Moment #1: Down Goes Oden 11:22 AM

Let's just take a second to imagine where we'd be if Oden had not been injured this season. Let's just, for the hell of it, pretend that maybe he missed ten games this season (tweaked ankles and various bruises as the culprit, after all, this was an injury-prone season) and continued to improve like he was before. What would this team look like? Where would we be?

The Blazers would still be playing right now. Oden being around all season would have been a great boon to us, and probably would have led to a win total of about 55 or 56 games. That would have put us in at probably the number two spot in the conference, with an easy road to the Western Conference Finals through Dallas and San Antonio.

Steve Blake will have been both a scapegoat for at least one game, and also a hero for yet another for hitting a dagger three pointer. Travis Outlaw would be doing the work that could have theoretically led to his preseason prediction of getting paid like out of this world. Indeed, Travis could have been that option we needed to create his own shot when Brandon went out during the playoffs and Bayless and Andre went ice cold.

Instead, we did the only move that we could, and arguably one of the best trades of the Pritchard era, exchanging the two for Marcus Camby. Still, that trade would have been entirely unnecessary, even with the Joel Przybilla injury.

Without the injury, Oden would have continued to grow as a player, and probably be considered as one of the top three centers currently active in the Western Conference. With the emergence of Andre Miller as the Blazers' go to point guard, Oden's role would have grown even more, as Andre would look to oden to continue to make plays in the post.

But now that's just wishful thinking.

Instead, we got an injured Oden. At the time of the injury, we even had hopes that perhaps Oden could make a comeback late in the season or perhaps in the playoffs. The playoffs are long over, and the only recovery news we've heard is that the Blazers organization is "optimistic" for training camp. That's frightening.

Oden's injury is a contributor to the dire straits now faced by Kevin Pritchard. If Oden pans out is anyone thinking of firing Kevin Pritchard? Of course not. Still, the stigma of taking Oden over Durant even if it was The Right Move, has brought him to this place.

Finally, the Oden injury has ended much of the promise and hope around this Blazer team. Two years ago, it was, "We just have to be patient and we're going to be racking up championship after championship." Now it's, "Please don't get hurt." All of our hopes for a championship are pinned to a center that has been out injured for two thirds of career. This team is not good enough to contend for a championship without Greg in the middle.

Still, there's a flip side to that last sentence. This team is good enough to contend for a championship when Oden is healthy. He is the second most important player on the team. He's the gamble you have to take, especially now. We've already lost big-time with picking over Durant. It would be an even bigger blunder to give him up for nothing, especially as he's already proven himself as a worthwhile contributor.

So, Greg, what else is there to say: Get better. The Blazers desperately, desperately need you.

Moment #2: Brandon's Back 1:51 PM

It happened only a few weeks ago, so it feels weird to romanticize it. Let's just let the image and the immortal voice of Mike Rice do it justice.



However, if you want to see Trail Post's recap following the game, click this link.

Video courtesy of Brandon Mitchell.

Moment #3: Miller Goes Off 4:04 PM

Just a few weeks prior, Andre Miller had a heated exchange with Nate McMillan that called back memories of the Darius Miles era. Fans and radio hosts were calling for Miller to be shipped out, and Steve Blake had never been more popular. Then Miller had the best performance of his career.

The night was epitomized by a shot that Miller took in the fourth quarter. Andre, who shot 20% from the three point line for the season, went to the right of the key, and was left wide open. There, he was left wide open. He looked around furtively, saw no one was coming to him, then put up one of the ugliest three pointers ever. Swish. There was no stopping Andre Miller.

To be fair, that three-pointer was only a small percentage of his total output. Most of that output came from a series of lay-ups and runners. By the end of the game, his shot chart blacked out the paint with darkened spots. Miller put together one of the most impressive efforts in Blazer history.

Still, that game wasn't won by Miller alone. Indeed, he was supported again by Juwan Howard, who stepped up in the clutch. It was this game where Juwan cemented yet again how important he was to Blazer fans, at least in their minds. Of course, this was somewhat of a detriment as the season went on, as Dante Cunningham improved and Juwan started to break down under the rigors of the season. Still, he did more than we possibly could have imagined throughout the season.

The final verdict of the performance, though? Total change in the franchise. It wasn't simply that Miller took the starting spot for good: he made Steve Blake completely expendable. This game was the reason why Marcus Camby is currently a Blazer. It showed us that we have one of the top point guards in the game. Aren't we lucky? Too bad it took only twenty injuries to get to that point.

Biggest Moments of 2009-2010 #4: Oden Drops Trou 1:38 PM

It was the picture that launched a thousand shaky-camera-tripod jokes.

The picture showed up at World Star Hip Hop and was apparently put there by an ex of Greg's. It was yet another piece put on the Greg Oden pity pile. (Unless, of course, you were a reporter at the Willamette Week.) It had only been a month since Oden's injury (upcoming) and then he ended up like this.

This blog posited that perhaps Oden's picture wasn't the negative it was originally thought to be. I joked that Oden's penis was put out there by his publicist. Of course, that wasn't true. However, it still changed the image of Oden, added another facet to his public personality. He's more than the mopey injured dude. Now there's a little bit of Wilt in him, albeit with a million times more fouls per game.

What made it worse for Oden is that the picture hit at the most boring portion of the season, deep in the dark cold January doldrums. What are desperate basketball writers supposed to cover? The actual game? Where's the fun in that? What is there between Christmas and the All-Star Game? Just a lot of East Coast trips and quarter-filled arenas because no one feels like braving the gray snow lining the streets.

In the time since the photo was released, Oden has been redeemed a bit, simply in the fact that he was the first in a line of such pictures being released. Where before these pictures were the domain of actresses and singers such as Rihanna, Oden was the first man to be outed in this way. In a way, he's the Jackie Robinson of sexting. Later, athletes such as Mariners closer David Aardsma, George Hill, and Grady Sizemore have been caught exposing themselves.

Where are we now with this? The fallout from this story has been non-existent. Greg Oden isn't any less beloved around the city. All this story is at the end of the season is its funniest moment. It was one of the biggest media moments of the entire season, and that's why it's here in the top five.

Best of 2009-2010 #5: Jerryd Bayless Wills the Blazers to Victory in San Antonio 10:58 AM

Only a few weeks before, Greg Oden went down to a disturbing knee injury. Just the night before, Joel Przybilla went down with almost the exact same version of that knee injury, with his kneecap breaking apart like an Oreo cookie. Still, the Blazers won that game in Dallas, due to the heroics and consistency of Brandon Roy. Well, Brandon Roy was gone that night in San Antonio, ailing due to a bum shoulder. The Blazers only had eight players dressed. Turns out that was all they needed.

This game featured the Blazers at their most short-handed, missing their star player, with interior duties handed to a couple of unproven rookies and a should-be-over-the-hill Juwan Howard in a place where they've had difficulty winning for the past decade. It didn't matter.

The biggest story of this game was Jerryd Bayless exploding for a career high 31 points. He scored through an array of aggressive layups, bowling down San Antonio defenders, and leftTony Parker stunned and existentially bruised (until he got home, at least). He drew the whistles and calmly knocked down free throw after free throw after free throw.

Story 1A from this ridiculous victory was Juwan Howard. The old bones still had a little life in them. This game was the beginning of an impressive run from mid-December to mid-February where Howard not only played center as the starter, but also played the position serviceably well, keeping the Blazers in games despite their total lack of interior presence. In this game, he took on the younger Tim Dun can, and did enough to stay somewhat even with him, gaining 12 rebounds to Duncan's 11 while LaMarcus Aldridge abused his Spurs defenders for 22. 

The spread in Vegas for this game was -11. In the hearts of Blazer fans less than 24 hours after Joel Przybilla's potential career-ender, it could have been -100. No game this season showed the Blazers' collective heart and will than this performance. The Blazers became a hydra; one guy went down, two more popped up to take his place. This is the game that defined the tone and style for the team for the rest of the season.

Trail Post Looks Back at 2009-2010 1:20 PM

Honestly, I originally had an idea of doing a per-player review of the season, but it just didn't seem quite fair to all that had happened. Except for Andre Miller and Martell Webster, it would have been a disheartening series of INCs. No one wants that. When you look back on a basketball season, it isn't the fact that Martell Webster had a +/- of -1.2 per game that comes to mind. It's the moments that flood back. It's Webster's redemption in LA, coldly knocking down three free throws after nearly costing the Blazers the game. So, starting next week, Trail Post will count down the five moments that made this Blazer season what it was.

Today, though, we look at the top five honorable mentions for the season, in chronological order.

December 22, 2009: Joel Przybilla's Knee Explodes - After playing the entire season the year before, Przybilla was primed to continue his run as the best back-up big man in the league. That job got upgraded to starter with Oden's absence. Things were going fine until went up for a rebound against Erick Dampier and came down badly. Cries of "The season is over!" rang out across Oregon.

February 15, 2010: The Trade - Travis Outlaw was the last bastion of the old era, drafted by the (term used lightly) Nash-Patterson brain trust. He was maddening up until this season, where it seemed like he finally got it before going down to injury. Blake was one of the hardest workers on the team. Still, the golden opportunity for a starting center came along, and the Blazers took it, getting rid of two of their most tenured players.

March 7, 2010: The Dunk - Andre Miller doesn't even jump off the ground for a lay up. Who knew that he would be the source of the Blazers' best highlight this season? Back in his old stomping grounds of Denver, Miller received an outlet pass after a steal by Martell Webster and rose for the most athletic and surprising play of the season.

March 16, 2010: Tom Penn is Fired - The first cracks in the Kevin Pritchard era are exposed. This could be a harbinger for a KP dismissal. This is the beginning of the storyline that will dominate the off-season.

April 12, 2010: "Mar-Cus Cam-By" - During this season, the Thunder became the league's young darlings as they won 50 games. With this, the Blazers lost their former status. Still, at the end of the season, the two teams were in the same place as they faced each other in the second to last game with heavy playoff implications. Going into it, the story was Kevin Durant. After, it was Marcus Camby, as he tallied 30 points and 13 rebounds. As he left, he was chanted loudly off the floor by the fans in one of the most chilling moments in the Rose Garden's history.

Who Do We Root For? 10:27 AM

There's something depressing in the fact that "Who Do We Root For" is becoming an annual tradition here at Trail Post. It's even more depressing that we have to choose from eight teams rather than four or two or one. The first round exit simply is not enough any more. Where last year it was depressing in a "the other shoe finally dropped" kind of way that we lost, this year it's simply painful sustained noise, like the sound a bus makes when backing up, except that it's forever.

With that, basketball still is not dead. Just because our guys are out shouldn't be the end of basketball for you. Also, the playoffs are much more exciting when you have a horse in the race. Well, it's time to pick a horse to ride all the way to the finals.

Eastern Conference

The Cleveland Cavaliers: You're so hurt by the Blazers loss that you want to choose a sure thing and you love speaking in the third person. The Cavaliers are your choice. Sure, you'll suffer the ignominy of being a front runner, but your team will win some games.

The Boston Celtics: You want to revert back to Jailblazer heyday. Rasheed Wallace comes off the bench for the Celtics and for the first time all season, finally has had something resembling production. Then again, Kevin Garnett's an a-hole, so maybe you just want to avoid this altogether.

The Orlando Magic: You may just get flashbacks watching the Magic as a freakish center is totally ignored by his guards. Still, they're a good choice if you like jump shooting, rebounds, and team names that belong in the WNBA.

The Atlanta Hawks: Screw 'em. They killed the Deer.

Western Conference

The Phoenix Suns: Yes, they eliminated us. We could jump on the bandwagon and hope the make it all the way so it reduces the sting. Last year with the Rockets, it worked until Yao went down, making that loss hurt less. Also, Channing Frye is still one of us, along with the fact that Steve Nash is disturbing.

The Utah Jazz: The Jazz are a great choice for the underdog in all of us. If only they had a chance in Hell.

The San Antonio Spurs: Don't you want to see these old men try for it one more time? Too bad the Suns' trainers are better than the Spurs' trainers. Also, this could be the last season of Tim Duncan relevancy (as I've said each year the last five years).

The Los Angeles Lakers: End yourself.

So What Now? 10:36 AM

You've had a long, empty weekend to come to grips with what has befallen us. I'm sure there was a Saturday afternoon wasted looking into Charles Barkley's dead, dead eyes hoping he'd at least belittle the Blazers for being a jump-shooting team. Instead, nothing. The Blazers are gone, and they won't be back for six months. After devoting so many hours per week to the team, it can be a frightening proposition to move on and find another hobby for the off-season. Hopefully this guide will help you.

Proposition 1: The Seattle Mariners. This seems to be the most obvious one. The Seattle Mariners season runs until the end of September, and maybe into October, taking up the entirety of the Blazers offseason. The only catch? It's baseball. Baseball is a difficult sport to get into, and is almost something you need to be born into to enjoy (like being Amish, for example). The team is incredibly likable with the good-natured weirdness of Ichiro and the Rasheed Wallace-esque assholery of Milton Bradley. Also, by July, they will have the best top of the rotation in baseball. Still, the downside is they don't score any runs, so basically every single loss will be a heartbreaker and will drain your soul.

Proposition 2: The Portland Timbers. Obviously, you will miss the wild atmosphere of the Rose Garden during the summer. Sure, you can go into the venue at times during the summer, but they really don't appreciate it when you start a "Let's Go Blazers" chant during Disney on Ice. The closest you'll get to the Section 314 atmosphere in Portland during the summer is section 107 at PGE Park. Once again, this requires interest in a relatively slow-paced sport without much scoring. Still, the Timbers are one of the best teams in their league. Also, it's better to jump on the bandwagon now rather than be a Johnny-Come-Lately when the team jumps up to MLS next year.

Proposition 3: Watch All of Lost. Lost is the most important pop culture phenomenon on television in the last decade. Yes, that includes The Wire. (An Analogy: Lost : The Beatles :: The Wire : Velvet Underground) Now, the series is ending at the end of this month. That doesn't mean it's too late to join. In fact, now is the perfect time to join in. You will have the benefit of watching the series on your own time, while still getting to watch the series finale live with a bunch of friends to be part of a historical event. Today, it is May 3rd. Lost ends on May 23rd at 9 PM. That's nearly three weeks. Now, how do you condense almost six seasons of television into those three weeks? Strict scheduling. By the airdate of the season finale, a total of 119 Lost episodes will have been on air. What does that mean for you? A little simple math. Divide 119 by 20 to get a little under 6. That's how many episodes you will need to watch per day. Needless to say, that Blazers-sized hole in your day will be more than filled.

Proposition 4: Start an Internet Meme. Internet memes are a great source of humor and joy, something severely lacking since the Blazers' premature exit. This could give you great pleasure, and ease the suffering of fellow fans. Well, to start one, you first need a blog. Tumblr has the hipster cred, but Blogger's easier to use. Up to you. Next, you need to create a meme. For example, some funny recent ones are mashups of disparate ideas, such as Hipster Puppies or Michael Buble Being Stalked by a Velociraptor. Animals are always a fine choice. Here's an idea I came up with just writing this. It's called Nate McMillan Is the Life of the Party. I'm sure you can do better than that.

Nate McMillan is the Life of the Party

The Blazers being done isn't the end of the world. We can all have different hobbies. And if you don't want to have them, just ride the Trade Machine until the season starts again.