An actual new article about the Blazers.....

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Depressing or sobering? I don't know, maybe there's no difference. All-in-all though, it seems like a pretty even handed look at the team from guys like Abbott and Tonrey. They're not a ... bad team ... but are they going to be a good team? I dunno, there's just too many question marks and unfortunately a year long lockout isn't going to wash those questions away.
 
I got nothing out of that, except I found that 4 guys outside of Portland know the team exists.
 
the depressing part is that we were supposed to have roy and oden to build around :(

but there is still hope for happy times, search your heart, you know it to be true

HappyDarthVader.jpg
 
Lazy writing.

but in a league currently stacked with elite guards, two guys who will never sniff an All-Star Game can't really be called "the answer."...And as it stands neither of the Blazers' backcourt starters, Felton and Matthews, is of All-Star-caliber talent. These days that's not enough
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1994 draftee Jason Kidd, Jet Terry and JJ Barea just won a championship, but Felton/Matthews/Roy isn't close to being able to be an elite team's backcourt?
Will they be able hold their own, especially late in playoff games, against the likes of the Mavs, Lakers, Spurs and Thunder?
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Yeah, that tandem of Derek Fisher/Steve Blake at PG is going to blow their socks off. Wish we could get those guys.

I think LaMonster is an All-Star. I think the guy who played the other 30 games last year in LMA's uniform still takes vacations that weekend. And instead of asking if Batum is going to be an All-Star, why not ask about Wallace? I think he's closer.

Nonetheless, with Nate McMillan pushing, the Blazers will continue to overachieve. They just won't be contending for a title anytime soon.
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There's a few different levels of oddness in this quote...let's just say that the first part is true...are they really saying that "overachieving" combined with Roy and Oden at even remotely decent health isn't an elite team? I highly disagree.

I think this is another example of Henry trying too hard to prove to the nation he's not a homer.
 
An honest article that probably needed to be done sooner.

So let's see. They call out our offense for what it is. They call out our back court for what they are. They call out Batum for what he is. They call out the probability of Oden and Roy for what they are.

Posters in here that have done the same get slammed and are called trolls and broken records. Heck, some are even banned.
 
"Our backcourt for what they are?" What, pray tell, are they? I concur that Felton and Matthews aren't going to make All-Star teams. Do we really need to go back through the last half-decade or so to see how many conference finals (my personal definition of "elite") Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Devin Harris, Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups have played in, vice how many that Derek Fisher, Jason Williams, Rajon Rondo's coattail-riding-years, Boobie Gibson, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry have? I'm not saying having a great PG doesn't give you a good chance of being a good team, but having all-stars in the backcourt (vice SF or PF or C) isn't a prerequisite to getting to the WCF. The more great players playing well together that you have, the better your chance for being elite. I highly doubt that on a team with a relatively healthy Oden, a relatively healthy Crash, and LaMonster, that the Felton/Matthews/Roy backcourt will significantly hold them back from being elite.

You could make the case that in the last 3 years we had 3x All-Star Brandon Roy with Miller and/or Blake, both of whom have been on playoff teams, and we haven't gone anywhere close to "elite". I don't think that's solely because of one's backcourt and its level of All-Star-ness that you become elite or not.
 
3RA1N1AC said:
the depressing part is that we were supposed to have roy and oden to build around
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They kept saying "if they play" and it didn't make me depressed. It made me think that these writers don't know the team. Blazer fans just assume the two stars are gone, but writers won't let go of it. Let it go. Assess the team without mentioning them.

And I wish that national writers would stop measuring us as to whether we can be championship contenders. Just predict whether we'll be an above-average team.
 
Like it or not, the Blazers' chances of being a title threat any time soon are dependent upon Greg Oden being able to put together a few seasons where he stays healthy for the majority of a year. I don't think he has to be the dominant player that we hoped he'd be when he was drafted. In a league with so few quality centers, he just needs to be healthy and be able to block shots and rebound for the Blazers to step up to contender status. How likely is that to happen? We have a full range of opinions on this board, but only time is going to tell the tale of whether Greg's knees are going to finally cooperate and let him get on the court.

The rest of the column, IMO, is irrelevant to the Oden question. Felton, Matthews/Roy is more than adequate to contend if the Blazers have a healthy front line of Wallace, Aldridge & Oden. Will Batum be an All-Star? That would be great, but I'm not sure that he can even beat Wallace out for the starting spot on the Blazers. That said, he's a talented player who can give the Blazers a mix of defense and scoring off the bench. How many teams have that luxury?

Give the Blazers a healthy Oden, or something approaching that, and they're contenders. Otherwise, we're back to hoping for a positive break for a change.
 
BrianFromWA said:
And instead of asking if Batum is going to be an All-Star, why not ask about Wallace?
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It is a little odd that Wallace wasn't mentioned at all.

barfo
 
HailBlazers said:
Great Article, loved all the diverse Opinions.
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How many economists would say the economy is in good shape right now? That's how easy it would be to find a diverse opinion on the future of Oden or Roy.
 
Natebishop3 said:
It all seemed pretty realistic to me.
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I think that I'd agree with most of the opinions offered. The one area that to me seemed unduly bleak was the discussion of Oden's future. While I understand the pessimism based upon the number of injuries he's had, I don't think that they constitute a medical opinion as to Greg's ability to come back and play at a high level. Unlike Roy, there's nothing structurally wrong with Greg's knees. Assuming his most recent MF surgery turns out as well as his first, he should be able to do most, if not all, of what he could do before he was injured. I'm not going to blow sunshine about him, but I'm also not ready to write him off. He's such a potential game-changer for the Blazers that any conclusions about their future have to be taken with a grain of salt until we see what he can really do.
 
e_blazer said:
I think that I'd agree with most of the opinions offered. The one area that to me seemed unduly bleak was the discussion of Oden's future. While I understand the pessimism based upon the number of injuries he's had, I don't think that they constitute a medical opinion as to Greg's ability to come back and play at a high level. Unlike Roy, there's nothing structurally wrong with Greg's knees. Assuming his most recent MF surgery turns out as well as his first, he should be able to do most, if not all, of what he could do before he was injured. I'm not going to blow sunshine about him, but I'm also not ready to write him off. He's such a potential game-changer for the Blazers that any conclusions about their future have to be taken with a grain of salt until we see what he can really do.
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You're dead on. The team is definitely a contender if Oden recovers and has a great season. A tandem of him and the New Improved Aldridge is just such a dominating front court. Defense, rebounding, low post scoring, blocked shots. Paired with shooters in Felton/Matthews and defensive SFs like Wallace and Batum, that's just a really, really nice mix.

Of course, there's maybe a 10-20% chance of Oden having that kind of season. And without Oden, all the other pieces just kind of fall apart and we're looking at a 7th or 8th seed.

It ain't much, but there is a glimmer of hope.
 
a glimmer of hope is all a fan needs! im a niner fan, no hope ever lol
 
I don't think we need a "GREAT" season from Greg to contend. He gives us 30 minutes 12/12/3 and we are a quality team!
 
mook said:
You're dead on. The team is definitely a contender if Oden recovers and has a great season. A tandem of him and the New Improved Aldridge is just such a dominating front court. Defense, rebounding, low post scoring, blocked shots. Paired with shooters in Felton/Matthews and defensive SFs like Wallace and Batum, that's just a really, really nice mix.

Of course, there's maybe a 10-20% chance of Oden having that kind of season. And without Oden, all the other pieces just kind of fall apart and we're looking at a 7th or 8th seed.

It ain't much, but there is a glimmer of hope.
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Take out the part about Felton/Matthews/Wallace and you pretty much just said what fans have been saying for the past three seasons.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Take out the part about Felton/Matthews/Wallace and you pretty much just said what fans have been saying for the past three seasons.
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And it's been true for the past 3 seasons. If Oden is able to play, the Blazers are a contender. If not, not so much...which is the way it's played out. I guess I don't quite get what it is you want to see the Blazers do here. Dump Oden now because you don't think he'll ever be able to play, or wait and see what actually happens when he gets back on the court? I'm in no hurry to jump back into rebuilding mode, so I'm in favor of seeing if the basketball fates will finally stop peeing on Oden and let him play before we venture back into lottery land in search of the next big thing.
 
Well, maybe we'll actually get to see if they've got anything in them. In some ways a lockout shortened season (assuming it's not cancelled of course) favors any team with a lot of question marks; the fewer games played the more importance and impact outlier performances have and maybe a team gets hot at the end of a 40 game year and makes a run on fresh legs. After that though? Yikes, talk about uncertainty. (Felton, Batum, Oden, Camby and Wallace hit free agency, with whatever rules exist after a new CBA gets ratified).
 
e_blazer said:
And it's been true for the past 3 seasons. If Oden is able to play, the Blazers are a contender. If not, not so much...which is the way it's played out. I guess I don't quite get what it is you want to see the Blazers do here. Dump Oden now because you don't think he'll ever be able to play, or wait and see what actually happens when he gets back on the court? I'm in no hurry to jump back into rebuilding mode, so I'm in favor of seeing if the basketball fates will finally stop peeing on Oden and let him play before we venture back into lottery land in search of the next big thing.
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Well they should obviously give him a five year, 50 million deal so that we can have two hobbled players eating up huge chunks of our cap.
 
Nice. Instead of answering a legitimate question about what you think the Blazers should do in this situation, come back with the snarky one-liner. Care to try again?
 
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