Which team is better? Last season's team was 8-6 after 14 games but had played a MUCH tougher schedule. Do you enjoy watching this year's team as much as last years?
The Blazers, outside of the SA and Minny games, are as painful to watch this year as they were last year.
That's an interesting question. I think it's both better yet more painful to be quite honest and allow me to explain. We've opened up some better ball movement and are going into the post more, and that makes it more fun to watch and the team more productive so that is a plus from last year. However, on the other hand, expectations are raised this year after last year's success so the reverting a lot of times back to the ISOs and jump shots is far more infuriating than it was last year. Our improvement in defense is an excellent development, but our use of the zone is as baffling as ever and our switching is still there and hurts our big guys - who happen to be our best defensive players. I really thought Nate was going to change for good when he started letting Andre call the plays, and we pushed the fast break when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately that lasted all of two games and now we're just back to being a slow paced team that sometimes utilizes the big guy in the middle, settles for a lot of jump shots, and is playing our best player out of position for a guy who doesn't really contribute a lot if he isn't hitting threes in Blake.
I feel the same way, but are we biased? How can a 54 win team be painful to watch? Are we homers for feeling like they could do better?
I don't feel like it's homerish to expect a team to do better by realizing that using the pick and roll properly, as well as getting smart fast break opportunities and easy points in the paint, could improve the team.
This team is playing with so little composure and so little cohesiveness that it's pretty easy for me to pick last year's incarnation as the better of the two -- so far. I just can't shake the feeling that we really aren't as good of a defensive team as our ratings seem to indicate, and I'm starting to question whether or not this team might be tuning Nate out a little. At the very least it's almost palpable that there isn't a lot of good on court chemistry and not a lot of enthusiasm or confidence amongst the players. I don't know if that's a coaching issue, an injury issue or just plain old mismatched personnel. Who knows, maybe this team is just falling victim to too much success too soon, with too little adversity along the way? Well, they've certainly got some adversity now, I'll be curious to see how they react.
Last years team played with urgancy and intensity most of the time. This years team doesn't. I am going to have to go with last years team. I think this team is in for a rough stretch in December when the quality of opponent goes markedly up.
I predicted 49 wins this year because of a couple of reasons 1. We shot a higher than normal % on our jumpshots 2. We were fairly injury free for the most part. 3. We were the hunters last year, and this year we are the hunted.
49 wins would be a major bummer. KP said himself before the season the goal was to win the division. They still need an athletic swing man that can score and get to the basket, and a PG that can run the offense and knock down shots. The offense sputters bad at times, and it appears Brandon isn't up for playing Superman every night like he did last year. Maybe that's good. I almost hope we do struggle a bit, so we can see a trade. I wish we had traded for Richard Jefferson. He'd be perfect right now. Is he an All Star? No, but his 15 PPG, 49% FG, and good perimeter defense would be such a shot in the arm right now.
I remember the Jefferson discussions last season, I was moderately interested in him, but most people pooh-poohed the idea saying that he was basically only as good as Outlaw. Instead, we got a point guard whom I like in Miller, but so far I intensely dislike the way Nate is utilizing him, and it's pretty clear so far that he and Brandon are having a helluva time getting on the same page and it may not ever happen, whether because of Nate's apparently inflexible offense or because their styles overlap too much. A lot of people keep hoping there's going to be some trade (I think I'm probably one of them), but I'm not sure KP has the DNA to do that in the mid-season. Get ready for potentially bumpy ride.
honestly the only answer to this question will be determined during the playoffs. If we win a series, this team is more successful. If they cannot win a series they are at the same level.
Well, I do. I enjoy watching this team no matter what. Seven games in the past 11 days -- all in different cities. That's tough.
we are terrible to watch....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzz its nate boring head scratching offense and terrible sub partner..I wish for once he would KEEP the hot hand in the game.
That's easy. Last year's team mops the floor with this year's team, and provides scintillating entertainment whilst doing so. This year's mess barely holds my interest.
