Wow. Lillard is an elite PG, Aldridge is best PF in game, and the Blazers are legit contenders. All this from people who know basketball the best. Suck on it, haters!
Eric, Freeland isn't the defender that Lopez is. he does well in his role, but there is a pretty big drop off in defensive production
I'm interested too. I think we can definitely use his scoring. Right now, our backp SG is Lillard. MCCollum can take some of those minutes and when Mo is cold, we will need McCollum's shooting. I can't wait for him to come back.
Lopez is better. That is why he starts. But Freeland has done a great job of protecting the rim. Anyone who has watched all the games knows this.
I clearly know that Freeland does OK in a spot minutes role, but that if asked to do it for 30+ minutes per night he'd be in over his head.
I was reading a stat the other day that showed opponents FG% in the paint with Lopez vs Freeland. It was a pretty big difference....something like 5% lower with Lopez. I will find that again and post it
To be clear, the one game Freeland didn't play due to injury, we lost. He is a very important player on our team.
So Miami, Indiana, OKC, and SA aren't contenders? After all, it's been 18 games. SEVERAL of those people (GM, coaches, and scout) said we were contenders.
Those teams have already showed they can compete at that level. Teams that haven't been there or showed they can go deep in the playoffs don't get the benefit of the doubt.
IMO, it's a bit different when you are talking about teams that have been contenders and didn't make any significant roster moves than a team that was piss poor last year and added a couple of role players. Might we be contenders as the season rolls on? absolutely. Are we contenders right now after 18 games and going 33-49 last year? Not sure how anyone can honestly say yes
In probably all these GM, Ass Coaches and Scouts, they think we're for real because we just beat them! After beating Indy, the media is all of a sudden jumping on the band wagon. Steve Kerr is the ONLY guy who thought we were good from the start! Stotts just lets the game do the talking! Start of a dynasty here if you ask me.
Lots of people are honestly saying yes. Read the first post on this thread. People who work in the NBA, coaches scouts, are saying we are contenders. Deal with it.
Honest answer from NBA scout: "I think the Blazers are very much contenders. I've seen the Clippers and I'm not sure the Clippers are better than them. It could be a toss-up. Portland has what it takes to go deep into the playoffs because of their ability to shoot from the perimeter, and they have a great inside player. They mirror Indiana. They're a good defensive team, they're big, they can score and their defensive numbers are pretty good. They're playing much better on that end than they did last year.
