Is anyone picking the Blazers?

[kjironman1]

I am! I am sure you are. What more do we need?

 

[Kaydow]

19/19 ESPN "Experts" picked the Grizzlies.

On another note, does anyone remember this? After 1st meeting with Mem on 11/28/14 this year at Moda, check out 8:56 mark of video. What is Gasol trying to say to LA (while covering his mouth) after the game? Maybe something about teaming up in free agency this summer? Whatever it was, looked like LA wanted no part of it. Could you imagine a front line of Gasol and LA?

 

[Draco]

19/19 ESPN "Experts" picked the Grizzlies.

On another note, does anyone remember this? After 1st meeting with Mem on 11/28/14 this year at Moda, check out 8:56 mark of video. What is Gasol trying to say to LA (while covering his mouth) after the game? Maybe something about teaming up in free agency this summer? Whatever it was, looked like LA wanted no part of it. Could you imagine a front line of Gasol and LA?

I don't think Memphis has cap space for Gasol and another max free agent. Marc went to high school in Memphis there's no chance he is leaving.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rasheedfan2005]

19/19 ESPN "Experts" picked the Grizzlies.

On another note, does anyone remember this? After 1st meeting with Mem on 11/28/14 this year at Moda, check out 8:56 mark of video. What is Gasol trying to say to LA (while covering his mouth) after the game? Maybe something about teaming up in free agency this summer? Whatever it was, looked like LA wanted no part of it. Could you imagine a front line of Gasol and LA?

LOL yeah that COULD have been what he said. He may have also asked where the best strippers are in town and aldridge was like uh I don't know im a wholesome soccer mom oregonian

 

[riverman]

LOL yeah that COULD have been what he said. He may have also asked where the best strippers are in town and aldridge was like uh I don't know im a wholesome soccer mom oregonian

I think Gasol was asking him why we don't like to keep Spaniards around for long

 

[Roger Templeton]

http://sportsglory.com/nba/2015-nba-western-conference-playoffs-breakdown-predictions/39835



http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....otations-or-holy-moly-warriors-and-cavaliers/

The reason that guy picked the Blazers was because he said Conley and Allen were not likely to return in the series...they are both back for Game 1. Lol.

 

[Rhal]

Most of the anaylsts iv listened to have gone with Memphis because they expect memphis to be the healthier team. Although iv heard many say even if we are completely healthy with mathews back and the Grizz are completely healthy theyd pick memphis.
Blazers dont get much playoff respect but then again we have to earn that respect and we only have 1 second round appearance in 14 years.

 

[Roger Templeton]

Biggest matchup will be Z'bo vs Aldridge. Both are unstoppable on offense, so we will see who steps up on D.

they will put former DPOY Marc Gasol on LA. Meanwhile RoLo will get killed by either ZBo or Gasol, whoever LA isn't guarding.

 

[PDXFonz]

they will put former DPOY Marc Gasol on LA. Meanwhile RoLo will get killed by either ZBo or Gasol, whoever LA isn't guarding.

I'm sorry but I just don't think Rolo is as big of a defensive liability as you make him out to be... Actually on the contrary, I think he is one of the better defensive centers in the league.

 

[magnifier661]

they will put former DPOY Marc Gasol on LA. Meanwhile RoLo will get killed by either ZBo or Gasol, whoever LA isn't guarding.

Houston put former DPOY on Aldridge last playoffs. How did that work out for them?

 

[Strenuus]

Why -should- anyone outside the blazers fan base pick the Blazers? I feel like this is a question worth repeating.

 

[Draco]

Wes was our second best player and Memphis would be a tough opponent at full strength so thinking of it that way easy to see why so many pick us to lose.

It really comes down to Aldridge. He needs to dominate his matchup for us to have a chance. If he's the best big in the series we got a shot. If Marc or Zbo matches his production it's very unlikely we win.

 

[PDXFonz]

Honestly on paper these two teams look very similar in terms of +/- and differentials. However both teams do it in 2 totally different ways. I think this series comes down to who gets to play their style of ball. I have concerns about the Blazers trying to adapt to a Memphis style grind it out game. Doing so would play into the Grizzlies advantage and give them the upper hand.

I hope we can keep the pace high and play Blazer basketball. If we can do that then I like our odds.

 

[Sinobas]

I know we are missing guys too, but if we lose this series while they are missing Conley and Allen, it will feel pathetic.

 

[Strenuus]

I know we are missing guys too, but if we lose this series while they are missing Conley and Allen, it will feel pathetic.

They are both playing game 1, so....

 

[Sinobas]

have to earn that respect and we only have 1 second round appearance in 14 years.

Yes, but we've made it to the 2nd round every year for the past 1 years.

 

[kjironman1]

I just watched the Houston/Dallas game. Wow! Dallas is almost the exact same team as the Blazers in many ways. They have this pass happy offense that looks for open shooters and Dirk who they use often on the left side. Dirk draws a couple defenders and he passes out to a wide open shot on the 3 point line and they miss shot after shot. Then they get about 12-15 down and start playing defense which in turn starts to really clamp down and Chandler just like Rolo gets a bunch of looks and some offensive rebounds. Then Rondo comes along and tries to shoot crazy shots that brings them storming back. They go to half time wondering How the heck they could play that bad and only be down by 4? They come out for the 3rd and Forget all about what got them back and try to shoot 3's. Houston runs out to a 15 point lead again and then Dallas start to play again. But this time they forget all about Dirk(Aldridge) and the offense looks scrambled at best. Chandler(Rolo) get some big rebounds and Parsons(Batum) starts to show up a bit but of course he isn't shooting well so he joins the crazy passing turnover fest. It all comes down to a close game that could be won if they could just make some shots in the end but with 2 mins left they just don't have quite enough in the tank to make it work and of course Houston fires away from 3 point and kills any idea of a comeback....
Sound familiar?
If the Mavs would have took care of the ball (17 turnovers) and Parsons could have hit a 3 they might have been able to win that game. Chandler killed Houston with 18 boards.

 

[Roger Templeton]

Houston put former DPOY on Aldridge last playoffs. How did that work out for them?

That's not the issue. The issue is that Aldridge can't outscore both Gasol and Zach like he did Houston's front court because whoever RoLo is guarding is going to feast. Jones and Asik were not the scoring threat that ZBo is. RoLo has to guard either Gasol or ZBo, while they have Marc Gasol to throw at Aldridge and they can stick ZBo on RoLo and not worry. RoLo has gotten killed by Marc and ZBo every time he has been on the court against them the last couple seasons.

Don't bring up the Rockets as a comparison. Against the Rockets we only had to worry about Howard in the post, not two post scorers. Houston also runs their offense through Harden, Memphis runs their offense through Gasol and Zach, so low post defense is all the more important.

Edit - I fully believe that we have a decent shot at winning this series, even though I think the Grizzlies prevail because I think Matthews is a huge loss. Had he been healthy I would have felt like we have enough 3pt shooting and perimeter defense where we win. But I will not be surprised at all if we pull it off. The fan in me picked the Blazers to win G1 by 6 in the predictions thread!

 

[Nate Dogg]

ESPN pointed out the facts tonight. If the home team wins in Game 1 of a 7 game series, they have a probability of winning it at 85%.

 

[kjironman1]

ESPN pointed out the facts tonight. If the home team wins in Game 1 of a 7 game series, they have a probability of winning it at 85%.

I am not going to dispute that percentage but you must know that it is a bit slanted right? The first game is a home game for the team that has home court advantage, and in two series at the beginning of every playoff season there is a #1 vs #8 matchup. ESPN does this all the time. They jump from stat to stat as soon as things get going. There are also stats about the second game of the series. Of course this again is a bit confusing. But if a team wins on the road the series changes dramatically. Of course if the home team wins both the first and second game and take a 2-0 lead they are highly favored but if the road team wins that second game it all goes out the window again. If it goes 7 again the home team has the advantage but like last year in the first round Dallas pushed the Spurs to 7 games. The Spurs were in fact the winners and the #1 seed.

 

[ThatRandomFan]

@Roger Templeton I doubt they put Gasol on Aldridge, Id be willing to bet they leave him on Lopez. The only individual defender the grizzlies have is Tony, everyone else goes into the scheme where gasol doesnt need to guard him. He will have the paint removed (or at least they will try to remove it from aldridge) and Zbo will guard him on perimeter. I hope game 1 is a great one!

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Grizzlies fan here...

I think this series is closer than the media thinks, and could go either way. One of our blogs had a nice breakdown using some advanced metrics if you want to check it out:

http://www.3sob.com/2015/april-2015/whos-is-the-favorite-between-portland-and-memphis/21642/

As a Grizzlies fan, I was ecstatic to be playing the Blazers in the first, but that is more because of the competition in the West as opposed to any knock on your team. That, and it seems like we only ever play OKC, SA and the Floppers in the playoffs. Anyways, here's to a good series and good luck for the winner in the 2nd round and beyond - I'll be cheering for whoever it is.

 

[magnifier661]

ESPN pointed out the facts tonight. If the home team wins in Game 1 of a 7 game series, they have a probability of winning it at 85%.

Flipping a coin has a 50/50 chance of hitting heads, but you could flip tails 300 times in a row and hitting heads is still 50/50.

So my point? Even though there is 85% chance the home team wins the series, the odds have no relevance to future outcome

 

[PDXFonz]

Flipping a coin has a 50/50 chance of hitting heads, but you could flip tails 300 times in a row and hitting heads is still 50/50.

So my point? Even though there is 85% chance the home team wins the series, the odds have no relevance to future outcome

I'd argue that 85% isn't even the odds. It just means that 85% of the time that team has won. Very different from having an 85% chance to win the series.

 

[Strenuus]

Horray civil grizzlies fans!!!

 

[lordninja11]

I think the media realize the impact of losing a guy like Wes for the season will have on your team. As a grizzlies fan I respect the hell out of him, dude is a Grizz killer for sure.