I dont think the Blazers got luckier than anyone else, I do think that the margin of error for any of the teams in the west is so little that a dip in production could hurt a team 3-4 wins and see them on the outside looking in.This article shows the data that proves what I've been saying all along - that POR didn't get any luckier than anyone else. Butler, Curry, Durant, Kawhi, Gobert, Cousins, etc. all missed games against all the other playoff teams in the West, not just Portland. It's just common sense that when Butler misses 23 games, Gobert misses 26, Cousins, misses 34, etc., all opponents benefit pretty much equally.
This chart sums it up nicely:
You'll have to read the article to understand what D, C, B and A games mean, but the chart shows that both UTA was actually the luckiest team in the West when it came to playing against opponents missing their best player(s). The others were all pretty close (other than OKC when it came to D games - games where the opponent is missing their best player). POR, NOP, SAS, MIN and DEN all had exactly the same number of D game wins (the "luckiest" kind of wins) as POR. UTA had twice as many as anyone else.
Seriously, the fact that most teams had between 7 and 9 "lucky" wins, with the Blazers right smack in the middle at 8, just proves the law of averages applies. Or did anyone really think Curry, Cousins, Butler, etc. only sat out against the Blazers and were perfectly healthy against everyone else?
BNM
Every other team that benefit from the opponent injury also dealt with a major contributor to their roster missing a significant amount of games while the Blazers had the healthiest team in the league... Gobert, Kawai, Millsap, Butler, Curry... the odds of almost every other West team having a major injury while Blazers are healthiest team again is very slim... it’s comical that you think you proved your point... this team will be lucky to get 7 or 8 seed and swept out of playoffs again
I get that some wins are more impressive than others and that in an 82 game season some “flukie” crap happens,
They very well could be the 7/8 seed and get swept. Like I said the margin for error in the west is incredibly tiny. They could also be the 3 seed get a good match up and be in the 2nd round.
I never said anything about the pelicans loss being lucky though. Thats called a strawman arguement to focus on what proves the point you want to talk about.
I absolutely dont believe the Blazers were just unlucky against the Pelicans. I think their issues (which we know they have) got exposed. I just also dont believe they were “lucky” to get the 3 seed. I know quite a few games couldve gone different directions and injuries play a part in it. I think last season they are what they were. A team with an incredible player, who really struggles if a team can make his life hard. Wasnt that the Pelicans got lucky its that the Blazers need better players around Dame, and to a lesser extent CJ.
I guess I just really believe Dame is good enough that he’ll keep them in the playoff conversation. This year happened to be a 3 seed next year could be a 7 or 8 or barely missing.
Who's to say that those players aren't injury prone and will be healthy this year?
I'm practicing common sense, FAMS.
Kudos.....
