I think we will be fine. Ther3e is a significant difference from last season. Up till about theis point we had zero injuries last season. This year the team has been battling them all along and still have the same record (at the break). ROLO just came back and gave a boost. Freeland will be back soon and I figure will help anchor the post defensively for the 2nd unit. Another big difference is we will also get a boost from Afflalo, but that will take a few games for him to settle in. Also for OKC, Durant is outr for a week and will be re-evaluated at that time. SO he could be out for some extended time, at this point though every week counts.
Definitely some validity to this, as we have let slip more games this year than in recent history. Just off the top of my head: vs GS -- we had that game won until stupidity kicked in vs. BOS-- w/o LA, game was won the ball pops right outta Wes' hand in a jumpball to a wide open Evan Turner @ LAC--- refs totally fucked us over @ PHO--- we made the massive comeback, and took a 5pt lead with less than 2mins left but then lost. @ DAL-- We had full control and decided to start switching Dirk-PG pick and rolls for some reason in the fourth quarter. @ CLE--- no Bron but Kyrie has the best game of his career and hits a heavily contested J to win. Teams don't just lose the ability to close games, especially teams with our chemistry and consistency. With Dame on the roster, we've been very good in close contests. We've made some head scratching errors (due to coaching and otherwise), but as I said, that should even out. We've lost more games that we should have won, than the other way around.
Thr simple problem why we suck lately is Damian Lillard. It's not a coincidence the correlation of his falling game and our struggles coming together. At this point Lillard hasn't played like a superstar for a long time. A very long time. It's past slumping it's more to the point it just might be who he is.. Ever since that Laker game in LA he's been atrocious. Dirty little secret around blazer land is Lillard might have been figured out or has reached a point he doesn't care anymore.
Please share who told you this "secret" because I want to call them a dumbass, and forum rules prohibit me from doing so to you. It looks like you signed up here just to talk shit about Lillard...
Please verify this with a source. Or are you the "A" of the group? (I hope someone gets that reference)
These are the same comments being made before the break just after the loss to Dallas. It's really kind of funny to read them. After the Dallas game when they had the game but Dirk made some incredible "hand in his face" shots and the lead dwindled just about every Debbie Downer in the world came out with these exact same statements just maybe a bit more directed at Batum. The Blazers come back with a huge win in Houston the next night and then take care of the Lakers in workman like fashion and all is well. The Blazers play the Spurs Wednesday. There is never a guarantee on a win against the San Antonio Spurs but i am willing to bet they play a good game and give them a run. Not only that i'm gonna go out on a limb and say it. The WILL beat the Spurs assuming Aldridge plays. If Aldridge misses his second game in a row then they will need the same kind of effort we watched last night for 3 1/2 quarters the entire game. They will have to earn that victory no matter who is available however. Then you have the Thunder coming to town. If the Blazers put together a second victory against a quality opponent where will all of you be then? On top of that not only will it be a second win in a row but it would also put the Thunder one more full game back. Friday is a huge game on the Blazers home court. Know and understand they will be ready for them. Bet on it!
There seem to be two approaches going on here. 1) Win vs Lose. 2) How is the team playing? You certainly seem to be coming from the W/L camp. I can't speak for Kaydow, but it seems like they are coming from Camp 2. And I've always been firmly entrenched in Camp 2. I couldn't care less about our W/L record, or individual wins and losses. That doesn't concern me so much. But I'm quite concerned about HOW we've been playing. The offense is dog shit, regardless of who is on the court. We rely on making extremely difficult shots, and because we have quite a talented roster we make a lot of difficult shots. But that's not good basketball.
Dame has not been "atrocious". He's actually shooting .475 in February & averaging 20 PPG, DESPITE being way off target from deep (.217 in Feb & .281 in Jan from 3 pt range). He's not draining those almost ridiculously long/difficult shots down the stretch of these games. I'll admit, it's strange NOT to see him not come through. We have come to expect the improbable from him. 18 games ago, the moniker of "most clutch in the NBA" wasn't just being tossed around by Blazer fans. What's changed? Long and short, nobody is letting him get clean looks anymore on the perimeter, especially late in games. With Batum's struggles, & with injuries to others we aren't able to make teams pay for overplaying Dame. That's part isn't on him. He has struggled shooting the ball, but I don't believe a 20% 3 pt shooter "just might be who he is". And what makes you say he doesn't care anymore? Did you see his reaction when he got pulled with 3 min left in the 3rd last night when he was red-hot? I think it's the opposite - he's pressing too much trying to carry a struggling team & show the world he's a LEGIT (not injury replacement caliber) All Star. The dirty little secret around Blazer land to me is that if force the ball out of Lillard's hands the SG/SF aren't going to consistently make plays on the perimeter to beat you.
I agree with you to a point. But ultimately what matters is wins. The offense was not "dog shit" in the win in Houston. I'm betting it won't be considered "dog shit" if they beat the Spurs. Making difficult shots is part of the game. That is exactly how teams have beat the Blazers for the most part. Huge shots by great players like Dirk and Curry, Westbrook and Harden. The Utah game sucked to watch and i have absolutely no idea what happened there but last night The Blazers offense was not in question until a great defensive team locked them down. If they make a couple shots the entire game is played differently at the end. You just can't say a team that is in the top 10 in scoring has a dog shit offense and make much sense of it.
Sure, it's PART of the game. But for us it seems to be 80% of the game, and that's much too large a part. Other teams have beat us on tough shots - but they stayed in the game by creating (and making) easier shots. MEM scored 54 in the paint last night - that's what kept them in the game. How'd we stay in the game? With Blake nailing three 3s - including ridiculous, fall-away buzzer beaters - in the span of 90 seconds. It's fun and exciting, but not good basketball. And our team FG% has fallen into the bottom 1/3rd of the league: http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/offense-per-game/sort/fieldGoalPct Maybe that doesn't fit your definition of "dog shit", but it's certainly not good.
Also, our defense was holding on without Lopez (but with Freeland), but since Jan 1 we're one of the bigger regressers on D.
> Do you think the distinct difference is a season injury for Durant or will it be lethargic Blazers work like the Utah and Memphis games. JKersey passes away and no rally for his honor??? Blake changes his number, plays great and no one else steps into the foul line to basket zone to stop the Grizz from handing us the home loss??
Honestly i really am not disagreeing with you on this at all. The offense has not looked good over the last number of games when they lose. Even when they have won it has not been as good as it has been. But we all know it can be very very good when they are playing well. Something tells me there will be a spark again. The Batum problems might have been helped out with some rest. Some scoring off the bench has been added and i can't explain Wes last night at all but my guess would be he will not shoot that poorly again any time soon. Lillard will get his back when they all start playing well again. Looks to me like he is trying to do too much. Aldridge is still there and i'm just not ready to panic at this point. My feeling is to stay the course and go as far as you can this year. This summer look to improve again. The window is opening for this team.
