Grantland's Zach Lowe profiles the Blazers

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9603329/the-portland-trail-blazers-refurbished-roster

 

Word.

 

Word.

 

This was a great article. It had the plus and minus of the team. I would agree with most of them; especially how terrible we were at the pick and roll. I will admit that Aldridge's defense wasn't up to his normal self last season too.

 

WORD

 

very nice article, though it's hard to agree with (this article's or anyone's) conclusions about playoffs without assessing the similar weaknesses of other teams.

Would a Williams/Leonard for Asik/Canaan trade have any interest for the Rockets?

edit: salaries don't work, Matthews would have to be in there.

 

I think this will end up being pretty accurate. I DO think this team is built for regular season success, but we're still miles away from being a contender. We're going to need a dramatically different roster in order to get there.

 

I would totally do it. Asik is the perfect contract to bring in because it expires in 2 years (Going with that foot out model). I would be much happier knowing we have a center combo of Lopez and Asik, then Lopez and Leonard.

 

Yup, he's really articulate and thoughtful in his pieces. He carries Grantland's bball coverage.

 

Really wanted to do that.

 

Did anyone notice the footnotes on possible "Aldridge trade scenarios"? Its pretty ironic that they resemble a lot of what our forum suggested.

 

Those are all false. this guy is a hack, obviously

 

Oops, obviously you misread the footnotes. Did you notice "Fake Trade Scenarios"?

 

Olshey: Paul Allen Has Never Wanted Blazers To Do Full Rebuild

With injuries to Brandon Roy and Greg Oden that ended their tenures with the Portland Trail Blazers, the franchise has remained a fringe playoff team.

Damian Lillard was the NBA's Rookie of the Year last season and the Blazers have resisted trading LaMarcus Aldridge for younger players.

"Paul Allen has never wanted to rebuild," says Neil Olshey. "He does not want to take three steps backward in order to take four steps forward. So we decided we were just going to have one foot in, and one foot out."

Aldridge is now 28, while Nicolas Batum is 25 and Lillard is 23.

"Something like 45 wins is OK with a young roster, starting a bunch of rookie scale guys, and when you have all this cap room in 2015," Olshey said. "But if you're capped out with no flexibility, hovering around 45 wins? That's not acceptable."

 

Re: Olshey: Paul Allen Has Never Wanted Blazers To Do Full Rebuild

It's in the Grantland thread. Why don't we all just create threads with our favorite part of the article? Maybe a Grantland Article Subforum?

 

Re: Olshey: Paul Allen Has Never Wanted Blazers To Do Full Rebuild

http://sportstwo.com/threads/244731-Grantland-s-Zach-Lowe-profiles-the-Blazers

This article had those very same quotes. I think you should merge it. BDG ignored the thread

 

This is the part that has me most excited about Lillard's improvement as a 2nd year player increasing our chances to make the playoffs. I remember back around the all-star break, a lot of people were claiming Lillard had hit the rookie wall. His scoring was down and so were his FG% and 3FG%. Then, in came Eric Maynor, a solid back-up PG that allowed Lillard to play off the ball for 0 or 12 minutes a game. In addition to that 15 game stretch where the Blazers had the best offense in the league, March actually ended up being the best month of Lillard's rookie year - by far. He averaged 21.3 ppg on .476 FG% and and incredible 4.67 3FG%. He scored more, got to the line a lot more and had as many assists while averaging fewer MPG in March than in December, January, February and April.

In truth Lillard didn't hit the rookie wall (obviously - just look at those March numbers). Teams made stopping Lillard, and getting the ball out of his hands, the focus of their defensive preparation. With a decent back-up PG, Lillard was now able to play of the ball, which made him every harder to stop - take the ball out of Lillard's hands? No problem, give it to Eric Maynor and let him create for Damian. If Eric Maynor made Damian Lillard that much better, imagine what Mo Willams can do for him. Of course, Lillard will remain our starting PG and the main driver of our offense, but I can't wait to see about 12 minutes a game of Lillard and Mo Willams playing together.

I doubt if we can be the best offense in the entire league (15 games is a small, but not insignificant sample size), but I think we can be VERY good offensively, and with Robin Lopez protecting the rim our defense should be greatly improved. So, once again, our two biggest weaknesses from last season (worst bench in NBA history and non-existent interior defense) have both been addressed. So, if we can be a top 8 offense and play average defense, we have a REALLY good shot at making the playoffs.

This is my kind of article - well researched, very objective and balanced. It's refreshing to see a writer support his conclusions with actual evidence and examples. It seems like so many of these preseason predictions are based on the authors gut feelings and personal biases, combined with a lack of knowledge of the teams they don't cover on a daily basis. I look forward to reading more articles from Zach Lowe.

BNM

 

Re: Olshey: Paul Allen Has Never Wanted Blazers To Do Full Rebuild

SPD must be slow. I think there is something wrong with him mentally