Record: 51-31 | Home: 26-15 | Away: 25-16 | 1st Northwest, 2nd West | Series vs. Nuggets: Portland Wins 4-0! | Series vs. Mavericks: Portland Wins 4-2! | Series vs. Suns: Portland Wins 4-2! | NBA Finals: Vs. Bulls: Portland Wins Title 4-2!
Finals MVP: Brandon Roy
Starting Lineup:





PG - Maurice Williams - OVR 82
SG - Brandon Roy - OVR 85
SF - Mike Miller - OVR 79
PF - Paul Millsap - OVR 78
C - LaMarcus Aldridge - OVR 80
Bench:
C Jamaal Magloire - OVR 80
SF-SG Eddie Jones - OVR 78
SG-PG Charlie Bell - OVR 77
PG-SG Derek Fisher - OVR 79
PF-C-SF Hakim Warrick - OVR 76
C Joel Pryzbilla - OVR 75
SF-PF Travis Outlaw - OVR 73
Injury Reserve:
PG Sergio Rodriguez - OVR 69
Depth Chart
PG: Williams/Fisher/Roy/Bell
SG: Roy/Bell/Jones/Fisher
SF: Miller/Jones/Outlaw/Warrick
PF: Aldridge/Millsap/Warrick/Outlaw
C: Magloire/Aldridge/Pryzbilla/Millsap/Warrick
* Injured
Notes: First page will now be updated on occasion with Roster and Injury updates as well as the team's current status.
Prediction Game
Leaderboard (After 2 Rounds)
1. TheMC5: 55 Points
2. -km-: 52 Points
3. Marquis: 43 Points
4. trigger42: 30 Points
5. Scoop: 24 Points
Points for Picks
Score +3 = Correct selection
Bonus + 2 = Picked Series Score correctly
Bonus + 1 = Picked lower seed to win correctly
So, there is potential to score 6 per series, and of course, this is multiplied times 2, 3 and 4 as it progresses.
---Prologue---
When Blazers owner Paul Allen sold the team to unknown entrepreneur Scott Klein, the Basketball world didn't know what to expect. Liam Washburn, a long-time member of the Trailblazers organization was surprisingly named as General Manager. After a terrible 21-61 season, Klein told him to revamp the roster, turning it into a playoff team. With a couple of trades, he turned this lottery-bound team into a playoff contender.
His first trade sent Forward Raef LaFrentz with his large contract, along with young forwards Darius Miles and Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for Forward Mike Miller, veteran guard Eddie Jones and Sophomore Forward Hakim Warrick. He was shocked after the trade was accepted. This will provide lots of cap space next season, and make the team much stronger.
His second trade sent Sophomore guards Jarrett Jack and Martell Webster, with underused Point Guard Dan Dickau to Milwaukee for Guards Charlie Bell, Earl Boykins and Maurice Williams. The Bucks were looking to get rid of all three players and jumped at the offer to get three young players with unimaginable potential. All of the sudden, the Portland Trailblazers were a force to reckoned with. The last move made was the signing for veteran forward Rodney Rogers to a one year contract worth the league minimum, 400 thousand dollars. After not playing last season, Rogers was thought to have retired.
Fast forward to January. Despite a strong roster, the Blazers weren't winning. Though at the halfway point of the season, Portland was at a much better position than last year with a record of 18-23, owned Klein was not impressed. The team was not making money, and Klein impatiently threatened to fire Washburn. Suddenly, the Blazers started winning. Led by Rookie of the Year candidate Brandon Roy and improving point guard Maurice Williams, they won six straight to bring their record to 24-23. This momentum continued into the all-star break and their record stands at 29-25.
Maurice Williams and Jamaal Magloire were shocked to find out they were voted as all-star reserves. It was certainly by luck though as reigning MVP Steve Nash, and leading vote-getter Yao Ming were both injured. While Williams has played like an all-star, averaged 18 points and 8 assists per game, Magloire is only averaging 8 points and 8 rebounds per game. "While it is an honor to be an all-star for the second time, it doesn't really make sense. Marcus Camby, Brad Miller, even Chris Kaman have had better seasons than me", says Magloire on being picked. The biggest snub of the night however was Forward Dirk Nowitzki, who despite putting up worse numbers than last season is still more deserving than bizarre pick Al Harrington.
Even though the Blazers are #1 in their division (4th in conference) and jersey sales are through the roof, Klein still isn't satisfied. All Liam Washburn can do is hope that the Blazers will keep winning.