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just read a good 3 page article (quick read) on latimes by heisler. pretty much summed up my feelings on the blazers/lakers rivalry that apparently sparked up last week, including the arrogant tone towards this rivalry that i loved. i'll post a few select quotes.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketbal ... umn?page=1

K, it's a holy war now, the Lakers and . . . Trail Blazers?

Who are the Trail Blazers, again?

Oh yeah, they're the young guys from Portland, who couldn't miss with Greg Oden, the center of his generation, joining all their rising stars.

That was before Oden's rookie season was cut in half by injuries, after being deferred for a year because of microfracture surgery, leaving Andrew Bynum as the center of Oden's generation.

If the Trail Blazers pounded their chests after their manly response to Trevor Ariza's foul in Monday's game -- actually, they just ran over to Rudy Fernandez and acted upset -- it was another night on the road for the Lakers, who have seen . . . and invited . . . worse

If the Lakers have lost seven in a row in Portland, it's less a concern than a revelation.

With Portland finishing 15th, 12th and 10th in the West the last three seasons, Lakers players are more like, "Really? I slept through most of those trips."

...Of course, if that's intimidating, it's on the Trail Blazers, who won't notice it if they're ever as good as the Lakers, which hasn't happened yet.

Perhaps fueling anxiety is the nagging fear of replicating another unhappy chapter, "We Take Sam Bowie Instead of Michael Jordan," with Kevin Durant, whom they passed up for Oden, flourishing.

eh, i'm not feeling it

i know a team can have more than one rival at a time but i think with the remergence of the celtic rivalry that the others have taken a back seat in the mind's of laker fans

Portland fans should read my sig...

Whatever...those punks are idiotic from their gangsta wannabe players to their stupid fanbase to their homerish announcers. Come to think of it, they are very similar to the Celtics sort of like a West Coast version except they're not that good. The celtics players are definitely punks that act like they are really hard, these young blazers just try to act as if they are tough after their guy got fouled. Even though they don't have gangsta looking dudes anymore, they still seem to want to uphold that image ala last Monday night.

Both Boston and Portland announcers offer true bias homerism to the fullest, so much it is annoying. Basically when all 4 of those guys retire, all you have to do is announce games as if the home team can do no wrong and that the road team is always at fault and the refs has it out for you guys. You'll pretty much be hired.

Oh and both fanbase are pretty similar as well. Both think they all that.

iamworthy wrote:Portland fans should read my sig...

Yeah they really should..especially from teams like Portland and even Sactown from the Bibby and Webber days, some of them still talk as if they really won the championship.

The Blazer are "posers", they want to be this team that think they're equal to the Lakers..........they're not. And if any Blazer fans are reading this thread let me be the first to say...............you're not our equal, you're not our rival so stop thinking that we care about you cause we don't.

Make the playoffs first, beat us in a series then maybe we'll make this a relevant discussion.

iamworthy wrote:Portland fans should read my sig...

Stop thinking your team is a rival of the Lakers, you're not that good.

These hicks/rubes think their team is a rival of the Lakers just because they hate the Lakers. You can't win against that mindset. It only intensifies each time they put out the Blazers like a cigarette butt with the tip of their shoes.

Like I said the night they were all up in arms over a foul, THEY create the atmosphere, THEY deserve whatever chippiness or sorrow they get in return.

I think what people seem to forget is that this team is not set in stone. It's not possible to pay and keep all the young talents, and how they structure their team next year will determine how they will look in the next several years. If they don't extend the right players or add the wrong players then they're still not going anywhere.

it wouild be nice to see the lakers win one in the rose garden.

The Blazers to the Lakers are like the Wizards to the Cavs..

microfib4thewin wrote:I think what people seem to forget is that this team is not set in stone. It's not possible to pay and keep all the young talents, and how they structure their team next year will determine how they will look in the next several years. If they don't extend the right players or add the wrong players then they're still not going anywhere.

yeah seriously...remember when the 05-06 bulls were the next dynasty waiting to happen with 3 rising allstars?

I dunno guys, but Portland could be the team who will give us a lot of trouble in the years to come...

I'm not calling Oden a bust or anything like that, I think he'll be a top 5 center soon enough. But how sick would the Blazers be with Durant?

Pretty brutal article, but warranted. The Blazers think of us as their rival, which I find cute. But hey if it keeps them interested in their team, more power to them. Just verifies how important the Lakers are to the league.

Tekkenlaw wrote:I'm not calling Oden a bust or anything like that, I think he'll be a top 5 center soon enough. But how sick would the Blazers be with Durant?

I haven't seen anything out of Oden that would lead me to believe he'll be a top 5 center, other than the hype surrounding him. He has a decent touch around the basket, but he has a below average back to the basket game, non-existent face up game, sub-par footwork. His shot blocking is good, but we'll see if his injuries affects his explosiveness.

Bynum is a far superior center at this point in their careers in terms of skill level, but even he has a long way to go. Just shows how far behind Oden is in his development.

amb1ent wrote:

microfib4thewin wrote:I think what people seem to forget is that this team is not set in stone. It's not possible to pay and keep all the young talents, and how they structure their team next year will determine how they will look in the next several years. If they don't extend the right players or add the wrong players then they're still not going anywhere.

yeah seriously...remember when the 05-06 bulls were the next dynasty waiting to happen with 3 rising allstars?

I really don't think that's a valid comparison. The best player on the Bulls was Deng, who relied mostly on cutters to get his points. Roy has a much better range and can create his own shots consistently. Even though his defense is still suspect he's already a better player than Deng in his best year. They also don't have a problem with size like the Bulls did. While it's possible Portland may use their capspace incorrectly like the Bulls did with Big Ben they still have better core players than the Bulls did.

Portland will be an elite team in 2011

Until then

Jack Johnson
"In Portland were boats sink and children stink"

Blazer fan here who read that story last night. My first thought after reading it was so that is what Tony Montana does for a living.

Most of you guys are right Portland is not on the same level, but like many WC teams the intensity level is that much higher than with other teams due to a combination of all the SoCal natives who now live in PDX, the Lakers being the top dog, and Kobe.

I'm sure the same thing happens when the Lakers visit other arenas, but clearly by the venting that is still going on and the fact that they warranted an article shows that Portland has struck a nerve.

Knock us out of the playoffs and you'll have struck a nerve. Until then, grab a number and get to the back of the line with all the other fan bases that hate us.

it's kind of like mosquitoes, they can get the better of you at times (massive swarms) and are a general irritant, but not much of a problem in the grand scheme of things

breaker91 wrote:Blazer fan here who read that story last night. My first thought after reading it was so that is what Tony Montana does for a living.

Na Brah I dont write............. I own a website and here it is, its called.

http://www.PortlandFansNeedToLetitgo.com If you want I can put you on the V.I.P list......... Let me know. and the other one is http://www.stretchers.com We specailize in custom stretchers for NBA players who fake injuries.