Category: Portland Trail Blazers Blog

Trail Blazers blog – Portland Trail Blazers basketball blog

B-Roy scores 24, Blazers beat Grizzlies 94-90

The AP reports: Brandon Roy had 24 points, including two key layups in the final minutes, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90 on Wednesday night. After trailing by 16 points, the Grizzlies went ahead 86-84 with less than 5 minutes to go. But Roy’s layup followed by Travis Outlaw’s 3-pointer with 2:31 left put the Blazers up 90-86. Marc Gasol made a pair of free throws for Memphis before Roy had another layup to make it 92-88. Rookie O.J. Mayo’s finger-roll narrowed it to 92-90 with 5.4 seconds left. Roy, coming off his second All-Star game appearance, made a pair of free throws for the final margin.

InsideHoops.com note: Mike Conley was big for the Grizzlies with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists. O.J. Mayo had 19 but needed 19 shots to do it. Rudy Gay scored 20 on 17 shots but didn’t do a lot else.

Kings land Ike Diogu from Bulls

As part of a three-way trade with Sacramento and Chicago, the Portland Trail Blazers have acquired forward Michael Ruffin from Chicago in exchange for forward Ike Diogu, who is sent to Sacramento, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today.

The Trail Blazers also gain a $3 million trade exception, which they can use for one calendar year.

“We want to thank Ike for his time with the Trail Blazers, and hopefully this trade will give him an opportunity to play more minutes in Sacramento,” said Pritchard. “This move will give us trade flexibility going forward with the $3 million trade exception we gained in the deal.”

An eight-year veteran, Ruffin, 32, averaged 1.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 403 career games with Chicago, Philadelphia, Utah, Washington and Milwaukee. He has not appeared in a game for Chicago this season.

Diogu, 25, played in 19 games for Portland this season, averaging 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game. He was acquired by the Trail Blazers from the Indiana Pacers along with the draft rights to Jerryd Bayless on July 9, 2008. Diogu has posted averages of 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 177 games during his four-year NBA career.

NBA to borrow $175 million

The Sports Business Journal (Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo) reports: The NBA is set to borrow $175 million Feb. 26, marking one of the first league financings since the implosion of the credit markets last fall. The money, which will be available to 15 teams, supplements an existing $1.7 billion leaguewide credit facility that uses the NBA’s media contracts as collateral to secure loans for the clubs. The NBA surveyed its teams, and 15 responded they would like to tap into the new borrowing. While the league said it is pleased to borrow in an extremely illiquid credit market, the deal came at a cost, with interest rates up to 8.27 percent, hammering home the notion that the era of cheap money in sports is over. The 15 teams can use the money for any purpose, but covering operating losses may be high on the list.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Loan me three fiddy. I want some ribs.

Phoenix Suns fire coach Terry Porter

The Phoenix Suns today announced that the team has relieved Terry Porter of his head coaching duties.  Alvin Gentry, a Suns assistant coach since 2004, will assume the role of interim head coach.

“I hired Terry because I believed he would be able to provide the balance our team needed in order to perform at a very high level.  Unfortunately the transition from last season to this one proved to be very difficult, and we have not played to our potential.  It’s imperative that we move forward and do what’s best for our team.  Alvin has been an integral part of our successes the previous four years and knows our talent as well as anyone,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.

A 29-year coaching veteran, Gentry originally joined the Suns staff as an assistant on June 1, 2004, and has served in that position the last four-plus seasons as Phoenix posted the winningest four-year stretch in franchise history.  Gentry takes the reins as head coach of his fourth NBA team after stints with the Los Angeles Clippers (2000-03), Detroit Pistons (1997-2000) and Miami Heat (1995) in which he compiled a 177-226 (.439) career record.  Gentry’s 1998-99 Pistons earned a playoff berth.  In 2001-02, his second season with the Clippers, he guided Los Angeles to an improbable 39-43 (.476) record, the team’s highest win total in nearly 10 seasons, a season after leading the club to a 16-win improvement in 2000-01, his rookie campaign with the club.

In 20 seasons in the NBA, Gentry has worked alongside or under some of the game’s most respected coaches, including Larry Brown, Kevin Loughery and Doug Collins.  The 53-year-old Gentry received his first assistant coaching job in the NBA under Brown with the San Antonio Spurs in 1988-89 after serving under Brown with the 1988 NCAA Champion Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team.

Porter was named the 13th head coach in Suns franchise history on June 9, 2008.  In 51 games this season, Phoenix compiled a 28-23 (.549) record and currently sits in ninth place in the Western Conference.

Danny Ainge on his later playing days

The Boston Globe (Marc J. Spears) reports: “I was fortunate enough to play in the heyday of the Celtics in the ’80s,” Danny Ainge said. “As things were going downhill, I was fortunate to play with Portland for two years and go to the Finals and also play for Phoenix for three and go to the Finals. Those experiences helped me and taught me there is more than one way to win and different personalities. “I feel fortunate that I had a chance to play with Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, and Charles Barkley. It was different than in Boston.” Ainge joined the Suns as a free agent before the 1992-93 season, as did Barkley, now a Hall of Famer. Phoenix had the league’s best record (62-20) that season and advanced to the Finals to play Michael Jordan and the Bulls. In Ainge’s sixth and last Finals appearance, the Suns lost the series in six games. The Suns were eliminated by Houston in the second round of the playoffs in 1994 and ’95.

Greg Oden not playing in Rookie Game

Portland Trail Blazers rookie Greg Oden will not play in the 2009 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam this evening after experiencing discomfort in his left (non operative) knee.

Oden underwent a precautionary MRI today, which revealed some swelling and a chip fracture of the patella.

Oden, who practiced with the Rookie Team today, felt some discomfort after bumping knees with the Warriors’ Corey Maggette in the fourth quarter of last night’s game at Golden State.

He is listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated upon return to Portland.

Maggette scores 24, Warriors beat Blazers 105-98

The AP reports: Ronny Turiaf recorded his first double-double in nearly two years with 14 points and 11 rebounds while helping lead the Warriors to a 105-98 win over Portland on Thursday… Corey Maggette had 24 points while Jackson and Monta Ellis added 20 points apiece for Golden State, which extended its season-high win streak to three games. The Warriors also beat Portland at home for the eighth straight time… Brandon Roy scored 37 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 for the Blazers, who have not won at Golden State since Nov. 3, 2004.

Roy scores 22, Blazers beat Thunder 106-92

The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 22 points and Travis Outlaw came off the bench with 21, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 106-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Greg Oden had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his rookie-leading 16th double-double of the season. Russell Westbrook had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, while Kevin Durant had 20 points in another display of the top two picks in the 2007 NBA draft—this time with a very different result.

Roy’s layup at buzzer gives Blazers win vs. Knicks

The AP reports: Brandon Roy’s finger-roll layup at the buzzer gave Portland a 109-108 victory over the Knicks on Sunday… Roy, who was selected to the All-Star team as a reserve, finished with 19 points and eight assists, while Outlaw led the Blazers with 23 points. Greg Oden had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season, and added a career-high six blocked shots. David Lee led the Knicks with 29 points and 11 rebounds. After trailing by 13 points in the first half, the Knicks built a 17-point lead in the second.