the moodswings on this forum are crazy. I'd suggest to step away for a day. We lost by nearly 30 against Denver in game 5 last year and won the next two. Bad losses happen in the playoffs. We have the kind of leadership to allow us to bounce back.
Exactly. The time to assess the team and make course corrections is after the season is over, not in the middle of the battle. The Blazers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn last night. Some of it was defensive pressure, but mostly it was just cold shooting. They were due for one of those games. The Lakers were riled up and played very well, but I doubt that they can shoot as well from outside as they did last night on a continuing basis. They haven’t been a good shooting team all season and especially not in the bubble. Both teams have had an embarrassing loss in this series. Now is when it gets really interesting.
Gotta give their defense more credit than that. We were definitely going thru the motions, but they took out Dame completely with their ultra aggressive traps out at 40 feet. The trickle down effect from that was massive. Terry and Dame need to really study film and come up with counters. He needs to get off the ball quicker and do more of what Steph does.
I think we forget at times that Anthony Davis is a perennial MVP and DPOY candidate. It's really hard to neutralize him
Actually, you are probably quite right. I'm sure he has studied film. Just hasn't come up with an answer.
to be Fair, I think Dame has help us to forget alot of reality. Like what happens when Steph Curry is back next season? Dame has been on a superstar level, but he isn't the only one who can do that.
Yeah, but you have to acknowledge the cold shooting as well. Dame and CJ went 1-7 and 1-5 from 3. Melo was 1-6 overall and missed his only 3. Most of those shots were open looks. The Lakers are able to use AD to double Dame, which makes his job really difficult, just like it did in the Pelican series a few years back. That said, Dame had 18 points when he injured his finger with about 5 minutes to go in the 3rd. I have zero doubt he would have finished with 25 or more had he been able to play. Dame will get his points. The rest of the squad has to contribute more.
I came to this realization a long time ago. We're stuck in this rerun until Dame retires. It's the Dame/CJ/Stotts show from here on out.
I agree - but our inability to hit open shots allowed for them to be ultra aggressive in those traps. If CJ and company made them pay early on with those open looks, I don't think they go to that or stick with it. It was giving me flashbacks to all the kickouts to open Aminu and Harkless.
I have stepped away for the better part of a year and I gotta say, it does make watching the games more enjoyable. and, it gets even better, when afterwards, I can browse through the game threads, and realize that the majority of in game commentators are folks I wouldn't want to watch a game with anyway. Way too reactionary. Too many self-imposed experts based in knee-jerk. And one dude in particular, with a trump-like desire to do anything to set up the "I tried to tell ya.."Bullshit. Down by 11 in the 2nd qtr. and folks declaring "series over" when 2 days earlier they predicted "Portland in 6"... In Dame we trust, right? I know, blame the coach, and never respect the opponent. Never. The opposition never seems to win games in this forum, only Portland loses them. Peace.
Well said....I've often said I wouldn't want to sit next to many game thread posters at Moda Center....I'd change seats...and Stotts outcoached Vogel game one...Vogel adjusted...evened up the series...in my view Stotts is a better coach than Vogel ever was but 8 years in....some want to blow up a team of great character, hard working guys and coaches to roll the dice on a rebuild...I'm not a fan of that...I love the stability of our front office....I remained a fan even during the Raymond Felton era which is the era I bitched about the most in my life as a fan..I've got no complaints this season other than I wish Hood and Ariza were playing
We are the 8th seed for a reason. They are 1st for a reason. In our defense, we aren't your typical 8th seed, but regardless, I'm very proud that our boys got that first game! I think that anybody on here with common sense didn't really think we would sweep this series after that game did they? I said Blazers in 6, but it could just as easily be Lakers in 6. I don't get too hyped after Ws or too down after Ls. Everybody deals with that stuff differently.
Hmm. So, I'm not sure I'm understanding the political allegory here. Is the purple story reader Biden and the Dem voters the golden retrievers?
Good points made by @Wade Garrett. I think there's a lack of perspective in this thread. We got blown out, but it happens. It's happens in the regular season and it happens in the playoffs. In 85 the Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 1 by 30+ and still ended up losing the series. We've seen the Blazers get blown out in Game 1 of the 92 Finals and Game 1 of the 2000 WCF ... two of Portland's all-time great teams, yet it happens. The Jazz in 97 put up like 50 on Chicago and lost by 40 in the Finals. Also, it's just ONE loss. How many here would have been thrilled had I told you the Blazers would split the first two games with the Lakers? The series is tied 1-1. Now I know we're aren't heading back to Portland with a split, but it's a split regardless and it's important to not lose sight of that. Can we talk about this roster and how dinged up we are for a bit? We're missing a lot of wing depth without Rodney Hood and Trevor Ariza. We knew it was going to be an uphill climb without those two. But that's not all. We've lost Zach Collins for an indefinite amount of time, which further limits our big depth. CJ is playing with a fucking fracture in his back. Dame just dislocated his left index finger. And Nassir is sidelined for at least two weeks after suffering a syncopal episode. Given all that we're having to take on the best team in the Western Conference! I'm just happy we didn't get swept and would be ecstatic if we pushed to six games. With a couple of smart offseason moves (MLE, Draft) and the resumed health of a lot of our players, we're clearly in the upper echelon of the NBA.
NO! NO politics in the main forum. Just posted puppies because puppies make everyone happy. Be happy you &^%$#$@!