Blazers: Better Before vs. After July 1st? (*Poll*)

[MarAzul]

I find it interesting that you and Maris seem to cling to really bad white players.....

Sure, yeah, OK...

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Let's recap. We dang near won a game against the Warriors with Meyers scoring 30+.
Whiteside is going to change that to a win?
No fucking way.

 

[BonesJones]

Lets start with Turner. When he first got here CJ had not broke out yet. So his first year was probably his best thinking he was the #2 guy. I think his attitude changed when CJ emerged as it seemed to me he got worse every year. Bazemore is coming in knowing at best he will be the third guy and will be fighting to keep a lot of that bloated contract. Hood is in the same position minus the bloated contract but will be fighting for starter minutes and to continue on with what he had accomplished in last years post season. We will probably take a hit defensively but what we will gain is those 2 on offense will not be ignored for long when it comes to the double team of Dame and CJ. Bazemore/Hood > Turner , Harkless, Aminu.
Aminu was never a starter even with extended minutes he played the same when he got here as he did when he left. A very solid defender and a solid bench guy. Letting him walk in the short view might have been a mistake but in the long view of things it was best for him and us and it would just hamper Collins development.
Curry. See ya and glad you got paid by someone else other then the Blazers. He is not as good as CJ and more inconsistent all he would have done is stopped us from using Simons
Kanter, Meyers< Whiteside. Period. The attitude I can live with because we want our Center to have attitude otherwise we would have kept Plumlee. He once said he wanted to come play for Portland and if there is any team that can make you feel at ease it is Portland/Dame.

So are we a better team on paper? yes/no all depends on your view. In reality everyone of those players that left were not going to get any better with the exception of Jake and he was just not going to get any minutes and they were also part of the reason for our sweep from the WCF Kanter excluded. So we might take a step back this year but we also did not make any long term commitments either and we will also get a good look at our project players so my opinion is we got a lot better no matter what the outcome is for next season and I am excited for it.

We signed Turner the year after CJ broke out..

 

[wizenheimer]

Let's recap. We dang near won a game against the Warriors with Meyers scoring 30+.
Whiteside is going to change that to a win?
No fucking way.

great, let's recap:

Golden State had a offensive rebound rate of 22.6% during the regular season; against Portland they were at 27.1%. Portland had a 26.6% offensive rebound rate in the regular season; against the Warriors they were at 21.6%

during the regular season, Portland was +5.1 rebounds a game; against the Warriors, Portland was -8.5. That's a differential of -13.6. During the regular season, the Warriors were +1.8 rebounds a game; against Portland they were +8.5. That's a differential of +6.7. That's ridiculous, but it's what happened

what killed Portland against the Warriors was that they couldn't control the fucking glass; they couldn't even do a passable job of challenging the Warriors for rebounds. Meyers + Zach combined to average 7 reb/36. Nurk was hurt; Kanter was hurt; and Portland ate shit on the boards.

yeah, I think Whiteside might have helped the situation more than Meyers getting hot and flexing when the Blazers were already down 3-0

 

[MarAzul]

great, let's recap:

Golden State had a offensive rebound rate of 22.6% during the regular season; against Portland they were at 27.1%. Portland had a 26.6% offensive rebound rate in the regular season; against the Warriors they were at 21.6%

during the regular season, Portland was +5.1 rebounds a game; against the Warriors, Portland was -8.5. That's a differential of -13.6. During the regular season, the Warriors were +1.8 rebounds a game; against Portland they were +8.5. That's a differential of +6.7. That's ridiculous, but it's what happened

what killed Portland against the Warriors was that they couldn't control the fucking glass; they couldn't even do a passable job of challenging the Warriors for rebounds. Meyers + Zach combined to average 7 reb/36. Nurk was hurt; Kanter was hurt; and Portland ate shit on the boards.

yeah, I think Whiteside might have helped the situation more than Meyers getting hot and flexing when the Blazers were already down 3-0

I see you have hope. I think we will watch the Warrior double the hell out of Dame with Whiteside watching and Stotts hoping for a different result.

 

[wizenheimer]

I see you have hope. I think we will watch the Warrior double the hell out of Dame with Whiteside watching and Stotts hoping for a different result.

of course Dame will be doubled in the playoffs. It's been 4 years and the Blazers still have real no answer. The C's won't change that. Plumlee didn't help against the Warriors 4 years ago; Nurkic & Davis were hurt 3 years ago while Vonleh and Meyers couldn't do shit. Nurkic, Davis, and Meyers were no help against the Pelicans. And Meyers and Collins couldn't help against the Warriors this season.

what will force opponents out of the stop-Dame defense is a player talented enough to consistently punish the defense with both scoring and play-making. Somebody who can consistently take the ball, start the offense, make teammates better, and be a big-time scoring option. Basically another elite player on Dame's level and Portland doesn't have anybody close.

until they do then can't break down so completely in a fundamental area like rebounding like they did against the Warriors

 

[EGame]

Got to wait and see, but also we won't have Nurk for awhile which makes me think we aren't quite better but close. With a healthy Nurk I think we are much better than last season. It'll be nice to have two legit bigs with Nurk (when he is back and gets his legs under him) and Whiteside and that isn't to downplay Collins as a legit big because he can be quite a beast defensively, but he racks up fouls like Felton racks up Donuts.

 

[TBpup]

Got to wait and see, but also we won't have Nurk for awhile which makes me think we aren't quite better but close. With a healthy Nurk I think we are much better than last season. It'll be nice to have two legit bigs with Nurk (when he is back and gets his legs under him) and Whiteside and that isn't to downplay Collins as a legit big because he can be quite a beast defensively, but he racks up fouls like Felton racks up Donuts.

Raymond says "hi".

 

[dviss1]

I find it interesting that you and Maris seem to cling to really bad white players.....

Just now noticing?

 

[swish3]

With Kawhi to the Clippers, the logic is strengthened that the "Too early to determine" is the preferred choice. If Hassan, Zach, Skal, Rodney, Anthony, Mario, and others can add to the powerful Dame and CJ backcourt, there is reason for optimism.

 

[Strenuus]

Meyers isn't on the team. Our team is better than ever.

 

[KingSpeed]

I think it is better now (after), as it seems they have showed that the franchise is committed and ready to make the necessary moves to improve. I can't recall the last time we made so many roster changes, sure in part to the amount of UFA we had, but I also think it is due to the organization (Neil, Jody) believing in the core as well and making smart decisions to help us out in the near future too. I certainly still think there is room to improve, but that's just how we act as fans anyways. We always want more!

2015

 

[Mediocre Man]

As of right now, it seems Portland got better to finish worse.

If healthy, LAL, LAC and Utah are candidates to finish ahead of us. On the other hand, GS is a candidate to finish behind us

 

[KingSpeed]

I think Harkless and Aminu defense is being massively underrated. They were huge in covering for Dame and CJ the last few years. They could guard smaller wings or bruising power players.

Their offense was a mess and I love the changes we have made. It was time to search for improvements. Now so many are focusing on their deficiencies being removed there is not enough appreciation for their strengths.

We could have huge problems on defense at the start of next season. I'm not sure Blazers fans, management, or players: will have the patience needed to work through that development.

The fact is, down the stretch of the playoffs, when we had to win, they became unplayable. In Games 6 & 7 vs Denver, Aminu averaged around 10 mpg iirc and Harkless didn’t play too much more.

 

[KingSpeed]

Lets start with Turner. When he first got here CJ had not broke out yet. So his first year was probably his best thinking he was the #2 guy. I think his attitude changed when CJ emerged as it seemed to me he got worse every year. Bazemore is coming in knowing at best he will be the third guy and will be fighting to keep a lot of that bloated contract. Hood is in the same position minus the bloated contract but will be fighting for starter minutes and to continue on with what he had accomplished in last years post season. We will probably take a hit defensively but what we will gain is those 2 on offense will not be ignored for long when it comes to the double team of Dame and CJ. Bazemore/Hood > Turner , Harkless, Aminu.
Aminu was never a starter even with extended minutes he played the same when he got here as he did when he left. A very solid defender and a solid bench guy. Letting him walk in the short view might have been a mistake but in the long view of things it was best for him and us and it would just hamper Collins development.
Curry. See ya and glad you got paid by someone else other then the Blazers. He is not as good as CJ and more inconsistent all he would have done is stopped us from using Simons
Kanter, Meyers< Whiteside. Period. The attitude I can live with because we want our Center to have attitude otherwise we would have kept Plumlee. He once said he wanted to come play for Portland and if there is any team that can make you feel at ease it is Portland/Dame.

So are we a better team on paper? yes/no all depends on your view. In reality everyone of those players that left were not going to get any better with the exception of Jake and he was just not going to get any minutes and they were also part of the reason for our sweep from the WCF Kanter excluded. So we might take a step back this year but we also did not make any long term commitments either and we will also get a good look at our project players so my opinion is we got a lot better no matter what the outcome is for next season and I am excited for it.

CJ broke out in 2015. Turner showed up in 2016.

 

[royo]

I belive Lillard and CJ will go out with something new after summer. They always did and they are constantly growing. Could Lillard turn to elite defender at some point of his career. I belive so. I hope CJ can work on opening his court vision for his teammates as hard as possible. Maybe he should take waiter or postman summer job.
Lillard will be better, for sure. And he is half of this team.

I hope Zach and Simons will take it from Lillard and work hard over this summer.

And, well, Mr Stotts. He couldn't find rite rotation for long time and this was with players, that he knew since IIWW. Not sure what he can do with so many new players.

 

[Labinot41]

Well this trade makes me happy because the Lakers wont have a big 3, but it also makes way tougher for the Blazers now. Kawhi is a monster and the West got way better. There are two teams i dont wannt to see in the Playoffs: The Clippers and the Jazz, they would trap Lillard to death with their Defense

 

[swish3]

Meyers isn't on the team. Our team is better than ever.

You will probably never see another Blazer performance to equal the 2.5 points/FGA and 5 of 6 swish3 shooting that Meyers achieved in WCF Game 4. Meyers is now a Heat, not a Blazer, and the Blazers may not soon win the WCF like we could have this year if Meyers had been the starting Center for all 4 WCF games. Let's hope for excellent play and confidence building for Dame, CJ, Nurk, and the new Blazers, and that we can again make it to the WCF.

 

[MarAzul]

The Blazers are adrift. Wandering damn near aimlessly. A team run by the accounting office rather than an owner with a mission. While we watch them run the standard version of NBA musical chairs, the fanatic fans applaud every chair jerked. Every round with a new chair added. It is obligatory to signal approval.

Did they improve their probability of winning the WCF? Or did they get the team in better shape to sell? Keeping a coach that lost in the playoffs 0 and 4 two years running, might be better understood if one knew the mission at hand.

The Blazers will have been in the league 50 years next season, 43 years since the won a championship and damn near that long since they had one of the best coaches in the league. It's been 25 years since they had a very good coach, couldn't even add one when they did have a legitimate contending roster 20 years ago. In years past, you could find Basketball gurus like Pete Carril lurking about observing the workings of the team, much like the Lakers had Tex Winter hanging about some years back. The last time I saw Pete though was with Sac, not the Blazers. It doesn't matter how good your players are, if you don't have a system and the man leading that knows the system and how to match skills to needs in the system.

I see none of the above, I think they are structuring for sale.

 

[MarAzul]

they would trap Lillard to death with their Defense

I expect all coaches have recognized this tactic by now.

 

[hoopsjock]

The Blazers are adrift. Wandering damn near aimlessly. A team run by the accounting office rather than an owner with a mission. While we watch them run the standard version of NBA musical chairs, the fanatic fans applaud every chair jerked. Every round with a new chair added. It is obligatory to signal approval.

Did they improve their probability of winning the WCF? Or did they get the team in better shape to sell? Keeping a coach that lost in the playoffs 0 and 4 two years running, might be better understood if one knew the mission at hand.

The Blazers will have been in the league 50 years next season, 43 years since the won a championship and damn near that long since they had one of the best coaches in the league. It's been 25 years since they had a very good coach, couldn't even add one when they did have a legitimate contending roster 20 years ago. In years past, you could find Basketball gurus like Pete Carril lurking about observing the workings of the team, much like the Lakers had Tex Winter hanging about some years back. The last time I saw Pete though was with Sac, not the Blazers. It doesn't matter how good your players are, if you don't have a system and the man leading that knows the system and how to match skills to needs in the system.

I see none of the above, I think they are structuring for sale.

They literally added a shitload of money in luxury tax for this season rendering your post completely devoid of any credibility.

 

[MarAzul]

They literally added a shitload of money in luxury tax for this season rendering your post completely devoid of any credibility.

Can't most of it be traded away in a heart beat?

 

[hoopsjock]

Can't most of it be traded away in a heart beat?

We can trade it yes, but I think every team has all but used up most of their cap space so we won't be able to duck the luxury tax this season.