I've just heard story about Barkley. He said, that at some point he realized, that his teammates in Phoenix are hungry different way. He wanted to win the championship. At the same time some players asked him if he wants to do business with them. Someone had a restaurant (I think it was Dan) and they wanted to make the chain of them. When they asked Barkley about it, he was like: "wtf am I doin here? wtf they talking about? restaurants?" My point is I belive Blazers talking about culture a lot, but I can not see it. Dame don't want to chase the rings, but thing is, the ring chasers are the ones, that have real chance to actually win it. You can call them whatever, but they actually want to win this chip. Few hours after worst home game ever (40 points loss to Dallas), CJ tweeted about wine. I mean, it was worst home game ever. He could tweet that he is angry and now they need win next game by 50. Or he could say nothing. At this point I realized, that CJ loves wine more than his work. And that's ok. I'm not going to include Damian in it. He is out of this discussion. It's not about him. I believe that Melo came here, bc it was his last chance to play. And he didn't want to come here, bc we are not ring chasers. We not the dogs. We are guys that play basketball and then go home. Does this team look hungry. I don't think so. We talking how Lakers are fake, or stars are fake. But they want to win in basketball. They play basketball. We have a culture.
I hear what you are saying, but the reality of the situation is 90% of the league knows it’s not winning a championship. They compete and try to win every night but when they lose they know it’s not impacting their championship hopes. Also, they play a ridiculous amount of games. They can’t afford to get too high or low after a single game. If they lost three in a row by 40? Yeah they would be concerned.
Everyone has strengths and weakness's even Dame, and one is as PG he needs to be a bit more vocal not just with refs. I know its not his persona but someone on the floor needs to be a voice. He speak's with his play for sure but there is more to it that, he is also a manager of players as a point guard.
Hopefully Powell becomes Norm of the NorthWest and fosters the hunger. We all know Dame can Feast but Defense wins championships.
I don't think he glass he unfortunate injuries but he young. Nurk been injured more then him. Zach had 2 healthy season when he came in the league. Everyone gets hurt some are just minor then others.
There are levels of Hunger during the season and they work on keeping pace. Don't get it confused. The whole idea of the regular season is to make the playoffs. They need to make the playoffs with the best seed they can get and stay healthy doing it. Understanding the regular season comes with experience. Get into the playoffs and get through the first round. After that there is no more need to worry about seeding. Every team you play after the first round can beat you. If you happen to get through the first round some luck will come in handy. If you happen to get into the Conference Finals a bunch of luck will most definitely come in handy. Believe me If the Blazers get into the playoffs they will indeed be hungry.
