This game was ugly from the start.

But, let's begin with a couple of positives the Blazers might take away from a 110-98 loss in Chicago.  LaMarcus Aldridge arrived for the Blazers tonight, scoring 33 points on 12-19 shooting, 9-9 from the free throw line, and adding 9 boards, a block and a steal.  Most importantly, LaMarcus squared his shoulders and went to the rim, only relying on fade-away jumpers on roughly half of his field goal attempts.  Tonight, most of those jumpers fell, too, and Aldridge was the main source of offense for the Blazers.  He scrapped inside, even went to his left hand off the glass.  If LaMarcus can consistently string together several games at this level, he'll become the All Star we've all hoped LaMarcus can become.  (Yes, we've been saying this for awhile now.)

Rookie point guard Armon Johnson had a career high 10 points on 4-8 shooting in 12 minutes.  He chipped in 2 boards and 2 assists, but he was only 2-6 from the free throw line.  Nevertheless, when most of the Blazers were back on their heels in this game, Armon was going toward the basket, drawing fouls, and making plays.

That's where the good performances in Chicago end for the Blazers.

Compared to Friday's just-get-it-done win over ASU, Sunday's 3-0 victory over a frustrated University of Arizona showed the Beavers returning to the dominant form they've had for most of the season.

Offense

OSU maintained possession early and often, moving off the ball quite a bit. Though striker Chelsea Buckland was a non-factor, being pulled pretty early in each half, the Beavers spread the chances and goals around.

At the half, OSU Coach Linus Rhodes repeated what worked for him in Friday's win: He pulled his starting center midfielders and replaced them with the duo of Jayne Eadie and Erin Uchacz.

When Martell Webster fell hard to the floor after being undercut by Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the playoffs last season, there was no doubt Webster would be feeling that one for a while.

But did anyone think Webster’s back pain would linger on for the next seven months without being properly checked out until an MRI about two weeks ago? no comments

Portland (3-0) @ Chicago (1-1) – 5pm PST

Projected Starters:

Blazers Hope to Continue Perfect Start

The Blazers moved to 3-0 and atop the Northwest division after defeating the New York Knicks 100-95 Saturday night.  The win certainly wasn’t pretty, but the team showed guts during yet another dominant fourth quarter.  Even without Oden and Przybilla, Portland has extreme depth and the energy to keep attacking all 48 minutes.

Portland’s three wins haven’t come against any top-level teams, so the jury is still out on how talented this year’s squad really is.  Until the Blazers can prove themselves by beating one of the league's elite, the skeptics will continue doubting.

(This story originally ran in the December, 2009 issue of The Portland Sentinel. Prayers go out to the Lucas family for their loss.)

Driving home from the Rose Garden on a rainy Tuesday night in late December, Nate McMillan wondered where his life would be without Maurice Lucas, his longtime friend and Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach.

McMillan knew one thing. He wouldn’t be in Portland.

“Seriously, if Luke would have said ‘I’m not interested,’ I don’t know if I would have taken the job,” McMillan said about being hired as the Blazers’ head coach in August 2005. no comments