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Greatest Trail Blazers: Round One Recap
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  1. DHawes22
    DHawes22
    Posts: 6481

    Posted 08/23/2011 9:30 AM

    Which 2nd Round Matchup Is Most Intriguing?
    #1 Drexler v. #5 Sabonis (4)
     25%
    #2 Williams v. #3 Wallace (5)
     31%
    #1 Lucas v. #5 Natt (0)
     0%
    #2 Petrie v. #3 Duckworth (0)
     0%
    #1 Walton v. #4 Vandeweghe (0)
     0%
    #2 Robinson v. #3 Paxson (1)
     6%
    #1 Porter v. #5 Hollins (2)
     12%
    #2 Kersey v. #3 Thompson (4)
     25%


    After a month of voting, bantering and analyzing, the thirty-two player field to determine the Greatest Trail Blazer of All-Time has been slashed in half. To no one’s surprise, the Sweet 16 is dominated by the one of the most unforgettable and memorable team’s ever to have worn the red and black—the Trail Blazers of the early 1990’s which marked the return of Rip City after appearing in two NBA Finals in a three-year span. Clyde Drexler, Kevin Duckworth, Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, and Buck Williams carry the torch for that bunch. In fact, the only member of that squad to lose his first round matchup was Danny Ainge and that was due to him facing Uncle Cliffy.

    The remaining ten contestants all hail from different parts of the past, sprinkled evenly throughout each decade.  Four members of the Blazers in the 70’s moved on, including three from the ’77 title team (Lionel Hollins, Maurice Lucas, and Bill Walton) as well as, “the original Trail Blazer”, Geoff Petrie. Just like the hair, getting buckets was big in the 80’s and not many did it bigger than Calvin Natt, Jim Paxson, Mychal Thompson, and Kiki Vandeweghe.  Not to be forgotten, Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace hold down the fort for the last great Trail Blazers team from 2000.

    For the most part, the first round went according to plan and chalk prevailed 81percent of the time (only three upsets in 16 matchups). While the ones and twos won comfortably, by an average of 30-3 and 29-4 respectively, the same couldn’t be said for the threes or fours. In fact, every single upset came from the four/five matchup as Sabonis blasted Sidney Wicks 36-8, Hollins bested former teammate Bobby Gross 23-10, and in the most surprising result, Natt took out recent fan favorite Scottie Pippen 19-14. The only four seed to prevail was Vandeweghe but even he needed a late push to withstand Damon Stoudamire, 24-18. Even though every three seed passed their first Litmus test, only Wallace was able to win convincingly, ousting Dave Twardzik 26-7. The other three contests (Kevin Duckworth v. Brian Grant, Jim Paxson v. Rod Strickland, and Mychal Thompson v.  Lloyd Neal) were determined by an average of three votes.

    Clyde Drexler showed why he is one of the favorites to win this entire competition, posting the highest number of votes (52), 16 more than the closest competitor. If the first round was any indication, Sabonis could prove to be a legitimate threat to Drexler’s throne as the Lithuanian scored the second most votes (36) and is fresh in the minds of Rip City after returning to the Rose City for a rally last week.

    Will there be any more upsets en route to the Elite Eight or will the favorites hold serve once again? Which matchup is most intriguing? And looking ahead, which number one seeds have the toughest road to the Final Four? Be on the lookout for the first of eight second round matchups to be hitting the message boards and blogs this upcoming Wednesday! Only this time, there will be more than just a statistical write-up to determine a player’s importance to the franchise.

    I am a fan of
  1. daveschedin
    daveschedin
    Posts: 44

    Posted 08/23/2011 10:40 AM

    I'd say the Steel Bracket is the toughest..maybe even most respected..You have Luke, who could win it all, since his passing last Oct 31, is on my heart. You have Petrie, who in my opinion gives TP a run for the last #1 spot. And of course Duck, another fan favortie who will give Petrie a run for his money, due to the fact many of us didn't see Geoff play. And Natt who did deserve the win over Scottie..come on Scottie shouldn't have been on this list..We hated the Bulls back then!! Drexler over Walton for the Title..Thanks for giving us something to talk about!
    I am a fan of MY TEAM NO MATTER WHAT, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN ALWAYS WILL BE A BLAZER BELIEVER!
  1. DHawes22
    DHawes22
    Posts: 6481

    Posted 08/23/2011 10:59 AM

    Posted By daveschedin on 08/23/2011 10:40 AM
    I'd say the Steel Bracket is the toughest..maybe even most respected..You have Luke, who could win it all, since his passing last Oct 31, is on my heart. You have Petrie, who in my opinion gives TP a run for the last #1 spot. And of course Duck, another fan favorite who will give Petrie a run for his money, due to the fact many of us didn't see Geoff play. And Natt who did deserve the win over Scottie..come on Scottie shouldn't have been on this list..We hated the Bulls back then!! Drexler over Walton for the Title..Thanks for giving us something to talk about!

    Anytime! I love talking about and discussing all of the former players. As for Pip, yes, I didn't like him much back then, but he nearly got us a ring. I think if it weren't for his game 5 performance in LA during the 2000 WCF, it doesn't even get to 7. He was a great player who just came to the Rip City a little after his prime but there's no doubt he was the leader on our last elite team.

    The Steel is tough but I think Broadway will be the hardest to survive. Drexler is the heavy favorite but he has to go through Sabas (fresh on the minds of Blazer fans) and either Buck Williams or Rasheed Wallace. Looking ahead, I'm really interested in seeing how a Lucas/Petrie matchup would play out as both were on my short list for #1 seeds.
    I am a fan of
  1. John Berner
    John Berner
    Posts: 5

    Posted 08/23/2011 11:10 AM

    The strange thing about the Drexler/Sabas matchup is that I feel so conflicted even though I know my vote is going to Drexler. If it was just about anyone else, I think it would be a pretty easy win for the big guy, but I don't think anyone will topple Clyde. The man is an icon. At least in portland.
    I am a fan of My childhood at the Rose Garden
  1. mbmurr1
    mbmurr1
    Posts: 530

    Posted 08/24/2011 9:34 AM

    Kersey/Thompson or Williams/Wallace are the two toughest match-ups because of fan feelings.
    I am a fan of
  1. ClydeFrog
    ClydeFrog
    Posts: 975

    Posted 08/24/2011 4:21 PM

    Buck v. Sheed! Hands down. The poll isn't even out yet and I'm already debating who I'm going to vote for.
    I am a fan of Watching Elliot Williams Take Flight!
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