daddylogan
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- Mar 21, 2014
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Hello Forum,
I don't hang out here much for reasons of either disloyalty to the team or expecting a championship every single year. 29 teams every year go home without that ring and many a lot longer then us. People may not believe me but I have been a Blazer fan since year number one and my first games I attended was on January 9th, 1971 and the Blazers toasted the Knicks 114-96. Still have my first program from that game and I remember the Oregonian sports section the next day with a full page write up on the young expansions teams awesome victory!
Ok...enough of my history. I am not one of those that examines salary caps and trade values or bird rights or whatever....I am a fan and I know what I see and what I feel. With the release of Hood and Trent this year and the acquisition of Powell my whole mindset of the season changed and brought me back to 1977. Why you ask? We now have a team where contributions come from so many sources and that is the success of a championship team. When you have 6+ players who can score in double figures every night, you are going to win and compete in a lot of ball games. Very similar to 1977. I have always been a believer that you ALWAYS start your best scorers in the first quarter. Why? So you don't dig a hole...which has been a Blazer issue for years. You had starters where you may have 3 scorers and 2 defenders, and more often then not the Blazers found themselves in early holes they had to dig out of and ran out of gas. Back in the old days, you always started the most productive offensive players....and you either get a lead or sustain a push and then let your second team try to maintain a level playing field with the other teams second string. It is a good formula.
Proof? We now have Lillard (scorer) - McCollum (scorer) - Powell (Scorer/Defender) - Nurk (Defender/Scorer) and RoCo (Defender/Scorer) starting and guess what? The Blazers nearly score 30+ in the first quarter now and do not have to dig themselves out that hole nor spend the energy to fight back the whole game from 20 points down. When we had Jones and Kanter in the starting lineup, things were not so good...agreed? Not to mention when we do sub around the 5 minute mark, Carmelo has been on fire and Ant is coming into his own from 3 land...even better then Gary Trent. One of the best trades ever was letting Trent and Hood go for Powell as that dude can finish at the rim...and can bust the 3 from the corners pretty damn good. I like it ;-)
Then we have the ongoing Stott's issue that I am so sick of hearing. Yes, there has been a few times (and I mention few) that he has made bad decisions over the years in very rare situations. The Phoenix game being one of them by using a challenge and losing a timeout....not good. BUT...overall this guy has been a coaching stud and dealt with some of the most horrific situations anyone could throw a team and a coach. He has pieced together lineups for 8 years and made them work good enough to make the playoffs every year. That is something special and do not lose sight of that. He does not shoot the shots nor does he control when CJ or Dame decide to do what they do. All he can do is give them his best advice and hope that star quality players make the right choices. To play Melo or not at end of games is a crap shoot (if I was a coach) because some nights he is on fire and other nights not so much...you have to do what you have to do. I think he has done well and for those of you that want a championship every year...your idiots. Like I said, 29 other teams go home with their head down every year...but you don't see the Spurs firing Pop...right?
I look back to the Adelman years (88" - 94") and this coach had a 291-154 record and the Blazers fired him!!!!!!! He took them to TWO NBA FINALS!!!! How do you fire a coach like that??? It is all part of the Blazers "making bad decisions" history which has plagued this team for years. Think about it...instant gratification has been this teams downfall for years (at least since the Walton days).
Anyhow, my point of this thread is that I see something special with this HEALTHY Blazer team. It reminds me of 1977 when the wealth was spread around and you had 6 players every night scoring in double figures, sharing the ball and having chemistry between the players. I thank Mr. Lillard for that as he is the glue of this franchise...and his performance has been outstanding since his rookie year. Anybody that says otherwise has no eye for greatness. As for the CJ haters (or ones who want to trade him) yes, his defense is not what a Wes Mathews would bring, but this man has skills offensively way beyond what Wes could ever deliver and has taken this team to a level we have never had in years.
I have faith...this year more then any. The OKC and Denver series from a couple years ago was great...but I think this team actually has a chance at a conference finals and winning games. All the way? Maybe...but no sweep this year.
Just my thoughts...let the bashing begin...;-)
peace out,
daddylogan
I don't hang out here much for reasons of either disloyalty to the team or expecting a championship every single year. 29 teams every year go home without that ring and many a lot longer then us. People may not believe me but I have been a Blazer fan since year number one and my first games I attended was on January 9th, 1971 and the Blazers toasted the Knicks 114-96. Still have my first program from that game and I remember the Oregonian sports section the next day with a full page write up on the young expansions teams awesome victory!
Ok...enough of my history. I am not one of those that examines salary caps and trade values or bird rights or whatever....I am a fan and I know what I see and what I feel. With the release of Hood and Trent this year and the acquisition of Powell my whole mindset of the season changed and brought me back to 1977. Why you ask? We now have a team where contributions come from so many sources and that is the success of a championship team. When you have 6+ players who can score in double figures every night, you are going to win and compete in a lot of ball games. Very similar to 1977. I have always been a believer that you ALWAYS start your best scorers in the first quarter. Why? So you don't dig a hole...which has been a Blazer issue for years. You had starters where you may have 3 scorers and 2 defenders, and more often then not the Blazers found themselves in early holes they had to dig out of and ran out of gas. Back in the old days, you always started the most productive offensive players....and you either get a lead or sustain a push and then let your second team try to maintain a level playing field with the other teams second string. It is a good formula.
Proof? We now have Lillard (scorer) - McCollum (scorer) - Powell (Scorer/Defender) - Nurk (Defender/Scorer) and RoCo (Defender/Scorer) starting and guess what? The Blazers nearly score 30+ in the first quarter now and do not have to dig themselves out that hole nor spend the energy to fight back the whole game from 20 points down. When we had Jones and Kanter in the starting lineup, things were not so good...agreed? Not to mention when we do sub around the 5 minute mark, Carmelo has been on fire and Ant is coming into his own from 3 land...even better then Gary Trent. One of the best trades ever was letting Trent and Hood go for Powell as that dude can finish at the rim...and can bust the 3 from the corners pretty damn good. I like it ;-)
Then we have the ongoing Stott's issue that I am so sick of hearing. Yes, there has been a few times (and I mention few) that he has made bad decisions over the years in very rare situations. The Phoenix game being one of them by using a challenge and losing a timeout....not good. BUT...overall this guy has been a coaching stud and dealt with some of the most horrific situations anyone could throw a team and a coach. He has pieced together lineups for 8 years and made them work good enough to make the playoffs every year. That is something special and do not lose sight of that. He does not shoot the shots nor does he control when CJ or Dame decide to do what they do. All he can do is give them his best advice and hope that star quality players make the right choices. To play Melo or not at end of games is a crap shoot (if I was a coach) because some nights he is on fire and other nights not so much...you have to do what you have to do. I think he has done well and for those of you that want a championship every year...your idiots. Like I said, 29 other teams go home with their head down every year...but you don't see the Spurs firing Pop...right?
I look back to the Adelman years (88" - 94") and this coach had a 291-154 record and the Blazers fired him!!!!!!! He took them to TWO NBA FINALS!!!! How do you fire a coach like that??? It is all part of the Blazers "making bad decisions" history which has plagued this team for years. Think about it...instant gratification has been this teams downfall for years (at least since the Walton days).
Anyhow, my point of this thread is that I see something special with this HEALTHY Blazer team. It reminds me of 1977 when the wealth was spread around and you had 6 players every night scoring in double figures, sharing the ball and having chemistry between the players. I thank Mr. Lillard for that as he is the glue of this franchise...and his performance has been outstanding since his rookie year. Anybody that says otherwise has no eye for greatness. As for the CJ haters (or ones who want to trade him) yes, his defense is not what a Wes Mathews would bring, but this man has skills offensively way beyond what Wes could ever deliver and has taken this team to a level we have never had in years.
I have faith...this year more then any. The OKC and Denver series from a couple years ago was great...but I think this team actually has a chance at a conference finals and winning games. All the way? Maybe...but no sweep this year.
Just my thoughts...let the bashing begin...;-)
peace out,
daddylogan
