Theo

Ratliff

The Blazers so far have displayed two facets of winning teams -- good defense and balanced scoring. Last night they had 13 blocks and 14 steals, and five players were in double figures. Ratliff is a valuable starting fantasy center.

Ratliff’s shoulders are also bothering him, but he played Friday, wearning goggles. However, he might need eye surgery if heat and ointments can’t unclog the duct by Monday.

In November, Ratliff had just one double-digit scoring game and averaged 6.4 points. He picked it up in December, averaging 9.2 points and shooting 52.8 percent from the field in 15 games. Ratliff has scored in double digits in seven of the past 12 games and posted two double-doubles. He remains a top shot blocker, so the increased production in other areas makes him a good starting fantasy center.

Results should be available tonight, but you should probably bench him in daily leagues.

The Blazers will get Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz and tonight’s No. 7 pick in exchange for Ratliff and Telfair. With center Joel Przybilla rumored to be heading to Chicago at some point, it makes sense that the Blazers will take a big man with the No. 4 pick tonight, as opposed to Adam Morrison.

Ratliff was already signed for this season, so he’ll make $46 million over the next four years. Considering that Ratliff is 31, the shorter deal makes more sense.

Ratliff was set to enter the final season of a seven-year, $57 million contract. This new deal is probably worth between $10 million and $12 million per season, which would be pretty good for someone who hasn’t averaged 10 points or 8 rebounds per game since 2000.

Ratliff’s knee became a problem last season and we have likely seen his last game, but we suppose he could latch on somewhere else. Regardless he will have no fantasy value.

Berman lists Brown, Kurt Thomas, Tony Battie, Theo Ratliff and Aaron Gray as players the team will likely give an extended look. Of the group (which isn’t pretty), Gray could be the most interesting fit for the team given his relative youth compared to the others.

The Blazers used Zach Randolph at center in order to get Darius Miles a start tonight.