blazers dont necessarily need another all-star, they need better supporting cast and better coaching when you have dame/cj/powell/roco/nurk (if powell re-signs), you can seriously hurt anyone offensively, but not with terry stotts offense (lol), thats why you need to be versatile and this team can do that well coached team that is well constructed can do wonders, so lets see if neil olshey can do exactly that and hope that billups can take this team to the next level (in theory, he sounds like the right guy for the job)
Kanter/Melo might be worse.... So, we could have the worst, and the 2nd worst defensive frontline in NBA history!
As he shouldn't be, if the team isn't willing to do what it takes to be legit contenders. What Dame is doing right now is good. It's forcing the organization to be more competitive.
Totally agree. Strengthening the bench is a MUST. And players holding each other accountable is of the utmost importance. Tenacity from the bench would be an awesome add. I mention Josh Hart. If the Blazers added him in a sign & trade, he fits that mode. The Blazers need a little MEAN. People mention Dame and his improved defense in the Olympic exhibitions . He's always had glimmers of it. But he needs to commit more to it during the NBA season. That means his teammates can't be bricking shots off his passes. HELLO NURK. Finishing by everyone not named Dame will be expected, not hoped for. Winning is a mindset. And as Dame says, EVERYONE needs to up their game. Front Office, Coaches, Players, and Support Staff. We shall see. But it's too early to crap on this team's potential.
well, the trio of Dame-CJ-Nurkic are now 3-13 in the playoff games and 0-3 in playoff series. Maybe a better supporting cast would have turned around one of those series, but it wouldn't have made Portland a contender and it sure doesn't look like Portland has the flexibility to keep the top-end of the rotation together and significantly upgrade the rest of the rotation. Dame-CJ-Nurkic + Powell + RoCo just got whipped by a Denver team missing their 2nd best player Short of a major roster overhaul, or a dramatic change in the top of the rotation, I don't see any potential to be excited about. And until he proves me wrong, I remain completely unconvinced Olshey will do what it takes to change that situation
blazers needs to follow what phoenix suns and utah jazz did, simple as that, just replicate that shit (what their players, coaches & front office did) if dame played on these teams instead booker & mitchell, im not sure hed be unhappy... that should be doable, if not, well, fuck them all, from top to bottom @wizenheimer do you like suns & jazz and do you think blazers can do the same, cause it doesnt look to me like they did some unbelievable job, rather a well planned one
That seems to be the impasse right there. Over Neil's tenure, I'm not sure I would ever call his leadership 'well planned'. I don't disagree with the sentiment.... I just don't think Olshey is able to pull that off.
All Utah did was hit on draft choices, and all Phoenix did was hit on lottery draft choices. It’s not a hard plan to follow
I'm not gonna deal in absolutes. Especially in sports. You can be a juggernaut on paper, and half way through the season a key injury dooms your team. We don't know who will win it all next year. We can only hope we make enough key moves, and improve, to compete. A little luck staying healthy is also welcome. But i'm not gonna crap on this team's chances. I have hope. And no matter what, I'm a Blazer Believer, FOREVER!
it doesn't help that Doc and Embiid ran over him in their exit interviews, nor does it look good when Doc benched him in the fourth quarter of elimination games. We don't need any games in the media to bring his value down-- his own play and his team did that for him.
they had problems with scoring when they didnt make shots as they had no "plan b", thats all coaching... but yeah, our starting five have really good scoring potential neil olshey needs to work his magic and bring better defensive personnel, and it starts with not bringing kanter and carmelo back getting nerlens noel would be a home run, but i think hell get more than blazers can offer
