Seriously, why are we playing our vets? So we can barely make the playoffs by the skin of our teeth and get beasted by the Thunder in four games? That sounds so fun. Promoting Kaleb was a bad idea because he desperately wants to win. He wants to show that he can be a head coach. That's great, but we don't need to win right now. We need to play our young guys (IE Flynn) and try to get good lottery position. What do we gain by winning games right now? I realize some of you hate the idea of tanking, but there's no advantage to playing Felton or Crawford. Neither player will be here next year. You can book that. Why not play guys like Flynn, Thabeet, and Babbitt? See what they can do with serious minutes. Kevin Pritchard was a great interim coach after Cheeks because he knew he didn't want to coach. He was a GM, so he played the guys that needed to be played and he did his fucking job. I really like Canales, but he's fucking up our program.
Every game that they play, the coach and players should try to win. I hope that the team loses a LOT before the end of the season, but I don't blame anyone who has direct control over how the team does for trying to win. Ed O.
Well, it's like I said, I think Canales was a bad choice. The guy has too much to prove. I know that sounds ridiculous, but we needed a fall guy. Someone who didn't care if they won or lost. I'm not saying intentionally lose games or shave points or whatever. I'm talking about putting a team on the floor that benefits our future, not our present. How does playing Felton or Crawford benefit our future? If anything, they're hurting it because they're playing better. If we happen to lose more games behind Flynn, Babbitt, etc, so be it.
Crawesome and Feltwin might be here next year. This is a tryout to see if its worth keeping them here.
Crawesome and Feltwin... lol. I'm sure Kaleb is coaching to be the permanent head coach next season.. and knowing the Blazers, they'd probably stick him with the interim tag all season next year too.
Crawford will opt out and chase more money (as he should) and we already know what kind of "pro" Felton is, when the going got tough he crumpled like a tin can and quit on the team when adversity hit him. Guess how those kinds of guys react in pressure situations down the line? Fuck that guy and anybody in management stupid enough to resign him to this roster.
It could be a play by management to show other free agents that even when we'd be better off tanking, we will let our vets hunting free agent money get playing time to up their value. Just like the "art of war" you talked about. Because you have it backwards. Tanking is trying to win now. Winning is losing the battle and winning the war. I still don't think we play this draft. We are playing free agency and trading picks.
I agree to some degree. I want them to play to win, but I also want Flynn to get more minutes (I'm not as high as others on the other young players, but lump them in as well if you'd like). The reason for me saying this is that given the way Felton performed most of the season (Crawford too), I'm not confident that either of them could really play THAT much better than Flynn anyway. With that said, momentum rolling into the end of the season by playing hard and confidence gained from wins is not something to be overlooked. If we roll over and let other teams crush us while playing the young guys 20+ mpg, do you REALLY think Aldridge, Batum, Wes, etc. are going to be as motivated going into the off-season? You can argue until your face turns blue about it being their job and responsibility to do everything they can to get better, but we all know there are extrinsic factors that play a role in the amount of work a player will put into the off-season. I believe finishing the season strong could do that.
I think Kanales is having Flynn, Thabeet and Hickson kind of learn the offense by observing the game. Just ease them in before breaking in the rotation.
You always try to win. Excessive losing can embed itself into a franchise and create an aura of hopelessness. Always, always, always try to win. Let the chips fall. Deal with it.
You shouldn't be so quick to Judge. Felton was thrown into an impossible situation with Nate 's head up his ass in a new offense that he practiced for two weeks. Craword should opt out if the Blazers suck balls. But guess what, the Blazers aren't about to Tank on purpose, sorry to burst everyone's bubble. If the Draft goes well, this year and/or next, were gonna want all the veterans possible to develop the new young guns. The NBA is a league of momentum, it's easy to overlook it's overall influence on the success of an organization. Brandon Roy sacrificed himself to bring back the winning atmosphere. Even if its just "making the playoff's and losing in the first round" it's a world away from being a bottom feeder of the NBA. Look at NJ, try as they might stuck is stuck. Absolutely, Reppd.
