Chad Ford: Blazers best team in the West

[Shooter]

Hadn't seen this posted, so sorry if it's a repeat. I thought it was worth mentioning.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview2010/news/story?page=Predictions1011-TrailBlazers

 

[MickZagger]

I like how Brian Windhorst said, "No matter what, they still have one of the best pick-and-roll combos in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge".


Oh really now?

 

[Nikolokolus]

I like how Brian Windhorst said, "No matter what, they still have one of the best pick-and-roll combos in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge".


Oh really now?

It's interpretive. If you consider the pick and pop a pick and roll then he's actually correct.

 

[ABM]

It's interpretative.

You and them newfangled words.

 

[Natebishop3]

Blazers COULD be the best team in the west is a far cry from "Blazers are the best team in the west." :devilgrin:

 

[Nikolokolus]

You and them newfangled words.

I should use a spell checker more often.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

He picked them 3rd....misleading title.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Very misleading title.

 

[Shooter]

Very misleading title.

Not really. The fact that Ford thinks we could be the best team in the west is noteworthy. It indicates that he thinks we are one of the premiere teams in the league.

 

[mgb]

Not really. The fact that Ford thinks we could be the best team in the west is noteworthy. It indicates that he thinks we are one of the premiere teams in the league.

Ya, but the title doesn't say could be which is the misleading part.

 

[Shooter]

Ya, but the title doesn't say could be which is the misleading part.

Huh?

 

[mgb]

Huh?

Come on, Shooter, no offense, but you are not that dense. He didn't say they are the best team in the west, he said could be the best team in the west. Your title implies the former. Misleading.

 

[THE HCP]

Ford thinks we could be the best team in the west

Why didn't you make THIS the title then?

 

[Shooter]

Come on, Shooter, no offense, but you are not that dense. He didn't say they are the best team in the west, he said could be the best team in the west. Your title implies the former. Misleading.

I understand that, but I couldn't understand your one-sentence post. It made no sense to me.

 

[Shooter]

Why didn't you make THIS the title then?

I could have, but I honestly don't see a lot of difference between the two statements.

 

[Natebishop3]

I could have, but I honestly don't see a lot of difference between the two statements.

You don't?

I could be the best basketball player in the world (if I grew about five inches, lifted weights, and played hoops all day every day).

is a lot different from

I am the best basketball player in the world (even though I'm only 6'1, I haven't hit the weights in months, and I haven't played ball in almost a year).

 

[andalusian]

I could have, but I honestly don't see a lot of difference between the two statements.

Really?

It's good you are not a judge, then.

1. He is a murderer

2. He could be a murderer

#1 gets you jail or the chair
#2 gets you nothing unless #1 is proven...

 

[Shooter]

You don't?

I could be the best basketball player in the world (if I grew about five inches, lifted weights, and played hoops all day every day).

is a lot different from

I am the best basketball player in the world (even though I'm only 6'1, I haven't hit the weights in months, and I haven't played ball in almost a year).

If you think Ford means the same thing, you better think again.

What he is saying is that there's a good chance the Blazers will be the best team in the West this season as they are now constituted. The Blazers don't need to add another player, or get in better physical condition--they may actually be the best team in the west right now, but it's hard to say until we see how things pan out.

 

[Natebishop3]

If you think Ford means the same thing, you better think again.

What he is saying is that there's a good chance the Blazers will be the best team in the West this season as they are now constituted. The Blazers don't need to add another player, or get in better physical condition--they may actually be the best team in the west right now, but it's hard to say until we see how things pan out.

Okay, scroll up and look at your title. Do you see it? Blazers best team in the west. That's a clear statement. Black and white. They ARE the best team in the west. There are no caveats or asterisks. That's not what he said at all. Ford never said that they ARE the best team in the west. He said they COULD be the best team in the west. That's a far cry from what you're saying. Hell, even YOU said "there's a good chance" and "they may actually be". I don't see how you can say words like "chance" and "may" and still think that you're supporting the same argument.

 

[Shooter]

Really?

It's good you are not a judge, then.

1. He is a murderer

2. He could be a murderer

#1 gets you jail or the chair
#2 gets you nothing unless #1 is proven...

If Chad Ford were talking about murder, I'm sure he would have phrased it differently. Who wouldn't? In the context of a basketball discussion, however, his meaning is perfectly clear.

Try it this way. An art teacher, glancing over her pupils' shoulders on the first day of class, spies an especially good drawing in the process of being completed. "You could be the best student in my class!" she exclaims.

This doesn't mean the student needs to work harder, learn more about colors, or develop a more refined touch. What it means is that the student MAY be the best artist in her class already, but she just isn't sure. She needs to see more from him over the coming months to determine if he really is the best.

That's exactly what Ford is saying. The Blazers bear watching, because they "could be" the best team in the West.

 

[BGrantFan]

Fer fuck's sake. Do something and moderate the title then, instead of continuing this very mundane and semantical string of posts.

God damn, is it time for the real games to start or what?

 

[Shooter]

Okay, scroll up and look at your title. Do you see it? Blazers best team in the west. That's a clear statement. Black and white. They ARE the best team in the west. There are no caveats or asterisks. That's not what he said at all. Ford never said that they ARE the best team in the west. He said they COULD be the best team in the west. That's a far cry from what you're saying. Hell, even YOU said "there's a good chance" and "they may actually be". I don't see how you can say words like "chance" and "may" and still think that you're supporting the same argument.

You make a fair point. However, my last post was a response to your example of "I may be a good basketball player if I grew 5 inches." That's not at all the kind of statement Ford was making about the Blazers.

 

[Natebishop3]

If Chad Ford were talking about murder, I'm sure he would have phrased it differently. Who wouldn't? In the context of a basketball discussion, however, his meaning is perfectly clear.

Try it this way. An art teacher, glancing over her pupils' shoulders on the first day of class, spies an especially good drawing in the process of being completed. "You could be the best student in my class!" she exclaims.

This doesn't mean the student needs to work harder, learn more about colors, or develop a more refined touch. What it means is that the student MAY be the best artist in her class already, but she just isn't sure. She needs to see more from him over the coming months to determine if he really is the best.

That's exactly what Ford is saying. The Blazers bear watching, because they "could be" the best team in the West.

That's a real reach from a paragraph assessment of a team that he probably watches a couple times a year. If he felt that the Blazers were the best team in the west, he would have said, "they are the best team in the west."

Let's look at a couple of other paragraphs Chad Ford has written about other west coast teams:

Kevin Durant is the front-runner for the MVP award this year. Russell Westbrook looked like a potential star for Team USA, and the Thunder have a ton of effective role players and an excellent coach. May be premature here, but they have the ability to knock the Lakers off.

The Lakers are still the team to beat, but getting a three-peat will be a challenge. Kobe Bryant is slowly starting to show his age, Lamar Odom played a lot of basketball this summer and could burn out, Andrew Bynum is already ailing and the competition in the league and in the West got stronger.

So the Lakers are still the team to beat? He means in the entire league though, not just the western conference. He also says the Thunder have the ability to Knock the Lakers off, so maybe they're the best team in the west... what do you think?

 

[Natebishop3]

Fer fuck's sake. Do something and moderate the title then, instead of continuing this very mundane and semantical string of posts.

God damn, is it time for the real games to start or what?

"Address the post, not the poster."

- Barfo

 

[BGrantFan]

"Address the post, not the poster."

- Barfo

I addressed the "mundane and semantical string of posts", quite literally.

kthx

 

[andalusian]

If Chad Ford were talking about murder, I'm sure he would have phrased it differently. Who wouldn't? In the context of a basketball discussion, however, his meaning is perfectly clear.

He is talking about murder. The murder of the basketball establishment. Duh.

Try it this way. An art teacher, glancing over her pupils' shoulders on the first day of class, spies an especially good drawing in the process of being completed. "You could be the best student in my class!" she exclaims.

This doesn't mean the student needs to work harder, learn more about colors, or develop a more refined touch. What it means is that the student MAY be the best artist in her class already, but she just isn't sure. She needs to see more from him over the coming months to determine if he really is the best.

Well, Duh. Of course, but, just as likely it could also mean - you could be the best one if you did not just waste your time painting lewd genitalia. You are the one that made the jump from a painting and to a good painting. The teacher did not say it. What Chad Ford says is that this team could be the best in the western conference if... and I suspect that the if... refers to health/chemistry, which is not the same as coming out and saying "They are the best in the conference".

That's exactly what Ford is saying. The Blazers bear watching, because they "could be" the best team in the West.

If North Korea deployed a surface to western conference NBA cities missile but somehow missed Memphis because Memphis is really in the eastern side of the US and is in the Western conference because of technicality - the Griz could be the best team in the West as well.

If Ford did not want to add the "Could be" he would not. The fact that he did means something - and this makes your title misleading.

 

[Shooter]

That's a real reach from a paragraph assessment of a team that he probably watches a couple times a year.

So now we're questioning his knowledge of the team, not just his statement? For God's sake, he probably watches the Blazers as much as any other national NBA pundit. None of them really know the Blazers like WE do on this board!!

He also says the Thunder have the ability to Knock the Lakers off, so maybe they're the best team in the west... what do you think?

They may be, actually. However, he didn't say, "The Thunder may be the best team in the West." He said "The Blazers may be the best team in the West." Besides, knocking off the Lakers in a season in which the Blazers are better than the Lakers wouldn't qualify you as being the best in the West, would it?

 

[THE HCP]

The Blazers bear watching, because they "could be" the best team in the West.

Why didn't you just make this the title of the thread then?

 

[Shooter]

Why didn't you just make this the title of the thread then?

Because I wanted to piss you off. That's my goal each time I post: How can I really irritate HCP today?

 

[THE HCP]

Not pissed, just curious. You are slowly moving down the rankings and joining that east coast dumbass!