The Rose that Grew From Concrete

Explain to me, if you please, the reason why a man like Vin Baker is still in the NBA...I'll give you some time to think...Time's up...

Here's a tougher one, how does a guy like Charlie Bell not only stay in the ranks, but put up near triple doubles whenever he gets to start?...I'll give you some time to think...Time's up...

Here's the reason, or at least my version of the reason which is all that really counts since, newsflash--you're reading my blog. The NBA is so watered down, it seems, that any player could play 35 minutes a night and put up solid numbers. Don't believe me? Take any player, put him on the Hawks for a year...Then, watch his numbers and contract go up, and then talk to me.

The examples seem to be overflowing in this area. Take, for instance, the entire Portland Trailblazers roster. Here's just a wealth of talented, injury-free, positive players dedicated to winning basketball games. You've got Darius Miles, never one to sit out games for extended periods of time for an injury or extend a pesonal situation. Not to mention the fact that young Darius always arrives on time, with his teammates, to every Trailblazers shootaround. Why is it that these guys think that they can just miss a shootaround? Its part of the damn job. To me, thats the same as them saying, you know what, I think I'm going to just sit out the third quarter, how does that sound? Knowing the way things run in Portland, I'm sure it'd go over fine. Let's not review this roster without going over the tons of undersized and overused guards. Sebastian Telfair, Jarret Jack, Juan Dixon, Steve Blake. Yes, you are reading correctly. Steve Blake and Juan Dixon. The two guys who played for Maryland together. The two guys no one thought would make a big impact in the NBA. Now, they start together on the worst team in the entire league (not record wise, that dubious distinction belongs to the Knickerbockers, but don't worry, only by a game). This is a Trailblazers team devoid of any real talent that anyone would want (Zach Randolph), full of foreigners sure to never reach their potential if anyone outside of John Nash knows what it is (Victor Khryapa, Sergei Monia, Ha Seung-Jin), chocked with attitude problems (Randolph, for a deucer, and now we'll add Miles), and rounded out by guys that shouldn't be in the league to begin with (Travis Outlaw, Brian Skinner--and yes, I know what he's done lately, but as we recently argued, David Robinson could put up similar numbers, Charles Smith). Now, hold on for one second. Let's be fair to the Blazers. This is a team that got beat by a combined total of nearly 100 points (97) in three games this year. This is a team that is scoring a league low, 88 points per game. This is team that is second to last in Rebounding per game, 3rd to last in assists per game, and last in steals per game. Finally, this is a team that flat out sucks. In every sense of the word. I wish I could go on and on about this team. I probably could, but I feel like what I've written already is probably more than should have been done. This Trailblazers team is simply inexcusable. The roster of players assembled in Oregon makes me want to cringe, rip my eyes out, and then throw them at Ruben Patterson...Wait, better make that Voshon Lenard...