Poll: did we get better?

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in

What has the Summer roster overhaul done to the Blazers?

  • Better than last regular season

    Votes: 21 42.0%

  • Worse than last regular season

    Votes: 10 20.0%

  • About the same but other teams have improved past us

    Votes: 11 22.0%

  • We'll have about the same regular season record

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • Total voters
    50
Rastapopoulos

Rastapopoulos

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
42,600
Likes
26,970
Points
113
Now the smoke has settled a little, I'd like to see the general consensus on whether or not our big roster turnover improved the team. The impression I'm getting is that Blazer fans are much more enthusiastic about it than NBA media in general. Probably the key issue is the view of Whiteside: the world at large tends to share the Heat's negative view of him, whereas Blazers fans think he'll be like he was in his best year.

Anyway, vote please: note that I'm just talking about the regular season, because matchups affect the postseason disproportionately.
 
all I have to base this on right now is 3 preseason games. Blazers look worse, mainly because their defense so far has been a disaster and Whiteside has been pedestrian.

this question would be better asked after those first 20 games we've been talking about
 
Last edited:
The Blazers are better, they are just still acclimating.
 
BonesJones said:
The smoke hasnt cleared yet IMO.
Click to expand...

Exactly. We have a long ways to go before the dust has settled. There is no correlation between the preseason and the real season. We have looked horrible before and have turned it around. But yeah they have a lot of work to do with all these new players....and the early schedule will not be kind. Terry has a lot of work to do and I am not sure all of the line up experimenting is helpful this year. He needs to find one soon and let them get some chemistry quickly.
 
If we finish with 50 plus season, once again it would represent a really decent season considering how tough the WC is these days.
Like spring board diving in the Olympics, scoring is based on a degree of difficulty and 50 plus win in the West is one difficult task.
 
Last edited:
Rastapopoulos said:
...and your vast knowledge of basketball
Click to expand...


I don't have a vast knowledge of anything unless it's on ways to injure myself when using power tools

my limited knowledge suggests that the players Portland added aren't any better than the ones being replaced, but a whole bunch of people here keep saying the new players are better so I'm reserving a lot of my judgement. Just not reserving enough to keep quiet against the tide of optimism washing over the forum. Being a little contrary is kind of entertaining though, even if I end up wrong
 
Collins has a higher ceiling than Chief. Hood and Baze are better offensively than the guys they replaced. Whiteside is an upgrade on Leonard.

All of that is negated if Nurk is out for an extended period. Does anyone honestly know when Nurk will be back? (and by "back", I mean at the level he played at last season) Without knowing that, I can't offer even a wild guess what our record will be.
 
I really thought we got better, but I think we have some problems that aren't going away any time soon. Preseason is what it is, but there are a few things that stood out to me.

The most glaring is that Whiteside doesn't seem to have a game that we can use. He is playing like he is 6'9" with no hops. Doesn't seem to be making any impact on either end. Maybe it is a timing thing. I know the rep on him is a stat chaser who doesn't help you win, but so far he is a stat repeller who also doesn't seem to help you win. I expected at least a few oops and some big swats at this point and I'm not sure I have seen him play above the rim yet. This is concerning and I will predict that we end up trading him for a big contract (Love, etc.) as soon as allowed.

I think the rest of the rotation will work itself out, but the 4/5 is going to be a problem for a while, unless Gasol saves us.
 
Reep said:
I really thought we got better, but I think we have some problems that aren't going away any time soon. Preseason is what it is, but there are a few things that stood out to me.

The most glaring is that Whiteside doesn't seem to have a game that we can use. He is playing like he is 6'9" with no hops. Doesn't seem to be making any impact on either end. Maybe it is a timing thing. I know the rep on him is a stat chaser who doesn't help you win, but so far he is a stat repeller who also doesn't seem to help you win. I expected at least a few oops and some big swats at this point and I'm not sure I have seen him play above the rim yet. This is concerning and I will predict that we end up trading him for a big contract (Love, etc.) as soon as allowed.

I think the rest of the rotation will work itself out, but the 4/5 is going to be a problem for a while, unless Gasol saves us.
Click to expand...
I kind of agree but I need more time to see how he responds to Dame & CJ's coaching.
Ive always felt he could be a part of a package for another legit 4/5?
 
Reep said:
I really thought we got better, but I think we have some problems that aren't going away any time soon. Preseason is what it is, but there are a few things that stood out to me.

The most glaring is that Whiteside doesn't seem to have a game that we can use. He is playing like he is 6'9" with no hops. Doesn't seem to be making any impact on either end. Maybe it is a timing thing. I know the rep on him is a stat chaser who doesn't help you win, but so far he is a stat repeller who also doesn't seem to help you win. I expected at least a few oops and some big swats at this point and I'm not sure I have seen him play above the rim yet. This is concerning and I will predict that we end up trading him for a big contract (Love, etc.) as soon as allowed.

I think the rest of the rotation will work itself out, but the 4/5 is going to be a problem for a while, unless Gasol saves us.
Click to expand...


Better than last season. I believe in coach.
 
I think we succeeded last year by having a lot of interchangeable parts and rangy defenders (and a couple of years' continuity). We got a lot worse when Nurk went down but had favorable matchups in the playoffs, and play slowed down enough that Kanter's and Hood's scoring looked more important than Harkless's and Aminu's defense. I think our defense is going to be BAD and our offense is not going to be good enough to mask it. I think having one-position one-dimensional players (like Whiteside) is going to hurt us. I think Rodney Hood is NOT a SF. I think Whiteside is also going to fuck up our offense. I think we're going to suck, but Dame and CJ will go off enough to drag us to maybe 41-41.
 
Reply hazy.... ask again later.

barfo
 
Much better once they've collectively built some chemistry...and a defensive unit on a string...with 7 new players fighting for rotation spots..it's going to look clumsy early on. A few guys I think will be quick studies...Baze, Mario and Tolliver....Hassan will probably take some work with film and coaching staff to have the starting role look like a fit. Hopefully Pau helps out with that. I don't think Trent Jr is going to be as good as Jake Layman, but until Hood is back, he'll fill in.
 
Unfortunately I think that the center position will be our biggest struggle until Nurk comes back healthy and productive. A Hassan and Pau rotation may keep us in the hunt for awhile, how long I don't know. Don't underestimate Pau! I just don't think Hassan has been healthy enough or played enough yet to determine if he's a good fit. Waaaay too early to know as some have pointed out.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
I think we succeeded last year by having a lot of interchangeable parts and rangy defenders (and a couple of years' continuity). We got a lot worse when Nurk went down but had favorable matchups in the playoffs, and play slowed down enough that Kanter's and Hood's scoring looked more important than Harkless's and Aminu's defense. I think our defense is going to be BAD and our offense is not going to be good enough to mask it. I think having one-position one-dimensional players (like Whiteside) is going to hurt us. I think Rodney Hood is NOT a SF. I think Whiteside is also going to fuck up our offense. I think we're going to suck, but Dame and CJ will go off enough to drag us to maybe 41-41.
Click to expand...
41 and 41?!? We wouldn't even make the playoffs if that is our record. This team will get better and better on defense and the offense will flow better than it does right now too. IMO you're giving up on Whiteside way too soon. You're also putting way too much weight on positional fits in an NBA that has shown you can go smaller. I think we'll actually be better than last season but will have the same record 53 and 29 because a lot of the West did get better as well.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Hey, us sucking won't be Stotts's fault. But he might be blamed for it.
Click to expand...


I just look back through his history of improving our teams post-Christmas. He's done a credible job. He has a knack for eventually creating continuity, equating to wins.
 
wizenheimer said:
all I have to base this on right now is 3 preseason games. Blazers look worse, mainly because their defense so far has been a disaster and Whiteside has been pedestrian.

this question would be better asked after those first 20 games we've been talking about
Click to expand...
Pedestrian is too kind
 
blazerkor said:
41 and 41?!? We wouldn't even make the playoffs if that is our record. This team will get better and better on defense and the offense will flow better than it does right now too. IMO you're giving up on Whiteside way too soon. You're also putting way too much weight on positional fits in an NBA that has shown you can go smaller. I think we'll actually be better than last season but will have the same record 53 and 29 because a lot of the West did get better as well.
Click to expand...
If you're right, we'll both be happy. If I'm right, neither of us will be. Here's hoping you're right.
 
oldmangrouch said:
Collins has a higher ceiling than Chief. Hood and Baze are better offensively than the guys they replaced. Whiteside is an upgrade on Leonard.

All of that is negated if Nurk is out for an extended period. Does anyone honestly know when Nurk will be back? (and by "back", I mean at the level he played at last season) Without knowing that, I can't offer even a wild guess what our record will be.
Click to expand...
I'm counting out the return of old Nurk til next season. Mentally preparing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M Two One
UTM: M Two One (answers)
Replies
26
Views
1K
Sir Desmond
Sir Desmond
Lakers4Life24/7
Madden 08 Review
Replies
11
Views
805
808Hornetsfan
808Hornetsfan

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top