Not all is lost, but they better hope LaMarcus gets back soon and that they get their groove back. In any case, I suspect that this second half collapse could (rightly) have ramifications for Stotts' job security. Ugly.
True, but he provides a valuable niche on this team. I don't think we're a team with any margin for error. To compete against the best we have to have all our pieces healthy and playing well. First we stopped playing well, then we got injured. It's no mystery why we've been slumping. We'll see what we're made of now that our backs are against the wall.
I agree on Freeland, he is missed in my books. Meyers is just a waste of cap space, can't wait until he's a free agent. This season is done as I was rooting Dallas to beat OKC, just because I don't want the Blazers to make the playoffs. Blazers have laid an egg the past two months.
Yes, i agree about they've lost their confidence; their magic feather has blown away. I think on a team that relies on jump shooting and is poor defensively, that when they lose their shooting confidence, they are in real trouble. And it seems to snowball. On the other hand, teams like Miami and Indiana have both had some pretty bad slumps, but it seems more likely they can work themselves out with more energy applied. The Blazers need to figure out a way to work themselves out. It seems stepping up the defense and attacking the paint more might be a good idea and a long the way their shooting confidence might come back.
"I pointed out in my other post something worth noting: because of tiebreakers, Portland only has a 1 game lead/margin from sliding from 5th seed to 9th seed and missing the playoffs. it may not even bewhether or not Portland has a chance to win a playoff series. It may be more a matter of if they even have a chance to play one. Watching them on this road trip, I'm beginning to doubt it" from another board and I totally agree
to answer the OP: should our new theme song be "slip slidin away"? Maybe play it before games to motivate these guys, and during every timeout...lol
I'll let other be angry and frustrated. I remain positive and upbeat about this team. Every team has rough stretches. To me, all it emphasizes is how much we need Aldridge. This team wasn't designed to be this good, this fast. We're not really built to be a contender; that was another year or two down the road. Yet we have the record of one. When we're 100%, we're as good as any team in this league. Right now, we're not close to 100%. I remain optimistic by the time LA returns and gets his rhythm back, we will be pretty close to 100%. And at that point, regardless of our seeding, we can beat anyone. The M'eat, the Rockets, the Clips, the Spurs, the Thunder, whoever. In a seven game series we can beat all of them. I love this team and will always want the best for them. Go Blazers!
so interesting how times have changed and the role reversal here. At the start of the season I was way more optimistic than you (predicted 48 wins), and now we have reversed. This team has totally lost its mojo, yes they can regain that but not believing your "we can beat anyone" comment, IMO the probabilities are poor. I applaud your optimism but not your realism. I love the team as well but we are very likely a first round loser "if" we even make the playoffs
We have changed our opinions. However, I would argue that the team we saw at the beginning of the season is what this team can easily become again. And if we are, we can beat anyone. ANYONE.
"can" is of course the operative word, becoming that early season team IMO is not at all "easily" done, in fact it is looking less and less likely IMO. Even if we improve significantly from here other teams have figured us out and so far we have not adjusted to that at all, and IMO the way this team plays offense and defense does not bode well for playoff basketball. Anything is "possible", but certain outcomes are a lot more likely that others IMO and opinions here are all we are really talking about
It depends whether or not you believe in this team. This team has made me a believer. Our margin is slim, because I don't think we were built this year to be a playoff team, much less a contender, but I remain hopeful that come playoff time, we will have our mojo back.
This "wait till next year" argument continues to befuddle me. We have no draft pick and minimal cap space. Mo will either leave or be badly over-paid, making the cap problem worse. Who knows what will happen with LMA? This season was it - the high water mark for this collection of players. I'll go on the record right now - next season, this team will struggle to reach .500. This is why I said early in the year that I was enjoying the wins, but I did not "believe".
I would like to point out that there are more than the "angry and frustrated" and "positive and upbeat" categories - I certainly don't fall into either of those camps. Back in December I started seeing things that made me think our early-season record didn't accurately reflect how we actually perform. And as the season has played out the results have only confirmed my suspicions - so I'm certainly not angry over these losses. Sure, some of them are frustrating...but only in a mild shaking-of-the-head sort of way. Also, I have the complete opposite opinion regarding a 7 game series. I do agree that we can beat any team in the league. But in a 7 game series I don't think there's a single team in the West that we could beat. It doesn't appear that Terry has the ability to make the necessary adjustments, and that's what the Playoffs are all about. No defense, no adjustments, and outside shooting will not get us a series win.
Joel is great off the bench. Far from average in his impact on our bench's ability to protect or build a lead. Short term memory loss?
How about having a little "faith" in one of the best GM's in the league. He essentially got a top ten center in the league for nothing last summer and generated some assets with very little to work with too boot. It's one thing to have doubts he can pull it off but based on his track record it's not a stretch to "believe" he has a solid plan to do so again. And it's not "wait till next year," it's wait till the year after that at best. Oshley knows building a contender takes time, and experience. One only has to listen and you'll hear that's been the plan from the start.
