A pretty even handed preview and they rated the Blazers higher in the aggregate than I thought they would, but then I read this: Not too bad ... until "dynamicism." Dear lord, what have they done to the English language over there?
Yeah, I half expected a couple of the writers to segue into some "ZOMG, Kevin Durant!!" tirade (even though it was a Blazers preview) and I thought they did a good job of identifying what the team really needs: Another go to guy and health. I'm dubious about the health thing, but I think Nic could turn into a reliable second scorer/playmaker from the wing if he's given the latitude to do so within the scope of the offense; I'm curious to see what everybody looks like at fanfest next Friday.
I don't get the analysis. He says the Blazer offense is a problem because everything runs through Roy and he uses the first round outs the last two years as an example. But Roy was hurt in the playoffs last year (and he was the star of the team in the playoffs the year before.)
I kind of get what they are saying: If most of your offense is running through one guy it tends to make it easier for a defense to keep track where to put their pressure. But I don't see it as a schematic issue so much as a personnel issue; the Blazers need one more player who can command (and beat) a double team otherwise I'm afraid it's always going to be more of the 1-4 flat, and while Brandon might even be able to function at a high level against a prepared defense he's not enough to beat another team all by himself in a seven game series.
Yeah I thought their analysis was pretty good, but to say we lost in the playoff because teams had extra time to prepare for an offense run through Roy was a little weak. In their words Roy was our Top Offensive Player, Top Clutch Player, Top Playmaker, yet we lost because they had more time to prepare? Wasn't he hurt? Persoanlly I do not want to play the "Roy was hurt card" because Phoenix was simply better than Portland last year. They played well in the playoffs. Didn't they sweep SA? I understand that our offense needs to improve. But if Roy is healthy and they play like they did in LA the day Roy got hurt........they still lose to Phoenix. Give it up to the Suns. They finished the season strong. But this year Old man Nash is going down. Mark my words. His luck is over. Same with Miller. Law of average. Get Bayless and Johnson ready.
Play the hurt card? Shit, if Brandon, Greg and Joel were healthy we probably sweep the Suns! Fuck the hurt card, I'll play the whole deck!
