Final Score: Blazers 105, Suns 100

It appeared that the least intriguing of all the Western Conference Playoff series' was going to be the Suns and Blazers.

The 3-seed Suns have home court advantage and one of the best records in the NBA since the All-Star break. The 6-seed Blazers are playing without their lone star and best player, Brandon Roy, for the entire series.

In my playoff predictions, I thought the Suns would sweep the short-handed Blazers.

Boy, were we all wrong. The Portland Trailblazers came out hungry in Game 1 against the Suns on Sunday night, and ended up taking the road game 105-100. Without their leading scorer and best player, Brandon Roy, the Blazers needed players to step up. Veteran guard Andre Miller did the honors, scoring 31 points with 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Another veteran, new addition to this year's team, Marcus Camby, had 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in a tremendous effort.

Forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points, and young starter Nicolas Batum had 18. Second-year guard Jerryd Bayless contributed 18 points off the bench.

This Blazers team is just too deep and well-coached to be counted out. They have been missing their two best Center options, Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla, for months. And their best player is now done with a knee injury. But with a combination of explosive young players and crafty veterans, the Blazers have no shortage of bodies to come in and contribute. Portland causes fits for opponents with mismatches and different styles of play.

The Suns, meanwhile, came out with the mentality that most analysts did. They thought they were going to win easily and not get tested by the Roy-less Blazers, but that was not the case. Amare Stoudemire had 18 points, but shot just 8 for 19 from the field. Steve Nash had his usual great game with 25 points and 9 assists, but few of his teammates played their usual game.

Phoenix made 11 three pointers, but they shot 32 of them. They had 2 more turnovers than Portland and committed 6 more fouls. Portland played their game, taking control of the ball and playing an efficient half-court game. They limited Phoenix in transition and forced them to take contested threes all night.

Camby and Aldridge did a great job of containing Amare Stoudemire for much of the night, and none of the wing players for Phoenix stepped up to score in bunches.

The Blazers simply outplayed and outhustled the Suns, and their role players came to play. Veterans Andre Miller and Marcus Camby led the way and set the tone, and then the younger players contributed like they needed to.

In order to keep up their success, Portland will need to get contributions from many different players. They certainly have no problem with relying on several different guys, as they have all season. Usually, Roy is there to score in crunch time and be their go-to player. But instead, that responsibility will be split into the 5 guys on the floor. The Blazers are now 9-9 without Roy this season, and have proven that they can win without their injury-prone star.

As for Phoenix, expect them to come out much more aggressive in Game 2. They are the league's leading scoring team and usually are much more efficient on offense. They now know what they're up against, and expect the Suns to come out strong in Game 2.