The demise of the Portland Trail Blazers has been greatly exaggerated

Well i originally did say that they will be in the running until April. Does that sound better?

 

Olshey took an approach to the off-season of bringing in a whole bunch of guys who were mid-range first round picks and had been in the league for less than 5 years. All guys with upside and a bit of a chip on their shoulders because they hadn't been given much of a chance to see what they can do if given more minutes. I think taking that approach you'd hope that a couple of them would pay off big dividends, but so far it seems that they're all paying off. Kind of like pulling the lever on the one-arm bandit and getting nothing but cherries.

 

Let's not forget that we always start out fast out of the gate. I'm loving the way we're playing, but I expect that as the rest of the league rounds into shape - and scout us - things will become more difficult for us. Still, I'm enjoying this ride while it lasts - so much more enjoyable to watch 5 guys playing as a team on both ends of the floor, rather than 2 guys playing on offense and 4 guys playing on defense.

 

The difference before was we were more jump shooting and played man up defense. As the season progresses, arms get tired, teams can defend the jumper much easier and man defense is much harder.

Our philosophy has changed, with more pressure D, doubles and attacking the paint. As the season progresses, I don't see our offense sputter as much as it did in the past.

 

Neil Olshey..."I think our fans will be surprised at the brand of basketball we're building in Portland this season"

 

Eerily similar to your article - "The demise of the Polar ice caps has been greatly exaggerated."

 

This was my first chance to see the team as they have not been on national TV (although I did see a preseason game). This is not a championship team, may not in the end be a playoff team, but for sure it is no pushover. This is not a team that opponents circle on a calendar, saying "that day is going to be an easy win".

It's still very early - they could get better or defenses could catch up to them and they could struggle. Too soon to tell. But I was very favorably impressed by what I saw last night.

 

I had them in the mid 30's. I had faith in the Dame/CJ back court (Unlike a lot of you)
I knew what we had with Leonard, Crabbe and Davis
I have been " slightly"surprised with Aminu and Harkless

The real difference maker for me is Plumlee. Yes he sucks at the line, but everything else is better than expected. Defense, rebounding, scoring inside (Not just put backs) leading the fast break at times and most of all his PASSING. I can't emphasize enough my pleasure with having two good passing bigs in that starting lineup.

Have you noticed how Plumlee looks when he moves around? He walks and runs like an all around athlete. Hard for me to explain but I can picture him playing football or baseball. He is not stiff in his movements. Not to pick on LMA because he ran well, but he ran straight up. (like most bigs) Plumlee moves around like a tight end. He doesn't move like your normal 6'11 guy. Why he sucks so badly at the line.........baffles me. (He needs to start over with his stroke.)

 

There's nothing I love more (in basketball) than bigs who can pass well (and dribble). Really hoping that last night was Meyers finally shaking off the rust and jitters, because having both him and Plumlee playing to their potential will be amazing.

I'm really having a tough time picking a new favorite player. Harkless has been tempting me, but I really like Plumlee, and before the season started I thought it'd be Meyers. It's great to finally like the team from top to bottom! It's been a looooong time since I've felt this way about the team.

 

Teams will think the Blazers are an easy win...until they play them. Our guys are full of fight! They are all playing with a chip on their shoulders, from Dame all the way down the line.

Don't sleep on the Blazers, NBA!

 

I'm a huge Harkless fan. He came outta nowhere and produced greatly. More importantly, he's giving us much needed scoring off the bench. My second favorite would be Davis. There's just something about him that screams old school Blazer basketball. A tough as nails big that is physical, works hard and never backs down. He's no Brian Grant, but he's in that same field of player type.

 

Are they going full magspeed?!

 

No, but CJ is!!!!

 

It reminds me of that WWF tag team, whose name escapes me. 'Oh you didn't know? Well your ass better call somebody!'

 

What? You only had them pegged at 3 wins buddy?

 

This is where I stand too.

I love the kind of ball they are playing, and that will sustain me for the year regardless.. However, if they can translate this into some wins on some very tough opponents, then we'll have to have the crow catered, cause a lot of us are going to be chowing down.

 

That's the joke.

You suck McBain!

 

Charlotte Harkless

 

Mea culpa. I figured there were going to be too many new moving parts and not enough offense to be competitive right away. Granted things are going to get tougher, but for now at least I've been highly impressed and surprised.

 

What really blows my mind is how this team plays together. No matter how much talent we have, there are still 4 new starters and 6 total new rotation players, we should naturally be seeing growing pains and some pretty lousy team play. But it's been the exact opposite!

These guys play amazing team ball, it's awesome to watch.

Also, I have this weird feeling we are just scratching the surface of what Harkless can do. He may just turn out to be our 2nd All Star, the dude just oozes potential.

AND we will only get better as the season goes on! Could be a very special thing happening.