Nurk Leonard Collins Aminu Skal Harkless Layman Dame CJ Curry Simons Beats hands down anything we will be able to assemble with the current roster healthy. Won’t be evident until Nurk & Collins come back.
I voted no. But it isnt because i think this team is better, though im still undecided, i voted no because the only other option was keep the team together and i dont think last years team could have competed for a ring. Gsw, toronto, houston and milwaukie were all better. but then all these teams made changes and now i think last years team would be a legit contender this year. Can i change my vote to yes?
Can we really compare as last yrs team stayed very healthy most of the season until the Nurk injury, this yr we started with no Nurk and lost Collins, I'd say "if" healthy this yrs team would have likely been "as good" as last yrs, beyond that its hard to say
I was one of the 4 people to initially vote that last years team was better. Ironically I also seem to now be in the minority saying this team is actually better. The Collins injury was devastating and threw off our entire rotation. When he was playing we looked dominant. But imo we just have chemistry and injury problems that will likely be mostly-resolved by March.
I think we're taking our lumps early...rather get guys back healthy second half of the season than have burned out starters limping into the playoffs.....getting our brutal road schedule out of the way early and knowing Pau, Zach and Nurk may be ready for the playoffs....we have more talent this season and so far, very awkward chemistry. Shots are going to fall ...just a rocky start
We're also comparing a team after adding two big additions to the roster via trade and the buyout market to a team that isn't a finished product and has played 9 games. We should be comparing the team through 9 game last year versus the team this year. Sure the record was better but that team wasn't yet missing Nurk or Collins either. There is no reason why Olshey can't make similar moves this year to fix things. Replacing Stauaskas and Baldwin with Hood type moves will make this team better. There is also a reason why they're keeping the 15th roster spot open. If, and yes this is a big if, Nurk and/or Collins come back too on top of those moves we'll be fine and everyone will forget this start just like they did last year.
Mo never seemed to find his game until about 20 games in every season...and we'd usually have a guy like Stauskas start hot and fizzle by mid season
I never believed this year's team was better. I thought people were overrating (significantly) the talent coming in and underrating the talents that left, especially on the defensive end. I also thought that the flaws of the departing players were being exaggerated, while the flaws on the newcomers were generally dismissed but now, it's unlikely the question will ever be tested, one way of the other, because of injuries. Gasol hasn't had a single practice yet; Nurk might not be available till Feb., and Zach might miss the rest of the season. Also, Hood has back spasms and those can derail a season all that said, I had no problem at all waving bye-bye to the guys that left. Just a little disappointed in the replacements
I was mistaken about Whiteside I still have hopes for him. Last year we got Kanter and he worked out well right now it looks like we made the mistake of not getting him but I think that meant we could not resign Hood? A little more consistent hustle from Hassan might make a difference. Also you must remember last year during the playoffs Hark, Moe and Chief were benched during the playoffs that we are all mooning over now pretty sure I wont miss that.
Here are the stats for the guys that left: Layman: 9/3 on 39/29/83 and 25MPG - 7.9 PER Aminu: 4/5 on 31/31/73 and 21MPG - 8.8 PER Harkless: 5/3 on 54/30/62 and 20 MPG - 9.3 PER Meyers: 8/4 on 60/64/72 and 20 MPG - 13.6 PER Turner and Kanter have only played about one game each. Basically they're all playing significantly worse than they were with us last year. I don't miss any of them, but I am disappointed by their replacements.
I'm not sure that is entirely fair... Layman is playing much worse, but he's basically back to his first 2 years in Portland. Looks like the '18-'19 season was the outlier for him. Aminu is in a shooting slump, but the rest of his per36 number are basically unchanged. Harkless does appear to be playing a bit worse than in Portland. Meyers is basically the same guy as before. Shooting a bit better, rebounding/assisting a bit less. Net impact is basically the same as in Portland.
