Game Thread GAME# 27: BLAZERS @ SUNS - DECEMBER 16, 2019 - MONDAY, 6:00 PM, NBCSNW

Nope. Blazers win this one going away. 10+ points.

 

Not realistically.

 

Odd three day break in between games on the road.

 

The poll question wasn't is tanking a realistic goal, but rather if it's time to tank.

The good news for the tanking crowd is that, if they've been trying to win, it doesn't seem to matter. They may not end up with a top 5 pick but top 10 looks totally doable, there are only a few teams out there right now who I'd say they "should beat" if they continue playing this way.

 

Not odd......GREAT!
I actually get to spend some time with my family during the Christmas season.

 

In Phoenix? Or did the team decide to come back to PDX?

 

Get some quality reacquainted time with Mrs @THE HCP ??

 

So can we just announce Dame out for the season with a sore right toe ?

And CJ with sprained testicles while we're at it

 

I guess you can't be anti-Stotts and pro-tanking at the same time, he's the perfect tank commander !

hey ! you ! why did you pass the ball instead of taking a contested long two after a dozen dribbles !? Get your ass on the bench !

 

I am guaranteeing a win with 40 points by Lillard.

 

8th is the best we could do without some luck. Look at 8th overall picks from 2007 to now. Yikes.

 

Only two teams in the west their “better than” right now there is gonna be a good battle for 5-10, they’re not playing much better than most of the teams around them. Out west, NO, GS, out East Atl, Cle, and NY. Whats fun is theyve already lost to Cle and GS. I know they’re trying to win, but doesnt seem totally out there that they could finish anywhere from 5-10 unless they figure out stuff.

 

Question: Do you guys think Phoenix currently has a better roster than us? I don't.

 

Here's what baffles me:
There's some Blazer fans that said we had the roster to contend at the start of the season, but then said we had a sub-500 roster even before we lost Hood.
So in their mind, we went from contenders to sub .500 record by simply downgrading Zach to Melo?

I don't think we have a sub .500 roster.

 

I see no way we finish worse than Memphis or Chicago.

 

So... I don't know if I thought they were going to win a championship this year unless Nurk came back and could get close to what he was last year (which I doubt), but I thought the roster was better.
I thought Gasol would play.
I thought Zach + Whiteside would be awesome defensively once they figured each other out.
I was dissapointed they brought in no backup PG's, Simons appears not ready.
I thought Hood was better than Harkless (I still do).
I thought Bazemore would really fit in with Stotts systems, and his shooting percentages would climb getting "better" looks.

Then what happened.
Gasol - The rehab apparently didn't go as planned.
Zach + Whiteside never got a chance to figure things out.
Simons isn't ready. - Still no backup PG and Dame's going to exhaust himself if he hasn't already.
Hood's Injured.
Bazemore is maybe a slight upgrade from ET, but not nearly as good as I had hoped.

Oh Tolliver and Hezonja are awful, and they don't have a single bench player as good as Seth was for the second half of last year.

Skal's been ok off the bench but his defense isn't very good.
Little's my favorite young player on the team right now that's healthy.

Also I'd rather have a healthy Zach then Melo.

So after all that I thought originally they had a playoff team, now I'm thinking they pretty much suck... As much as I love Dame it is incredibly rare that a small PG can carry a team).

 

Morant is gonna figure it out more and more and more as the season goes. Chicago I'm not sure they do get the benefit of playing in the east.

 

For me, the 39-year-old wasn't a factor in believing we were a contender or not, and I don't think it should've been.

I agree on Zach + Whiteside.

If you thought they had a solid playoff team at best, and now see them as a sub .500 roster, then that makes sense. Just don't understand the people that saw this roster as a contender that now see it as a sub .500 roster. We lost important pieces, but that's too big of a difference considering who we lost.

 

@BonesJones I will say this, I dont think the year is, “over”, I think Dame,CJ and Whiteside are good enough to get some wins, and maybe between coaching and players and a commitment to defense they can turn things around. My... confidence that, that will happen has dropped significantly though.

 

What I was hoping from with Gasol was someone who they could run the offense through on the second unit, IMO no one in the second unit can create their own offense and I think they needed his passing, it probably doesnt make them a contender, but it helps. I think Nurk is vital to them being a contender, and its not to slight WS I think he’s been good, but I think Nurks better