Bad starts (not our imagination)

[Minstrel]

Admirable effort, but I think a better answer is that it can't be explained as such. I imagine if you look through the examples of hot starts / cold finishes, or vice versa, to full seasons, you'll find that most of them correspond to significant injuries, coaching changes, team discord, etc.

I feel the roster is only half the issue. The other half is background stuff that we're not privy to, such as what effect the "asset collection" summer has had on the psyche of the team, and how that relates to inconsistent effort on the court.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see how "keeping the team together" is going to damage the psyche of the team. That seems far more of a stretch than playing above their heads for a short period and being unable to sustain that level.

 

[Cippy91]

Completely agree with this from last night from Kenny Smiths take on it



There is little to no talent on this team besides CJ and Dame

 

[e_blazer]

So the Blazers finally get off to a great start against Boston....and then give up a 13-2 run to end the 2nd half and 43 points in the 4th quarter.

Where is the consistency?

What are you talking about? These guys are nothing but consistent at kicking away leads this year.

 

[TBpup]

The roster sucks. It's just garbage.

I will now hunt you down to restrict your opinion or have you fired from whatever job you have for daring to call a spade a spade. How dare you!

Regards,

~Kneel Olshey

 

[handiman]

I don't see how "keeping the team together" is going to damage the psyche of the team. That seems far more of a stretch than playing above their heads for a short period and being unable to sustain that level.

It's not that they kept the team together, it's that it was widely believed and/or reported that the summer moves were done to collect assets for subsequent trades. That leaves most everyone looking over their shoulders. That's not a good recipe for cohesive play.

 

[Minstrel]

It's not that they kept the team together, it's that it was widely believed and/or reported that the summer moves were done to collect assets for subsequent trades. That leaves most everyone looking over their shoulders. That's not a good recipe for cohesive play.

Perhaps.

I don't recall Olshey, though, talking in terms of "assets." That seemed to be more of a forum fixation, that Olshey didn't want to "lose assets" as an explanation for paying/overpaying all the prospective free agents. Olshey's track record points to liking his guys and not really doing a ton of player trading (Barton is an exception; Batum isn't since he didn't draft Batum). I've always thought that that was more the reason for paying everyone to avoid them leaving: falling in love with his roster. So it isn't clear to me that the dominant narrative at the team level was, "You're all assets and some of you will be getting dealt."

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Completely agree with this from last night from Kenny Smiths take on it



There is little to no talent on this team besides CJ and Dame

That may be part of it, but I also agree with Chuck and Shaq that CJ and Dame need to do better at making the players around them better.

 

[handiman]

I don't recall Olshey, though, talking in terms of "assets." That seemed to be more of a forum fixation...

That's why I said, "widely believed and/or reported." It was in articles, so whether or not it was Olshey's objective, it was out there for the players to read and ponder.