I personally think that if Stotts was a terrible coach, that not only Dame but others would express their desire for a change. I don't totally buy that they say zip because of money and not wanting to rock the boat. Its possible they have already? or, it still may happen, but I think as long they are missing three starters that buys Stott's some time.
Nah. That would be the number #1 seed.
Ok. So OKC sucks and won 48 games. Denver was just inexperienced but beat San Antonio with a great coach. They just couldn't figure out how to beat Portland with a bad coach but basically no one healthy in the front court, Dame didn't play all that spectacular in that series.
This... Why don't we just say every 1 seed that made it to the WCF's or finals just had an easy path so really they weren't that good, I mean they did get to play an 8 seed... I've got my issues with Stotts but the lengths people take this is so extreme it's like ok... I guess Portland should be looking for the 8th seed because then the WCF's would actually be an accomplishment because they don't get HCA and have to play higher-seeded teams...
I mean Giannis loved Jason Kidd and was pissed at the Bucks when they fired him, but that doesn't change the fact that Kidd sucked as a coach for them. Stotts just got an extension, so I agree he's not getting fired.
I mean they're basically a .500 team so I'm not sure what "so much" success means. They have the talent to be around a 40 win team if they don't trade off pieces.
They did get an extra injury to Klay in the finals...
Completely agree with this. It's the same mindset that allows injuries to be the excuse for everything that happens this season.
They won 48 games. All these mediocre bad teams winning 48+ games in the west is pretty crazy.
I don't have time to rank the teams in terms of talent but saying a team is seeded 7th therefore is being coached well (not saying that is what you are saying) is completely absurd to me. So is saying the Blazers are doing awesome because they're in the 8th seed.
Wait... So if the west is that much stronger why are "losing records" still contending for the playoffs they sure weren't last year. If we're gonna throw out records and say that it doesn't matter I guess the Blazers are in a good position, because well the record doesn't matter let's not compare what they did last year to this year after all. I actually think the top of the West is really good, but the rest of the field has dipped into a ton of mediocrity.
Yeah, when I made my predictions Zion hadn't gotten hurt yet but that was a big blow for their chances this year. They might actually be 7th if they had him all year. With vets like Jrue, JJ, and Favors they shouldn't have lost 12 out of 13 or whatever it was.
Here's my overall problem with what you're saying. I think the Blazers, for the most part, were just happy to get to the WCF's last year. I think they got there and felt they accomplished what they came to accomplish. It felt that way all there interviews both during the series and after made it feel that way too. I think it has little to do with what coaches were awesome, and who they played and more to do with the mental aspect of the game, one team knew how to win and the other didnt. You touted Denver's inexperience, well the Blazers had basically no positive playoff experience either. They got a little bit, and got cocky - they were cocky all summer too - look what they did after all they proved all the haters wrong. It was on Stotts and Dame too to say look that was fun, but it doesn't mean anything for this year, instead they talked about how that validated everything they've been through and acted like it was a forgone conclusion they'd be back. That GS was almost all mental to me, mental mistakes included, but one team knew they could win, and one team was excited they got to be part of it.
This post is exactly what I'm talking about. The team unfortunately has bought into this as well. The Blazers still have one of the best back courts in the NBA and a center that has played great this season. I've listed 8 games previously that they blew before Hood went down where other teams had just as many if not more significant injuries than the Blazers did. But yeah, it's an excuse for the Blazers but not the teams they lose to?
Yes the Blazers suck this year. No one's arguing that. Their also still a playoff team, which leads me to think that maybe the west is worse than last year if a team this bad is a "playoff team", they really shouldn't be.