Typical Blazers TUALATIN, Ore. -- Second-year Trail Blazers forward Zach Randolph is expected to be suspended by the club for punching teammate Ruben Patterson in the face Wednesday, according to reports out of Portland by Fox 12 news and The Oregonian. Team spokesman Mike Hanson confirmed there was "an incident that did occur during practice" but added that "reports of disciplinary action at this point are unwarranted." According to the reports, three Blazers were involved in an altercation at the team's practice facility -- reserves Randolph, Patterson and rookie Qyntel Woods -- and had to be separated. Randolph's punch drew "large amounts of blood" while Patterson's arms were held back by teammates who had stepped in to stop a brief Woods-Patterson skirmish, according to The Oregonian's account. The incident comes just days after Woods was cited by Portland police on mar1juana possession charges after a traffic stop Saturday night. The Blazers had been scrimmaging near the end of what coach Maurice Cheeks termed a "heated" practice when Patterson and Woods began pushing and bumping each other, the newspaper reported. Randolph, who is Woods' close friend, came to the defense of Woods and hit the unsuspecting Patterson. "I've been around a long time, and things happen in practice," Cheeks told The Oregonian. "But this one was ... this was more serious." It was unclear what the original argument was about, and Cheeks would not say, the newspaper reported. Cheeks met with members of his coaching staff and front-office personnel Wednesday to determine what penalties would be levied against Randolph. A livid Patterson broke free from the grasp of Arvydas Sabonis and Chris Dudley but was unable to reach Randolph. Woods and Randolph were escorted out of the Blazers practice facility to prevent a further altercation. The Blazers (46-27) hold a one-game lead over Minnesota for the Western Conference's final first-round home court playoff seed with nine games remaining. Cheeks told The Oregonian he worries about the team "breaking apart" over the incident. "I don't know if it will shake the team, but I think this is going to test my coaching skills, just in trying to keep us together," he told the newspaper after practice. "We are on a pretty good roll right now, and it's unfortunate that this has happened. I have to make sure our family stays together. I'm just being tested again." The 6-foot-9 Randolph, 21, has developed into one of the Blazers' best players off the bench, averaging 12.2 points in his last four games. The 6-5 Patterson, 27, is also considered one of the Blazers' top reserve. You have got to love them Blazers. This is just in time for the playoffs. They have the TWolves in the first round. Maybe because of this, the Twolves get out of the first round.
Kam you just beat me to it. Thats wild though. If this problem continues through the playoffs then the Blazers are gonna have to clean house this summer.
Gotta love the Blazers. They always have an extremely talented squad that either wants to break the law or kill each other.
I think it was Seattle, and it involved our beloved Mad Max, when he threw a weight at his team mate. That was freaking hilarious.
Geez, what did Patterson do? Get a hold of Zach's babysitter? JamesC, the blazers are never going to clean house, and I doubt they could even if they did try.
They are pretty crazy. Even though the Rockets suck, at least the Rockets teammates all seem to get along and never fight. Zach Randolph has been doing great. I wonder what they were fighting about. The only good guy on their team is Sabonis.
