Dont forget Portland is Simmons home town team. I believe he made a wager with one of our local writers about the outcome of a regular season game earlier in the season and lost, forcing him to do a full column on the rox.
You're thinking of Henry Abbott from Truehoop. He's a very thoughtful analyst, and one of the best basketball voices on the internet today.
You know whats weird. In my NBA 2k9 season, i played the Blazers in the first round and the lakers in the second, won both of them in 7... Maybe its a sign.
Neither Simmons, nor House (his friend) mentioned how the teams matched up in the regular season. I thought that was curious.