By Shaun Powell - NBA.com: "Two years ago, the Blazers reached the Western Conference semifinals by taking advantage of an LA Clippers team that lost Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to injuries. This time they get the Pelicans without DeMarcus Cousins. Some teams get all the breaks." LaRue Martin, Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden. "All the breaks" in tibia's, knee-caps, menisci, etc....WTH is this guy talking about? Is there any franchise in the NBA that has had worse luck with high draft picks and/or injuries? That guy above calls himself an NBA writer while the post below by @PtldPlatypus is from a simple fan. Who should really have the job? Uniformed ignorance or just the normal willful stupidity/laziness of much of the media today. I'll take the poster's assessment of that EVERY time.
What a lazy and stupid take by Powell. First, there's the supposition on his part that the Pelicans would be significantly better if Boogie was available. The Pelicans were 27-21 on Jan. 26th, the date of the game against the Rockets where Cousins went down. They stumbled through their next 6 games with a 1-5 record as they figured out how to adjust their game to his absence. Since then they went 20-8. Yeah, boy, the Blazers are a lucky team to face a Pelicans squad with AD energized and playing like an MVP. Not to mention the additional fire power they picked up with the Mirotic trade. Then there's the absolutely stupid notion being put forward that the Blazers are the only team getting "all the breaks" due to facing teams with significant injuries. I guess he overlooked the fortunate Spurs facing the Warriors without Curry. Or, vice versa, the lucky Warriors who would likely get bounced without Curry playing if Leonard was available to suit up for the Spurs. And the Bucks chances didn't improve at all against the Celtics when Kyrie went down (not to mention Hayward, Smart, and Theis). I would imagine that the Sixers chances against the Heat would look better with a healthy Embid. And then there are the T'Wolves and Wizards trying to reincorporate major players (Butler and Wall) just back from injury. I guess that the Rockets and Raptors aren't getting any break from the fact that those guys and their teams aren't likely to be 100%? But no, the Blazers catch ALL the breaks.
All 21 experts at ESPN are picking us. Even the Warriors don't have all 21. Only other teams with all Houston, Cleveland, and Toronto. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23136927/expert-predictions-first-round-2018-nba-playoffs
