How "lucky" were the Blazers last year?

you're gonna need this.

 

This article shows the data that proves what I've been saying all along - that POR didn't get any luckier than anyone else. Butler, Curry, Durant, Kawhi, Gobert, Cousins, etc. all missed games against all the other playoff teams in the West, not just Portland. It's just common sense that when Butler misses 23 games, Gobert misses 26, Cousins, misses 34, etc., all opponents benefit pretty much equally.

This chart sums it up nicely:



You'll have to read the article to understand what D, C, B and A games mean, but the chart shows that UTA was actually the luckiest team in the West when it came to playing against opponents missing their best player(s). The others were all pretty close (other than OKC when it came to D games - games where the opponent is missing their best player). POR, NOP, SAS, MIN and DEN all had exactly the same number of D game wins (the "luckiest" kind of wins). UTA had twice as many as anyone else.

Seriously, the fact that most teams had between 7 and 9 "lucky" wins, with the Blazers right smack in the middle at 8, just proves the law of averages applies. Or did anyone really think Curry, Cousins, Butler, etc. only sat out against the Blazers and were perfectly healthy against everyone else?

BNM

 

I dont think the Blazers got luckier than anyone else, I do think that the margin of error for any of the teams in the west is so little that a dip in production could hurt a team 3-4 wins and see them on the outside looking in.
I think the Blazers (mostly because of Dame) are one of 8ish teams who will be fighting for 6 playoff spots.

I understand why people look at the Blazers last year and think wow we played a lot of teams with injuries we got lucky to get the 3 seed. I think its a case of looking at it with a microscope on the Blazers and takes away the big picture that literally every team plays games against other teams with injuries.

 

That's the logical conclusion I've been spouting all along. It baffles me how anyone could think otherwise.

It drives me nuts when "fans" and the local media constantly shit all over any success the Blazers have. I've never seen a fan base make so many excuses for their team winning. Other fan bases actually make excuses when their team loses. Go figure...

BNM

 

Every other team that benefit from the opponent injury also dealt with a major contributor to their roster missing a significant amount of games while the Blazers had the healthiest team in the league... Gobert, Kawai, Millsap, Butler, Curry... the odds of almost every other West team having a major injury while Blazers are healthiest team again is very slim... it’s comical that you think you proved your point... this team will be lucky to get 7 or 8 seed and swept out of playoffs again

 

I get that some wins are more impressive than others and that in an 82 game season some “flukie” crap happens,
The Blazers also lost games they shouldve won too. They are what their record is all the “lucky” wins and unlucky losses.

 

They very well could be the 7/8 seed and get swept. Like I said the margin for error in the west is incredibly tiny. They could also be the 3 seed get a good match up and be in the 2nd round.

The Blazers had injuries last year too. Reality is they were the 3 seed and sure they couldve lost some they couldve won some.

 

If luck had nothing to do with us getting such a high seed last year, then getting blown out by the Pelicans, had nothing to do with being "unlucky" either. That's the lamest shit I've ever heard of and merely convient for a fan base who ignores their team's very obvious shortcomings. If we don't want our team to get exposed, then don't build the lineup that way. It's like starting an option QB with small hands and then wondering why he turns the ball over all the time.

 

I never said anything about the pelicans loss being lucky though. Thats called a strawman arguement to focus on what proves the point you want to talk about.
Yes the Blazers are a flawed team and their playoff performances shown that. I never claimed they didnt have short comings. They clearly lack a good third option, have two of the worst contracts in the league in ET and ML.
They still are a play off team mostly because of how good Dame is and will be in the hunt again this year.

 

Other than limiting the comparison to the top 9 teams in the West (the 8 teams that made the playoffs + 46-win DEN), the article, nor anyone in this thread mentioned anything about the playoffs, in general, and not one god damn thing about the Blazers vs. the Pelicans playoff series.

You're reply is misplaced. If you want to bitch about fans making excuses for why the Blazers lost to the Pelicans, try posting in a thread where someone actually does that. If it happens as much as you imply, you should have no problem finding an appropriate thread.

BNM

 

Fans have been saying the "Blazers were unlucky" the entire offseason! Shit, the news media has been saying that. When was there topic limitation between forum boards threads?! When did this happen? Man this place has changed.....

 

I absolutely dont believe the Blazers were just unlucky against the Pelicans. I think their issues (which we know they have) got exposed. I just also dont believe they were “lucky” to get the 3 seed. I know quite a few games couldve gone different directions and injuries play a part in it. I think last season they are what they were. A team with an incredible player, who really struggles if a team can make his life hard. Wasnt that the Pelicans got lucky its that the Blazers need better players around Dame, and to a lesser extent CJ.

 

Then post your rant in one of those threads, where it would actually be on topic. Better yet, actually quote someone who said the "Blazers were unlucky". If "fans" have been saying that, you should have no trouble finding one of those "fans" to reply to.

Instead, you quoted someone who didn't mention one damn thing about the playoffs, in a thread about an article that had nothing to do with the playoffs.

Of course, you are free to post any off topic rant you want anywhere you want. I'm also free to point out that your post is off topic. Nothing has changed.

BNM

 

Then I guess we can look at it this way. There were factors that went their way over an 80+ game season. Obviously, those factors went the other way in a short playoff series. Some people claim good or bad luck, both ways.

 

BNM. This is a sports forum. Every thread includes rants.

 

I guess I just really believe Dame is good enough that he’ll keep them in the playoff conversation. This year happened to be a 3 seed next year could be a 7 or 8 or barely missing.
Im not excusing the playoff performance, and I absolutely awknowledge the roster has flaws. Im not an NO fan.
However I dont prescribe to the notion that they just floundered there way into the 3 seed and didnt ‘deserve it’. -Not claiming thats what you’re saying -.

 

Yep, and those rants tend get more traction if posted in response to something that was actually said in the thread.

BNM

 

Oh I'd say the rants during arguments do just as well. Or at least those are the most fun to read!

 

Who's to say that those players aren't injury prone and will be healthy this year?