From ESPN's Baxter Holmes... "The Grizzlies are simply a bad matchup for the Trail Blazers, nothing more." From Oregonlive.com's Jason Quick: "As evident by Allen's solemn walk Saturday, this has been a foundation rattling defeat." Which is it? I think the national guy actually has a slightly better perspective on this. "Foundation rattling"? Nice turn of phrase, but a bit of an exaggeration. The Blazers still have a strong foundation to build upon: one of the best young point guards - though one who clearly needs to improve defensively, and one of the best power forwards in the league - though I think after watching Zach Randolph (and Blake Griffin in the Clippers-Spurs series) - Aldridge may not be the best. That said, it's not a simple matter of "oh well, Memphis is a bad matchup," either. What makes the Grizzlies the better team in this series is not unique to Memphis: Lillard can't contain opposing point guards, and expecting LaMarcus Aldridge to carry a huge load on his own is too much. But more importantly, surveying the rest of the Blazers' roster, there's not a reliable scorer to be found (especially with Mathews injured). The Grizz - and other Western Conference playoff team - have multiple stars and outstanding role players. The Blazers have an All-Star and a borderline All-Star and after that, it drops off to role players that are not up to snuff. The solution, I think, is not for the Blazers to blow it up - but neither is it to pretend that they fell prey to a bad matchup. The Blazers need to re-sign Aldridge, get Lillard some defensive coaching, get Mathews healthy, and then - look no further than the Golden State Warriors to see the level of additions a team has to make to get into the championship echelon. The '99 and '00 Blazers teams were great, 1-10. Without transcendent players like a Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, that's how you win championships. Maybe Arron Afflalo is part of that equation. Chris Kaman and Nic Batum might be, too. But the Grizzlies' series has convinced me that the Blazers need more talent in its supporting cast - on top of the solid "foundation" the team has in place.
I would say it is a pretty even split of both. I put it 50/50. As usual the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. Injuries are a part of the game but they have hit us far too hard.
Memphis doesn't take bad shots, ever. We do, quite frequently. That right there is why they've beaten us seven straight times. We bail defenses out so many times throughout a game with a terrible, quick shot.
Yes, but I think the reason the Grizzlies don't take bad shots, and the Blazers do, is because of defense. Memphis has a really good defense and the Blazers seem to feel like they have to take the first shot that presents itself because they're not sure they're going to get a better chance. The Grizzlies know if they're patient, they'll get a good shot. The Blazers are certainly rushing their offense and could help themselves by being more patient. But the Grizz are making life a whole lot harder for the Blazers' offense than the Blazers' D is doing vs. the Memphis scorers.
Instead of learning from the Grizz, Stotts and the players are playing into their hands again and again. Stotts clearly has no counter for other teams and in his interviews just says we need to "hit our shots." Well no s**t Terry. Aside from the Pels and Mavs, there's no team in the West we could possibly beat. Even with Wes healthy, this is a team that has little margin for error. That's not how you win a championship or even hope to get further than the 1st round. This is a time to soul search and make the tough decisions to re-tool the roster for the future. What we have installed the last few years simply isn't working.
It's also bad timing (which might be bad coaching). Every team goes through valleys and troughs - the Blazers in the top form they were in this season against the Grizz when they were at their worst would have been a different story. (And the Grizz must've gone through some rough patches, because they started the season absolutely on fire, but didn't end up in the top half of the bracket.)
I'm not sure using Paul Allens reaction to a loss as proof of the results of this series impact on the team. Paul Allen, like us, takes losses hard. It is a bad match up, thats for sure. But it's also injuries, and a team still needing some tweaking.
Not necessarily. They're a good deal better with Ariza and Brewer than they were with Parsons. And they're essentially playing Harden at PG, which evidently works for them. McHale has even got Josh Smith playing well.
Horrible match up. Unless it's a human interest piece like the matthews one, I don't take Quick's takes for ANYTHING. He's the Kingspeed hyperbole master of Oregonlive.
So do you "blow it up" - let Aldridge walk or sign-and-trade him, deal Lillard, tank, etc. Or, do you build a new team starting with Lillard and Aldridge as a foundation? I would re-sign Aldridge, as I think he's probably the most talented player the Blazers could hope to sign. I'd keep Damian, too. But the rest of the roster is negotiable. And as for your what else you said (not quoted above)... regarding Stotts - is part of the "re-tool," firing Stotts? I'm not sure Stotts has to go. When the team was healthy during the regular season (and last season), it was clicking pretty well at both ends of the floor. It indicated his offensive and defensive approaches were sound, based on a healthy roster. But I think the Blazers have a talent-related ceiling when it comes to getting a high seed in the West, and in getting close to a championship.
No panic. It's a bad matchup and horrible luck with injuries. Add a piece this summer, get all our guys healthy next season, and with some seasoning to our trio of young guys, we are a contender next season.
If you think LMA is giving up 29 Million dollars than I have some ocean-front property to sell you in Wyoming.
Try to keep LA of course. I think the extra money we can offer is far more compelling than any other team's pitch. If he resigns, we also need to sell him on this team's vision for the future. We need to surround him with more talent. I'd let Rolo and Wes walk and trade Batum. I want more offense from the center position and Rolo's D isn't good enough to cover for his lack of production there. Wes is a fan favorite, but an Achilles tear is unfortunately a wrap for him as a starter for a contender. Batum's up and down play is legendary. We need consistency from the SF position and that's simply impossible for him. If LA bolts without any assets back, we need to go hard for a player like Greg Monroe and overpay. I'd also let Rolo and Wes walk and get a younger roster in this scenario. Install a run-and-gun offense ala the Suns of last few years. Even the Blazers stink they will be fun to watch and be developing their young talent.
This collapse stinks of more than just injuries. I suspect LMA has already decided to bail, and knowledge of that is what has killed the team on the court.
I agree with a lot of what you have proposed here Mr Gary Trent. Except I'd keep Rolo if he can be had for value/cheap.
This is my though too. Although I won't say for certain that, that is what's causing the lackluster play, but Portland's problems run so much deeper than injuries. There's something going on internally that' screwing everything up.
