tlongII
09-28-2009, 11:49 AM
http://columbian.com/article/20090925/SPORTS01/709259938/1001/SPORTS01
What does an unexpected 54-win season bring?
What do a fourth-place finish in the top-heavy Western Conference, a share of the Northwest Division title, and a surprise appearance in the first round of the NBA playoffs equate?
How about the increasingly fearsome dynamic duo of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge? Or the return of Martell Webster; continued improvement of Greg Oden; older, wiser versions of Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum; and offseason acquisitions of Andre "The Director" Miller and Juwan "Veteran Savvy" Howard?
If you’re the Portland Trail Blazers, they all bring one thing: expectations.
Not promise. Not potential. Not one day or perhaps or maybe or what if.
Only expectations. And the allure and immediacy of now.
Fifty-four victories + expectations = win.
Now.
Portland coach Nate McMillan was brought in four years ago to save the Blazers. Not just the team, but the entire franchise. The ship was wrecked, the waters were polluted and a handful of pirates had pillaged and plundered, burning everything in sight to the ground.
The first two years of McMillan’s reign were a forgettable mess. Sarge did his best, but he was given little to work with and even less in terms of expectations.
Then, it began. Roy and Aldridge. A slew of suave, stellar draft-day moves by general manager Kevin Pritchard. The bouncing lottery ball that became Oden. Straight out of a storybook.
Two years ago, the true ascension started. "Rise With Us" rang the slogan — the larger-than-life images of Roy, Aldridge and Oden still stare out, God-like, from a building adjacent to the Rose Garden.
Now, the Blazers have risen.
And the expectations have begun.
During a media event Wednesday in Portland at the Rose Garden, McMillan said the upcoming 2009-10 season marked phase two of his coaching career with the Blazers.
Phase two sounds nice; has a cute ring. And it’s simple, straight and true.
But this is what phase two truly means: It’s on. Or, as McMillan said, "It’s real."
Yes, it is. Because now, there’s no going back. Pritchard and McMillan declared so Wednesday, as they tossed out lofty goals such as division and conference titles, all while hinting at what everyone who bleeds black and red really, not-so-secretly wants: The Larry O’Brien trophy.
That last goal is a tough one, though. One false step, and you miss it. One major injury, and the phase two-era is suddenly on pause. One unhappy star player in need of more points, minutes or money, and tiny fissures quickly turn into severe cracks. Especially once you have expectations.
Expectations are wonderful. They signify belief and symbolize acceptance. But they also carry weight.
Will 53 wins this season be enough? How about a fifth-place finish in the Western Conference, or another one-and-done in the playoffs?
Probably not.
Can McMillan, Pritchard, Roy, Aldridge and the rest of Rip City’s finest do what Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter and others from the franchise’s glory years could not?
We’ll see.
The Blazers did everything they had to this offseason. Which meant, in the end, very little. The team took care of Roy — and Pritchard has said as many times as possible it will do the same once the money is right with Aldridge. And after foolishly flirting with free agent Hedo Turkoglu, the franchise wised up and went after what it needed: proven veteran players in Miller and Howard.
Now, the real work begins.
Training camp starts Tuesday.
Time to see what happens when youth ages, and gets replaced by expectations.
What does an unexpected 54-win season bring?
What do a fourth-place finish in the top-heavy Western Conference, a share of the Northwest Division title, and a surprise appearance in the first round of the NBA playoffs equate?
How about the increasingly fearsome dynamic duo of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge? Or the return of Martell Webster; continued improvement of Greg Oden; older, wiser versions of Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum; and offseason acquisitions of Andre "The Director" Miller and Juwan "Veteran Savvy" Howard?
If you’re the Portland Trail Blazers, they all bring one thing: expectations.
Not promise. Not potential. Not one day or perhaps or maybe or what if.
Only expectations. And the allure and immediacy of now.
Fifty-four victories + expectations = win.
Now.
Portland coach Nate McMillan was brought in four years ago to save the Blazers. Not just the team, but the entire franchise. The ship was wrecked, the waters were polluted and a handful of pirates had pillaged and plundered, burning everything in sight to the ground.
The first two years of McMillan’s reign were a forgettable mess. Sarge did his best, but he was given little to work with and even less in terms of expectations.
Then, it began. Roy and Aldridge. A slew of suave, stellar draft-day moves by general manager Kevin Pritchard. The bouncing lottery ball that became Oden. Straight out of a storybook.
Two years ago, the true ascension started. "Rise With Us" rang the slogan — the larger-than-life images of Roy, Aldridge and Oden still stare out, God-like, from a building adjacent to the Rose Garden.
Now, the Blazers have risen.
And the expectations have begun.
During a media event Wednesday in Portland at the Rose Garden, McMillan said the upcoming 2009-10 season marked phase two of his coaching career with the Blazers.
Phase two sounds nice; has a cute ring. And it’s simple, straight and true.
But this is what phase two truly means: It’s on. Or, as McMillan said, "It’s real."
Yes, it is. Because now, there’s no going back. Pritchard and McMillan declared so Wednesday, as they tossed out lofty goals such as division and conference titles, all while hinting at what everyone who bleeds black and red really, not-so-secretly wants: The Larry O’Brien trophy.
That last goal is a tough one, though. One false step, and you miss it. One major injury, and the phase two-era is suddenly on pause. One unhappy star player in need of more points, minutes or money, and tiny fissures quickly turn into severe cracks. Especially once you have expectations.
Expectations are wonderful. They signify belief and symbolize acceptance. But they also carry weight.
Will 53 wins this season be enough? How about a fifth-place finish in the Western Conference, or another one-and-done in the playoffs?
Probably not.
Can McMillan, Pritchard, Roy, Aldridge and the rest of Rip City’s finest do what Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter and others from the franchise’s glory years could not?
We’ll see.
The Blazers did everything they had to this offseason. Which meant, in the end, very little. The team took care of Roy — and Pritchard has said as many times as possible it will do the same once the money is right with Aldridge. And after foolishly flirting with free agent Hedo Turkoglu, the franchise wised up and went after what it needed: proven veteran players in Miller and Howard.
Now, the real work begins.
Training camp starts Tuesday.
Time to see what happens when youth ages, and gets replaced by expectations.