The Blazers only shot 39% from the floor last night and they were outrebounded 49-34 which did them in. Andre Miller (20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) and LaMarcus Aldridge (19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Trailblazers last night. Wes Matthews pitched in with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. The Trailblazers are now 33-26 on the year.

The Blazers needed all hands on the deck to hold off the new look Denver Nuggets last night. LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Trailblazers last night with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocked shots. Rudy Fernandez (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 44 minutes) and Andre Miller (18 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 blocked shots) also had really good games for the Blazers last night. Brandon Roy (18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 24 minutes) and Wesley Matthews (16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) also had solid games for the Blazers last night. The Trailblazers are now 33-25 on the season.

The Portland Trailblazers have acquired 27-year old small forward Gerald Wallace from the Trailblazers for 31-year old center Joel Przybilla, 23-year old power forward Dante Cunningham, 35-year old PF/C Sean Marks and 2 1st round picks. Gerald Wallace played in 48 games (all starts) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 39.0 minutes, 15.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 592 games (454 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.5 minutes, 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Wallace will bump Nicolas Batum to the bench, and he will pair with LaMarcus Aldridge to give the Blazers one of the best forward tandems in the NBA. He brings energy to both ends of the court and he is a outstanding rebounder.

Joel Przybilla played in 31 games (9 starts) for the Blazers this season and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 1.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. In 7 years with the Blazers, Przybilla played in 395 games (273 starts) in which he averaged 22.4 minutes, 4.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. The Blazers shouldn’t miss Przybilla too much. Dante Cunningham played in 56 games (9 starts) for the Trailblazers this season and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 5.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He played in 119 games (11 starts) in his two seasons with the Blazers and he averaged 15.3 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The Blazers will miss Cunningham a little bit as he really improved in his second year for them. Sean Marks played in 29 games (0 starts) for the Blazers this season and he was averaging 7.2 minutes, 1.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Gerald Wallace didn’t come cheap, but the Trailblazers are a much better team now than they were yesterday. I really like this deal for them.

The Trailblazers seemed to just run out of gas in O.T. last night. LaMarcus Aldridge had another monster night for the Blazers with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Nicolas Batum (22 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Wesley Matthews (22 points, 2 assists and 2 steals) also had solid games for the Trailblazers last night. The Blazers are now 32-25 on the season.

The Portland Trailblazers are 32-24 right now which has them in 2nd place in the Northwest Division, 4 games behind the Thunder. If everything breaks right, the Blazers can make a run at the Thunder for the division crown. The are currently the #5 seed for the playoffs as they are 14 games behind the Spurs. The Trailblazers need to keep playing well as they are currently only 1.5 games better than the Grizzlies who are the current #9 seed in the Western Conference.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: 25-year old power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has risen to the challenge this year for the Blazers. They needed someone to step up on offense due to the team being without Brandon Roy for a long stretch and Aldridge has been that guy. Aldridge has played in 56 games (all starts) for the Trailblazers so far this year and he is averaging 39.4 minutes, 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Aldridge got dissed for the All-Star team and the Blazers hope he takes it out on the rest of the league.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 23-year old Greg Oden has not and will not play in a game this season due to injury. He has been a complete waste for the Blazers who seem doomed to have made the same mistake twice. The Blazers took an injury prone center (Sam Bowie) over Michael Jordan in the NBA Draft and now they have selected Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. What a nightmare.