GODE enough without him

How good are the Blazers this year? Better than their 4-3 schedule shows. Better than anyone thought they'd be after the big man went down.

Take a look at the hell they have been through this year:

@ San Antonio: L 97-106
@ New Orleans: L 93-113
@ Houston: L 80-89
vs. New Orleans: W 93-90
vs. Memphis: W 110-98
vs. Dallas: W 91-82
vs. Detroit: W 102-84

Their strength of schedule right now is a ridiculous .712 and yet they have a virtually even point differential. Even Memphis, the "cupcake" of their schedule, is an underachieving good team, as they just proved with a win over Houston. LaMarcus Aldridge (20 pts, 9 reb) and Martell Webster (14 pts, 5 reb) are both leading candidates for the MIP award, while Steve Blake, Jarrett Jack and Channing Frye are doing exactly what they are need to. Would they be doing this well with GODE manning the paint? Perhaps, but I doubt it.