I'm confused. You trash our players but you also say we should have the best record in the West. That makes no sense. If we should have the best record in the West with our talent, why do you want to trade them?
And I think the headline of this thread is misleading. With Dame's leadership, the team functions very well as far as we can see. And exactly who do you think we could get for CJ that would be better than CJ? And if it's not a guard, who plays SG? Wade Baldwin. Love you Chris but you're panicking.
I'm not trashing them. I am giving honest evaluations. I think many of them are playing far below their potential. They should be giving better output on the court, thus a better record.
This team isn't functioning well. It could function far better. I am not calling Dames leadership into question. I am saying the Blazers have played the easiest part of their schedule and their play on both ends have been far from pretty. They are not the well oiled machine they were at the end of last season. They are barely winning games they should be destroying in, and losing to lottery teams. Something is not quite right. The energy isn't there. I wasn't saying we should trade CJ, I was pointing out it was discussed in the forum and I joked about it in the conclusion. I am not panicking, its still early in the season, I'm just concerened cause the good guys aren't playing up to par.
It's a flawed roster, not dysfunctional. They really need a 3andD guy at small forward and they need to move the ball a little more. Defensively they're actually not horrible which is something everyone around here should be slightly encouraged by; today they won the game at the end on the back of their defense.
Look at it this way. If you had the choice of any players in the league, would you look at the current Blazer's squad and say "Now that looks like a great team!" Or would you say.... "Jeez. All these guys would look good on the bench of other teams."
Dame, Nurk, and CJ are all quality starters ... Everybody else? Well there's a couple of guys who belong in somebody's rotation (Vonleh, Napier, erm ... Maybe a couple of other guys?) The product is flawed because Olshey gave out some questionable contracts and hasn't back-filled the holes through the draft. It is what it is.
Chris, I highlighted the part I want to focus on. This is where I think we sold ourselves an unknown. Last year could have easily been a huge peak, much like a coach is let go and the team plays better for the interim...in the short term... type thing. I dont think they were anything close to a well oiled machine last year. I think energy was at a high, as well as other teams not knowing us yet. It wasn't a huge sample size and then Nurk went down, so technically the huge sample size includes Nurk being injured and thus we are what we are. I do agree with some players playing below potential though. I just don't know if we were what we thought we were at the end of last year.
You mean "imply." And then you wrongly inferred that I meant to imply that they have a hopeful future as currently constructed.
I'll check my Elements Of Style handbook when I get home. But in all seriousness, the team's future.... Yeah, I am not hopeful about it.
I'm hopeful about it. I think a couple attitudes just need to sync and we are going to find that sweet spot. Dame, CJ, Nurk, Aminu, and Vonleh as starters.
It's because I haven't been able to watch. I'm actually a good luck charm, they always win when I go to the games. I suggest everyone email the Blazers and beg them to give me a job with the team so that we can win a ring... perhaps on the broadcast team.
They should have 2 or 3 more wins, but otherwise they're doing ok. Way better than last year at this time.
Never said he could--just said we could afford to trade CJ last year when Crabbe can start in his place (not at his level but starter capable especially with Dame).
Nurk becoming more perimeter oriented and softer under Stotts? Not really a surprise. Even Meyers shot 50-40-90 out of college and spent most of his time down low. The longer he was under Stotts, the softer he became and the farther from the basket he went. I don't think that is a coincidence. It's just the coach's philosophy and 'niceness'. Extreme lack of attitude or toughness on this team as a whole.
I disagree with many of this. and I actually watched the Brooklyn game (thank you thanksgiving). The chemistry between Dame and CJ: Yes. it can be better, but they're the team, both of them. They're both untradable, period. And now they need to be able to thrive. The 3 guard lineup with Napier is also a tool we should use more often. Turner is not a wash. Overpaid? maybe. but in the new CBA, he would become less and less overpaid. He doesn't have the natural talent Dame or CJ have but his basketball IQ makes him, IMO, who should be our starting SF. Harkless was excellent and specifically on defense. He's one of our best, smartest defenders, if you wanna learn how to play good defense within a team concept, follow Harkless on defense. Meyers. I have issues with Meyers as well, but you have to also respect the amount of heat he's getting from the fans, he maybe annoying but he's also only human and even if some of these burns are funny and some aspects of his game needed basic work (team defense specifically), he's also our best, most versatile offensive player at PF, and should at least be given a fair chance to earn more playing time and hopefully (I hope so at least) earn the starting spot. Noah. Noah I think should come off the bench, that's his best position. We're not doing him a favour by playing him as starter if he can be more effective as backup, the contrary. Pat. Pat should get more playing time, he worked his way to earning real minutes, which is incredible really and he's now a very good backup guard. Giving him minutes would help relieve the burden of Dame and CJ and give us much more flexibility and options in the backcourt. Ed, I like Ed a lot as a backup Center but the one area he needs to work on is be more of a rim protector and less of a one-on-one defender, learn to play the Center role of protecting the rim and anchoring the defense. Nurkic. No complaints, had an amazing game, really, on both sides of the floor, really an inspiring game. Needs to work on free throws, take a deep breath, etc. Aminu. Aminu can be valuable as a combo forward, maybe moreso as a small-ball 4 but he needs to earn his minutes. If in any point you get a feeling another player on the floor would give us a better chance he should be benched. He should earn his minutes just as much as any other player, no special priveiliges. Shabazz. Doing a very good job, should get better as he gets more experience with the other players and in different lineups. The rookies/youngsters. Should earn their minutes. Caleb I think is good enough to get a chance not just in garbage time. Leyman and Collins should earn a chance in practice and in sporadic minutes and should continue to evolve.
