Here is the problem with losing this kind of game or even specifically this game. We are 1-1 and going on the road to Golden State (where we struggle) , at home against the Cavs (this will be a tough game to win), at home against Dallas (who looks good this year) and on the road against the Clippers (not a gimmie). It is not unlikely that we could be 1-5 at that point. I would say it's more probable that we will be 3-3. Wouldn't 4-2 looked so much better? We can let these games go this year.
Lazy players (thinking our talent would overcome in the end, but it didn't). Slow starts (and losing) becoming a bit of a trademark; going back to last season (I have no stats on this, just a feeling, correct me if I'm wrong). I just wish we'd constantly pound the ball into LA in the post in the 1st quarter, then expand our game from there. Coach, coaching for the season, not the game. Stotts knows what Thrill and T-Robb (& Blake & KMan) provide, he's evaluating the rest of the roster (in game situations).
I agree 4-2 is achievable and would make it palatable at least. The first 20 games of the season are no cake walk. Actually the West in general is going to be tough.
Portland could easily miss the playoffs this year, you have to win your home games and beat the the bad teams on the road, because you're going to lose a bunch of games on the road against tough Western teams. Damian really needs to learn how to finish, and get good at something other than a jump shot. Teams are taking that away and he's no all-star when he's jump shot isn't going.
It's early, but it's obvious the West is loaded. In the East you can play sloppy & still grind out wins. No easy games out West (except maybe the Lakers). Even bottom feeders like Sac/Utah/Den are competitive. Honestly, anybody CAN miss the playoffs this year. There are 10+ teams that have a good shot at 50 wins. There's going to be some heartbreaking ends to the season for the 9th/10th seeds. Injuries are going to play a huge part. Nobody is automatic. Can you imagine if the Thunder miss the playoffs? Don't laugh. Not likely, but possible. West is just brutal.
Hey guys, the point of these threads isn't big picture as much as a game by game. Everyone knows the west is tough. Everyone knows the coach is trying to figure things out. What specifically happened?
Poor ball movement. There is a pass but then it stops before rotating again. Poor starts. Nic has 1 FG total in two first halves so far. No bench. Kaman has been very good but outside of him, almost a zero. Dame is 'their' focus. Teams are trapping him on every PnR and Portland hasn't adjusted. Blake/McCollum can't shoot. Nice passing from Blake but shooting less than 20%. 3J just can't seem to hold onto the ball. Little toughness. 3.5 rpg from your 'power' forward is not a good start. Plus, he seems to be fading even farther from the basket for the 4th year in a row. All fixable and it's very early but they team as a whole seems to have shown up with a sense of entitlement after winning on playoff series last year. The drive and determination hasn't been their yet. CSNNW Insider Jabari Young has commented that players have told him 'they weren't up for OKC' and 'they weren't as tough as Sac'. That needs to end right away!
LaMarcus: 2 shots in the paint, 2 from 3 (YES!), 14 long jumpers. I counted 3 shots in the paint where he got FTs instead of a FGA, but that ratio is not one for success. Not when you're 5-14 on those long J's (35%) When they were hounding Dame in the first three quarters, I don't know why we didn't go with more side P&Rs with Nic. He's shown some success with both RoLo and Kaman.
Actually the answer to what happened is pretty simple. Defenses are locking down on Lillard and making someone else beat them. During the OKC game players made plays in the fourth. At Sacramento the adjustments were made. The most obvious was Aldridge for the corner three. If he makes a couple of those the defense opens up because they can't leave him. Lillard then drives and slices them up or dishes to a cutter. The other change they tried was the top pass to Lopez with the quick pass back to Wes. Wes has the option to hit the cutter or take a shot. Both times his man drifted to the cutter so he took the shot. Correct move but the shot did not fall. The overall effort was lacking on the defensive end again. I figured after the playoffs the Blazers would play more intense defense. But to this point we have not seen that. They need to turn it up a notch on the road for sure.
I think a letdown after last year was almost inevitable, or at least highly probable. They played so well to start the year and developed such a high degree of chemistry, but just because you bring all of the same faces back (mostly) it's not always a lock that you're going to replicate or stack your successes. Like TBpup says, it's way early and entirely fixable, but I don't think they have a ton of time to figure it out, especially when you consider just how healthy their starters were last year; not something you should bank on being quite as good this year.
Okay what I saw.... Our effort was disgusting. It seemed the team just assumed they were going to win and half assed their way through the first 3 quarters. If we brought the effort like we actually gave a shit about this game, we would have blown them out considerably. And let's talk about Dame. Our star player must give effort the entire night. He was deferring way too much for most the game. I know it's important to get the team involved, but we needed him to help us step on their throats early. That way they will not gain confidence. If the Blazers want to be a true contender, they must find a way to get up for each and every game. They need to know how play the mental game, using scoring to knock down any confidence the bottom feeding team could build. Finally, this is/was a perfect opportunity to gain ground on OKC. Their superstars won't be out for long, so every game during their injured stint gives us a cushion. Hopefully this is a "lesson learned" by the Blazers. They get up for every game and we will be totally fine
yeah..I have to agree with most of what you have posted. Our passing was shit..almost none of the crisp around the horn passing that creates open shots. Too many stupid across the court at dumb ass angles over the top or lazy entry passes..just poor ass passes. with the exception of Kamen and Blake, we need an NBA quality bench....playing scrubs is hard to watch Being out rebounded on a possession three times with all five of our guys watching the ball? are you fucking kidding me? again, just lazy. starters like Dane and Nic need to start playing in the first quarter, not the forth, damn guys..unselfish is one thing, buy we still have to play to win
