I thought about reading this on BE site, but then it occurred to me that half the team is new. How can you determine the ceiling on a team where half the players didn't play last year? So I didn't watch it.
I probably won't watch the video but I'd wonder what ceiling is used? Is it 53 wins while making it to the WC finals and getting swept? Sure, that could be the high water mark, but it also doesn't take a lot of imagination to see Portland making it back to that point, losing but not getting swept. Would that be busting thru the ceiling?
Honestly, he doesn't even really talk about a ceiling that much. Just that we're hoping a different hodge podge will produce similar results. He mentioned Zach as a player that could impact things with a jump but trashed the Whiteside addition. I don't think he even said Simons name except for a clip of him hitting a 3 while he discussed young trade assets.
Guy predicts 47 wins. Seemed to say if Portland exceeds that. That one or two of the question marks have turned into positives. His question marks. Such as Collins not being so foul prone, as well as the game slowing down for him. Says Collins needs to sit crosslegged in front of Pau's locker for an hour every day to soak up all that info. Simons being a consistent scoring off the bench. Calls him a wildcard. Toliver shooting 40% from three again. Whiteside not being a headache in Portland. Saying he wore out his welcome in Miami when it's one of the more respected organizations. Brings up how good Whiteside he is when he's engaged at -.5 differential at the rim this past season. What form Nurk returns to. His words he puts a 'brief love letter to Nurk' to the highest offensive rating among centers & 2nd best net rating. Calls him the John Bonham of the Blazers. States how important Nurk was to Portland. How Portland was +12 with him on the floor. Brings up how many lower leg injuries Portland has had over the years. Asks 'what if' Portland makes a big move before the deadline. Showing pics of Love/Griffin. Overall not a bad video and a lot of things fans on this board have already said. Maybe he's a member. I won't like his video though, simply because he didn't say Portland is going to win a ring this year.
From the cheap seats I'd have to say the Blazers haven't even tipped off yet....if I'm going to speculate, it's going to be homer time!
Here's a chart I put together to look at the 'rise and fall' of the different Blazer eras - Never before have the Blazers had a team leader with a PER over 23 for 3 years in a row. Dame may have hit his 'ceiling', but I like what I see left in his tank. With a good veteran cast (CJ, Nurk, Whiteside, Pau), and a fine looking up and coming group (Collins, Simons), I don't think we've seen this team's ceiling just yet. I'm excited to see what the Blazers can do over the next few years! This is going to be fun!
