Dallas, Here Come the Blazers?

[illmatic99]

[video=youtube;M06-ZfDT5JE]

 

[PapaG]

That still doesn't put it anywhere in Sacto's neighborhood. We drive by Sacto to Tahoe and won't even stop there to piss.

Um, OK. I'm not arguing Sacto over Anaheim. I'm just pointing out that the Anaheim arena is basically like Sacto, but not in LA, but rather OC, which is basically Sacto outside of the beach communities.

 

[maxiep]

[video=youtube;M06-ZfDT5JE]

Man, that killed me. Could you imagine if that were Mike & Mike?

 

[Run BJM]

Totally agree. Plus maybe the Lakers will have an injury or two in the first round. You never know.

Isn't this EXACTLY why you guys got Gerald Wallace? Hes perfect to guard Dirk and you've been playing him at the 4, no? Between him, Batum, Aldridge and maybe even Camby you should have plenty of options but GW seems like about as good an option as you can find in the league. He should make a call to his old buddy Stephen Jackson for a scouting report. Jack was the primary defender on Dirk in that Warriors upset a few years ago where Dirk shot 38% for the series. Jack's got all of Nellie's secrets for stopping him and he and GW are both 6'7 with 7'0 wingspans.

IMO you match up way better with Dallas than LAL. I know you guys had the war cries going calling for LA's blood but they would have crushed you easily. They're getting weaker and Bynum-less but still clearly get the 8-on-5 basketball advantage and IMO you can neutralize Dirk better than you can Kobe. Who scares you on Dallas after Dirk? Jason Terry? Even if you do a good job on Kobe, LAL hasa legit second star in Pau. Kidd is nice but not a threat to explode scoring the ball. Lakers can really D up when they want to (again, 8 on 5 helps but even without that they're capable of flipping the switch pretty well). Carlisle can preach as much as he wants but they're limited with Dirk/Terry/Barea/old man Kidd as key rotation pieces. The fear for Dirk and lack of respect for a guy like Duncan on this forum is laughable.

Miller-JKidd is a pretty even matchup at this point. Could be interesting seeing the big G/Fs of PDX vs. Beaubois/Terry/Barea but I think you'll be more than ok in that respect. Chandler is good but hes not a lock down one on one defender and obviously Dirk is useless on defense so it oughta be interesting to see how effective Aldridge is.

Dallas has very good depth but I get the sneaking suspicion your Roy/Batum/Camby bench trio will steal the show at least once in this series. Dallas is deeper but your 6/7/8th men are better

 

[magnifier661]

I know you guys had the war cries going calling for LA's blood but they would have crushed you easily

I would beg to differ. In fact, why the hell would L.A. play all their starters for last night's game? Don't you think the Lakers really didn't want to face Portland in the playoffs. Not maybe because they fear us, but more importantly, they think Portland is the one team in the West that has the best chance to upset their opponent. Even if the Lakers won that series, it would definitely not be "crushing us" like you suggested.

 

[Run BJM]

I would beg to differ. In fact, why the hell would L.A. play all their starters for last night's game? Don't you think the Lakers really didn't want to face Portland in the playoffs. Not maybe because they fear us, but more importantly, they think Portland is the one team in the West that has the best chance to upset their opponent. Even if the Lakers won that series, it would definitely not be "crushing us" like you suggested.

Well if its a choice of PDX or NO obviously they're going for NO. I'd wager that getting home court advantage for the second round against the Mavs was just as important. You can take that as the Lakers shaking in their boots about the Blazers. I'll interpret it as LA can really steamroll NO with less effort than they could PDX. Doubt either series would go past game 5 but regardless of length of the series NO is easier for LA and in the long run to an NBA championship its a big advantage if one team went to two or three extremely tough 6/7 game series and the other had only one really difficult series. Chi and Miami have easy first round draws but its hard to see any team running away with the ECF. It'll probably be pretty brutal for Mia/Chi/Bos/NY/Orl to get out of the east. LAL knows this.

They're just posturing for better advantages to win a ring. Its a bit of a compliment that they'd prefer not to play you but its just as much of a commentary on how the competition drops of from you to NO and having HCA against the Mavs could shorten that series and give them a bit more of an edge in the WCF and Finals. If they can buy extra rest time, fewer minutes for key players, avoid grinding physical play and long series over the course of three series to get to the finals it could be a noticeable advantage in the finals.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Man, that killed me. Could you imagine if that were Mike & Mike?

Woof... yeah that's a tough... *snff*

 

[magnifier661]

Well if its a choice of PDX or NO obviously they're going for NO. I'd wager that getting home court advantage for the second round against the Mavs was just as important. You can take that as the Lakers shaking in their boots about the Blazers. I'll interpret it as LA can really steamroll NO with less effort than they could PDX. Doubt either series would go past game 5 but regardless of length of the series NO is easier for LA and in the long run to an NBA championship its a big advantage if one team went to two or three extremely tough 6/7 game series and the other had only one really difficult series. Chi and Miami have easy first round draws but its hard to see any team running away with the ECF. It'll probably be pretty brutal for Mia/Chi/Bos/NY/Orl to get out of the east. LAL knows this.

They're just posturing for better advantages to win a ring. Its a bit of a compliment that they'd prefer not to play you but its just as much of a commentary on how the competition drops of from you to NO and having HCA against the Mavs could shorten that series and give them a bit more of an edge in the WCF and Finals. If they can buy extra rest time, fewer minutes for key players, avoid grinding physical play and long series over the course of three series to get to the finals it could be a noticeable advantage in the finals.

Never said that the Lakers are "shaking in their boots" in facing the Blazers. I am arguing that the Lakers would simply "crush the Blazers" like you mentioned. I think one main reason isn't that the Lakers fear they would lose a series to the Blazers; but more of the physical nature of that series. It would be filled with Portland coming out and playing their hearts to beat their big brother. Give the emotional edge to the Blazers. That alone is one reason why the Lakers wouldn't want to face the Blazers in the first round.

The second is possible injuries. I know, like probably everyone in this forum, that the Lakers will steam roll over the depleted NOH. They probably can rest their starters or at least reduce their minutes to ready for the second round. Also, having Portland face Dallas could net a Portland win; since the match-ups are more favorable for an upset. If that was the case, then L.A. would face the 6th seed instead of 3rd.

I just didn't like your commentary of "Lakers crushing the Blazers". I think anyone on the Laker's brass would disagree.

 

[Run BJM]

In that case then I think we're pretty much on the same page.

You might get a crack at them in the second round though.

 

[magnifier661]

In that case then I think we're pretty much on the same page.

You might get a crack at them in the second round though.

We lose that series. I think the only chance a team can upset the Lakers is in the first round. It will be too hard for the Blazers to gruel out a long series with Dallas; while Lakers sweep the NOH.

 

[mook]

We lose that series. I think the only chance a team can upset the Lakers is in the first round. It will be too hard for the Blazers to gruel out a long series with Dallas; while Lakers sweep the NOH.

That's assuming the Lakers are healthier in the second round than they are in the first. With Bynum, there are no guarantees.

Interesting side note: Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Artest and Fisher have all played 82 games this year, and all but Odom have started all 82 games.

The karma disparity between the Lakers and Blazers is, as ever, incredibly depressing.

 

[BBert]

I agree with magnifier, in that, if we are going to have to play the Flakers, and it looks like we are if we are going to get to the finals, I would rather play them in the first round. I think they are temporarily as vulnerable as they are going to be, they will reach their stride after the first round, and they will be more rested than the Blazers in the second round. Then there is our 'luck.' If either team is going to get dinged up in the first round....

 

[TripTango]

All this talk about second round strategy is premature. If we get out of the first round, I'll consider this season a rousing success. One things for sure, I can guarantee you that nobody in the Portland locker room is talking about the plusses and minuses of facing LA in the next round...

As far as "when is the best time to face LA" is concerned, the correct answer is "nobody fucking knows". Anything can happen between now and the next round. NO could put up a bigger fight than expected. Kobe could get hurt. All of this bellyaching over when we "should" face them is making my belly ache.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

As far as "when is the best time to face LA" is concerned, the correct answer is "nobody fucking knows".

Actually it's "next season because they lost to NO in the first round"; that would definitely be the best time in my book.

 

[TripTango]

Actually it's "next season because they lost to NO in the first round"; that would definitely be the best time in my book.

So true! I stand corrected.

EDIT: Of course, that would probably imply that the Hornets had access to some kind of cheat code, which would be problematic for us...

 

[PapaG]

Lock Out Bump!

 

[jlprk]

I have 2 options.

1. Read 165 posts.
2. Ask you to make a long summary when you bump an old thread, so that we won't have to review it.