Will Portland Blaze Through The West?

The Portland Trail Blazers begin the NBA regular season tomorrow against defending Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers. In front of a national television audience, America will finally see Greg Oden play his first meaningful organized game since his Ohio State Buckeyes lost to Florida in the 2006 National Championship. The match up will also provide NBA fans with an opportunity to watch the progression of LA center Andrew Bynum who is rehabbing from a similar microfracture knee surgery as Oden. While Oden and Bynum dance around the paint swinging elbows and circling one another like an Ali vs. Frasier fight, I won’t be able to help but wonder about the rest of the league. We know the Lakers are good and with the addition of a healthy Bynum there is no reason to say without hesitation that Kobe and the Zen Master Phil Jackson will lead Tinsletown back to the finals. But before we go ahead and give them the crown, let's take a step back and look at the Western Conference as a ... (link)