So Much Anger........

Right on..... we’ll go ahead a lock this thread up then.
I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I offended people. I guess I called too many people out.
Well can’t wait for the next game thread. Man, @SlyPokerDog what happened to this place bro?

 

I see 5 questions there. I'm not saying lock the thread or anything. Trying to have the constructive conversation that you were looking for. Again, never said you offended anyone.

 

Okay, that is perfectly fine for you to think that way. Just like it should be fine for me to think they're better than they're playing even with the injuries.

It's as simple as that in my opinion. It's been the same for years now. Some people think it's coaching. Some people think it's roster issues. Some people think it's both and some people think it's neither.

So when someone who thinks coaching is the issue sees a team last night that plays very selfishly in a game where just a week ago against that same team they dominated them by playing unselfishly then I get upset that they are blowing a game they should've won when they knew exactly what worked against that team. Someone who thinks the roster is flawed can easily excuse games like last night as not being good enough anyway and that is certainly okay if that's your view!

 

If everyone would just respect others opinions and not get so defensive and show some genuine composure it would make it a more enjoyable forum.

 

Here's the problem mon frere, you're basically saying the team sucks, but if you call them out for it, you're, "calling them names". If you expect them to play with energy, show some heart, play hard, you're expectations are too great. No one has called them a dream ever... heck we consider ourselves lucky when we get an "All-star selection". We all understand that Injuries have played a big role in their struggles this year, but it doesn't mean that they have to stand around take contested jumpers, show 0 signs of life on defense. There are things under their control that are frustrating to watch unfold.

You pick them LOW every year that I can find and call it "realism", and call out posters who pick them too high and that's ok, but how did you think this thread would be received? When you're calling out people who have "higher-expectations" then not just implying it, but telling them well expecting good things from this team is just setting themselves up for heartbreak.

The Blazers told us they were a championship team all summer, people looked at them on paper and said yeah they could be really competitive, the fact that they aren't is disappointing, and pointing out that it's not just the injuries but also their style of play, the lack of effort, the matador defense, doesn't make one not a fan of the team.

What do you think Gamethreads should look like when they play like they did last night? Should it be, "Oh man look at how awesome they looked standing still when SGA went around them?" Or well, "Nerlens Noel outworked the whole team for another rebound, but at least their blessing us with another basketball game tonight, I'm just thankful I get to watch it."

I get it, the Blazers aren't good, but the thing is those "expectations" for me at this point is just someone on the team looking pissed off about losing, I've seen teams with much less talent just flat out play better basketball then what the Blazers are playing right now. They need Ed Davis types, if you're running low on talent find dudes who will outwork the other team. They don't have that right now, except Dame but you can't expect Dame to be Lebron and carry 4 guys the same way.

 

I’m personally excited for the lottery. I hope we can find a steal with our high lottery pick. Fully healthy this year we weren’t going to beat the Lakers anyways. That team is on a historic pace where LeBron is looking to cement his legacy. Sorry nobody is stoping that train this year.


Let’s run it back healthy with new pieces next year and hope lebron slows down with another year on his miles

 

It’s soft that’s why. They expected to win the championship this year lol

 

Exactly this, thanks for taking the time to word it this way.

 

I never once said fans couldn’t get mad, upset or disappointed. Never said it. Didn’t ever say people were wrong for that and never said HOW they should react. Never posted that. Never called anybody out for how they react. Never did.
Simply asked why.

 

One time I was high on the mushrooms with a girl. Every time I said something she would take it in a way that was different than I meant it. Every time she'd take it personally but I was just talking. I'd say the sun is an orange without pulp but with a consciousness (or something like that) and she'd apologize and close the blinds. And so after a long while, after hundreds of me being like no, no, no I didn't mean it like that, and after formulating my words with the utmost care, I told her that essentially I want you to know that no matter what you hear from me, I am not being critical. She took a deep breath and nodded, then apologized. (Then crawled into a closet...backwards.)

The moral of the story is sometimes people are just on different frequencies and just can't hear each other (and that maybe some people get higher than others, and that tone is lost in print; my exwife texts like an ahole but never means it). My wife now sometimes thinks there's more under the surface when I say shit. Maybe I just say shit wrong, or maybe she can see into my subconscious.

Whatever it is, I know for sure, regardless of your expectations, we are all disappointed (in me and) this season.

 

ok, sorry HJ....I didn't catch the direction of the line you were connecting

yeah, this season has been quite the eye-opener so far, and it's pretty obvious by now that the success Portland had last year was resting on a fragile foundation. If you assume that Whiteside = Kanter, and I think there's plenty of reason to make that equation, then the rest of the supporting cast has been a serious downgrade from the previous one. Obviously, the Blazers were dealing with new faces and the injury to Zach, but other teams are dealing with new faces and injuries and are not experiencing the collapse the Blazers have.

but enough of the issues, IMO, were quite predictable before the season started so for me, the expectations were apparently a lot lower than many here.

there is still plenty of time remaining for the Blazers to turn the ship around, but I think there may just about as much chance for a lottery pick as for HCA in the playoffs

 

You've blown my mind, sir. You are on @jlprk level after this post. I mean that as a compliment.

 

It takes a big man, to actually show concern about what other people think or feel. Major props to you.

So while we're at it, you may want to rethink all of the Lebron and L*kers posts you make.

In our totally non-scientific poll, 71% of our posters DO NOT like that shit.



The national media already spues it nonstop. It would be pleasant if you took a break from posting that shit....

 

If you look at the NBA as a piñata game, some years your team is the stick and some years it's the piñata. This is definitely a piñata year so far. It's no fun watching the team you root for have a string of injuries to essential players and end up getting kicked into irrelevancy. It's kind of crazy that it's happened to the two teams who played in last year's WCF. It's going to be weird likely seeing both Steph Curry and Dame Lillard watching the playoffs from the outside this year. I still hold out hope that the Blazers can string together enough wins to be within striking distance for a spring playoff push once Nurk is back. Hopefully, Olshey can find a trade that helps that happen. Unless we reach the point where there's no chance for playoffs, I'll continue to root for the Blazers to win.

 

You really didn't ask why though. Here's your questions and answers.
are expectations realistically lowered? Yes.
When we play NYC tomorrow and it's a nail biter down the stretch, but we win, are you happy? No.
Or do you think we should blow them out in an easy win? They probably can't blow anyone out unless they're just super hot that night.
When we travel to Denver and get our asses handed to us, are you accepting because of our situation, or will you spend 45 posts about how horrible Stotts is? It depends, we'll be upset at HOW they look while losing.
From here on out, I can understand people getting upset when we lose a game or play like shit, but are really going into those games thinking we are actually going to win? No, but we'll still be frustrated as the losses pile up.
Kinda' like a Browns fan going into every September thinking they are going to the Super Bowl, then losing their minds when they finish 5-13......should have know that was going to happen going in, right? The browns were picked by a lot of people to go to the Superbowl this year. It's weird how many times you basically say the Blazers are trash in your post. Do we as parents expect our kids to try or just say you know what you're just not that smart maybe don't bother trying math, I can't expect much. Now you're comparing the Blazers to an organization that is known as one of the worst in football.

If you really, really wanted to have a conversation that would actually be a conversation about expectations your tone would have been much more. "So the seasons been a bummer and expectations were too high coming into it, so how do we readjust expectations? What do we want from the rest of the year?" You could have even added, hey we'll all be much happier if we just accept that the Blazers years is a lost one, that injuries and talent mean they aren't good enough. We could discuss as a community some of these topics but it's really hard when your tone comes off like, "Hey they just suck, so all of you who think they were good, just set yourselves up for being disappointed, so stop freaking out".

 

For the record, I'm not offended. I'm trying to answer your questions, in a respectful manner.

 

Uh, have you not noticed that we lost our two starting forwards since Dame said that? That's 40% of our starters.

 

@THE HCP
I do have some questions for you. I know game threads get crazy and most of it is our emotional responses to stuff and many of us use it as a venting mechanism, so yes there are over the top reactions. However, when we're watching a game and we see Basketball plays, and such that are just awful. What do you think the response should be? Is it something we should just not say anything about?

Cause honestly, for the most part, my biggest expectation when I watch pro-sports is I want to see two teams look like professional teams. Energy, desire, execution, making the right basketball plays. I get it just like in any of our jobs mistakes get made, they make the wrong read on things just like we do, isn't the game thread the place to say what we're observing whether good or bad? It seems like there's a lot of, "Oh that was a great pass" or whatever posts in those threads too, so it's not like posters are only negative.