Heh. Well, I think that those things happened before most predictions of the Blazers being mediocre were made. Ed O.
We've been great so far, but beside the Thunder the west is wide open this year. If you repeated this season 10 times you'd have 10 vastly different seedings, it's mostly going to be a crapshoot. Whoever gets the #2 seed could get destroyed in the playoffs by the 7, so while I'm hoping we get a top3 seed and out of the first round the playoffs are going to be a dog fight even more so then other recent years in the west.
The Blazers have had a relatively easy schedule so far, with many teams having played 2 more games than the Blazers. It's been great that the players have been able to get their legs a bit and develop some chemistry going while the schedule's been favorable. The schedule's about to get a lot tougher so we'll see what this team is really made of over the next couple of weeks. Long term, I think injuries are going to be even more of a factor than ever before in determining the finish order in the West. The Blazers roster is pretty thin and old up front. I hope Camby and Thomas are taking their vitamins.
Realitively easy in terms with games played and days off; but the teams they faces weren't. Only Sacramento was a gimmie. The rest are very good teams.
Yeah, I should have made that more clear. The teams that the Blazers have played have been good. It's just that the team has hasn't had the back-to-backs and has had more rest than some of the other Western contenders.
so can someone explain to me the reasoning behind OKC being #1 on everyone's lists? I mean, they're a good team, and they might end up as the 1 seed, but I've watched 3 games of theirs (@MIN, @DAL, v.us) and they went 1-2 (barely beating MIN and losing by double digits in the others). Durant needed a 30' 3pter at the Buzzer to beat DAL at home in another one. They remind me a little of us in 2009-10, where everyone was on our wagon about finally becoming big boys in the West (except it wasn't nearly this unanimous) and if LMA had been openly feuding with Roy during the year about being the top dog on the team. Yeah, Westbrook and Durant are good. Harden's getting to be useful, and Ibaka/Perkins/Collison is a decent big rotation. But this isn't the 86 Celts (or even 2000 L*kers). I don't get all the love, I guess.
Every team is. Considering how this team is sizing itself up for the future, though (contracts), it sure ain't looking bad for now. I like how it's tasting.
