Offense: Looking Good, other than points in the paint. Defense: Needs Improvement, inside the arc. Morning Jam: Trail Blazers by the numbers
Attendance on TUE is definitely disappointing. And that too, with a great opponent like HOU in town. It's strange, because I actually think we're a really fun team to watch. Dame is probably worth the price of admission alone.
Strange indeed, wonder what's up with that. Maybe the fans are tired of getting their hopes up and are waiting to see if this team is actually going to be a playoff contender. Or maybe Portlandia is just broke.
Damn. That low for POR/HOU. Interesting. I'm hoping to get to go to a game or two this year. And by the way, if you can, I'd suggest going to the Por/Cle game this year (I think they play here in Portland this year, like every year). Dame is worth the price of admission, yes. But Dame + Kyrie is insane. Saw it last year, and it was damn good.
The two most worrisome numbers to me? 29th in the league in defending against "points in the paint" (52 per game, over four games). And last in the league in scoring "points in the paint" (29.5 per game). A difference of more than 20 points average, over four games is a terrible disparity. Those numbers are not for a .500 team, those are numbers for a team headed for the bottom of the conference.
It seems to be by design. You have to get to our 6th option (Lopez, who takes 5.5 of our 88 shots per game) before you see a player who takes even 30% of their shots in the paint.
I think lack of readily available games on TV hurts more than they think or know. Also, as much as Damian has been awesome, the team doesn't really have a "must see" reputation. And their defense is so bad, I wouldn't pay to see them.
