An Outsider Undestands

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

Didn't Utah go twice against the Bulls?

Maybe? But the point still remains the same.

 

[wizenheimer]

You don't want to see him with his shirt off.


I still see it when I close my eyes.


Help.

why are you closing your eyes?....idiot

 

[Chris Craig]

You guys don't let us have ANY fun!

(HCP is oddly basketball shaped...... but not really orange in color. Maybe if he got a spray tan?)

No fun. We have to be miserable here

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

No fun. We have to be miserable here

Just call you Captain Obvious. It’s like a membership requirement……

 

[crandc]

We are all in a lot of pain today. It would not have been so bad if Portland got killed, but coming back twice, and not holding on., Dame's performance a footnote rather than legend, most of us probably didn't sleep well.

 

[Natebishop3]

We are all in a lot of pain today. It would not have been so bad if Portland got killed, but coming back twice, and not holding on., Dame's performance a footnote rather than legend, most of us probably didn't sleep well.

I probably wouldn't be THIS upset if we hadn't wasted an all-time great performance from Dame. If ANYONE had done ANYTHING to help, we probably would have won. But Dame got zero help from his teammates.

 

[Hoopguru]

I probably wouldn't be THIS upset if we hadn't wasted an all-time great performance from Dame. If ANYONE had done ANYTHING to help, we probably would have won. But Dame got zero help from his teammates.

James knows and will know again that feeling too. Like he said before yesterdays game he welcomes the challenge to put the team on his back. Sure Dame feel the same way.

 

[e_blazer]

"but when it comes down to it, those are mismatches that illuminate how short Portland GM Neil Olshey has fallen in terms of putting a championship team around Lillard, who scored 17 points over the two overtimes on 6-of-8 shooting while his teammates scored a combined 2 points on 1-of-14 shooting.


The collective talent just isn't there. The Blazers are good, but not great, and they haven't take enough risks -- if any at all -- to honestly pursue the latter. Portland is a tough place to draw players, trades aren't easy, and there were a lot of cap restraints for a lot of years following the 2016 offseason debacle (Olshey's doing). But this is a results business. Lillard is one of the best players on the planet, and every year he's asked to work miracles to win first-round series; sometimes just to make the playoffs. You don't have to win a championship to be great, but if you're as great as Lillard, you at least deserve a legitimate shot, especially in the post-Warriors era"

*********************************

"Instead, Lillard now resides in the annals of dubious honors as the only player in history to put up at least 55 points and 10 assists in a loss, regular season or playoffs. Think about that. It had never happened. Until now. As I said at the top, I have zero idea how the Blazers bounce back from this for Game 6 on Thursday. If they win that game, it will be one of the most resilient wins ever. I'm not going to rule it out. I don't rule anything out with Lillard. For obvious reasons. But for now, this one stings if you're a Blazers fan. If you're a Nuggets fan, you're euphoric. If you're Malone, you're thankful, because you got away with one. Or two, actually.

If you're just an NBA fan, man, you just witnessed a true classic. There's just no other way to say it. That game, for so many reasons, was un-freaking-believable"

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ight-and-its-a-microcosm-of-a-larger-failure/

**********************************

obviously, this is the cue for more Olshey-apologizing....blahblahblah...."he has taken risks"....blahblahblah...."Dame wouldn't let him make trades or fire the coach"....blahblahblah...."Portland has great talent!"....blahblahblah...."he's great at drafting the 2nd round!"

Portland wasted Dame's 'game for the ages' last night, and Olshey has wasted 6 years of Dame's greatness. And unless Seattle pulls it's head out of it's collective ass, Olshey will waste Dame's 10th season too

I’d be curious as to whether this guy watched Game 4, when the mediocre talent of the supporting cast kicked Denver’s ass while Dame only managed 10 points. All of which is to say only that you should never make big proclamations about the true abilities of a team or even one player based upon a single game.

 

[wizenheimer]

I’d be curious as to whether this guy watched Game 4, when the mediocre talent of the supporting cast kicked Denver’s ass while Dame only managed 10 points. All of which is to say only that you should never make big proclamations about the true abilities of a team or even one player based upon a single game.

I would assume he's watched the series and watched Portland for years. The NBA is his beat

what I've seen in this series is that Portland didn't show up in game 2 and got stomped; Denver didn't show up in game 4 and got stomped. Game 4 is not a credible template for the series any more than game 2 is

 

[Hoopguru]

I would assume he's watched the series and watched Portland for years. The NBA is his beat

what I've seen in this series is that Portland didn't show up in game 2 and got stomped; Denver didn't show up in game 4 and got stomped. Game 4 is not a credible template for the series any more than game 2 is

With the way the game is played today with more 3’s and emphasis on high scoring you’ve seen a bunch of lopsided scores. Miami advanced last year because they shot the ball well, same team this year and got swept. Bucks are shooting much better this year so they could advance.

 

[e_blazer]

I would assume he's watched the series and watched Portland for years. The NBA is his beat

what I've seen in this series is that Portland didn't show up in game 2 and got stomped; Denver didn't show up in game 4 and got stomped. Game 4 is not a credible template for the series any more than game 2 is

Did I say it was? Nor is Game 5. How many games this season have you seen the rest of the squad not show up like last night? Was it something magical that Denver was doing that prevented them from scoring? It didn’t look that way to me. The offense was moving the ball and generating the same open looks as usual. Guys we’re just clanking them. I expect a good game tomorrow that could go either way.

Changes are going to need to be made after the season comes to a close. I just happen to hope that’s a few weeks away. Some of you seem to be looking forward to that more than the games.

 

[wizenheimer]

Did I say it was? Nor is Game 5. How many games this season have you seen the rest of the squad not show up like last night? Was it something magical that Denver was doing that prevented them from scoring? It didn’t look that way to me. The offense was moving the ball and generating the same open looks as usual. Guys we’re just clanking them. I expect a good game tomorrow that could go either way.

I'd say game 5 is a more credible template than games 2 or 4. Both teams showed up to play. And, while it was due to Dame, Portland shot well in the game. 46% on FG's and 44% on three's. Portland's eFG% and TS% were well above their regular season averages. Portland's season average TS% was .577. Last night, it's was .605. I'm honestly not sure how realistic it is to assume the Blazers will shoot better in game 6.

Changes are going to need to be made after the season comes to a close. I just happen to hope that’s a few weeks away. Some of you seem to be looking forward to that more than the games.

I'm not "looking forward to changes" because I'm unconvinced any major changes will occur. There should have been major changes every off-season over the last 5 years and it hasn't happened. Olshey may very well scapegoat Stotts, but if he's allowed to just rinse-repeat the lineup, it won't matter

 

[Phatguysrule]

Good. I'll tell you again. And again. And again until this team actually does something to actually put a contender around Dame.

You realize that when something does happen it won't have anything to do with any post in this forum, correct?

 

[e_blazer]

I'd say game 5 is a more credible template than games 2 or 4. Both teams showed up to play. And, while it was due to Dame, Portland shot well in the game. 46% on FG's and 44% on three's. Portland's eFG% and TS% were well above their regular season averages. Portland's season average TS% was .577. Last night, it's was .605. I'm honestly not sure how realistic it is to assume the Blazers will shoot better in game 6.



I'm not "looking forward to changes" because I'm unconvinced any major changes will occur. There should have been major changes every off-season over the last 5 years and it hasn't happened. Olshey may very well scapegoat Stotts, but if he's allowed to just rinse-repeat the lineup, it won't matter

Sure, the overall shooting stats look pretty good, but that’s only because of Dame’s ridiculous shooting. I don’t expect him to have that game again and, frankly I don’t want him to. Dame only took the game over when it became clear that that was the only option given how poorly his teammates were shooting. The two things are interconnected. People talk about wasting Dame’s brilliant performance because his teammates couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean. The truth is that if CJ and Norm are contributing to their normal levels, if Nurk isn’t getting called for five lame-brained fouls in the second half, and/or RoCo just takes a couple of lay-ins instead of trying to throw down tomahawks, Dame works with the guys and doesn’t play hero ball.

It was a weird game that featured the brilliance of Lillard and an unusually bad showing by his teammates. It proves nothing except that the Blazers have to play better or go home.

And I am pretty sure that changes are going to come no matter what. The treadmill needs to be kicked to the corner and get some new pieces and life.

 

[wizenheimer]

And I am pretty sure that changes are going to come no matter what. The treadmill needs to be kicked to the corner and get some new pieces and life.

I hope you're right

 

[mook]

This is how the Timberwolves felt all those years with Kevin Garnett. It was amazing for that franchise to have a guy who could legitimately be argued that he was even better than Tim Duncan. Maybe not convincingly, but legitimately. And the best they could do for a sidekick was Latrel Sprewell.

And once KG was gone all they really had for the next 13 years were the memories of The Big Ticket. Sure, they had some guys who made them hope a little like Kevin Love and KAT, but real greatness comes so rarely. Especially to franchises like ours.

I'm with HCP--enjoy the ride. It was a long time between Drexler and Lillard, and such transcendence may be a long time coming again. Hoard these memories like acorns before the winter.

But I'm also with Nate. It fucking sucks how much we've squandered his best years. There could have been so many more acorns.

I think we all feel both sides of this. Which you tend to post more of boils down to are you a glass half full or half empty kind of guy. I go back and forth all the time.

A lot of life is like that.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I voice my displeasure of NOs roster construction in hopes my complaint is the final straw of the million straws that Jo Lynn somehow sees, hears or reads about and says “ENOUGH!!!”

 

[Mediocre Man]

This is how the Timberwolves felt all those years with Kevin Garnett. It was amazing for that franchise to have a guy who could legitimately be argued that he was even better than Tim Duncan. Maybe not convincingly, but legitimately. And the best they could do for a sidekick was Latrel Sprewell.

And once KG was gone all they really had for the next 13 years were the memories of The Big Ticket. Sure, they had some guys who made them hope a little like Kevin Love and KAT, but real greatness comes so rarely. Especially to franchises like ours.

I'm with HCP--enjoy the ride. It was a long time between Drexler and Lillard, and such transcendence may be a long time coming again. Hoard these memories like acorns before the winter.

But I'm also with Nate. It fucking sucks how much we've squandered his best years. There could have been so many more acorns.

I think we all feel both sides of this. Which you tend to post more of boils down to are you a glass half full or half empty kind of guy. I go back and forth all the time.

A lot of life is like that.

You do realize in between those two we had a pretty good run and went to the playoffs 8 straight years after Drexler left, including 2 WCF


Fuck the ride. This is the longest ride ever.

 

[BonesJones]

@THE HCP @BonesJones go your own ways

Last thing I need to deal with is you two going at it

Fine, but first, tell your guy to quit whining about other people so much.

 

[BonesJones]

You realize that when something does happen it won't have anything to do with any post in this forum, correct?

You can create more public pressure outside of this forum than in it.

 

[BonesJones]

With the way the game is played today with more 3’s and emphasis on high scoring you’ve seen a bunch of lopsided scores. Miami advanced last year because they shot the ball well, same team this year and got swept. Bucks are shooting much better this year so they could advance.

People continue to underrate quality of shot when they make the "This team just missed shots and this team just made shots" argument. Most of the time, the team that gets higher quality 3s makes more of them.

 

[Hoopguru]

People continue to underrate quality of shot when they make the "This team just missed shots and this team just made shots" argument. Most of the time, the team that gets higher quality 3s makes more of them.

True, but if they are off that game or for a few it can mean the difference between a win or loss just like 2 point fg's.

 

[Natebishop3]

You realize that when something does happen it won't have anything to do with any post in this forum, correct?

It was never really about that. It's about my own mental health. I have to vent SOMEWHERE.

 

[wizenheimer]

It was never really about that. It's about my own mental health. I have to vent SOMEWHERE.

 

[Natebishop3]

View attachment 38855

That's true.... and the clouds won't whine and call me a negative nancy.