So like.... are we too good to tank now?

Preseason over under was 21.5 wins.

We can hit the over with a win tonight.

 

Matched last season's win total last night.

 

Of course I bet the over last season but not this season.

 

I thought this year woulda been a definite under.

 

At their current pace (0.420), the Blazers are targeting 34.4 wins by the end of the season.



Have the Blazers hit bottom?

My guess is they'll cool off a bit and end with around 31 wins and the 8th pick in the draft. I'm okay with that. I want this to be the last year the Blazers are in the lottery. 4 years in a row is enough for me. Let's start building that winning culture.

Time to start looking up.

 

I still have no idea what this organization’s plan is. Maybe we will know more Friday but I think all signs are pointing to keep the roster as-is and try to make the play in next year. Scoot Shae and DC will be from the bench from here on out, barring injuries etc which would give them starting roles. I do not think that is a good plan but it is clear winning helps team morale and chemistry (duh). The problem is the west is simply flush with teams that are better than the blazers. POR cannot compete with HOU, OKC, SAS, MEM, DEN. Verdict is out on LAL DAL MIN SAC and LAC. Plus who wants to bet against Curry in 7 g series? POR simply does not have a true star to will them to success. They would of had a shot with a top 3 pick if patient but it seems the rebuild is OVER.

 

The problem with everyone who is so excited about where we're at right now and what our trajectory is, happens to be what you're unfortunately accurately assessing. I don't know about the Grizzlies and Nuggets in 5 or 6 years but what we have when looking at the prime windows for Shaedon, Scoot and DC is just so much worse than what those windows look like for the Rockets, Thunder and Spurs.

What it seems like we're doing right now and hopefully we'll learn that I'm wrong by Thursday but what it looks like is that we're aiming to lose in the first round every post season starting next year and going forward until the next rebuild. That fucking sucks!!!

All because a bunch of people: fans on this forum, other fans, seemingly management and/or our shit show of an ownership group got sick of losing and made all of the losses we've had to endure over the last three plus seasons fucking meaningless. If we half ass this rebuild, like it looks like we're prepared to do, we will have been screwed over for the last few seasons just to end up worse than we were during the half assed Dame era.

 

The turnaround happened organically. The young players got better. Defense got better. The team developed chemistry. What are we supposed to do? We’re like Houston last year or the Bubble Suns. This could carry over to next year,

 

The turnaround was allowed to happen too quickly. And we'll likely never been as good as we were when Dame was here, unless we get extraordinarily lucky.

 

Fans on this forum are responsible for the team winning recently? Crazy

 

I think we’re currently playing better than the Dame teams ever did. Better size. Better defense. Scoot’s a better playmaker than Dame was. And Scoot/Sharpe/Cling/Camara/Deni are trending up. There are potential All Stars in that group. Evan Turner, Harkless, Aminu, Nurkic, even CJ weren’t players that were getting better. They were what they were. No upside. This group has way more potential than any of the Dame teams, IMO.

 

So my guess before the season of 35 wins is looking pretty good.....at the moment

 

... and as good as we were when Dame was here just wasn't close to good enough. If we want a championship we can't have a team that loses in the first and second round and makes one fluky run to the conference finals only to be swept. We need a team that is likely to be in the finals and is consistently in the conference finals (see the current Boston Celtics).

People who were whining about all of the losing up until 9 games ago and are happy right now, actually don't want to win it all. They just care about the next game but have no concept of a championship. It's straight up shortsightedness you see it everywhere in human behavior. It's all about what people need in that moment and no planning for actual long term sustainable success. It's disgusting!

 

Harkless, Aminu, Nurk and CJ were all young and full of potential at one point as well.

 

No, Sharpe has a way higher ceiling than CJ ever had. Harkless and Aminu never had All Star potential and showed no growth in their time as a Blazer. Maybe Nurk had star potential.

 

If we get to a playin game I think I'd rather just win it, make the playoffs, and eliminate our pick debt to Chicago.

Yes we would lose a 2025 pick in the middle of the draft. But we'd gain both the pick we had owed Chicago and we would guarantee we receive the 2028 pick swap from Milwaukee.

The Blazers getting to the playoffs would be great experience for all our young players. Even if we get swept. It usually takes a year or two of being in the playoffs before learning how to win a round, then a year or two of winning a round before being able to become a fringe contender. This would at least start the process of many of our youth getting some of that experience.

Now I don't think the Blazers will actually ultimately do the above this season. I'm just saying thats what I would root for, I'd be happy if we were able to attain it, and I wouldn't worry about the loss of draft value as it would be less than the value our youth had gained.

 

These are fantastic opinions. What percent of players do you think reach their ceiling?

 

We already have as many wins as we had in 82 games last year where we got the 7th pick. The ship has sailed on us being in a likely position of pick3 or pick5.

 

I agree with you up to the last two lines. Because although we do need a superstar on this team, tanking still has very low odds of getting us one. And if we did get one it would be another 5 years until they were ready. How many #1 picks have won a championship for the team that drafted them in the last 25 years? LBJ and Duncan? Not many. Yes, the draft is still our best chance to get one, but history has shown that it is still a long shot. I can't get to worked up over those odds.

 

Wr are due for good luck