1. Damian Lillard - I can't say enough about this young man. He's gonna make us forget about Brandon Roy. Okay, I can never forget Brandon's contributions but Damian is gonna take a lot of the sting out of losing Brandon. 2. Aldridge - He truly is an All-Star. I see this guy close up and personal game after game and he's plenty impressive. He'll never reach the heights that Brandon reached but he's still plenty impressive. 3. Wesley Matthews - There is no harder worker on the team; None, zip, nil, zeron, null set, you name it, none. And he's truly the iron man with no quit in him. What a warrior; Exactly the kind of guy to set the near perfect example of what these guys ought to be doing to earn those outrageous paychecks. 4. Nic Batum - Okay, he's a little overpaid, but that doesn't hide the fact that he's also very good. And now, unlike in years past, he can get his own shot and drive to the hoop. Couple that with his amazing shot blocking and three point shooting and he's a keeper. He's also the kind of guy you don't mind having in the locker room. Ditto for everyone else on the current team but perhaps especially regarding Nic. 5. There is no no. 5. I would have said Hickson 'cause he does some things very very well (i.e. rebounding), but he's so week inconsistent in other areas that I sometimes see him as a detriment. I'm tempted to say Elliot Williams but who the hell knows? Know what I mean? Well, that's it. Can't name any others, which is unusual for me, since I'm normally such a huge homer. I consider our bench to be so weak and so thin that I cringe whenever anyone else goes into the game, except for Leonard. Hey, mark me down as putting Meyers Leonard at the no. 5 position among my favorite players. Obviously, that list is not my list of the best starting five. In my starting five list, I agree with Stotts' selection of Aldridge, Lillard, Batum, Matthews and Hickson. So, what do you think? Yay, nay or maybe?
I like Raymond Felton....oh wait, what year is it? #5 is Meyers Leonard, gotta love the guy, and he is going to improve fast.
So what the hell went wrong with Felton? He's clearly a better player than he showed for the Blazers. On the other hand, if he were here still, maybe the team would have drafted someone other than a PG (Lillard)
He was obviously out of shape here, but I thought his attitude was weird also. I think the 'tude thing will surface again wherever he is, plus I don't trust a PG who dribbles at shoulder height. Right now he's just dreaming.
I agree with #1, 3, and 4. Elliot Willaims at #5? We've seen him a grand total of 149 minutes against NBA competition. At this point I expect him to spend more time on sideline.
Felton and Crawford are playing like All Stars and leading their teams to great records. What the fuck happened last year? Was it Nate? Was it the Portland media? Was it us?
It's not rocket science. McMillan's system worked only on impressionable youth who had never experienced a normal NBA coach with a complicated system. Look at game logs. Hickson is our most consistent player. You must be looking through the wrong end of your theater binoculars.
He was seriously out of shape before the season started. And then once he finally got back into shape; he burned way too many bridges to stay.
Favorite is not best, so I agree with the list as the best players, but Favorite, meaning I get a ton of enjoyment out of watching them, Lillard, Meyers and Batum. Lillard and Batum both because they seem to be able to make the impossible possible. Meyers just cause he always seems so happy and tries so hard, and makes good jokes/comments when interviewed. Aldridge and Wes I appreciate, and am very glad they are Blazers, especially Aldridge, but he does not play they way that excites me, he is boring in interviews and does not show a fire I want to see from a PF/C. Wes is kind of fun to watch as in it's fun to watch a bull in a china shop, as long as you don't have to clean up at the end of the night. And he is getting better at actually accomplishing what he intends, which is great. I like all 5 of those players and would like to see them be Blazers for a long time. The rest, including Hickson and Babbit, which give good minutes, I have no real attachment for, and I think they are average at best.
1. Dame 2. Teh Frenchie 3. LMA 4. Wessy Wes 5. Nards I reserve the right to change this list on any given day, at any given time. But generally, I'd say this is my list 95% of the time.
