Back when we stopped playing well in December I wondered if perhaps we had peaked for the season. I was waiting for this recent stretch of games to be over, hoping that we might somehow turn a corner and rise to the occasion. But I now think it's safe to say that my fears were correct. We peaked during the stretch of games starting (ironically) with a win over GSW, when we were in the midst of a winning streak that looked like it was about to end thanks in part to the dirty play of Bogut and some poor officiating that tossed out our best player at the time (Wes). But what we saw was something beautiful, if short-lived. The team came together, LMA actually played like a PF, and we won on a court we rarely win on. Our short peak also included wins over the league-leading Pacers, and the "Best in the West" Thunder, supposedly proving to the league that we belonged. It was a great period of the season, but unfortunately it was far too early to be peaking. We had one more blistering game - torching UTH with record-setting 3-point shooting - before things really started to change. Everything after that UTH game looked different. We continued to win a fair number of games, but things started to turn downhill during the DET/CLE/MIN set of games. Sure, we beat DET/CLE - but only barely. Our peak was over, and the MIN game put our hot run on ice. Since that loss to MIN we beat LAC in O/T, beat OKC when Durant missed a point-blank shot that would win the game 99 times in 100, and beat SAN who we typically match up well against. Some of you might want to add the DAL game as a quality win, and I won't argue against it but even then that's only FOUR wins against good opponents since our mid-December drubbing in MIN. And given the Durant miss...3 quality wins and 1 lucky win. Oh gods of basketball, please accept this offering. I humbly ask for you to lend your strength to our defense, your accuracy to guide our shots through the net, and for the whistles to blow in our favor. May you bless us with a 15 game win streak.
LA started the season playing like a top 5 player in the league. He was hitting 50% of his perimeter jumpers, which also helped him get to the basket/FT line. Since Jan, he's shooting 38% on perimeter J's. Teams are now happy to give him that shot for 3 quarters. LA's not commanding as much extra attention - now perimeter defenders can stay at home. There's no ball movement because the defense isn't having to rotate as much - nobody is open. On the perimeter there is 1 threat to create anything off the dribble (and even Lillard struggles with finishing and/or making shots from close range at times). You don't need to worry about Wes, Nic, Mo, Dorell, or anybody other than Dame attacking the basket. Now you can extend the defense, contest shots, trap, get into the passing lanes, make every possession tough. Guys have been pushed out of their comfort zones & are pressing. We peaked early b/c our best player was playing the best ball of his career - even in big moments, which we hadn't see a lot of. But he came back to earth & a blueprint on how to defend us has emerged since then & apparently we can't or won't make an adjustment.
You have piqued my interest as to why you feel the Blazers have already peaked this year. I think the best is yet to come. In fact, I'm feeling a bit piqued by your opinion.
Just think about baseball or a home repair you've been putting off, it won't really control it but it should slow things down enough so she can peak first.
I think the good teams plan to start peaking as the season draws to an end, rather than when it's first starting out. I recall writing something similar recently about how good teams use the season as a way to prepare themselves for the Playoffs. The Spurs seem to be the best example of starting slow, and not worrying about wins/losses early in the season - they just care about being healthy and fine-tuning their game by the end of the season.
It's not too late for these guys. As I said in a post last evening. They have shown me enough this year that they CAN do something when it comes to playoff time. They still have a month to prepare and really this coming is the moment they want to start peaking. I still believe in them. But we are dealing with a generation that is playing for the money and not for the love of the game and to win titles. I fret that it's a group ready to get on with their off time and havementally checked out. These are not your Clydes Blazers.
I don't see these guys checking out. They look frustrated, their confidence is rattled, and they are pressing. They haven't and won't give up. Too much character. But they have been shaky late in games for a good while. Even the close wins, few as they've been, have been shaky. Playoffs are all about executing in half court late in games. I hope you're right, that it's not too late.
I'm getting there. Never expected the 31-9 start. But the way we played against the top teams through December was so impressive. Even national media guys like Spears had us in the conversation with the very best in the league. But now, ok we're not there yet. It only took 12 staight defeats vs WC playoff teams to bring it back to earth. It isn't all bad breaks, bad calls, and lack of focus/effort. Not 12 times. We're still almost 20 games over .500. Lillard made his first AS game. LA played like an MVP at times. Just need more time and a few more pieces to get where we want to go.
I was thinking more along the lines of peaking in the western conf finals might be a good thing. Hey..string theory 101..anything is possible
