Three preseason games in - has your opinion changed at all?

[Natebishop3]

I think we need to have a years worth of patience before we get all ramped up about trades for veterans. Obviously if a Paul George trade comes up you take it. But in reality what we need is to get this draft pick pick this year and still let the cream rise to the top. We have assimilated solid talent to build on, but it's very unlikely that this deadline we will net a big name with it. IMO most likely trade would be Kaman and Crabbe or Henderson.

The key is not to acquire someone before the deadline that's good enough to keep us out of the top 5, but not good enough to get us into contention.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Crabbe = Gerald Henderson with 2 legs.

FTFY

 

[Orion Bailey]

So we've had three preseason games to digest some new information. Some thoughts that I've had so far:

CJ is legit. I still have doubts about starting him because I love using him off the bench ala Jamal Crawford, but the guy can flat out score. He is definitely 6th man of the year material.

Aminu is going to be fine as our starting small forward, but we need to stop pretending he's Batum. He's not a play maker. He's more of your usual athletic wing that can slash and defend. I like the signing though.

Our bigs are tough and can rebound like crazy, but scoring will be hard to come by. I'm glad we have Leonard because Vonleh is still developing and Davis/Plumlee can't score from outside of five feet of the basket.

Crabbe is ready to contribute. I doubt he'll drop 20 every night, but he is showing growth and he's ready for a regular spot in the rotation. Depending on what happens with Hendo, I would be perfectly fine starting Crabbe and bringing CJ off the bench as a super sub.

I think this team has the talent to surprise a lot of people, but youth and a lack of consistency is going to make it hard to win games. I still think we're going to be one of the bottom 5 in the league, which I'm fine with.

Man, I agreed with everything....but the last sentence. IVe viewed it pretty much the same.

I think this teams talent level from #2-#13 doesn't drop a whole bunch. As a result we are seeing slightly misleading results. In preseason we are seeing a considerable amount of Bench vs bench play... And our bench is better than most, but our starters are not. As the season goes along I still think we win in the 27-28 range, but with a lot of 8 point losses, and not a ton of blowouts. It will take this team about half the season to get into much of a cohesive flow.

Hmm, I only watched one game, the GS game, but they matched their regular season starters with ours.


The thing that is going to hurt the most on this team, and it has been evident already, is late game execution when the game slows down. This may cause me to lose my bet and if so, so be it, but Im still 42+ or bust!!!

MAN, ISNT THIS FUN THOUGH??????

 

[KingSpeed]

7-10th place in West. The X factor is Dame. The team is young but very talented and he is a legit leader like we've never had in Portland. He will hold this crew together.

 

[KingSpeed]

Man, I agreed with everything....but the last sentence. IVe viewed it pretty much the same.



Hmm, I only watched one game, the GS game, but they matched their regular season starters with ours.


The thing that is going to hurt the most on this team, and it has been evident already, is late game execution when the game slows down. This may cause me to lose my bet and if so, so be it, but Im still 42+ or bust!!!

MAN, ISNT THIS FUN THOUGH??????

In the two games we lost, Dame didn't play at the end.

 

[riverman]

Combine defense, talent and youth and your chances are pretty good in the overachieving world

 

[KingSpeed]

I don't think we'll be Philly.... but I also do not think we'll be the Orlando Magic under Doc Rivers.

That team made the playoffs. Armstrong was their best player.

 

[KingSpeed]

The key is not to acquire someone before the deadline that's good enough to keep us out of the top 5, but not good enough to get us into contention.

We won't get a top 5 pick. We're too good. Deepest team we've had in over a decade.

 

[THE HCP]

Nope


Sent from my Baller-Ass 5.5" iPhone 6+......... FAMS

 

[Schilly]

In the two games we lost, Dame didn't play at the end.

Neither did their starters.

 

[HailBlazers]

Nope


Sent from my Baller-Ass 5.5" iPhone 6+......... FAMS

How was the Laker game tonight? Can tell you about the Blazer game if you care to know.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

No.

It's the year of the Meyers.

CJ is going to be a gunner -- 17 ppg+

The draft pick is going to be awesome -- top 5?

 

[Pinwheel1]

I thought Sacramento and Utah would beat us out for the 8-9th spot.
Now...............I am not so sure. I am not saying we are that impressive, I am saying they are not either. We have a shot for the 8th. (If Dame stays healthy)

 

[Scalma]

Crabbe = Gerald Henderson Lite

Um no.

Gerald has a post game. Crabbe doesn't.

Crabbe is a shooter. Henderson is a slasher.

Defensively they both give good effort though I guess they have that in common.

 

[Draco]

If only we could actually get something worthwhile for that package.

Decent second round pick I make the deal. Probably not going to be any offers for Kaman and Hendo until the trade deadline.

 

[Draco]

Not only will we most likely have a better idea of who we want to keep by that point, but usually some other teams have decided to throw in the towel or dump players. Cousins is actually a good target because the Kings will most likely have combusted by mid season and they will be more open to a trade. Not sure if Hendo/Kaman would be even remotely enough though. To get Cousins it might have to be something more like Vonleh/Hendo/Harkless or something like that.

Problem is Sac traded their draft picks to Philly so they won't trade Cousins to tank as many teams in that hypothetical situation do. We have to get veterans in a 3 way trade for them so it helps them win now.

 

[Draco]

I can't believe how little love Henderson is getting. This is a rock solid player. Consistent too. I'd be curious to see the consensus if he had been able to practice and play. I think too many folks are counting him out way too soon. I'm dying to see what this guy can bring to an already exciting bunch.

Yeah I'm excited to see him too but when he can't even practice as an injury scared Blazer fan we lose interest.

 

[Blazer4ever]

I think Neil deserves major props for his moves. Many of the players he brought already prove themselves very well and I think the general idea of bringing underrated players and giving them a better chance proves itself as well. I like this team very much, I like our chances.

 

[H.C.]

Can't really change after preseason games, cause preseason can be worse than summer league at times.
Give it 82 regular season games.
I'd like see how many people on this forum start ripping/starting threads on cj/nards/lillard/stotts/insertnamehere when they have a bad night, or make a poor decision. I wonder if they'll be the same people who are so high on this team now.

 

[Denny Crane]

Haven't seen Henderson play. He makes a log jam at the 2 with CJ and Crabbe.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Haven't seen Henderson play. He makes a log jam at the 2 with CJ and Crabbe.

Is that a good or bad thing with this team? On one hand I love to have that 3rd player available when one of the other two misses 4-6 weeks (or more) with an injury.

On the other hand when they are all healthy, someone is not happy with their playing time. I think if Pat C was ready to contribute in case of an injury then trading Hendo might be an option. But I think he is a year off.

I like Hendo's game, and if either Amino nor Harkless get's hurt we will need Crabbe at SF. (Or if we need more outside shooting at the 3)

I think we need the log jam...at least until the trade deadline. Then maybe we will have a better idea of what we have at the SG/SF positions.

 

[Draco]

Is that a good or bad thing with this team? On one hand I love to have that 3rd player available when one of the other two misses 4-6 weeks (or more) with an injury.

On the other hand when they are all healthy, someone is not happy with their playing time. I think if Pat C was ready to contribute in case of an injury then trading Hendo might be an option. But I think he is a year off.

I like Hendo's game, and if either Amino nor Harkless get's hurt we will need Crabbe at SF. (Or if we need more outside shooting at the 3)

I think we need the log jam...at least until the trade deadline. Then maybe we will have a better idea of what we have at the SG/SF positions.

Its kind of the flip side for all teams having depth. If your teams has extra players to withstand an injury you'll have unhappy campers when everyone is healthy.

With these Blazers I think it'll be fine because we have a lot of positional flexibility with our players and we have a lot of guys who aren't established so they don't require playing time every game even if ideally they'd like it.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I think Neil deserves major props for his moves. Many of the players he brought already prove themselves very well and I think the general idea of bringing underrated players and giving them a better chance proves itself as well. I like this team very much, I like our chances.

All the moves looked super-smart, even at the time. Even Hendo as insurance in case CJ or Crabbe didn't pan out. We may not need him at all, but every move shored up missing pieces of our offense and defense, tailored around Dame. The moves were individually small, but played out really well.