https://www.blazersland.com/blazer-fans-dont-deserve-this/ Read my new article / Op-ed at Blazerland.com
I've said for many years that one of the most painful aspects of my life is being a Blazer fan. I wish it weren't that way. Us Blazer fans resemble in some ways battered, abused spouses: We take the abuse, and we fall for the apologies and the promises that everything will be better, next time. But the cycle repeats itself, and after the initial pain and disappointment fade away, we love our abuser so much that we forgive them and set ourselves up for more abuse. Hell, if the majority of us made it through the 2000 WCF Game 7, and then the Jailblazers years and are still here to root... perhaps the problem is not with the Blazers, but with us.
It sucks. After years of abuse you get "realists" who get shit on by the optimists for being a downer and not having faith. The optimists defend the abuser. Both extremes can get annoying though. It does grind you down when all you hear is how much we suck. But, truth be told, I am tired of mediocrity. The last time I felt we had a chance was when we traded for Afflalo. The time before that was when we drafted Oden (after letting the cake bake of course). This team has zero chance as currently constructed. Doesn't mean we can't find our Draymond Green in the draft. The odds are just slim to none. Patience is wearing thin.
It is because of this that I have taken a huge step back from sports. The amount of pain and anguish that I have felt towards my favorite teams (Blazers, Ducks, Niners) have far outweighed the good times. Why subject ourselves to this constant pain? If you were in a relationship with this much pain and suffering, you'd get a divorce! I'm more casual now in how I follow sports. It's a lot easier on my emotional well being.
Good job Chris but I disagree that we are mediocre. 49 wins. One of the best records in the league. Playoffs are tough. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. Warriors went 73-9 and still didn't win the title. 2007 Mavs went 67-15 and lost in first round but 4 years later, they won the title. I'm glad you haven't given up on the team and will be pulling for them tonight. Let's see how Dame handle these triple teams again. Go Blazers!!!
I think he is closer to right than wrong. We are closer to being mediocre than being elite. Unfortunately the Playoffs also do one more thing. Shine a spotlight on weaknesses and deficiencies. With that said, one right fit player can take us from a mediocre to an elite, just like that. This is where NO comes in.
Sometimes, there are just bad matchups. Rockets won two titles because they didn't face Sonics in playoffs those two years. The next year, they faced the Sonics and got swept. Seattle was always a bad matchup for them. Our series is the only one with two legit MVP candidates, Dame & AD. But contrary to popular belief, Dame is not getting shut down by Holiday or Rondo. He is getting double and triple teamed and trying to figure out how to balance trusting his teammates and providing his own share of the scoring. If it was just Holiday guarding Dame 1 on 1, Dame would be destroying him. We saw it all season.
I guess I see it a little differently. I'm just a dude who likes watching pro basketball. I root for the Blazers whether they're winning or losing. I'm pretty invested, so yeah, I get upset when they lose and get giddy when they win. But that being said, I don't feel like I'm owed anything as a fan other than the players playing hard and management doing the best they can to improve the team. Why would Blazers fans deserve better than Pelicans fans? Don't they root just as hard. Haven't they suffered through years of losing and injuries? Only one team wins it all each year, and that leaves the fans of 29 other teams feeling like they've been kicked in the nards by the basketball gods. I guess we can argue whether the players are playing as hard as they can or whether Blazers' management is doing everything it can to give us a winning product. I haven't seen any lack of effort on the part of the players. They're just getting handled right now by a team that's figured out, at least for the moment, the kryptonite for the Blazers' backcourt. Maybe that means the Blazers will need to make some changes this summer to the roster, the system, or both. But that's a discussion that starts with the draft. It seems to me that there hasn't been a lack of effort on NO's part to try to make deals needed to improve the team. He swung hard after both George and Melo, but things just didn't work out. That doesn't mean the next one won't. I think he has made some mistakes, and I'm sure that he'd agree, but he's also had some successes. That's pretty much the situation for any GM in the league. I guess I just don't see anything that makes me say, man, as fans we deserve better. I'd sure appreciate a couple of breaks going our way this summer though.
Right now we have our fair share of bad matchups. We need that one other difference maker to balance the roster out and make it so we are the ones with the advantage in the matchups, not disadvantaged.
Sadly, I agree with mediocre. 49 wins got them the #3 seed when just 46 wins would have missed the Playoff altogether. So "one of the best records in the league" would be akin to coming in top-5 in the Indy 500 but finishing 2 laps back.....never close to being in contention. Tough to be more than mediocre when the team is last in assists and last in passes in the entire NBA. ISO/hero ball just doesn't get great results.
Hang in there Bro. I know it can be extremely tough to do, but OUR team is young, and still developing. Dame gets better every year, but he needs that one compadre who has his back when needed most. That player has yet to show himself, or isn't on the team yet. Nurk could be that guy, but needs to toughen up, get stronger, and get meaner. But don't give up on OUR team. I have confidence they will get there. But patience is needed. Remember Harden has been called a choker in the playoffs, but add CP3, and he looks invincible. OUR time is just around the corner.
Toughest western conf I can ever remember...every game since the allstar break has been like a playoff game...our two best shooters slump and we lose a couple....sort of like the Spurs lost a couple...pick your poison..the west is a beast this playoffs...Go Blazers! I don't get so upset over a loss....I actually quit going to Duck football games because the fans we're so out of control....last Duck game I saw the folks around me we're screaming bloody murder over a penalty call and the Ducks were up by 60 pts.....not my idea of a good time...hopefully the Blazer fans will not go that direction. As a fan of basketball I have been impressed by the Pelicans in the series....they beat us...no excuses....now is when guys will either stick with the team or move on in the off season. I suspect we'll be busy looking for ugrades to the roster all summer.
