Anybody else loving this season? I am floored by how well the Blazers are playing, and by how competitive they are in every single game. I don't care if Oden is out--I hardly think of him anymore. I love the NEW Nicolus Batum, and the emergence of Bayless, and the occasional brilliance of Webster, and the unbelievably good play of Juwan Howard, and of course the rise of Andre Miller and the amazing shot making of Rudy Fernandez. Combine those guys with our two good rooks, and this is an amazing collection of players. When Roy comes back, we are really set. For a season with so many injuries and heartbreak, there have been an amazing number of good moments and memorable wins. I am LOVING IT!!!
The last three have really had their moments. Should this team go relatively uninjured next year, I'd expect there to be some serious contendorship.
These guys captured my heart the 1st time they won in Dallas (when Joel went down) and then the next night in SA w/o Brandon. They are 11-9 since that Dallas game (and 5-5 w/o Brandon) which just blows my mind. It's not pretty at times, but it's been a pleasure to watch the effort they bring every night (the effort might be the number one factor in how they've been able to stay close in almost every game) I'm so proud of this team.
Yep. The only way this season becomes memorable is if we find a way to make it past the first round. All things considered. If not, it will literally become "the lost season." And we will move on to bigger and better things.
I couldn't disagree more. This season is ALREADY memorable. With all the injuries we've had, the performance of the team (at 29-21) is downright amazing.
Isn't it the truth! These guys are showing the kind of heart and commitment that I've wanted to see for many years. Too bad it took all the injuries to bring it out in them, but maybe it will carry over into the playoffs and next year.
I agree with that. But I feel like we've been here before. The 41-41 season was extremely memorable because going .500 wasn't expected. Last season winning 54 was extremely memorable because we won so many games, finished in the top half of a tough WC, and made the playoffs. This year? Yeah, it's been impressive and it's a great story no doubt, but without advancing to the 2nd round after all the injuries and setbacks? I don't know - it feels like we've been there and done that to me. Feels like the 41-41 season. Exceeding low expectations. I'm done with that. Time to move on.
Same thing happened last year, we had an awesome run of games. Then what, we got totally pwned in the first round. There's only so many moral victories you can stomach. Fuck being "proud of this team", I already am. I want to win and win NBA championships, not a sportsmanship award or a good "thumbs up" for effort. I need the Portland Trailablazers to be elite. That's my memorable season. Where we are competing for the NBA championship.
Game 1 at home I'll give you....but we lost game 3 and 4 in Houston by a combined 4 points. A couple breaks here and there and the Blazers win that series.
I'm impressed by how hard and well the guys are playing despite lots of injuries, but I've seen enough Blazers' postseason appearances that I'm not all that compelled by an against-all-the-odds story of making the playoffs. I want to see them contend seriously for the championship and, in that regard, this is simply a lost season. That doesn't mean it can't be entertaining and have things to follow. But I doubt this will be a season I remember years from now.
I hear you. I want to compete for NBA Championships just as bad as you do, but what can you do when you team is enduring the most injury plagued season in the history of the league? I read somewhere that (assuming Oden & Pryz don't come back - safe assumption) that the Blazers will break the Houston Rockets record from 2005? for most total games missed due to injury EVEN if there are no more games missed due to injuries in the 2nd half of the season! We're talking historically horrific injury plagued season.
no excuses. we should be this good. I'm impressed that we're staying afloat to be honest, which is a good sign for our depth and I'm glad we're getting some of the little used players some burn. We were being hyped to be a DYNASTY. So in that regard, I'm disappointed. But how can an injury plagued season be memorable if you don't get far in the playoffs. Injuries or not, that is how this season will be remembered. When the team gets the summer off. We've had injuries in the past few years (Frailblazers), part of the game. Fuck it, just get over it and move on and get more W's. Its really not that better than last season. We had a lot of great comebacks.
I've been enjoying the team more since in the injuries then when there was all the Sturm und Drang at the beginning of the season over roles and minutes. I'm going to look back at this season with fond remembrance, for this was the season where we stopped relying on our overwhelming talent and started relying on our heart and grit.
If anything was learned from this season, as you pointed out, a consolidation is certainly in order. That might seem counterproductive based on all the injuries we sustained this season, but it's not. The early days of this season when we were at full strength were very painful. But I believed then, and I believe now, that we would have worked all that out. Either with consolidation or straight benching of players. I prefer consolidation.
I don't know what you're talking about but this has been the season from hell. Seeing Greg go down again was horrific.
