ESPN Insider...... Great look at our future......

Lot teams success is staying heathy and how much they progress in the off season. I know people think if team gets this player they automatic going to improve not always sometimes they don't mesh together ask Houston about that or the Lakers both got Howard and at end both teams fail.

 

I'm pretty sure that Neil Olshey is well aware of the importance of chemistry to what this team was able to achieve. That's why I would really be surprised to see Howard in a Blazers' uniform next season, unless he can convince Olshey that he's willing to blend in with the direction of what's already been accomplished here.

 

Pelton used to work for the Sonics. He's from Seattle. He hates the Blazers.

 

I really respect that.

 

That he doesn't think we will improve or that he's from Seattle?

 

While it's asinine to predict where a team will finish before the season is even over, I agree with them.

Fun segment on the radio last night. The guys were talking about which teams in the Western Conference the Rockets had a better future than, right now. They basically went down the standings

GS-No
SA-No
OKC-No
LAC-No
POR-No
DAL-No
MEM-No
Then they got in to the teams that missed the playoffs, and basically it was the Lakers and Nuggets.

LOL Made my night. I hate the Rockets.

However, it also made me look at the conference again and thought, damn, Utah, Minny and NO could really jump up quite a bit in the standings. So what those guys are saying way too early, isn't completely idiotic

 

The 'Way-to-Early' Top 10 for 2016-17

GSW - Should win 65+ games again.
SAS - 60+ because Pop is a witch regardless of who retires.
OKC - Kanter improving....depends on if Durant stayes but still around 55 wins or better
LAC - When healthy, they are still a 55 win team. They probably add a piece this summer as well.
POR - Just a maturing process. Should hit 50 wins. A lot of $$ to spend....finally a needle mover?
MEM - Trashed by injuries and who knows who comes back but with Gasol and Zach, they'll be tough inside. If Conley leaves, that hurts.
UTA - Another team decimated by injury that has a lot of young talent. Could be next years 'Blazers' from this year.
MIN - Between KAT, Wiggins, Deng, Rubio (often hurt) and Thibs teaching them defense, they could make a good sized move.
DAL - Old, Older, Oldest. I suspect a lot more complaining from Cuban.
NOP - More injuries.....does the Unibrow finally turn into a leader?

 

I agree that it is way too early to predict, but I get they have a job to do. They will do it again after free agency and again before the season starts.

If Pelton is right and the 2nd and (maybe) 3rd tiers are better next year in the west, where are those wins coming from?

I agree that GS and SA win number will come down, and that the non playoff/injured teams will probably all increase, but there is also a chance everyone gets better but the wins stay the same in the middle. Granted 44 wins is pretty low for 5th, but 47 might be possible if parity comes into play. But again there will be teams who take a dive due to injuries. It is inevitable. It's just really hard to guess which teams it happens to.

What stands out to me is that a teams wins and losses are not that important when evaluating your team's progress. It still comes down to how you compare to your competition. Some fans said earlier in the year that they didn't want to make the playoffs if we were only 500. Does that really matter if a bunch of other teams are at 500 too? It just comes down to how well we are playing at the end of the year and how much parity we have in the league that year.

For a team like Portland last year who started out slow and was 9 games under 500, even if we finished below 500, for what ever reason that still means we were playing at a higher level as the end. And that is just as important heading into the playoffs than what your win total was. (Other than who you are matched up against)

 

The west is so hard to predict because there's so many bubble teams that either could or could not figure things out next season.

People have been saying Utah would compete for a playoff spot for a couple years. I still think they're missing a go-to-guy. They have a lot of talent though.

Minnesota should be markedly better next season.... but they're young, so who knows?

The Pelicans seem to perpetually be slotted into the top 8.... and then they seem to perpetually have significant injuries to key players.

 

Blazers will approach 60 wins next season. You do that when you sign KD.

 

Do you think he'll still leave even though his team is doing so well? Or is it Finals Or Bust? (KD on our team could get us past the Warriors, provided they don't take another leap forward).

 

If I'm KD, I'm looking at the future of the organization. Westbrook will be a free agent soon. I think Russ leaves. I could see him going to LA. I don't think beating the Spurs will be enough. They will need to get to the Finals again, at the very least. If they get embarrassed by Golden State, I think he leaves.

 

Could someone copy and paste it?

 

HCP posted some or all of it in another thread.

http://www.sportstwo.com/threads/espn-insider-great-look-at-our-future.300624/

 

Thanks

 

Sly....thanks for the info.

 

So, we were the youngest team to make the playoffs and third youngest team in the league, our guys got two rounds worth of valuable playoff experience none of the other young teams got, we have a top GM, a top coach and shit ton of cap space, but we're are going to slide to the 6th - 8th seed while teams like NOP, SAC and MIN, who chronically underachieve are going to miraculously overtake us? Ok, sure. If you experts say so. Won't be the first time the "experts" were wrong about this team.

BNM

 

Speaking like a guy who was assigned to cover the team and knows a little bit about Olsheys plans in the summer.

This is directly in line with what I think we should all expect come free agency. Not really a shocker coming into the situation though.