The beauty of DVR

Since I've been in Roseburg I've been taking advantage of my parents' DVR. It was nice to be able to watch all of Joey's game yesterday without being up too early, and it was really nice because I saved the Portland-New Jersey game from Wednesday night. I just finished watching the Blazers 14 point comeback to finish a season sweep of the Nets, and some of the stuff I've been reading came out well. Here are some thoughts:

1. Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw really did step up in this game. I read that in game summaries, but seeing what they did hit it home. Both guys played with maturity and timing. Outlaw hit three or four huge shots in the fourth quarter, and even though Webster is still not shooting as well as we'd like, he is doing all sorts of other things that are helping us win.


2. Sergio Rodriguez and Jarrett Jack are a great PG tandem. Jack struggled early, so Spanish Chocolate came in and got things going offensively. Then Jack came back in, directed things well, and made some big jumpers of his own in the fourth quarter. Rodriguez had one particularly gorgeous pass, throwing it over his head to hit Outlaw for a pretty long two.


3. Jamaal Magloire is finally contributing, which is important, since we're still missing Przybilla and LaFrentz.*


4. LaMarcus Aldridge had already made me a believer based on his numbers, but after seeing him there is no way I could disbelieve in his ability. He is good.


5. It hurt to see R-O-Y and Przybilla sitting on the bench in their suits, and even hurt to see LaFrentz** on the bench. I cannot wait until we get the first two of those guys back. Oh man, that'll be a good time.


6. Mike Rice, one of the Portland announcers, comared Ime Udoka to a different former Blazer and Spur than I did. I said Kersey, he compared him to Mario Elie. Either way, watching Udoka play this game showed me all the little things I had imagined from what I'd been reading. He is good. He does great things for our team. Just like either of those two guys did for us, Udoka brings energy and smart play to the floor.


7. Zach Randolph is a star. He played pretty poorly at the start of this game. He wasn't getting post position like he has been, and wasn't playing defense. So McMillan pulled him. But when he came back later, he scored in numerous ways, and hustled a lot more on both ends. He was beating people off the dribble, using various moves as he got to the hoop, and getting to the line. I could see why he leads the league in free throw attempts and free throws made. He ended up with 25 points, but more importantly he hit a bunch of free throws at the end to clinch it. I am so excited about how Randolph is playing.


8. I'm still excited about the possiblity of Greg Oden, but not like I was. Now I have to remind myself how good Oden will be and what he could bring to this growing team. Then again, after watching this game, I'm beginning to believe even more that this team could end up sneaking into the playoffs, especially if R-O-Y, Przybilla, and LaFrentz come back soon and are worked into the lineup well.

*I would have never expected to be pining for LaFrentz. But it'll be nice to get the extra body and those things that he brings to the court.
**Honestly, I can't believe that I wish LaFrentz would come back. Well, maybe I can believe it. I mean, if we're going to pay him that much, it would be good to say how he can help this team.