After the Cleveland win is was still trying to get optimistic and believe this season will finaly start. But after each game my optimism disappear a little bit. Now? I just hope somthing drastic changes in this team. And I hope that the 9th of February will not be an embarassement. Crossing Atlantic to see Boston blowing out Portland could end up being quite a dispointement.
I very much doubt boogie would agree to less money, he has been around long enough and knows he might be the best big man in the league. Could maybe talk Noel down a bit, but even that might be iffy, typically players don't like to do that. and we have yet to see NO be able to talk someone down on price, all I have seen him do is throw money at the wall and hope it sticks.
The Pelicans are now just a 1/2 game behind the Blazers after crushing the Magic. The Kings are on the same 3-game losing streak as the Blazer so remain 1 game back after a long home stand and now Rudy Gay is likely out for the season. The Nuggest are now 3 ahead in the loss column on the Blazers but play the Spurs tonight. Portland's next opponent just throttled the Raptors and are now 7-3 in their last 10 games. I just don't see the fight or tenacity from last season and no swagger or confidence at all. This team needs help in so many places which is why I'm starting to thing the CJ for Noel and multiple picks might be a good idea.
Keep CJ (for now), but trade the likes of Aminu/Davis/Plumlee/Crabbe/Vonleh/Meyers for picks or other young & unproven players. Fire Tater Totts this summer, and put together an entirely new team/system for next season built around Dame & CJ. If a new coach can't get better results from a Dame/CJ back court, then trade one of the two next season.
I don't want to root for them to lose but the Draft is where they got Roy, Aldridge, Dame and CJ. This team needs a HUGE upgrade of talent and it's not coming here via Free Agency. You're right, we are not to the all-star break yet and could fairly easily make the #8 seed to be sacrificial lambs for the Warriors. However, we are currently 4th in our own Division and only a couple of losses ahead of the Timberwolves. We are 9 1/2 games behind the Jazz whom almost every Blazer fan dismissed at the beginning of the season. We are 7 games back of the #7 seed and that's with OKC losing 2 games in a row. Sure, there is time to go on a 20-10 stretch but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon and we are so far behind everyone that is over .500, they would have to go 13-17 over that same time period just for us to tie them. That doesn't seem likely either. One really bad team is going to make the #8 seed in the West. If we were a good #8 seed like in many of the years past in the West where the #8 team had 45-50 wins, then I'd say that is just fine. To be so bad and still make the Playoffs, you are better served to get the help you need with a better selection in the Draft.....IMO.
By the end of the day the pick be within two or three picks different so I say you still go for the playoff.
I'm suddenly reminded of WW1 generals ordering their troops over the wall in a classic 19th century bayonet charge in the face of withering machine gun fire. Heroic yes, but doomed.
The way I see it is that our chances of sneaking into the Top 3 in the Draft Lottery will far surpass our chances of defeating either the Spurs or the Warriors in a 1/8 or 2/7 matchup. Play the odds and root for losses.
I think his point is that they do play to win.... but still lose by 20+ on a regular basis to sub 500 teams. So what's the point of striving to be mediocre?
What you root for has no effect, so there's no harm at all in rooting for wins, which is what I'm going to do. I still prefer cheering for them than against them.
This is my thought as well. Although there is a chance they drop below a few more teams like Lakers, Minnesota, Pelicans, Kings, Denver, Dallas.......so if it happens fine, we get a better pick. But as we have seen over and over as of late with these young draft picks who need a few years to develop, there is not a big difference between 1 and say.......14.
Whose point? I'm not sure if you're referring to me. I never want to intentionally lose, but at this point I'm hoping for losses rather than wins. I'm more interested in/concerned with our team's future than their present. I do understand your perspective, even if I don't share it.
Entirely beside the point. Advocating or rooting for the team to lose is reprehensible behavior for one who calls himself a fan. Better draft position is far-too-insufficient consolation for a losing season, not a goal towards which to strive.
