Phoenix Suns @ Portland Trail Blazers
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009, 8:00 PM MDT
Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR
Bright Side Preview
The Portland Trailblazers face two big questions going into this season.
The first is Greg Oden. Oden in three preseason games is leading his team in scoring with 15 points per game on 51% shooting and he's grabbing almost 10 rebounds and playing 24 minutes. His block rate is down but so are his fouls. If Oden can reach his potential the Blazers are going to be a very good team for a long time.
But would anyone be surprised at this point if Greg only played 20 games this season? He's a guy who's track record leaves a lot to be desired.
For now though, he's on the court and the Suns big man isn't so look for GOden to go nuts against Amare, Frye, Amundson and Clark tonight. The only thing the Suns can do against him is run even faster.
The second question for the Blazers is how they deal with having a target on their back. So many times, we've seen young teams exceed expectations one year and then struggle the following once the bar has been raised.
With three point guards battling for position and talented guys like Rudy and Travis coming off the bench it will be a challenge for them to be keep their heads when things go bad. And things always go bad at some point or another. It's how you react that matters most. Last year the Suns fell apart in the face of adversity. Nate McMillian and his young leaders are going to have to be on top of their game off the court as well as on.
Be sure to check out Blazers Edge for more coverage
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