Now THAT was an exhibition

A baby step by the Blazers, yes, but what a cute baby

By steve brandon

The Portland Tribune, Oct 7, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Rudy Fernandez elevates on his way to a layup in his NBA debut with the Trail Blazers. Portland pulled away from Sacramento in the second half Tuesday at the Rose Garden for a 110-81 victory.

L.E. BASKOW / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE

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The NBA prefers to call these preseason games. The league charges full price for them, after all.

But the old-fashioned term better suits what the Trail Blazers put together Tuesday night, after they spent about a quarter-and-a-half working out the kinks.

It was an exhibition, all right.

An exhibition of all sorts of things promising.

From the raw strength of Greg Oden to the cool leadership and solid play of Brandon Roy to the precise passing of Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, this new Blazer team put on an exhibition, all right. A show. At times, a clinic.

The result was a 110-81 win over outclassed Sacramento, which didn’t have its two best players, Brad Miller and Kevin Martin.

“The West is going to be a lot tougher than it was tonight,” Roy cautioned. “Eventually, it’s going to be the Lakers, the Suns, Houston … and they aren’t going to let us get it so easy.

“This was a baby step, not a big step.”

But just try telling the Portland fans not to jump ahead to the playoffs right now.

About the biggest indictment Blazer coach Nate McMillan could come up with was that his players aren’t yet in great condition.

He was speaking mostly of Oden, and nobody with the Blazers wanted him to be in great condition on Oct. 7.

Even McMillan had to admit, “Once he gets in shape, it’s going to be tough to play him. He should be a factor at both ends of the floor.”

Here’s a look at other parts of the Blazers’ opening act:

• One game showed that the team has a great shot at having the NBA rookie of the year this season. The only question is, will Fernandez get to play enough to challenge Oden for the award?

Hey, is there a rookie sixth-man-of-the-year award?

• McMillan said the game turned in the third quarter, “when the defense picked up. We started to create some opportunities for easy baskets.”

He really liked the assist-turnover ratio: 32 to 11.

• A breakdown, by individual:

THE STARTERS

Rodriguez: He was tentative, initially, getting the call for the injured Steve Blake (left hamstring). Then he made like a Fernandez, draining three 3s to trigger Portland’s second-quarter spurt.

Roy: He looked fine. Actually, better than fine. Probably the best player on the floor. Not that he needed a good game to show that he can still play.

Oden: Mr. Putback. Winner of the Clifford Ray look-alike contest. A finger-roll away from Wilt Chamberlain-like presence inside. He got to play low post and high post. It’s hard not to like him close to the basket.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Tough shooting night. Might have been too eager to fill it up. Like Roy, though, he’ll be fine.

Martell Webster: Didn’t embarrass himself at all. Worked hard and got rewarded as the game went on.

THE KEY SUBS

Joel Przybilla: Looked like a good backup center. Somebody has to set picks for the second-unit shooters and do the dirty work.

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