Game Thread Game #45 - BLAZERS @ BOSTON CELTICS - JANUARY 21, 2022 - FRIDAY - 4:30 (PDT) ROOT SPORTS

[Tince]

exhibit A ^

Guilty as charged.

I was the idiot saying I didn't think whoever the new coach was would have way more success than the previous one. Apparently I was wrong and 19-26 is success and years like 52-29 were not.

 

[Scalma]

I can't find one person who would bet that Billups leads a Blazer team further in the playoffs.

you found one.

 

[Tince]

you found one.

Ok sweet, what's the bet? I'm all for it!

 

[Scalma]

Guilty as charged.

I was the idiot saying I didn't think whoever the new coach was would have way more success than the previous one. Apparently I was wrong and 19-26 is success and years like 52-29 were not.

how many games did minimum 3/5ths of the lineup miss last season remind me?

 

[Tince]

how many games did minimum 3/5ths of the lineup miss last season remind me?

What was the record when the entire starting lineup played? Remind me, I must've missed that .700 winning percentage out of the gates we had. Or were we 10-10 when everyone was healthy, playing a lot of teams missing key players before our guys started dropping? Half of those 10 wins came with an opponent missing a significant contributor, despite all our starters being available.

You think if Dame came back, we'd light the NBA on fire to finish out the season?

 

[Scalma]

What was the record when the entire starting lineup played? Remind me, I must've missed that .700 winning percentage out of the gates we had. Or were we 10-10 when everyone was healthy, playing a lot of teams missing key players before our guys started dropping? Half of those 10 wins came with an opponent missing a significant contributor, despite all our starters being available.

You think if Dame came back, we'd light the NBA on fire to finish out the season?

it’s funny you were one of the ones saying the GM was the problem but now I guess it’s the coach? Almost like there’s no consistency to your arguments besides “I suck Terrances tit.”

 

[blazerfan11]

"Not to be a broken record, but there is no point in any world today where Nurkic is going to be able to guard Tatum."

- Brian Scalabrine , 26.8 seconds left in the game.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

lol Stotts got a decade.

Not enough time. But also Olshey was the only problem?

Just rehearsing talking points...

 

[Sheldon Shape]

it’s funny you were one of the ones saying the GM was the problem but now I guess it’s the coach? Almost like there’s no consistency to your arguments besides “I suck Terrances tit.”

Olshey accrued talent. No question. Far from perfect on the fit. But the team should have always performed better than it was.

There's a reason why Ant and Nassir are blossoming almost immediately after playing under a new coach. Nurk too.

 

[Scalma]

"Not to be a broken record, but there is no point in any world today where Nurkic is going to be able to guard Tatum."

- Brian Scalabrine , 26.8 seconds left in the game.

Lol he would’ve only needed to rewind a half hour

 

[blazerfan11]

"Unreal. UN-real." - Scalabrine

"Boston goes the last 7 minutes and 19 seconds without a field goal." - Mike Gorman

"This is just shocking." - Scalabrine

at the conclusion of the game.

 

[OneSport3]

Yeah, this 19-26 team is having so much more success. After this nice 7 game stretch, you'd still have to go back 9 years to find a Blazer team who had less success.

Seems like someone has lowered the bar significantly from the "we should be contenders" status from last year.

How many seasons do you have to go back to find where Stotts had to deal with Dame being injured from the jump and having season-ending surgery AND CJ missing extended time due to injury?

I’ll wait…

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

What the hell kind of a tank was that?

 

[AldoTrapani]

Man we should have lost that game. This team is so backwards

 

[MickZagger]

Man we should have lost that game. This team is so backwards

Yeah Anfeenee be really good but oh suck ass and lose at the same time..

my uncle was a pro athlete. You know what separates them from the rest of us?

They hate to lose!

 

[royo]

We got young players, that can play. If they are good enough to win games, why would they tank to draft Fultz or Jim Morrison? Even drafting Oden can obviously go south.
Nurk is fuckin rebounding machine. If he is happy, he besting. Simple.
I really think the players that "were not buying new coach system" were ISO heroes.
Just make this trade, wait for Dame and roll.
Fuck tanking.

 

[bobf]

how many games did minimum 3/5ths of the lineup miss last season remind me?

The bigger problem is you will likely never again have the Dame we’ve had for the past 5 years. Betting on a team with a declining Dame vs a team with a prime Dame puts you at a huge disadvantage.

 

[stampedehero]

Trail Blazers vs. Celtics - Box Score - January 21, 2022 - ESPN
Trail Blazers
19-26, 5-15 AWAY

 

[Fairly-Hard]

They won that game despite Chauncey. A bunch of bad decisions.

 

[Scalma]

They won that game despite Chauncey. A bunch of bad decisions.

nope. Udoka even mentioned how they switched up coverages against Tatum/Brown throughout the game and forced other players to beat them. Whose decision do you think that was?

 

[illmatic99]

They won that game despite Chauncey. A bunch of bad decisions.

I was critical of him too but his zone coverage actually worked and threw them off. But he seriously needs to figure out timeout management. He doesnt know when to take them to stop runs, nor does he manage them well down the stretch. Using that last one with like 28 seconds left while down 1 coulda really bit us in the ass id Boston had scored. We'd have been left with no timeouts and like 5 seconds on the clock to advance

 

[Strenuus]

I agree, and I certainly didn't forget... Once the thing that matters (roster construction) change significantly, then I suspect we'll actually see equally significant improvement in areas we've been struggling at for years. The guy switching up rotations, PnR scheme, and timeout philosophies was never likely to provide that significant improvement in my opinion.

I guess where we disagree is you think it was a 50%/50% problem where I think it was a 90%/10% problem and we've only attempted to change the 10% part.

It was 50/50. Facts.

 

[andalusian]

Olshey accrued talent. No question. Far from perfect on the fit. But the team should have always performed better than it was.

There's a reason why Ant and Nassir are blossoming almost immediately after playing under a new coach. Nurk too.

Agree. NeO was a fine talent scout. Unfortunately, he has been elevated 2 or 3 levels above his best position in the basketball world. Smells of "I am not a chemistry expert" but with an addition of "not a financial guru" and "not a people person" thrown in.

 

[Hoopguru]

Yeah Anfeenee be really good but oh suck ass and lose at the same time..

my uncle was a pro athlete. You know what separates them from the rest of us?

They hate to lose!

Yep, asking pro players to tank, so they can draft another young player to come in take another young players job, doesn't appeal to pro players trying to win a job by playing hard.
It would be like asking an employee to purposely suck, or set em up to fail & not perform, so you can go after a new hot shot employee that could come in and take someone's job.

 

[Tince]

it’s funny you were one of the ones saying the GM was the problem but now I guess it’s the coach? Almost like there’s no consistency to your arguments besides “I suck Terrances tit.”

I've been pretty consistent that I think roster is by far the biggest determinant in our success, not the coach. I've said over and over that I think Billups is doing a fine job, but the roster hasn't changed and in my opinion our problems haven't changed.

If I recall correctly, you thought virtually any coaching change would result in a noticable improvement by the team. Anyway, what's the bet on Billups getting further than the WCF? I'm still waiting.

 

[Tince]

How many seasons do you have to go back to find where Stotts had to deal with Dame being injured from the jump and having season-ending surgery AND CJ missing extended time due to injury?

I’ll wait…

I can tell you the Blazers record without Dame before this year was near .500. Not the case this year.

Let's look at the record when Dame and CJ played together this year. What was our winning percentage? Was it significantly better, worse, or nearly the same as pervious year? If it's not significantly better, then that holds to exactly what I predicted.

Edit: We were 10-9 this year with Dame/CJ healthy, a 52% percentage. Let's count all the wins with star opponents missing guys due to injury/covid. Our winning percentage in the previous 8 seasons was 58% That includes all the games Dame, CJ, and Nurk missed. That includes the years we started Harkless and Aminu at forward. Years our bench had far less fire power.

Again, I'm NOT saying Billups sucks, I'm not saying injuries don't matter, and I'm not saying we ran the best schemes in the past. What I was saying before the coaching change was I did not think we were likely to see a significantly improvement by only changing the coach who focuses on defense. So far, the data would back that up (it actually suggests we got worse).

 

[Tince]

It was 50/50. Facts.

Please provide the data to back up that "fact". Sounds like your opinion to me. And I have no problem if you say that's your opinion, that's what this place is for.

 

[Scalma]

If I recall correctly, you thought virtually any coaching change would result in a noticable improvement by the team. Anyway, what's the bet on Billups getting further than the WCF? I'm still waiting.

Team looks better coached to me. We’ve seen more development out of Ant and Nas in half a season than in their previous years under Stotts. Ant when from a zero playmaker with no responsibility to looking like a legitimate starting point guard. Think Billups has anything to do with that?

But yeah you’re right, stupid me for not being able to predict losing the teams best player, on top of all the other absences and injuries. Btw the season is only halfway over. Team is above .500 this month without their best player. Crazy to think the team may have needed time to adjust to a new staff and system. Who could’ve predicted that one?

btw Billups’ winning percentage right now is higher than Terry’s was his first year in Portland.

 

[Strenuus]

Please provide the data to back up that "fact". Sounds like your opinion to me. And I have no problem if you say that's your opinion, that's what this place is for.

When the pieces get traded my fact will bear fruit.

Which is my way of saying I know I'm right and the facts will be too long to write.

But thank you.

 

[Tince]

Team looks better coached to me. We’ve seen more development out of Ant and Nas in half a season than in their previous years under Stotts. Ant when from a zero playmaker with no responsibility to looking like a legitimate starting point guard. Think Billups has anything to do with that?

But yeah you’re right, stupid me for not being able to predict losing the teams best player, on top of all the other absences and injuries. Btw the season is only halfway over. Team is above .500 this month without their best player. Crazy to think the team may have needed time to adjust to a new staff and system. Who could’ve predicted that one?

btw Billups’ winning percentage right now is higher than Terry’s was his first year in Portland.

Again, I think Billups is doing a fine job. I think comparing teams from 10 years ago to this year is difficult. We can compare records from last year when Dame/CJ/Norm/Nurk played vs this year.

So what's the bet about Billups getting past the WCF? Or are you backing away from that now?