The Downbeat #2010 - It Has Begun!

The season starts tonight. Utah Jazz @ Portland Trail Blazers. #TakeNote

Yup. The NBA Season begins today. There are three games — New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers; San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors; and our Utah Jazz @ Portland Trail Blazers. The Jazz will be facing the Blazers for the THIRD TIME this month. Utah dropped the previous two games in the preseason. Does that mean anything? Yes and no. Depending on if we win tonight or not.

I’m really excited for the start of the season — though as a manager of a blog, I wouldn’t mind another month to prep. But that’s just me. I’ll have to live with the decisions I’ve made about my free time. (And how I didn’t spend every free moment prepping for our Championship season.)

Anyway, we’ll have plenty of #UTAatPOR coverage today. So be sure to keep clicking back on the site for all of it.

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The game starts at 8:00 pm MT, and is on ROOT Sports.

Yesterday we dropped our SWAG Ratings.

Joe Ingles did not agree with the rankings.

Maybe we need to revisit this and do a social media swag rating? Joe Ingles would be off the charts.

Our big bros over at Pounding The Rock wrote about the Utah Jazz. Check it here:

It’s good! They are nice to us. Kinda. Like big brothers. There’s a great gif of Gregg Popovich and George Hill!

Okay, I’m taking a leap here, but this was something I actually found worth reading from The Undefeated. I don’t read every website on the internet, so it’s hard to judge a book by it’s cover, or a site by one post. But this post really got me thinking. And maybe Jazzfans wouldn’t mind thinking about it too.

Statistically the NBA would be forced to categorize “white players” are minorities. Especially so for Americans. Statistically the world and America herself, will be doing the same in another few generations. (If not sooner.) That’s not the happiest of thoughts if you were/are at the top of the heap. But just as Larry Bird had no one to pass the torch to, it seems like in terms of race and dominance, there are just some shifts we may not applaud but will happen regardless of our preference.

Gordon Hayward is one of the few guys out there who fit the bill as an American white baller. Jimmer Fredette is another. A few of the NBA’s Captain Americas spot with The Undefeated on the subject. And it’s not all doom and gloom. But it is worth the click over to read it.

I think Doug McDermott really hits the nail on the head when he starts talking about the Golden State Warriors pair of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. While he doesn’t go into genetics (which I would have) he does talk about their suburban privilege being at the very least culturally dissimilar to the common idea of African American struggles to get into the NBA. Genetically, though, yeah. At least HALF of their backcourt is white. That’s not P.C. to say, but it is science that rules me, not the feelings of special interest groups. (Aside from our own special interest group of Jazz fans.)

The Undefeated, ESPN

Last thing, these two charts. My, how have the Jazz fallen! Bonus points to anyone who can name all six of those guys from the first group!

Who are your Five least favorite Portland Trail Blazers players, of all time? I get the feeling that my list is probably going to be pretty close to some of the lists Portland fans would have for their Five MOST favorite players. Anyway, here’s my list and reasoning:

1. Clyde Drexler — he was so unstoppable, and caused so much pain. Even when he was with the Rockets he dropped 40 on us in the NBA Playoffs. I will hate greatness, and Clyde the Glide was great
2. Terry Porter — he outplayed / performed John Stockton in the 1992 Western Conference Finals. The simplest of observations prove this, he was the point guard of the team that won the series. And I hate him for it.
3. Brian Grant — for being such an efficient obstacle in those Jazz post-finals playoff flame outs.
4. LaMarcus Aldridge — Such a weak, wussie of a player who would rather shoot baseline threes than grab rebounds. Hugely overated, esp as a four time All-Star in Portland where he averaged a double double only twice in nine seasons despite playing 35.5 MPG.
5. Derek Anderson, because he hit on my girl. Or maybe I should like him because he has good taste in women? I don’t know.

There are a lot of great guys to hate, Bonzi Wells, Scottie Pippen, Ruben Patterson, and so forth. So who is in your five?