Blazers are still in good shape. SI

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...d-cooper/07/22/blazers/index.html?eref=sircrc

Good article.

 

All good points.

 

I don't think there is anyone saying our team won't be good.

Our team does have some holes, and could be better. KP feels the same way or he wouldn't have gone after Hedo and Millsap, or spoke to several teams trying to get a trade done.

 

If LAL loses Odom this would be a great off-season even if we do nothing...

 

Completely Agree......If Odom leaves, I think that makes the Spurs (if they can stay healthy) the team to beat in the West.

 

Really excited for Oden this year. The more minutes he plays the better the Blazers will be, period.

 

YOu folks seem to have a short memory. Ron Artest can easily do everything Odom can.

 

Unbeleivable! We agree on something. I'd even go so far as to say I like Artest better as he's tougher (or, maybe I should say more manly as a player) and more consistent.

 

Not true. Odom (when he shows up) is a much better rebounder and play maker than Artest. Artest can affect games through his defense. Odom can kill you on offense. It's hard to say which is better, but Artest doesn't do the same things as Odom.

 

Fixed. Hope they lose Odom, since they have no replacement for him.

 

As a Laker fan it pains me to agree with you

 

You have to use salary cap space when you can or else you will lose it. This is why Lakers have to get Odom back. Odom or no Odom and no replacement.

 

Artest < Odom/Ariza. Maybe Artest is better then one of the two, but not both. I also think Artest's personality may not mesh well with Kobe's. Ariza and Odom both had tiny egos compared to Artest who may not bend his will to Kobe's. I see potential friction there.

I greatly prefer an LA team + Artest and - Odom and Ariza then last years incarnation.

 

Artest will easily fill the role of both of those guys. Where they spilt minutes before, Artest will just eat all those minutes up as a starter. My money is he rebounds beter than both of them too, because he is a more consistent player than either one of them.

So is it really fixed? I think you just changed it to say what you wanted to say, as opposed to what I wanted to say. Otherwise known as censorship.

 

No. I thought LAL was the class of the west last year - with Portland, Denver, Houston a notch below. Houston is going to be worse next year, Denver will pretty much be the same, SAS improved - but I am not sure they improved to the clear better point mentioned above and the Blazers have pretty much stayed the course (with a potential huge uptick in performance if Oden pans out). So - if LAL loses Odom - this would be a successful off-season for the Blazers and open the west.

Should they try to do more? Sure. Should they try to swing for the fences? Yes. But overall - I do not think any team in the west has the potential to get that much better next year with the moves they made. SAS is in a better place with their support/role players - but their success still lies with the health of Duncan/Manu. LAL made a lateral move with Artest/Ariza swap - so losing Odom would bring them down.

Not kidding at all.

 

Considering he's worse than Odom and has a different skillset (doesn't have the passing skills of Odom and is a less-efficient scorer than Odom), I don't think Artest can fill the role of Odom, let alone "both guys."

Artest's defense is about equivalent to Ariza's, as his productivity. He makes an okay Ariza replacement, except Ariza knew his role while Artest thinks he's good at scoring, which he isn't. The more shots Artest takes, the fewer Kobe and Gasol take. That's good for non-Lakers teams.

If we go by available evidence, yes. Glad to be of service.

 

Well, it would close the gap between Portland and the only team in the West that had any significant seperation from Portland. That's certainly a major help.

 

The Lakers will still be the favorites in the West regardless of what happens with Odom. The Spurs are too old, too beat up, and too small.