Post by Portland on Feb 20, 2016 21:27:42 GMT
As we enter the 2003 preseason the Portland Trailblazers find themselves poised for a very challenging fourth campaign in the ABCA. We’ve steered the franchise carefully over the years and we’re proud of the steady progress we’ve made since going 32-50 in 2000. In 2001 we made a strong charge in the second half of the season to finish 43-39 and make a shocking appearance in the second round of the playoffs. 2002 was similar as we again came from well off the pace at mid-season to improve to 47-35 and grab the seven-seed. Over these past two successful seasons we’ve established a reputation for assembling over-achieving squads of solid vets, for surrounded our core with key role players, for game-planning well, for making the mid-season tweaks to climb into contention, and for flagrantly dealing away our draft picks. It remains to be seen if that philosophy can keep us on an upward trend and produce another playoff appearance. We were pretty optimistic it would at the end of free agency this summer, but training camp was a disappointment and it feels like another season of grinding out wins the hard way is in front of us.
Ready-or-not, here’s a position-by-position look at the 2003 Portland Trailblazers.
Center: One of those tweaks we made last year that paid off handsomely was moving Bill McGill from center to power forward and giving the position full-time to backup Sam Bowie. Sam will now start there again this season. At 30 Solid Sam is the oldest Trailblazer and he’s coming off a solid season in which he was limited to 30 mpg but posted 11 points and 8 rebounds per contest. Never previously known as a shot-blocker, Sam took a big stride forward and posted 1.9 per game last season, again in fewer minutes than most of his contemporaries. He posted career highs in PER and EWA and took care of the ball pretty well, which is a trait we value highly in our big men.
Power Forward: Bill McGill was a very capable young center but never had the heft down low to go against the Ewings and Mikans of the ABCA. It was a tough decision, pushing our best player Connie Hawkins into the third big role and installing McGill at PF in his sophomore season, but Bill responded very well to the move and used his athleticism and superior handles to suddenly become a tough matchup for opposing forwards. Bill averaged 20/8 for us and became the team leader on and off the court. Unfortunately McGill suffered a poor training camp this summer and it’s questionable whether his production is going to return to his 2002 level. But he’s still a very good player and we plan to stick with him. He could be a pp candidate.
Third Big: Last year we flipped Bowie for Connie in this role midway through the season and it worked. Now Connie has left the building for Zagreb via free agency and there’s no doubt we’ll miss a player of his offensive capabilities. This season his role will be filled by Dino Meneghin, a player we’d tracked for at least a season before acquiring him from Mexico City. Our lack of physicality hurt us in our first-round playoff exit last season, so Dino’s acquisition was in response to that. Dino’s strength and stamina will allow him to back up Bowie well at center, he’s a better rebounder than Hawkins or McGill, and he’s another guy who doesn’t drop the ball very often. He won’t be called upon to score much but he’s an efficient shooter when he needs to be. The move for Meneghin wasn’t highly-regarded among league pundits but we’re confident he’ll pay off for us and become another one of the stealth weapons we’ve employed to get to the post season.
Small Forward: It’s clear this position is our Achilles heel. But with the dearth of top players at this position around the league we think running Doug McDermott out there every night won’t overly disadvantage us. Making Doug a starter half-way through last season and moving Chris Mullin to shooting guard was another switch that propelled us to the playoffs. Like Mullin, McDermott is a shoot-first winger who excels from beyond the arc. That was all we asked him to do last season, but the rest of his skills are adequate. Or they were, until he got matched up against Andrew Wiggins in the first round of the playoffs last season and got annihilated. Children who were in attendance at those playoff games are still having trouble falling asleep at night, it was so horrifying. But Doug camped well this summer and at 24 we think he has more development ahead. We have other options on the team should he stumble, but for now McDermott has the job.
Shooting Guard: “And then the skies became dark, and the winds grew, and lo there appeared an unprotected free agent with a terrible countenance, who strode forth and said to the people - be not afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of Portland that I will bring to you this day. And then Antonello Riva raised his arms, and the seas were parted, and the basketball fans of Portland saw that it was good.” When we lucked into signing a premiere player like Antonello Riva, it was a game-changer for our franchise. Riva can do it all, and he fills so many needs for us that we’re still a little stunned he’ll be wearing Portland black and red this season (he’s been one of my favorite players for a long time; I still kick myself for not adding him to Harlem in Legends.) As if our amazement wasn’t already at a peak, Riva came into camp and worked hard on his already-strong defensive game, to the point that we have to seriously consider playing him at small forward. Wherever he plays Riva makes up for the free agent departure of Mullin – and then some. Had it been Riva guarding Wiggin last spring, who knows how things might have turned out? Hyperbole aside, we are very very glad to have this guy on the team. Barring a plague of locusts or poison frogs, Riva will retire as a Blazer.
Point Guard: Here’s where it gets interesting. Gone is Old Dick McGuire, who joined us in 2001 and led us to the playoffs, and who despite numerous injuries played a key part in getting us back there again in 2002. But last year’s starter Dragan Kicanovic is back coming off a strong season, and we like him running the point for us. His camp wasn’t marvelous, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him, but we think he’s good enough to get the job done. Dragan shot 42% from the arc last season as part of our quartet of long-ballers. His PER and EWA hit career highs and his TS% was very good for a perimeter shooter. One knock on him was that he was a little prone to throwing the ball away at times. And he was a clear part of our defensive problems last season (although those abated as the season went on.) He won’t make anyone forget the glory days of Damon Stoudemire in Portland, but he’s still a fine player.
Third Guard: Howard Eisley was signed to a nice FA contract last year and I thought he was a steal, a starter-level guard, but he didn’t end up playing a huge role for us in 2002. I think he’ll do more this season. It doesn’t appear Howard is going to reach the potential seen for him a few seasons back, but he’s still highly athletic and takes care of the ball very well, plus on paper he’s a capable shooter which he displayed with Newcastle before we signed him. His defense might be a hair better than Kicanovic, too, but he’s no lights-out defender.
Sixth Man: Bogdan Bogdanovic and Corliss Williamson are candidates but we really need a tough defensive wing in this role and at the moment he’s not on the roster. If we make a deal this season it will be to give us that defense, plus more depth and athleticism, in the 6’5” to 6’7” height range.
So this version of the Blazers might be the best I’ve put together, but if it is Riva will get all the credit. There are some real question marks this time around: I haven’t assembled the deep depth I like so certain starters will probably get more minutes and that’s not part of my core philosophy; I don’t have offensive savants like Mullin and Connie around this year, guys capable of going off and single-handedly delivering a win; I’ve only partially addressed our defensive woes. But as always I look forward to coming out of the gate with some work still to do, and figuring things out as I go. I don’t think there’s a team out there we can’t beat, but beating them consistently may not always be within our means. We will soon see.
Ready-or-not, here’s a position-by-position look at the 2003 Portland Trailblazers.
Center: One of those tweaks we made last year that paid off handsomely was moving Bill McGill from center to power forward and giving the position full-time to backup Sam Bowie. Sam will now start there again this season. At 30 Solid Sam is the oldest Trailblazer and he’s coming off a solid season in which he was limited to 30 mpg but posted 11 points and 8 rebounds per contest. Never previously known as a shot-blocker, Sam took a big stride forward and posted 1.9 per game last season, again in fewer minutes than most of his contemporaries. He posted career highs in PER and EWA and took care of the ball pretty well, which is a trait we value highly in our big men.
Power Forward: Bill McGill was a very capable young center but never had the heft down low to go against the Ewings and Mikans of the ABCA. It was a tough decision, pushing our best player Connie Hawkins into the third big role and installing McGill at PF in his sophomore season, but Bill responded very well to the move and used his athleticism and superior handles to suddenly become a tough matchup for opposing forwards. Bill averaged 20/8 for us and became the team leader on and off the court. Unfortunately McGill suffered a poor training camp this summer and it’s questionable whether his production is going to return to his 2002 level. But he’s still a very good player and we plan to stick with him. He could be a pp candidate.
Third Big: Last year we flipped Bowie for Connie in this role midway through the season and it worked. Now Connie has left the building for Zagreb via free agency and there’s no doubt we’ll miss a player of his offensive capabilities. This season his role will be filled by Dino Meneghin, a player we’d tracked for at least a season before acquiring him from Mexico City. Our lack of physicality hurt us in our first-round playoff exit last season, so Dino’s acquisition was in response to that. Dino’s strength and stamina will allow him to back up Bowie well at center, he’s a better rebounder than Hawkins or McGill, and he’s another guy who doesn’t drop the ball very often. He won’t be called upon to score much but he’s an efficient shooter when he needs to be. The move for Meneghin wasn’t highly-regarded among league pundits but we’re confident he’ll pay off for us and become another one of the stealth weapons we’ve employed to get to the post season.
Small Forward: It’s clear this position is our Achilles heel. But with the dearth of top players at this position around the league we think running Doug McDermott out there every night won’t overly disadvantage us. Making Doug a starter half-way through last season and moving Chris Mullin to shooting guard was another switch that propelled us to the playoffs. Like Mullin, McDermott is a shoot-first winger who excels from beyond the arc. That was all we asked him to do last season, but the rest of his skills are adequate. Or they were, until he got matched up against Andrew Wiggins in the first round of the playoffs last season and got annihilated. Children who were in attendance at those playoff games are still having trouble falling asleep at night, it was so horrifying. But Doug camped well this summer and at 24 we think he has more development ahead. We have other options on the team should he stumble, but for now McDermott has the job.
Shooting Guard: “And then the skies became dark, and the winds grew, and lo there appeared an unprotected free agent with a terrible countenance, who strode forth and said to the people - be not afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of Portland that I will bring to you this day. And then Antonello Riva raised his arms, and the seas were parted, and the basketball fans of Portland saw that it was good.” When we lucked into signing a premiere player like Antonello Riva, it was a game-changer for our franchise. Riva can do it all, and he fills so many needs for us that we’re still a little stunned he’ll be wearing Portland black and red this season (he’s been one of my favorite players for a long time; I still kick myself for not adding him to Harlem in Legends.) As if our amazement wasn’t already at a peak, Riva came into camp and worked hard on his already-strong defensive game, to the point that we have to seriously consider playing him at small forward. Wherever he plays Riva makes up for the free agent departure of Mullin – and then some. Had it been Riva guarding Wiggin last spring, who knows how things might have turned out? Hyperbole aside, we are very very glad to have this guy on the team. Barring a plague of locusts or poison frogs, Riva will retire as a Blazer.
Point Guard: Here’s where it gets interesting. Gone is Old Dick McGuire, who joined us in 2001 and led us to the playoffs, and who despite numerous injuries played a key part in getting us back there again in 2002. But last year’s starter Dragan Kicanovic is back coming off a strong season, and we like him running the point for us. His camp wasn’t marvelous, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him, but we think he’s good enough to get the job done. Dragan shot 42% from the arc last season as part of our quartet of long-ballers. His PER and EWA hit career highs and his TS% was very good for a perimeter shooter. One knock on him was that he was a little prone to throwing the ball away at times. And he was a clear part of our defensive problems last season (although those abated as the season went on.) He won’t make anyone forget the glory days of Damon Stoudemire in Portland, but he’s still a fine player.
Third Guard: Howard Eisley was signed to a nice FA contract last year and I thought he was a steal, a starter-level guard, but he didn’t end up playing a huge role for us in 2002. I think he’ll do more this season. It doesn’t appear Howard is going to reach the potential seen for him a few seasons back, but he’s still highly athletic and takes care of the ball very well, plus on paper he’s a capable shooter which he displayed with Newcastle before we signed him. His defense might be a hair better than Kicanovic, too, but he’s no lights-out defender.
Sixth Man: Bogdan Bogdanovic and Corliss Williamson are candidates but we really need a tough defensive wing in this role and at the moment he’s not on the roster. If we make a deal this season it will be to give us that defense, plus more depth and athleticism, in the 6’5” to 6’7” height range.
So this version of the Blazers might be the best I’ve put together, but if it is Riva will get all the credit. There are some real question marks this time around: I haven’t assembled the deep depth I like so certain starters will probably get more minutes and that’s not part of my core philosophy; I don’t have offensive savants like Mullin and Connie around this year, guys capable of going off and single-handedly delivering a win; I’ve only partially addressed our defensive woes. But as always I look forward to coming out of the gate with some work still to do, and figuring things out as I go. I don’t think there’s a team out there we can’t beat, but beating them consistently may not always be within our means. We will soon see.
