Report: Blazers will have the worst starting 5 in the Western Conference

My homie went in!!!

For real though, sometimes it's frustrating being a Blazer fan, as we are (and have been called) the smartest fans in the league (at least that's my somewhat biased opinion). But that, coupled with the continued half-ass analysis nationally, makes things frustrating.

 

Too many unknowns on this team to already rate it:

-how will CJ's defense look? can he look like he did in that Memphis series? if he can then we didn't lose all that much in SG position.
-How will Mayers perform? he can basically do all those pick and pop shots that LMA did+he can shoot from 3 and he can do double digit rebound each night + he has a cute teardrop that helps him with his lack of post moves. can he be a 15 and 9 guy if he gets enough minutes? i think he can.
- Can Aminu improve his shooting from beyond the arc to ~35% ? he did shoot the ball well in the playoffs so there's a chance we actually got an improvement from Batum and his soft defense and paintPhobia.
-Can Plumlee be as good as Lopez? why the hell not??

And last but no least: Is Olshey done building this years roster?

It is very likely this team will be one of the worst in the west, but i'm not going to give 2shits about "analysts" opinions at this point.

 

Bingo.

Add LMA and either a healthy Wes or a motivated Batum and this team would be pretty good.

 

One factor I believe people are over-looking: when the Blazer offense was clicking the last 2 seasons, their ball movement was a thing of beauty. Stats alone don't define how Batum, RoLo, and Wes contributed to that.

 

Too bad we got none of those guys anymore.

 

The thing is that aside from Batum, you really don't associate anybody on last year's team as being brilliant passers. There was just a lot of low risk passing that swung the ball around to find imbalances in the defense. These imbalances were typically created by Lillard's penetration or Aldridge creating a threat in the low or high post, or Batum pick and roll action. That ball movement was much more a function of Stotts' offense than it was innate Blazer talent. (If you doubt that, go watch some old Nate McMillan offensive sets. Remember--he coached Batum, Matthews and LMA as well, and had very naturally gifted passers in Andre Miller, Brandon Roy and to a lesser extent Steve Blake. But the ball movement was TERRIBLE.)

I'm very, very curious to see what Stotts does with the tools he has before I pass judgment. I think Stotts has proven to be pretty adaptive and creative, and he'll get his chance to really try some different things with this team.

Seems to me this team could resemble a little those Okur/Williams/Boozer/AK47 Jazz teams that always were pretty competitive. Dominant younh point guard (Lillard vs Dwill), three point shooting from one big man (Meyers/Vonleh vs Memo) and lots of muscle from the other (Plumlee/Davis vs Booz). Defensive athletic wings. Intriguing gunner off the bench (Korver/CJ). Good coaching that emphasized ball movement. Isn't going to win a championship, but it's also not going to win just 20 games.

 

Some of us old school farts actually still have a pad and pen on the desk. Hell I can still write in cursive

 

My cursive looks like chicken scratch, that could be because I'm left handed though.

 

I miss dipping the girl’s hair sitting in front of me into the ink well (before fountain pens), put not the nuns playing whack-a-mole with my knuckles.

 

You had both a fire and a cave? Luxury.

8 of us lived under a tree stump, with a family of skunks to keep us warm in the winter.

 

This is Portland Bleacher Report, not San Antonio. What we got is "What we Got."

 

Other than saying we have the worst starting 5, I have been saying this from the get go. This team is FAR from out of it and NO, I think, is far from done and this team will be turned around much sooner than most think.

He may have the skills, but I don't want him playing much PG. Rather have him at the 2 most of the time. He is offense first and if you ask him to distribute, then he isn't playing to his strengths. With the right coaching, Defense is easier than most to improve and I think CJ makes a big step in D this year.

Dude!!! How do I become your groupie???????????????????

 

yup. Lack of talent + poor fit + inexperience = really bad.

the unbridled optimism from some here is reminding me of the Telfair days.

STOMP

 

My view is, some fans do not realize how much damage has been done by LMA’s betrayal. While Olshey has done what he believed was in the best interest of the team at the time.

LMA’s betrayal was like the captain of a Navy Destroyer intentionally setting off a depth charge inside of his own ship, followed by his desertion to an enemy ship.

The explosion caused by LMA resulted in the Blazers crew landing in water over their heads, so Olshey made trades for a few more life jackets. Meanwhile, more top members of the crew deserted to enemy ships. This further weakened the crew, the result of which is it will take longer to refloat the Destroyer.

Olshey is a salesman and likes to put a spin on changes. The mistake he is making is covering up the damage that has been done and how long it will take to fix. Instead, he is calling his sinking Destroyer an opportunity for the remaining old crew and the new crew members to take free swimming lessons.

This roster is a long way from getting back to where their Destroyer was before LMA’s desertion. Let alone being trained enough, and rearmed enough to beat the best battleships the enemy has.