Bleacher Report starting 5’s ranked

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...projected-starting-5-after-free-agency#slide1

They have the Blazers at 16th for starting 5.

Just ahead of Miami and Behind Indy.
I think they should be up a few spots.

Some starting 5’s I think they have really over rated include Denver, the Lakers and OKC.

 

Ugh. Portland gets so underestimated. It's crazy.

 

"Bleacher Report," lol...

 

Meh. I think we're rated about right. We're definitely in the 10-20 range as far as talent, so being rated 14 is fair.

 

So, we go into this season with the same starting 5 from a team that finished 3rd in the West and with the 7th best record in the league and they think we have the 16th best starting 5? Either the math doesn't add up or they think we had the best bench in the entire history of the NBA last season.

I get that some teams' starting 5s got better (the Lakers by adding LeBron), but an equal number also got worse (the Cavs by losing LeBron). Sure, some teams got better through the draft (PHO), but those teams are generally at the bottom of the heap heading into the season.

So yeah, I call bullshit. Not just because it's Bleacher Report and not because they rank my team below average, but because it makes zero sense based on how this same starting 5 performed last year.

BNM

 

15thish is about right

 

Classic wookie.

 

Well if we only went to the basketball sites that EVERYONE liked we wouldn’t go to any basketball sites. Except sports2 of course.

 

The Fansided network of content farm sites is even worse. Now they want me to disable my ad blocker to read their drivel. I refuse to do so and thank them for putting this roadblock in my way before I start reading their nonsense without realizing where a link I clicked on has taken me.

BNM

 

Who cares really, but this is definitely on the low end.

Warriors, Rockets, Raptors, Celtics, Thunder and Nuggets are the only starting units I'd clearly have ahead of us. It gets pretty muddled after that.

 

I honestly just have google nba news alerts and read what looks interesting lol.

 

I am a homer I guess but I prefer the Blazers starters over Denver or OKC’s. Now to be far Denver’s fun to watch, but OKC doesn’t scare me.

 

I think Russ/Roberson/PG/Patterson/Adams could be nasty. They are a good match up for us though since Russ and Adams are an exploitable defensive combo for us in the pnr. Adams forces them to play it more conventionally and Russ is very undisciplined at the point of attack.

As far as the Nuggets go, they're also a good matchup for us for many of the same reason's OKC is. Jokic's ability to both spread the floor and punish switches in the post causes more issues though.

Their depth is why they struggled last year. I thought they'd play better w/ Millsap on the floor without Jokic, but those units got smashed. Interested to see if that trend continues. If not, they'll struggle to make the playoffs despite their starting 5.

Throwing IT's usage and crippling D into the mix should also be interesting to watch play out.

 

Feels about right. We have no consistent SF and meh PF's as of now. That'll grade us down.

We have 2 great players, a guy who may or may not have his breakout year this year. I think its pretty fair.

 

Fixed this for you. In no way is CJ "great". He's not even legitimately considered for the all-stars.

Two things:
1) Blazers were very fortunate last year, health wise. That should be accounted for.
2) Dame played almost MVP level ball for a large portion of the season. Let's see if he can replicate that before saying the team is as great as you believe it is.

 

Maybe not clearly, but I'd be surprised if our starting five outperforms those units vs the entire league.

Against us though, I agree that our starting unit presents problems for both of these teams.

 

I dont consider all-stars to be the barometer to say they are a great player, IMO.

CJ has his flaws, but he's elite at scoring and creating his shot.