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Probably because it's late, and probably because I'm frustrated, I'm going to make this thread, and putting it out there.
(First: I can't predict game scores to save my life. Once I got behind, I started realizing that I'd have to pick outliers and have them come through to get back in. So that's where the 137-117 scores came in)
I enjoy this team, and I enjoy watching good basketball. Portland's my team, and always has been. Don't confuse observation with fandom, though. When the team plays well, it's good win or lose. When the team plays poorly (like in the win against SAC), you'll see me posting a lot of the things they did poorly, and my thoughts about them. I also watch a lot of League Pass and NBA TV. I generally don't just spout crap out (mixing up the Lopez names notwithstanding).
I predicted 58 wins for this team, and the WCF. I predicted 13-5 after 18 games. We were 12-6. Most of you thought our schedule would have us under .500. In my analysis of this team, I can't find a lot of ways we're different than last year's Hornets, except their star (Paul) is slightly better than our star (Roy), but our bench> their bench. I didn't get a whole lot of acknowledgment that I was actually right, though many of you (to your credit) came out and said you never saw this coming and loved it. Well, I did see it coming, but to most of you who read my posts, I was a crazy homer.
I say after almost every game how Travis is a one-dimensional me-first gunner who isn't good unless he's shooting a wide open three. He's shooting 37% inside the 3pt line. Sergio, who most agree absolutely sucks at shooting, is at 36% inside the arc. He cannot stay with his man if his man is moving around. Nate is misusing him, trusting that he's our "6th Man", when his mind after 6 years cannot compute some of the things on the court that make it basketball instead of ratball. Look at his comments from this summer in Quick's article.
I said last year that Jack would be traded for two reasons: upgrade the PG position (since he couldn't play it well), and to keep Nate from misusing him. The same thing should happen to Travis. He has talent, he has a skill that many don't, but it's not one that helps our team more than his weaknesses hurt us. Last night's game was another notch in Travis's "Where Stupid Plays Happen" belt. I TOLD YOU SO.
I predict that if LMA rebounds and plays around the rim more (like he did last night), he's almost an All-Star. If he stays around the 18-foot area and falls in love with his jumpshot, he's not much better than Zach was.
I predict that Blake will not be a starting PG for us much longer--maybe finish out the year, but his complete lack of being able to set up an offense to get easy buckets. His stellar 3pt shooting has almost made up for his lack of defense and lack of playmaking ability. There are plenty of teams in the league who need just what Blake brings, b/c he does it well. I don't believe we are one of those teams.
For those who say Sergio "overdribbles", check out what he's looking for when he's "Overdribbling". He's looking to get cutters or screen-runners the ball in good position. He's waiting for picks and screen-downs to be set. I don't know that he's ready to start yet, but he's up to 37% from 3 (and rising) and his playmaking ability has never been questioned.
I'm not even mentioning the "bust" word about Greg until April 2010. If he still is underwhelming, then ok. But he's already a dominant rebounder, and a better-than-average defender. Once guards on our team learn how to run a pick and roll with him, he'll get his shots in good position. Once he gets his knee strength and explosion back, he won't need to be in good position. Once he starts getting the Shaq calls by the refs, he'll have a lot more FTs and a lot less ticky-tack fouls (though he needs to keep his arms straight up).
There's more stuff, but it's getting late. I'll either edit this or add later posts.
I put my posts on here for debate and discussion b/c some of you may not get to see the game, or just read a boxscore, or don't get to rewind through sets to watch them over again. Some of you can't handle the logic, the facts, the analysis, because you're caught up in laundry, or your favorite player, or I write in paragraph form, or whatever. You don't answer questions and step around analysis. That's fine, and more power to you. I'm just done wasting my time.
Have a nice night!
Let the
come...post below if you dare. I'm prepared to back up and stand by any comment above...and if I turn out to be wrong, this'll be here to rub in my face. But it hasn't happened a lot yet.
(First: I can't predict game scores to save my life. Once I got behind, I started realizing that I'd have to pick outliers and have them come through to get back in. So that's where the 137-117 scores came in)
I enjoy this team, and I enjoy watching good basketball. Portland's my team, and always has been. Don't confuse observation with fandom, though. When the team plays well, it's good win or lose. When the team plays poorly (like in the win against SAC), you'll see me posting a lot of the things they did poorly, and my thoughts about them. I also watch a lot of League Pass and NBA TV. I generally don't just spout crap out (mixing up the Lopez names notwithstanding).
I predicted 58 wins for this team, and the WCF. I predicted 13-5 after 18 games. We were 12-6. Most of you thought our schedule would have us under .500. In my analysis of this team, I can't find a lot of ways we're different than last year's Hornets, except their star (Paul) is slightly better than our star (Roy), but our bench> their bench. I didn't get a whole lot of acknowledgment that I was actually right, though many of you (to your credit) came out and said you never saw this coming and loved it. Well, I did see it coming, but to most of you who read my posts, I was a crazy homer.
I say after almost every game how Travis is a one-dimensional me-first gunner who isn't good unless he's shooting a wide open three. He's shooting 37% inside the 3pt line. Sergio, who most agree absolutely sucks at shooting, is at 36% inside the arc. He cannot stay with his man if his man is moving around. Nate is misusing him, trusting that he's our "6th Man", when his mind after 6 years cannot compute some of the things on the court that make it basketball instead of ratball. Look at his comments from this summer in Quick's article.
I said last year that Jack would be traded for two reasons: upgrade the PG position (since he couldn't play it well), and to keep Nate from misusing him. The same thing should happen to Travis. He has talent, he has a skill that many don't, but it's not one that helps our team more than his weaknesses hurt us. Last night's game was another notch in Travis's "Where Stupid Plays Happen" belt. I TOLD YOU SO.
I predict that if LMA rebounds and plays around the rim more (like he did last night), he's almost an All-Star. If he stays around the 18-foot area and falls in love with his jumpshot, he's not much better than Zach was.
I predict that Blake will not be a starting PG for us much longer--maybe finish out the year, but his complete lack of being able to set up an offense to get easy buckets. His stellar 3pt shooting has almost made up for his lack of defense and lack of playmaking ability. There are plenty of teams in the league who need just what Blake brings, b/c he does it well. I don't believe we are one of those teams.
For those who say Sergio "overdribbles", check out what he's looking for when he's "Overdribbling". He's looking to get cutters or screen-runners the ball in good position. He's waiting for picks and screen-downs to be set. I don't know that he's ready to start yet, but he's up to 37% from 3 (and rising) and his playmaking ability has never been questioned.
I'm not even mentioning the "bust" word about Greg until April 2010. If he still is underwhelming, then ok. But he's already a dominant rebounder, and a better-than-average defender. Once guards on our team learn how to run a pick and roll with him, he'll get his shots in good position. Once he gets his knee strength and explosion back, he won't need to be in good position. Once he starts getting the Shaq calls by the refs, he'll have a lot more FTs and a lot less ticky-tack fouls (though he needs to keep his arms straight up).
There's more stuff, but it's getting late. I'll either edit this or add later posts.
I put my posts on here for debate and discussion b/c some of you may not get to see the game, or just read a boxscore, or don't get to rewind through sets to watch them over again. Some of you can't handle the logic, the facts, the analysis, because you're caught up in laundry, or your favorite player, or I write in paragraph form, or whatever. You don't answer questions and step around analysis. That's fine, and more power to you. I'm just done wasting my time.
Have a nice night!
Let the
come...post below if you dare. I'm prepared to back up and stand by any comment above...and if I turn out to be wrong, this'll be here to rub in my face. But it hasn't happened a lot yet.
