New Brighter Outlook For '11-12......

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THE HCP

THE HCP

NorthEastPortland'sFinest
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Last week after the Brandon/Greg/LA bombshell, I'll admit things didn't look to good. After today's additions, I believe we will have a pretty good season. Before I said around 30 wins and no playoffs. With the additions of Crawford and Thomas I think it bumps us up to 40-42 wins and a 6th seed. Don't know why, just my opinion. What do you guys think?

PS-
Lineup I'm looking most forward to seeing on the court together you ask?

LA
GW
Nic
Crawford
Felton
 
It pushes back the inevitable, but the Blazers have a chance to be pretty decent if Nate lets them run a bit
 
i want me some

felton
wes
crash
rhino
lma

fucking beasts
 
Gee, I wonder where you got the idea for this thread?

:)
 
Felton & Crawford should really help the outside shooting and getting off to slow starts in games. Add to the mix a healthy Wes and I think the opposing defenses will have to stay honest and give LMA more room to operate.
 
The two signings today definitely strengthened our bench. Crawford gives us some much needed scoring off the bench and can back-up both guard spots, and Smith FINALLY gives us that back-up power forward banger we've been missing for YEARs.

With all the SuperFriend teams being formed, we're not a serious championship contender, but we have a legitimate shot at winning our division and at least being competitive in the first round. We're much better off than most other small market teams. I mean good god, how'd you like to be a Hornets or Kings fan these days.

Wouldn't it be ironic if we finally make it out of the first round the season after Brandon Roy retires? Not saying it will happen, but it could. We also have a lot of guys playing for their next contract, either in the last year of their current contracts, or a player option for next year. So, they could overachieve this year.

At the very least, it should be fun to watch this team get after it this year. And, Nate is probably pissing his pants right now. This team has a lot of SCRAP. No excuses, they just have to make their shots (another Nate "gem").

BNM
 
craigehlo said:
I like the moves today, but OKC is going to take this division running away I have a feeling.
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True, but nobody expects us to compete for the #1 seed. As long as we're in the mix for a top-4 seed, I'll feel pretty decent.
 
Individually, none of those guys excite, but collectively they make the team deeper and stronger.

I tend to believe that a low play-off seed is better than being stuck in the ass-end of the lotto....so I'll take it....for this season. None of this negates the need for a strong, long-range plan.
 
craigehlo said:
I like the moves today, but OKC is going to take this division running away I have a feeling.
Click to expand...

I'm waiting for the Durrant/Westbrook clash of egos and resulting team implosion. Westbrook froze out Durrant during the 4th quarter of multiple play-off games last year. When you're the point guard on the same team as the league's two time scoring leader, getting him the ball with the game on the line should be your first, second and third priorities - not forcing up your own shot. Westbrook has a shitload of talent, but he's a selfish ballhog who thinks he's the first option on the same team as Kevin Durrant.

A guy can dream...

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
I'm waiting for the Durrant/Westbrook clash of egos and resulting team implosion. Westbrook froze out Durrant during the 4th quarter of multiple play-off games last year. When you're the point guard on the same team as the league's two time scoring leader, getting him the ball with the game on the line should be your first, second and third priorities - not forcing up your own shot. Westbrook has a shitload of talent, but he's a selfish ballhog who thinks he's the first option on the same team as Kevin Durrant.

A guy can dream...

BNM
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What's your take on Perkins. I originally thought big blunder by OKC as Perkins did not seem to recover from his injury well (which is why I think Boston shipped him out). But he is coming back looking fit and slim and has always been tough. If he takes his game up a level, OKC scares me.

But I agree, if Westbrook has a bad start and starts pushing or taking even more shots trying to find his game, there could be a Durant Westbrook clash. But if they come out firing on all cylinders, they are going to be scary.
 
Boob-No-More said:
I'm waiting for the Durrant/Westbrook clash of egos and resulting team implosion. Westbrook froze out Durrant during the 4th quarter of multiple play-off games last year. When you're the point guard on the same team as the league's two time scoring leader, getting him the ball with the game on the line should be your first, second and third priorities - not forcing up your own shot. Westbrook has a shitload of talent, but he's a selfish ballhog who thinks he's the first option on the same team as Kevin Durrant.

A guy can dream...

BNM
Click to expand...

Yes this will be interesting to watch. The PG is always the first to be blamed if a team falls short. And at some point Westbrook will get blamed......again. I agree that although he is very good, he may not be the best fit for Durant.
 
I'm not a big fan of LA at center, or GW at PF...and if I'm not mistake, they aren't really fans of playing long minutes at those positions either. I'm excited to see this lineup for running:

Slim (Felton)
Wes
GW
LA
CJohn

Lob city
 
Said after the bombshells that this was still the same team that took Dallas to six games and got rid of deadweight in Rudy. Anticipated some signings, but think we did better than my expectations with Thomas, Crawford, and Smith. My expectation was a seed 3 thru 6, with a very good likelyhood that we advanced out of the first round. Will bump that to 3-5, with 3 being a reach but think we are going to get out of the first round this year.
 
Dallas went from losing in the first round to winning the title in one year. If Aldridge can step up his game to superstar level, maybe we can win it all. It all rides on Aldridge. His has the skills to be as good as Dirk.
 
And what if Oden comes back before the end of the season? Anything is possible...
 
He always shows up for supper and dessert, a contract offer.
 
Boob-No-More said:
Wouldn't it be ironic if we finally make it out of the first round the season after Brandon Roy retires? Not saying it will happen, but it could. We also have a lot of guys playing for their next contract, either in the last year of their current contracts, or a player option for next year. So, they could overachieve this year.


BNM
Click to expand...
That reminds me of a soccer team I used to be player/coach for; and we had this Moroccan guy on the team and he was by far the most talented guy on the team. But it seemed every year we came up just short of the championship and finally he got tired of it and went to another team. The rest of the team just liked to play a fast, aggressive style and in some ways he had slowed us down some. And so we went on to dominate the league that year and win the championship.
 
Wow, some depth might really go a long ways this season. Things are definitely looking a bit brighter.
 
The Blazers have certainly addressed their shortcomings of last year; they now have a very balanced and deep team. Besides the balance of positions there is also a nice balance of youth and veterans. I could be wrong about this but I think it is possible that McMillan may have as much or possibly more input into what they are doing than anyone else.
 
yuyuza1 said:
40 wins.
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I just don't see this team being very good, either. If we stay healthy, we should make the playoffs, but I don't see getting into the top 8 as a guarantee.

Being mediocre with not much promise sucks, and that's where I see this team. *sigh*

Ed O.
 
40 wins this year is 50 in a regular year. I see us being decent.
 
yuyuza1 said:
40 wins this year is 50 in a regular year. I see us being decent.
Click to expand...

Haha. Yes. Excellent point.

I think I might be alone in not expecting much from this team this season.

Ed O.
 
haha loner!

IMO we finally got the depth and well-roundedness to play team ball and make a splash in the playoffs.
 
Ed O said:
Being mediocre with not much promise sucks, and that's where I see this team. *sigh*

Ed O.
Click to expand...

I still think there's a lot of promise in Aldridge, Batum, Williams and even Matthews.

Aldridge is really the only one of those four to be in his prime playing years. You have to admit he made some pretty startling progress last year--who's to say he's done improving?

And of course there's always Oden. Yeah, I'm probably the only guy here still saying that, but I still say there's at least a chance he recovers, and as long as there's a chance there's a chance at a championship.

It ain't a ton of hope. There are certainly a fair number of teams with more upside than we have. But the potential is there.
 
Anyway, considering we went from three franchise-level players down to one in two years, I wouldn't say the future is bright. That's like looking at the sun and then trying to convince yourself that the moon is bright too. But it's not all bad.
 
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