They're back by Mike Barrett 08/27/2007 Most NBA teams will get set to welcome their players back in late September, or early October. For the Trail Blazers, it has happened slightly sooner than that. Teams can't require players to report until October, so this is totally voluntary. With that in mind, you should know that today (Monday), at the practice facility, Greg Oden, Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Jarrett Jack, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Channing Frye, Josh McRoberts, and James Jones, were going at it, five on five, like it was a mid-season practice. Travis Outlaw is expected to arrive by Wednesday. New Orleans' Desmond Mason, who lives in Portland during the off-season, was playing as well, as were a couple of other players. That made it possible to have the five-on-five runs, with a sub or two. Darius Miles was there as well, but is still rehabbing, and didn't take part in the full-court runs. "Not a bad run for August," joked Blazers assistant coach Dean Demopolous, as he stuck his head in the gym. "Actually, not a bad run anytime." Several coaches were there, and were allowed to work with the players on one-on-one drills, but are not allowed to coach during the full-court games. We got a look at a healthy Oden, and to say he was impressive is an understatement. He about ripped the rim down with several dunks, and was swatting shots away at the defensive end. He was explosive around the rim, and showed his developing outside touch. Probably most impressive is the way this 19-year old controls the middle of the paint. His defense is here. The offense is right around the corner. Frye, who had to guard Oden most of the day, sat next to me between one of the games, and said, "that kid is a monster, just a monster. He is so strong. He has no idea how strong he is. He doesn't even realize it. He was just throwing me around," said Frye, shaking his head. Keep in mind, Frye has been with the USA select team in Las Vegas, guarding the likes of Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. Kevin Pritchard, who was also in Vegas, was just telling us on the radio last week how impressed he was with Frye's defense on the Dream Team's big men. After the workout, I asked Oden how he feels. "Pretty good," he said. "I'm here to get in shape, and am going to hit the weights like crazy." So, in other words, he's only going to get stronger. Also very impressive during the full-court games was Martell Webster, who has lost 15 pounds. He possibly had the dunk of the day, crossing over and throwing it down over Aldridge, who had designs on blocking the shot. "That kid has improved," said Aldridge. "He put that one right in my face, and I really didn't expect it." Webster was also dropping in three pointers with accuracy, as we've come to expect. Don't think he doesn't realize Jones and Outlaw are going to be battling him for minutes a the 3 position. The guard play was solid on this first day, with Jarrett Jack hitting from all over the court. The acquisition of Blake has seemed to inspire Jarrett, as he looks to be in mid-season form. Today, Jack spent a lot of time playing in the same backcourt with Brandon Roy, and they were switching back and forth between the guard positions. Roy looks to be in great shape, by the way. Blake, who rolled his ankle last week, had a great shooting day, and ran the team like the veteran he is. Rookie Taurean Green, who closed with a strong summer league, was also solid. Aldridge continues to show why many have predicted that he'll lead this Portland team in scoring this season. He was hitting inside and outside, and runs the floor so well for a guy his size. Frye, who's a better outside shooter than Aldridge, spent time dragging Oden out to the perimeter and was firing over him. Almost as a disclaimer, I need to throw in the fact that this Trail Blazer team's playing rotation will be the league's youngest. One projected starting five for this team will average 21.8 years of age. So, in other words, I'm trying to somewhat check my enthusiasm. But, it's easy to get excited watching this crew work- even in the month of August. Ace photographer Jeff Curtin was with me today at the practice facility and shot some great video of the full-court session. We also interviewed a few players. As soon as those are edited and put together (most likely Monday evening), I'll give you a link. They'll also be posted on the "news" page on this website. Much more news, photos, and interviews to come this week. Check back often. 原文： http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/theyre-back.html 練習賽的圖片： http://www.nba.com/blazers/news/082707_Photos_from_Practice-235438-1664.html 點圖片可以放大 練習賽的影片： http://www.nba.com/blazers/news/ --

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