Again, it's not the record but how the team plays on the floor. The Thunder didn't play great in either game, yet were able to execute down the stretch against the Blazers. The Blazers can make a statement by beating the Hornets, Jazz and Nuggets this month. I'm not optimistic though. I just don't see any progress in this team from last season when it comes to making the next step. Fans thinking that adding Joel and Oden will magically fix this team will be in for a rude awakening.
@hornets: Loss @grizz: Win denver: Loss utah: Loss hornets: Loss @NJ: Win @philly: Win @boston: Loss Utah is getting hot right now and winning in the 4th quarter.
Why do people even waste their time discussing things with this guy? Reasoned debate is out of the question to begin with. Why waste your time?
I don't think making a harmless prediction qualifies as debate ,and I had no presuppositions that such a claim would be considered such. tldr; why not?
i have a feeling that the team will have a 3-5 record realistically. I would be surprised if they can pull out a 4-4 record over this stretch.
Well so far I'm 3 and 1 with my prediction and me calling it right about the jazz pulling away in the 4th saturday
If there are no key-player trades by December 15, we go down in flames and a major rebuilding program in the cards. But is Cho up to the challenge? Nate will not be fired during the season. Rudy will be traded before the year is out. Blazers will not finish in the top Ten, let alone make it to the eighth seed. And if Cho is up to the challenge, both Pryz and Andre will be traded by the 2011 trade deadline. AND, Oden will be signed. (even in a major rebuild, you have to include Oden in the plans). If we can add Iggy and/or another key player, you never know what might transpire. I see the future of the team boiling down to just how good Cho is and will be over the next month to eight months.
Well I've nailed them so far. Obviously the NO game will be big, but we will have Joel back, and possibly Roy. I hope I'm right. Looks like Mixum will be eating his hat since we're already at 8 wins. Nothing like a downer to spice up the forum.
wow boom.... thats as negative as me. but i agree... assuming we drop under 500. im expecting a fire sale
As much as I want us to win against the Hornets on Friday, the addition of Joel will be nice but we will still lose. Our concentration in the 4th against Utah just shows that this team pulls up for jump shots or shoots at the three point line instead of being patient on feeding into the low post. I have a feeling Roy will still be out for this one. The next 2 road games I still see winnable but at Boston we will lose at their house. This will make us 10-8, and losing 8 of our last 15. So far, I'm on Mixums team and am starting to lose faith in this team chemistry, Nate's rotation, and the limitations of Rudy's ability to score and contribute when hes been given more minutes. His more minutes has not helped in the offensive or defensive flow and he still throws bricks up hoping to get a 3 pointer here and there. The only bright spot is Wesley Matthews as the breakout blazer for the 2010-2011 season when Roy has limited minutes under 20.
we are the only ones saying no playoffs.... Dwights Jaynes, David Alridge, Steve Patterson, and John Canzano all said lottery
Even though our record kind of sucks lately, I'm actually liking a lot of what I see out there. Good defense, good ball movement, Aldridge being aggressive in the post, Matthews doing well at both ends, Batum averaging 16 ppg. Portland wins that Utah game if they don't get really hot on three pointers. I think the team is struggling right now because they still haven't firmed up their identity in the fourth quarter. They seem to be looking for Roy to take over even though he isn't suited up. Only 2 of their next 7 opponents are quality playoff teams. If the Blazers go 5-2 like they should, or get a little lucky and go 6-1, there will be a lot less panic around here. Plus, it seems like Camby starts out the game dominating at the center position, but just kind of tapers off as the game goes along (and maybe his old legs give out). I can't wait for Przybilla to come back and take some of the load off of him.