I have always believed in quality over quantity. But if I can have them both then life is all the sweeter. The Portland Trailblazers are blessed with the latter and are built to set the NBA on fire.
Looking at the potential starting five will make any die hard Blazer fan drool with anticipation of the future and other NBA fans wishing Paul Allen was a penniless bum. With blossoming all-stars at 3 of the 5 positions, and perfect complements to man the others, this fab-five could be one of the most potent ever to grace a Trailblazer uniform.
Yet on the offensive end, this group seems to lack the flare that could truly drive an expectant crowd wild(barring the occasional Oden rim rocker). I expect this portion of the entertainment package to be brought to you by the Blazers new secret weapon, “Hustle Bench Inc.”. Don’t get me wrong, Roy can do some amazing thing with the ball in his hands, but the driving ability of Rudy “Sky Walker” Fernandez and Jerryd “Energizer” Bayless are tops on this team. In the Olympics Rudy proved that offensively he was more than capable of handling his business, even against an NBA all-star team. On more than one occasion Rudy made up for his lack of man on man defensive ability by jumping a passing lane or providing well timed help side D to force a turnover. And who doesn’t want to see a spot up three ball or a fast break alley-oop with a high flying Spaniard on the rim. Bayless spent the entire summer league proving that he was a man among boys. Every player that attempted to guard him was attacked by the Italian Mafia and forced to wear cement shoes, allowing him to average more points from the free throw line than his opponents could score during the game. If those two don’t equal excitement, I don’t know what does.
If any team can figure out how to clog the lane, then these next two stalwarts will be waiting to take advantage. Channing “Silky” Frye and Travis “Easy” Outlaw have two of the smoothest jumpers this side of the Mississippi(where Travis was born). Channing’s propensity for jumpers has drawn much criticism during his time with the Blazers, but at least he knows what kind of player he is(an excellent mid-range shooter). Trying to do what your not good at is a quick ticket out of the NBA. Outlaw’s jumper has greater range and is nearly unblockable with his incredible vertical. On a fast break, highlight reel dunks are always a possibility, although he would rather be the trailer on the play.
This brings us to the cog the wheel turns on, Joel “Block Party” Prizybilla. Last years starter and defensive machine never has needed shots setup for him, he is happy with the clean up basket, which with this unit maybe all that he gets to see. With the defensive short comings of the other four, Joel will have ample opportunities to do what he does best, protect his house.
Enough people have glorified the first unit, I think its high time the bench gets the publicity it deserves.
