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Having coached high school basketball for the last two seasons, I have gained a true appreciation for the quality of officiating by NBA referees.
Until this week.
This was a bad week for the league and its referees, as the NBA admitted there were blown calls that changed the outcome of two games.
Pistons No. 1 draft pick Andre Drummond
There is a developing groundswell of support for Andre Drummond as an alternative to Damian Lillard for Rookie of the Year.
This is a borderline insane notion, of course. Drummond is a big man who doesn’t even start for the awful Detroit Pistons, who harbor only faint playoff hopes despite playing in the Eastern Conference. Lillard is a point guard, the toughest position in the NBA, and is playing it so well that the Portland Trail Blazers are on the cusp of the Western Conference playoff race.
In the 2012 draft, Thomas Robinson and Damian Lillard could not have been closer together. Robinson 
went fifth to the Sacramento Kings and Lillard went sixth to the Portland Trail Blazers.
In their rookie seasons. however, Robinson and Lillard could not be farther apart.
To be fair, Lillard has had a better opportunity to show his wares. Portland basically gave him the point guard position with carte blanche to learn on the job, dumping everyone from last season except Nolan Smith.
Robinson wasn’t walking right into a chasm of a starting spot. But he did seem more than capable of backing up the starting big man tandem of DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson and making his mark over the course of the campaign.
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS)
Portland Trail Blazers fans had to endure one of the franchise’s worst meltdowns in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. Following an epic sell-off and housecleaning, the Blazers enter this season with a new general manager in Neil Olshey, a revamped coaching staff with a single holdover in Kaleb Canales and a roster that includes eight new players.
Doom and gloom and a second season in the draft lottery are what some are projecting for these Blazers. But it doesn’t have to be all bad. Here are a handful of good reasons to feel positive about the Blazers in 2012-13.
1. Damian Lillard is ready to play
Portland’s list of point guards of the future is long. This time, however, the Blazers may have gotten it right Unlike former draftees Sebastian Telfair and Jerryd Bayless, the holes in Lillard’s game aren’t major. Telfair couldn’t shoot like Lillard. Bayless was playing out of position at the point. Lillard is a legitimate scorer, an above-average shooter with deep range, and best of all he’s a natural point guard.
In four preseason games, Lillard already has shown that he can handle the offense. He is developing a nice 
rhythm with LaMarcus Aldridge. And most importantly, he seems to be dealing well with the pressure of being the next great hope of the city of Portland.
Lillard still has work to do. He needs to figure out how to get engaged in the first quarter of games, he has to work on his decision-making with regards to when and where to hoist a jump shot, and he hasn’t really shown signs of being an elite defender. Lillard is going to get a hands-on lesson on how to play his position. Since he will be a full-time starter all season, watching him progress is worth the price of admission.
2. Meyers Leonard has a tremendous upside
The Blazers’ other first-round pick isn’t quite as game-ready as Lillard, but center Meyers Leonard could end up being almost as fun to watch. At just 20 years old, Leonard is still coming into his own on almost every level. For Leonard, 2012-13 will be about learning on the fly. The Western Conference is full of versatile big men, and Leonard will get the chance to match up against most of them.
