WINNERS of six straight and eight of nine, the 14-6 Trail Blazers swagger into the Parquet Palace tonight against the 18-2 defending champion Celtics, who have captured 10 straight. This is such an intriguing matchup, I plan to put off my Christmas shoplifting to watch.
Only the Celtics could once boast Hondo and now flaunt Rondo. Rajon Rondo’s 16-point, 13-rebound, 17-assist masterpiece at the expense of jitterbug T.J. Ford and powerful Jarrett Jack in Wednesday’s 114-96 rout of the Pacers was his first triple-double payment, but there’s loads of bullion on tap.
No disrespect to the Cavaliers, Hornets and Rockets, but many of us already are wondering whether Jordan Farmar has any chance to slow down Rondo in The Finals ’cause Derek Fisher has no possibility and Trevor Ariza figures to be occupied much of his time with Paul Pierce.
As fun as the Blazers are to observe altruistically and intelligently find the open man or the hot shooter, they’re equally enjoyable conversationalists. Granted, the postgame locker room atmosphere is friction-free. But when have you ever heard a top pick of the draft voluntarily confess to being imperfect in any shape or form, or admit he got psyched out by aborting two successive dunks at the outset of Tuesday’s win in New York?
Greg Oden put down some stuff he was carrying, stood up straight and looked me in the eye when I introduced myself and listened attentively as I lobbed a couple loaded questions and editorialized.
“How come you became strictly a passer following those two misses? Did you realize the defender who had a forearm planted in your back often was about 6 inches smaller and you had great position on him? When you watch the game film you’ll see, had you turned and faced, you were merely an outstretched arm away from a layup or a slam.”
“My court awareness isn’t very good, you’re right,” Oden replied, throwing me thoroughly off balance with his candor.
Assistant coach Dean Demopoulos, he added, is constantly teaching and preaching regarding his glaring limitation, which is all well and good, but there’s no substitute for experience and injuries have sidelined him for 86 of 102 regular-season games since coming out of Ohio State after his freshman year.
Defensively, the 7-foot rookie who turns 21 Jan. 22, already is a legit presence. He’s averaging 1.64 blocks in 21.9 minutes and is able to change shots and minds just by being there. At the other end against the Knicks, Oden was unsure where to go, where to be and what to do with the ball when he gets it with his back to the basket – aside from getting rid of it quickly.
“The coaches kept telling me the team needed me to be aggressive offensively but I got rattled when I missed those dunks so I just stopped looking for my shot,” Oden said.
“You mean you lost your confidence and became so frustrated you said to yourself ‘I’m not shooting anymore?'” I asked.
“That’s exactly what happened,” Oden owned up.
That’s exactly why Nate McMillan benched him the entire fourth quarter when the Blazers – behind Joel Przybilla’s tips-ins, rebounding and two rejection notices of attempted dunks by Al Harrington and David Lee – assumed domination.
(FYI: Przybilla, who has figured out his range is an upper limb’s length and stays within that confine, is shooting .825 from the field this season.)
Then there’s Brandon Roy. What a pleasure it is to watch this guy play. Since arriving in Portland three drafts ago (to think Kevin McHale still lives with himself after selecting the 6-foot-6 all-purpose guard No. 6 and surrendering him for Randy Foye) I’ve gone out of my way to eyeball as many Blazers games as possible on NBATV.
“His consistency is absolutely amazing,” GM Kevin Pritchard gushed in the Garden hallway. “Every night he gives you between 4-to-8 rebounds, 4-to-8 assists and 18-25 points.”
And they’re unswervingly the quietest 25 points you’ll ever witness, as if they were shot with a silencer. Despite owing gears beyond what you imagine Roy is capable of reaching, and featuring a better left on drives than his natural right, everything he accomplishes is effortless and unemotional.
That’s the way it appears, anyway. Just as it seems no one and nothing bothers him. He has more glide than Clyde and acts more like Clyde than Walt Frazier did.
“I’ve always been very stable,” Roy said. “I’ve been that way since I was a little kid. I try to keep any exhilaration or anger I’m feeling inside. At times coaches have mistaken that to mean I don’t care enough or I’m not playing hard enough.”
McMillan, as passionate a person as any the NBA has ever seen, at first felt that way, Roy revealed. But unlike most coaches who can’t tolerate players who don’t give them what they crave, “Nate adjusted to me instead of forcing me to adjust to him.”
“You mean to tell me if a driver cuts you off you don’t experience road rage?” I pressed Roy.
“Naw . . . then again, someone recently stole my parking spot and I almost got out. But then I figured the guy was probably just having a bad day.”