OT Trailblazers 2015: The team that could have been...

[Orion Bailey]

That team from 2014-15 had serious championship potential:

Dame
Lamarcus
RoLo
Wes
Batum

And the trade for Afflalo, contrary to popular opinion, was perfect. They all played so beautifully together.

Of course, Wes and Afflalo's injuries changed everything and caused Olshey to panic sell, but man, what could have been...

This era, what I think of as the Al-Farouq Aminu era (because him at starting PF sums up everything), just pales in comparison. So boring and mediocre.

They might have been better, but less upside. I think we saw the best of them right before Wes went down and I dont think they were quite there. one pc away still to win it all.

What I absolutely disagree with is that that team was more fun to watch. It was boring ass half court ball with iso's to LMA in the paint.

Our team now has so many more options it seems and the cutting/slashing has been much improved along with the swinging of the ball. This team runs more.

They may be less consistent, but I love watching this team now, as frustrating as they can be, over that boring ass iso LMA shit.

As a season ticket holder, yes I want this team to win, but only one team wins a years, so the consolation prize for a successful season is exciting play. To me the Blazers are providing that as much as any team since the 00-01.

Even Oden/Roy/LMA was boring as hell.

 

[julius]

The west was wide open that year. GS hadn't fully popped yet and the Spurs were still on a championship high. And CLE was still figuring out Lebron,

We had an awesome comeback win in GS that year after Wes got ejected and Mo/Aldridge just destroyed em. Signature game of that season that led me to think we actually had something. Phil Jackson's definition for an elite team is one that wins 30 games before it loses 10.

We were 30-8.

Damn shame.

I had forgotten how the team was 30-8 that year, but pretty much went .500 the rest of the year (21-23). And before anyone brings up the Wesley injury as to reason they finished the season poorly, don't. They were 40-19 before the injury and finished the season 51-31.

So after they were 30-8, they went 10-11 up until Wesley got hurt. Then Wesley got hurt and they went 10-12 (winning the game he was hurt in).

 

[illmatic99]

1) GS won 67 games that year. They had absolutely popped.

2) We were 24-5 the season before too but both seasons, we played like crap after quick starts.

3) Was Mo Williams on our team in 2015? I don’t think so.

You're right im mis-remembering the GS thing. THat was the year prior. But no one had the Warriors as clear favorites that year.

 

[TBpup]

The difference is Aldridge FUCKING TOLD Neil he wanted out.

And he had made it quite clear to a number of people close to him. One of those was an acquaintance of mine and he had made it very clear to them that he was leaving the season before. It wasn't like this is something that snuck up on Neil.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I had forgotten how the team was 30-8 that year, but pretty much went .500 the rest of the year (21-23). And before anyone brings up the Wesley injury as to reason they finished the season poorly, don't. They were 40-19 before the injury and finished the season 51-31.

So after they were 30-8, they went 10-11 up until Wesley got hurt. Then Wesley got hurt and they went 10-12 (winning the game he was hurt in).

It wasn't just the wes injury, Rolo, and LMA both got hurt in that stretch to end the season, but the Wes injury was the final nail, you could tell that took the wind out of them and they never found it again. Would they have recovered had he not of gotten hurt? I don't know, but I do know the moment I saw that play I texted a few friends that, that was the end of the LMA era in Portland and that was it. You could tell the heart had been ripped out.