Portland Trailblazers Land Andre Miller, Remain Distant Underdogs

As exciting as it is to bring in a mature Andre Miller to Portland, this team will unfortunately only go as far as Greg Oden can take them. The fear for Portland is that Brandon Roy, who can enter restricted free-agency in 2010, could choose to bolt the Northwest if he chooses. Winning during the NBA betting season this year is imperative to a team that is on the verge of something great.

As +1800 underdogs to challenge the vaunted Lakers and Spurs in the West, the Blazers are the young gunning team in the West that can give people absolute chills. Between the clutch shooting of Brandon Roy, the continuing evolution of LaMarcus Aldridge and the emergence of Rudy Fernandez, the Blazers have a lot to be excited about. But again, the important development in Portland is if Greg Oden can become the superstar he was supposed to be coming out of the 2007 NBA Draft with Kevin Durant.

Injuries murdered Greg Oden’s last two seasons, and a curious knee injury has many wondering if Oden will ever hit his ceiling. His season high last year came against the Bucks in January, where he hauled down 15 rebounds and put up 24 points. Overall, however, Oden played in just 61 games and averaged 8.9 points and 6.9 rebounds. That isn’t going to stop people from thinking that the Blazers drafted the second coming of Sam Bowie all over again as Durant evolves in to the next Jordan-esque player.

Andre Miller’s arrival means that the young Blazers will have a leader who can distribute the ball and manage the personalities of the Blazers. I love Andre Miller’s maturity over the past three seasons, even giving him the nod for an “honorable mention” during my 2008 MVP Awards article. Seriously, he turned a horrific Philadelphia 76ers club around, and the city didn’t even notice. In Portland, Miller will have a higher starting point. The Blazers are on the verge, but there are too many question marks heading in to the seasons surrounding Greg Oden for me to feel completely safe in siding with the upstart Blazers.

Should Oden’s knees take him out of the equation for a third-year in a row, the Blazers will be caught in a horrifying situation. They could very well be stuck with a crippled Oden and see Brandon Roy skip town. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what’s called a “breaking point”. Can the Blazers survive it?