We finish the Blazers today....
(11) 2003 Portland Trail Blazers (50-32) vs. (32) 1975 Portland Trail Blazers (38-44)
Sheed had 18-7, Bonzi Wells had 15-5-3, Pippen had 11-4-5, Derek Anderson had 14-4-4, and Zach Randolph had 8-5 in year two….
Wicks had 22-11-4, Petrie had 18-3-5, and John Johnson had 16-6-3. Walton played only 35 games (of 13-13-5)…Sure he’s great when he’s playing (and he almost guarantees a title in his prime when healthy ((or even out of it…Boston won in 1986 after a full year from him…))…but was 1977 just a lucky break (no pun intended)?), but would you really want someone for one magical title run possible after never playing much?
(12) 2010 Portland Trail Blazers (50-32) vs. (31) 1989 Portland Trail Blazers (39-43)
Not great year…Roy had 22-4-5, Aldridge had 18-8, as Andre Miller added 14-3-5. Oden played 21 games this year……
Great year for Clyde, as he had 27-8-6 this year. Kevin Duckworth had 18-8, Terry Porter had 18-5-10, and Jerome Kersey had 18-8-3. I bet they beat 2010…I’m serious too….
(13) 1977 Portland Trail Blazers (49-33) vs. (30) 1986 Portland Trail Blazers (40-42)
The famous championship season….Walton had 19-14-4, as Maurice Lucas led scoring with 20-11. Lionel Hollins had 15-3-4, Bob Gross had 11-5-3, and David Twardzik had 10-3-3.
Drexler (19-6-8) took the scoring backseat to Kiki Vandeweghe (25-3-2). Mychal Thompson had 15-7, and Jim Paxson had 13-2-4.
(14) 1987 Portland Trail Blazers (49-33) vs. (29) 2008 Portland Trail Blazers (41-41)
OK year….Drexler (22-6-7) may have cooled down in passing, but he was putting up better scoring numbers, though Kiki (27-3-3) still outscored him. Steve Johnson had 17-7, Terry Porter had 13-4-9, and Jerome Kersey had 12-6.
Not anything special…Roy had 19-5-6, and Aldridge had 18-8, as Travis Outlaw added 13-5…
(15) 1997 Portland Trail Blazers (49-33) vs. (28) 2004 Portland Trail Blazers (41-41)
Not too bad…Kenny Anderson had 18-4-7, Isiah Rider had 16-4-3, Cliff Robinson had 15-4-3, Sheed had 15-7, and Saba had 13-8…Not awful, but I wouldn’t expect much out of these guys…
A jumbled mess, as the Sheed era ends (he was dished out to Atlanta, where he played one game before going to Detroit…). Of the stayers, Zach Randolph had 20-11, and Damon Stoudamire had 13-4-6…Most everyone else good was injured or traded….
(16) 2002 Portland Trail Blazers (49-33) vs. (27) 1985 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)
Sheed had 19-8, as Bonzi Wells had 17-6, Damon Stoudamire had 14-4-7, and Scottie Pippen had 11-5-6. Ruben Patterson and Shawn Kemp both played here, as did the large debut of Zach Randolph…3-2-0….nice!
The debut of Sam Bowie (10-8) wasn’t bad….Kiki had 22-3-2, Mychal Thomson added 18-8, and Drexler added 17-6-6 in year two. Jim Paxson had 18-3-4, and Darnell Valentine had 12-3-7…
(17) 1984 Portland Trail Blazers (48-34) vs. (26) 1982 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)
Remind me again why Portland didn’t pick Jordan? The only reason is they though a center is more useful than a guard…You have Mychal Thompson (16-9 ((and Wayne Cooper (((10-6)))))) already!!! The Drexler excuse doesn’t work either! He had 8-3-2 as a rookie! And he had stress fractures in college! Sound familiar? *Cough* Walton *Cough*???!? WHY PORTLAND?! You make the same mistake three times. I agree with LeBron on this one...Not once, not twice... Calvin Natt had 16-6, and Kenny Carr had 16-8, as Darnell Valentine added 6 assists.
Thompson had 21-12-4, Jim Paxson had 19-3-3, Calvin Natt had 18-8, and Kelvin Ransey had 16-2-7….not much to say….
(18) 2011 Portland Trail Blazers (48-34) vs. (25) 1996 Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)
Roy looked like his career is ending as Aldridge had 22-9, Wesley Matthews had 16-3 and Gerald Wallace came over mid-year in a trade…
OK year…Cliff Robinson had 21-6, Rod Strickland had 19-4-10, and Saba (in his first NBA year) had 15-8.
(19) 1994 Portland Trail Blazers (47-34) vs. (24) 1995 Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)
A straight year matchup that doubles as Drexler’s last full one in Portland….He’d have 19-7-5, as Cliff Robinson had 20-7, Rod Strickland had 17-5-9, and Terry Porter had 13-3-5.
Drexler (22-6-5) was traded to Houston for essentially Otis Thorpe (and then they won a title…). Cliff Robinson had 21-6, as Strickland had 19-5-9 on a decent (not really I guess…you give up your star…) year….
(20) 1983 Portland Trail Blazers (46-36) vs. (23) 1981 Portland Trail Blazers (45-37)
Not bad…Jim Paxson averaged 22-2-3, Calvin Natt had 20-8, and Mychal Thompson averaged 16-9-5. The 13-3-6 of Darnell Valentine played only 47 games…Not too bad…
Jim Paxson had 17-3-4, Thompson had 17-9-4, as Kelvin Ransey had 15-2-7, and Kermit Washington had 11-9. 3 others averaged double figures…
(21) 1998 Portland Trail Blazers (46-36) vs. (22) 1979 Portland Trail Blazers (45-37)
Not bad…Isiah Rider had 20-5-3 this year, as Saba averaged 16-10-3, Sheed had 15-6, and Brian Grant had 12-9. Kenny Anderson (13-3-5) was traded to Toronto for Damon Stoudamire (12-4-8)…
In our final matchup, Walton missed the entire year…Maurice Lucas had 20-10, Tom Owens had 19-9-4, Lionel Hollins had 15-2-5, and Thompson had 15-8….Not a very bad team, even without Walton….
There we have it! The Portland Trail Blazers! Overall, not a bad team…Some strong years, and a very consistent playoff team (only missed consecutively in the beginning and the mid-2000s…).
Ladies and gentlemen, your Portland Trail Blazers! Next up, Oscar Robertson headlining the nomad royalty!
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