Mixed Emotions

[Kaydow]

I'm proud of the way our guys have played since the Utah meltdown, but it's disappointing to be 11-3 since then and NOT move up in the standings. What the hell happened to the Spurs? They couldn't beat plus .500 teams WITH Tony Parker! All of the sudden they are beating everybody with TP on the sidelines. They were supposed to have this brutally tough schedule and slide down by now. It's getting old looking in the standings everyday and seeing the 3 teams right above us with 7-3, 8-2, 7-3 records in their last 10 everyday! I have a feeling we are going to end up in 8th by one or two games and we'll be talking about the late 4th quarter meltdowns vs Memphis, New Orleans, & Utah. Or the 1-5 record in overtimes we have. I don't see a snowballs chance of beating the Lakers. They are getting Bynum back soon, and just are too good. We MIGHT win a game or two in that series, but no way do we get 4. Every other team in this race I believe we could make a 7 game series with.

So I ask you - after everything that's happened this season . . . would you be happy to make the playoffs and be one and done? After Oden & Pryz went down, most of this board thought we wouldn't win 40 games. I'm happy to make the playoffs, I'd just rather not lose to the Lakers in the 1st round (for what seems like the 15th time) Then again, maybe it's a good experience for our young guys to play the world champs in the post season? I actually think the Lakers will repeat and do it fairly easily.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

So I ask you - after everything that's happened this season . . . would you be happy to make the playoffs and be one and done?

Absolutely. With all of the injuries this season, and the strength of the West, it's amazing that we are even talking playoffs in ANY capacity. For all the Nate Bashers on here, he has done an incredible job keeping everything together, especially when Brandon was out.

The championship window opens next season, anyway. That was the timeline all along.

 

[MIXUM]

hahaha i just posted basically the same thing kaydow. Its fucking amazing the spurs keep winning. all i hear was how brutal their schedule was.

we are not moving up...

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

fuck no. I'm competitive, I am not satisfied with playoff losses. Only exception is if we take out the L*ke show. Then I will be satisfied.

I don't believe in Moral Victories.

 

[oldguy]

Would I be happy with a one and done? No, but the team will have met my expectations for what I thought should be the goal after Greg and Joel went down.

I'd be a lot happier if they could advance in the playoffs, but anything beyond one and done is just gravy, as far as I'm concerned.

Go Blazers

 

[MIXUM]

the truth is... we are lucky to be top 8

i mean with all that went down (literally) we are lucky to be over 500.

 

[Sug]

They have moved up, they just have not passed anyone. If you start 100 feet away from something and now you are 2 feet from something, you have moved up.

 

[tlongII]

We have no control over how other teams are playing. All we can do is win as many of our own games as possible. Where we finish is where we finish. I don't mind playing the Lakers in the 1st round. If we get a couple of breaks we can beat them.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I fully expect them to lose in the first round this year because they will be playing someone better than them without the home court advantage. Never happy about it, but the key is to keep gaining experience and giving us some hope heading into the summer that they will be better next year.

 

[STOMP]

I fully expect them to lose in the first round this year because they will be playing someone better than them without the home court advantage. Never happy about it, but the key is to keep gaining experience and giving us some hope heading into the summer that they will be better next year.

please list the teams you think are better then the Blazers... the only team I see as having even equal talent is LA

to the OP, it depends on how they might go out in the first round. If they play well but the other team plays better I'll feel fine about it. If they don't play well or get consistently jobbed by the officials, that would suck. If they suffer more injuries I'll feel like puking.

STOMP

 

[Pinwheel1]

please list the teams you think are better then the Blazers... the only team I see as having even equal talent is LA

STOMP

LA no question
Denver: Melo is unstoppable
Dallas: Dirk will get all the calls at home. (Did you see him flail his arms like a little bitch the other night and get LMA's second PF. That was disgusting.

As good as bROY is he is does not have super start status and these three do. That makes it tough down the stretch. Plus their teams are pretty good too.

Right now these three teams are just plain better.

 

[Driew]

If we play the Lakers there is absolutely NO WAY the refs will allow Portland to win the series anyways. The NBA wants the Lakers in the finals for ratings--not Portland.

 

[MickZagger]

hahaha i just posted basically the same thing kaydow. Its fucking amazing the spurs keep winning. all i hear was how brutal their schedule was.

we are not moving up...

We beat NO and OKC and Spurs lose to the Celtics on Sunday and were solidly locked in the 7th seed.

 

[Driew]

We beat NO and OKC and Spurs lose to the Celtics on Sunday and were solidly locked in the 7th seed.

That's a big if...I see us going 1-1 in this back to back personally...but the Blazers have proved me wrong before...

 

[handiman]

Can't say I'm surprised. We were never as close as the "games back" portion of the standings indicated. We simply had more games played than any other team in the league up until the past 2 weeks. Even in the win column and 4-5 games back in the loss column is not a close race, in my opinion.

 

[e_blazer]

Can't say I'm surprised. We were never as close as the "games back" portion of the standings indicated. We simply had more games played than any other team in the league up until the past 2 weeks. Even in the win column and 4-5 games back in the loss column is not a close race, in my opinion.

We're talking about moving up, not winning the division or conference. The Blazers only have one more loss than the Spurs and 2 more than the Thunder. It's certainly within reach to surpass them before the end of the season. That said, I'm not sure it makes a great deal of difference who the Blazers play in the first round. They're all tough and they're all going to have homecourt advantage. I'd prefer the Mavs, but I expect that they'll play the Blazers better in the playoffs than they have in the regular season. I'd love to see the Blazers make it out of the first round, but given the mess this season has been from an injury standpoint, I won't be terribly disappointed as long as they play well and stretch the series out to at least 6 games.

Next season is a different story.

 

[handiman]

We're talking about moving up, not winning the division or conference. The Blazers only have one more loss than the Spurs and 2 more than the Thunder. It's certainly within reach to surpass them before the end of the season.

Who said anything about before the end of the season? I thought we were talking about from the Utah collapse until now, when little has changed in the standings...

 

[STOMP]

LA no question
Denver: Melo is unstoppable
Dallas: Dirk will get all the calls at home. (Did you see him flail his arms like a little bitch the other night and get LMA's second PF. That was disgusting.

As good as bROY is he is does not have super start status and these three do. That makes it tough down the stretch. Plus their teams are pretty good too.

Right now these three teams are just plain better.

Portland is 3-0 vs Dallas this season... and now they're healthy

Melo has played better this season then Portland's top player Roy, but I asked about a team not a player. With Kenyon out (at best severely hampered with a torn ligament in his knee) and starting Johan Petro in his place, bring them on

in either case claiming "plain better" is a flat ridiculous statement. With the addition of Camby and Batum things have clearly changed

STOMP

 

[jlprk]

Can we overtake the Spurs?

In its last 6 games, SA has gone lose, win, lose, win, lose, win. In its last 8 games Portland has gone win 5, lose 1, win 2. Pro-SA: SA has much more capability to improve while we are operating at full capacity already. Pro-Portland: But they haven't had streaks lately, so they won't start now.

SA has 43 wins. 3 of SA's remaining 11 games are vs. teams .329 or worse. They will win all. 2 are vs. teams .500 and .528. And 6 are vs. teams .639 or better. Of those toughest 6, 5 are on the road. To finish with 50 wins, they must beat the 2 middle teams (.500 Houston and .528 Memphis) and 2 of the 6 tough ones. I don't think they will.

Portland has 44 wins. 4 of our remaining 9 games are vs. teams .375 or worse. We will win all. 5 are vs. teams .620 or better. Of those toughest 5, 3 are on the road. To finish with 50 wins, we only need to beat that .620 team, OKC, both times. I think we will.

It will be very close, but I like our chances a tiny bit more than theirs. It may be a tie, but I don't think they'll finish ahead.

 

[MIXUM]

only way we pass SA is if they start losing to the good teams like boston today. we also have to win 1 of te next 2 road games vs okc and denver spurs get minny, sac, and nets tomorrow so thats 3 more wins at the least. we get ny, gs, sac, and clips so thats 4 locked wins for us.

i guess our season depends on us beating teams like okc, la, denver, dallas.. win 2 out of 4 and we pass sa imo. likely we stay 8th though.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

the truth is... we are lucky to be top 8

i mean with all that went down (literally) we are lucky to be over 500.

There's some truth to this.

However, Miller finally became a starter and KP made a shrewd move to get us help at center. We also showed we had a fairly talented team depth.

I'm a bit surprised, but not amazed.

 

[MIXUM]

dude we started howard at CENTER for at least 30 games. thats amazing imo we came out over 500. we started bayless and webster at times. amazing we are over 500.

 

[hasoos]

With the right first round matchup, the Blazers have a chance to move on. I would prefer 6th or 7th, because the team in that bracket will move up most easily.

Outside of LA, the only team I fear in the brackets is Utah. Denver would probably beat us, but it would be competitive and entertaining. Utah on the other hand, I felt they took our best shot the last time they played Portland, and still came back and won. That was disheartening.

There is another factor that hasn't really popped up yet, and that is the fact that some players play better in the playoffs than the regular season. Andre Miller typically plays well in the playoffs, with only one year where he didn't perform better in the playoffs than he did during the regular season. With that being said, I look forward to having 2 players in the back court who elevate their game come playoff time. Some of the teams up above, might be playing in their highest gear already. It is the teams that have another gear come playoff time, that will win the day.

 

[oldguy]

the truth is... we are lucky to be top 8

i mean with all that went down (literally) we are lucky to be over 500.

That, or else our GM assembled so much talent, and talent that overlapped, that the team could withstand all of these injuries and still make the playoffs. Good job by KP, eh?

Go Blazers

 

[oldguy]

dude we started howard at CENTER for at least 30 games. thats amazing imo we came out over 500. we started bayless and webster at times. amazing we are over 500.

Howard was an amazing pickup by KP, eh? (Even if KP only picked him up to save his job.)

Go Blazers

 

[jlprk]

KP made a shrewd move to get us help at center.

Shrewd? Everyone was calling for him to get a big guy for Blake, Outlaw, and/or Webster. So he did it by paying off Mr. McDonalds with millions of Paul Allen's money. Cash is why the Clippers gave Camby to us instead of to another team. Not Pritchard's shrewdness.

Howard was an amazing pickup by KP, eh? (Even if KP only picked him up to save his job.)

Why doesn't he pick up a couple of cheap experienced players EVERY summer? Because of his youth movement. Howard wasn't amazing. He's a normal pickup for every other GM, but extraordinary for ours because of the stubborn, pigheaded youth movement.

 

[Natebishop3]

It isn't "luck" that we are in the top 8. It isn't "luck" that has us near 50 wins. This is an extremely deep team. We have a ton of talent at every position. It had nothing to do with luck. In fact, I'd say we've been completely unlucky and we're still in the top 8. We're still near 50 wins. Fuck being lucky. We're just good.

 

[maxiep]

It isn't "luck" that we are in the top 8. It isn't "luck" that has us near 50 wins. This is an extremely deep team. We have a ton of talent at every position. It had nothing to do with luck. In fact, I'd say we've been completely unlucky and we're still in the top 8. We're still near 50 wins. Fuck being lucky. We're just good.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a team playing better than we are right now. We've not only beaten some good teams, but we've beaten them when they've played well.

BTW, we finally got some breaks tonight with losses by DEN, LAL and SA. Okay, so we can't catch the L*kers in the standings, but I think it's great news any time they lose.

 

[oldguy]

Shrewd? Everyone was calling for him to get a big guy for Blake, Outlaw, and/or Webster. So he did it by paying off Mr. McDonalds with millions of Paul Allen's money. Cash is why the Clippers gave Camby to us instead of to another team. Not Pritchard's shrewdness.

Why doesn't he pick up a couple of cheap experienced players EVERY summer? Because of his youth movement. Howard wasn't amazing. He's a normal pickup for every other GM, but extraordinary for ours because of the stubborn, pigheaded youth movement.

What youth movement are you talking about? There is none; stubborn, pigheaded or otherwise.

The youth movement ended in 2008, when they picked up Bayless and Nic. Last year they didn't move up to get another young guy in the 09 draft; in fact taking a Euro to stash overseas until he develops (or not.) Do you seriously have a problem with taking flyers on Dante and Jeff in the second round, both 23 years old, and both with lots of college experience?

When do you think they should have started adding cheap veterans each year? Maybe the year after the team won 21 games? No. They should add veterans after the core is in place, they evaluate the buttload of role-player level talent, and move toward being a playoff team.

The young core is in place and developing. Last year was the first time they made the playoffs in, forever. KP evaluated what the team needed, and signed some veterans to fill in the holes. If they hadn't had all the injuries this season, this team would be lean and mean; trimmed and consolidated.

Does KP take advantage of PA's money? HELL yes! And he'd be a dumb shit if he didn't. Feel free to think that is some kind of bad thing, but I'll chalk it to having a great owner.

Go Blazers

 

[jlprk]

What youth movement are you talking about?

The current one in which we are overloaded with young lousy players who don't know how to play, but supposedly will someday, somehow. For example, Webster, Bayless, and Fernandez. I define experience as having learned more than one system in one's career. The way a player learns is to go through more than one coach. Barring a coaching change here, a player can get that only by changing teams. Batum and maybe Cunningham look like the only ones who will amount to anything without getting experience around the league. McMillan's coaching style isn't succeeding with the other youth players. (Aldridge would vastly improve under a different coach, too, but I'm not including him as tradebait.)

When do you think they should have started adding cheap veterans each year? Maybe the year after the team won 21 games? No. They should add veterans after the core is in place, they evaluate the buttload of role-player level talent, and move toward being a playoff team. The young core is in place and developing.

The core is rotten. Webster, Bayless, and Fernandez need further coaching to become reliable wandering journeymen, which is their ceiling. Pendergraph will be the same. Management should have started long before they won 21 games, by not giving away the experience we had for too little. For years, we have given up wins each season because of the strategy of a youth drive instead of an experience drive. New experienced guys might only last with the team a couple of years before they fade, but they're cheap, so if we keep them coming in, we have a better team than we do now, in which we count on players who don't know how to play.

Last year was the first time they made the playoffs in, forever.

...Because for several years, management shed veterans (beginning with Sheed) and replaced them with youth (or lesser experienced players). You say we needed to wait for the team to make the playoffs before adding age, but it's the opposite. Lacking experience was what caused us to leave the playoffs, and then delayed the return of the playoffs. So we needed to accelerate adding age, not wait on it.