Exactly. I'm amazed that some posters on here are all or nothing with their hopes for the team. Yes, the ultimate goal for every team should be winning the championship, but we all know the Blazers aren't designed or built to win championships this year or even next. Growing, as players and a team, is the short term goal. And the first bullet on that list is making the playoffs which, barring a major rash of injuries, will happen this year. I would think that a first round playoff victory and making it to the second round is a lofty, yet realistic goal for the team THIS YEAR. Next year? 2nd round or WCF. Starting in 2010-11? That should be the beginning of the window for this team as it is now. Roy and Aldridge will be the veteran cornerstones, Oden will be the rock in the middle dictating everything on the floor, and Batum/Webster/Bayless/Sergio will be on the wings wrecking havoc. I can see some people's point about patience being run out, and wanting some results... but doesn't 30-17 count for anything? After where this franchise has been the past half-decade, isn't a playoff berth something to get excited about? Rome wasn't built in a day, as the old saying goes.
This forum may have some crazies, but most of us are pretty realistic about the expectations this year. So no, we're not contending this year unless we get a guy like Caron for cheap which probably won't happen. Most of us were probably happy before the season just to see this team make the playoffs.
And as the Spurs demonstrated, the Hornets were in fact NOT a contender last year, they were a paper tiger (just like us).
Not close to being one at all. Assuming no Pau Gasol caliber trade (ie, unused/unloved parts for All-Star talent). And even then, I don't think team defense can be fixed mid-season. Too young. Too inexperienced. Never been a team with defense this bad to win it all. With the injury to Bynum and the Spurs more dependant than ever before on their Big 3, the Blazers are a dark-horse candidate to make it to the finals. If the Lakers/Spurs have further injury problems to key players, the Blazers stay healthy, they go into the playoffs in the top bracket (avoiding 3 tough series), get favorable matchups, AND they get hot, they have a shot to sneak into the finals. Once in they would be crushed by the Celtics/Cavs who have great defenses. But the immortal words of wisdom from our esteemed elders should guide our actions: <DL><DD>Lloyd: The least you could do is level with me. What are my chances? <DD>Mary: Not good. <DD>Lloyd: You mean like one out of a hundred? <DD>Mary: More like one out of a million. <DD>Lloyd: So you're tellin' me there's a chance. </DD></DL>THERE IS A CHANCE! So, the Blazers should play for a top 4 seed. And once they get that they should play to win the series. And the next one. And the next one. And, if they should find themselves in the Finals, they should, you know..... Play to Win!
I don't think we are... I think Batum, Oden and Bayless need to develop more for us to be a top contender.
Are there about six or eight teams who project to be better in the playoffs than us? Sure. So in that sense, we're not a contender because we're not an elite team (Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Celtics, I'd put the Spurs in there)... But are we a dangerous team that nobody wants to face in the playoffs? Absolutely. We're playing four rookies in the rotation! They're all already better than they were two months ago, and they'll be better in another two months. And especially the way this team plays at home, us getting HCA means we just might make it to the second round. And in the second round, you're only one series away from the WCF. So no, we're not a contender for a title. Except that we'll be 1 of 16, maybe 1 of 8 with a shot... and then, who knows...
Yes. I think that once you make the playoffs, if you can win 4 games out of 7, you have a pretty good chance. There isn't any team where I don't think that this is a possibility, albeit maybe not a good chance. We still have young players, but are playing very well. We are likely still another 1-2 years away from being in contention as the team to come from the West, but it can happen. Let's not play down the chance of injuries. We've seen a lot of good players go down recently, the same that happened about this time a year ago. What happens if a star player is hurt right before or during the playoffs? Can we beat San Antonio if they only have two of the big three? Can we beat LA if they're missing either Pau or Kobe? New Orleans if they're without West, Paul or Chandler? Granted, that requires Roy and LMA staying healthy as well, but we have enough depth at other positions to get by if we have slight injury issues with our PG's, SF's or C's. So yeah, there is definitely a chance. I'd throw it at 14% they get to the WCF and 5% they get to the finals this year, but those aren't odds impossible to beat. I mean, we won the lottery a few years ago when it was an even bigger longshot.
Really, going to game 7 against the spurs in the second round doesn't make them contenders . . . OK. So that means either San Anotonio, the Laker or NO (or Denver) will not be contenders this year? I guess this begs the question, what is a contender?
*We have a great shot at making the playoffs. *A decent shot at winning a series(especially if we stay in 4th place or better). *Not much of a chance at getting deep in the playoffs. I'd love to be proven wrong though
i think that's largely an illusion caused by a relatively easy recent schedule. the only real quality win recently was against boston, and even they were in the middle of a slump at the time. if paul doesn't go down we're 0-6 in our last 6 against .500+ teams on the road. i don't see any obvious improvement vs. earlier in the season.
Title contender? Right now? No. As most I think we might be able to get out of the first round, but I doubt we'd be able to go much further and certainly not make it into the finals. BUT if we continue to improve the rest of the season who knows? We might be a lot better when the playoffs start. There's a lot of time left. And the playoffs are played different than the regular season. I think we are a team that if we improve would do well in the playoff style of play. As someone mention in another thread Oden shouldn't get a lot of the tick tack fouls he's getting now. So now no, but maybe by then yes.
We won in Orlando, Miami, and Detroit, All three are playoff teams and all three were at full strength.
To answer the question, OF COURSE we are a contender. We're one of the top 7 teams in the league and are ranked 5th in the Sagarin ratings. Will the Blazers win the championship? Maybe, maybe not. But we are definitely one of the top teams in the league and that makes us a contender in my book.
