http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002190POR.html This was Camby's first game as a Blazer, last year. We lost. We lost the 2nd one with him as well. Then the team went on 17-4 run to finish the season. That came down to 17-6 as a Blazer last year. I doubt it will be as great with Wallace given that Roy is hobbled, but it will get better, much, much better. Chicken little is clucking.
I call bullshit. Last night was the first time Wallace had played with these guys, the first night that Camby was back, and Aldridge went down with some kind of mild injury. The guys looked out of sorts, and it's going to take time for all these pieces to gel. You can't expect everything to click in the first game, the heavens to open up, and a light to shine down as we easily work our way to the Finals.
The team has an entirely different dynamic than last year, but I agree with you. One game is not a good measure as to how the team will play the rest of the way.
lol I saw Jaynes last night at the end of the game sweating it out, hoping the Blazers wouldn't come back. Its like he didn't want to lose some of his material.
I suspect his point was that the Blazers were starved for a big-man last year and Camby was a huge upgrade. Wallace, while very good, does not really fill an obvious role as Camby did last year, but he still upgrades the bench (either directly or by moving Batum there), adds rebounding and another scoring option. Assuming this was MM's point, I agree. It is not a slam-dunk of an upgrade as Camby was last year, but it is still likely to get better.
People are tripping. Wallace is a stud and he fits perfectly with this team, especially next to Andre. Give it some time, let it breathe, it will be alright. It was 1 game and we spent most of it playing catch-up because our 3 ball wasn't going down. We were essentially fitting in 3 new pieces last night.
That's something my wife mentioned last night which cut through my miasma of post-loss grousing. It will get better, but it's a bit chaotic right now.
Jaynes writes an article about how Wallace is not going to fit, but doesn't mention it once that he is very recently an ALL NBA FIRST TEAM DEFENSIVE player. I remember 1 drive by the Hawks last night and I saw Camby, Batum and Wallace all rotate to block the shot. That Hawk must have been saying oh shit when he drove that ball. Wallace is going to fit, it will just take a little time. I only fear the Lakers in the playoffs, we can beat anybody else but them in the first round.
Damn! I read the title of this thread and got all excited. I expected it to be a retirement announcement from Dwight Jaynes. BNM
