People are fired up in Portland. A nine-game winning streak. Some Hollinger stats saying the team is likely to make the playoffs. And the highlight of the year so far. (You know Brandon Roy is big time -- otherwise he wouldn't get away with so many steps!)
Let the record reflect that Brian Berger of Sports Business Radio was the first to suggest that Portland's Brandon Roy should be the MVP of the NBA this season.
And now, apparently, some protests outside ESPN headquarters. Jason Quick of the Oregonian quotes a hilarious line from Jarrett Jack about this play:
"If that's not on ESPN's top-10 plays, something is wrong. Call Stuart Scott, or whoever, and tell him if that's not in the top 10, we are coming to take over the show. Tell them we are coming to Bristol (Conn.), and we are bringing Al Sharpton with us."
My thought is that young teams always take two steps forward and one step back. This streak is two fantastic steps forward. But let's not confuse it with really arriving. Brandon Roy is 9,000 feet up a mountain that is 12,000 feet high. No place to plant your flag.
To look at it another way, you may like the real estate in the eighth playoff spot, but please: rent, don't buy.
Only a few weeks ago this team was terrible, and he was in a big slump. This is evolution, not the big bang. If the Blazers play miserably for stretches again this season, the sky will not be falling. That will also be part of the normal progress of a good young team. This squad has not proven anything yet -- other than that it can play well for a few weeks.
Make those few weeks into a few months, and a round of the playoffs or two and OK, we can talk about awards and honors. But in December, all you can win that matters is a few regular season games. Cool as that is, that is fulfilling nobody's dream.
