Does anyone think any major (or even minor) changes are going to happen until ownership of the team is settled?
Certainly that was an issue this game.....but with Nurk they got blown out by a combined 71 points in the last two games and the Warriors were without 2 of their best players. Yes, it was at the end of a road trip, but if you are close to a contender status, you don't lose by that much to teams that are missing 40% of their starting lineup. There is a familiar reality to this team. They will win some games, make the Playoffs, and do very little damage when they get there. It will be another wasted season of Dame's career. I don't like the idea of tanking because there is no guarantee of that working out....but there is an almost certain guarantee that this isn't going anywhere either as constructed. Like last year when the Blazers were the #3 seed, that was very deceiving in terms of how good they really were. This year they have the same record as last year but are even closer to the #1 seed. But that is because Houston traded most of their defense and the Warriors have been injury riddled. Given a healthy Playoff opponent, I don't see them beating the Warriors, Lakers, Pelicans, and it would be 50/50 if they could get passed the Grizzlies, Thunder or Clippers and only if they had HCA. I think they could be the Nuggets if they had HCA but that is about the only team I feel comfortable against. At some point, something has to change or we will see Dame's entire career in Portland come to an inglorious end by either him leaving, or having been a really nice player who never got his team passed the 2nd round. I would hate to see either of those be the case.
I am also ready for some new blood. Ettore Messina, as you mentioned, is a possibility. Or dip into the NCAA ranks for Jay Wright, Tony Bennett, or some other coach showing sustained success. But that probably won't happen until the end of the season.
More impressed with the bench than I thought I would be. Record wise about what I expected. It was obvious that 12 teams would battle for 8 spots in the West and beat each other up. I also thought Houston would take a step back and they sure have. I thought Utah would be better even with Mitchels injury. Clips & Grizz are surprising to me. We need more consistent production from the forward positions in order to become a legit threat. Im still staying with 51 wins. And Stotts as coach!
To me if a decent trade was there to better balance the roster Id do it. During the off season all I heard was how good Boston was going to be and even they are still trying to dial things in. Our team is right there in the blob of 12 teams in the west. I guess I'm banking on Dames leadership and the continuity the team has in staying in the fight. It did bother me a whole bunch last night when Dame came down and launched that base line three that aired, when we could have tied the game. If CJ had done that this whole forum would be chastising him big time.
That's not happening, IMHO. Stotts isn't making Chief, Harkless, & Layman miss wide open shots from the perimeter that are designed in Stotts' system to relieve the pressure on Dame and CJ. Those guys have to be a reliable threat or everyone is going to do what the Pelicans demonstrated to be effective in the very short playoff series last year: throw the kitchen sink at Dame and CJ and make the role players be the ones that have to carry the day.
Right now Boston too is the definition of average. How about Houston? You didn't realize that 14 of the 15 teams in the west would beat each other up on any given night?
My thoughts? We don't have enough talent to really compete and are in ownership limbo, so no big changes will happen. We will struggle through the season winning most games when Dame and CJ are hitting, and losing most games when they aren't. In the end we will be a low seed first round exit with no hope of change until a new owner comes on the scene. My hope is that the temp owners move Olshey and let someone without bias come in and evaluate them team from scratch, and maybe make some of those big changes that are sorely needed.
We need an "enforcer." A starting power forward that bangs and can consistently score in the paint. But moreover a stud. This team is clearly missing a Lucas, a Buck Williams, a Sheed. Sorry, Lamarcus was never tough enough for my taste so I can't add LA to this. A veteran. Watching games this year, there really aren't too many players that fit this mold. Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Draymond Green...Paul Millsap, maybe Ibaka. Maybe Jordan Bell with the Warriors? Can Kevin Love fill this or is he too soft? We need a real solid star at PF and if not, we are too soft. Swarming defenses are killing us! Defense swept us in the playoffs last year. We had no stud to push back. We have been walloped by the Lakers, Bucks, Warriors and Clippers because we were overpowered by the opponent's defense and we had nothing to fight back with. Our defense sucks. WE NEED A STUD power forward.
Disagree on the "stud/star" part of your post. PFs are among the least important players in the NBA. Yes, we certainly need an upgrade. But I'd much rather have a prime Udonis Haslem than a MAX CONTRACT PF. No need to break the bank on what is basically a utility position in this league. With that said, I'd love to get Draymond Green on the team!
after a fast start this is the same run of the mill boring team, that "if" they even make the playoffs is likely a 1st rd loser, need to make some moves badly and IMO really need to break up this back court and trade CJ
So you don't see where Stotts is going wrong there? I love how it's always "Stotts isn't making Harkless (41% last year), Chief (35% last year), and Layman (39% this year, since he didn't play last year) miss shots!" Yeah, if only we had 45% 3pt shooters... that'd fix all our issues..
