I don't have a problem with what he said, but I think he's wrong. I believe we're at the same level as the Lakers and Cavs right now. Yes, we lost in the 1st round last year but so what? We're adding Miller and Webster and our youngsters have an added year of experience. We were a 54 win team last year and I think we're easily 6 games better this year which would put us at 60 wins. A 60 win team is definitely a threat for the title.
It's too bad that Missouri doesn't have a team that all you "show me" guys can root for. The blazers are going to battle LA for the WCF. What ever happened to believing in your team?
You know what I love about sports? Anything is possible. I remember watching Villanova knock off mighty Georgetown in the NCAA finals in 1985, and shaking my head in disbelief. I remember watching the Golden State Warriors sweep the heavily favored Washington Bullets 4-0 in the 1975 NBA finals, and celebrating the amazing accomplishment. And I remember the Blazers beating the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA finals . . . and the city of Portland going crazy with Blazermania. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Say it to yourself when you go to sleep tonight, because it's true.
Recent experience suggests he is wrong. The Cavs were not considered a title contender when they went to the finals - then they went and are now considered contenders. Ditto for the Magic. Are we really contenders? Shrug. I will absolutely not be surprised if we win it all. Nor will I be surprised if we flame out in the second round. Flame out in the first round? That would surprise me. OTOH, if I really considered us contenders, I'd put my $ where my mouth is: http://www.vegas.com/gaming/futures/nbabasketball.html
And he doesn't but as much as we hate for it to be. He's right. Coach and the team needs to change that. They stop themselves from taking it to the hole. It's not the defense.
So since I am a Raiders fan as well, I should expect them to go to the Superbowl? Did you believe the Blazers would win a title last year? Do you believe they will win every year? There is nothing wrong with thinking your team is good, and still think they are a year or two, or player or two away from competing for a title.
Well you know I believe in Santa Claus but it doesn't mean he will come down the chimney on xmas eve. It's good to believe. I believe that if certain things happen. They can and just might win it all this year.
I posted the following on BEdge earlier this summer: DEEP PLAYOFF RUN The Blazers have great prospects for a deep playoff run this year. Remember how our incredibly young team played last year in the face of what many call the most difficult schedule ever. 54 wins. This with our starting small forward out for the season and our #1 draft pick center coming back from microfracture surgery, out of shape, and suffering from several injuries during the season. We had 3 rookies contribute significantly, and the jump to second year is often the greatest. Rudy hit the most 3 pointers of any rookie ever, and Batum was a surprise defensive stopper assigned to guard the league's elite. Our franchise guard -- Roy -- had a season that only Jordan, Kobe, and Carter have equaled in terms of high output, mistake free ball. He is one of 17 guards in all NBA history to make 2nd team all-NBA in his third season. Our franchise center -- Oden (ludicrously labeled a bust by many) -- despite his injury and shape issues, had rookie year offensive rebounding percentages that were equal to the rookie years of Rodman and Moses Malone, and better than those of Buck Williams and Barkley (the 4 best O rebounders of the last 35 years). And his O rebound % was higher than Dwight Howard's last year. Finally, look at how we played during the stretch run last year. Over the last 10 games of the regular season, we played incredibly well, and much of this was defensive, not the efficient offense we heard of all year. These are just the defensive stats: * #1 in opponents points allowed (wide margin) * #3 in opponents field goal percentage * #1 (tie) in opponents 3 point percentage * #1 in opponents assists allowed (wide margin) * #1 in opponents rebounds allowed (wide margin) To this, we add Andre Miller, the best free agent point guard (Sportsline), a savvy vet who is one of the better assist men in the league. He is a long term starter, and played 75% of point guard minutes for Philly last year. Point guard was a weakness for the Blazers last year, with a positional net PER of -0.2. Philly had a point guard positional net PER of 3.8 (3rd in league), which is about the same PER advantage the Blazers had at power forward (LaMarcus/Travis). So this is a very significant upgrade to the team. Before adding Miller, we had the following positional net PERs: PG -0.2, 16th in league SG +6.1, 3rd in league SF +2.7, 7th in league PF +4.0, 2nd in league C -0.8, 16th in league So we covered quite well one of our weak PER areas, bringing in the PG from the team with the 3rd best net PER in the league. Blake played 55% of PG minutes with a net PER of +1.2, so he outplayed his opposition. It was our backup PGs that take our rating negative: Sergio (30% of PG minutes at net PER -1.1) and Bayless (11% of PG minutes at net PER of -5.9). The other PER "weakness" is center, but we have the #1 rebounding center position in the league, and this advantage is likely to increase as Oden stays on the court more. The surprise our ranking in net PER from the SF position. We were ranked 7th last year. This is misleading, as Roy played 25% of our SF minutes with a net PER of +18.3 (phenomenal!). Batum played 35% of SF minutes with a net PER of -1.6, and Travis played 37% of the SF minutes with a -3.1 PER. Of our "true" SF, Batum should improve, and Martell is back, replacing Travis. Martell's net PER in 07/08 was -2.7, so not much difference in net PER from Travis. Finally, our subtractions were minimal: mainly Sergio (backup point guard with 31% of point guard minutes last year) and Frye (3rd string power forward with 19% of power forward minutes), We should be able to field a starting team with mostly strongly positive net PERs (82games): Miller + 2.9 Roy + 9.4 Batum - 1.6 Aldridge +6.1 Oden +2.8 Our backups would be: Blake +1.2 Rudy +4.5 Martell -2.7 Travis +3.1 Pryz 0.0 I imagine we will play more Rudy at SG (net PER of 4.5) and have Roy play more SF. While Roy's net PER at SG exceeds Rudy's by a lot (9.4 vs 4.5), Roy's net PER at SF exceeds anyone we've got by a far cry. This would give us the following team, which is probably our 4th quarter closing team:: Miller + 2.9 Rudy +4.5 Roy +18.3 Aldridge +6.1 Oden +2.8 Roy's surprising strength at SF deserves some comparisons with the league's best (showing % of team's minutes at that position and net PER) LeBron as SF: 56%, +20.8 Roy as SF: 25%, +18.3 Wade as SG: 67%, + 17.0 Kobe as SG: 72%, +14.1 Howard as C: 71%, +12.8 Roy SF/SG: 72%, +12.5 Roy as SG: 47%, +9.4 Anthony as SF: 54%, +8.2 Pierce as SF: 72%, + 5.7 This makes the Roy as SF idea all the more intriguing. Let me now address our competion's "adds." The Lakers added Artest (net PER 5.3), big upgrade from Ariza (net PER 0.8). Took an average position and made it strong. The Spurs added Jefferson (net PER 3.4) big upgrade from Finley (net PER -2.6). Took a weak position and made it pretty good. So both of these teams got much stronger at the PF position, now our weakest position. So we are poised to be an improved team, but our competition improved as well. We have strong prospects of making a deep playoff run, but it won't be easy. Go Blazers!
This is why Charles loses alot of money in Vegas. He would have lumped Orlando into the "having no chance" category last year, only for them to go to the finals. The mistake I see him and Kenny Smith making is that the teams you start the year with are not the ones that end the season. I say Smith because he said the Lakers were going to win 4 of the next 5 NBA championships last year. You never know who is going to make a Gasol or Rasheed trade down the stretch that would boost one of the teams on the cusp.
