No more hedging my bets, I'm all in! Magnifier is a genius!

I just don't see phoenix making the playoffs. They've been a great story this year, but the west is just stacked. I would like a first round match up against the Lakers. That would be soooo fun to watch

 

We beat Phoenix because Dragic went out with a huge gash on his head. If he'd stayed in the game, I think we lose that game. Phoenix is a team made up entirely of jump shooters. Dragic, Bledsoe, Frye, the Morris twins, etc. I think we match up well with Houston. The problem with the Rockets is that the refs are all over their jock. You can't even breath on Harden without drawing a foul.

 

And he travels, pushes off and flops without violation. It is seriously a big issue to me.

 

He is definitely one of the most coddled in the league, which is made worse BECAUSE he takes advantage of it.

 

Oh Mags, great call. We've never beaten a Kobe Bryant led Laker team in a playoff series. Who knows what he'll look like when he comes back? Either way, a playoff series win against the Lakers & denying Kobe a chance at a 6th ring would be epic.

 

Our only championship was when the Blazers beat the Lakers in the playoffs. Also, we've made it to the finals, beating the Lakers in the first round. I would love to see us get the 1st seed and Lakers the 8th and completely sweep these fools! Also, it would be bitter sweet to see them live in mediocracy in a stacked draft.

 

Yeah I think Houston might be the team I least want to see in the playoffs. We’ve played great against the Spurs, we’ve had success switching Batum onto PG’s for parts of a game. Houston’s has had up and down stretches this year but if Howard is playing well he is demoralizing inside. He commands the kind of attention that can collapse our defense and then we’ll be totally out of position with Harden or Parsons. The other great players in the west; Durant, CP3, Parker, Curry; just are easier to take out of a game. You can make those players take difficult perimeter shots. If Dwight is playing great inside it just feels like theres no option a defense can use to take him out of the game.

 

To be fair, how many other players in the league are like Howard? As much as I like Hibbert, he's not an offensive force like Howard. Who else has a center that can dominate the paint like D12? I still like our chances against a physical team like Indy, but a guy like Howard can just set up shop in the paint and throw people out of the way without getting a foul called or a three in the key. There's not much you can do about that.

 

Yes when Howard is playing well he’s one of a kind. That’s why I want a different opponent in the first round.

 

I don't want Houston, mostly because I don't want to face the refs that come with Houston. I was just pointing out that I think we do better against physical teams like the Spurs, Pacers, etc. Teams like Golden State and Phoenix worry me.

 

Right now we are at 15-3. So we would have to finish 26-38 to finish .500 at 41-41. 12 games under .500. Not impossible but very very VERY unlikely.

 

NBA.com/Stats @nbastats
The @trailblazers (15-3) could go .500 the rest of the way (32-32) & still finish w/ 14 more wins than last season (33-49)

 

Stotts career winning% as a head coach = 42%

42% over the rest of the season would be 27-37.

I'd take out at least one "very" from your statement.

 

I'm one of the biggest proponents of using "past behavior is the best predictor of future results" around here, but in Stott's defense what kind of talent level did he have on those teams? If nothing else I think the Blazers have good starters and complimentary pieces.

 

What terrible logic, as if the coach matters more than the players?

Stotts teams best player when he coached Milwaukee was Mo Williams. Here he's the 6th.

 

When Stotts was hired, everybody here thought he was a place-holder who would be gone when the team was ready to compete. Opinions ranged from "meh" to "yuck!". Now folks have all sorts of confidence in him?

Sorry - not ready to drink that kool-aid yet.

 

Who's saying that? The most praiseworthy thing I've read in this thread is from Elton who is glad the players seem to be buying in to whatever he's selling.

 

When will you be ready?

 

One of the big keys to successful NBA coaching is the ability to make adjustments.

Can Stotts keep the team playing well for 82 games? Can he adapt on the fly under the pressure of a play-off series?

Ask again at the end of the season. Stotts has done fine so far - but he has to sustain it. History suggests he can do it on the offensive end, but not the defensive.

 

I have zero problem admitting how incredibly wrong I was about this team.