Portland Streaking

Hot damn the Blazers are...well blazing(sorry, I couldn't resist). They picked up their 7th in a row(3rd in a row on the road) last night to move to .500 on the year. The Blazers had lost 9 in a row at Denver, and 15 of the last 17, but the Nuggets were no match for the hottest team in the west right now. The Blazers get to come home now for a 5 game stand, including another one against the Nuggets on Friday. With their other games coming against New Orleans, Toronto, Seattle, and Minnesota, the Blazers will look to continue winning. With the Nuggets and Jazz in a bit of a slump, and the Blazers just 2 games out of the lead for the Northwest Division, it isn't much of a stretch to think the Blazers could go into the new year as the leaders in the Northwest.

The hot streak comes at a surprising time for the Blazers who have been without leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge for the last 4 games due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Brandon Roy has been playing well and had a double-double Sunday night, tying a career high with 11 assists to go with his 26 points, but the big story has been the play of Travis Outlaw and Joel Przybilla. Outlaw has been nearly unstoppable in the win streak, hitting big shot after big shot and playing extremely tight defense. Meanwhile Joel has been absolutely dominant inside, racking up 12 blocks and 39 rebounds(not too mention taking several charges per game) over the last 4 games. Coming into this year, I wasn't too optimistic about either of these guys. I thought Outlaw was too inconsistent, and I know a few games isn't enough to call him a consistent player, but when Aldridge went out we needed someone to step up and he did, big time. As for Przybilla, I thought he was too soft, and when Oden went out, I was worried about the Blazers inside defense, but Przybilla has become a serious force to be reckoned with. I am officially on the Outlaw/Przybilla bandwagon.