An open letter of sympathy to Blazers fans from equally sad Warriors fans

Considering the eerily similar fortunes -- or misfortunes would be more accurate -- surrounding the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers, I took it upon myself to write a letter of sympathy to all Blazers fans on behalf of Warriors fans. I can only hope that I accurately and thoroughly express our deep-felt sorrow while offering just a hint of cheer and good feelings this holiday season. Likewise, Blazers Examiner Max Price offered an apology to Warriors fans after learning what it's like to follow a cursed team.

Dear Blazers fans,

I'm sure this letter arrives during a time of deep emotional anguish. You must feel as if your team has been dealt an unfair and undeserved dose of punishment for some unknown transgressions of the past. Surely you're feeling as if the current state of your team could not get any worse and the injury gods of the NBA have heaped a never-before-seen amount of cruelty on your franchise.

Well, friend. I'm here to tell you that indeed it could be worse. You could be a fan of the Golden State Warriors.

We too have sent what's left of our depleted team out on the road to fight the brave fight without its leader. Like Nate McMillan, who stayed home after rupturing his Achilles tendon while the Blazers embarked on a four-game road trip, Warriors coach Don Nelson is home resting and recovering from a case of pneumonia while our team is out visiting five cities in eight days. In fact, this is the second straight road trip that Nelson has missed. Just 18 wins from setting the all-time record for coaching victories, Nelson tried to come back for a pair of home games, but looked and sounded awful and admitted to feeling dizzy at times while on the bench.

Perhaps seeing what has happened to his young yet once-promising team contributed to Nelson's illness. You see, you're not the only one who will be forced to play without your starting center now that Greg Oden is lost for the season with a knee injury. The Warriors' starting center and longest-tenured player despite being only 23 years old, Andris Biedrins, has missed the past 15 games with something called osteitis pubis, which turns out is an inflammation of the muscles that attach his right groin to his abdominal muscles. And backup center Ronny Turiaf, who started the season opener at power forward, has missed all but four games with a knee injury.

And I feel for you and know that you must be missing dearly Travis Outlaw (foot), Nicolas Batum (shoulder), Rudy Fernandez (back) and Jeff Pendergraph (hip) as well as the assorted missed games for LaMarcus Aldridge and Dante Cunningham. And wouldn't it be nice to see what impact, if any, young Patty Mills, who played college ball just down the road from Oakland, would have if he could lace 'em up at all.

Indeed, we in the Bay Area feel your pain -- literally. Consider that Brandan Wright (shoulder), the team's best player at the start of training camp, and Kelenna Azubuike (knee), the team's next best player in camp and a starter early in the season, are gone for the year. Speedy Claxton hasn't played and likely won't play this season and Devean George only made his debut on Monday. Our third-string center, Mikki Moore, was signed as a veteran insurance policy but is now trying to start and play despite a bone spur in his heel that requires surgery. Raja Bell, who was acquired in a trade, is likely done for the year with a wrist injury and C.J. Watson, who Nelson said he wanted to see start over rookie Stephen Curry in certain matchups, missed a handful of games with the swine flu. Swine flu? Are you kidding? Talk about undo cruelty. Anthony Randolph has been out with a back injury, Corey Maggette, forced to fill in at center at times, is playing with a sore hamstring and most recently, Anthony Morrow left the team to attend the funeral of a family member only to have weather and delayed flights conspire against him and force him to miss an extra game.

It's my understanding that McMillan was injured while participating in practice due to a shortage of healthy players. Not to make light of the situation, but at least your coach can still play. Nelson is 69 and when the Warriors found themselves with only six players available to practice, they signed a D-Leaguer who was cut by the Knicks. CUT BY THE KNICKS! They asked Turiaf and George to suit up knowing they couldn't play, just to meet the NBA minimum of eight players in uniform. They then took on Dallas, one of the best teams in the West, with only six players -- and won! It was a bright spot in an otherwise dark string of events.

Of course we would like to thank your Blazers for helping lift our spirits if only for a short while. That win against your team on Nov. 22 was a welcome elixir.

But there have been only two wins since then, so we've been in a bit of a downer. Of course, at least we no longer have to worry about Stephen Jackson and his horrible attitude. Trading our former captain nine games into the season may have signaled an official starting over point for the season, but it's better to start over than continue down that path.

At least you can take solace in your team's 13 wins (we have 6) and a future, with or without Oden long-term, that looks bright and promising. At full strength, you're a sure-fire playoff team and a contender in the Western Conference. The Warriors at full strength? At this rate, we may never know. The Feb. 18 trading deadline could signal another shuffling of players and another attempt to re-start the season with a new cast of characters.

But I digress. This letter was meant to offer our deepest sympathies and assure you that others are equally saddened by your dastardly run of bad luck. So please, with all sincerity, accept our apologies and condolences.

Good luck as you go forward. We only hope that our luck can be as bad as yours in the future.

Sincerely,

Mike Massa

P.S. My daughter, 9, suggests that perhaps the two teams can combine into one for the time being and put a competitive, and most importantly, complete team on the court. She suggests the name War-lazers.