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I sometimes get asked to name my second-favorite NBA team, and I never really know how to answer that question. With a full-time job, two hours of commuting, a wife and two kids, it's difficult to find time to watch every Raptors game — much less any other non-Raptors games. When pressed, I'll typically name the Phoenix Suns because they're fun to watch and they have Steve Nash. Going into the 2008-09 season, there is only one team that I am almost as eager to watch as the Raptors — and it's the young, seemingly stacked Portland Trail Blazers. After three straight losing seasons, the Blazers returned to .500 last season thanks to effective coaching from Nate McMillan and the continued improvement of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. (Hey, remember when we passed on Roy in the 2006 draft because we thought Bargnani had more upside? And how we passed on Aldridge in the same draft because he played the same position as Bosh and then we drafted somebody who turned out to be best-suited to play Bosh's position? Not good times.) Of course, it's not Roy and Aldridge I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to finally witnessing the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, Greg Oden. It says something when, even though he hasn't been healthy throughout his one year of college (averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in 29 minutes while essentially playing with one good arm) or his lost season of 07-08, most fans seem to pretty much take for granted that Oden is destined for a Hall of Fame career. I highly doubt Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard would trade Oden for anyone in the league besides LeBron James or Chris Paul — he'd have to think about Dwight Howard, I suppose. Maybe I'm over-hyping the guy — particularly considering his injury history. But I bet most of you, like me, don't want to have to wait until the Blazers play the Raptors on Dec. 7 to see Oden in action. Even if we ignore his unreal potential, videos like this one tell me that Shaq might have a worthy successor as the NBA's funniest big man. |
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