The AP reports: Brandon Roy took his time to get going Wednesday night, and then he took over, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the final 8 minutes to help the Portland Trail Blazers extend their winning streak to six games by coming back to beat the Washington Wizards 98-92. One of his most important baskets came on a drive to his left past defender DeShawn Stevenson to set up a lefty layup, giving Portland a four-point lead with 35 seconds to go… The well-balanced Blazers did put five players in double-figures: Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake. Oden, the rookie center who missed all of last season, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double in the past 12 games.
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Dec 2: Blazers 104, Knicks 97
The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 23 points, and Portland dominated the fourth quarter to beat the tiring New York Knicks 104-97 Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory… The Knicks have been playing basically seven players because of trades, injuries and the Stephon Marbury situation… The Blazers shook off a dismal offensive night from rookie Greg Oden, who botched two dunks in the first five minutes and finished with two points, matching Kwame Brown for the lowest-scoring effort by a No. 1 overall pick in his Madison Square Garden debut in 40 years… LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points and Travis Outlaw 16 for the Blazers, who have won the first two games of their five-game Eastern Conference trip and are 6-0 against the East, their best start since winning their first 12 in 1990-91… David Lee finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Players of Week: Devin Harris, Brandon Roy
The New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 30.
Harris averaged a league-best 30.0 points on .535 shooting and added 6.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds as New Jersey went 3-1 on its West Coast trip. On Nov. 30, Harris led the Nets to their first win at Phoenix since 1993 by scoring a career-high 47 points to go along with eight assists and seven rebounds. In that game, Harris set a franchise record for consecutive free-throws made (17-17). On Nov. 26, the 6-3 guard hit the game-winning shot in overtime as the Nets beat Sacramento 116-114.
Roy led the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 record, averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds. On Nov. 28, Roy recorded his first double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 assists in a 101-86 win over New Orleans. Roy has scored 10 or more points 17 times this season, including 12 games with 20 or more points, and leads the team in scoring (20.9 ppg), assists (5.3 ppg) and minutes (36.3).
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Cleveland’s LeBron James, Dallas’ Jason Terry, Houston’s Yao Ming, Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.
Nov 30: Blazers 96, Pistons 85
The AP reports: While the Pistons are 10-2 during the rest of the week, they have been outscored by an average of 17 points while losing all four Sunday games. Portland’s young starting lineup dominated Detroit’s first five, outscoring them 74-52… LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 27 points, while Brandon Roy added 19 and Greg Oden finished with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Blazers’ fourth straight win… Richard Hamilton had 18 for Detroit, but Allen Iverson finished with only nine on 2-of-9 shooting. The Pistons fell to just 6-6 since Iverson joined the team… Tayshaun Prince, who had played at least 30 minutes in every game this season, saw just 22 minutes of action Sunday.
Ike Diogu loves video games
Lots of guys love video games. (And, plenty of girls do, too.) Personally, I didn’t have a video game system for years, but got myself a Playstation 3 earlier in 2008 and play it pretty regularly.
I only have a few current games: Grand Theft Auto 4, NBA 2K9, NBA Live 09, and NCAA Live 09. Being a pro basketball guy, I tend to mostly play the two NBA games. The college one just came out recently, but still, I see myself sticking more with what I know, the pros.
Trail Blazers power forward Ike Diogu loves video games, too. But on a whole other level. The Oregonian (Joe Freeman) reports:
Diogu now owns three video game consoles — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii — and estimates that he owns more than 1,000 video games. And his love of gaming extends well beyond simply playing. Diogu’s college major is digital art and he continues to pursue a bachelor’s degree each offseason at Arizona State, with the goal of getting into the video game industry after his NBA career. Diogu is five classes (15 credits) short of his earning his degree.
Needless to say, next time I run into Diogu I plan on challenging him to a game of Pitfall on Atari 2600.
–Jeff
Nov 28: Blazers 101, Hornets 86
The AP reports: In the latest win, the Blazers used a 17-point, second-half run to beat the New Orleans Hornets 101-86 on Friday night. Roy, who is often cautiously optimistic, had 25 points and 10 assists. The All-Star guard has scored 20-plus points in 10 of the team’s last 12 games. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Blazers (11-6), who are off to their best start since they opened the 2000-01 season 12-6… The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Hornets (9-6), who were led by Peja Stojakovic with a season-high 21 points. New Orleans was playing the second game of a back-to-back after edging the Denver Nuggets 105-101 on Thursday night. Chris Paul, who has had triple-doubles in two of the Hornets’ last three games, had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. It was New Orleans’ fifth straight loss in Portland.
Nov 24: Blazers 91, Kings 90
The AP reports: Greg Oden returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Portland’s season opener, against an opponent the Blazers had beaten on the road by 21 points four days ago. An easy night’s work? Not even close. Brandon Roy scored a season-high 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied during the final six minutes to beat the Sacramento Kings 91-90 on Monday night. Joel Przybilla added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Steve Blake had 12 points for the Blazers… Oden, the first pick of the 2007 NBA draft, had three points, six rebounds, and four turnovers in 19 ineffective minutes. Sacramento had some of its best stretches on offense when Oden was on the floor in the second half… John Salmons led Sacramento with 20 points and had a chance to win the game, but his drive to the basket with two seconds remaining came up short of the rim… Brad Miller added 18 points and Beno Udrih had 17 for Sacramento.
Nov 22: Suns 102, Blazers 92
The AP reports: Shaquille O’Neal had 19 points and 17 rebounds to power the Phoenix Suns to a 102-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. Amare Stoudemire added 17 points, Steve Nash had 16 on 6-for-7 shooting, and Grant Hill scored 15 for the Suns, who beat the Blazers for the second time in Phoenix this season. The Suns’ Raja Bell scored all 14 of his points in the second half. O’Neal’s performance included a head-first dive over the first two rows of seats trying to save a loose ball with 2:55 to play. Brandon Roy scored 26 points for Portland. Steve Blake added 22, 14 in the third quarter. Greg Oden, in his first matchup against the massive O’Neal, had five points, one rebound and five fouls in 14 minutes off the bench.
Shaq vs Oden Saturday night
Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, now old and slowing down, still has game and once he retires will be known as one of the best ever at his position.
Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden missed the entire 2007-08 season but is playing this season and is considered a rookie. At a listed 285-pounds, Oden is much bigger than he was the day he was drafted first by the Portland Trail Blazers, and is still adjusting as he learns to play in the NBA while getting himself into proper shape.
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET the Blazers visit the Suns, and the two big-men will face each other for the first time.
In no way is this a true measure of how good Oden is, or how good he may someday become. Shaq, now 36 years old, is not himself anymore and putting up a modest 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Oden, putting up 9.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 51.2% shooting, may take another full year to get over his knee injuries and resulting surgeries, plus he still has to get in shape and develop a more sound offensive game.
Also, Shaq plays limited minutes. And Oden comes off the bench behind Joel Przybilla. So Shaq and Oden may only be on the court at the same time for brief stretches.
Still, it’s worth watching if you get it on local TV or have league pass.
Nov 19: Blazers 116, Bulls 74
The AP reports: When Greg Oden entered to a standing ovation, the Blazers had a 23-7 lead. Oden didn’t wait long to contribute, dunking 21 seconds after coming off the bench. Playing 17 minutes, the 2007 first overall draft pick had 11 points, 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Oden played in Portland’s season debut in Los Angeles, then missed the next six games because of a foot injury… Brandon Roy scored 20 points to help Portland improve to 6-2 in its last eight and 7-5 overall. Chicago has lost four of its last six to fall to 5-7… Oden overshadowed the performance of Joel Przybilla, who scored a season-high 14 points and had nine rebounds and three blocks.