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Tyler_Hansbrough

Tyler_Hansbrough

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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...d-cooper/07/22/blazers/index.html?eref=sircrc

Fifty-four wins, tied for the second-most victories in the Western Conference, the first team in league history to win 50 while playing four rookies at least 50 games ... and still with many reasons to see improvement. The rookies will be experienced. Roy will be all of 25, Aldridge 24. Maybe -- maybe! -- Oden will stay healthy after sitting out all of 2007-08 and missing 21 games last season.
This is a franchise that is supposed to be weeping over the last few weeks?
Boo. Hoo.
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Good article.
 
I don't think there is anyone saying our team won't be good.

Our team does have some holes, and could be better. KP feels the same way or he wouldn't have gone after Hedo and Millsap, or spoke to several teams trying to get a trade done.
 
If LAL loses Odom this would be a great off-season even if we do nothing...
 
andalusian said:
If LAL loses Odom this would be a great off-season even if we do nothing...
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Completely Agree......If Odom leaves, I think that makes the Spurs (if they can stay healthy) the team to beat in the West.
 
Really excited for Oden this year. The more minutes he plays the better the Blazers will be, period.
 
ppilot said:
Completely Agree......If Odom leaves, I think that makes the Spurs (if they can stay healthy) the team to beat in the West.
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YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.
 
hasoos said:
YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.
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Unbeleivable! We agree on something. I'd even go so far as to say I like Artest better as he's tougher (or, maybe I should say more manly as a player) and more consistent.
 
hasoos said:
YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.
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Not true. Odom (when he shows up) is a much better rebounder and play maker than Artest. Artest can affect games through his defense. Odom can kill you on offense. It's hard to say which is better, but Artest doesn't do the same things as Odom.
 
hasoos said:
YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Ariza can.
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Fixed. Hope they lose Odom, since they have no replacement for him.
 
andalusian said:
If LAL loses Odom this would be a great off-season even if we do nothing...
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You have to use salary cap space when you can or else you will lose it. This is why Lakers have to get Odom back. Odom or no Odom and no replacement.
 
hasoos said:
YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.
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Artest < Odom/Ariza. Maybe Artest is better then one of the two, but not both. I also think Artest's personality may not mesh well with Kobe's. Ariza and Odom both had tiny egos compared to Artest who may not bend his will to Kobe's. I see potential friction there.

I greatly prefer an LA team + Artest and - Odom and Ariza then last years incarnation.
 
Minstrel said:
Fixed. Hope they lose Odom, since they have no replacement for him.
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Artest will easily fill the role of both of those guys. Where they spilt minutes before, Artest will just eat all those minutes up as a starter. My money is he rebounds beter than both of them too, because he is a more consistent player than either one of them.

So is it really fixed? I think you just changed it to say what you wanted to say, as opposed to what I wanted to say. Otherwise known as censorship.:pimp:
 
Ed O said:
You're kidding, right?
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No. I thought LAL was the class of the west last year - with Portland, Denver, Houston a notch below. Houston is going to be worse next year, Denver will pretty much be the same, SAS improved - but I am not sure they improved to the clear better point mentioned above and the Blazers have pretty much stayed the course (with a potential huge uptick in performance if Oden pans out). So - if LAL loses Odom - this would be a successful off-season for the Blazers and open the west.

Should they try to do more? Sure. Should they try to swing for the fences? Yes. But overall - I do not think any team in the west has the potential to get that much better next year with the moves they made. SAS is in a better place with their support/role players - but their success still lies with the health of Duncan/Manu. LAL made a lateral move with Artest/Ariza swap - so losing Odom would bring them down.

Not kidding at all.
 
hasoos said:
Artest will easily fill the role of both of those guys.
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Considering he's worse than Odom and has a different skillset (doesn't have the passing skills of Odom and is a less-efficient scorer than Odom), I don't think Artest can fill the role of Odom, let alone "both guys."

Artest's defense is about equivalent to Ariza's, as his productivity. He makes an okay Ariza replacement, except Ariza knew his role while Artest thinks he's good at scoring, which he isn't. The more shots Artest takes, the fewer Kobe and Gasol take. That's good for non-Lakers teams.

So is it really fixed?
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If we go by available evidence, yes. Glad to be of service.
 
Ed O said:
A "great summer" based on a single team losing a single player?
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Well, it would close the gap between Portland and the only team in the West that had any significant seperation from Portland. That's certainly a major help.
 
The Lakers will still be the favorites in the West regardless of what happens with Odom. The Spurs are too old, too beat up, and too small.
 
Minstrel said:
Well, it would close the gap between Portland and the only team in the West that had any significant seperation from Portland. That's certainly a major help.
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I think that "great" is about as well as a summer can go. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but what is better than "great"?

Fantastic? Really great? Epic?

Portland has not added a single piece to its rotation, and has in fact REMOVED one (albeit less-than-stellar) piece from its rotation.

And yet merely because Odom doesn't come back to LA it would be a great summer? I don't see how that can be the standard for "great" by any means. It's like getting an A- for the summer because Hedo went to Canada... I just don't see it.

If Portland has had a great summer, what has San Antonio had? They've added a starter in Jefferson and a probable contributor (based on the contract he was given) in Blair...

I don't even know if San Antonio has had a great summer, let alone the Blazers.

Ed O.
 
Ed O said:
I think that "great" is about as well as a summer can go. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but what is better than "great"?

Fantastic? Really great? Epic?

Portland has not added a single piece to its rotation, and has in fact REMOVED one (albeit less-than-stellar) piece from its rotation.

And yet merely because Odom doesn't come back to LA it would be a great summer? I don't see how that can be the standard for "great" by any means. It's like getting an A- for the summer because Hedo went to Canada... I just don't see it.

If Portland has had a great summer, what has San Antonio had? They've added a starter in Jefferson and a probable contributor (based on the contract he was given) in Blair...

I don't even know if San Antonio has had a great summer, let alone the Blazers.

Ed O.
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Yeah, I wouldn't say the Blazers had a great summer if the Lakers lose Odom. I'd say the Lakers losing Odom is a great development and is a boost to the Blazers.

I'd still like the Blazers to get someone good. Like, oh, I don't know...Odom.
 
hasoos said:
YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.
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You do realize that Odom coming off the bench was on of the keys to the Laker's success right and that their most efficient line was when played the 4. Artest is a completely different player in both where he succeeds on the floor and the position he is most effient at. That is not even including the loss of Trevor Ariza. The Laker's bench won't be nearly as effective without Odom and they will have to plug in powell a lot more at the 4 and 5 if Bynum gets in foul trouble.

tlongII said:
The Lakers will still be the favorites in the West regardless of what happens with Odom. The Spurs are too old, too beat up, and too small.
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Too small compared to who? Have you seen their Roster? They have a quite dramatically upgraded the front court. Also despite being hit hard with injuries, the spurs managed to be in the top 4 in the west until the very end. They have significantly increased their talent and depth
 
hasoos said:
Artest will easily fill the role of both of those guys. Where they spilt minutes before, Artest will just eat all those minutes up as a starter.
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Well Odom and Ariza played a combined 54 minutes a game last year, so I'd like to see how he does that exactly. And there's no way in hell Artest can fill the role of Odom, who's a 6-10 nightmare of a mismatch.


hasoos said:
My money is he rebounds beter than both of them too, because he is a more consistent player than either one of them.
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Wait, what??? Odom has outrebounded him every single year, by substantial margins... I don't even have to factor Ariza into this, who's also a better per minute rebounder than Artest.

Where it really would hurt the Lakers is depth. If J. Powell or Mbenga are your first bigs off the bench, you're not very deep. Anyways it's all premature since there's still a good chance he goes back to L.A.
 
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