutiny” against Nate McMillan. Quick, with the treadline approaches, tweets “If Blazers trade Felton they have a chance to make playoffs. Guy is a cancer and a crappy player. Bottom line. Period.” This is all seems very prescient considering that on…

March 15, 2012: The Blazers fire coach Nate McMillan With the Blazers having posted perhaps the single most disappointing season in the league, Nate is put out to pasture.

April 5, 2012: “Keep it 100”

After a strongish outing under interim coach Kaleb Canales, Ray Felton issues a challenge to the haterz that may outlive even CupcakeGate. “Words don’t break me,” Felton said. “I stay right off Pearl District, in the Indigo, if you want to come see me.” When a few of his teammates laughed at the apparent challenge, Felton said: “I’m going to keep it 100 with them, you feel me?” This is not exactly MacBeth’s “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech; if the blood for the Blazers’ season is on Ray’s hands, he’s not real concerned about it.

April 28, 2012: LaMarcus Speaks

After the season, in an interview with Quick, Aldridge acknowledges that the team was splintered in the locker room and that discontent with McMillan, from Felton in particular, was a huge reason why. Aldridge says “I went to Ray and I’m like, ‘Hey, forget Nate. I know you don’t like him, but let’s play. Do you want to be here for five years? Then show us.’” That LaMarcus was comfortable specifically addressing Felton on the record is telling, and gives weight to the “cancer” tag and the “quiet mutiny” accusations.

Jun 19, 2012: “Droppin 50 on ‘em”

In a video puff piece from his camp in South Carolina, Raymond Felton takes a few shots at the Portland media, saying “I’m a free agent so maybe those bloggers and those people who write won’t have to see me again. Maybe they won’t, until I’m coming in on the other end and droppin’ 50 on ‘em.” My reaction is :| linemouth forever. I’m sure this measured lack of antagonism was carefully crafted by Felton’s handlers to keep things from spilling into an immensely stupid soap opera.

The Present: Feltöndämmerüng!

With Portland breathlessly awaiting the return of their archnemesis yesterday, things get heated. First, Felton tells New York reporters that “certain people” in Portland “better not come near” him. This is, to say the least, unusual. I’m not sure what the precedent is for NBA players threatening media members through other media members, but I can’t imagine it’s a long list. Lest you think maybe this is NOT a media member Felton is addressing, he later tells Chris Haynes: “They know who I was talking about. They better not come by me or ask me a question. I’ve already let people know. You can’t put out lies like that and expect me to talk to you.”

Meanwhile, Quick pens the definitive Felton takedown, drily urging fans to cheer Felton because, basically, without him sucking so much the Blazers wouldn’t be any fun at all. This is just a great series of burns.

Finally, this morning’s BlazersEdge cover.

So there you have it. I have wasted maybe two hours of my life compiling something like a causal series of incidents and articles that might explain why such an inessential player draws the ire of a fanbase with a long history and way more brutal disappointments than Raymond Felton. I hope this has convinced you that all the time and energy Portland fans are spending thinking about Raymond Felton and vice versa is well worth it.