| Five Things To Watch For This Season Authored by Billy Ray - November 1, 2005 - 7:27 pm
As the NBA regular season has finally approached, here are five things to watch for during the upcoming season:
5.Ruben Patterson's incessant trade demands finally granted. It did not take long for Patterson to start rocking the Blazers boat again. Seemingly caught off-guard by the Blazers recent youth movement, Patterson has lodged yet another trade request with the team. While Patterson's hustle, determination, and effort will be sorely missed, his so-called “veteran presence” leaves a bit to be desired.
4.The emergence of Ha Seung-Jin. Now, before you stop reading, by emergence I do not mean becoming an all-star or even a starter. By emergence, I mean that Ha stands a very good chance to be seeing playing time on a nightly basis. While he is still incredibly green, Ha has shown the ability to rebound and block some shots in the short time he receives. With Theo Ratliff potentially having injury problems, Ha could find himself playing 10-15 minutes a night.
3.The battle between Sebastian Telfair and Jarrett Jack. Thus far it hasn't really been a battle—more of a strong competition. But as Nate McMillan starts locking in on who will receive more minutes and who gets to run the team during crunch time expect both players to bring their best stuff.
2.The emergence of Martell Webster as the Blazers starting two guard. Charles Smith holds the starters position now. But don't expect Smith to hold the spot down for the whole year. Juan Dixon will provide an adequate suitor for the starting position if he can ever get his legs under him, but Webster looks best equipped to take the starting guard spot by mid season. His shooting is unmatched on the Blazers roster, and he has proven that he is not the un-athletic guard that everyone chalked him up to be during the draft. But his defense is incredibly raw, and on McMillan's ship that relegates a player to mop-up minutes. McMillan has shown reluctance to start a rookie, but he also has shown plenty of reluctance in not starting Webster.
1.The unclogging of the small forward position. Patterson, Darius Miles, Travis Outlaw, Viktor Khyrapa, and Sergei Monya all are natural small forward. Webster can even slide over and play in a pinch. What does this all mean? The Blazers have a huge log jam that will need to be alleviated somehow. Currently the rumors are flying that the Blazers and Knicks are working on a trade. If the Knicks are willing to take the two high priced small forwards—Patterson and Miles—and give in to the Blazers demands for expiring contracts, the Blazers might find themselves with their first trade of the young NBA season.
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