Cosmic wrote:The Portland Trailblazers when they loaded up on all that talent. I don't even recall the exact year when they were at their peak.

Was it 0203?

That team's BENCH was better than half the league's starting five!

Of course, the NBA was all in the Lakers butt so I still say Portland got screwed that year (and so did the Kings) in the interest of the league wanting to make Kobe/Shaq the new face of the league.

Which well, makes me wonder why I watch these games beyond the same way I watched the WWF in the 80s....knowing it was rigged.

I guess it's just entertainment in the end.

I think the best trailblazer team from that era was the 99-00 one. The year they choked against the lakers. That team was straight up better than the Lakers and ridiculously deep.

Jermaine O'Neal
Scottie Pippen
Arvydas Sabonis
Detlef Schrempf
Steve Smith
Damon Stoudamire
Rasheed Wallace
Bonzi Wells

I'm thinking of the year where Sabonis would hold his ground, Shaq would smash into him, and they'd keep calling Sabonis for fouls.

I thought it was the same year the refs got together halfway through the 4th quarter of a Kings-about-to-eliminate-the-Lakers game and decided to whistle all fouls possible on the Kings and ignore any Laker fouls so the Lakers could win the game and advance.

Maybe it wasn't the same year.

But I think you know what I'm saying when I think of the LOADED Blazers team!

Lakers three-peat should have been a Lakers one-peat with the Blazers and Kings also winning titles.

Not so sure why Stern wanted a Laker three-peat. I just don't get it. Fans were on board with the Blazers and Kings getting rings.

But, well, whatever......that's one big whole different argument.

So back to the topic? PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS ... failblazers.

That was one loaded roster.

VDesai wrote:The Suns team that Barkley was on with KJ, Majerle, Chambers, etc. that we brawled with had an insane amount of talent.

so did the Utah Jazz, but the Michael Jordan era created a sad fate for several other hugely talented NBA teams