IF IF IF IF IF: hypothetical Blazer talk

[Further]

If the lockout ends soon, how good will the Blazers be this year?

Offseason bright sides
Batum and Aldridge have both been great in the games they have played. Batum might finally be taking the next step towards filling some of his potential. Aldridge was already a wonderful talent last season, but seems to be growing into his own even more, wanting to take ownership of the Blazers.

Wesley Matthews played with a bad ankle all last year, and that finally seems to be mended. In the LMA charity game, he was playing as smoothly and comfortably as ever, from accounts I read (I was not at the game).

Greg Oden is running and has finally had enough time to heal that hopefully he gets a healthy season. On the other hand, he is Oden, which is another word for broken. Not holding my breath here, but if he can play 20min in 60 games, that could be huge for the Blazers

Elliot Williams is all healed up and finally gets his rookie season. Aside from him, I am not too excited about our rookie class, but EW fully healthy could add a lot of depth to the guard position now that Rudy is gone.

Offseason questions
Is Roy going to be able to regain any of his past abilities? Another year of deterioration of the knees, however another season of learning how to play off his skills more than his athleticism. Will he even be a Blazer when a new CBA is in place? Is it actually a benefit to the Blazers if Roy is not on the team since it will take away a constant question mark away from the game.

Will Felton be a better match for the Blazers then Miller? I really have no idea about this. My gut reaction is that Miller is better than Felton, but we are looking for the best fit for the team, not just the more skilled player. From all the tweets about the LMA charity game, it sure sounded like Felton played very well and LMA was certainly impressed with Feltons play.

Offseason issues
Camby is one year older and if Oden is not ready to play long minutes, I have no idea how the Blazers are going to solidify the Center position.

The Blazers still don't have anyone even approaching star level at the guard positions. Basically, SF and PF are the only positions of strength. Matthews or Williams could end up taking the next step forward and be better than expected, but really, what's the chance of that.





Please give your analysis of the Blazers team for this upcoming season (assuming there is a season).

 

[Mediocre Man]

Middle of the western conference playoff pack. Out in the first round

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Middle of the western conference playoff pack. Out in the first round

Did you see that Larry Brown said that he's interested in being an assistant coach for a team?

 

[Denny Crane]

I think you will love Felton as your PG.

With all the devastating injuries the team suffered the past two seasons, the extra rest is a godsend.

Oden is just getting older without getting in game challenges to improve his game. That's the downside.

The real upside is that Roy is going to come back and be a big part of the team. Just a hunch.

Batum has to step up his NBA game.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Did you see that Larry Brown said that he's interested in being an assistant coach for a team?

Ok? Should that be exciting for some reason? We are still going to get pretzel arms on the sidelines "imploring" players to push the ball as they walk it up and let Roy run 23 seconds off the shot clock

 

[THE HCP]

Middle of the western conference playoff pack. Out in the first round

Ding Ding Ding!

 

[Mediocre Man]

Ding Ding Ding!

They need to make a few adjustments before they can take that next step....IMO anyway. Hopefully they will if the season gets underway this year. Without a season this year, Greg Oden will never wear a Trail Blazers uniform again.

We will have a roster that is really odd. A PF, SF, PG that wants to run up and down. A C to be named later and a SG that wants to control the ball all game long. A coach that says one thing, but his teams have never ever done it.

 

[Further]

It seems to me that the Blazers need to find another Center to add to the team. Camby, Oden and Johnson are not enough. Freeland would be a great get, but that's not going to happen till next year. Camby is turning 87 soon, Oden can't stay on the court due to injury and fouls, and Johnson lighter then our PG. Aldridge can always play C, and Wallace or Batum can move to PF, but that's not a good strategy for huge minutes.

 

[Mediocre Man]

It seems to me that the Blazers need to find another Center to add to the team. Camby, Oden and Johnson are not enough. Freeland would be a great get, but that's not going to happen till next year. Camby is turning 87 soon, Oden can't stay on the court due to injury and fouls, and Johnson lighter then our PG. Aldridge can always play C, and Wallace or Batum can move to PF, but that's not a good strategy for huge minutes.

Freeland is probably nothing more than a reserve though. Portland needs to focus on dealing Oden somehow and overpaying Indiana to swap Oden for Hibbert and hope to God Oden doesn't stay healthy and make us look even more foolish

 

[Further]

Freeland is not going to be a star, but I think it's very likely that he will be able to be a solid contributor, putting 20 minutes or so on the court. over the weekend I watched a bunch of clips and games of Freeland, and I do believe that Freeland has a game that will translate well to the NBA. I think people are undervaluing his ability.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Freeland is not going to be a star, but I think it's very likely that he will be able to be a solid contributor, putting 20 minutes or so on the court. over the weekend I watched a bunch of clips and games of Freeland, and I do believe that Freeland has a game that will translate well to the NBA. I think people are undervaluing his ability.

I hope so. That would be awesome

 

[Nikolokolus]

I agree with the middle of the pack finish.

That said I think amnesty-ing Brandon could have a little bit of a "Ewing effect" on this team (see: Simmons, Bill) and although I don't expect star level play from Matthews but something tells me he's going to take another minor leap forward; he looked pretty good handling the ball and shooting off the dribble last night (at LA's charity event) ... and this was against Durant who was actually trying to play some defense. Chris Johnson also looked pretty good in a non-spazzy, non-muscle-y, springy, bouncy, defense-y, kind of way, maybe even enough to play ten to fifteen minutes a night. Felton ... he looks like a bowling ball, but he moves surprisingly well for a bowling ball.

I don't expect much in terms in playoff success this (next?) year, but I think even without being able to count on Oden this team will be fairly competitive assuming they can get a well-rested Camby back in the mix ... and assuming they stay somewhat healthy.

If people can get past the disappointment of not competing for championships and deep playoff runs, I think this team will still be worth rooting for: LA is a worthy face of the franchise, Wesley is a competitor and fun to watch, Nic might be able to do some things, Felton won't be much more effective than Miller, but he shouldn't be much worse ... this will be a pretty decent roster.

Now if they could just get a halfway competent owner and upper management team *sigh*

 

[maxiep]

I think the team needs to build around Batum as a #2 option behind LA. I don't think 18/6/6 is unrealistic for him.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Camby is turning 87 soon, Oden can't stay on the court due to injury and fouls, and Johnson lighter then our PG.

To be fair, if you listen to the "news," Eddy Curry might be lighter than our PG. (I was going to say Shaq, but I didn't want to engage in hyperbole)

 

[SlyPokerDog]

To be fair, if you listen to the "news," Eddy Curry might be lighter than our PG. (I was going to say Shaq, but I didn't want to engage in hyperbole)

Felton's nickname should be Chocolate HCP.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I think the team needs to build around Batum as a #2 option behind LA. I don't think 18/6/6 is unrealistic for him.

Holy $#tt. Here are the other 14 who've done that in the 3pt era...

MJ
LBJ
Magic
Bird
KG
Grant Hill
The Glove
Pippen
Kidd
Drexler
Stevie Franchise!
Detlef Schrempf!
Fat Lever
Alvin

Personally, I'd be ecstatic to see 15/6/3. He's never averaged 2apg...and I don't see him getting the ball in his hands MORE with Felton and Wes (and Roy?) around

 

[Pinwheel1]

Freeland is not going to be a star, but I think it's very likely that he will be able to be a solid contributor, putting 20 minutes or so on the court. over the weekend I watched a bunch of clips and games of Freeland, and I do believe that Freeland has a game that will translate well to the NBA. I think people are undervaluing his ability.

Since this falls under if if if if if.....If Freeland comes over next year I wonder if the Blazers decide not to sign a PF/C free agent this year. IF the cap is a factor and I think we can assume that it will be, they will need to go cheap with some back ups. So we might just have to accept what we have now is what we will have for that back up spot this year.

Wallace, Chris Johnson, and yes even Babbitt will have to combine for the 10 minutes a game as the back up PF. But they can't sign a long term back up and still sign Freeland who will also be a long term back up. But one that should get 30 minutes at two positions.

 

[Further]

One thing about Batum, he tends to play better when he is given more responsibility. If he is left as the 3rd-5th option, I don't think he will live up to his abilities. But, if the coach and LMA insist that he take more shots, and get many more touches, I think 20/5/3 is very possible. But that would mean Felton would have to give up the rock to LMA and Batum most times down.

 

[Nikolokolus]

One thing about Batum, he tends to play better when he is given more responsibility. If he is left as the 3rd-5th option, I don't think he will live up to his abilities. But, if the coach and LMA insist that he take more shots, and get many more touches, I think 20/5/3 is very possible. But that would mean Felton would have to give up the rock to LMA and Batum most times down.

Nate? Uh ... I'm not going to hold my breath. He has one role for his wings and that is to mostly spot up in the coffin corner and wait for kickouts. The only way Nic gets a prominent role in the offense is if Nate gets replaced ... in other words, when hell freezes over.

 

[THE HCP]

I say we move LA to center..... Nic to PF and do our best Golden State impersonation!

 

[Nikolokolus]

I say we move LA to center..... Nic to PF and do our best Golden State impersonation!

It might be their only shot ... but they'd need a new coach.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

-- I hope they position themselves to land a upper-tier PG

-- Play more Batum at SG

-- Amnesty Roy

-- Use Camby and Wallace expiring deals before the deadline

 

[jlprk]

Nate always designs his system to play to his players' talents. He knows the best shooter should be SG, the best passer the PG, the heaviest the C, etc.

PG Batum
SG Aldridge
SF Chris Johnson
PF Matthews
C Felton

 

[Nikolokolus]

-- I hope they position themselves to land a upper-tier PG

-- Play more Batum at SG

-- Amnesty Roy

-- Use Camby and Wallace expiring deals before the deadline

So what you're saying is a bottom five finish?

 

[HailBlazers]

It might be their only shot ...

So your saying if the Season Starts the Blazers would be better off too just tank and go into rebuilding mode?

 

[HailBlazers]

The biggest hypothetical will have the biggest Impact. If Greg Oden comes out strong and stays healthy, the Blazer's outlook transforms:

With G.O., Camby, LMA, G.Wall, C.J.?, and long arm Nick winning the boards, we own the paint, and control the game.

With the paint secured by G.O. and crew, Wes, Wallace, Batum, and Felton will defend and scrap like nobody's business. Kobe who?

With the burden of defending C's off LaMarcus Aldridge's shoulders, his inner LaMonster will be unleashed offensively, he will be unstoppable, scoring or making it to the line virtually every time.

With LMA and Greg constantly demanding double teams, Mathews, Wallace, Batum, and Felton will have space to create and attack the basket, hard.

And then we have the X factor, IF Brandon Roy can be our Jason Terry off the bench leading the second unit, there's no reason not to give him one last playoff push as a Trailblazer and push we will.

How good will the Blazers be this Year? 3-5 Seed with all the pieces falling together for a WCF playoff run. G.O. transforms everything, and his time has finally come. Does P.A. Agree?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Cool, so all we need to do is change our entire in game philosophy. Nate is great at adapting, so this should be a piece of cake

 

[THE HCP]

Cool, so all we need to do is change our entire in game philosophy. Nate is great at adapting, so this should be a piece of cake

Isn't this supposed to be green?

 

[HailBlazers]

Strange... I don't see much change there, I see Nate's philosophy and P.A.'s strategy finally having the pieces needed to accomplish what it's supposed too; Defense and Rebounding at the core, controlling the tempo, and having a predictable but unstoppable offensive scheme.

Hell I even used the word scrap in my hypothesis

 

[Mediocre Man]

Strange... I don't see much change there, I see Nate's philosophy and P.A.'s strategy finally having the pieces needed to accomplish what it's supposed too; Defense and Rebounding at the core, controlling the tempo, and having a predictable but unstoppable offensive scheme.

Hell I even used the word scrap in my hypothesis

The use of the word scrap was awesome