Chris Broussard opened up a tasty can of worms today ranking the NBA's top threesomes. Aside from the individual rankings and pairings themselves was how many teams actually have their own Big Three. As we saw in the Finals, both Boston and Los Angeles were assembled of three key ingredients. And other playoff teams such as Dallas, Phoenix, Washington, New Orleans, Detroit, and maybe none more so than San Antonio, are all built upon three pillars.
What was delayed one season for Portland, will begin a new threat to the line of trios in Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden. So where does Portland's three stack up among the rest? Not very high on Broussard's list, falling just outside of the Top 10.

Prediction: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden are going to lead the Blazers to the playoffs this year, which is saying a ton considering they're in the West. Hopefully, Oden gets his game back quickly.
I don't have many gripes with Broussard's list (love the playoff prediction), most of the trios he lists in his top ten have a.) experience in the NBA and b.) experience playing together. Aldridge and Roy have two years together, but no real experience working with Oden which is a knock, in a way, against their cohesion as a Big Three. Add that to the fact Oden is officially entering his rookie year and Roy and Aldridge have just two seasons under their belt, and experience is short. And to make this trio work, it all hinges on how Oden returns from his injury. And if he returns 100%, and makes the impact the team thinks he can, this will be one of the best threesomes in the league for a while.

Oden will have an instant impact on Aldridge's game, probably more so than anyone else. Drawing double teams, and sucking defenders in and freeing up Aldridge to do what he does best. Or will he? Dave of Blazer's Edge says yes, in theory:

Last year he had free rein in the frontcourt, being far and away the #1 option and having the entire court to work with. At times he was the #1 scoring option for the entire team. It won't be quite the same this year. In theory Oden should occupy opposing defenders, allowing Lamarcus to work one-on-one all night long. In theory Lamarcus should be able to get that mid-range face-up shot he likes. In theory Oden's rebounding should free Lamarcus to run and jam, which he couldn't even begin to do last year. The two showed a little bit of passing chemistry when they played together briefly in the 2007 Summer League, so there's hope there. But they also spent a long time feeling each other out and the team offense bogged down into post isolation plays for one or the other. It's entirely possible that the adjustment could be rocky.
So in theory, if Oden makes Aldridge's game better, that will also make Roy's game better. The two bigs should help in drawing more double teams and avoid doubles and step outs and dice up his defender with more room out top.

But you could argue Portland's Big Three should crack that rotation. But how do they stack up against the rest of the threesomes.

Celtics Three > Blazers Three. Cs just won a title, 'nuff said.

Spurs Three > Blazers Three. San Antonio has reached deep into the playoffs with this combination for a long time now. I appears the Blazers are ascending a bit faster than the Spurs are declining.

Lakers Three slightly > Blazers Three. With Lamar Odom, this is more like and L.A. four, but with Andrew Bynum returning from a knee injury, like Oden, this three is yet to play together much like Portland's. And the Lakers have the best individual player on the court.

Houston Three slightly > Blazers Three. We know what Yao and Tracey McGrady can do together when healthy, but we don't yet know how all three will blend. But if I were a Rockets fan, I wouldn't be too worried. Plus, Ron Artest could guard all three Blazers (not at once), most likely shutting all three down.

Hornets Three = Blazers Three. This may be the most even matchup of all yet. Chris Paul is the best at what he does, but I may give a small edge to Aldridge and Oden over David West and Tyson Chandler. If he returns 100%, Oden will be as equal a defender and rebounder as Chandler by January, without the occasional emotional breakdowns.

Blazers Three > Suns Three. I know the Suns Three ran over the Blazers three times last season, I know. But, that was without Oden and that was a year ago, which is four years in Steve Nash and Shaq years. The Blazers will still have to deal with Amare, who benefited big from Shaq's arrival.

Pistons Three > Blazers Three. I'm giving Detroit the edge here due to the five straight ECF appearances, despite the age and Rasheed Wallace emotional outbursts.

Mavs Three = Blazers Three. Dallas never really got time to gel last season and should work better as a unit, and Dirk and Kidd are All-Stars after all. But, Kidd is old and Dirk isn't getting any younger (or tougher).

Blazers Three > Wizards Three. Gilbert Arenas can go off for 40 on any given night, or disappear on a given night. Caron Butler is all you could want in a small forward and more. And, as Broussard mentions, Antawn Jamison is one of only four players to average 20 and 10 last season (something Aldridge should do). But the Blazers have handled Washington the last few meetings, all with out Oden, who's the advantage here despite the playoff experience ( and 14 straight first-round losses to the LeBrons) for Washington.

Blazers Three = 76ers Three. This could be, and should be, one of the better trios in the league. What Oden will do for his running mates, Elton Brand should do for the Andres. Right now, this seems pretty even.

Blazers Three = Heat Three. If all these players stay in Miami, this will be one of the better trios to come. They all compliment each other well and can get up and down the floor.

Any way you slice it, if all stay healthy and play up to the potential they've shown, Portland's Big Three will be as good, if not better than any in the association for a long time.

What do you think? How do the Blazers Three fair against the rest of the league? Who's better? Who's worse? Better than any other three the Blazers have had? Can they be one of the best of all time? Leave your predictions, thoughts, comments, criticisms, rants, etc. below.