BLAZERS: 2007 Training Camp Central

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	Tuesday: Interviews with LaMarcus Aldridge and Taurean Green

	Wednesday \|\| Thursday\|\| Friday\|\| Monday\|\| Monday Pt. 2 \|\| Tuesday

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NW Division Previews by Tony Luftman

Trail Blazers TV Sudio Host Tony Luftman breaks down all the Northwest Division rivals for Training Camp Central. Find out who improved, who has drama swirling around their franchise, and who is going to be making it to the playoffs.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Can you remember starting a job and wanting to make a great impression on your co-workers? Okay, that’s where I’m at in my 1st month here in Portland. I really want to impress my bosses and new co-workers by getting these predictions right. When I first started I said that this year in the Northwest Division would mirror last season in terms of final standings. I meant that for the top 3 teams. I expect the bottom 2 to flip flop with the Timberwolves finishing dead last. So back to impressing everyone in Portland, I’m making the logical choice of picking the T’Wolves to bring up the rear in the division.

Seattle Supersonics

There is so much drama surrounding the Sonics and whether they will be in Seattle beyond this season that not enough attention is being paid to the '07-'08 team that is already in training camp. P.J. Carlesimo's first season at the helm will be exciting on the court even as things continue to swirl controversially off the floor for the franchise.

Last Year:
Seattle finished last in the division with a 31-51 record and missed the playoffs. It was the team's worst record since also finishing the 1985-86 season at 31-51.

Denver Nuggets

Do you remember the movie “Groundhog Day?” Bill Murray’s character was forced to re-live the same day over and over again. Well I think in a similar way that this season’s order of finish in the Northwest Division will be the exact same as it was a year ago. A significant difference should be noted though: I think that the Blazers will make the playoffs this season. Each day this week we’ll focus on the Blazers competition in the division and the story lines to track as training camp begins.

Utah Jazz

Last Year: Utah finished 1st in the division with a 51-31 record and advanced to the Western Conference Finals where it was eliminated by the eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

Key Storylines: Not only the key storyline in the days leading up to the start of training camp but one of the most interesting storylines of the entire off-season has been the soap opera featuring former All-Star and still current Jazzman Andrei Kirilenko. At once considered one of the league’s most amazing and versatile talents, last season he was limited to season lows across the board. His trade request came after his Russian team won the European Championship over host country Spain.

Trail Blazers 2007 Training Camp Roster
No	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	Yrs.	School/Country
12	LaMarcus Aldridge	F/C	6-11	245	7/19/85	1	Texas
2	Steve Blake	G	6-3	172	2/26/80	4	Maryland
	Chris Ellis	F	6-9	250	3/5/84	R	Wake Forest
44	Channing Frye	F	6-11	248	05/17/83	2	Arizona
0	Taurean Green	G	6-0	177	11/28/86	R	Florida
1	Jarrett Jack	G	6-3	197	10/28/83	2	Georgia Tech
33	James Jones	F	6-8	220	10/04/80	4	Miami (Fla.)
9	Raef LaFrentz	C/F	6-11	265	5/29/76	9	Kansas
50	Josh McRoberts	F	6-10	240	2/28/87	R	Duke
23	Darius Miles	F	6-9	222	10/9/81	6	East St. Louis HS (Ill.)
25	Travis Outlaw	F	6-9	215	9/18/84	4	Starkville HA (Miss.)
	Brent Petway	F	6-8	205	5/12/85	R	Michigan
	J.R. Pinnock	G	6-4	204	12/11/83	1	George Washington
10	Joel Przybilla	C	7-1	255	10/10/79	7	Minnesota
11	Sergio Rodriguez	G	6-3	168	6/12/86	1	Spain
7	Brandon Roy	G	6-6	229	7/23/84	1	Washington
8	Martell Webster	G	6-7	229	12/4/86	2	Seattle Prep (Wash.)

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Wednesday:

Point Guards

Another year is upon us and like all years in the NBA preseason, there will be battles for who gets playing time. The most interesting position to watch and see what Nate does, leading up to the first game, will be the quarterback or who will be the point guard of the 07-08 Blazers.

I don’t think you want to call this Nate’s problem position. Any time you have the depth and skills that the five perspective guards have, it can’t be called a problem. The five that are in the hunt for playing time are: Taurean Green, Jarrett Jack, Sergio Rodriguez, Steve Blake and Brandon Roy.

Forwards

If the Blazers follow through on their pre-season plan to run more, the most important position could be the small and power forward positions. You can’t run in the NBA if your big men can’t beat the other teams’ big men down the court.

The Blazers big men can all run on the break. If you look at the small forward position, of Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw and James Jones, you will realize that a fast up-tempo game will be of great benefit to what they do best.

Follow what goes on with the Trail Blazers as we "Twitter" from Training Camp. We'll try to keep you updated as to what is going on with practice and everything else with the team as it ramps up for opening night.

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