Does a great start and great game plan translate to playoff success?

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cmeese47 said:
Stay on topic people, is Portland as currently assembled a playoff threat. IMO they are not, at best they are the Warriors from last year competitive, entertaining but not a championship threat.
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Playoff threat is different t han contender. Which is it?
 
At this point it's just semantics. He gave an example of what he meant (Warriors), and personally I think it's an apt comparison. I think most of us agree that we'll make the Playoffs (and maybe even win in the 1st round?), so we all pretty much agree we're a "playoff threat".
Some probably view us as a contender - but do most? At this point in the season I'm still in the "way too early" camp, hedging towards the "we're still a piece or two away" camp.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Playoff threat is different t han contender. Which is it?
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Yep, a playoff threat would be a team able to get .500 or above. A contender is a team that can get to the second round and better consistently. A championship contender is one that can go to the wcf or later.
 
magnifier661 said:
Yep, a playoff threat would be a team able to get .500 or above. A contender is a team that can get to the second round and better consistently. A championship contender is one that can go to the wcf or later.
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Well where do you see this team cause I have them on the edge of playoff threat and contender based on your definitions
 
cmeese47 said:
I hardly think they are premature now considering our start. IMO 44 wins will be enough to make the playoffs that means Portland can go 26-34 from this point on and still manage to make the playoffs.
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I don't think 44 wins makes the playoffs. The last time a team made the playoffs in the west with 44 wins was 2007 (obvious exception to the shortened 2011-2012 season). That being said, I don't see the Blazers not making the playoffs this year.
 
Right now they are certainly a championship threat. They have the 2nd best record in the league so of course they are.
 
tlongII said:
Right now they are certainly a championship threat. They have the 2nd best record in the league so of course they are.
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How can they be a championship threat right now, as you say, when the playoffs don't start until April 19th?
 
Mediocre Man said:
I agree.

If Lebron goes down they aren't
Rose went down, so their not
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So technically no team in the nba are contenders? This is where you and I disagree. I think someone can determine if a team is legit or not. I think even 20 games in, you get an idea on the team's philosophy and can make a pretty decent guess who is good and who is not.

I do understand your concept of waiting till the allstar break. I can respect that. But in the meantime, you have the current legit teams and the ones most likely not to make the playoffs.
 
magnifier661 said:
So technically no team in the nba are contenders? This is where you and I disagree. I think someone can determine if a team is legit or not. I think even 20 games in, you get an idea on the team's philosophy and can make a pretty decent guess who is good and who is not.

I do understand your concept of waiting till the allstar break. I can respect that. But in the meantime, you have the current legit teams and the ones most likely not to make the playoffs.
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Ya, we differ.

I think teams like Miami, Indiana, OKC , you can tell more than a team like Portland because those teams have been there or near there recently without any real player turnover. Portland, on the other hand, is a team that finished with the 10th worst record in the league last year. they certainly improved their shortcomings in the off season, but for me, it's hard to call them championship threats after 20 games because teams are still adjusting to players and style of play.

Just my opinion.
 
Mediocre Man said:
Ya, we differ.

I think teams like Miami, Indiana, OKC , you can tell more than a team like Portland because those teams have been there or near there recently without any real player turnover. Portland, on the other hand, is a team that finished with the 10th worst record in the league last year. they certainly improved their shortcomings in the off season, but for me, it's hard to call them championship threats after 20 games because teams are still adjusting to players and style of play.

Just my opinion.
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I can respect your opinion
 
Respect for each other seems weird for these forums from what I have seen so far, but keep it up I like it.
 
Barring injury, I see this team continuing to improve as the season goes on. Maybe I'm just a homer, but I think they are a legit contender this year.

Go Blazers
 
LaMarcus is playing at a level better than Clyde during the championship years. There's no point in the game where I regret the ball being passed to LaMarcus (unlike when Clyde got the ball right after the man he was guarding hit a great shot... he became Mo Williams for a play).

The other players are coming down to Earth a bit, but even for all of Lillard's shooting woes, he's still got a better eFG% than LA, and his Free Throw Rate is nearly35%. He's getting his, and the others are as well. Matthews is finding ways to score even though it's harder for him now. Batum is making plays, even though he had a tough night for turnovers. Lopez is rolling, improving, and just beasting. I feel like the identity of the team has shifted from the beginning of the season. We're way more well-rounded than the three-point gunslingers we were back then.
 
BlazerCaravan said:
LaMarcus is playing at a level better than Clyde during the championship years. There's no point in the game where I regret the ball being passed to LaMarcus (unlike when Clyde got the ball right after the man he was guarding hit a great shot... he became Mo Williams for a play).

The other players are coming down to Earth a bit, but even for all of Lillard's shooting woes, he's still got a better eFG% than LA, and his Free Throw Rate is nearly35%. He's getting his, and the others are as well. Matthews is finding ways to score even though it's harder for him now. Batum is making plays, even though he had a tough night for turnovers. Lopez is rolling, improving, and just beasting. I feel like the identity of the team has shifted from the beginning of the season. We're way more well-rounded than the three-point gunslingers we were back then.
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Truth!!!! Our team is getting much better defensively, plus we are winning games when teams even take us out of our comfort zone.

We win on the road, plus we are cramping down defensively in the second half. We are making great mid game adjustments, that only help build confidence. There is no lead safe playing against us!

Here are some very interesting stats. If we lead at half, we are undefeated. When we are tied or lead at the 4th, we are undefeated. This is a poise stat. Means we can beat teams in the 4th. That's all on Aldridge and Lillard!
 
magnifier661 said:
Truth!!!! Our team is getting much better defensively, plus we are winning games when teams even take us out of our comfort zone.
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Agreed; at first I was worried our system would be game-planned to death, but we've won in so many ways, there's no real game plan to beat us except "score more points than them and try to annoy LaMarcus/the guards without doubling him/them". That plan doesn't really work unless you have two tall guards, a big who can hit threes, and a similarly potent offensive scheme... thanks for nothing, Phoenix.
 
BlazerCaravan said:
Agreed; at first I was worried our system would be game-planned to death, but we've won in so many ways, there's no real game plan to beat us except "score more points than them and try to annoy LaMarcus/the guards without doubling him/them". That plan doesn't really work unless you have two tall guards, a big who can hit threes, and a similarly potent offensive scheme... thanks for nothing, Phoenix.
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Can't wait until teams start designing their team to combat the Blazers. Then the Blazers can adjust and everyone is fucked. I see it becoming a real issue for teams next season.
 
Biggest thing about this team is LA he is finely playing like a real superstar. Sure he has been an all-star last couple seasons but now he is carrying the team and is playing at an all nba level. It is about time.
 
Well, Roy Hibbert thinks we're contenders. He would be a good gauge if you asked me. What winning team wouldn't consider itself a contender? Goes against the nature of pro sports across the board. The only people who put these limitations on teams who are winning are bookies or fans. Wesley Mathews taught me that in an interview he did long ago. He said something like, "I don't want to just make the playoffs! I want to win it all! That's where momentum comes from and the Blazers are playing with their heads high right now.
 
I love how Matthews handles media and he's right. The goal to get out of the first round is stupid. It can be a sub goal but the ultimate goal is championship, every year.
 
Totally agree NBA title or bust should always be the goal.
 
Blazer Fanatic said:
No one should hold their breath waiting for you to jump on the Blazer bandwagon either. Important safety tip.
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Well considering your opinions about me hold as much weight as a holocaust denier just plain illogical I am not going to lose sleep over it.
 
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cmeese47 said:
I knew Lillard was going to be great because I got to watch him a lot in college. However, was Lillard ready to lead this team on a significant playoff run last year? Not even close, Lillard's shot selection and defense last year were both very suspect at times. Most of that can be attributed to being a rookie and a lot of it can be contributed to not having any bench forcing Lillard to try and play hero ball.

Lillard also never had a significant injury that he had to come back from last year eithe
Can CJ contribute? Certainly. Is he enough to make us an NBA title contender? In my opinion not even remotely. If our record is legit then we know what we have and getting a nice veteran piece who can come in and fill a specific role will help. Someone like Kyle Lowry I feel would make a bigger impact on this team than a healthy CJ McCollum.
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When the Raptors want to dump a guy, it says alot. Lowry has been less than stellar for some time. Projecting what this Blazer team can do in the playoffs is sort of like people predicting we'd just miss the playoffs before a game had tipped off. Negative affirmations about the Blazers don't hold water any more in my book. Joel Freeland is playing significant minutes on a team with the most wins in the league. TRob and Leonard haven't really broken a sweat off the bench yet so to throw them under the bus this early is a bit premature. The Blazers are deeper than your fears project and 50 games from now you may very well be surprised how good all of our bench players can be. CJ is a pure scorer and all the young guys are going to get tested on defense. Nash had a pretty stellar career without playing a lick of defense.
 
riverman said:
When the Raptors want to dump a guy, it says alot. Lowry has been less than stellar for some time. Projecting what this Blazer team can do in the playoffs is sort of like people predicting we'd just miss the playoffs before a game had tipped off. Negative affirmations about the Blazers don't hold water any more in my book. Joel Freeland is playing significant minutes on a team with the most wins in the league. TRob and Leonard haven't really broken a sweat off the bench yet so to throw them under the bus this early is a bit premature. The Blazers are deeper than your fears project and 50 games from now you may very well be surprised how good all of our bench players can be. CJ is a pure scorer and all the young guys are going to get tested on defense. Nash had a pretty stellar career without playing a lick of defense.
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Possibly it could also be that the Raptors are trying to tank and want to load up on as many assets as they can get while they do so.
 
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