"Oh, the Blazers, they just a jump shooting team. If Phoenix was playing at all good, they'd miss the playoffs" "The Cavs are gonna stomp the Blazers like they stole something" "Brandon Roy is the only good player they got!" "Greg Oden is just TURRIBLE... he should have stayed in college". Any others?
What is sad about Portland fans is that most of you won't admit that Barkley is right about the jump shooting team. It is horrible to live and die by the jump shot.
That negative is lessened when you are one of the best, if not THE best, offensive rebounding teams in the league. http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stats/?cat=team&pan=2159
Are you really so dumb that you think that's the line that makes Blazer fans upset? Of course we're a jump shooting team. What's sad is you think you know what everyone's thinking. Barkley probably lost some money against Portland in a bet somewhere along the line and won't let it go. He's the John Daly of basketball.
Per 82games.com Portland takes 67% jump shots, Boston takes 64%, LAL 64%, the Cavs are at 70% and the Magic with that beast D-12 in the post at 66% The situation is nowhere near as bad as some people (and Barkley) make it to be.
Actually, portland is a jump shooting team w/o Oden in the line up. When he is in he is a force down low when given the ball. He also creates lanes and open looks for his teammates due to all of the double teams he faces.
Plus, as I pointed out, Portland is statistically the best offensive rebounding team in the league. http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stats/?cat=team&pan=2159 Barkley (and others) obviously don't care to look up the stats that weaken their argument.
Phoenix is not a Jump shooting team? Hell almost every team is a jump shooting team. It seems to me that most have one star that can take it to the basket (MAYBE two) 1-2 that try to post, and the rest camp out at the three point line. What am i missing here?
That's all true, but by offensive rebounding %, the Blazers clearly are the best team in the league so far this season, and it is hard to argue with that statistic objectively.
I'm just curious when he said that, since earlier this year he said: [video=youtube;r-jpOp8lKmo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-jpOp8lKmo[/video]
Without any supporting data or evidence, I'll throw out a thought on this... In the playoffs, the level of team's defense and aggressiveness goes up a notch or two. Teams playing slightly harder on defense can turn an open jumpshot into a contested jumpshot. On the other hand, if your team consistently gets dunks, layups and easy shots, I would feel better about them being able to do so with more intense defense. I'd be interested to see how teams' 3-pt shooting percentage changes (or doesn't) between the regular season and the playoffs.
Where the shot comes from is immaterial. What matters is where it ends up. http://www.nba.com/statistics/sortable_team_statistics/sortable1.html#top
I agree. During the regular season, teams don't have the time to install 29 different defenses. In the play-offs, it becomes more like football, as the staff has time to tweak the base defense for that specific opponent.
On the other hand as play slows down in the playoffs, teams who are used to getting easy baskets through fast breaks often struggle because they have less effective jump shooters. Boston last year played awesome defense and that is why they are the world champs. But on offense, they shot mostly jump shots
The Blazers have 5 players in the top 72 in dunks, and Roy isn't one of them. I'm sure some of that is due to the incredible offensive rebounding on the team, but those are still easy points. In the playoffs, it's all about match-ups, so opposing defensive rebounding will be a key in any series the Blazers play.
This can be reasoned either way, though, can't it? Teams playing slightly harder on defense can be more active about closing lanes and denying a slasher his first step.
