I'm So SICK & TIRED of Neil Olshey

Don't worry about that! I think we're gonna like this TorturedBlazerFan!

 

You might not be wrong but the owner might now want to go that route, and that's all that matters. Owners routinely tell their basketball people what they will/wont accept to build a team, and blowing it up and going the Sixers route is likely a no-go from Paul Allen.

 

No, but maybe they should have got a new coach, and in fact they did! After you posted this (thanks) I did some research and I noticed something. In the middle of that season Rick Adelman replaced Mike Schulman. I somehow missed the timing on that back then. I know that the storyline has always been that acquiring Buck Williams (13.6 points, 9.8 rebounds) is what pushed them from 39-43 to 69-23 (and into the finals) in one year, but I think now it's a lot more likely it was due to the coaching change. And I doubt if Schulman was a bad coach. But Adelman was better and sometimes just the change is really good. And since we are in the Olshey thread, I want to say again that the most disappointing thing for me is that he has not replaced Stotts.

 

The bottom line is someone has to pay the price for that disastrous performance in the playoffs... there are only 3 options: 1) fire Stotts, 2) fire Olshey, or 3) trade Dame or CJ... until one of those three happens there is no reason to be happy with or trust the Blazers... there needs to be some accountability, for how much fans invest emotionally and financially with the team

 

I can certainly see the argument that replacing the coach could give the team a bump. The Nuggets haven't made the playoffs since replacing George Karl 5 seasons ago so sometimes the opposite happens too. It's a tough spot to be in because the team DID overachieve in the regular season but completely vanished in the playoffs. Do you reward the coach and GM for doing as well as they did or do you punish them for the playoff failure? Could it just simply be that Dame was off his game and the Pelicans couldn't miss and we're trying to make it into a larger problem than it is? Does our team suck and need an overhaul based on 4 games? Even if you answer those questions correctly and make every right decision is it enough to get past the Warriors anyway? This is why I say building an NBA title roster is the hardest thing to do in sports.

 

Or they could land a quality player with the TPE, find a gem in the draft, sign a vet with the tax-MLE, and/or make a good trade with other players.

 

None of those options will get you a difference maker... it will be the same team with Dame/CJ jacking up most the shots, dribbling away most he shot clock... getting destroyed on defense

 

Another team that benefited from a coaching change were the Chicago Bulls going from Doug Collins (1986-89) to Phil Jackson (1989-1998). And the rest is history!

 

So I took a break from this, but I would like to say, I think it's more than 4 games. At the end of the season they had a brutally bad road trip, they lost to Dallas (trying to lose) and Memphis (also trying to lose). This team was also last in assists, and last in fast break points it's somewhat miraculous that they had the record they did when they clearly did not get easy baskets. Yes the Pelican series was embarrassing and is fueling some of it, but there was cause for concern before that. Before the 13 game winning streak, this was a very frustrating season, the Blazers were incredibly inconsistent all year. Just a weird season and maybe it's an over-reaction on my part but I really do want to see some changes, and if I was Paul Allen, NO would be on incredibly thin ice if I hadn't already let him go.
I'm not claiming NO's job is easy but he get's paid pretty well to do it.

 

I guess my problem is that every single thing you just mentioned is coaching related issues but your conclusion is to fire Olshey, not Stotts. Despite struggling on offense for a good portion of the year they still finished 9th in offensive rating. We can harp on the lack of fast breaks and assists all day but the team still scored a lot of points.

The Blazers were 25-7 against under .500 teams. Losing to Memphis and Dallas wasn't the problem. Some people keep mentioning injuries to other teams being the reason we got the 3rd seed but then seem to forget that the Memphis game we didn't have Dame and then Dame, Ed, and Moe all missed games down the stretch too. Losing on the road to Denver, SA, and Houston isn't really a big surprise either. That was a brutal road trip but you're right they should've got the Dallas game but sometimes the toughest games are the ones you HAVE to win. They went 21-20 on the road too which is very respectable.

 

Actually all those options have the possibility of getting a difference maker. Plus the defense was the 7th rated defense in the league.

 

My point was that it's not just the 4- game series against the Pelicans it's more than that. There was some signs coming into it that things weren't right. Memphis was missing Conley, and actively trying to lose and the Blazers excuse is Dame wasn't playing, I get it, but also what does that say about the rest of the roster NO has put together?
Whether it's Stotts, Olshey, players whatever there appears to be some issues that need addressed, my guess is a new GM would put pressure on Stotts to perform or he wouldn't be here long so that the GM could bring in his own coach. The Blazers have skated by the last few years on the fact they've had to play Golden State in the Playoffs, so we've excused the bad record, but I think it's hard after this year to look at it and say well the only reason they struggled in the playoffs is because they were playing GS it looked like they weren't that close to taking the step to be competitive with the Pelicans.

 

Once again, I can't excuse getting swept by the Pelicans. It was pathetic. You keep referring the the regular season though. They won 8 more games than the previous year which is a pretty sizeable jump. Last summer I'm pretty sure you were complaining on O-Live about how all of the teams in the West made major additions and the Blazers didn't do much so I think you're changing the narrative a little bit after the fact. Neither one of us is right or wrong though. It's very conceivable that they could take another jump like that next year with only minor tweaks. It's also possible that everything was "fools gold" and they are stuck in mediocrity forever with no chance of ever coming out of it. If the team fails to make moves this summer with all the avenues available to do so then I will fully be aboard with your stance.

 

Please list the other ways to build/improve this roster?

If you are going to discount ones opinion and say its incorrect, please offer an alternative, or its hard ot take your post seriously.

 

@hoopsjock
I remember not really being on board with the Blazers chasing Carmelo though if they would’ve got him I think he have been upgrade at the 3. I don’t remember complaining that other teams got better and the Blazers didn’t but I guess I can’t refute it either. I know I get went into the season saying they had a chance to compete for 3rd in the West (and hey I guess they got it). I know around the end of December was about the worst I had felt towards the Blazers in years. Like the inconsistency, the bad play calling and was just so hard to watch the rotation also took forever to come around. It just seems like everything went right for those 13 games and it really changed how people talked and thought about the Blazers (with good reason 13 game streaks are impressive). Whether Paul Allen fires NO or not, I think it will be interesting to see what comes of this summer, and I really hope it’s not disappointing...

 

Ive decided, I am okay with one more year too, because then Turner and Meyers are expiring that will be assets. Then NO has no more excuses. If he cant dump that money for a disgruntled star to get us to thyeynext level....

Adios.

 

I can only assume by your post that you agree there is no other way to improve the roster. Can you clarify your position?

 

I think coming off that long road trip and with Dame having a kid, and the injuries seemed to have hurt their continuity.
Not many teams ion the third year of a major overhaul even get in the playoffs let alone beat out 6/7 teams for third place.
Year 4 of their rebuild will be even more critical as I think Neil and Pauls plan was to have this team in WC contention after 5 years. They still can accomplish that if they come back really focussed and wanting to climb, climb, climb.

 

Only nominally, but not actually: