New
Orleans at Portland

New Orleans
is on the road, playing the second night of a back to back. And, to be honest,
they looked a little sluggish at times in Thursday’s win over the Nuggets.

Portland, meanwhile, has gone
6-0 at home this season, compared to 10-6 overall, and this team’s depth seems
almost laughably good in comparison to New
Orleans’.

And yet, give ‘er a watch. I think we could get a game out
of this. The Hornets have already topped Portland,
87-82, in Louisiana,
and this slow-down affair could come down to the wire. Or it could be a
blowout, and you could come on here afterwards to rail against me. On a Friday
night. Good luck with that.

The typical storylines for these two, early in 2008-09, are
still in place. The Blazers have to act as if Greg Oden is an ensconced team
when he’s on the court, and not some novelty worth observing as the seconds
tick away. And the Hornets need to act like they deserve to be on a team with
Chris Paul.

New Orleans Trail
Blazers: 9-5, 88.1 possessions per game (27^th), 110.1 points
scored per 100 possessions (4^th), 105 points allowed per 100
possessions (12^th). Poor Old Dirt Farmer.

Portland Trail
Blazers: 10-6, 86.8 possessions per game (29^th-most in the NBA),
112.6 points scored per 100 possessions (2^nd-most in the NBA), 107.6
points allowed per 100 possessions (22^nd). Got Me a Woman.

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What do I have to be thankful for this weekend? There’s an awful lot. The basics include my health, family, friends and love. Beyond that, I’ve got a nice little apartment, quite possibly the greatest job in the world, League Pass, The Jones, cool bosses and co-bloggers, the list could go on and on. But what I am most thankful for this holiday Yanksgiving is for this photo of Shawn Bradley playing Game Boy in cowboy boots.

And oh, one more thing I’m thankful for: Ball Don’t Lie readers. But you already knew that …

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, folks. Be safe.

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Memphis Commercial Appeal, via Ballhype. I guess this is like, what, Super Free Darko?
PF: The Sports Culture. Robin Lopez is one very, very, very, very interesting off-the-court figure.
SF: DallasBasketball. Why Zach Randolph isn’t a Mav and who the Mavs were/are more likely targeting.
SG: Game On. Charles Barkley to LeBron James: "Shut the hell up."
PG: Comcast SportsNet New England. "The Dino Radja Experience" podcast. Funny stuff.
6th: Basketball-Reference.com Blog. One month does not a season make, but, the Lakers … wow.
7th: AJC, via Peachtree. He won’t play tonight (whew) or tomorrow, but Josh Smith is close to returning.
8th: The Hoop Doctors. This is why I wanted the Raps to take Roko Ukic with their first pick in 2005.
9th: WSHH, via Hooped Up. The BDL premiere of Ron Artest’s — PG-13 — "In Da Hood" music video.
10th: Bucks Diary. Among players with at least 100 attempts, Charlie Villanueva is the worst "inside" shooter in the NBA.

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Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko as quoted by Chris Mannix of SI.com: "It’s not that I don’t like [coach] Jerry [Sloan]. He’s a good person. He’s just from an older generation that treats players like kids. Let’s say your boss comes to you and says, ‘Hey, son. Come here’. And you look at him like, What did you call me? It doesn’t hurt your feelings, but it doesn’t feel comfortable."

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Dime went with "spinning"; I’ll call it "twisting" or a "power piroopuette". Either way, you need to watch this sick Sergio Rodriguez-to-Rudy Fernandez alley-oop from the Blazers’ monster win over the Heat on Wednesday. Basketball is ballet.

Wow, that took some incredible timing. It’s almost like Sergio and Rudy have done this before.

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