Undermanned Blazers surge into break (AP)

In mid-December the vibe around the Portland Trail Blazers seemed fairly bleak. Center Greg Oden was already out for another season because of knee surgery, and something was wrong with All-Star guard Brandon Roy, too. It was clear that Roy was in trouble on Dec. 15 against the Dallas Mavericks, when he had just four points in 30 minutes, well off his season average of 16.6 points per game.

Bender, Jonathan Bibby, Mike Biedrins, Andris Billups, Chauncey