from what chauncey said, cj & ant will share backup pg duties, powell will also play sg, but he also mentioned dennis smith jr and it sounded like hes gonna be part of the rotation
This is all fine and dandy until you are playing a healthy Lakers or Nets team. Blazers have no answer for either of those teams if they the starting units are healthy.
May as well just not even play the season. Let's just skip to an LA/Brooklyn final and save everyone a lot of time and heartache.
Western Conference Gobert? Ayton? Wiseman? Zubac? Jokic? Towns? Thompson? Porzingas Eastern Conference Lopez Drummond Embiid Valanciunas Vucevic Adebayo Capela There is no shortage of quality centers in the league and they all have decent length next to them. Pretty much every team in the league will go big against the Blazers because they can. And SHOULD. Is this damning? Probably not The Blazers do have Nurk and Zeller unless they both get injured as has been the case most of the time. The problem i see is that the Blazers are not prepared for injuries and just a few completely shut this season down. Just like Stotts had to deal with for years, Billups will be at the mercy of the injury bug. How long are people around here gonna give Neil a pass for not filling that last spot with another quality backup Center? The Blazers need length and it's painfully obvious.
Yeah, it's too bad the Blazers aren't built like the other teams in the league that can have multiple significant injuries to starters and still win championships.
It's pretty much what ESPN has done. If you honestly think those teams will be beat if they are healthy then you have not been watching. The Nets are a super team. The Lakers are Loaded. The Blazers need a bunch of luck to be in the running this year. Yes it can happen. No it probably won't happen.
Is that all you got from that? And they give you MOD powers? Lakers and Nets are odds on favorites AGAIN? No way?
Thats why the Nets are a huge favorite for the title, when healthy no team in the league has an answer for them. Last year all 5 of those stars missed significant time and/or had playoff limitations, so the chance all are perfectly healthy seems unlikely. Add to that the Blazers could only see the Nets in the Finals.... if we make the freaking finals I will happily accept not having an "answer" for the opponent.
Certainly meant a ton last year. I guess I'm failing to grasp your overall point here. This exchange has all stemmed from a discussion about Powell's ability to defend the 3. So, what are you trying to say? I know you're not in favor of a CJ for Simmons deal (you've said so this morning in another thread). That this season is pointless? That the Blazers can't contend if they don't trade for a wing defender? That they shouldn't have re-signed Powell? Just that Olshey sucks?
You are worried about facing Wiseman and Zubac? Nance often played small ball center succesfully and Roco can do it for a couple games. Center is the easiest position in the league to fill, the Blazers could sign one during the season or flip a crappy 2nd round pick for one if Nurk or Zeller has a significant injury. I'm glad Neil is prioritizing other positions, those others spots are nearly impossible to fill during the season.
Even if the Blazers had some scrub center as the 15th man it wouldn't really help. If there is a significant injury the team can get one during the year that will fill in about just as well. There are 2 guys on the roster who can only play center, and two others that can back it up. Center is the most irrelevant position with the most plentiful replacements in 2021. I swear some fans act like its 1997 and Adonal Foyle is earning $63 million.
Remember when the Lakers signed both Gary Payton & Karl Malone? Championship seemed a forgone conclusion. They didn’t. Have high hopes for Lakers failure this year.
