I hope the team can turn this trip around, but that seems to be a tough way to start a long road stretch. @ Dallas - L @ OKC GOLDEN ST @ Brooklyn @ Philadephia @ Cleveland @ Boston @ Toronto @ Charlotte @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio
bad thing about it as far as indicators, was that going into yesterday, Portland had about 10 games left against mid-tier teams whose trade deadline moves signaled they were packing it in, going for draft position, and coasting to the finish line. Games the Blazers should win, and need to win. Dallas was the first test against those types of teams and Portland failed. Making it worse is that the failure was a 4th Q meltdown which is not something a playoff team should suffer, especially not a team shooting for HCA it was just one game though, and shit happens in the NBA. Problem is Portland's issues in the 4th Q were the same issues they've had for 4 seasons now
Off to a tough start and I don't expect it to get any better against Golden State. It puts a lot of pressure on the 7-game road trip after the All-Star break. I'm wondering what it will be like for the players mentally if they are off for a week after having lost 3 games in a row? That would be their longest losing streak since Dec 4. @ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST @ Brooklyn @ Philadephia @ Cleveland @ Boston @ Toronto @ Charlotte @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio
I'm struggling to find 8 wins in that remaining schedule. Should win: (well that is already a problem because we lost the first 'should win') @ Brooklyn @ Cleveland @ Charlotte @ Memphis PHOENIX Toss up: (some of these might be in the 'should win' category but after the way they started this trip and their road record this year.....) @ Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio OKC (feels like I'm being generous putting this in the 'Toss up' category but it is at home. Underdogs: Possible, but ranges from 'not likely' to 'hell no'. GOLDEN STATE @ Philly @ Boston @ Toronto So to get to 8 wins, they have to sweep the 'Should Win' category, and get 3 of 4 of the toss up category, three of which are on the road. ANY slip ups in those two categories and now they have to go get one or more from the 'Underdogs' list. Given that they are now 1-7 against the Top-3 in the West, that task seems daunting. Please give me some good reasons to have more faith because it is waning right now....
Looks like 14 more wins at best with a 47- 35 record. But they could get it to 48 or even 49 wins. That would be 5 to 7 wins better than i had them at the beginning of the season. Seems like they are having a pretty good year. Not much to complain about for me. Hope you all enjoy the games.
9 more wins for the Blazers and 7 more wins for the Spurs.... ....and it's collection time of two winning tickets.
That was one they needed to get back on track for sure. I had them at 1-2 for the first 3 game, just not in the order they did it.
@ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST - W...first comeback win of the season. Perfect timing. @ Brooklyn - W...good way to start post All-Star break. Kanter huge off the bench. @ Philadephia @ Cleveland @ Boston @ Toronto @ Charlotte @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio
If they finish with less than 9 wins, I’ll be disappointed. Charlotte, Memphis, Phoenix, Clippers, New Orleans. Assuming we will lose a couple we shouldn’t and win a couple that I wouldn’t favor us in, I.e. Spurs on the road or OKC at home.
@ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST - W...first comeback win of the season. Perfect timing. @ Brooklyn - W...good way to start post All-Star break. Kanter huge off the bench. @ Philadephia - W...pounded the 76'ers inside without Embid to stop the tide. @ Cleveland - W...gave up a huge lead but righted the ship to be the tanking Cavs. @ Boston - W...Big win against a talented Celtics team that seems to have lost their way. @ Toronto @ Charlotte @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio I had them losing 2 of the 3 against the 76'ers, Celtics and Raptors. Imagine if they go 3-0 against those three. That would be a huge accomplishment. I had them at 4-3 so far through this stretch so they are nicely 1 game up on the pace. A win tonight (I have as a loss) would put them on a track to get to 50.
@ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST - W...first comeback win of the season. Perfect timing. @ Brooklyn - W...good way to start post All-Star break. Kanter huge off the bench. @ Philadephia - W...pounded the 76'ers inside without Embid to stop the tide. @ Cleveland - W...gave up a huge lead but righted the ship to be the tanking Cavs. @ Boston - W...Big win against a talented Celtics team that seems to have lost their way. @ Toronto - L...schedule loss but impressed by 'how' they played. A # of things to address in the last 2 minutes but good game. @ Charlotte @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio 5-3 so far on this 15 game stretch of almost all road games. I had them at 4-4 through this stretch so the are 1 game up on projections. If they can win the next 2, that makes the OKC game VERY interesting.
@ Dallas - L....first loss of the season after leading going into the 4th quarter. @ OKC - L.......gave up a rare, double-triple-double to George and Westbrick. GOLDEN ST - W...first comeback win of the season. Perfect timing. @ Brooklyn - W...good way to start post All-Star break. Kanter huge off the bench. @ Philadephia - W...pounded the 76'ers inside without Embid to stop the tide. @ Cleveland - W...gave up a huge lead but righted the ship to be the tanking Cavs. @ Boston - W...Big win against a talented Celtics team that seems to have lost their way. @ Toronto - L...schedule loss but impressed by 'how' they played. A # of things to address in the last 2 minutes but good game. @ Charlotte - W...nice bounce back win after a tough loss in Toronto. Blazers now have 2 bench players who have gone 20 points in a quarter. @ Memphis OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX @ LA Clippers @ New Orleans @ San Antonio Now 6-3 on this 15 game mostly road grinder. That Dallas loss is keeping this from being extra special. Can the Blazers go at least 4-2 in the remaining 6 games? Finish this, then they HAVE to get the OKC game. Beat the Suns and then win 1 or 2 of the three road games. They have to stay hot because Houston and Utah are right on their heels.