I was in section 101, Row O and have been to many games in the Lillard era and let me tell you, this was LOUDER. Moda was ROCKIN'!!! The hype for these guys is high high high! I was really worried we were going to let this one go and with all the disgusting talk of tanking like it's something to be proud of and some sort of legitimate thing, I was indeed, quite concerned that was the road we were on. So glad we won and F YOU to the tankers! We don't need another rookie. Surprise the league NOW and win win WIN!!! Last 3 games make me love basketball again and my son was with me and has a love for the game now after never really showing much interest. Seriously, you people advocating tanking? You're all kinds of wrong.
That was a disappointing win. Buckle down and with some luck we'll do better next time. Both teams did play hard tho... STOMP
Great win, was a ton of fun to watch on TV too! Not sure if I'm considered a "tanker".... I hated this Grant Ayton Simons trio then as soon as two of them have been out we get the most exciting 3 games in years.
I think I will re-watch the game at home on Blazervision to hear the call by KC. I'm sure he had to go into his Gremlin/Demon register many times! His voice gets scary when he gets excited or when he wants to breed excitement. I do agree about Ayton and Simons, not Grant, though. He is ultra chill, but still plays with enough intensity, although lately has been missing a lot of threes. Simons can get riled and play hard, but I think he is superfluous at this point. We definitely don't need Ayton. It does make me wonder if Ayton will come back and have a monster game to try and say, "hey, I can play good, toooooooo!" I think Timelord fits with this Blazers group; what with his attitude and playstyle. Cling Kong looked tired tonight and hopefully will build more stamina to play at a higher level more consistently. Toumani was so fun to watch! Hassling and harrying Young. Young is a fast lil dude, but Toumani did great, except for that late game blow-by....I think Camara was rightfully getting exhausted at that point. Murray and Rupert came in and did great; Murray with excellent 3 pt shots and Rupert doong a great job of playing like a watered-down version of Toumani. Which is no insult.
Not really worth replying to you, but I will say this: players don't tank; are you a players' fan or a GM and staff fan? I love basketball, not politics and manipulation of the very flawed draft system. The league would be better off rewarding the teams with better records and killing tanking for good.
I'm fine with keeping any one of Grant Ant Ayton, I think it's preferable to have one established offense vet as they can provide experience and stability when we get stifled. Grant is the best two way player and the best player today, but he's older with the worst contract so really I'm fine keeping any one of them. TWO MUST GO!
Yeah the NBA system rewards tanking and rebuilding. So fans that don't like tanking should be mad at the NBA, not fellow fans. We need to let other Blazer fans have some room to root for the team in whatever way they want. It's been a very tough 4 years so we don't have any Blazer fans spending lots of time here that are any less than hardcore. Some fans want the best team today and to try and win 100%. Others want the best team years from now with young players and especially picks. Most fans are somewhere in the middle. There's no right or wrong way to be a Blazers fan, just different personal fan preferences.
I think you keep Grant in all of this. I'm not sure that is the right way to go but he can guard 1-4 and he can create a shot. Veteran humble presence. For years we wanted a long mobile player like that. Getting rid of him might not be a smart move.
I can just never agree with or enjoy hearing "fans" complain about the team winning. I really can't call those people true fans. Imagine any of those people having the opportunity to talk face to face with one of the Blazers and expressing disappointment in their recent win and telling them they should have lost. How do you think that would go over with the player? Exactly. It would be about as well received as telling an average woman who just went all out to thrill and please you with everything she knew how to do and even tried some new things that she really should have just turned in a half-baked performance and kept it limited to what you expect from her because she'll never really compete with your past, hotter girlfriends/wives. This is why tanking advocates are not real fans of the team. They are fans of the NBA and only care about titles. And yes, I would agree that Grant should be kept and trade Simons and Ayton for picks, maybe another center for insurance in case Rob or Donovan get injured. Or we can always use Duop as a 3rd back-up. He has the ability to go to the hole (not just be a threat from deep) and I like the fight in him.
I was there when Dame scored his 70+ point (can't remember the exact amount because it was meaningless) game and this was way louder. It's because fans are sick of the expectation to lose and roll over for another season. Most of the fans who attend a game and are not just armchair GM's, have more love for the team and winning and this unexpected streak we are on keeps surprising us and makes us think about the team NOW, not in 2-4 years. We don't need more talent. Fuck, look at even Murray's shooting? And his defense. We are deep and have too many good players as it is. Not enough play time for everyone. Screw tanking. It's the most stupid thing in the world.
lol, yes clearly I am beneath rightous newbies. To answer your condescending question, I am a Bball junkie and Trailblazer Diehard for the last 45 years or so and root for them to compete for & win championships. I am not deluded enough to think my rooting has anything to do with the results of actual games. STOMP
I'll be happy to tell any of the Blazers straight to their face. I might laugh while saying it, and I highly doubt they will take my or any fans opinion of this too seriously. They aren't a 6 year old child that needs 100% praise of any performance. NBA players are totally aware of when fans want the team to lose for a better pick. It's the players and teams job to win enough to where the tanking talk is completely eliminate. If the team is in the playoffs there won't be any discussion of tanking. When the Blazers are currently in the lottery, and have lost as much as any team in the NBA the last 4 years, of course there will be some fans discussing how to get picks to be much better in future seasons.
Grant is the least likely to be dealt just based on contracts. Like the other two, his contract level is that of a player with pretty elite production which he's well short of. But while Ant and Ayton deals expire after next season his goes on for another two after that. It's been called for many times by other posters and myself, but I'm hoping they finally move Anferee to the 6th man role he's best suited for. STOMP
Many would describe your posts as delusional ramblings of a fan who can only see 1 foot in front of his face without any perspective of the long term picture.
Not true, Grant does have a large long contract, but elite All-NBA players earn more than double what he does. Now does he earn a low enough amount to have positive trade value or value of a first round pick? Now I agree with your sentiment that he may not have that value or even have positive value to many teams.
