Nic used to attack the paint. Not sure what happened. Remember this? [video=youtube;6vUtU1j19iE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vUtU1j19iE[/video]
Every year is a new season. Look at the Knicks. They "established" themselves as a playoff caliber team last year and now they can't beat anybody.
Playoff caliber and legitimate title contender are two different things though. Plus one of those team is led by a Syracuse player, so they will never go anywhere until he is not the leader
Amare is crap this season and Chandler is injured. The Pacers are healthy and running like a well-oiled machine.
I think it is safe to say we are not as good as our record. In other words we are not the best team in the west. Not yet anyways. I love our start but we are still a work in progress. The good thing is that the team seems to know this as well and will keep working hard to get better. Doesn't mean we are not a good team, just that we are not quite title contenders yet. The bench is better, but still needs to improve as the year goes on.
Also remember him dunking on Gasol later that season at the RG and then flashing 2 fingers in Gasol's face (as in, gotcha twice). His game is more refined these days, if not as high flying.
Blazers spotty play of late has me worried about tonight. Indy is legit. Another back-to-back for Portland. We'll need the crowd to get into this one from the start. Pity I won't be there.
But how nice is it to know that we have played well no matter what our schedule or opponent we can get better? So hopefully the getting better and the future stronger opponents/"back down to earth" evens each other out resulting in a very good team.
Me too. But if I had to choose between Triple Double Batum & Slashing Batum . . . too bad we can't have both.
Maybe thats the next step in the evolution of Batum. Learing how to slash and still be a play maker. He is still young
We beat Denver, SAS, Phoenix, Chicago when they had a winning record and with Rose, and Golden State. This is such a bullshit stat. How about we look at real stats, like 7-2 on the road? Or maybe we played more b2b games than any other team and won all of them? How about the defensive efficiency rising from day one? How about our 2 of 3 losses to one team?
What I am enjoying about the team this year is that while their play may be spotty at times, the generally find a way to win. Too often in the past they would not have done so. I am looking forward to tonight's game. It should help us get a (another) good measure of where we stand. Gramps...
