Dec 7 AT Toronto

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The only thing I hated about today's game is that it was on Comcast. I've got DirecTV and it was too early to go to a sports bar! Dammit! :curse:
 
Do you have the NBA league pass? Maybe you do and still feel the same way and I respect that. But having watched a lot of games this year, almost every team has 6-8 guys who are very talented. The difference is our 6-12 guys are very good and also very young. That bodes well for the future, but also means they will go through stretches that they look bad. Right now I think you are being unrealistic. I do hope you are right, but from past experience the fans with unrealistic expectations tend to bitch and moan more when things go bad. Not saying you will, just saying that's how it usually turns out.

That's cool, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm not saying I expect us to win every game. I'm more or less saying that aside from a few games, at the start of each game, I expect Portland to win. That's not saying I expect Portland to go through the season with 60 wins, but at the start of each game, Portland is more talented than almost every other team in the league. The more talented team doesn't always win, however.

Many teams have several "players", but I think our level of talent, the quantity of talent, and the way they blend together as a team is superior to most teams. And the fact that we have so many guys capable of carrying a team to a certain extent, when one or two guys struggle, we have guys to step in. I don't think many other teams have that luxury to Portland's level.
 
2 games decided on prayers that went in, 2 games decided on missed easy opponent shots at the buzzer. with a little less luck we could easily be 11-11 right now.
 
2 games decided on prayers that went in, 2 games decided on missed easy opponent shots at the buzzer. with a little less luck we could easily be 11-11 right now.

And yet, we're not. What does that say about us?
 
And yet, we're not. What does that say about us?

we've been lucky? winning close games like that isn't really a repeatable skill, maybe there are players here and there who completely choke, but after years of high school and college you'd think most of these players are weeded out.
 
2 games decided on prayers that went in, 2 games decided on missed easy opponent shots at the buzzer. with a little less luck we could easily be 11-11 right now.

As it's said, it's better to be lucky than good. And I don't think it was luck that LMA played great defense on Bosh on that last play. LMA +18, Bosh -14 on the night, nuff said.
 
Blazers have been lucky and good. They may be less lucky as the season wears on, but the schedule will also become easier.

Let the good times roll.
 
Blazers have been lucky and good. They may be less lucky as the season wears on, but the schedule will also become easier.

Let the good times roll.
 
Our record is a pleasant surprise - particularly since our method of success doesn't fit the normal model.

If you break it down, Roy is the only starter who is clearly and consistently above average. OTOH, Joel, Outlaw, and Rudy have pretty consistently been above average for bench players. What games have we won this season where our bench has not been a significant factor?
 
These close games on the road like today, NY and Washington are going to be the difference down the stretch in the playoff race. I'll take the good and the luck. The great teams get this kind of luck or good fortune or whatever you want to call it in the regular season.
 
Weird hearing Greg looked up to Jermaine growing up and watching him play when I just remember Jermaine being 'The Kid' here, and still being that teenager looking for his shot.

Holy crap! I completely forgot about GO being from Indy. He would have looked up to JO, and probably Reggie Miller. I guess that explains his footwork--he grew up patterning himself after Dale Davis.
 
Holy crap! I completely forgot about GO being from Indy. He would have looked up to JO, and probably Reggie Miller. I guess that explains his footwork--he grew up patterning himself after Dale Davis.

Ouch... low blow on Big G.O. But Dale Davis was an All-Star!
 
As it's said, it's better to be lucky than good. And I don't think it was luck that LMA played great defense on Bosh on that last play. LMA +18, Bosh -14 on the night, nuff said.


in today's case i was thinking more of blake's step back line drive 3 pointer as being lucky, although you could say we might have got the rebound even if he misses. i didn't think bosh's shot was easy by any means. finley and salmons both had easier shots to beat us.
 
2 games decided on prayers that went in, 2 games decided on missed easy opponent shots at the buzzer. with a little less luck we could easily be 11-11 right now.

And we got screwed in Golden State. And if Rudy makes that 3 in Utah, we're tied with 20+ seconds left. And we should have won in New Orleans. These are the things that happen over the course of the NBA season. EVERY team has these types of things happen. The fact is, if every team has these types of things happen, yet we're still 15-7, we're still pretty damn good in relation to all other teams.
 
You know, they always say the great players find ways to always be in the right places at the right time, well we just have a bunch of clutch players.
 
The only thing I hated about today's game is that it was on Comcast. I've got DirecTV and it was too early to go to a sports bar! Dammit! :curse:

You have the internet right? That's all you need.
 
in today's case i was thinking more of blake's step back line drive 3 pointer as being lucky, although you could say we might have got the rebound even if he misses. i didn't think bosh's shot was easy by any means. finley and salmons both had easier shots to beat us.

If Steve only hit about 25-30% of his threes I'd say you have a point, but instead he was guarded by the worst defensive point guard in the league and he hits about 43% from downtown. He could have missed, but he didn't, and so we get to have an upbeat day around the forums instead of seeing "Blake sucks" or "Trade Steve" in 15 different threads.
 
2 games decided on prayers that went in, 2 games decided on missed easy opponent shots at the buzzer. with a little less luck we could easily be 11-11 right now.

I'll take it. You remember how many games we lost by 1 or 2 points last year compared to how many we won.
 
Winning close games is the mark of a smart, well-coached and disciplined team.
 
true. it took smarts coaching and discipline to foul yao with the lead then hit a miracle :tongue:

Exactly. It's about time people start to recognize the genius of Nate's coaching abilities, as well as his ability to play out the game in his mind before a play occurs.
 
Exactly. It's about time people start to recognize the genius of Nate's coaching abilities, as well as his ability to play out the game in his mind before a play occurs.


either your sarcasm detector is broken or mine is
 
It's not even because both teams easily beat the Blazers. This team has a way to go to compete with the elite teams.

Yep, but they'll get there.

So far, the only two teams we haven't been competitive with are the Lakers in Celtics - the two teams that went to the finals last year and have the best records in the league this season. The way Cleveland is playing right now, they might also be considered an elite, or near-elite team.

Other than that, there aren't any other teams in the league that the Blazers can't compete with, and beat, on a regular basis.

We currently have the 2nd best record in the Western Conference - in spite of playing between 4 and 7 more road games than any of the other top 16 teams in the entire NBA. Given the difficultly of our early season schedule, I'm more than satisfied with where this team is right now.

It's a long season. When the schedule came out, many were afraid we'd get off to a bad start and it would be a set back to our young players' confidence. The exact opposite has happened. This young team has had great success and their confidence has improved. They will just continue to get better over the course of the season.

It's much more important to be able compete with the elite teams in May and June than in November and December. And, if we can finish the season where we are right now - as the 2nd seed in the West - the earliest we'd see one of those elite teams in the play-offs is the Western Conference Finals.

BNM
 

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