Blazers-Kings: Portland Wins Another Nailbiter

A few hours before game time, we got the news—Greg Oden would make his first home start. Personally, I was a little disappointed. I believe he will be a monster and a key cog in the Blazers' title runs over the next few years. However, at this moment in time, Joel Przybilla just fits better with the starting lineup. As an aside, a fan at the stadium had a new nickname for Jole that I like even better than "The Vanilla Gorilla" or "The Thrilla"—Joelzilla. Simply awesome. I hereby demand all references to Joelzilla retroactively be changed to reflect this new name, which just might have people going deaf from overexposure to awesomeness. When Joel starts, the Blazers like to begin the game by pounding it inside to LaMarcus Aldridge. LA has really developed a strong post game over the past couple of seasons, and this establishes it. It also gets Portland rolling with an inside-out game that leads to open perimeter looks for Steve Blake, Nicolas Batum, and Brandon Roy.   ... (link)