The whole thing is good, from a national-writer perspective, but I just chopped the Blazers' part out here. Frankly, I don't think non-Rip City fans give enough care about what actually happened last year. Yeah, Zach says "if Nurk Fever lasts, they'll be better than (the average of all of last year, including starting Plumlee)". No one seems to be saying "hm, just swapping out one guy turned this team from a 33-win team to a 58-win team. Now that he's in even better shape and has an offseason of work with the guys, I wonder how good they can be?" I'll have a detailed NW and West writeup later, but for those that haven't followed the offseason or just don't usually care about anyone except POR, it's a good primer.
Again, from my post in the Clips thread... preseason game 1: were up by 18 2: were up by 22 3: won by 28 pretty much, we're kicking a$$.
"worst 4Q defense in the league!1!" "Can't hold a lead" It's hard for me to understand how MIN, NOP, DEN and UTH, all of whom should be decent teams, did anything to overcome the Blazers average of last year--much less the a$$-kickery that happened when Nurk was in the lineup. I think MIN is much more likely to be the SAC of the Northwest than a 5-8 seed. And that may be an insult to SAC.
More like we were trying to run our 240V offense on 120V, but once we switched Nurk for Plumlee and totally rewired the breaker, we didn't need a switch anymore.
He's just another sportswriter trying to churn out material that gets enough viewer clicks to justify him staying employed. Putting out a pre-season column that pleases a bunch of fans of middling teams fills the bill. Getting classified as a Blazers homer doesn't.
I don't have an issue with his assessment. We don't know who is going to start alongside the big 3. It's fair to point to the continuity, since we have basically had a lot of our roster going into the 3rd season of rebuild. It seems like Mo started last year for lack of anyone else. Aminu was a bit dinged up last season, and ET struggled to fit in (he had his lowest PER since 2012-13 last year). Our starting PF, per ESPN, is Aminu with Davis as his backup. Where Lowe is wrong, IMO, is that we have a lot of depth and players who can play multiple positions. Guys like Aminu, Mo, ET, and Davis do good things while on the court. If we have to get it done by committee, we will. Lowe also gives little or no consideration to what the rookies might contribute.
I doubt Noah Vonleh, as productive as he was when he played with Nurkic, will go from starter to 3rd string.
I like Vonleh just fine, and can't wait to see him grow some more. He's got plenty of ability and room, and he's still very young. As a starter, though, he averaged 17.1 MPG. Technically a starter, effectively, 10th on the team in minutes per game.
The Vonleh injury totally sucked. That will set him back, even after he comes back. The Dame, CJ, Harkless, Nurk, and Vonleh starting unit seemed like the best fit. Especially if Noah had continued to get some confidence in pre season. ET, Napier, Morrow, Aminu, and ED off the bench. Although I assume CJ or Dame will be in there instead of Napier on most occasions. Swanigan and Collins.....still yet to be determined. But eventually if they play right away , then slide one of them to PF and move Aminu to SF and Morrow to the bench. Depending on the opponent.
I think we're still closer to the end of last season (14-6) team with Nurk, than a 41-41 team with Plumlee. Offensively, we're proving it this preseason. We can put up points in bunches. Question remains can we defend the opponent. Utah and Clippers are both going to end up below us in standings. They lost too much over the summer. Only the T'wolves appear to me to be improved from last year. After Warrior's, Thunder, Spurs and maybe Rockets....we're in the group with Nuggets, Pelicans' and Grizzlies!
What did he say that was so out of line? His recap of what happened last year and the team's issues seems pretty even-handed and mostly fact-based, and his forecast does seem to rest on whether or not Nurkic sustains what he flashed (whether that's because of health or otherwise). The West is going to be brutal this year; so even if the Blazers are better, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to show up in the wins column, because theoretically there's a lot more competition to go through.
The team wasn't 41-41 with Plumlee. They were 23-31. That's how much of a turnaround they made after the trade. BNM
Part of me is curious how much of the good finish with Nurkic was just due to the newness/honeymoon period that you often see with an addition. I think we will know all we need to know by around Jan 1. Before that I’ll reserve judgment.
It was also a pretty soft slate of teams, but on the plus side, they sprinkled in a handful of quality wins, so it's probably not all mirage
preseason game 1: were up by 18 2: were up by 22 3: won by 28 4: were up by 17 pretty much, we're kicking a$$.
preseason game 1: were up by 18 2: were up by 22 3: won by 28 4: were up by 17 5: were up by 29 pretty much, we're kicking a$$.