LaMarcus Aldridge has showed early signs that he could break out in his second season. AP

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In Oden's absence, McMillan at least has learned more about the players he already had. Second-year forward LaMarcus Aldridge, for one, has established himself, with Brandon Roy and Oden, as the core of whatever Pritchard and McMillan put around them. The lanky 6-11 Dallas native scored 27 points against the Spurs and 20 at Houston, after averaging 19.5 in the preseason on 56.2 percent shooting.

Center Joel Przybilla, for another, figured to be an expensive afterthought with Oden around. But he had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the opener and has played well enough to keep Aldridge from having to shift from power forward. Channing Frye, off the bench, might swap roles with Przybilla but still would keep Aldridge in his comfort zone.

Roy, the 2007 Rookie of the Year, had a dismal first game but bounced back to score 23 in each of the next two. He has obvious leadership traits -- he shouldered responsibility for the team's slow start -- and, until one of the point guards (Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez) asserts himself sufficiently, figures to handle more offense-initiating chores.

The rest of the roster (the NBA's youngest) has oodles of talent, from Frye and swingman Martell Webster to newcomer James Jones and forgotten-and-injured Darius Miles. One concern: McMillan has heard the skeptics who wonder if Portland is too young, and doesn't necessarily disagree.

"You can be too young,'' he conceded, "and that's something we're looking at. In this league, you normally don't win without experienced players. But we have assets, we have a core and we can look to build around that. Some [veterans] would want to be a part of that. Some don't, or just don't fit into that.''

McMillan also said that reports of the Blazers, unshackled from the Zach Randolph low-post era, being dedicated to racetrack basketball are exaggerated. "We talk about running more, but everybody's doing that. Memphis. Minnesota, I'm sure. But teams aren't all of a sudden becoming the Phoenix Suns,'' he said. "It's just that right now, running and getting easy baskets is more suited to my team then pounding it in the half-court against a lot of teams in the West.''

Crazily, McMillan wonders if he might be around long enough to reap what he and the Blazers, through back-breaking, on-hands-and-knees work, are sowing. "I may be the coach who gets this team into position where they're ready to go,'' he said, "and somebody else comes in to take them there.''

That's the coach in him, the one lugging around the wins and losses, talking. Doc Rivers felt that way in Boston until this summer. Randy Wittman feels that way in Minnesota. Every guy with a whistle who's doing the hard work of coaching -- the building, the stuff that comes in between games rather than at tip-off -- worries about that. That also happens when you're circling, your progress stalled, with too much time to ponder.

Speaking of which, the Portland facility has a dynamite office-phone system. When a caller is put on hold, instead of elevator music or radio highlights of recent games, he hears Roy thanking fans for their support, then Rodriquez doing the same in Spanish, then other players chiming in.

Now if only the Blazers do as well handling this season on hold.

Steve Aschburner covered the Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA for 13 seasons for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He served as president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association from 2005-2007.