Keep in mind, lots of great players struggling against playoff defense. Isaiah Thomas got shut down, Durant shot 7/33, Lowry has been awful, DeRozen's first two games were awful. It's hard to succeed in playoffs.
I will agree. I'm a bit suprised but glad at the same time the refs are letting them play as physical as they are. The more physical the game is the lower the shooting percentage should be.
It's natural to have wild reactions in the middle of the playoffs (esp. When your two games down.) You're seeing the outcome of a entire season In a few days. Hardcore fans with passion are going to run the gambit of emotions. Give people the right to be erratic. They've waited all year for these few days and will think rationally after the playoffs are over.
The way I see this team, we're in year 3 of a 5 year rebuilding plan. We should be in year 1. I'm thrilled with what Olshey and Stotts have done. I'm not on the trade anyone bandwagon. We have massive amounts of cap space to add a 3rd and 4th option. This organization has proved it's heaps better than the Kings who have much better talent and depth.
People forget that DJ is probably the best rim protector in the league. I bet Dame's not losing sleep over having his shots blocked. He likely knew it would be a challenge going into the series, because he understands the game of Basketball. If you went trading every player because they don't get you a championship, or because they struggle during a playoff series, then the Warriors would not have kept Curry long enough to get where they are today. The Bulls would have never 3-peat.
The problem is, Dame keeps driving into three or four defenders in the paint. They just collapse as soon as he gets in there, and he still tries to throw the ball up at the hoop. I liked the opening play by CJ (our ONE lead the entire game, 2-0) where he used the rim to keep Jordan on the other side, unable to reach over and block his layup. That was smart.
FIFY. Portland's offense isn't very diverse. They only have a couple ball handlers (who are also their shooters) and the rest are basically skilled scrappers. Besides CJ & Dame, no one can do much off the dribble. Not one isolation threat on the block. On D, Aminu is nice but they've an undersized backcourt & Bigs. They are a work in progress and need some major additions if they're to compete at the top of the league. Internal growth alone won't get them to the prize. Neil has some work to do this offseason. STOMP
How are these excuses for his bad play? I acknowledge he's playing bad but there is a reason why and it's not an excuse. Dude is getting blitzed out there, has no room to do anything and by the time he has an open shot, he's not even in rhythm. I guarantee if you trap Chris Paul, he's not gonna play well either. It's no excuse, it's a fact. It's what's happening
ex·cuse verb ikˈskyo͞oz/ 1. attempt to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offense); seek to defend or justify. "he did nothing to hide or excuse Jacob's cruelty" It doesnt matter what is happening to him. Superstars rise up no matter what defenses are throwing at him. He is a superstar, but he has not done so since the rockets series a couple years ago.
Oh it doesn't matter? Ask Steph curry when he could barely do anything against the cavs trapping him last year. We saw how that went down. You can't "raise up" when that sort of defense is thrown at you. I could understand your point if it was just Chris Paul guarding him but it's not. I don't know what you expect him to do in the trap but alright
Curry was fine. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01/gamelog/2015/?mobile=false Youre trying to justify bad play. Which is fine, youre obviously passionate about lillard as you should he. He is a great player. Bottom line is he isnt playing well when we need him the most.
Neil has made more right moves then not, but it's been a mixed bag. Things probably will get crazy in FA with all the capspace available around the league. While we'd all love to see them land their first major FA ever, just because they've got some extra cash doesn't mean they need to pay exorbitant rates for meh talent if a buying frenzy breaks out. Any big move in player personnel better be a good one. Another hit in the draft would be nice too. STOMP
I guess we should expect Lillard to just shoot over double teams and average 25 a game on 50 percent shooting then. Early on the other night he had a few easy shots he should of made but I don't get how you think he should do great against the defense he was facing because not many top tier point guards are gonna do good against that defense.
No no. I say ik-SYOOOOOZZZZZZ me. You must have missed my pearl from the "Portland needs to add a go-to player" thread last night.
So HCP meant we would win 23 in the playoffs? Makes sense now. @HCP you're allowed to be a fan again, but please learn math.
