Portland and All Things JBL

Whoops, it's been awhile since my last post...
I heard from the masses (Benny) that a Chronicles post was needed and when my public calls for me - I come to their rescue.

Yes, Brussels and I went to Portland this past weekend to take in a Blazer game. The weekend was awesome! It was just what the doctor ordered for a little rest and relaxation for the both of us. What's funny is that the actual Blazer game itself was the worst part. I've been going to Blazer games for years and have probably taken in a dozen or more over the years. Well, this one was the worst one I've ever seen. The Blazers are not a very good basketball team right now. And neither are the Kings. But when Batum has a bad back and can't do anything; Lillard is turning the ball over; and Matthews is getting injured multiple times; it means you're relying on Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith, Sasha Pavlovic and others to pick up the slack. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that isn't gonna work. The saving grace about the game was the fact that we had the all-you-can-eat seats so we were stuffing ourselves on roast turkey, prawns, pizza, and everything else you can imagine. We didn't even stay for the whole game!!

Here are my other thoughts about the PDX weekend and what's going on in the JBL these days...

• Brussels and Montreal hooked up on a trade. Jonas Valunciunas for Eric Bledsoe. Montreal has Kyrie and Rubio coming back so he could afford to give up Bledsoe. I thought for a second that Montreal was theme-teaming euro style - but apparently it's just a coincidence. But hey, if they wanted to - they're half way there
• The news that Bargnani is out for 1-2 months flooded the waiver wire with Ed Davis bids I'm sure. In the end it's Chilliwack winning his services for just $25 bucks. The rich get richer. The other part of this transaction was another JBL Lottery Rookie getting dumped. Jared Sullinger is no longer eligible for 5 years protection and finds his fat ass on the JBL waiver wire. If I had to guess, I think he'll get another shot on a JBL roster at some point this season.So, that's 3 of the 13 rookie picks now dropped. I would imagine Davis will be active next week in the CHWK lineup in place of the still disappointing Dorell Wright.
• Seoul was the other big winner of the night as he won CJ Miles for $20 bucks. Seoul needs Guards and he needs scoring so Miles fits the bill. Will Miles be able to keep up the hot streak is another question though. 
• Juan de Fuca must be kicking themselves this week. They just traded Cousins for Bargnani, Sanders, and Andray Blatche and what happens - Bargnani goes down for 1-2 months; Sanders gets the flu and misses a game and Blatche, who's still playing well, is likely headed back to the bench when Lopez returns from injury. Tough break for Juan.
• Idaho used another precious Free Agent dollar tonight on Kyle Singler. While the signing itself isn't really special what's worth noting is that Idaho now has just $8 bucks left for the entire season. Oh my.
• Maui got older with the signing of Derek Fisher. Love this signing by the way. Maui is an old injured team but Trev needed some PG/ATO help and Fisher might be able to fill in if needed.
• I like Arctic's signing of Toney Douglas. He's been very good lately. But it's the drop that is worth noting in this transaction as well. Elton Brand is now a free agent. In recent years Brand has been a hot commodity for his all round game. But this year, in Dallas, he sucks. Plain and simple. Is he worth signing down the road? Probably. But his glory days are clearly behind him. Somehow I can imagine him getting an offer sheet from Seoul.
• After spending the weekend in PDX with Brussels I know Timmy must be cringing to see Bryon Mullens decent line tonight. I think I heard Beasley and Mullens' names mentioned more times in a negative way last weekend than most divorced bitter ex-wives talk about their exes. Timmy hates the Beez and Mully. Hates them. And frankly, I think it's justified. But Murphy's Law states that when you bench someone - they will play well. Point proven tonight with Mully.
• I see Kyle Lowry is back on the sidelines again. The news is partially torn tricep? How is that a 10 day injury? Seems a little light. Anyways, looks like Jose Calderon becomes relevant again. Too bad I didn't have him active this week. 
• I also benched Dragic this week because he only played 2 games and one of those games was tonight against Memphis (Mike Conley). I went with 4 games from Devin Harris. Well, I can say I'm not overly impressed with Harris this week. He was OK tonight but I'm not sure he's gonna survive the week.
• I read a recent Grantland article about which guys might get traded after December 15th. One of the guys on the list was Jason Thompson in Sacramento. He's an OK forward who is who he is and he's blocking the development of Thomas Robinson. It will be interesting to see if Sacramento makes any moves and if T-Rob gets a chance to play. I've held on to him this long I may as well let this play out.
• Ersan Ilyasova is getting better. He's finally found a rhythm it looks like. It would be nice if he could get a few more minutes still.
• The much anticipated fart off between Brussels and Golden in PDX never really got off the ground. Both of us had our moments where we could really taste the odor but I think we'd have to call it a draw in terms of overall quality. Very disappointing in that regard.
• The much hyped all you can drink at Embassy Suites lived up to the legend and Timmy and I got snottered on Friday night. Then we hit the Mexican food cart for a dozen chicken tacos. Oh yeah. Gooned + Chicken Tacos = Yummy Heaven.
• Golden had 97 rebounds tonight with 12 guys playing. Impressive.
• Jason Maxiell already has 40 blocks this year in 24 games. Last year he had 50 blocks in 65 games. So, did he learn to jump this off season? What gives?
• Who is the best fantasy player? Lebron or Durant? What an awesome discussion topic.
• Kevin Love, despite averaging 21 and 14, continues to struggle with his shot. Tonight he was 3/17 from the field. He lost the head to head match up vs. the Manimal (26-14). 
• How does Phoenix beat Memphis? Makes no sense.
• Why does JaVale McGee continue to get limited minutes? Tonight he played just 16 minutes. I'm sure Benny would like to talk to George Karl about that rotation. 
• The Hawks are now 13-6. I have to say I didn't think they would be this good. They really don't have a go-to scorer. They must play wicked defense. Josh has certainly turned it around after his very slow start. I'm still glad I made the move for Westy though (even though I hate his game) as I needed his scoring. Timmy and I watched the OKC vs. Laker game on Friday night in Portland. Westy had 27 points at half time and finished with just 34 (or something like that). I think he's actually too athletic. Hear me out. When he takes a jump shot he actually jumps too high. He can't help himself. He's going so fast that he can't control himself when he takes off. It's not a pretty stroke by any means.
• The Lakers are now 9-13. Crazy.
• With Christmas just around the corner it's almost time to start looking at some of the cheaper keeper options for next season. Who has the best keepers? Who will be a buyer and who will be a seller. How many teams are still title contenders? All of us?? I think so. But some are obviously more urgent to make positive moves than others I would say. Who are the undervalued guys? I think this will be the focus of my next JBL posting - whenever that may. 

So for now, I say good night.