Have we just been unlucky with our playoff opposition the last three years?

Have we just had the unfortunate luck of getting matched up against a buzzsaw at the wrong time... when the playoffs started?

Or am I just a homer looking to make myself feel better?


Houston -- Went on to give the Lakers all they could handle in the series. This was WITHOUT Yao and against a Laker team that was very, very strong.

Phoenix -- Went on to the WCF, when probably very few people expected that.

Dallas -- 2-0 lead in the series against the two-time defending champs and consensus pick to win it again.

 

Pretty Unlucky I'd say, especially with all the injuries we've had. However I am one to believe you create your own luck, Therefore I conclude we could of won any one of those series.

 

I think we had a chance to win any of the series, and was upset when we didn't. However, looking back and realizing that we ended up playing some really good teams that happened to playing amazing basketball at the time... I don't feel as bad about how we played.

 

no. blazers have played horribly in the playoffs. What, do you just expect the other team to lay down and take it?

 

The latter.

 

Do you think we would have beat the Spurs in the first round?

 

Considering your track record for accuracy, this makes me feel better. Thank you.

 

Playing the way we did in the playoffs? No.

 

The Blazers consistently had bad seeds because of worse regular season records than the competition. So when they lose, the guys who beat them were always expected to do well in following rounds. They were better than us in the regular season, and they were better than us in the playoffs.

11 years, no second round. I don't see a lot to be consoled by there.

 

That was kind of the point of the thread. You are obviously of the opinion that we played terribly. This thread is asking if it maybe is more that we just played teams on a hot streak instead of our team playing terribly.

 

The only unlucky pairing we have had is the Houston one.

Against PHX we would have had a hard time against almost anyone sans Brandon Roy, especially with our inconsistency from the bench (weird how that carried over)

Dallas - Again the Blazers would have had a really hard time against any team due to no bench, poor outside shooting, lack of backup PG, and lack of frontcourt depth.

 

Did you expect PHX to get to the WCF last year? I sure didn't.

 

Ignorance is bliss, keep those rose Garden colored glasses on.

There were a lot of "experts" that predicted an upset in the first round with us this year, but if you want to say Dallas is a buzzsaw, go right ahead.


You are a homer, and I respect that. Hopefully you can respect my opinion that Nate is a shitty playoff coach and we got beat 3 years in a row by teams we had a good shot at beating. Dallas and Phoenix were both favorable matchups, and we had HCA against the Rockets.

 

No but they were the better team in our series as would have been every other higher seed. There is nothing unlucky about how we've lost the last couple years, as the team has been missing significant pieces which left us with an incomplete team.

 

Trade coming soon?

LMA was "very average last season"?

Yeah, clearly your sight is much better without the rose colored glasses.

 

It is interesting though... and hindsight is 20/20. But it appears we might have been able to beat the Lakers, judging by how they are playing against Dallas. Looks like we might have been able to beat the Spurs too.

 

Against Houston, maybe.

Against PHX, we could have won had Roy been healthy.

Against DAL, we just played horribly. I don't really buy the idea that they're that good. LA just sucks this year.

 

It's all about matchups.....and the Lakers are having the same exact problem we did with defending the Dirk pick and roll. Also Dallas has two Legit centers with Haywood and Chandler which allows them to nullify the Lakers size advantage....we don't have that. Memphis was a particularly bad match up for the Spurs as the Griz have some of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and forced SA to shoot a really low percentage from outside. Portland has one of the worst perimeter defenses in the league and so SA would have had much greater success which then opens up the lanes for Parker, Manu, and Hill to slash to the hoop.

Bottom line though, we had no chance of winning a series with no bench production.

 

Actually an interesting point of view. At first glance I kind of felt the same way. Season ticket holder, saw all 3 home games in person and felt the Blazers played like crap. Reality is though I think, after watching this Dallas v. LA series, Dallas is just playing really really good team basketball right now. The Mavs ball movement is so crisp, so fast, and if the pick and roll isn't their Dirk is swinging the ball quickly to the shooter, who in turn if not open is finding Marion on the baseline for a chippy. I'm of the belief the Blazers perimeter defense has been horrible for years, and thought the Dallas ball movement was the bi-product of that. That being said, the Lakers have been even worse than we were and I think ultimately they get swept. Honestly, I think our series said far more about how good Dallas is, and less about how we underachieved, than I originally thought!

 

Call it bad luck. Reading one of the posters about our rookies coming in injuried their first year, the injuries to our star players, odd regular season schedules and somehow everyteam we play, just plays out of their mind. I think Allen must have fucked someone terribly. Our karma has been some of the worst I've seen.