The Portland Trail Blazers or the Seattle Supersonics: Which team will have a better future?
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by Oneflydude
"With the 1st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers select, Greg Oden out of Ohio State University."
A couple months after those words were said, the city of Portland was
hit with a devastating blow. Oden was expected to be a beast on the
court, but he was ruled out of the 07-08 NBA season due to athroscopy
and microfracture surgery. Most people probably thought that the
Blazers would just give up since they didn't have their number 1 pick
this year. Well, that's what it seemed like when the season started.
It was expected to be another rebuilding year for the front office of
Portland. Portland went 5-12 in their first 17 games of the season.
This was a team that didn't look like they were enthusiastic. Sloppy
basketball seemed to be their style of play. A team with no motivation and no excitement. So starting off 5-12 gave people a thought that Portland wouldn't magically come back to be a dangerous team at this point.
Last night, the Blazers won their tenth straight game against the Denver Nuggets. Now during this 10 game win streak, the Blazers didn't just beat weak teams. They've played a few tough teams. They've had to play teams like Toronto, Milwaukee, Golden State, New Orleans, Denver twice and Utah twice. These are all teams that were/are .500 and above when they played them. So out of those ten games, they've played eight teams that would likely put up a challenge against Portland. But the Blazers backed them down by scoring about 104 points a game, 95.5 ppg on the season. Who would of thunk that this would be a high scoring team without a big man like Oden down in the paint? The second year man, Brandon Roy leads the team in scoring with 19.1 ppg. During this 10 game win streak, he's averaged 23.6 ppg and has won back to back, Western Conference Player of the Week awards. The Boston Celtics haven't been able to win 10 straight games this year. Portland has the longest win streak of this year.
A lot of people are asking, how are they doing it? Well, this isn't a great passing team (12th in NBA), nor an outstanding rebounding team (29th in NBA). Brandon Roy is the team leader in assists with 5.6 a game. Some bench players on other teams average just as much as that. And they only average 39 rpg with their leading rebounder, Joel Przybilla who has 6.9 rpg. You have to wonder, if the Blazers end up being a competiter in the long run of this season and end up making the playoffs, how much better will this team be once they get back Greg Oden? It still is a little too early to determine the fate of this teams season, but it's looking good for now. This is a club filled with youngsters, that plays like a team with veterans. Even with Oden out, his future still looks bright; teamwise. Just imagine the possibilities if Kevin Durant were to go to the Portland Trail Blazers instead of the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics are 8-19, even with Durant. The Blazers are 15-12, without Oden.
So who picked up the better deal, Seattle or Portland? If you think about the future, Portland is a good team without Oden. But when Oden comes back, this
team 'will' be a lot better. They will improve in their rebounding and
their play in the paint. And don't forget, their could also be a
possible return from Darius Miles. It may take a while for him to get
back on the court, but if Portland were to have Oden and Miles on the
floor together, there is no doubt that Portland would be one of the
better teams in the West.
Now lets take a look at the Supersonics. Seattle didn't only get Kevin Durant out of the University of Texas in the '07 NBA Draft, but they also got Jeff Green, the forward out of Georgetown Univesity. Now, both of these rookies have been a great addition to this team, but what's in store for the future of this team. They did start off 3-15 in their first 18 games this year, but similar to the Blazers, the Sonics have managed to try and get it together. They are now 8-19, and they look better than they did in the beginning of the season. But they will have to play a lot better in order to find their way in the playoffs in the future years. I just don't think that they're as good as Portland is.
Portland is playing like they want to be in the playoffs and Seattle is playing as if they're still in "rebuild" mode. Some people are wondering if these are the Sonics that we'll be seeing in years to come. Will Durant be wasting his career in Seattle (or wherever they end up)? The Sonics team is filled with young talent, it's just that they haven't used it to the full potential like Portland has done. You've seen Seattle in action; fully healthy and no injuries. They've started off the season just like Portland did--bad. Portland just turned it around faster. But there is no doubt that the Sonics have a good enough team that could progress in the future. Most of their team is full of players under 27, giving the Sonics a few more years to work with. This team will base its future around players like Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, David West, and Chris Wilcox; all NBA proven players. Seattle already has a team with the potential. A couple more years will just bring them together to play better and learn to work with each other. If it is just a rookie that is the main star on your team, then that team has a lot to work on. Kevin Durant is basically the go to guy on the Sonics team, and he will be for a while. In his rookie year, he average's 19.9 ppg, which is leading his team in scoring.
This kid will break out as the star of his team, but will he be the Lebron James of the Sonics? My answer is no. Everybody on the Cleveland Cavaliers has showed their full potential already. That is as good as the Cavs players are going to get. Seattle will get better because this team
hasn't showed us all of their skills yet. And until they do, I refuse
to question the potential and integrity of this team. Portland is
currently showing us their potential during this win streak. Sure
they'll cool off, but that's only because they're a young team. Even if
they happen to NOT make the playoffs this year, that isn't a reason for Portland fans to panic. It wouldn't be a surprise because regardless of
this hot streak that they are on, the Blazers are still a team that
isn't used to winning. That's why it will still take time. This season
is showing us what is in store for the years to come especially when
Oden gets back. They've learned to battle through the criticism and
hardships of the begining of the yea. Look at them now. They are the
hottest team in the NBA and improving. Too many people were determining
this teams fate too early, and now they can't do anything but look
stupid. People weren't/aren't determining the fate of the Sonics, and
they are at full strength with all of their players. But in a tough
Western Conference, both of these teams will have to double their
playing abiliy to keep up with teams like Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio
and Houston.
Who am I to compare these two teams? These two teams could possibly
switch up roles, and before you know it, the Sonics will be contenders
and Portland will be the pretenders. Only time can tell us about which team will have the better future. You tell me.
