Dame: “They better pray…”

[inconceivable]

Dirk's 2011 chip, I believe his only one, is up there with my fave titles. The year B Roy had that memorable come back game against them in Rd 1. When Dame does it for Portland (win it all), it will surpass that

 

[KingSpeed]

Dame and Jerami took way to much national criticism after for taking the night off. Perhaps being trapped in a snowstorm for the better part of 24 hours might have thrown off their routine?

Dame said it was Chauncey’s call.

 

[KingSpeed]

Dirk's 2011 chip, I believe his only one, is up there with my fave titles. The year B Roy had that memorable come back game against them in Rd 1. When Dame does it for Portland (win it all), it will surpass that

Not only did he win that title but he swept the champs along the way and beat the LeBronBoshWade Heat. One of the most impressive title runs ever.

 

[MickZagger]

Not only did he win that title but he swept the champs along the way and beat the LeBronBoshWade Heat. One of the most impressive title runs ever.

That offense was clicking on all cylinders

 

[KingSpeed]

That offense was clicking on all cylinders

JJ Barea scored at will all playoffs

 

[MickZagger]

JJ Barea scored at will all playoffs

Was that the playoffs where Andrew Bynum clothes lined him?

 

[wizenheimer]

He won’t. Too old, too much money, too small, too much of a focal point

stop channeling Goldilocks

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[KingSpeed]

Was that the playoffs where Andrew Bynum clothes lined him?

Yes. Because he was scoring at the rim all series.

 

[Idog1976]

so it seems it was removed. What did it say?

 

[Idog1976]

Possibly the best movie of ALL TIME

Ole Roddy said it was a DOCUMENTARY and **Gestures broadly** clearly he was right. Not aliens, but zombies and people who can't see the obvious everywhere you turn.

 

[Whyachi]

Possibly the best movie of ALL TIME

Indeed !! Such a deep, dark twisted plot with Piper kicking the crap out of everything. There's nothing that even comes close to They Live.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Then he goes an drops 71 in the next game.

 

[Ripcity4life77]

I loved seeing what Dame did last night and I let it soak in for 5 to 15 minutes then my joy started to turn into a black cloud and I started to get upset and you ask why and I think some know where I am going but let the rant start now .....

The franchise is letting down the greatest player to EVER put on a Blazer uniform and someone who deserves a ring but will prolly stay loyal to the city and the fans and is getting jack shit from Cronin and Jody Allen. I said it before PA had his faults but I believe if PA was still alive he would have finally woke up and said screw it let's gamble 2 to 3 years and try our best to get Dame a ring even if it hurts for a few years afterwards. The problem is we have an owner who SHOULD be trying to sell this team to an owner who will keep the Blazers in Portland and one who is not afraid to spend some money to make a winner but for some reason she is slow playing this for whatever reason. Then you have a GM who is prolly a grade C to C plus general manager under the best conditions but prolly cause of Jody is making for the most part F to C minus moves.

Dame deserves more then this and it's making me sick to watch how the Blazers front office is mistreating the greatest treasure this team and city have ever seen. I know it's not possible but I would love for every fan to rally behind Dame and start a campaign to pressure Jody to sell ASAP and use the mistreatment of Dame as the catalyst and pressure a sale to the right person so we can give Dame a true chance. My last thought is more of a statement -- Screw you Jody and all Hail the greatest Blazer to ever put on the uniform.

 

[andalusian]

Dame deserves more then this and it's making me sick to watch how the Blazers front office is mistreating the greatest treasure this team and city have ever seen. I know it's not possible but I would love for every fan to rally behind Dame and start a campaign to pressure Jody to sell ASAP and use the mistreatment of Dame as the catalyst and pressure a sale to the right person so we can give Dame a true chance. My last thought is more of a statement -- Screw you Jody and all Hail the greatest Blazer to ever put on the uniform.

I think Dame understands that NeO's mess will take a while to untangle. It's a shame, but it is not a surprise. Dame wanted Grant and he got Grant, sounds like Dame understands that Nurk is not the answer given that the Blazers tried to ship him out - and I suspect Dame remembers what happened with LMA, so he understands why Hart was shipped out.

If anything, imho, the issue is of unrealistic expectations for how quickly the mess NeO left can be untangled with. The Blazers seem like they are finally doing the steady job to rebuild the team properly, not by shipping FRPs for role-players as NeO did. It might not work, but if Dame wants to win in Portland, it's the only reasonable way to maybe get there.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

I loved seeing what Dame did last night and I let it soak in for 5 to 15 minutes then my joy started to turn into a black cloud and I started to get upset and you ask why and I think some know where I am going but let the rant start now .....

The franchise is letting down the greatest player to EVER put on a Blazer uniform and someone who deserves a ring but will prolly stay loyal to the city and the fans and is getting jack shit from Cronin and Jody Allen. I said it before PA had his faults but I believe if PA was still alive he would have finally woke up and said screw it let's gamble 2 to 3 years and try our best to get Dame a ring even if it hurts for a few years afterwards. The problem is we have an owner who SHOULD be trying to sell this team to an owner who will keep the Blazers in Portland and one who is not afraid to spend some money to make a winner but for some reason she is slow playing this for whatever reason. Then you have a GM who is prolly a grade C to C plus general manager under the best conditions but prolly cause of Jody is making for the most part F to C minus moves.

Dame deserves more then this and it's making me sick to watch how the Blazers front office is mistreating the greatest treasure this team and city have ever seen. I know it's not possible but I would love for every fan to rally behind Dame and start a campaign to pressure Jody to sell ASAP and use the mistreatment of Dame as the catalyst and pressure a sale to the right person so we can give Dame a true chance. My last thought is more of a statement -- Screw you Jody and all Hail the greatest Blazer to ever put on the uniform.

I'd certainly be okay being "let down" if I was being paid hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of my career. Unlike the average fan, Dame has his priorities in order. A ring is very cool, but it isn't particularly "life changing" in the grand scheme of things. Basketball has allowed Dame to provide for several generations of his family. What is a ring compared to that??? Let's be honest, what you're really saying that team ownership is letting the fans down, not Dame. Using Dame as cover for fan expectations is rather disingenuous at best. Dame is not "owed" a championship and neither are we. And I suspect Dame is fine with that in the long run. I'm with @Strenuus as far just enjoying the experience that is Damian Lillard and being satisfied with that. With the whole nation constantly shitting on Portland, Dame always casts us in a positive light. And ring or no ring, Dame will always be a champion (and MVP) in my estimation.

 

[wizenheimer]

I think Dame understands that NeO's mess will take a while to untangle. It's a shame, but it is not a surprise. Dame wanted Grant and he got Grant, sounds like Dame understands that Nurk is not the answer given that the Blazers tried to ship him out - and I suspect Dame remembers what happened with LMA, so he understands why Hart was shipped out.

If anything, imho, the issue is of unrealistic expectations for how quickly the mess NeO left can be untangled with. The Blazers seem like they are finally doing the steady job to rebuild the team properly, not by shipping FRPs for role-players as NeO did. It might not work, but if Dame wants to win in Portland, it's the only reasonable way to maybe get there.

good post

yeah, Olshey was the architect of long-term mediocrity, and that term is running well past his departure. Olshey invested a lot into deeply flawed players. For chrissakes, he thought paying CJ and Powell a combined 50M/year was a good idea. Two undersized SG's with no defense....yuck. And there's even some lame nostalgia in this forum for those two guards, even though it was apparent right from the beginning that they were terribly inadequate support for a player like Dame. Maybe Cronin could have extracted a little more asset(s) from trading those two. But just maybe what he got was what the market was. The problem wasn't what those two fetched in trade, the problem was investing so much in them in the first place. Compounding that issue was trading 4 first's for Afflalo, RoCo, and Nance plus wasting 3 first's in a very deep draft on Zach and Swanigan. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity after missed opportunity

other teams want either dynamic talent or length. Portland had none to trade. That's on Olshey, and blaming Cronin because he can't trade two dimes + three nickels for a dollar + two quarters is crazy

 

[blazerfan11]

good post

yeah, Olshey was the architect of long-term mediocrity, and that term is running well past his departure. Olshey invested a lot into deeply flawed players. For chrissakes, he thought paying CJ and Powell a combined 50M/year was a good idea. Two undersized SG's with no defense....yuck. And there's even some lame nostalgia in this forum for those two guards, even though it was apparent right from the beginning that they were terribly inadequate support for a player like Dame. Maybe Cronin could have extracted a little more asset(s) from trading those two. But just maybe what he got was what the market was. The problem wasn't what those two fetched in trade, the problem was investing so much in them in the first place. Compounding that issue was trading 4 first's for Afflalo, RoCo, and Nance plus wasting 3 first's in a very deep draft on Zach and Swanigan. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity after missed opportunity

other teams want either dynamic talent or length. Portland had none to trade. That's on Olshey, and blaming Cronin because he can't trade two dimes + three nickels for a dollar + two quarters is crazy

Other than 2017, I think Olshey did pretty well on draft days. Lillard, Leonard, Barton, McCollum, Crabbe, Connaughton, Simons, Little. Did I miss anyone?
But Olshey gets an F for not getting a 2-way forward (or big guard) to play with Dame.
I think most everyone here would have traded CJ right after we went to the conference finals, assuming there had been such a player available.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I think most everyone here would have traded CJ right after we went to the conference finals

Honestly how do you sell that? The team highly overachieved and CJ had huge games getting them there. I still don't really see it? You get Dame and CJ two long very good defensive forwards that can shoot and a mobile big that can protect the rim and they are very solid.

 

[Strenuus]

I'd certainly be okay being "let down" if I was being paid hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of my career. Unlike the average fan, Dame has his priorities in order. A ring is very cool, but it isn't particularly "life changing" in the grand scheme of things. Basketball has allowed Dame to provide for several generations of his family. What is a ring compared to that??? Let's be honest, what you're really saying that team ownership is letting the fans down, not Dame. Using Dame as cover for fan expectations is rather disingenuous at best. Dame is not "owed" a championship and neither are we. And I suspect Dame is fine with that in the long run. I'm with @Strenuus as far just enjoying the experience that is Damian Lillard and being satisfied with that. With the whole nation constantly shitting on Portland, Dame always casts us in a positive light. And ring or no ring, Dame will always be a champion (and MVP) in my estimation.

This is just a damn reasonable, measured, and great post. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

This is just a damn reasonable, measured, and great post. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Reach around worthy.....??

 

[blazerfan11]

Honestly how do you sell that? The team highly overachieved and CJ had huge games getting them there. I still don't really see it? You get Dame and CJ two long very good defensive forwards that can shoot and a mobile big that can protect the rim and they are very solid.

1. You said it, they "Overachieved."
2. They got swept by the Warriors. In typical fashion where down the stretch Dame and CJ took contested shots against bigger players.

If the goal is to make the playoffs every season, keeping CJ and adding some role players is good. If the Blazers wanted to get to another level, they need/needed a 2-way player who can score contested buckets and play high level defense.
The problem with the Dame / CJ backcourt is that BOTH of them needed to be on the court at the end of the game.

 

[andalusian]

good post

yeah, Olshey was the architect of long-term mediocrity, and that term is running well past his departure. Olshey invested a lot into deeply flawed players. For chrissakes, he thought paying CJ and Powell a combined 50M/year was a good idea. Two undersized SG's with no defense....yuck. And there's even some lame nostalgia in this forum for those two guards, even though it was apparent right from the beginning that they were terribly inadequate support for a player like Dame.

Well, the starting unit with these guys was elite at the end of Terry's reign in the regular season. It started falling apart in the playoffs with the combination of Dame playing injured (even tho he played great) and playoffs basketball and adjustments.

But sure, there were a lot of issues with that roster and it fell further apart once Billups replaced Terry - both Roco and Norm seemed to be really disinterested.

 

[illmatic99]

I woke up this morning tired having stayed up late watching and rewatching all the highlights and interviews. Still was too excited to sleep cuz of the 71 amd subduing my irritation at Jody for not even trying.

Then i saw the multitude of texts from two groups chats from friends in diff markets yelling at Dame for his loyalty and #ringz and wasting away, etc etc.

I just lost it. And then ESPN and nbatwitter largely has the same discourse. Fuck this shit man.

They really better pray that we dont win one because I will crow until they all block me.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

1. You said it, they "Overachieved."
2. They got swept by the Warriors. In typical fashion where down the stretch Dame and CJ took contested shots against bigger players.

If the goal is to make the playoffs every season, keeping CJ and adding some role players is good. If the Blazers wanted to get to another level, they need/needed a 2-way player who can score contested buckets and play high level defense.
The problem with the Dame / CJ backcourt is that BOTH of them needed to be on the court at the end of the game.

Yeah they overachieved.

 

[illmatic99]

Anyone have insider?