The middle, Jan Brady, lukewarm.....there are many ways to describe where the Blazers currently are and few of those descriptions are good. Portland is currently 8th in the WC standings but already 3 losses behind the Jazz in 7th place but also 3 games ahead of the Lakers in the loss column. At this rate, they will wind up in the Playoffs with plenty of room to spare but trailing the 7th place team by around 10 games. Now I don't expect the gap to be that large but you get where this is going unless there is a significant change in direction. Currently, the Blazers are not close to being a threat to the upper level teams. After just 25 games, they are already 6 1/2 games out of having HCA. Last year they competed and pulled of an occasional upset here and there. It gave the fans hope that they could at least compete and were headed in the right direction with a young team. Now, they are a year older, have added another ball-handler, have 2 rounds of Playoff experience under their belts (another discussion) and yet seemed to have regressed. Yes, I know they started off last season even worse than this season but they have certainly regressed from the level they were playing at last season in terms of competing, energy, defense etc. Purgatory is the worst of NBA addresses. In the top level, you have a chance to at least compete for a Championship. On the bottom level, you may get lucky and build through the Draft like the Spurs, Thunder, Cavs or the Warriors. Yes, LeBron re-signed as a FA but he was drafted there along with Irving which are their 2 most dominant pieces and Wiggins allowed them to trade for Love. Spurs - Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili - has lead to 2 decades of success. OKC - Injuries killed playoff runs but Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka built a solid foundation. Warriors - Curry, Thompson and Green are a dominant core. So where is Portland? Games against the upper tier have been downright disheartening and the decline of the defense tells most fans that they are not anywhere near competing at that level anytime soon. Defense is what wins Championships and though Portland's guards can score, it is a very perimeter, unbalanced offense that has little chance of winning games in the long term. Offense can come and go but defense is a team mentality. Look at what Memphis is doing with a decimated roster....it is an attitude throughout the entire squad. To continue to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. Neil Olshey seemed to have put this roster together to gather and retain assets for a trade. This roster is horribly unbalanced in terms of front-court/back-court, offense/defense and lacks a significant degree of toughness and attitude. This roster reminds me so much of the 2010-2012 Warriors roster that had Curry, Ellis and not much else. Two very good scorers who didn't play defense, and were a threat to absolutely no one. Mo Harkless made a comment after the Pacer-game meltdown that "we can't just try to outscore other teams." That has never been a recipe for success but that he stated it out loud almost seems like a call out to the 2 guys doing half of the shooting on many nights. Dame is the leader and CJ his sidekick but when neither of them play defense, the example to the rest of the team isn't a very good precedent. Then if they are asking the rest of the team to play defense while they score, that seems very out of balance as well. If the coach is an offensive oriented coach and your two best players are your two of the worst defenders, it's no surprise that the team is going in the direction they are. Do you change the coach to someone more defensive oriented or do you change out one of those pieces for someone who doesn't score as well but impacts the game on a number of other levels much better. It's a tough call when Dame/CJ are such good friends but that may almost be facilitating part of the problem. They are so tight, that they have become too similar in both the good and the bad and the 'bad' is creating havoc on the roster as a whole. Dame is the leader Portland has wanted for a long time and CJ is like a brother but for both of them to excel at the next level, they either need to improve their games on the defensive end or perhaps need to separate for them both to be part of something better in the long run. The back-court is the first line of defense and that porous wall is causing havoc for the 'bigs' who then have to take on both the guards and their own men. Can it be fixed? Or is Portland destined to be in purgatory for quite some time with a couple of really nice guys who can score, who fans love, who are great in the community but may never approach contender status? It would seem that we as a fan base an a franchise should be aiming higher.
I share the concerns, and have shared them many times. But, really, it's way too early to relegate the season to mediocrity.
Exactly. And with CJ's PPP, it's not like there's any effective way to do anything about a shakeup of the backcourt until at least next summer.
I agree it is still somewhat early but we are now passed 30% of the season with the Clippers looming on the horizon tonight. I believe the Blazers will get better but if they rise up to 7, 6 or even #5, that still leaves them without HCA which is still pretty much purgatory. As of now, I don't have a lot of confidence that they could pass Utah, OKC and Memphis anyhow.
Love it! Since a good portion focused on a lack of 'D', that seems appropriate and I'm not going to edit it.
It seems to me that if we're looking to get out of the middle this season, we need to look for a deal to shore up our big man situation. The Blazers are only losing by a few baskets most nights. Getting more defensive presence out of the center position, and maybe a bit more scoring, would rectify that situation. And, if things don't improve, we can always adopt this as the official team song:
No way. This is better than getting a high lottery pick and having a better chance at getting a difference maker.
My feeling is that with Aminu back we are actually playing better. We choked the 4th quarter away in the last two games. If that problem were rectified (and I don't see a new player rectifying that), then we'd be fine. Yes, easier said than done.
Agreed. We have to decide: do we think CJ is part of our core or is he our best chip to improve? Sadly, I think Olshey has been pretty mediocre at drafting. Teams like OKC and Utah (and of course Golden State) have built better cores with non-top-three picks. Is Olshey hoping to be Dallas (use draft picks mainly as assets), only with Damian instead of Nowitzki? That seems a bad strategy - Lillard is great but he's never going to win league MVP, and Dallas is (amazingly) a more enticing FA destination. We're at kind of a crossroads. choice 1: stand pat this season, probably get a low lottery pick. choice 2: go for it: try to get Bogut to shore up the defense (without losing a key player) maybe use CJ to fill a hole at PF? Choice 1 is going to be depressing but is probably the better route. Choice 2 is the Dallas choice.
Unfortunately you gotta split up cj and dame. You go hard after cousins or george at the end of this year with a package around cj and make those guys sign an extension. I also would move plums because i dont think we should pay him next year. So i still would try to make some 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 deal this year.
Good thread Tpup...I'd have changed the title personally to Bus Stop or Parking Lot...mainly because you can still have a 50/50 chance of seeing a good game still. DEFENSIVE coordinator...the title Stotts got rid of when he took the job...this is where I start...watched the Wolves play the Warriors and you could hear Thibs shouting defensive instructions over the announcers and he didn't have a mike....hell of a defensive coach. Wolves are up and coming and best case scenario for the Blazers is develop within and upgrade if possible Jan 15th...I've never believed in tanking but let's just say, I wouldn't be pissed off if we missed the playoffs this season...I'm sure Neil knows we're not good enough...he always talks about a 3 year plan to build a contender and we're sort of starting year 2 with this bunch.....I think Stotts played guys who are slumping hoping they'd play well and gain value around the league...unfortunately, those guys didn't help the cause. That's a source of frustration not only for fans but for the coaching squad as well. It's still early..I like both Olshey and Stotts but this is a season where patience will run thin around the fan base
Disagree that 1 is the better route. A low lottery pick isn't going to do jack for improving the Blazers for at least 3 years. It's pretty tough to find a player taken in the 10 to 14 range who has come in and made any kind of immediate impact. That plan would be pissing away three years of Dame's window. I'd go with Bogut (or someone better if NO can pull it off), and look at what the team does the rest of this season before assessing next summer whether CJ has to be moved for a better front line player.
