Predict Blazer Record at All-star Break

[wizenheimer]

Blazers have 22 games till the all-star break:

@ New York Knicks
@ Washington Wizards
@ Miami Heat
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets
@ Houston Rockets
@ Dallas Mavericks
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Houston Rockets
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
@ New Orleans Pelicans
@ Memphis Grizzlies

* 13 of the 22 games are on the road and Portland has a 6-11 road record

* Blazers are 3-13 against teams with winning records, and two of those wins came against OKC early in the year. 14 of the 22 games are against teams with winning records...yikes!

I'm pretty down on Portland right now so my first notion is to say they'll go 8-14 over those 22 games and be 22-34 at the all-star break. Is that too pessimistic?? I really can't tell with this team anymore

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Blazers have 22 games till the all-star break:

@ New York Knicks
@ Washington Wizards
@ Miami Heat
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets
@ Houston Rockets
@ Dallas Mavericks
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Houston Rockets
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
@ New Orleans Pelicans
@ Memphis Grizzlies

* 13 of the 22 games are on the road and Portland has a 6-11 road record

* Blazers are 3-13 against teams with winning records, and two of those wins came against OKC early in the year. 14 of the 22 games are against teams with winning records...yikes!

I'm pretty down on Portland right now so my first notion is to say they'll go 8-14 over those 22 games and be 22-34 at the all-star break. Is that too pessimistic?? I really can't tell with this team anymore

I think you're dead on correct. Only way things change is if Nurk comes back soon and we trade Whiteside for a forward and then sign some FAs. This has to happen:

Dame/CJ/Melo/Love/Nurk
Simons/Trent/Iggy/Collins/Noah

 

[Chris Craig]

20-36

 

[Labinot41]

Boy this schedule is tough. This will be ugly

 

[Dougnsalem]

After tonights game,

I predict....

14 wins and 42 losses at the all star break.

Edit: And I don't fucking care anymore. Sorry guys. Maybe King can hold you up. Wont be me.

 

[OneSport3]

Blazers have 22 games till the all-star break:

@ New York Knicks
@ Washington Wizards
@ Miami Heat
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets
@ Houston Rockets
@ Dallas Mavericks
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Houston Rockets
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
@ New Orleans Pelicans
@ Memphis Grizzlies

* 13 of the 22 games are on the road and Portland has a 6-11 road record

* Blazers are 3-13 against teams with winning records, and two of those wins came against OKC early in the year. 14 of the 22 games are against teams with winning records...yikes!

I'm pretty down on Portland right now so my first notion is to say they'll go 8-14 over those 22 games and be 22-34 at the all-star break. Is that too pessimistic?? I really can't tell with this team anymore

Looking at that schedule, 8-14 is actually pretty optimistic to me. Outside of the Knicks, I don’t see any gimmes. Even I’m doubtful of a Knicks win.

 

[calvin natt]

6-16

 

[Chris Craig]

After tonights game,

I predict....

14 wins and 42 losses at the all star break.

Edit: And I don't fucking care anymore. Sorry guys. Maybe King can hold you up. Wont be me.

I wouldnt be surprised

 

[tester551]

Looking at that schedule, 8-14 is actually pretty optimistic to me. Outside of the Knicks, I don’t see any gimmes. Even I’m doubtful of a Knicks win.

Agreed. I count 6 wins in that stretch

 

[OneSport3]

Blazers have 22 games till the all-star break:

@ New York Knicks
@ Washington Wizards
@ Miami Heat
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets
@ Houston Rockets
@ Dallas Mavericks
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Houston Rockets
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
@ New Orleans Pelicans
@ Memphis Grizzlies

* 13 of the 22 games are on the road and Portland has a 6-11 road record

* Blazers are 3-13 against teams with winning records, and two of those wins came against OKC early in the year. 14 of the 22 games are against teams with winning records...yikes!

I'm pretty down on Portland right now so my first notion is to say they'll go 8-14 over those 22 games and be 22-34 at the all-star break. Is that too pessimistic?? I really can't tell with this team anymore

If we don’t beat the Wizards on Friday, there’s a good chance they go 2-19 in that stretch. The only games I see an above 50% chance of winning are the Hornets and Warriors at home.

Does Stotts survive if they go 2-19?

 

[Labinot41]

If we don’t beat the Wizards on Friday, there’s a good chance they go 2-19 in that stretch. The only games I see an above 50% chance of winning are the Hornets and Warriors at home.

Does Stotts survive if they go 2-19?

Yeah for sure he is Lillards and Olsheys guy

 

[HailBlazers]

More losses the better.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

After tonights game,

I predict....

14 wins and 42 losses at the all star break.

Edit: And I don't fucking care anymore. Sorry guys. Maybe King can hold you up. Wont be me.

I'm at a loss, Doug. Yes, we've had injuries. Losing Skal hurts because he was our only other center and he was actually scoring well off the bench. Before Hood went down, he was shooting 50% from three and there was real cohesion in the starting lineup. Now they're both gone and it turns out Dame is mortal. He can't do it by himself. And CJ and Melo don't pass. Whiteside puts up number but they are pretty empty. There's no question we'd be better with a full roster. But we shouldn't be this bad. We just shouldn't. There is a leadership problem. Dame and Stotts have to answer for this.

 

[TBpup]

Blazers have 22 games till the all-star break:

@ New York Knicks
@ Washington Wizards
@ Miami Heat
@ Toronto Raptors
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets
@ Houston Rockets
@ Dallas Mavericks
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Houston Rockets
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs
@ Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
@ New Orleans Pelicans
@ Memphis Grizzlies

* 13 of the 22 games are on the road and Portland has a 6-11 road record

* Blazers are 3-13 against teams with winning records, and two of those wins came against OKC early in the year. 14 of the 22 games are against teams with winning records...yikes!

I'm pretty down on Portland right now so my first notion is to say they'll go 8-14 over those 22 games and be 22-34 at the all-star break. Is that too pessimistic?? I really can't tell with this team anymore

I struggle to find much more than 6 wins on there. The Knicks game was the most 'winnable' of this road trip. Not that they can't win a different game or two, but this projected to be by far the most likely.

 

[wizenheimer]

I'll admit it....one of the 8 wins I was 'hoping' for was against the Knicks. Best laid plans

 

[Cugel]

they will be at 10 games under 500 if they are lucky. I really think that mentally this team is shot.

 

[Orion Bailey]

I think you're dead on correct. Only way things change is if Nurk comes back soon and we trade Whiteside for a forward and then sign some FAs. This has to happen:

Dame/CJ/Melo/Love/Nurk
Simons/Trent/Iggy/Collins/Noah

Our starting 5 would still get outscored 10 points a quarter. Cant expect Nurk to cover all 5 positions.

 

[Hobbesarable]

[/IMG]

 

[BonesJones]

21-35.

 

[BonesJones]

I'm at a loss, Doug. Yes, we've had injuries. Losing Skal hurts because he was our only other center and he was actually scoring well off the bench. Before Hood went down, he was shooting 50% from three and there was real cohesion in the starting lineup. Now they're both gone and it turns out Dame is mortal. He can't do it by himself. And CJ and Melo don't pass. Whiteside puts up number but they are pretty empty. There's no question we'd be better with a full roster. But we shouldn't be this bad. We just shouldn't. There is a leadership problem. Dame and Stotts have to answer for this.

Perfectly said!

 

[wizenheimer]

I'm at a loss, Doug. Yes, we've had injuries. Losing Skal hurts because he was our only other center and he was actually scoring well off the bench. Before Hood went down, he was shooting 50% from three and there was real cohesion in the starting lineup. Now they're both gone and it turns out Dame is mortal. He can't do it by himself. And CJ and Melo don't pass. Whiteside puts up number but they are pretty empty. There's no question we'd be better with a full roster. But we shouldn't be this bad. We just shouldn't. There is a leadership problem. Dame and Stotts have to answer for this.

I'm not sure how much of it is leadership

certainly, you can point at an absence of accountability and pin that on Stotts. You can also point at a remedial offense and a sieve of a defense and pin some or a lot of that on Stotts.

I'm not privy to what goes on in the locker room, or what Dame says to teammates so I can't really judge how or if Dame's leadership is failing. I really doubt that he's backed off on what he's done for years, and it has been his leadership in the past that has drug Portland out of low points. It may be his sore back has more to do with things than his character

and yeah, the injuries have had an impact but as you said, that does not explain away all the things we are seeing

Personally, I think a lot of what we're seeing is a result of 2016. A case of 2019 Olshey having hands his tied last summer by 2016 Olshey. Partly because of that and partly because of his tendencies, he assembled a deeply flawed roster that had major holes and had no real backup at a couple of positions. Olshey placed really heavy bets on Simons and Zach and that's been a bust in the first year. He also bet on Tolliver, Hezonja, and Gasol, and that's een 3 other bad bets

I think a lot of people, Olshey included, significantly undervalued the players that were exiting last summer, and grossly overvalued the new faces. And after preaching chemistry for years, the massive roster turnover blew a hole in chemistry, leaving a bunch of square pegs in a round hole league. And of course when all the issues with the iso-heavy offense was plain to see, the reaction to Zach getting injured was to add another iso-heavy player in Melo....mainly because he came cheap

I don't know where Portland goes from here. I don't believe the expiring contracts of Whiteside and Bazemore carry much leverage and I really question if Jody Allen has the appetite for eating future luxury tax that some believe she does. That combination limits options IMO