I posted this before the series but deleted it because I didn't want people getting all butt hurt over the actual plot... But now we are down 0-2 so F it. Curry, Thompson, and Draymond coming to Portland for games 3/4. The NBA's "Boondock Saints". Peace Draymond, Portland fans are going to devour you and your BS Oh yeah.... *NSFW*
Whole season has been crazy and once 4 of the starters left, I thought we were lottery bound like everybody else. These players really bonded and shined. 44 wins. Something this team wasn't near close to getting. As well as a first round series win. Tonight impressed me. As frustrating as it was, it was good basketball except for the 4th. Against one of the greatest teams of all time. Even without curry they are still the best in this league. Certain people on here still wanna criticize dame and say he has regressed which is stupid to see and obviously you haven't watched all 82 games. His passing got way better. His decision making on when to drive and be aggressive got better. Yeah his fg percentage didn't really get better but his overall numbers did and he carried this team to many wins, averaging 25 and 7. he has become a great leader and a role model, great for marketing and the league. Only 25 and still can get better. Cj and dame will be the best back court for years to come. Pair that with big pieces we can get and we can become a contender fairly soon in my opinion. A couple pieces can be game changers and we got the money to throw around. I obviously don't think we will beat the Warriors but I am proud of this team and would take this learning experience any day over a meaningless draft pick that doesn't guarantee anything. This only makes the team and players within it better
I admire you for being able to be so positive after this game. I mean I know it's really encouraging how we competed with the champs on their court, but that's a pretty deppressing loss for me. After leading for something like 45 minutes, it's just a tough one to swallow. But our future looks bright, I can't deny that. Going on the forum after the loss and seeing such a positive thread really cheers me up so thank you for that !
The only reason our team didn't become championship-caliber is because of injuries. I don't give a shit about anybody's injuries anymore. Fuck them. Where's my Brandon Roy? Where is my Greg Oden?
I actually am REALLY proud of the team. I'm proud of Dame. He's playing his ass off right now, with a chest cold, sounding like shit... I'm proud of the effort and the never-say-die attitude, from Dame to Davis. They're all busting their ass. Our team right now reminds me of that speech that Nick Nolte gives at the end of Blue Chips. "The best coaching job I ever did, wasn't tonight. It was last season, when we were 14 and 15. We had a losing season. But god dammit those kids gave me their HEART. They gave me everything they had. They played up to the MAXIMUM of their ability. They gave it EVERYTHING. But, you know, it wasn't good enough. It wasn't good enough for me, it wasn't good enough for you, it wasn't good enough for EVERYBODY." It feels like we're playing to the maximum of our ability right now, and it's just not good enough. That's fine. We're playing against the champs and one of the best teams in the history of the league. Nobody thought we had a chance.
The Blazers got better and better against the Clippers, they made the right adjustments, and by game 3 had their number...now the Blazers have played better each game, and made some key adjustments last night and will for game 3...Warriors the Blazers have your number....Welcome to Rip City!
Actually... IF we don't keep Roberts (I DO hope we keep him though), I can c Neil snagging him; he'd b a great bench addition (better option w/ many things considered vs. Rubio i.e. $ would b 1 of the biggest ).
The Blazers massively overachieved this season to even sniff the playoffs. The Blazers earned the fifth seed. Think about that. The Blazers overachieved to reach the second round. In round two, the Blazers have played the defending champion, and team with best regular season record in history, even for three quarters in game one and outplayed them for three quarters in game 2. On the road. The Warriors are a better team than the Blazers, they are the current NBA darlings, and they will probably win the series. This does not deter my fandom or diminish what the Blazers have accomplished this year. This playoff experience is GOLD, pure GOLD for the Blazers, win or lose. No need to list the many benefits of this experience for the players and for Allen/Olshey/Stotts in figuring out the teams next moves. I plan to wring every bit of enjoyment out of this that I can. No one can stop me.
I've come to realize that Fez is a welcomed troll. Pretty much just says stuff to get a rile. Either that or .. well I don't wanna be rude, but you are way out of wack with reality.... You have firmly planted your ass in the Tunchi category of anti homerism posts, more than likely meant for nothing more than drama. But like most soaps, your drama is complete fiction....
I expected this and I'll tell you why. First, our two best players from the playoffs series vs the Grizzlies- CJ McCollum and Meyers Leonard- were still on the team. And of course, we still had Dame. Second, the additions were underrated. We got a Team USA center for our draft pick so right off the bat while everyone focused on whom we had lost, we had improved at SG and C. Third, Batum was coming off a horrible year while Aminu was coming off a year in which he, like CJ, had exploded during the playoffs. Adding Ed Davis and Henderson, Olshey significantly improved our bench. Then we had three unknown talents with potential in Harkless, Vonleh, and Crabbe. Two of them became very good NBA players this season though we didn't know that at the time. Crabbe showed signs during summer league though. The only problem with our starting lineup was PF but we had Leonard, Vonleh, and Harkless to compete for time at that position. We were obviously not going to have an All Star at this position though. Then there were intangibles. It was revealed that everyone in the organization including Dame had to tip toe around Aldridge's fragile ego and there was a reported "sigh of relief" when he left. Dame was excited to take over the leadership role and he demonstrated that right away by getting the whole team together in San Diego in September. Knowing all of this, I decided to do what I rarely do: watch preseason basketball games. I was curious about all these new players and roles. So I watched our game against the Warriors. The Warriors played all of their starters and they were competing hard but we completely destroyed them nonetheless, scoring more than 70 points in the first half. Many people in this forum thought we'd struggle to score this season but the early evidence was proving them wrong. Then I watched us play the Clippers. Again, the Clippers were playing their stars and clearly competiting but we blitzed THEM too. We ended up blowing our 30 point lead and losing that game, but our potential based on the fact that we got that big lead was very encouraging. I told everyone it was clear that we were a better, faster, more athletic, deeper team than last year and I was mocked and just told "it's just preseason" when it was clear there were very positive signs we'd be a good team. Nonetheless, HCP picked 23 wins, MM 24 wins, Nate 32 wins, and Vegas 26 wins. But then opening night happened. Now, no one could use the "it's just preseason" excuse." We destroyed a New Orleans team led by everyone's presumptive MVP Anthony Davis. We scored 40+ in the first quarter and CJ looked like the guy we saw in the playoffs vs Memphis. The offensive powerhouse I saw against GS and LAC in the preseason was on display in an official regular season game. And that's when I had my "NOW do you understand" moment and was still mocked. Nothing and I mean nothing has surprised me about this season.
