So understand when Rodney Hood arrived in Portland, he was something close to damaged goods. “A lot of time, I get in my own way,” Hood said. Getting in his own way, as he says, has dogged him for years. The knock on Hood is he has been too passive on the court. He defers too much to teammates. He worries about hogging shots. And as a result, he can disappear in the biggest of moments. “I struggle with that — with not willing to go out there and be myself,” Hood said. “I worry about stepping on people’s shoes, or offending them. That’s been a knock on me since I was younger: I’m too passive; I care too much about other people’s opinion. That’s one of the biggest battles I face.”
