By Sam Amico
ProBasketballNews.com
Don't tell me. You knew the Portland Trail Blazers would be this good.
You knew they would be a half game out of first place in the Northwest Division (behind Denver) ... in late January ... without No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden, who's out for the year following knee surgery.
And you knew all this despite the fact that the Blazers are the NBA's youngest team, or that they finished 30-52 last season, then traded top scorer Zach Randolph to New York.
Seriously, you knew it. Right?
As reader Matt Levy (Ashland, Ore.) wrote,
"Anyone who picked the Blazers to be this good
this soon is hereby hired to be my financial
advisor. I can't believe it!"
Well, believe it, because the Blazers are this
season's best story.
You already know about the 13-game winning
streak, and the continued improvement of
second-year players like forward LaMarcus
Aldridge and guard Brandon Roy, the reigning
rookie of the year.
You're aware of how former high school phenoms
and swingmen Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw have developed into solid pros, and how tough-yet-patient coach Nate McMillan is the perfect man to lead this team.
You've noticed the Blazers' balance, as four players are averaging double figures in scoring. Roy leads the way at 19.2 points per game, followed by Aldridge (17.2), Outlaw (12.9) and Webster (10.7). Also, James Jones (9.8 ppg) and Jarrett Jack (9.5) have been explosive off the bench, and starting point guard Steve Blake has been great as the guy who gets everyone the ball.
Finally, you've seen the Blazers' overall confidence, how they really believe they can beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. This despite not only being the NBA's youngest team -- but also the youngest in franchise history.
Speaking of history, it wasn't that long ago that this organization was accused of being little more than a collection of first-rate knuckleheads. Back then, they were called the Jail Blazers.
But this group isn't just winning. As an added bonus, these Blazers are also as classy as they come -- on the court, and in their everyday lives. They look for the open man on offense, help each other on defense, and don't really seem to care who has the best stats at the end of the night.
They are easy to watch, easier to root for. It starts with general manager Kevin Pritchard and goes right on down the line, all the way to the guys who bounce back and forth between being the 12th man and playing in the D-League.
But you knew it was coming.
Or maybe not.
"There is no simple answer to how, or why, all of this is happening now," Jason Quick wrote in The Oregonian. "All that can be said for certain is that ... the Blazers this first half of the season have done what nobody expected: they have become relevant, fun and, ultimately, good."
And for that, basketball fans everywhere are giving a hearty amen -- and an even bigger thanks.
CLIPPER MADNESS
* Did you know Clippers owner Donald Sterling and coach Mike Dunleavy complained about each other through the media earlier this week? I didn't, until reader Benjamin Storey (Denver) sent an e-mail. "If the owner and coach did this with the OTHER Los Angeles team, we'd never hear the end of it," Benjamin wrote.
* It all started when Sterling told the Los Angeles Times, "I want to make L.A. fans proud of this team, but if (Dunleavy and GM Elgin Baylor) can't make it happen, then I have no choice but to make changes ... That's why I'm paying (Dunleavy) the money I am."
* Dunleavy retorted by telling the newspaper that if Sterling fired him, it would be "the biggest mistake he ever made."
* The two reportedly have cleared things up, but that still doesn't make it OK.
* First, if Sterling really wants to shake things up, he might want to start with himself. He's owned the franchise since 1981 and it's never won more than 47 games in a season. Secondly, telling the media that your coach and GM are on the hot seat is childish and classless. And it isn't exactly something that will rally the troops. Instead, it leaves everyone feeling frustrated and confused -- the story of the Clippers during Sterling's reign.
* I should add that I do admire Sterling for a few reasons. For one, Baylor has been the Clippers' GM for 21 years -- longer than Jerry Sloan has been coach of the Jazz. So thanks to Sterling, there has been some stability in the front office. He also has let Baylor run the team, and lived (or died) with his decisions. That is one reason Sterling comments were so bizarre.
* They were also poorly timed. I mean, how well can the Clippers really expect to do when they're missing power forward Elton Brand (Achilles tendon), far and away their best player?
* Again, if Sterling really wants to win as badly as he says he does, then criticizing his employees publicly is a lousy place to start. Hopefully, he'll file that thought away and refer back to it often.
WILKENS CONTENT
Longtime newsletter readers may remember my interview with Hall of Fame coach and player Lenny Wilkens last summer, when Wilkens told me he figured he would return to the league in some capacity this season.
Well, that hasn't happened -- so when I ran into Wilkens at a recent Cavaliers game, I asked if he still planned on making an NBA comeback.
"If the right opportunity came along, I'd definitely think about," said Wilkens, who just turned 70-years old and looks considerably closer to 50.
Then he laughed.
"Of course, the longer I'm away, the more I find that I'm enjoying my new lifestyle," he said.
This is the first season in 47 years that Wilkens hasn't been involved with the league in some capacity.
Wilkens also wanted me to remind readers of his foundation, which provides services for underprivileged kids, among other things. I will be writing an in-depth story about the foundation for ProBasketballNews.com in the coming weeks. Until then, you can learn more about it at lennywilkens.com.
Finally, PBN.com will be handing out awards for the first time ever at the end of this season (read more below), and has decided that the award given to the league's biggest all-around contributor will be named after Wilkens.
BASKETBALL BOOKS
Three excellent books I just finished reading:
PBN.COM AWARDS
As I wrote above, PBN.com will be passing out honors at season's end for both the NBA and minor league basketball.
For the NBA, we will be giving awards for the usual (Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year, all-league, etc.), as well as Organization of the Year.
The minors awards will consist of the same categories -- while the all-minors team will consist of the 10 best players spanning all of the leagues (there's something like six or seven now).
Meanwhile, anyone involved in the game is eligible to receive the Lenny Wilkens Award, which will be presented to the individual who makes the greatest overall contribution to pro basketball this season.
PBN.COM UPDATE
For more columns, features and notes, be sure to visit ProBasketballNews.com regularly, as we will begin updating the site daily beginning Monday, Jan. 28.
Just so you know, our plan isn't necessarily to be a one-stop shop on the basketball superhighway. Rather, we merely want to be a stop along the way -- and not become another of those independent sites (sports and otherwise) that tries too hard to provide every little bit of tidbit of info with no real focus.
Everyone at PBN.com is a real reporter, having covered the NBA at newspapers or magazines in some capacity. Our focus is to provide reaction to the news, as well as lots of profiles, interviews, features and commentary on things you rarely read about at the "major media" outlets (i.e., the Hawks, Wizards, Clippers and so on and so on).
In fact, I'm ending this newsletter right now to put together a story on the Wizards, who have been playing pretty well without main man Gilbert Arenas. I spoke to DeShawn Stevenson, Antonio Daniels and coach Eddie Jordan for the piece, and each was candid in their beliefs that they can make something special of this season.
FINAL THOUGHT
Well, that ought to be enough of my unabashed plugging for this week. In the meantime, keep those e-mails coming. I read them all and hope to start publishing some soon. But that's up to you, as I demand excellence from my readers.
Or something.
Have a great week!
The Amico Report is a free e-mail newsletter from ProBasketball News.com editor Sam Amico. He has covered the NBA for various newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, including NBA Inside Stuff and Basketball Digest, for more than a decade. Contact him or subscribe to the newsletter at amico@probasketballnews.com.
