Jump to content

Portland Trail Blazers


Recommended Posts

Honoring the World Champions of 1976-1977

 

 

Portland ruled the basketball world in 1976-77, displaying an exciting brand of team basketball and claiming the NBA Championship. After a decent 49-33 regular season, the team made the most of its first appearance in the playoffs, running all the way through the postseason.

 

This was the first year of Head Coach Jack Ramsay's reign. His decade with Portland would solidify his reputation as one of the league's most creative skippers. This was also the season that four former ABA teams-the Denver Nuggets, the New York Nets, the Indiana Pacers, and the San Antonio Spurs-were brought into the NBA under a merger agreement. The merger, in turn, led to a tremendous reshuffling of star players, and Portland acquired an enforcer, 6-9 Maurice Lucas, with the second pick in the ABA Dispersal Draft. But Lucas didn't come without a price. The Blazers had to give up Geoff Petrie and Steve Hawes to Atlanta for the No. 2 pick. More shuffling went on when Portland sold Sidney Wicks to Boston.

 

With a revamped lineup and a cast of young players who were quickly gaining confidence, the team was very strong through the first half of the season. Walton and Lucas represented Portland in the 1977 NBA All-Star Game, although Walton missed the game with an injury. But the long campaign eventually took its toll, and the Blazers faltered in February and March, tottering to a 10-16 record during those two months. They turned it around at the right time, however, with a 5-0 mark in April that catapulted them back into the playoff picture.

 

The fan phenomenon known as Blazermania was beginning to catch fire, too. On April 5 there were still a few tickets available in Memorial Coliseum when Portland played the Detroit Pistons before 12,359 fans. That was the last day a fan could just walk up and buy a ticket. From that point on, and continuing into the mid-1990s, every Portland home game was a sellout. Capacity was 12,666 through 1988, when it was expanded to 12,854 and then eventually 12,888.

 

The Trail Blazers' road to the championship rolled through Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. The team hit its stride in the Western Conference Finals, eliminating the Pacific Division champion Los Angeles Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in four straight games.

 

Portland entered the NBA Finals as the underdog to the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Julius Erving, the spectacular forward who was reinventing the game with his gravity-defying slam dunks. The Sixers put the Blazers in a hole by taking Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia. Back home at Memorial Coliseum, however, Portland thrashed the 76ers by 22 points in Game 3 and by 32 points in Game 4. The Trail Blazers then won a third straight game by beating the Sixers back in Philadelphia.

 

Game 6 took place on June 5 in Memorial Coliseum. The Sixers got 40 points from Erving, but the Trail Blazers closed them out, 109-107, to claim the NBA title. Walton scored 20 points, yanked down 23 rebounds, handed out 7 assists, and blocked 8 shots in Game 6, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

 

Walton was the star and the most recognizable of the Blazers, with his flamboyant personality, his counterculture leanings (which fit in with the general ambience of mid-1970s Portland), and his intense, intelligent style of play. But the Trail Blazers' victory was the triumph of a well-balanced team over a collection of more brilliant individual talents. This was in line with the trend of the decade, which had also seen the Knicks, Lakers, Celtics, and Warriors win titles on the basis of cohesion rather than individual dominance.

 

Lucas led the Trail Blazers in minutes played and scoring, averaging 20.2 points. Dave Twardzik, a 6-1 guard, set a club record for field-goal percentage, notching a .612 accuracy mark. Walton set the team record for rebounding, clearing 14.4 boards per game. He also set a Portland all-time mark for blocked shots with 3.25 per game. Second-year point guard Lionel Hollins ran the show, leading the team in both assists (4.1 apg) and steals (166).

Link to comment
  • Replies 321
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

With Brandon Roy.. the future seems to be brighter.. A quiet but effective future superstar in the making.. No flash but gets the job done..

 

But what happened in the last few months, would make the Portland fans salivate more because the Blazers have the right to make the first pick in this year's draft.. Oden or Durant? Nuff said..

 

I am very excited for the Blazers' future.. I believe they are the team to watch out for next season.. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

IMO, Portland would get Oden.. If their best center is Magloire, then, I suggest they get Oden.. Oden is a workhorse and seems humble enough to work hand in hand with Brandon Roy.. LaMarcus Aldridge can also combine for a twin tower combination look that has worked for the 80's Rockets and the Spurs before.. Durant ain't too shabby either.. But good centers do not come by often.. As they say, you can't teach height..

 

Let us wait for the drama to unfold.. :thumbsupsmiley:

Link to comment

@ revi Got no love for Jamaal Magloire? Come on! He was an All Star a few years ago! Hehe!

 

Yep, Oden is so going to be No. 1. Plus, he is a bit lucky coz he is in a town where people cheer their players even during their lowest point. If he landed in Boston or New York, he'd be the next Ewing in terms of fan appreciation...

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Historic Night For Portland

 

By Jim Taylor

trailblazers.com

 

 

New York, NY -- Speculation turned to reality Thursday night as the Portland Trail Blazers selected Ohio State center Greg Oden with the first pick in 2007 NBA Draft.

 

Oden, along with Texas freshman Kevin Durant, were the focus of one the most intense debates in NBA Draft history of which franchise-making player would be taken first.

 

"I know we're going to be connected for a long time now," said Oden. "So, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, you just have to get used to the names together."

 

As expected the Seattle SuperSonics snapped up Durant, the NCAA College Player of the Year, with the second pick.

 

"He's a really, really good player," said Oden. "I'm a pretty decent player, so I hope things work out. I would love to get way more championships than him."

 

Oden joins a rapidly improving Portland line-up which includes Brandon Roy, the NBA Rookie of the Year, and LaMarcus Aldridge, a first-team NBA Rookie Team selection.

 

"Just being around those guys, they're all really great," said Oden. "They did have a bad rep, but I think Brandon and LaMarcus kind of turned that around. I'm hoping I can come in and just help push that along some more."

 

Oden is excited to begin his professional career after leading Ohio State to the NCAA Championship game that ended in a loss to Florida.

 

"I think the next level is going to really difficult, but I think as long as I improve and keep working hard I can play pretty well," said Oden.

 

Does being the number one pick in the draft take the sting out of the Buckeyes loss to the Gators?

 

"No, not at all, I still lost," said Oden. "They still won two National Championships, in a row, and that doesn't change. This feels good, but it's two different categories. I'm always going to have that memory of that loss forever.

 

Oden, who's battling a cold, might be in need to a little rest and relaxation after an exhausting few weeks leading up the draft., but still has a sense of humor at his post-draft press conference.

 

"I think I get like two days to relax before I have to start practicing for Summer League," said Oden. "Hopefully, I get to go back and pack because I think I get kicked out of my apartment the 6th and I don't think they want to have to throw my stuff out."

Link to comment

man this team is going to rock d nba w d solid line up adding frye and francis w it.... u got d best 5 on d floor w oden, roy and aldridge. on d bench u got magloire and outlaw backing up d big man....

 

i can compare dis 5 w d core of drexler and porter company.... 2nd to dat wen pippen was in portland w rasheed.

Link to comment

They got Greg Oden. At the end of the day, that's all that really mattered. At the team's draft party, fans stormed the court in celebration of landing an athletic 7-footer who is a supreme defensive talent and an absolutely great guy. This is the start of a great run.

Link to comment
I still believe the Blazers were screwed on 2000 :P

 

I guess the point there was, Commish would not allow the JailBlazers to get a crack at a championship, giving the Lakers get ALL the calls and breaks to help them overcome a 15-point half-time deficit and take that deciding 7th game.

Link to comment
I guess the point there was, Commish would not allow the JailBlazers to get a crack at a championship, giving the Lakers get ALL the calls and breaks to help them overcome a 15-point half-time deficit and take that deciding 7th game.

were they the jail blazers at that time already?

 

i know they became the jail blazers after dallas beat them on the first round... 2002 yata yun

Link to comment
were they the jail blazers at that time already?

 

i know they became the jail blazers after dallas beat them on the first round... 2002 yata yun

 

I think they got the nick much much earlier with Isaiah Rider and Rod Strickland on board when the franchise was desperately looking for direction in the post-Clyde years.

 

Still, for all their success during that run, dysfunction was a word bandied heavily when it came to talking about that reincarnation of the Blazers.

Link to comment

Here is something interesting about their so-called blunder in the 1984 Draft....

 

Misconception

 

Drafting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan was the single most collosal blunder in the history of basketball. How could the Trailblazers even think to not choose his Airness ? And for what, a guy who couldn't even get on the court without breaking his leg.

 

The Facts

 

In the 1984 draft, the Portland Trailblazers drafted Sam Bowie, a 7'1 center/power forward from Kentucky with the second overall pick. The first pick was center Akeem Olajuwon. The third pick was Michael Jordan, a 6'6 swing player from North Carolina. While Olajuwon has gone on to have a Hall of Fame career and Michael Jordan is considered by many as the greatest player of all-time, Bowie led a long but unremarkable career, coming back from a string of career-threatening leg injuries. For most of Bowie's career, when healthy, he was a good rebounder and passer, demonstrating excellent touch for a man his size. His dedication to rehabilitate and play despite the option of quitting the sport while keeping his contract was inspiring. However his basketball presence was mostly a shell of his former playing self.

 

Rebuttal

 

Of course in hindsight, the choice to pick Jordan over Bowie would be made by anyone. However at the time, the Trailblazers did not have a crystal ball. Indeed, no one forsaw the mercurial rise of Jordan. Even the Bulls did not know what they had and were considering trading the pick for a center such as Jack Sikma or Tree Rollins. The article above of June 17, 1984 in the Chicago Tribune just prior to the draft is no longer on-line, so below are some excerpts:

 

"The Bulls' decision to select Jordan, a 6-foot-6-inch All-America guard with unlimited potential was dictated by their No. 3 position in the draft order. Lack of a dominating center is the major reason they have lost 111 games in the last two seasons, but there are only two can't miss pivotmen this time - and both will be gone by the time the Bulls make their choice."

.....

 

"Frustrated in their bid to land center Jack Sikma from Seattle, the Bulls again went after ex-De Paul star Terry Cummings last week. A proposed three-way trade involving Cummings' Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Bulls reportedly fell through."

 

....

 

"That left only two established starting centers available: Tree Rollins of the Atlanta Hawks and Joe Barry Carroll, a free agent anxious to leave the Golden State Warriors. Carroll's agent, Howard Shusher, is demanding a long-term contract at $2 million a year. 'Atlanta is willing to trade Rollins to us but the asking price is prohibitive,' Thorn said. 'We might consider giving Carroll an offer sheet.'"

 

The Blazers picked according to their needs and the evaluation of the talent as they saw it. Portland was a team on the rise. They did not gain the second pick due to a poor record, instead they were in the enviable and rare position of having the second pick to add to a winning team. They had the opportunity to draft a top-notch player to complement their team and put them over the top. Their main need was at center. At the time, the Pacific division was still dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers and the inside presence of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Blazers' Mychal Thompson was a good, active inside player but he did not have the necessary bulk to play center. It was thought Thompson would do better at the power forward position if they could add a force at center. One major strength of the team was in their shooting guards. They had an all-star in Jim Paxson along with a great athlete and budding superstar in Clyde Drexler. To top that off, they had just acquired high scoring Kiki Vandeweghe as their small forward. Simply put, Portland was stocked at the shooting guard position and had plenty of scorers. Their need was a defensive presence who could dominate the lane and rebound.

 

So after Olajuwon was taken, the Blazers had a choice.

 

Bowie was a 7'1 center who could rebound and block shots. He had an excellent outside shot (three-point range), ran the floor well for a big man, and had an excellent team attitude. Perhaps his most remarkable skill was his passing which was unmatched at the time for a man at his position. The only question mark was Bowie's leg which had been broken during his career at Kentucky and took a considerable amount of time to rehabilitate. But after he returned for his senior season, it appeared Bowie's leg had healed and in fact, was stronger than ever.

 

Jordan was an exciting wing player out of North Carolina who entered the draft after his junior season. He showed flashes of brilliance but his true skills were often hidden within Dean Smith's offensive schemes. He had great moves to the basket and had good size for his position. One question mark concerned his outside shooting ability.

 

When it came down to choosing, the Blazers made what they thought to be the best decision for their team, Bowie. He filled their major hole and brought new dimensions to the team. Jordan was certainly a great talent but he was projected to compete with Paxson and Drexler for basically one spot. It just didn't make sense to pass over a center to add another shooting guard whose presence could potentially wreck team chemistry due to competition between Drexler and Jordan, and still not address Portland's major concerns.

 

Many claim they would have chosen Jordan, and maybe they would have but for a team with the needs the Trailblazers had, I don't think that choice made sense. These people will point out that the Piston's success in the late 80's and the Bull's success in the 90's is proof that guards and wing players can lead to championship teams. The fact they omit is that at the time of the draft in 84, there was absolutely no precedence over the entire course of NBA modern history to suggest that this was possible. All the evidence suggested that in order to have a contender, the team needed a dominating big man, whether you looked to Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell in the 50's and 60's, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Moses Malone etc. Even though Robert Parish's talents are often overlooked, the Celtics of the 80's had arguably the greatest front line in pro basketball history with Bird, McHale and Parish. Even one of the best teams of the early 80's, the Philadelphia 76ers, didn't win the championship until they brought Moses Malone on board. Again, to pass over a gifted center in order to take another guard would require a lot of explaining by the Blazers at that time.

 

Another claim by the critics is that Jordan demonstrated much more talent than Bowie during his collegiate career and they cite the performance in the 1984 Olympic games as evidence. Again, the problem is that the Olympic games were not held until after the NBA draft so this is irrelevant to the discussion. If anything, if you take into account the fact that Bowie's senior year was mainly spent on rehabilitation on a balanced team, Bowie's collegiate career looks as impressive as Jordan's. He was All-SEC and made the ill-fated 1980 Olympic team after his freshman year, and averaged 17 ppg, was All-SEC and was All-American his sophomore year before his injury was revealed. At the time, he was considered a more well-rounded prospect than Ralph Sampson who went on to dominate college basketball while Bowie was injured.

 

There are players every year in the shooting guard range who draw raves in college. But for every one of those that turns into a Michael Jordan, there's a hundred who turn into a Fennis Dembo. (Of course the same can be said about 7-footers, however there are a lot fewer 7-footers with skills available than there are shooting guards.) Those who claim they knew Jordan would be as great as he turned out, I have a hard time believing. Injuries and other factors have a way of altering careers in radical ways to be so confident with any assurances of greatness.

Edited by Agent_mulder
Link to comment

hindi po ako blazers fan pero parang masarap gamitin ito sa NBA Live 2008 pag nagkataon hehehe

 

starting line up ko

 

C - Greg Oden

PF LaMarcus Aldridge

SF Darius Miles? hehehe

OG Brandon Roy

PG Steve Francis

 

Pagandahin na lang nila yung bench nila pwede ito No. 8 sa playoffs hehehe tapos unang ka matchup ni Oden? Tim Duncan lang naman and the Spurs hehehe

Edited by Mike_Lowrey21
Link to comment

Oden feeling a bit "foul" following Summer League loss to Boston

 

Going into Friday night’s NBA Summer League opener versus Boston, much of the hype centered on the debut of Portland’s imposing frontline duo of 7-foot rookie center Greg Oden and 6-11 forward LaMarcus Aldridge. In the end though, Aldridge had the monster night, while Oden was plagued by foul trouble and the result was a 74-66 loss to the Celtics before a capacity crowd at Cox Pavilion.

 

Aldridge was impressive pouring in a game-high 26 points (10-17 FG, 6-7 FT) to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Oden finished with six points, two rebounds and two blocked shots before following out with 10 fouls with 2:47 left in the game.

 

"I didn’t play too well and I didn’t play hard enough," said Oden. "When you don’t play hard enough you don’t win."

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...