Exclusive Official Around the NBA: November 2022

that ranking is a little suspect because it's based upon their power ranking. They rank the Pelicans as the 5th best team in the NBA and that's a joke

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/ranking/schedule-strength-by-other

and of course bbref does SOS

 

Damn. We fell off so hard. It all started right after that successful road trip. I don’t know what the hell happened.

 

We got scouted. So far we have not adjusted well at all to that.

 

I was told being .500 at the end of november would be pretty good given the schedule, so I guess I should be happy with 11-9.

 

yeah...there were several people who even said, after looking at the schedule, if the Blazers were 10-10 after the first 20 games it would be encouraging. Some were seriously worried about Portland being around the 5-15 mark

but I guess 11-9 is worse than 10-10

I've seen several people say that and I think it's extremely overrated as a factor. Sure, Sharpe hadn't been scouted. But Dame has been scouted for a decade; Nurkic has been scouted for 8 years; Grant & Hart have been scouted for years; Ant has been scouted; Winslow has been scouted

Portland's offense this season isn't some kind of secret weapon either. It's a pretty standard offense featuring a couple of ball-dominant guards....meaning it's pretty much the same as a dozen teams offenses

the only component that might have been impacted was the Blazer zone defense, but again, it's a standard zone and teams have been working on breaking zone defenses since the rules were changed allowing them. The problem for Portland is that in the last 6 games they played against teams that had zone-busting players like Durant and Jordan Clarkson and Giannis

what I think is going on is that in any NBA season, the first 20 games or so are filled with aberrations. Often there are schedule aberrations and average teams can catch good teams when they are cold and out of sync. Players can be shooting out of their minds, even role players, and that can make a difference in wins & losses. Remember how many close games the Blazers won during the time when Sharpe was contributing incredibly hot shooting? and how that compares to what he's done lately?

and speaking of close game, remember how Portland was winning them all and some of us warned that would balance out? Well, the Blazers lost 2 consecutive very close games at home against the Nets and Jazz. Win those and Portland is 13-7 right now. Blazers were 6-1 in close games; they are now 7-4.

and of course, Portland has only had a healthy Dame in half of their games

 

HELL YEAH YOU SHOULD BE!

 

But no scouts/other teams know how they would play together. Nobody. This roster had not been scouted, neither had the Spurs, or the Jazz. They caught other teams by surprise. Well guess what, they know what Sharpe now does when he's on the weak side when Ant is in a pick n roll situation. They have negated his strengths through scouting. This team did great out the box and things, but things are now settling around the league as they should.

 

Lol

Dudes 2 years older than Bronny James, so he’s basically playing against and talking about being better than his dad out there, but whatever works for him.

Which speaking of, wouldn’t that be wild to watch Bronny James Vs LeBron James?

 

To be fair, Mathurin had a better college career than LeBron. Just barely.

 

Imagine trading him for Mike Muscala

 

Actually I love hearing a rookie come into the league with swagger and showing no fear. That's how the greats roll!

 

Caved and bought league pass. 50% off deal expires today if yall are interested. $49 for the season for all teams is a good deal.

 

Twolves implosion coming. They gave up 76 to GS in the first half last night. About to give up 80 to the Wiz in the first half tonight

 

Damn, LP used to cost near $200 at one point.

 

Tell me about it. I've been a customer for a decade. Passed on it this yr cuz of thr blackout rules but this deal was too good to miss

 

That is a smoking deal. I'm just concerned about blackouts, or do I not have to? I should probably reread the threads about it.

 

Enter your zipcode at the site here to seee what teams are blacked out for you outside of national broadcasts

https://www.nba.com/watch/league-pass-stream

 

Kid has a lot of dog in him. I like it! Remember when when Jerry Stackhouse thought he was better than Michael when he got drafted?