Blazer Recollections, Part 2

As I started to follow the team more, I realized they had some pieces in place. Jarrett Jack, a young, gritty point guard. Joel Przybilla, a capable defensive center. Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster, two promising young wing players who were yet to develop most of their potential. They traded Steve Blake because they needed help at the center position, but I held out hope that he might return a year later as a free agent.

It was a tough season. They had some wins over some quality teams, but a lot of losses, especially against Eastern Conference teams in the Rose Garden. They had some good road wins, which is always promising for the character of a young team. Zach Randolph was almost unstoppable on offense, and equally inept at passing out of the inevitable double teams. He occasionally put forth effort on defense, but the fact that the offense revolved around him meant that guys like Ime Udoka, a heady defensive specialist who emerged during training camp, and Jamaal Magloire got lots of burn while much of the young talent like Sergio, Webster, Outlaw, and Aldridge got inconsistent playing time and were unable to utilize their speed and athleticism in the open floor. Brandon Roy thrived after recovering from an early season heel injury that caused him to miss at least 20 games, slowly increasing his production and pulling away from the pack in the R.O.Y. race. Aldridge showed the most promise of the other youngsters, becoming a terror for stretches on the offensive glass and showing nice touch at 18-20 feet. Sergio and Martell were terribly inconsistent, especially on defensive and with outside shooting. Przybilla struggled through injuries, and didn't play consistently despite the fact he started most of the games. Raef Lafrentz, a veteran forward center acquired in the Telfair trade for the No. 7 pick used to trade for Roy, also battled injuries and got little playing time. Even Randolph missed 15 games, and when LaMarcus ably filled his spot and put up good numbers in his stead while the team went 7-8 sans Zach, it became obvious that the last true holdover of the Jail Blazers era would soon get a ticket out of town. Darius Miles, who once was considered one of the J.B.'s, missed the entire season after having microfracture surgery on his knee and so little was heard of him that some speculated that he might take medical retirement, while others surmised that that only way he would ever return from such a serious injury to play on a team with a different culture is if his attitude improved significantly.