For the past couple of days I have been trying to put my finger whether this success the Blazers are experiencing can be maintained or not. I believe that BNM and BF have nailed it. When The Suns went to a run and gun zero D style of play, there were plenty of skeptics yet they had several good years before the lack of players able to play that style exposed the chink in the proverbial armor. I realize that to expose your basket goes against every instinct, and every basic lesson coached from first grade, but the idea of giving the two to get the three is not new, Just the use of it as a game plan instead of a situational tactic.
I stole this from SPDs thread Perfect example of how the three ball is equal to a kick in the nads From the post game interview Rudy Gay Thoughts On Portland's Three-Point Shooting: “It’s tough when they are knocking down shots like that. No matter how much we rotate, move it around, and switch, it’s tough to play when a team has it going. I’m not happy they made shots but I’m happy with the effort we put forth. For the most part, a lot of them were contested and that’s all you can ask for when they are shooting the ball like that. ” Do You Get The Sense The Team Is Closer To Winning These Tight Games?: “It’s tough when you put forth so much effort and still come out with the “L”. All you can do is take the good out of it. Honestly today the good was that JV (Jonas Valanciunas) protected the paint, we challenged most of their three’s. Not every day a team is going to play like that. Not every day a team is going to move the ball and shoot that many three’s and make them. It’s something we can take to the next game and use the same effort. Hopefully the shots will not fall the way they did today.” Rudy is correct, it is not every day a team shoots like that or passes the ball so well..just eight out of ten times
Yes I can't help but be reminded of the Portland/Phoenix playoff series when it was so frustrating watching the Suns bury three after three. I remember the discussions about our lack of jump shooters on the team at the time. Of course they had Nash who was brilliant at penetrating and kicking it out. Damian is a different type player, but none-the-less the style of ball is still fun to watch.
Pulled this from another thread, I like Reeps take on things, and for the most part tend to think alike, so I am not being negative in useing this as an example Reep Reep is online now Reep has written some things that people like Reep has written some things that people like Reep's Avatar Part of the Rotation Join Date Sep 2008 Posts 2,179 Rep Power 6 Default Nov 18 Power Rankings: Lucky 7s CNNSI: 7 ESPN: 7 Sweet. Maybe Mags was right. In a perfect world, the team will develop against the weaker teams they are playing now and be able to show some real defense when the schedule gets tougher. I contend that as others have pointed out, our dominance in defending the three while shooting the three far superior is our defense. I had a hard time recognizing this for what it was or is, over half a decade of conventional thinking is hard to shake. I think if we have to we can set up in the half court set, yet still maintain the ability to hit a three..just an evolution in style. and yeah Pinwheel1, as I am becoming more comfortable with the style of play, I am finding an appreciation of the concept. I would much rather watch this than Mo or Nates grind it out half court..walk the ball up for a last second shot...yawn...
Ok ok humor me..... Give me the quality wins of the 8. If we are so good then why are u giddy over beating bad teams? Aren't we suppose to?? So give me the big wins. As for miss moneyball... All u said was baseball is boring. So ur admitting u know nothing about baseball? Then how can u compare? The players "brad" brought in weren't gonna make most mlb rosters!!!! The guys we brought in were getting multiple offers lmao. It's not even close to the same. Tell me who on the blazers is contributing that was a guest invite to camp?! And who is our Thompson on the blazers??? Ur lost. What happens when the threes stop falling???
Carlito I do not know who you are addressing, I don't know what to think other than what I am seeing. As I have stated several times, the style of play goes against conventional thinking. As far as being "giddy", I have been one of the biggest skeptics from the start of the season. Beating bad teams? http://ripcityproject.com/2013/11/17/portland-trail-blazers-8-2-record-fixable-problems/ http://fansided.com/2013/11/18/nba-power-rankings-week-3-pacers-top-heat-find-groove/ http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/stor...p-more-accurately-rank-portland-trail-blazers http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/...ing-to-establish-themselves-among-nbas-elite/ These guys have the belief that we are pretty good and playing against some pretty good teams. Look at their W/L record and you will see we have played some pretty good teams.
We could win 60 games and never beat someone that is "quality" How many options are there? Miami, Indiana, SA, Clippers, OKC.........a few more will emerge. But my point is there is a lot of parity this year after the top few. Just win as many as you can and then get hot in the playoffs. We can lose to any of these teams just as easy as we can beat them. No one is that bad at home.
I was surprised that they got Williams and Wright for so cheap. I suppose many teams are trying to employ the "save up for a star" stategy that Neil Olshey took his first year here. Mo Williams is the only free agent we need to worry about next year, and I hope we can re-sign him.
We beat the 9-1 Spurs by 10 and the 7-3 Clippers by 13. Quality enough for ya? And why will the threes stop falling? We have a roster full of good 3-point shooters. It's not like our guys are shooting out of their minds. Some are a little above their career averages, some are a little below. It's not like we are totally reliant on one or two 3-point shooters and if they go cold we are doomed. 5 of our top 7 players are good to excellent 3-point shooters. In an offense designed to create open looks, those guys are going to knock down those shots. BNM
yep, well said..dont forget the 7 and 2 at the time Suns and so on..we have not played anyone that was a cupcake..even the Raptors/refs VS the Blazers was a solid win with everything taken into account
I missed Kersey's comments. Were they in print (link), or on TV? If so, what program? If it's something like Talking Ball, I may be able to catch a repeat showing. BNM
last year, this sac team would have handed us our collective asses..their bigs are tough Boston is a far better team than on paper..I would bet they are a playoff team
