Sports Column

Time for musical chairs on the court

On Sports

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, Mar 21, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (8 Reader comments)

As the Trail Blazer season winds down, we have to admit these guys had a much better record than most of us predicted. And it’s been incredible to see Blazermania return with enough force to make sellouts common at the Rose Garden.

And while just about all the goals for the season have been met or surpassed, there’s still one major one left – and I’d like to gently suggest it ought to be addressed before it’s too late.

This was to be a season when a lot of personnel questions were answered. A year to find out whether certain players could contribute and be a part of the big picture here. Or not.

And, frankly, in the rush to win games (I’m not knocking that), some of the player development and player discovery has been forgotten.

Isn’t it time? I mean, do we have to wait until the team is nine games out of playoff contention with eight games to play before we admit that the playoff run is over? It’s done, already. And that’s OK – it’s been a surprisingly good season.

But now it’s time to tinker. To experiment. To really give some players a shot at playing time or try them at different positions.

This hit me a few days ago when the team farmed forward Josh McRoberts out to the developmental league. I’m hoping that was just to get him warmed up and ready for playing time with the Blazers in a few games because, at this point, he ought to get a chance. Why not?

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit