West offers rough road to playoffs

By Jason Quick of The Oregonian staff 

Arvydas Sabonis took on Rasheed Wallace on Sunday at the Trail Blazers' 
practice facility in Tualatin. Wallace wanted to see who could make a 
shot from behind the basket by shooting the ball over the shot clock 
and over the backboard. 

Wallace's first shot made it over the shot clock but hit the top of the 
backboard on the way down. 

Sabonis swished his shot, smiled as Wallace playfully cussed at him, 
then smiled even wider when Wallace missed his second try. 

Although Sabonis did not take part in an earlier fullcourt scrimmage -- 
icing his sore right foot instead -- it was a good sight for the 
Blazers, seeing the 36-year-old Sabonis spry and playful. 

"I feel good," Sabonis said, shying away from an interview. "What is 
there to talk about? I feel good, I'm cleanshaven . . . everything 
good." 

When Sabonis feels good, so, too, do the Blazers. When the 7-foot-3 
center scores 10 points or more, the Blazers are 22-5 this season. When 
he does not, the Blazers are 10-11. 

So naturally, the health of Sabonis is of huge concern to coach Mike 
Dunleavy. Sabonis has missed 21 games: the first eight recovering from 
left knee surgery, four with a sprained knee, three with back spasms, 
two with a sore right foot, one with a sprained right ankle, one with a 
toothache and two because Dunleavy wanted to rest him. 

Sabonis is one of Dunleavy's biggest dilemmas heading into the final 13 
games of the season. Dunleavy has struggled deciding whether to rest 
Sabonis and have him fresh for the playoffs, or to play him, which 
would increase the Blazers' chance of winning these regular-season 
games, which could be the difference between a No. 6 seed and a No. 2 
seed in the Western Conference. 

Dunleavy won't reveal his plan for the rest of the season, but he said 
his decision should be evident by his choice to start Sabonis last 
Thursday in Utah. 

"I made the decision to start him because of his presence in the lineup," 
Dunleavy said. "These games right now are too important for us." 

Point guard Damon Stoudamire said the team knows Sabonis is one of the 
key elements to the Blazers' chances for a title. 

"He's always going to be an important piece, it's just a matter of how 
much you are going to get out of him," Stoudamire said. "Certain days 
he feels better than others, and obviously you can tell when he feels 
well." 

Like the last time the Blazers played tonight's opponent, the Clippers, 
on March 1. Sabonis was the key to the 94-81 win, making 10 of 17 shots 
en route to matching his season high of 23 points in 25 minutes. 

"When he tends to struggle is when he tends to just want a day off," 
Stoudamire said while laughing. "But when you have as much mileage as 
he does on that body, that is to be expected. But when he comes to 
play, he's going to affect the game at both ends, and we are going to 
be hard to beat." 

One of the most acclaimed European players in history, Sabonis is in 
his sixth season with the Blazers, the longest current tenure of any 
player. But he is one of the least well-known. He rarely consents to 
interviews and he usually avoids scenes like that in Sunday's rowdy 
weightroom, where the team gathered to watch the end of the Temple-
Michigan State game. 

Sabonis, meanwhile, dressed and left the facility, without as much as a 
goodbye from anyone. 

"I sit next to Sabas on the team plane, so I probably talk to him as 
much as anyone on the team," Stoudamire said. "He's a funny guy. He 
kind of keeps to himself, but he opens up. He is just fooling with you 
media people; he says he doesn't speak good English, but he's back 
there on the plane talking his butt off. He just doesn't like talking 
to you all." 

Sabonis is in the last year of his contract and has said he wants to 
come back and play for the Blazers. Stoudamire said the team needs 
Sabonis. 

"With everything that goes on around here, he's probably the biggest 
team player of them all in terms of not caring about the minutes, or 
who scores," Stoudamire said. "He just wants to win. That's the only 
thing that matters to him. In his world, he's reached the basketball 
pinnacle. The only reason he is still playing over here is because he 
wants to win a title." 

A title that is more likely if he is healthy and in the lineup.