I think we have a couple of those in the making on this roster. Remember the OKC team with Harden off the bench? You could have said the same thing before their unknowns became what they are. The only real name they had then was KD..
Not really. Harden and Westbrook were top 5 picks that showed more in one season than CJ/Meyers have their entire career so far. Ibaka was already a 10/8/2 player his second season. Of course, our guys haven't had the opportunity to prove themselves yet, which they will get this season. Still, the comparison isn't really apt.
It's not much of a surprise - Kool-Aid isn't far off from some of the wines I may or may not consume. I'm impressed by your memory/attention to detail.
Kevin's eyes were opened after seeing how we played in the first pre-season game, as I suspect other Analysts were getting prepared to insert their feet in their mouths....come on in, the Kool Aid is fine!
Nah, when I eviscerate national writers, it's because of their unsubstantiated, non-researched, illogical clownshoe opinions, not because all national writers are idiots.
This team is so hard to predict because all of the guys who have very nice advanced stats have had limited roles on their respective teams. We're counting on them being able to keep the stats good with an expanded role. This also applies to Leonard and McCollum. So... if they do keep the same per40 stats as when they were playing sub-20 mpg, we'll be golden. (By which I mean: 9th or 10th in the West, which is actually pretty bad from a drafting perspective.) But if Lillard goes down it's another story. I still say this team has a good chance to be like the Orlando team that won Doc Rivers coach of the year.
I don't think Pelton is going too far out on a limb by saying: "I think that Portland could be competitive even for the eight seed if everything breaks right." If Dame NEVER misses a game, why couldn't we be competitive with the teams that will be in the hunt for #8. The top 7 are much better than us, but I am not sure the rest are. Which is not exactly saying a lot. Who are locks? (SA, Clips, Memphis, Houston, OKC, GS, N.O) So we are talking about "if everything goes right", can we be competitive with Utah, Sacramento, Dallas, and Phoenix.........Maybe not, but it is not that far fetched.
Still took OKC a good 3 years to be a legit playoff team. Our guys aren't that young but still I don't see a real chance at the playoff the first year together. I agree with Pelton in that they won't be at the bottom of the standings though. Mid tier lottery team.
And when the unibrow misses 50 games due to his fragile body... NO certainly won't reach their potential.
Yeah great point. It's also a real chance one of those 7 top west teams has major injuries as the Thunder did last year. While I don't expect us to be in the playoffs I don't expect us to be at the bottom of the standings. These predictions are for a range so Pelton saying the Blazers could finish from 8th-13th in the west isn't the "Koolaid" endorsement some here are painting it as.
Yes they changed it. Is the division winner even guaranteed a playoff spot any more? If Durant injury returns, historically tall guys have foot problems, I wouldn't be shocked if we won the NW division with the 9th best record in the west. Kanter, Westbrook and Lillard could all equally be responsible for a Blazer playoff appearance.
