Notice This is the worst Blazer team I have seen in my lifetime.

[Natebishop3]

You must be young. They were unbelievably worse during some of the Jail Blazer era. I went to games where only 30% of the fans showed up. I have primo seats and I couldn't give them away. Today, the Rose Garden is packed. Quite a difference if you'd care to notice.

I was in the arena covering the team during those years. I was there. I had to be there.

 

[wizenheimer]

I've always found this logic totally bizarre. This list would look better if they lost to the Clippers and Thunder (or Nuggets) 3-4 as opposed to winning the series.



If that's all I listed, and compared it to the rest of the series' we won this century, it wouldn't tell the entire story. The opposite is also the case.

yeah...if you ignore the narrower context of the discussion I was participating in

the un-bizarre context, just for you, is a 20-36 playoff record under Stotts. A .357 winning percentage. For his career, his playoff mark is 21-40, a .344 winning percentage. Yeah, that looks so much better, than simply pointing out how Stotts teams always end the playoffs with a whimper

see if you can find any other coach who has been granted a 9 year tenure with one team with a .357 playoff mark and no wins in the conference finals. And I know you're aware I blame Olshey for that more than Stotts, but 9 years is about 3 years too long for the both of them. Actually, about 5 years too long for Olshey

 

[wizenheimer]

apparently, you're so eager for an argument you're arguing with yourself

I'll respond though: I'd rather Portland wins it all. But if/when they do lose, I'd really like for them to not appear so hopelessly outclassed as they have for 7 straight playoffs.

 

[Natebishop3]

View attachment 38017


apparently, you're so eager for an argument you're arguing with yourself

I'll respond though: I'd rather Portland wins it all. But if/when they do lose, I'd really like for them to not appear so hopelessly outclassed as they have for 7 straight playoffs.

I'm fine with losing if it feels like we gained something from the series and will build towards something next year. That's not the case with this current foundation. Dame/CJ/Stotts isn't building.

 

[Hoopguru]

View attachment 38017


apparently, you're so eager for an argument you're arguing with yourself

I'll respond though: I'd rather Portland wins it all. But if/when they do lose, I'd really like for them to not appear so hopelessly outclassed as they have for 7 straight playoffs.

Come's right down to it, its on the owner's/Vulcans. We are a satellite profit center for Corporate up North.

 

[AldoTrapani]

You guys keep going back to record and I'm not talking about record. I would rather have a team with a shit record and a bright future than this steaming pile of treadmill crap.

Preach

 

[AldoTrapani]

Everybody needs to relax. It’s going to get blown up this summer. What is everybody so anxious about? It’s clear Stotts done after this season, Nurk and Cj will probably get traded.

Let’s all relax and enjoy the rebuild coming up.

 

[Minstrel]

Everybody needs to relax. It’s going to get blown up this summer. What is everybody so anxious about? It’s clear Stotts done after this season, Nurk and Cj will probably get traded.

Let’s all relax and enjoy the rebuild coming up.

Man, you are going to be one disappointed fan 6 months from now.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Man, you are going to be one disappointed fan 6 months from now.

Why?

 

[Minstrel]

Why?

Because it's extremely unlikely the team gets blown up. Olshey clearly prefers stability--he'd have to be blown away to consider trading away McCollum and Nurkic, two players he probably believes in--and if he's been behind Stotts this long, he's not going to take a season where the team overcame injury to grab a decent seed as grounds for removal.

I'm not saying he should or shouldn't blow it up, but absolutely nothing points to him doing so. You're projecting your own desires onto what you think is 100% certain to happen.

 

[blazerkor]

Because it's extremely unlikely the team gets blown up. Olshey clearly prefers stability--he'd have to be blown away to consider trading away McCollum and Nurkic, two players he probably believes in--and if he's been behind Stotts this long, he's not going to take a season where the team overcame injury to grab a decent seed as grounds for removal.

I'm not saying he should or shouldn't blow it up, but absolutely nothing points to him doing so. You're projecting your own desires onto what you think is 100% certain to happen.

Oh with the way this team is under performing, just to keep the value of the franchise up and the tickets selling at the Rose Quarter the Vulcans would be wise to get a GM more ambitious than Olshey. There's a great chance that I'll be disappointed too but I honestly think if this team doesn't get past the first round, with all of the title talk Olshey's been spewing for so long, Olshey's head rolls and then there will be something akin to a blowup. The new GM will trade CJ, possibly Nurk, will replace Stotts and we'll have a new team that the new GM will be toting as one that gives us and Dame a chance for a title... or Dame says he's not on board with that and we have an actual blow up.

I just don't think Jody and The Vulcans (still one of the greatest names for a rock band with a female lead) are going to want to look like they are content with the image that the Trail Blazers don't give a shit about winning or that it's impossible to win in this market but hey maybe I'm wrong and we can all go eat shit as far as they're concerned.

 

[Minstrel]

Oh with the way this team is under performing

Underperforming relative to what? Since you're talking about Olshey, you seem to mean the franchise as a whole is underperforming, not just that Stotts isn't getting enough out of the talent.

just to keep the value of the franchise up and the tickets selling at the Rose Quarter the Vulcans would be wise to get a GM more ambitious than Olshey.

Aside from winning a title, I think the Blazers are probably in their revenue-maximizing range: not paying luxury tax, putting out a regular "winner" (above .500), making the playoffs most years, once in a while having a playoff run past the first round. Winning a championship would probably generate more money, but that's much, much harder--very few teams win the title.

Certainly, I'd rather my team(s) (to cover all sports) push for a championship rather than perennial okay-ness, but perennial okay-ness is what keeps a team relevant and people continuing to watch and buy tickets. It's bottoming out that kills a fandom. So I don't think there's a money-making urgency that you're suggesting to can Olshey and blow things up.

I just don't think Jody and The Vulcans (still one of the greatest names for a rock band with a female lead) are going to want to look like they are content with the image that the Trail Blazers don't give a shit about winning or that it's impossible to win in this market but hey maybe I'm wrong and we can all go eat shit as far as they're concerned.

I don't think the Blazers have the image that they don't give a shit about winning.

I'm not at all a fan of Olshey, or Stotts. Or most of this roster. I just think you, like AldoTrapini, are projecting your desires on what the franchise thinks.

 

[Tince]

yeah...if you ignore the narrower context of the discussion I was participating in

the un-bizarre context, just for you, is a 20-36 playoff record under Stotts. A .357 winning percentage. For his career, his playoff mark is 21-40, a .344 winning percentage. Yeah, that looks so much better, than simply pointing out how Stotts teams always end the playoffs with a whimper

see if you can find any other coach who has been granted a 9 year tenure with one team with a .357 playoff mark and no wins in the conference finals. And I know you're aware I blame Olshey for that more than Stotts, but 9 years is about 3 years too long for the both of them. Actually, about 5 years too long for Olshey

I think his playoff winning percentage you pointed out is far more important than the win percentage in playoff series losses. .344 is nothing to write home about.

The difficulty in comparing coaching win percentages is that the comparison is only valid if the talent level were equal. If a coach took the Hornets roster from the last 3 years only to get swept each season and you compared his playoff win percentage to a coach with 3 all-nba players who swept his opponents in the 1st round (due to superior talent) and got upset 3-4 in the 2nd round, the playoff winning percentages would tell you the the 2nd coach is better. I would make a case, the 1st coach is far superior.

I guessing if you compared Stotts to other western conference coaches who only had 1 below average all-star, he would not look fantastic, but he wouldn't look horrible either.

 

[Tince]

Underperforming relative to what? Since you're talking about Olshey, you seem to mean the franchise as a whole is underperforming, not just that Stotts isn't getting enough out of the talent.



Aside from winning a title, I think the Blazers are probably in their revenue-maximizing range: not paying luxury tax, putting out a regular "winner" (above .500), making the playoffs most years, once in a while having a playoff run past the first round. Winning a championship would probably generate more money, but that's much, much harder--very few teams win the title.

Certainly, I'd rather my team(s) (to cover all sports) push for a championship rather than perennial okay-ness, but perennial okay-ness is what keeps a team relevant and people continuing to watch and buy tickets. It's bottoming out that kills a fandom. So I don't think there's a money-making urgency that you're suggesting to can Olshey and blow things up.



I don't think the Blazers have the image that they don't give a shit about winning.

I'm not at all a fan of Olshey, or Stotts. Or most of this roster. I just think you, like AldoTrapini, are projecting your desires on what the franchise thinks.

Realy really really good post!

 

[Hoopguru]

Because it's extremely unlikely the team gets blown up. Olshey clearly prefers stability--he'd have to be blown away to consider trading away McCollum and Nurkic, two players he probably believes in--and if he's been behind Stotts this long, he's not going to take a season where the team overcame injury to grab a decent seed as grounds for removal.

I'm not saying he should or shouldn't blow it up, but absolutely nothing points to him doing so. You're projecting your own desires onto what you think is 100% certain to happen.

So much discussion around GM when its the owner & some that control things. We are a junior training ground / profit center for the mothership.
We need to hear from Bert & Jodi.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

I'm fine with losing if it feels like we gained something from the series and will build towards something next year. That's not the case with this current foundation. Dame/CJ/Stotts isn't building.

We were sub500 last year. We are 600 this year. Looks like building to me.

 

[Natebishop3]

We were sub500 last year. We are 600 this year. Looks like building to me.

We won’t be after the next 20 some games.

 

[Orion Bailey]

View attachment 38017


apparently, you're so eager for an argument you're arguing with yourself

I'll respond though: I'd rather Portland wins it all. But if/when they do lose, I'd really like for them to not appear so hopelessly outclassed as they have for 7 straight playoffs.

This is it. When the fall is only thing that's left, its how you fall.

I'm fine with losing if it feels like we gained something from the series and will build towards something next year. That's not the case with this current foundation. Dame/CJ/Stotts isn't building.

The same. Show heart. Grit. Integrity. Where is the Rocky Balboa in this team???????

We were sub500 last year. We are 600 this year. Looks like building to me.

Is this season over and if not, whats the remaining strength of schedule?

Or were you intentionally comparing apples to oranges?

 

[wizenheimer]

We were sub500 last year. We are 600 this year. Looks like building to me.

the Dame/CJ era looks like fairly standard variation of fairly static team

253-201 ---> .557 winning percentage ---> 45.7 wins/year on average

playoffs ---> 14-26 ---> .350 winning percentage

now, you could probably argue that the first two years are skewing regular season percentages down a little. But last season shows the team can drop to .500, or below, with just a hole or two on the roster, or a bit of adversity.

and I believe the schedule in front of them could drop them closer to .500. At the same time, Portland always seems to have a Dame-fueled win streak sometime in the season; maybe they have one coming

 

[Orion Bailey]

View attachment 38029

the Dame/CJ era looks like fairly standard variation of fairly static team

253-201 ---> .557 winning percentage ---> 45.7 wins/year on average

playoffs ---> 14-26 ---> .350 winning percentage

now, you could probably argue that the first two years are skewing regular season percentages down a little. But last season shows the team can drop to .500, or below, with just a hole or two on the roster, or a bit of adversity.

and I believe the schedule in front of them could drop them closer to .500. At the same time, Portland always seems to have a Dame-fueled win streak sometime in the season; maybe they have one coming

Id like to add that some other teams, when losing the best 1 or 2 still find a way to get back to the top even during a mid season struggle.

Lakers - without LBJ for how many games this season?

Brooklyn without KD for how many games this season?

Great teams endure.

Done with the injury excuses from people supporting this team. Its part of the game.

 

[Tince]

Id like to add that some other teams, when losing the best 1 or 2 still find a way to get back to the top even during a mid season struggle.

Lakers - without LBJ for how many games this season?

Brooklyn without KD for how many games this season?

Great teams endure.

Done with the injury excuses from people supporting this team. Its part of the game.

You realize when you remove players you listed above those teams still have 1st team all-NBA players left on their roster. We lose Dame, not only do we not have a 1st team all-nba player, we don't even have an all-star.

 

[wizenheimer]

You realize when you remove players you listed above those teams still have 1st team all-NBA players left on their roster. We lose Dame, not only do we not have a 1st team all-nba player, we don't even have an all-star.

but Portland hasn't had Dame removed too often. It's been the non-all-stars

 

[Strenuus]

We were sub500 last year. We are 600 this year. Looks like building to me.

1-8 against the better teams is not building.

Records are mirages. Dig deeper.

 

[barfo]

of course, "lifetime" for me stretches back to 1952

The Blazers were winless from 1952-1969, so I'd say those were the worst years.

barfo

 

[Pinwheel1]

The Blazers were winless from 1952-1969, so I'd say those were the worst years.

barfo

I think you can extend that through the 75-76 season as well. They weren't much better

 

[wizenheimer]

The Blazers were winless from 1952-1969, so I'd say those were the worst years.

barfo

they were also undefeated....glass half full

 

[kjironman1]

they were also undefeated....glass half full

Pretty low defensive rating I'm sure but boy was that offense stagnant.

 

[SIeepwalker]

I've came around to this thread. It is actually the worst team I've ever seen in term of unrealized potential

 

[mook]

It was the best of teams, it was the worst of teams, it was the age of shooting, it was the age of defensive foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Dame, it was the season of Stotts, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, this season was so far like every Blazer season, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

 

[e_blazer]

It was the best of teams, it was the worst of teams, it was the age of shooting, it was the age of defensive foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Dame, it was the season of Stotts, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, this season was so far like every Blazer season, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

A Tale of Two Rip Cities.