Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
My thought is that's a lotta sloppy texting. Folks should really try to clean up their typos when they are trying to be famous on-line.
If we want to shore up the defense off the bench, Claver is a smart defender, he doesn't need to score but he's better defensively than Wright or Crabbe. Crabbe is better offensively than Wright or Claver. Robinson will get more second chance pts than Leonard and stop the long misses from turning into the other team's fastbreak pts. This is why I'm such a highly coveted coaching prospect in the NBA...and I'm still waiting for Stotts to call me!
I think we need to be patient with Wright. He's never played this small of a role before (around 13 minutes per game, down from 21+ in previous years), and limited minutes/attempts can markedly affect a player's shooting efficiency.
The team is playing far below the level they were earlier this year. @Det Win +2 @CLE Win +3 @MIN Loss -11 NOP Win +3 LAC Win +4 MIA Loss -1 @NOP Loss -2 The Blazers have been outscored 782-780 over their last seven games.The team won four close games and has lost two close games. So even in this 'cold' run the results are better than the 50/50 chance analysts say teams play to in close games over the long run. The Blazers have built a great record with their wins early in the year, but if this keeps up will the Blazers finish playing out as a .500 team? I think its a real possibility. It reminds me of the 2006 13 game winning streak run where the team has come back down to earth after an unsustainable run. I still would like to think this team could get hot in the playoffs but right now we are seeing they are a noticeable step below the top contenders in the league. I'm glad we had such a good run to open the year, it proves to the players they have the potential to play with any team in the league. Our starters are amazing offensively. But I just don't think this is a year they can realistically be expected to win more than one or two playoff series. I would be happy with that, winning one series would be an awesome year, end the 13 year streak, and give these guys who are all under 30 great experiences to build on for next year.
The scary part is there really hasn't been a lot of tough road games yet. The Blazers have only played 3 road games against teams with a winning record (PHO twice and GS). 1-2 record. The defense is getting worse. The 3pt shooting isn't as good. The schedule will be getting much tougher. It's going to be tough.
