PICK AND SCROLL: THURSDAY MARCH 8, 2012. S.O.S.

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

• The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman proposes that after one game into a seven-game road trip, the Blazers ship may be sinking after their 106-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gerald Wallace didn’t dispute the thought:

“Yeah,” Wallace said, when asked if it felt like he was aboard a sinking ship. “And it can sink real fast on this road trip. This was one of those must-win games for us … We’ve got to improve, we got to get better. 

• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune offers his ordinary,  unexpected and  inconceivable story lines stemming from Minnesota’s victory last night. 

The ordinary: Kevin Love’s 29-point, 16-rebound evening that seemed routine in comparison to Saturday’s 42-point game at Portland and Monday’s 39 against the Clippers.
The unexpected: A kid in the crowd that clamors for autographs when the Wolves leave the court at halftime turned toward a buddy after players had hurried past and wondered aloud if he had missed Wes Johnson, the second-year Wolves swingman who had been all but forgotten this season until he produced a season-high 19 points.
And the inconceivable, at least until not all that long ago: If the season ended Wednesday night, the Wolves would be in the playoffs.

• With eight losses in the last 12 games, thoughts toward the future start budding. Guard Elliot Williams minutes have increased lately, and Freeman back at the O says the young player movement may have begun. Somebody start working on Williams’ nickname.

In recent weeks, Williams has separated himself from his peers on the court, revealing the high-flying hops, in-your-face defense and aggressiveness that NBA scouts projected he possessed entering the 2010 NBA draft. But it didn’t come together overnight. Williams, like the rest of his young teammates, has been working all season for this moment. 

• With trade rumors flung around more recklessly than Jeremy Lin puns, the Onion offers their insight into just who could actually be traded: Anyone, anywhere. 
• There may be a new superstar taking his talents to South Beach, and no, it’s not a Jersey Shore cast member. Peyton Manning has the blessing of, who else, The Decision maker himself, LeBron James. 
• The ‘Sheed tease continues. This time he worked out for the Miami Heat, according to some sources from sources, said sources. Fox Sports Florida’s Chris Tomasson had the story.
• Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011-12 Washington Wizards! 

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

PICK AND SCROLL: TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012. Salvaging a Season

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

Adorable.

And… they’re back (to .500). 

I wish I had something pithy to say about Portland winning a home game, Raymond Felton looking competent again as a starter, Marcus Camby arguably being Player of the Game, the postgame victory joviality in the locker room, or describing PDX’s collective giddiness over Nicolas Batum’s freakish potential moving forward; but I don’t.

The Trail Blazers have been consistently inconsistent this season. A single victory over a reputably bad New Orleans Hornets team doesn’t change that.

And now, sitting at 19-19, the playoffs draw near. ESPN stat guru John Hollinger has computed that 36 wins will get a team into the western playoffs. That means the Blazers would have to post a 17-11 mark during their final 28 games, with 16 of those games being road challenges.  

During their upcoming seven game road trip, Rip City can alter the guise enshrouding their team’s identity by not only playing better basketball, but by dominating opponents. If they don’t, the season may be lost entirely. 

Links: 

• The Oregonian’s Mike Tokito thinks guard Raymond Felton may have been the catalyst for the win after Monday night’s action from the Rose Garden between the Trail Blazers and Hornets. Tokito notes Felton retaining his starting gig and playing well as well as other Portland guards having a solid night. 
• Guard play could very well be the key to the Blazers upcoming seven game road trip. The O’s Jason Quick caught up with Wesley Matthews, who is looking forward to the road trip:

“I have a good feeling about this road trip. Just what’s against us: We haven’t played well on the road. We are not expected to win. People are writing us off. We are not in the playoffs right now if the playoffs were to start. People are saying, ‘Ah this needs to happen with this team, that needs to happen with that team.’ 

• John Reid of the Times-Picayune,  thought with swingman Trevor Ariza’s return to the lineup might bolster NOLA’s offensve. It didn’t, and the Hornets’ teams offensive inadequacies were the perpetrator for the loss:

Instead of showing signs of offensive improvement, the Hornets were held to a season-low 10 points in the third quarter and they never got back in the game. New Orleans made only 4-of-16 shots and trailed by as much as 22 points in the third quarter.

• Michael McNamara of Truehoop Network sister site hornets247.com, isn’t pleased with the Hornets taking the second half of last night’s game off and weighs in on how gauge his team’s prowess.

What I will say, however, is that this is a team that prides itself on not giving up- but in a way, doesn’t that make blowout losses like this even more sad? I mean, if you quit and a team holds you to 10 points in a quarter, that is one thing, but if you are TRYING to score and you can’t…. Well, that’s just pathetic.

• Former NBA guard Sonny Weems took his talents overseas this year after stints in Toronto and Denver. His Lithuanian league held a dunk contest recently, and needless to say, Weems dunking abilities were not lost in translation. 

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

Northwest Divisional Outlook

Portland Roundball Society invited fellow Truehoop network bloggers Kalen Deremo from Denver’s Roundball Mining Company and Benjamin Polk from Minnesota’s A Wolf Among Wolves to forecast how the Northwest Division will shape up. 

We asked for their take on the season to this point and how they thought the teams will finish and who will make the playoffs:

Kalen Deremo (Roundball Mining Company/Truehoop Network):

In my estimation, everyone outside of Oklahoma City and Minnesota has been a disappointment. Why the Blazers have struggled so much is beyond me, and even though Utah are young I still fully expected them to surprise a lot of people by making a strong push for a decent playoff seed. But the Nuggets, even with all its injuries, are the runaway underachievers of the division. Had it not been for a last-second, point-blank missed layup by Luke Ridnour on Feb. 20, the Nuggets would be looking at two separate five-game losing streaks before the All-Star break. That’s baffling. Words simply cannot describe how disappointing that statistic is.

All that said, something tells me Portland and Denver are going to figure out a way to start winning ballgames after the break, and come April I expect the Western Conference to have three teams from the Northwest Division in the Playoffs. Denver and Portland will likely land anywhere between the five and eight seeds while Oklahoma City is almost guaranteed the No. 1 overall seed barring anything catastrophic. Once there, I could see both the Nuggets and Blazers winning a first-round playoff series, although a one-and-done for each squad seems more probable. Oklahoma City on the other hand, is my pick to represent the West in the NBA Final.

Benjamin Polk (A Wolf Among Wolves/Truehoop Network):

For my money, the most interesting NBA teams are the ones that both captivate and disappoint; teams with a certain element of greatness (incredible three-point shooting, say) but also undeniable shortcomings (rotten rim protection, or the lack of a true number one scorer). What I appreciate about the Northwest Division is that it’s filled with teams like that. The Thunder rule, but it’s positions two through five that are compelling. At least one of those bottom four teams (and maybe more, depending on how you feel about the Grizzlies) will make the playoffs, a fact that is both pretty weird and also inspiring. Any of those four could go on some insane run and any of them could crash and burn. You’ll get no predictions out of me.

Erik Anderson (Portland Roundball Society/Truehoop Network): 

Expectations for the Blazers were to take that next step and finally be a legitimate contender, instead of first-round playoff fodder for a seasoned team. Clearly, that is no longer the case.

Major surprises for me come from other teams. Perhaps it’s the media coverage, or my developing disdain for my beloved Blazers, but this season I’ve kept closer tabs on Minnesota than years past. Now at 18-18, and with that aura of youth, they have a very real chance to make a playoff run. Every spot in the Northwest division is up for grabs besides Oklahoma City’s vice grip on No. 1.

As for teams making the playoffs from the Northwest Division my picks are: Thunder, Nuggets and the Timberwolves. I intentionally left the Blazers off this list, not because I don’t think they are capable of making the playoffs. They are. But a 7-8 seed seems like another wasted season to me. I’d rather hit the lottery instead of another first round exit. Rip City needs a new hero, and unless we have another trade deadline deal, my thoughts loom toward the future.