ESPN: Trail Blazers are "fifth best team in the NBA."

[HailBlazers]

Dragic slammed into Mo and should've been called for a foul. Karma.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

This might be the most misleading thread title in S2 history

I think a title thread called "Deal Coming Soon" tops this one.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Love the 'Schultz' I wasn't going on SOS so much as the 'eye' test. Outside of the Spurs and Rockets, the schedule has given the Blazers a chance to jell and get some confidence. Yes, the Suns have been playing over their skis and Hornacek has done a great job early of getting his team to play hard and take advantage of the strengths they do have. If that continues, it will be a MAJOR surprise to everyone.

If the Blazers can continue to grab some of these games early, it could bode well for when they hit the December portion of their schedule which includes games against the Pacers, Thunder (2x), Houston, Clippers, Heat, T-Wolves etc.

If they come through the first two months (32 games) with anything more than 20 wins, which would mean 14-9 or better through the rest of the year, we may all have to do a re-think on where Portland could actually end up in the playoff race.

Being the #7/8 seed is simply no man's land...not good enough to contend and no pick this coming summer.

I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise...

I can't get past the blue lettering . . .

 

[Nikolokolus]

No wonder this plays goes all nut job after one loss!

It'll be "fire Stotts and trade everyone" the first time we lose two in a row.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Love the 'Schultz' I wasn't going on SOS so much as the 'eye' test. Outside of the Spurs and Rockets, the schedule has given the Blazers a chance to jell and get some confidence. Yes, the Suns have been playing over their skis and Hornacek has done a great job early of getting his team to play hard and take advantage of the strengths they do have. If that continues, it will be a MAJOR surprise to everyone.

If the Blazers can continue to grab some of these games early, it could bode well for when they hit the December portion of their schedule which includes games against the Pacers, Thunder (2x), Houston, Clippers, Heat, T-Wolves etc.

If they come through the first two months (32 games) with anything more than 20 wins, which would mean 14-9 or better through the rest of the year, we may all have to do a re-think on where Portland could actually end up in the playoff race.

Being the #7/8 seed is simply no man's land...not good enough to contend and no pick this coming summer.

I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise...

Thank god. Another voice of reason.

 

[illmatic99]

I see TBpup is already holding onto his shorts.

Good lord. Shorts and deal coming soon on the same board, in the same thread. This is gonna be interesting.

 

[BBert]

Can we please ban blue font?

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

Hey now, it was you and I against them on the ESPN board. lol. I often agreed with you, so, there'll be no problem. *tips hat* lol!

IRK? I was jokin'. I always picture you as a blue man group guy, not a hat guy - prolly just your avatar pic.

Thanks for the Welcomes y'all.

 

[Strenuus]

haha BF.

I agree with the blue font poster (Sorry I forgot the name, but the font doesn't bother me.) It's a wait and see approach, that december schedule is brutal. Can't get TOO jacked up for the first 8 games. I'm a little jacked up, but have my reservations until a real solid chunk of games have been played.

Cautious optimism makes it hurt less if it goes downhill.

 

[barfo]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-131114/best-teams-league


Arnovitz:*Trail Blazers. A strong case can be made for the Warriors, Thunder and Clippers, but let's give it up for the guys from the Northwest. They've quietly assembled an offense that's a bear to defend. It has a knack for finding shots early, but has skills to thrive in the half court. The defense remains iffy, but has shown signs of progress during the past week. If the D can get to league average, the Blazers should be a quality bet to secure a playoff spot.

So, we are the 5th best in the NBA, but if our defense improves, we'd have a good shot at the playoffs?

Something is just not right here.

barfo

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

Early season success is actually a solid indicator for end of season results, if you know what to look for. The big caveats though are strength of schedule, SoS, (road games, back2backs, and level of competition remaining) - the other being injuries.

Of the 13 teams with winning records last season by mid-November, 10 of made the play-offs and 9 ended up with winning records.

Of the nine teams that started at least 5-2, 7 finished with winning records. Minnesota and Milwaukee didn’t make the cut. Obviously, Minnesota was a mobile infirmary, and Milwaukee was the exception – they were just bad.

Since we don’t care about other teams (right?) it’s fair to say we are watching how Portland is playing every game, how they are winning and losing and by how much, what their injury situation is, and who they are playing. We have to acknowledge Portland’s SoS wasn’t great to start the season. We found out Phx is pretty dang good, and Den is pretty turble. The Kings look the same, but the wins were more convincing and Portland was in control the entire time both home and away. The Spurs were their best performance and Houston not so much. Long story short, we’re still missing some info here.

So, I think these 4 road games, despite the SoS, will say a lot about where we can expect Portland to end up because they are all on the road. And Portland doesn't have any back-breaking 7 and 6 game road trips this season. Can I get a "Thank you sweet Jesus"? I have some fan anxiety, but I’m hopeful that based on their play thus far, they can win all 4. The Blazers can shoot, the defense and rebounding is improving, they play really hard, and most importantly – they can win ugly. Can they win on the road or is Denver THAT bad? That’s my biggest question.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

So, we are the 5th best in the NBA, but if our defense improves, we'd have a good shot at the playoffs?

Something is just not right here.

barfo

They all said Portland wasn't a playoff team to start the season. It's a way of saving face by remaining ambiguous.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

No wonder this plays goes all nut job after one loss!

Welcome back. lol ; )

 

[TBpup]

Early season success is actually a solid indicator for end of season results, if you know what to look for. The big caveats though are strength of schedule, SoS, (road games, back2backs, and level of competition remaining) - the other being injuries.

Of the 13 teams with winning records last season by mid-November, 10 of made the play-offs and 9 ended up with winning records.

Of the nine teams that started at least 5-2, 7 finished with winning records. Minnesota and Milwaukee didn’t make the cut. Obviously, Minnesota was a mobile infirmary, and Milwaukee was the exception – they were just bad.

Thanks for dropping the stat knowledge. Confidence builds on itself and if the Blazers can find some early success no matter what the schedule, they can build on that and carry that confidence into games against stronger teams.

For whatever stats Lopez contributes, he adds a toughness/attitude that can be infectious to the many other more finesse players on the roster. That alone is worth as much or more to this seasons success than the decent numbers he puts up.

 

[Run BJM]

I can't get past the blue lettering . . .

Not gonna lie I totally skipped over his first few posts because I assumed he was going to be a moron.

Glad I read one, damn good poster. But yes, please ditch the blue.

 

[KingSpeed]

It'll be "fire Stotts and trade everyone" the first time we lose two in a row.

IF we lose two in a row.

So, we are the 5th best in the NBA, but if our defense improves, we'd have a good shot at the playoffs?

Something is just not right here.

barfo

I thought that was weird too.

 

[riverman]

Have the Blazers ever not been under the radar this early in the season? The vets are used to it.