Are you happy?

[Further]

A few games ago I was thrilled with the Blazers, thinking this is a contending team. Blazers are still winning which is good, but they just don't appear to be playing well for several straight games. Defense still seems good, but the ball is stagnating, shooters are missing cutters and most importantly, the Blazers just don't appear to be energized and working well together.

The great news is that the Blazers are good enough to get wins while playing their B game, but right now I'm not impressed and thinking this looks like first round and out team.

 

[magnifier661]

No way we are a first round and out team. We need these ugly games. We must learn to win those physical games, which seems to be the game plan against us.

This is playoff style basketball and we either learn through this or have no business being in the playoffs in the first place

 

[KingSpeed]

I'm VERY happy. I don't take 15-4 for granted. I'm loving it. Losing sucks and we've only done that 4 times. As for the playoffs, the first round will be hard for everyone. I like our chances. Like LeBron, Lillard has never lost in the first round. I like our chances when he's in the game.

 

[Further]

Mags, king, good to hear your takes. I really hope you're right cause I do love winning.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

15-4 says a lot. We certainly are a top 10 team in the NBA, however we need to find the shooting stroke and keep it at a decent rate (Something like .470 from the floor, .380 from 3 and .800 from the FT line) consistently. I like the way we are playing defense right now though, we are kind of playing what I'd call a swat/steal/swarm (Like the Heat did with LBJ) defense and it really bothers teams but it takes a lot of energy out of the players and it only works against teams with no real go to option.

 

[KingSpeed]

Top 10? Don't you mean top 5? Or truthfully, top 3?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Offense can come and go; if you don't have defense to anchor you, you lose games where you don't shoot well. We have the defense going pretty well, so I'm not so worried about our slumps. We've shown we can endure them against most teams.

 

[MickZagger]

My only gripe is that we haven't taken care of business against the top teams. Like the Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors.....

I'm still waiting for that marquee win, or two.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

My only gripe is that we haven't taken care of business against the top teams. Like the Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors.....

I'm still waiting for that marquee win, or two.

The Clippers/Warriors games still burn... Both of those should've been Ws..

 

[Natebishop3]

The Clippers/Warriors games still burn... Both of those should've been Ws..

Yup. The Grizz were the only team that really soundly beat us.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'm very happy. We aren't clicking on offense and still winning. The season is long. I want the team to peak by the end of the season and into the playoffs.

Exactly. The fact that we're winning ugly is a huge bonus. We're not even clicking right now and getting wins. What happens when we're clicking?

 

[riverman]

I'm proud of this team even when playing poorly on offense, they've been really good defensively. 19 games in with 4 losses. The great teams win when they struggle offensively. Seems these guys just don't quit even when they are behind. Allan Crabbe has only played a handful of games and I feel much better when he's defending on the court. Freeland is making layups and jumpers. Blake seems to be clicking with Stotts playbook. I think we're just getting warmed up

 

[riverman]

You realize we just beat Indiana with Scott Foster as the head ref?

 

[riverman]

45 more wins to get to my predicted 60..it's looking good!

 

[Strenuus]

yes.

 

[Boise Blazer]

This is playoff style basketball and we either learn through this or have no business being in the playoffs in the first place

This is my thoughts as well. Do I wish the offense would pick up? Sure. Is the defense playing THAT GOOD?
YEP. And that's impressive and important no matter how you slice it.

 

[STOMP]

15-4 with everyone healthy... long ways to go, but it's a near perfect start to the season. What really matters for a good team like this is making the playoff and playing their best hoops then, but I'm very very happy with how things are going.

STOMP

 

[Blazinaway]

A few games ago I was thrilled with the Blazers, thinking this is a contending team. Blazers are still winning which is good, but they just don't appear to be playing well for several straight games. Defense still seems good, but the ball is stagnating, shooters are missing cutters and most importantly, the Blazers just don't appear to be energized and working well together.

The great news is that the Blazers are good enough to get wins while playing their B game, but right now I'm not impressed and thinking this looks like first round and out team.

I look at it this way, our offense has not really been clicking and our shooting percentage poor yet we are still winning, I credit our improved D, this is actually a solidly positive development

 

[Pinwheel1]

I am happy about some things (Improvement by Crabbe, Their improved D, the bench)

Still not happy about a few things. Their ball handling by everyone but our Pg's still makes me nervous. LA should not dribble away from the basket, Wes still is inconsistent)

And their 3 pt shooting is getting lazy. Since they are so good at shooting them, they tend to shoot them off the dribble too much. Sure they can hit those too, but not as well as when their feet are set. So I would cut down on those types of 3's if I were Wes and Nic.

Dame needs to shoot a little more for my taste as well. Give him a few more picks to set up his mid range shot. He is money with it.

 

[donkiez]

Im very happy. We are winning the gut check games this year, and winning when we have bad games. Blake and Kamen have been huge both in play and attitude. Crabbe is looking legit and CJ was coming on strong before his injury. Im a little concerned about TRobs recent role, but he seems to be taking it in stride.

 

[BBert]

I'm happy that our defense is saving our bacon when our offense is in a slump, and that our offensive performance is clutch enough to win these less than perfect games.

I do not remotely think that how we are playing in December is any indication of how the team may or may not be playing come playoff time. That's a long time from now.

IF I were to draw anything from our current play as it may relate to the playoffs, it's that good teams win the ugly games. That's what we are doing.

It's a long season. One might say, a season is a game of runs.

I'm happy.

 

[blue9]

Mildly optimistic. Wins are always better than losses, but the only good team we've beaten is DAL.
I don't think I'll ever be a fan of our offense, but I'm happy our defense has improved. I still think it's not quite as good as we're making it out to be, but it's certainly better than it was last year.

 

[blue9]

Dame needs to shoot a little more for my taste as well. Give him a few more picks to set up his mid range shot. He is money with it.

Agreed. He should be getting more FGA than LMA.

 

[Strenuus]

Agreed. He should be getting more FGA than LMA.

shocking.

 

[magnifier661]

Mildly optimistic. Wins are always better than losses, but the only good team we've beaten is DAL.
I don't think I'll ever be a fan of our offense, but I'm happy our defense has improved. I still think it's not quite as good as we're making it out to be, but it's certainly better than it was last year.

We should have bested Golden State. The refs didn't give Batum the time out when he asked for it and Matthews was fouled before the inbound. Our loss to Clips was a joke as well. The refs had timely bullshit calls to take away our momentum, and the 4th was no different the moment our momentum came back.

But I agree in terms of our quality of wins. We have played more home games than anyone else, regardless of competition. This December will be our true test, since the majority of our games are on the road.

 

[blue9]

We should have bested Golden State. The refs didn't give Batum the time out when he asked for it and Matthews was fouled before the inbound. Our loss to Clips was a joke as well. The refs had timely bullshit calls to take away our momentum, and the 4th was no different the moment our momentum came back.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda....didna. The fact remains - we've only beaten one good team.

 

[blue9]

shocking.

You disagree? I'd much rather have Lillard take any shot than LMA taking a heavily contested turnaround, fade-away 16' jumper. Reduce those shots by 4, and increase Dame's 26' 3-pointers by 4 and we'll be better for it!

 

[magnifier661]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda....didna. The fact remains - we've only beaten one good team.

Not many teams have more than 12 wins this season without the advantage of 8 on 5.

This only proves that Portland can win at a +.700 mark with no ref love

 

[magnifier661]

You disagree? I'd much rather have Lillard take any shot than LMA taking a heavily contested turnaround, fade-away 16' jumper. Reduce those shots by 4, and increase Dame's 26' 3-pointers by 4 and we'll be better for it!

I absolutely disagree. Having just one option gives the defense advantage on who to focus their defensive energy on. I give you exhibit "a". Almost everyone in the building thought the shot was going to Aldridge or Dame vs Denver. Instead, it went to Lopez for the win!

Would you give Lopez that shot every game? Oh hell no! But what that did was tell the other teams in the NBA, "we aren't going to advertise what we do". Keep them on their toes!

 

[Strenuus]

You disagree? I'd much rather have Lillard take any shot than LMA taking a heavily contested turnaround, fade-away 16' jumper. Reduce those shots by 4, and increase Dame's 26' 3-pointers by 4 and we'll be better for it!

dont go into bgd reading comprehension. 'shocking' in response to your post and your anti lma should have been a big clue...