West dominates first NBA power rankings but Blazers only ranked 8th

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

The fact were 8th is a surprise. I expected is outside of the top ten mostly because our biggest issue was D and we did nothing to really upgrade it drastically. Plus while we are a fun team to watch we are still portland and until LA/Dame become bigger names we will be written off by the media as a contender for top 3 in the west.

Dame is becoming a pretty big name. National Adidas campaign. All-Star. Dunk contest. Nominated for awards by ESPN. In terms of star power, he's already way ahead of Aldridge in that department. His resume is starting to fill up.
 
Warriors over rated yet again. How do they jump spots after losing their first round?

Probably because they gave another very good team (the Clippers) a tough series despite being down one of their best players in Bogut. That's a pretty nice testament to their talent base.

Of course, Bogut could be hurt next year too, so who knows. I think a fully healthy Warriors team in the playoffs is a (dark horse) contender.
 
Dame is becoming a pretty big name. National Adidas campaign. All-Star. Dunk contest. Nominated for awards by ESPN. In terms of star power, he's already way ahead of Aldridge in that department. His resume is starting to fill up.
his nams is big and it will just get bigger and bigger but at the moment all the teams ahead of us have at least one name thats bigger and more attractive then Dames.
 
his nams is big and it will just get bigger and bigger but at the moment all the teams ahead of us have at least one name thats bigger and more attractive then Dames.

I think you are right about:

OKC - Durant/RW
LAC - Paul/Griffin
GSW - Curry
CHI - Noah/Rose
CLE - LeBron/Kyrie

San Antonio has Parker, so I guess he would still count. He was on the 2nd team All-NBA. Dallas doesn't have anyone on the All-NBA teams, only an aging star that isn't really a superstar anymore.
 
You guys do know that CJ stands for Chandler James McCollum
 
The fact were 8th is a surprise. I expected is outside of the top ten mostly because our biggest issue was D and we did nothing to really upgrade it drastically. Plus while we are a fun team to watch we are still portland and until LA/Dame become bigger names we will be written off by the media as a contender for top 3 in the west.

I think adding Kaman to the second unit is going to make a significant difference in defensive efficiency when Lopez is off the court. Last year, the Lakers allowed 5.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with Kaman on the court vs. when he was off. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kamanch01/on-off/2014/ By way of comparison, Lopez only made 2.7 points per 100 possessions difference for the Blazers last season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lopezro01/on-off/2014/
 
Yeah, I also think Kaman will make a significant difference. Offensive and defensive numbers can be tanked by how your reserves play. The Blazers don't have good perimeter defense even in the best of times. When you also remove their rim protector in Lopez, things get ugly in a hurry. If Kaman can at least keep the middle strong when Lopez sits, that could make a significant difference.
 
"The Blazers were a below-average defensive team in the regular season and got smoked by the Rockets and Spurs in the playoffs. The additions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman don't exactly move the needle on that end of the floor, especially in regard to forcing turnovers, where this team ranked dead last in 2013-14"

Who didn't get smoked by the Spurs in the playoffs but to say that the Blazers were smoked by the Rockets when we won the series is a joke.

Send the foo an email . . . I did ( jschuhmann.nba.com@gmail.com )
 
Defensive criteria: make the opposing team score less than you. 54 times out of 82, our defense was successful.

The best defense, is defense... but the second best defense is a good offense.
 
I think adding Kaman to the second unit is going to make a significant difference in defensive efficiency when Lopez is off the court. Last year, the Lakers allowed 5.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with Kaman on the court vs. when he was off. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kamanch01/on-off/2014/ By way of comparison, Lopez only made 2.7 points per 100 possessions difference for the Blazers last season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lopezro01/on-off/2014/

Repped. Good Research.
 
"The Blazers were a below-average defensive team in the regular season and got smoked by the Rockets and Spurs in the playoffs. The additions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman don't exactly move the needle on that end of the floor, especially in regard to forcing turnovers, where this team ranked dead last in 2013-14"

Who didn't get smoked by the Spurs in the playoffs but to say that the Blazers were smoked by the Rockets when we won the series is a joke.

He was talking about defensively
 
I don't see the Warriors getting ranked this high. They have to be counting on Kerr making a magnificent difference.
 
Yeah, I also think Kaman will make a significant difference. Offensive and defensive numbers can be tanked by how your reserves play. The Blazers don't have good perimeter defense even in the best of times. When you also remove their rim protector in Lopez, things get ugly in a hurry. If Kaman can at least keep the middle strong when Lopez sits, that could make a significant difference.

These stats do have to be taken with a grain of salt, but Freeland was a plus 0.4 and Leonard was a whopping plus 5.1 additional points per 100 possessions for the opponent when he was on the court vs. when he was off. Yeah, I think Kaman's going to make a difference at -5.2.
 
Jeez. I thought we'd be a little higher. They should only let locals write on the Blazers. It is the players we don't get that define this team.
 
At least this isn't Sam Smith's rankings which have the Pelicans as the third seed in the west.
 
I Forgot the mavs added felton and lost calderion....

The only real issue I have with the power rankings are the Bulls and Warriors.
Bulls are too dependent on Rose being healthy... Hope he is but it's illogical to put them in the top 10 with their best player sidelined for 2? 3? years.
Warriors... How are the Warriors ranked so high? They only pushed that series to seven because the clippers were distracted.

How is Memphis ranked so low >< they'll have HCA this year in round 1 as long as Gasol doesn't miss over 10 games.
 
Power rankings are a joke. Especially power rankings before the season has begun. Didn't Philly get the first #1 power ranking last season? That alone speaks volumes about the power ranking system.
 
Remember when every preseason, after another classic calamitous Clipper season, rankings would put them in the top 10? No surprise that Golden State is too high. Writers live in California.

He was talking about defensively

He should have said so then. We won, 6-2.
 
Power rankings are a joke. Especially power rankings before the season has begun. Didn't Philly get the first #1 power ranking last season? That alone speaks volumes about the power ranking system.

Would you have said the same thing if we were number one?
 
Weren't the Blazers last year predicted to be 9th or 10th in the West? And some posters got riled while others agreed?

Pardon my French, but who the fuck cares?
Games are won on the court, not on the Internet.

At best these preseason predictions are a rough sketch of who is expected to be excellent, good, fair, poor. And that can change dramatically.

All that matters is where they are when the final buzzer sounds.
 
We will improve from within. Lillard will take another step forward and Aldridge improves every summer. I expect us to challenge for 60 wins.
 
Power rankings are a joke. Especially power rankings before the season has begun. Didn't Philly get the first #1 power ranking last season? That alone speaks volumes about the power ranking system.

What are you talking about? Philly #1?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top