"Contending"? Probably not. The situation is bad. Just getting into the Playoffs will be tough. Trying to get to a position where they can win a series will be even tougher. In the end there is a reason they play the games. Key injuries at crucial times have had curious effects on the Playoffs. They also say "If you make the playoffs? Anything can happen."
Dame is playing like a top 2 or 3 player. We've got the best shooter in a league dominated by perimeter shooting. When you've got a guy like that and a good roster, you're a contender.
I'm not saying it's going to happen but the satisfaction of beating the Lakers as the 8th seed would be beyond words. Or an improbable run the WCF as the 8th seed??? Classic. People would be going nuts. The ONLY thing about this streak for Lillard that is unfortunate is that I wish it was during the playoffs.
This is what I've been thinking also. Even if they don't take the series. A solid 8th spot can have a huge effect on the Playoffs in general. How would a game 6 win against the Lakers here in Portland to force a game 7 go down? Anything can happen in a game 7 and we all know that.
I don't like to jinx things by assuming everybody is healthy. Sometimes, injury-filled seasons are like bop-a-mole. Somebody important is always in street clothes as for being a contender...I don't think so. They weren't last year, and this year's team isn't better. I suppose if you're assuming the top-teams aren't as good as past top-teams over the last few years, you could put on homer glasses, stretch your imagination, and see the Blazers contending, and even winning. but the thing is Portland hasn't done anything to solve their kryptonite: other teams selling out the defense to stop Dame by using length, doubles, hedges, and traps. That's how Portland has been closed out of the playoffs the previous 4 years. That's why Portland is 1-16 in those closeout series and have lost 14 games in a row.
Agree the most part however, if Nurk comes back and Melo & Ariza along with bench contribute we will be a very dangerous team if we make the playoffs? Having Whiteside too provides both a low post defender and scorer especially with better spacing with Melo and TA. More so than with AFA & Mo.
Portland had a healthy Nurkic and a healthy Ed Davis when the Pelicans swept them. CJ averaged 25 with great efficiency and the Pels didn't worry a bit about CJ beating them...rightfully IMO, in order to be a real contender, Portland needs a major talent at the wing or at PF. A Kawhi or a PG13 or even a Siakam. Rearranging role players isn't going to make Portland a contender and neither is a different rotation in the 3rd option or lower. Portland needs a player that can consistently punish a team for focusing on Lillard. Somebody who can crush scoring while getting others involved, and who can help well on defense. That's not CJ and it's not Nurkic
The idea of this thread is that everyone is healthy. This team is absolutely better than last years team if everyone is healthy.
Ariza is a better all-around forward / wing then they've had in a long time (except maybe hood?). Not sure why he wasn't doing anything in Sac, but he's a good defender, a smart offensive player, can hit layups, you don't get uneasy when he has the ball. He's not PG13, or Kawhi, but he's a big upgrade over Baze, ET, Moe or Aminu, Though Ariza and Aminu would be a really good pairing IMO. He's old so you wonder how long his body holds up. I hate the Melo signing but I tend to think if they're in the playoffs he might work out ok when the game slows down and he can play bully ball. Also, Dame is getting better, even without going supernova the last few games he's a better player today then he was in that pelican series, just as Whiteside is better than that version of Nurk, and Nurk was better last year than the year before too.
that's a lot of assumptions to unpack start with the notion that some of Portland's players are better than they were when the Blazers got swept by a 6th seed when Blazers had HCA, so somehow...that makes Portland a true contender? ************************************************************ another thing, it's true Nurkic was better last year than he was the year before. But why would anybody believe that Nurkic will be better this season, or even just as good by the time the playoffs roll around? Nurkic was injured in his first 5-on-5 practice about 7-10 days ago, and hasn't practiced again since. It's looking like he might not play till March and that's only 6 weeks before the playoffs start. And he'll very likely have a minutes restriction when he does return. He will have been out for a year....he's not going to be returning to form quickly also, having 2 big C's sounds great, but the way the playoffs have gone the last few year is that almost every good team has small-ball lineups they use a lot, and use successfully. Gasol only played 30 minutes a game in the playoffs for Toronto last season. Anticipating that Whiteside/Nurkic will be able to split 48 minutes a game is simply not realistic ************************************************************ besides that, when Dame is picked up by the defense at halfcourt, and doubled outside of the arc, it's not going to be a C that comes out to the 3 point line, receives the bail-out pass, and solves the riddle that CJ, Curry, Napier, Aminu, Turner, and Harkless haven't solved. Nurk and Whiteside don't have the skillsets to do so. And neither do Ariza, or Melo, or Simons, or Trent
Ive seen Whiteside Melo and TA come out to three point line to help Dame out alot more so than when Nurk & Davis played against NO.
Assuming everyone is healthy and no more moves, a potential playoff rotation could be something like Dame CJ Ariza Melo Nurk Whiteside Collins Trent Nas/Simons/the others That’s a pretty good rotation. Still think they need another lead guard for the second unit.
It's not an assumption. Whiteside is better right now than Nurkic was the year of the pelicans series. Nurkic was better last year than the year before. Those are facts not assumptions. I did not say that those things made them a contender did I? However I will say this, really good young players growing up into superstars is how championships are usually won, it took Jordan and Lebron a while to grow into champions. Lebron even got there twice before winning. Steph got better and better until he broke out. So yeah, having Dame actually in his prime instead of just under does mean that he's closer now to a Championship level superstar then he was 2 years ago. (I am not saying Dame is as good as MJ or Lebron). I never said Nurkic will be back and playing at that level this year either. That's why I talked about Whiteside because chances are he's not being traded and he's a better C than they had available last year in the playoffs and the pelican series since he's better now than Nurk was in that pelican series, but having Nurk if he's anything close to what he was last year like 75% is better back up C than they've had all year, which helps... The notion of the thread though is if everyone's healthy (which they wont be because Hood is gone until sometime next season). I am saying though that Ariza is a better Wing then they had last year on the roster (with maybe Hood as the exception), he's got a more well-rounded game than either Aminu or Harkless. Are they "contenders" if healthy? Heck I don't know but those aren't assumptions in my mind it's the truth, oh and Trent does have decent size defensively too, they can play small if they have too. I also disagree with you about the riddle of the trap at half court, we've already seen the Blazers do different things to attack that this year, and they have worked, Dame's shooting more 35 footers (and making them) so teams are spreading themselves out a lot, Ariza, and Melo are way more capable of putting the ball on the floor and not making a mistake then Moe or Aminu were. They've been running a lot of sets where Dame has a bail out option on the opposite wing usually a guy who can shoot or put the ball on the floor and teams aren't trapping as hard. Again don't know if that makes them a contender, but I think overall if healthy and guys playing the roles they're meant to play they are better than the team they lost to the pelicans in 4, which when you bring up the pelican series you're implying they aren't. I still think they're probably not there talent-wise unless health favors them and the young guys really grow up rapidly, but there is no doubt in my mind having Dame doing come back down to earth and just play at his "averages" he's still a top 5 NBA player right now, and that goes a long ways towards the goal. Probably a few things working against them, they probably need one more solid starter type player, and the hole they dug themselves means even if they got lucky enough to beat LA or Den they won't have HCA in any round of the playoffs. I've hated the talent on the team with the injuries, and especially before they traded baze, because none of the players fit, they were bad in their roles. Half of them didn't even seem to know what their roles are, but when they're playing the intended roles they're a different team, and it helps that Dame is playing out of his mind, which he will come back down eventually.
