So NOW do you understand what I'm talking about??? We are a better team this year.

[Orion Bailey]

He might be right now, but pre-injury Wes was a far superior player.

We will have to agree to disagree. When did Wes ever have 2 30pt gamers back to back?
I cant believe people actually think pre injury Wes was a better player than CJ. CJ has sooo many more skills...

We downgraded at SF too.

CJ is on pace for an equal number of WS per game, on a team with less wins, and I've always found BPM to be a flawed stat.

Again, have to agree to disagree. I think Aminu brings just about everything Nic did. Nic may have had a higher ceiling, but never was gonna reach it here. AMinu is a wash in my eyes.

 

[blue9]

I think Aminu brings just about everything Nic did. Nic may have had a higher ceiling, but never was gonna reach it here. AMinu is a wash in my eyes.

Not even close. Aminu is god awful. Before last night I thought he was average, but the more I watch him the more it becomes clear that he's an idiot with below-average skills.

 

[illmatic99]

Not even close. Aminu is god awful. Before last night I thought he was average, but the more I watch him the more it becomes clear that he's an idiot with below-average skills.

Absolutely agree. Not just the cringing when he drives head down into 4 defenders.

But the shitty defense. With his long arms and physical ability, he should be so much better. At least his contract is moveable.

 

[blue9]

Absolutely agree. Not just the cringing when he drives head down into 4 defenders.

But the shitty defense. With his long arms and physical ability, he should be so much better. At least his contract is moveable.

Last night was some of the worst defense I've seen from a Blazer since watching LMA stand by and watch guards make layups. In the first quarter Aminu was forcing Dame to switch onto Pierce! Throughout the game he continually lost his man, and when trying to recover would fly by his man leaving him even more wide open than he originally was. Aminu is dumb, and there's no fixing that. Not even his long arms are enough to overcome the emptiness in his head. Just goes to show that wingspan isn't everything.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Last night was some of the worst defense I've seen from a Blazer since watching LMA stand by and watch guards make layups. In the first quarter Aminu was forcing Dame to switch onto Pierce! Throughout the game he continually lost his man, and when trying to recover would fly by his man leaving him even more wide open than he originally was. Aminu is dumb, and there's no fixing that. Not even his long arms are enough to overcome the emptiness in his head. Just goes to show that wingspan isn't everything.

I have to admit, I fell asleep last night around half time. Didnt catch all that much of the game.

 

[blue9]

I have to admit, I fell asleep last night around half time. Didnt catch all that much of the game.

I've been watching him [Aminu] and Vonleh a lot more closely lately, to better validate my opinion or to see if I can see what the other side is seeing. It's only strengthened my opinion that Aminu is crap. I've not had a strong opinion about Vonleh - I don't think he's good at much (aside from defensive positioning), but unlike Aminu I'm not willing to say he won't become good someday. Watching him closely hasn't changed that. Though I was encouraged that he dunked twice last night without getting his shot blocked (the first was a beautiful set-up by Dame).

 

[BonesJones]

We will have to agree to disagree. When did Wes ever have 2 30pt gamers back to back?
I cant believe people actually think pre injury Wes was a better player than CJ. CJ has sooo many more skills...



Again, have to agree to disagree. I think Aminu brings just about everything Nic did. Nic may have had a higher ceiling, but never was gonna reach it here. AMinu is a wash in my eyes.

Did you see Aminu attempt to bring the ball up the court last night? He's a 3 and D guy, but the 3 and D is only slightly above average. Nic could bring the ball up and run pick n rolls which Aminu can't. I still think Nic is a better, more versatile defender. He's a better shooter too.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Did you see Aminu attempt to bring the ball up the court last night? He's a 3 and D guy, but the 3 and D is only slightly above average. Nic could bring the ball up and run pick n rolls which Aminu can't. I still think Nic is a better, more versatile defender. He's a better shooter too.

Although somewhat similiar in thier style of play, Aminu is not better than Nic. Nic can run the point better, but I think Aminu actually has better dribbling handles.

Nic may end up being the better player when all said and done... probably will be, but what we got from Nic wasnt his best, so I suppose I am comparing the Nic we got vs Aminu. To me its pretty much a wash. Nothing really stands out as a big loss or gain.

 

[BonesJones]

Although somewhat similiar in thier style of play, Aminu is not better than Nic. Nic can run the point better, but I think Aminu actually has better dribbling handles.

Nic may end up being the better player when all said and done... probably will be, but what we got from Nic wasnt his best, so I suppose I am comparing the Nic we got vs Aminu. To me its pretty much a wash. Nothing really stands out as a big loss or gain.

he doesnt have better handles... Hes always out of control... Hell id still rather have Nic from last year.

 

[Orion Bailey]

he doesnt have better handles... Hes always out of control... Hell id still rather have Nic from last year.

I think out of control, because he is tryign to do too much. Driving into too much traffic, but even when he does, watch his dribbling. I think he does a good job. Its the decision to drive in the first place that kills him. You can have good handles but have your body be out of control. I guess I think he handles the ball better than his own body.

 

[Strenuus]

he doesnt have better handles... Hes always out of control... Hell id still rather have Nic from last year.

If by better handles, you mean we play in the National Butterfingers Association, then Aminu would be the best.

I hate seeing him dribble.... it was like the early years of Wes lol.

 

[BBert]

The only thing Aminu has over Nicolas Batum is aggression. Blind, stupid, mistake prone aggression. I prefer Batum.

 

[julius]

The only thing Aminu has over Nicolas Batum is aggression. Blind, stupid, mistake prone aggression. I prefer Batum.

It's like when the team had Ruben Patterson, minus the whole nanny stuff.

Three words were never more true in describing a player, than the 3 used to describe Aminu.

"Pass the ball"

 

[blue9]

It's like when the team had Ruben Patterson, minus the whole nanny stuff.

Except Rubes had some skills and was actually a good defender.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Except Rubes had some skills and was actually a good defender.

You cant get the nickname Kobestopper without having some seriously good D.

 

[THE HCP]

Early November there were many on here who said Aminu was better than Nic. Simply amazing the diarrhea that flows from some of your fingertips.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Nobody ever questioned is we had a better bench or not, that's obvious. That's what made this thread an instant classic that will never be forgotten FAMS! This team is NOT 'better" than last seasons.

We didn't get a suite last year, so yes this team is better... for us.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Early November there were many on here who said Aminu was better than Nic. Simply amazing the diarrhea that flows from some of your fingertips.

Hey now... opinions can change. How is your 23 win mark doing? Think you will meet it? If not, your full of diarrhea too no?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Early November there were many on here who said Aminu was better than Nic. Simply amazing the diarrhea that flows from some of your fingertips.

1. Nothing wrong with being optimistic.
2. I don't think there was a person here who doesn't think Batum is the better player when he's motivated to play. There were times the last couple of seasons that he didn't seem that motivated.

 

[BonesJones]

I think out of control, because he is tryign to do too much. Driving into too much traffic, but even when he does, watch his dribbling. I think he does a good job. Its the decision to drive in the first place that kills him. You can have good handles but have your body be out of control. I guess I think he handles the ball better than his own body.

Having good handles means being able to move well while dribbling, not just being able to do some fancy crossover..

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Early November there were many on here who said Aminu was better than Nic. Simply amazing the diarrhea that flows from some of your fingertips.

 

[Dan Marang]

New guy here, and with all the talk of where people think this can is heading I thought I'd offer this up.

I've been doing a bit of work on some basic and advanced analytics in preparation for a larger project I'm working on and I thought some here might appreciate a piece of it.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/dan.marang#!/vizhome/ExpectedvsDeliveredWinSOS/Dashboard1 just an interactive dashboard (which I need to update this week)

The crux of it where a team is vs where a team should be- and the outlook for the future (this season). Full disclosure- Vegas had the Blazers pegged at 26.5 - I put money down on the over but I wasn't THAT confident. After some cursory work I had them at 31-33 wins, at best. If you take a look at where Portland is now- 15-23 it's being discussed that they could make a playoff push. In a vacuum, that's probably true. But keep this in mind- if the cutoff for 8th is roughly 39 games (after some rough work I have it at 38 and some change) that means this team has to go 24-20 down the stretch. So a sub .400 team needs to go over .500 the rest of the season. In the realm of sports possibilities it's not probable- but not impossible either.

However, when you dig deeper you see that Portland has played the 9th/10th easiest schedule in the league while a team like the Jazz (in front of Portland) has played the 5th toughest and had a myriad of injuries- yet have managed to put together a better record. Flip that over to the backside of the season- one would assume that the Jazz would get healthy (minus Exum) and their schedule gets easier. Meanwhile- other than Lillard/Leonard injuries- the Blazers have been healthy, and their schedule it getting much more difficult. To further emphasize that point take a look at this stretch of games in March:

63 Fri, Mar 4, 2016
7:30p EST @ Toronto Raptors
64 Sun, Mar 6, 2016
6:00p EST @ Detroit Pistons
65 Tue, Mar 8, 2016
10:00p EST Washington Wizards
66 Fri, Mar 11, 2016
10:30p EST @ Golden State Warriors
67 Sat, Mar 12, 2016
10:30p EST Orlando Magic
68 Mon, Mar 14, 2016
8:00p EST @ Oklahoma City Thunder
69 Thu, Mar 17, 2016
8:30p EST @ San Antonio Spurs
70 Fri, Mar 18, 2016
8:00p EST @ New Orleans Pelicans
71 Sun, Mar 20, 2016
4:00p EST @ Dallas Mavericks
72 Wed, Mar 23, 2016
10:30p EST Dallas Mavericks
73 Thu, Mar 24, 2016
10:30p EST @ Los Angeles Clippers

That's 11 games in 20 days- 8 on the road 3 at home and almost entirely playoff teams. If the Blazers don't come out of that near .500 they need to make up those games somewhere else in the final stretch- meaning they need to play probably .650-.700 level ball to make up for that part of the schedule. Also, keep in mind that (not counting tonight) Portland still has to play GSW 4x, OKC 3x, and DAL/HOU 2x. That's nearly a 1/4 of the remaining schedule against those teams with a sprinkling of SA, LAC, and a few heavyweight Eastern Conf teams. This may be my own bias kicking in but I don't think it's too crazy to assume this team wins less than 20 games to finish out the season. Realistically I feel 16-18 wins is about where they land. I could be wrong, but I thought some others might appreciate a broader yet more detailed look/comparison.

 

[theprunetang]

New guy here, and with all the talk of where people think this can is heading I thought I'd offer this up.

I've been doing a bit of work on some basic and advanced analytics in preparation for a larger project I'm working on and I thought some here might appreciate a piece of it.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/dan.marang#!/vizhome/ExpectedvsDeliveredWinSOS/Dashboard1 just an interactive dashboard (which I need to update this week)

The crux of it where a team is vs where a team should be- and the outlook for the future (this season). Full disclosure- Vegas had the Blazers pegged at 26.5 - I put money down on the over but I wasn't THAT confident. After some cursory work I had them at 31-33 wins, at best. If you take a look at where Portland is now- 15-23 it's being discussed that they could make a playoff push. In a vacuum, that's probably true. But keep this in mind- if the cutoff for 8th is roughly 39 games (after some rough work I have it at 38 and some change) that means this team has to go 24-20 down the stretch. So a sub .400 team needs to go over .500 the rest of the season. In the realm of sports possibilities it's not probable- but not impossible either.

However, when you dig deeper you see that Portland has played the 9th/10th easiest schedule in the league while a team like the Jazz (in front of Portland) has played the 5th toughest and had a myriad of injuries- yet have managed to put together a better record. Flip that over to the backside of the season- one would assume that the Jazz would get healthy (minus Exum) and their schedule gets easier. Meanwhile- other than Lillard/Leonard injuries- the Blazers have been healthy, and their schedule it getting much more difficult. To further emphasize that point take a look at this stretch of games in March:

63 Fri, Mar 4, 2016
7:30p EST @ Toronto Raptors
64 Sun, Mar 6, 2016
6:00p EST @ Detroit Pistons
65 Tue, Mar 8, 2016
10:00p EST Washington Wizards
66 Fri, Mar 11, 2016
10:30p EST @ Golden State Warriors
67 Sat, Mar 12, 2016
10:30p EST Orlando Magic
68 Mon, Mar 14, 2016
8:00p EST @ Oklahoma City Thunder
69 Thu, Mar 17, 2016
8:30p EST @ San Antonio Spurs
70 Fri, Mar 18, 2016
8:00p EST @ New Orleans Pelicans
71 Sun, Mar 20, 2016
4:00p EST @ Dallas Mavericks
72 Wed, Mar 23, 2016
10:30p EST Dallas Mavericks
73 Thu, Mar 24, 2016
10:30p EST @ Los Angeles Clippers

That's 11 games in 20 days- 8 on the road 3 at home and almost entirely playoff teams. If the Blazers don't come out of that near .500 they need to make up those games somewhere else in the final stretch- meaning they need to play probably .650-.700 level ball to make up for that part of the schedule. Also, keep in mind that (not counting tonight) Portland still has to play GSW 4x, OKC 3x, and DAL/HOU 2x. That's nearly a 1/4 of the remaining schedule against those teams with a sprinkling of SA, LAC, and a few heavyweight Eastern Conf teams. This may be my own bias kicking in but I don't think it's too crazy to assume this team wins less than 20 games to finish out the season. Realistically I feel 16-18 wins is about where they land. I could be wrong, but I thought some others might appreciate a broader yet more detailed look/comparison.

Damned fine work sir. Definitely keep that kind of thing up!

 

[illmatic99]

New guy here, and with all the talk of where people think this can is heading I thought I'd offer this up.

I've been doing a bit of work on some basic and advanced analytics in preparation for a larger project I'm working on and I thought some here might appreciate a piece of it.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/dan.marang#!/vizhome/ExpectedvsDeliveredWinSOS/Dashboard1 just an interactive dashboard (which I need to update this week)

The crux of it where a team is vs where a team should be- and the outlook for the future (this season). Full disclosure- Vegas had the Blazers pegged at 26.5 - I put money down on the over but I wasn't THAT confident. After some cursory work I had them at 31-33 wins, at best. If you take a look at where Portland is now- 15-23 it's being discussed that they could make a playoff push. In a vacuum, that's probably true. But keep this in mind- if the cutoff for 8th is roughly 39 games (after some rough work I have it at 38 and some change) that means this team has to go 24-20 down the stretch. So a sub .400 team needs to go over .500 the rest of the season. In the realm of sports possibilities it's not probable- but not impossible either.

However, when you dig deeper you see that Portland has played the 9th/10th easiest schedule in the league while a team like the Jazz (in front of Portland) has played the 5th toughest and had a myriad of injuries- yet have managed to put together a better record. Flip that over to the backside of the season- one would assume that the Jazz would get healthy (minus Exum) and their schedule gets easier. Meanwhile- other than Lillard/Leonard injuries- the Blazers have been healthy, and their schedule it getting much more difficult. To further emphasize that point take a look at this stretch of games in March:

63 Fri, Mar 4, 2016
7:30p EST @ Toronto Raptors
64 Sun, Mar 6, 2016
6:00p EST @ Detroit Pistons
65 Tue, Mar 8, 2016
10:00p EST Washington Wizards
66 Fri, Mar 11, 2016
10:30p EST @ Golden State Warriors
67 Sat, Mar 12, 2016
10:30p EST Orlando Magic
68 Mon, Mar 14, 2016
8:00p EST @ Oklahoma City Thunder
69 Thu, Mar 17, 2016
8:30p EST @ San Antonio Spurs
70 Fri, Mar 18, 2016
8:00p EST @ New Orleans Pelicans
71 Sun, Mar 20, 2016
4:00p EST @ Dallas Mavericks
72 Wed, Mar 23, 2016
10:30p EST Dallas Mavericks
73 Thu, Mar 24, 2016
10:30p EST @ Los Angeles Clippers

That's 11 games in 20 days- 8 on the road 3 at home and almost entirely playoff teams. If the Blazers don't come out of that near .500 they need to make up those games somewhere else in the final stretch- meaning they need to play probably .650-.700 level ball to make up for that part of the schedule. Also, keep in mind that (not counting tonight) Portland still has to play GSW 4x, OKC 3x, and DAL/HOU 2x. That's nearly a 1/4 of the remaining schedule against those teams with a sprinkling of SA, LAC, and a few heavyweight Eastern Conf teams. This may be my own bias kicking in but I don't think it's too crazy to assume this team wins less than 20 games to finish out the season. Realistically I feel 16-18 wins is about where they land. I could be wrong, but I thought some others might appreciate a broader yet more detailed look/comparison.

now THIS is a sick first post. Setting that bar high!

Welcome.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

now THIS is a sick first post. Setting that bar high!

Welcome.

F that. This post is numbers gobbledygook. King said the Blazers are better so I'm sticking with him. I bet Charles Barkley thinks they suck so even more proof.

I do feel dumb knowing now that Vegas had the win total that low. I could've made a few bucks.

 

[noknobs]

2. I don't think there was a person here who doesn't think Batum is the better player when he's motivated to play. There were times the last couple of seasons that he didn't seem that motivated.

None of these statements contain qualifiers about motivation or anything else. They're quite clear and they support HCP's statement.

Aminu is much better than Batum.

The Batum for Henderson swap was about equal value, both mediocre starters on the last year of their contact, though you could say Portland got the better end because of salaries.

Harkless and Aminu are night and day better than Batum..

Aminu > Batum
Heck, Harkless > Batum

Aminu>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Batum

And I'll continue saying this. Aminu is better than Batum.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Early November there were many on here who said Aminu was better than Nic. Simply amazing the diarrhea that flows from some of your fingertips.

Early November there also were people saying Leonard was going to be better in the rebound department and would also be a better pick & pop guy then Aldridge.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Aminu had a few good games at the beginning of the season - and a fan base desperate for good news embraced him. (I was guilty too)

When people talk about how the Blazers will be able to use all their cap space to sign good players, I just want to point to Aminu and laugh. That is $7 million the team might as well as used for toilet paper.

 

[Orion Bailey]

New guy here, and with all the talk of where people think this can is heading I thought I'd offer this up.

I've been doing a bit of work on some basic and advanced analytics in preparation for a larger project I'm working on and I thought some here might appreciate a piece of it.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/dan.marang#!/vizhome/ExpectedvsDeliveredWinSOS/Dashboard1 just an interactive dashboard (which I need to update this week)

The crux of it where a team is vs where a team should be- and the outlook for the future (this season). Full disclosure- Vegas had the Blazers pegged at 26.5 - I put money down on the over but I wasn't THAT confident. After some cursory work I had them at 31-33 wins, at best. If you take a look at where Portland is now- 15-23 it's being discussed that they could make a playoff push. In a vacuum, that's probably true. But keep this in mind- if the cutoff for 8th is roughly 39 games (after some rough work I have it at 38 and some change) that means this team has to go 24-20 down the stretch. So a sub .400 team needs to go over .500 the rest of the season. In the realm of sports possibilities it's not probable- but not impossible either.

However, when you dig deeper you see that Portland has played the 9th/10th easiest schedule in the league while a team like the Jazz (in front of Portland) has played the 5th toughest and had a myriad of injuries- yet have managed to put together a better record. Flip that over to the backside of the season- one would assume that the Jazz would get healthy (minus Exum) and their schedule gets easier. Meanwhile- other than Lillard/Leonard injuries- the Blazers have been healthy, and their schedule it getting much more difficult. To further emphasize that point take a look at this stretch of games in March:

63 Fri, Mar 4, 2016
7:30p EST @ Toronto Raptors
64 Sun, Mar 6, 2016
6:00p EST @ Detroit Pistons
65 Tue, Mar 8, 2016
10:00p EST Washington Wizards
66 Fri, Mar 11, 2016
10:30p EST @ Golden State Warriors
67 Sat, Mar 12, 2016
10:30p EST Orlando Magic
68 Mon, Mar 14, 2016
8:00p EST @ Oklahoma City Thunder
69 Thu, Mar 17, 2016
8:30p EST @ San Antonio Spurs
70 Fri, Mar 18, 2016
8:00p EST @ New Orleans Pelicans
71 Sun, Mar 20, 2016
4:00p EST @ Dallas Mavericks
72 Wed, Mar 23, 2016
10:30p EST Dallas Mavericks
73 Thu, Mar 24, 2016
10:30p EST @ Los Angeles Clippers

That's 11 games in 20 days- 8 on the road 3 at home and almost entirely playoff teams. If the Blazers don't come out of that near .500 they need to make up those games somewhere else in the final stretch- meaning they need to play probably .650-.700 level ball to make up for that part of the schedule. Also, keep in mind that (not counting tonight) Portland still has to play GSW 4x, OKC 3x, and DAL/HOU 2x. That's nearly a 1/4 of the remaining schedule against those teams with a sprinkling of SA, LAC, and a few heavyweight Eastern Conf teams. This may be my own bias kicking in but I don't think it's too crazy to assume this team wins less than 20 games to finish out the season. Realistically I feel 16-18 wins is about where they land. I could be wrong, but I thought some others might appreciate a broader yet more detailed look/comparison.

Post more please!!!!!

 

[Tunchi]

Aminu had a few good games at the beginning of the season - and a fan base desperate for good news embraced him. (I was guilty too)

When people talk about how the Blazers will be able to use all their cap space to sign good players, I just want to point to Aminu and laugh. That is $7 million the team might as well as used for toilet paper.

Hes shooting like 37% from 3s with tons of attempts and avgs 11 and 7, with average to solid defense mind you by next yr his 7M dollar contract is like the equivalent of 4M with the old salary cap ..

Shit he shoots better from 3 than Dame