I don't get it. The Spurs rest 3 of their best players and still destroy us by 20 on our own court??? How in the world did we get this bad?? Was last season just one of those weird examples of the stars aligning perfectly? Was it all just smoke and mirrors? As I recall, we played the Warriors almost even several games last year, and even beat them a couple of times. Where has that Blazer team gone??? I want them back.
Portland did play the Warriors much tougher last year...even in losses. Take nothing away from last year's effort but there were some criteria that may have affected some of those contests. In the blowout win, it was the first game after the All-Star break. Most of the Warriors stars had been there for one reason or another while Portland was at home resting for 5 days. Then they got to play in Portland in front of a rabid crowd that hadn't seen basketball in a week. It also didn't hurt that Noah Vonleh did his best Draymond Green impersonation in that game. It was a blowout from the tip-off and probably the best win of the season. Then came the Playoffs where Portland battled them every game. But like the Clippers series, the Warriors had a major injury. Go back and look at that slip/fall that Curry had before the Portland series. That would have torn most of us in two. He was obviously hobbled but when he finally did get his rhythm back, he completely destroyed Portland in that 4th quarter/OT barrage that was historic. Confidence is a big part of basketball and right now the Blazers aren't playing with any. That confidence was helping to overcome some of the defensive deficiencies they had which translated over into hitting shots on offense. It was covering a myriad of sins and they just don't have that right now to cover anything. Without that confidence, the flaws are much more exposed.
We simply lack intensity...some of that is coaching...most of it is guys like Crabbe mailing it in...paid like a starter and playing like a 3rd stringer...too much of that...my biggest disappointment is Ed Davis....he was the heart of our team last season...this season he looks like he's not digging watching guys make bank while he's getting 3rd string money...Ed has regressed...and this disappoints me...Meyers just isn't making the next step as a big. Too many of our current rotation players still play like 3rd string bench warmers.
If Ed Davis is pouting about money he is a dumbass. Just playing like usual will get him 50 million. I hope it isn't that.
I don't see pouting, I just see about half the intensity he brought on defense this season...Lamarcus schooled him last night..he couldn't hold his ground when he got bumped at all..I thought he'd be the vocal guy, the sgt on the court..
Because bench warmers is all we have! Fuck Meyers he blows, we gave him a participation trophy contract. Get him the fuck outta here. Crabbe can go too. Sooooo fucking tired of watching another all star talent wasted by mediocre help. Fucking frustrated and par for the course for blazer fans.GETTING FUCKING OLD, AND ANOTHER REBUILD ISNT GETTING ANYMORE OF MY MONEY. FOR FUCKS SAKE. Another Christmas to celebrate a fucking team that sucks our money and gives us 8-9 basketball. Fucking hooray. I'm out, thanks Portland trailblazer organization.
nah...Boogie is a pouter...Ed isn't...he's just playing like a guy who isn't that invested in having a big impact...Boogie pouts and has an impact...Ed is cool...reserved...and is not having an impact
I don't buy the idea that it's because they got "paid". The only players that got "paid" this offseason are Crabbe, Turner, Leonard, Harkless and CJ (the extension), and none of them have dropped off from last year. Harkless and CJ are a tad better if anything.
I think it's a combination of things: Way too many guys playing for a contract probably inflated results and now that motivation is gone. Secondly, I think they didn't always get other team's best shot, and now they can't sneak up on anyone. Lastly, they seem rattled now.
nonsense...the whole team has dropped off from last year.....JJ Hickson was a shot blocking double double machine his contract year in Portland...got a job in Denver and couldn't stay on the court....ended up in China...guys got paid but haven't come close to playing up to their new deals yet...CJ either...he was schooled by Patty Mills and outscored by Mills .....he's been putting up 13pts..16pts...etc...recently..now I call that dropping off
It's not the money. I think this squad is closer to reality than some fans like to admit. I never thought the team was all that great last season. When they finally put the injury-depleted Clippers away, those games were way too close for comfort. Austin Rivers exposed their backcourt as just a complete disaster defensively. When they go the Curry-less Warriors (for the most part), the lack of interior presence to that playoff team needs was clear. Instead of plugging those holes in free agency, they panicked when they lost on the top-tier guys and doubled down on the flawed roster. This outcome was inevitable.
With a roster like this, the best thing to do is play Larry Brown ball like the Pistons did with Sheed....no superstars, just bread and butter defense...we're not going far trying to play like Steve Nash with the Suns
I tend toward the simplest explanation: the team is what we thought they were going into last season--they just had a flukishly great run after the All-Star break last year and now have regressed to the mean. I don't think they're really mailing it in or don't care--they (as a group) are just not that good.
The defense has slipped though. That tells me it's at least partly effort related; it's not a complicated scheme and these guys have been in it for awhile.
That's reasonable, though the defensive fall-off has affected people like Plumlee, Harkless, Davis--guys who've made their living on playing hard. Not everyone on the roster got big paydays this past off-season. I do think you can fluke your way to better defensive performance and, arguably, that's exactly what happened. Their offense is actually not materially worse than last year--they were 6th in the NBA last season in Offensive Rating and they're 7th so far this year. They were 20th in Defensive Rating last year, though, and they are 30th this year. When I look at the roster and ask myself, which rating better reflects my perceptions of the defensive talents of this group--this year's does. I don't have Defensive Rating breakdowns of different parts of the season, but I suspect that they played defense at about this level til around the All-Star break last year and then caught lightning in a bottle for the rest of the year and dragged their seasonal Defensive Rating up.
I agree a regression to the mean is a strong possibility. I was in that 28 wins camp last year. This is the team I expected last year.
The worst part is we can't attract free agents. They just don't want to play in Portland. Period. Which means we are stuck with this mediocre assortment of second-rate (and highly overpaid) players for a long time. Gird your loins, my friends. It's going to get ugly.
