I tend to agree that the Blazers are not a traditional "Big Three" team, yet. Andre Miller is solid, and a borderline All-Star, but if he were on the Celtics, or the Lakers, I don't think anyone would say he'd be even with Paul Pierce or Pau Gasol. I don't know what the Blazers' winning formula is. Maybe it's more like the '99 Spurs, with a defensive stalwart in the middle in David Robinson (Greg Oden) and an emerging offensive stud in Tim Duncan (LaMarcus Aldridge). Where that breaks down is that the Spurs didn't have anyone who compares to Brandon Roy. Or, maybe the Blazers are more like the Kings, as someone else mentioned, except the comparison mixes and matches different positions, and is sort of a weak analogy as a result. Maybe the Blazers are like the Sonics of the early '90s, with Brandon Roy playing the role of decision-maker, perimeter stopper and clutch shot-maker that was Gary Payton in his prime, and LaMarcus Aldridge is the Second Coming of Shawn Kemp (without the extra-marital kids and the late-career weight problems, I hope...). But the Sonics didn't have a powerhouse in the middle like Greg Oden. Or, maybe the Blazers are a cleaner version of the '99-'01 Blazers, when the team was basically stacked at every position, and simply overpowered teams with talent. The big problems with those teams was a lack of consistent, clutch play at both ends, because of some mental weaknesses or non-superstars being asked to do superstar things. I think that analogy actually works the best - with Andre Miller being this team's Greg Anthony (only better), Brandon Roy as this team's Steve Smith (mentally tough, savvy, and versatile, but B-Roy being far more athletic), Nicolas Batum as this team's Scottie Pippen (Batum is developing many of the defensive skills of Pip - which was Scottie's most important role as a Blazer), LaMarcus Aldridge is Rasheed Wallace (only with a little better psyche and not quite the shooting range), and Greg Oden is the behemoth in the middle (having superior athleticism to the aging Arvydas, but not the shooting touch or court vision). So long as the current Blazers can solve the bugaboos of those earlier teams - mental toughness, clutch play, leadership, and limits to the egos - the current squad could take the same kind of overwhelming talent at multiple positions approach, but win a championship. Eventually.
I may be old and senile, but that doesn't mean you aren't right! My bad. I was focused on comparing the players listed on the preceding post and didn't think about it. I certainly remember Vlade. And I clearly remember that team being completely RIPPED OFF when they played the Lakers. It was disgusting.
