I expect them to surprise some teams early and get some wins they shouldn't because of how difficult it is to prepare for a team with no data. However, I also expect them to get owned by the Western Conference elite after the all-star break.
I was one of the one's that believed the 2013-14 team could be something very solid. I think I predicted 48 wins, but I also said at the time that I believed if they jelled and came together as a team, where the team was greater than the sum of it's parts, it could win 54-56 games. And they did that. I pointed out my SF Giants as a reason to believe. They weren't supposed to win, or even make the playoffs in 2010 (or 2012 or 2014). When your star player and leader has a great work ethic and a great head on his shoulders, and the rest of the hierarchy falls into line and cares more about the team than the individual, great things can happen. When players recognize that team success and individual sacrifice will not prevent players from getting paid, winning becomes so much easier. All that being said.... I think Portland will be better than people expect. That's not hard, considering how much people have crapped on the team, but we've never seen Dame with free reign. CJ and Meyers look ready to bust out. Possibly Aminu as well. Maybe Plumlee. These are all guys that have shown flashes of being quality players in this league, so maybe with good chemistry and the amount of time and work they've put into it already, maybe they come together quickly. We have some solid vets and role players in Hendo, Kaman, Ed Davis.... Maybe a player or two will shock the world (Noah, Moe, Cliff?). The team will be super fun to watch, and I'm excited for some fun basketball. I hate losing, though, so it's still going to be a long season. I see us winning 30-34 games, but if these guys come together, I won't be surprised if they scrap and claw and outrun teams to finish with 40-44 games. Call me a homer. This is probably the most unfounded homerism I've arguably ever shown the Blazers. If nothing else, I refuse to follow the trend of doubting Dame.
Unfortunately I had considered that too. I prefer to think it is just good defensive length. The glass is half full. But maybe the basket is only 28% full.
Looking at this upcoming season through the lens of some iconic movies: There's the uncertainty of what this squad might bring: Then, there's always the MediocreMan/Jack Nicholson viewpoint:
Wow.... if Harkless beats out Aminu for the starting SF spot.... I don't know if that says a lot about Harkless being really good, or says that Aminu isn't as good as we hoped.
Still nice to hear confirmation. I'm just glad Cliff is getting a chance. Most of the stuff that caused his drop was not really his fault. Glad to see he is getting a second chance and taking advantage of it.
If Harkless can hit a reasonable % from three I hope he does start. He is likely almost as good a defender as Aminu. Harkless also seems to have a bit of an edge that I like. With CJ, Plumlee and MyLe possibly starting we need all the edge we can get.
It's actually a great situation for Alexander. He can practice against a variety of athletic bigs and develop his game without pressure. I'm not sure he is in the long term plans, but he will have plenty of time to get up to speed.
I cannot play streaming videos from the Blazers homepage yet I can stream from any non nba.com related site. I can watch attachments here that Rasta posts, etc..but have so much trouble ..the commercials play fine then the stream doesn't load? Any ideas? It's not a new problem and one reason I avoid paying for league pass
