Lovable Losers
A midseason check on the Trail Blazers: likable guys who actually show some promise.
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[January 17th, 2007] Casual Trail Blazers fans couldn't help but get carried away when Portland's NBA team neared .500 right before Christmas.
But everybody should have remembered coach Nate McMillan's favorite mantra: "This is a young team." Yes, it is, having hit the skids with 10 defeats in the last 13 games, including five home losses to crappy Eastern Conference teams.
At the season's halfway point, the real long-haul question is whether high-potential rookies like Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, or high-paid veterans Joel Przybilla and Zach Randolph, are enough to keep fans cheering while the rebuilding effort marches on.
We think they are, after grading the Blazers' new fan-friendlier roster for "rootability," assessing whether they make the Blazers better in the long term, and reaching into the team's 36-year past to come up with previous Blazers the current players remind us of.
| Rootability | Long-term | Comparison | |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | A. A stand-up rookie with a contagious smile and the wingspan of a 747. | A pleasant surprise, and the quickest Blazer big man. He needs to bulk up, but the Blazers rightly believe they have something special. | Buck Williams (1989-96). Like Williams on the two Blazers teams that made the finals, Aldridge works hard and has scoring flashes. |
| Jarrett Jack | B. A vocal leader who seems to improve with each game. | Jack isn't a flashy point guard, but has shown in his second year that he can take a foul, extend his shooting range and chew out players like Zach Randolph. A worthy cornerstone. | Lionel Hollins (1975-80). Hollins wasn't a pure point guard either on the 1977 championship team, but he could score regularly like Jack. |
| Travis Outlaw | C+. Somebody please give this quiet man a nickname. | Often referred to as an athletic "freak." If his basketball IQ ever catches up to his body, the whole world will know why. | Jerome Kersey (1984-95). Both tantalize with their athletic prowess. Kersey harnessed his into a long career. We think Outlaw can, too. |
| Sergio Rodriguez | A+. The team's most exciting player. | Watching Rodriguez pass is like shotgunning a can of Sparks: You don't quite know what happened afterward, but you're pretty sure you were screaming a lot and it was awesome. | Billy Ray Bates (1980-82). Yes, Bates was a spectacular dunker and Rodriguez is an amazing passer. But like Bates, you can never take your eyes off Rodriguez. |
| Brandon Roy | A+. Meet the new face of the franchise. | Roy doesn't have the lock on Rookie of the Year that a lot of pundits predicted, but he certainly does a lot of little things. He does need to rock the boat a bit and become more of a leader. | Terry Porter (1985-95). Roy channels Porter's old role as the quiet glue. |
| Ime Udoka | A. Local kid makes good, gets contract. | It's hard not to like Udoka, who consistently hustles. The team's only native Portlander, Udoka is deadly from 3-point range. | Bob Gross (1975-82). Two small forwards who do the little things coaches love to rave about. |
| Joel Przybilla< | C+. Apparently, a knee to the nuts can make a guy totally disappear. | After a painful-sounding groin injury, Przybilla has played poorly. Nothing would make fans happier than to see him in the first year of his five-year, $32 million deal score more than 2 points a game. | Chris Dudley (1993-97, 2001-03). Both are centers who can't score. |
| Zach Randolph | C. Portland's best player is also its most polarizing. | Randolph has taken his game to an All-Star level, and he's slowly learning how to pass. But he can't stay out of the news off the court for legal run-ins. | Sidney Wicks (1971-76). Big points, big rebounds—all signifying nothing. |
| Dan Dickau | C. The ladies love this Vancouver native, but can he lead the team? | Dickau is funny and sharp off the court, but his offense has been clunky in limited minutes. He deserves a real shot at being a starter, but it won't happen in Portland. | Rick Adelman (1970-73). Good role player. Maybe Dickau can have a long, successful coaching career after a mediocre playing career like Adelman. |
| Martell Webster | B+. What'll the second-year player straight out of high school be when he grows up? | Webster is the smiling, off-court antidote to Zach Randolph's antics, but he needs to import his relaxed charm onto the court before he's regarded as a real go-to guy. | Derek Anderson (2001-05). A magnetic personality who has trouble with on-court confidence. |
Story continues below
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And in the also-ran category:
Juan Dixon: C. (As younger Blazer guards develop, Dix will probably get the ax.)
Raef LaFrentz: C. (Quick with a high-five from the bench, which is where he's permanently planted.)
Jamaal Magloire: D. (The ex-All-Star center will bust his ass for the first team that regards him as more than just trade bait.) and Darius Miles: F. (We'll miss his explosiveness and, otherwise, never speak of the injured forward again.)
RECENT COMMENTS ON “Lovable Losers”
Not sure if I agree with the assessment of Przybilla. He was a solid contributor on offense back when Telfair was at the point (they ran a sweet pick-and-roll), showing an ability to take the ball st...
