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News From Around The World: September 27

09/27/12

Written by: DHawes22

September 27

Trail Blazers TV: Breaking Down The Warriors

Trail Blazers: Single Game Tickets Go On Sale October 1 At Noon
"Individual tickets for the Trail Blazers’ 2012-13 season, which tips-off Oct. 31 against the Los Angeles Lakers, go on sale to the general public at noon on Monday, Oct. 1, exclusively on trailblazers.com. Tickets at additional outlets, including the Rose Quarter box office, go on sale at 2 p.m. on Oct. 1."

Trail Blazers: Leftovers From Nicolas Batum Interview
"This morning, my first practice, I got here at 8 in the morning because I want to be ready for this year. I talk with Bobby Medina and try to program my routine for this season for the next five, six weeks. I know LA is going to be the go-to guy, but I know I have to be there with Damian and Wes. We've got to be those four guys you can count on all year long. I know I'll have to be the No. 2 guy, and when LA is down, I have to be the No. 1 guy sometimes."

Trail Blazers: Sneak Preview: Trail Blazers New, Alternate Red Jersey
"In case you haven't heard, the Trail Blazers are getting a new alternative, red uniform for the 2012-13 season. While the finished product won't be revealed until Media Day, which falls on October 1st this year, here's a glimpse of what's in store. These brand new jerseys will debut on Halloween Night against the Lakers inside the Rose Garden! Does it get any better than that? And not to be forgotten, if you're going to be in attendance that night, make sure to #WearRed."

Oregon Live: Blazers center Meyers Leonard's tearful reunion: Touching video of the day
"His father, James, died in a freak bicycle accident when Leonard was 6 and his mother Tracie has been unable to work for years because of chronic, debilitating back pain. To help support the tight-knit family, Leonard's older brother, Bailey, enlisted in the military and served two war tours in Afghanistan."

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Player rankings show why expectations for Blazers figure to be low
"The Blazers have gone from seven players in the top 100 to two. Obviously, this had as much to do with ESPN's experts being off with their ratings as anything else, but this year's ranking shows just how much of a unknown the Blazers are as training camp starts. It's interesting to see where Aldridge ranks. Top 20 in a league with 500 or so players is nothing to sneeze at, but a closer look shows that Aldridge is No. 6 among the league's power forwards, behind No. 7 Kevin Love, No. 11 Dirk Nowitzki, No. 14 Blake Griffin, No. 15 Pau Gasol and No. 18 Chris Bosh."

CSNNW: Luke Babbitt to have fun in midst of contract uncertainty
“He wants me to go out there and play to my strengths. Shoot, be an offensive-minded player to help spread the court and focus defensively. Basically, do what I do well,” Babbitt said. “He wants guys to create space for LaMarcus. You need shooters around him so teams won't pack it in. That's my role: To space the floor and help out offensively.”

Blazersedge: The Portland Trail Blazers (Not So) Secret Weapon in 2012-13
"Absent the big man, Portland will rely on players getting to the bucket off the drive. Actually strike that. The plural should not have been used there. The Blazers will pray that a player--Lillard--can show off his dribble on the way to the rim. If Batum or Matthews hand handles you could forecast near 20-point averages for either. Neither they nor Aldridge have that kind of game, however. It's Damian or nothing."

Ball Don't Lie via Boston Herald: Doc Rivers doesn’t know what to expect from Darko Milicic
"I don't know (what to expect)," he said. "I like a lot that he has size. What we want Darko to do is fit a role for us, and not push all of these expectations on him that he's had all of his career. His first concern should be our team, instead of trying to establish himself. It's the second pick in the draft thing. I think that hurt him over his career. We'll find out. I'll tell you if that's true in January. I hope it's true."

The Basketball Jones: The Suns’ new court looks good, no matter where you’re sitting
"It still says Suns and you can read it perfectly. It’s brilliant. And also something only them and the Trail Blazers can say is true, but this is way more impressive since it’s a word and not just a logo that looks the same from both angles. This is the league’s best visual effect since the Raptors added those trippy fake signs on the baseline."

The Basketball Jones: Video: Kevin Love whips a first pitch
"P.S. Cool socks, Kevin Love."

The Basketball Jones: Tyson Chandler has an art exhibit
"If there’s one thing you can say about Tyson Chandler (there are many things you can say about Tyson Chandler), it’s that he has whole-heartedly embraced New York City. Between wearing capes, showing up at Fashion Week looking like a weirdo, and growing a gnarly beard that surely goes along with tending his urban garden, it’s like he’s said to himself, “Well, I’m here in New York City. Might as well act like it.”

DIME: Josh Smith Has Contract Issues; LaMarcus Aldridge Is Called One Of The NBA’s Best Players
"In an interview posted to NBA.com, Kerr called LA one of the best players in the league, in part because, as a power forward, he has “everything.” Aldridge is somewhat unknown based off how much Blake Griffin, Kevin Love and Dirk Nowitzki get talked about, and he did make his first career All-Star Game last year. It comes down to what “one of the best” really means. Is he one of the best like Griffin, who will make the All-Star Game every year from now until one of his knees blows up? Is he one of the best like Love, who’s going to be throwing up 20/20 games for the next decade? We love watching Aldridge play. He’s an incredible shooter. He was fourth in the entire league in makes from 16-23 feet (only Kobe, Dirk and Kevin Garnett made more). He has that swipe move in the post that he obviously stole from Tim Duncan, and it seems to work every time. He makes big shots. He always plays hard. He’s not an idiot. Aldridge is a legitimate All-Star player. But we still need to see more before he’s considered one of the best in the game. First, he needs to rebound more. Eight a night isn’t enough, not when Love and Griffin are getting those numbers in a quarter. And secondly, he must be more physical – especially defensively. The Blazers follow him now, and whether they’re in the playoff picture this year will come down to how much he improved during the offseason (we can’t help but imagine how much playing on Team USA would’ve helped him)."

DIME: The Top 10 Uniforms Since 2000
"But we’re here to talk about jerseys. The sharp distinction between the teal and white stripes created a retro-modern contrast. On the one hand, the teal is sleek – it catches the eye and gives the jersey that “new” feel. But the stripes, that’s super old school. It’s too bad we’ll never see the next iteration of that jersey – and no, New Orleans doesn’t count. The integration of new colors was ultimately necessary if New Orleans wanted to establish it’s own brand and legacy, but it was a loss for jersey collectors everywhere. For those still owning a Charlotte jersey, well they’re the lucky ones."

SLAM via NY Post: Tyson Chandler Thinks Rasheed Wallace Would Be a ‘Great Addition’ for Knicks
"‘He looked good,’ Chandler said. ‘Rasheed can be a great addition to us.’ Despite his extended break from the NBA, with Wallace’s last game action coming with Boston in the 2010 Finals, Chandler said Wallace still has skills that can help the Knicks. ‘I hope he [comes],’ Chandler said. ‘I don’t know what the situation is, but he’s a great communicator on defense and we know he can knock down the open 3 and jump shot. To have myself and Amar’e [Stoudemire] with Marcus Camby and Rasheed as backups … That’s pretty nice.’”

ESPN: Player Profiles: Houston Rockets
"As a point guard, Lin makes the hit-ahead pass well, but in the halfcourt he looks mainly to score. The problem is that he is so mistake prone, ranking 63rd out of 70 point guards in turnover ratio and 56th in pure point rating. Some argue he's really an undersized 2 for this reason; in particular, his left hand needs work. He did, however, get a high percentage of his assists at the rim, a good omen going forward."

Sports Illustrated: What does Boston see in Jeff Green?
"And yet: I’m excited to watch Green play next season, and Ainge’s comments have jacked up that excitement level. They indicate the Celtics consider Green primarily a wing player — a back-up small forward for Paul Pierce, and a player who can slide to power forward in smaller lineups including just one traditional big man. Boston has built its team around creating as many productive small lineups as possible. They finished last season with one semi-productive shooting guard (Ray Allen) and now have three, including Lee, who slid to small forward at times in Houston’s smaller lineups. They can now create small lineups that lean to the small/quick side (with lots of guards and only one of Pierce/Green) and to the big side (with both Pierce and Green, a combination Doc Rivers seemed to like in 2010-11). This is all designed with Miami’s evolution in mind; the Celtics clearly understand they cannot beat a Miami team with LeBron James at power forward by using Brandon Bass as James primary defender in bigger lineups or playing smaller lineups featuring one or even two unproductive, stand-still players."

Sports Illustrated: Insiders assess most-discussed contract of the offseason
"I thought the contract was a lot, just because of his condition. But the Celtics' situation, if they lose Jeff Green for nothing, then how do they fill that spot? It wasn't going to give them any more cap space. They weren't going to spend that money on somebody else, so they had to find a way to keep him. If their number is $10 million, then that's just what the number it is. If somebody else is offering him $9 million and he goes, then you lose that asset with nothing to replace it."

Trail Blazers: Weekend Plan: Specially Designed For Families And The Busy Nine-To-Fiver
"Built for the family-oriented fan with a busy work-week, the 12-game Weekend Pack maximizes the thrill-factor while keeping the competitions to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A smattering of Western Conference rivals and Eastern Conference visitors during one-offs and key home stands, you can get your hands on this schedule-friendly pack for as low as $11/game and $52/game in the lower bowl."

Trail Blazers: The Rivals Plan: Two LAs, Oklahoma City And The Return Of Roy
"The smallest of the four big ticket plans, the eight game Rivals Pack packs a big punch. You’ll be in the building and eating a corndog while others are wondering how to get their hands on a way to see the return of Brandon Roy and the sure to sell out L.A. Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder."

Trail Blazers: Why The Value Plan Makes 'Cents' For You
"The Value Pack starts at just $5 a game. That’s 12 games for as low as $60! Talk about some serious bang for your buck. But that’s not even the best part about this ticket plan. Four of the 12 games take place in the month of January. And there is absolutely no better place to be during an Oregon winter’s night than inside the raucous Rose Garden. Not to mention this pack gets you into the arena to see some of the league’s biggest names and brightest young stars such as Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Rudy Gay."

Trail Blazers: Big Games Plan: 12 Of The Biggest Games
"This game has it all. Season opener, at home, against the loathe-inducing Lakers, in Steve Nash's first game in purple and gold and it's on Halloween night! Any game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden is going to be a lively one, but the confluence of circumstances in this particular game sets the stage for one of the all-time season openers in Trail Blazers history."