Jack Ramsay compares 2013-14 Portland Trail Blazers to 1976-77 championship team

Speaking with The Oregonian earlier this week, the legendary Jack Ramsay favorably compared the 2013-14 Portland Trail Blazers with the 1976-77 Portland team he coached to an NBA title. Ramsay said this year’s Portland squad has “the chance to be a great team,” adding the following assessment:

"They can match up with anybody, they defend well and they can score when they need to. I think (coach) Terry Stotts has done an incredible job with that group. It’s kind of reminiscent of the Trail Blazers team that I got when I first came to Portland. Nobody expected anything from that team — they had never had a .500 season — but everybody did his share. I think this team has similar components."

He went on to say that the unselfishness of the current Portland players is something he’s noticed:

"One factor that I think is overlooked is that every player on the [1976-77] team was a very good passer. So the players on the entire squad knew, if they got open, they were going to get the ball. Walton was the leader in that regard, but everybody else was able and willing to make the next pass. That brings unselfish play into the whole team and really makes it a unit. That Blazers team had that to a high degree, and I think the current Blazers do, too."

While there is a lot of basketball left to be played this season, it is nice to know the Blazers have such an important fan in their corner.

You can catch the West-leading Blazers on Thursday night when they host the Houston Rockets. The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on TNT.

[Source: The Oregonian]