Tonight in Los Angeles the Lakers will be taking on one of their Western Conference opponents from the Northwest Division, the Portland Trail Blazers. To get a different perspective on tonight’s game between the west coast rivals I sat down and had a chat with Kerry Eggers, a member of the Portland media. Eggers, who writes for the weekly newspaper the Portland Tribune, shared his thoughts on tonight’s rivalry game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers. With as much prestige and history as the Los Angeles Lakers have, it is no question that many if not all of the other Western Conference teams desire to be them. That plus a different brand of lifestyle that Hollywood provides helps create a large amount of hostility between the Lakers and their opponents.
“The Lakers are good. They have set the bar high for the Western Conference,” Eggers said. “Los Angeles is the city on the west coast. It’s not just Portland that aspires to be the Lakers. The Hollywood/Tinseltown lifestyle is very appealing.”
One of the most prominent facts in sports, however, is that players, coaches, and even owners eventually move on. This makes it tricky to maintain a rivalry that may have blossomed during a previous generation. But, for the fans this never matters. The sense of rivalry that was developed between the Lakers and Blazers in the early 1990’s, and then again during an unbelievable Western Conference Finals series in 2000, lives forever in the minds of the spectators.
“Fans never forget. The players on each squad are really a non-factor for the fans. While Portland and Los Angeles haven’t played in the post-season recently, there is still a budding rivalry that keeps it interesting. Especially between (Trail Blazers guard, Brandon) Roy and Kobe.”
Next: Expectations for Tonight and Beyond
Trail Blazers fans have been expecting their team to take the proverbial ‘next step’ for several years now, but the team has continuously been hindered by unfortunate injuries. Los Angeles, on the other hand, has won two consecutive championships and are poised to make a run at a third. While in the grand scheme of things this one game on a Sunday night in November might not mean much, it is still fun to speculate and look ahead to the expectations facing both teams.
“For Portland I think the goal is to take it one step further than last year,” Eggers stated. “Nate (McMillan) said before the season that their goal was to make the playoffs and win a series, perhaps more than one. If (Portland) can stay healthy, especially (Greg) Oden and (Joel) Pryzbilla, they can do it.”
Obviously the expectations for each team are different, as everyone associated with the Lakers knows that anything less than a third straight championships will be considered a colossal disappointment. But, if things fall into place come April or May there is certainly a chance that we see these two teams matched up once again in the post-season, and if so we may be in for some fireworks.
“I don’t necessarily think Portland is quite ready to beat the Lakers in a series yet. I think the Lakers are better than they were last year, and just like most people I think it will be Lakers and Heat in the Finals. Could Portland beat Los Angeles in a series? Sure. But I don’t think many people would expect them to.”
So from there we decided to discuss tonight’s game between the Lakers and Trail Blazers, and Eggers looked into his crystal ball to determine a winner for tonight’s game.
“Portland is playing the second night of a back to back while the Lakers had Saturday night off. I think that will be a key. Portland and Los Angeles regularly play competitive games, so I wouldn’t expect anything different in this one”
In the style of a true politician, Eggers wouldn’t predict a score. Not that anybody around here will blame him. There is no doubt that this has become one of the toughest games for the Lakers each year, and tonight should be no different. Tune in to see the Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers in this rivalry renewed.
I would also like to thank Kerry Eggers for taking the time to talk shop and give his take on tonight’s game. For those of you interested in reading more of Mr. Eggers work check out the Portland Tribune Sports page.