Rank West Team by title chance next 5 years

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SharpesTriumph, Sep 24, 2020.

  1. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    A lot also depends on whether we're playing in a bubble. The Suns looked pretty amazing in the bubble, for example. Why should we think that they won't continue? Booker was making the Jamal Murray leap before Jamal Murray did. Also I think people are forgetting that the Jazz were without Bogdanovic. Maybe if they'd've had him we wouldn't be talking about the Nuggets except how bad they looked getting swept out.

    Teams with very promising young cores:
    Denver
    Phoenix (they will have the starting five with the best worst player in the league very soon, if they don't already, just like the Blazers did in the Drexler heyday)
    Dallas (still not sold on Porzingis's durability)
    Pels (they would benefit by NOT being in the bubble. Plus I'm assuming they re-sign Ingram)
    Memphis
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
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  2. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    but that's not the gauge used around here. The only thing that counts is who Portland was missing. That Utah was missing a guy who averaged 20 points isn't noticeable when Portland was missing Zach. That the Lakers were missing Rondo and Bradley is irrelevant because Portland was missing Hood and Ariza. That Denver made it to the WCF without Barton is no big deal, but hey, how about those Blazers making it to the WCF last year without Nurkic!
     
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  3. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    Yeah, every team has its injuries, but you have to admit that the Blazers were seriously snake-bit this season when it came to injuries. Pre-bubble: Nurk out, and Hood & Collins out for all but a handful of games...that's 3/5ths of the starting lineup. I think that makes a significant dent in any team's season. In the bubble: No Ariza or Hood. Collins out for the playoffs. Little lost due to concussion/dehydration. CJ playing with fracture in his back. Dame dislocates finger in second playoff game and then injures his knee in the 4th game of the series. They weren't going to beat the Lakers anyway, but they certainly had no chance with those injury factors in play.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
  4. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    Ariza wasn't injured and Little may not have played anyway. CJ's back injury was a non-factor and even he said that was the case

    Nurkic has been healthy for two Portland playoff series now and the Blazers were 1-8; and they made the WCF without Nurkic. Hood may never be the same again and Portland was only 8-12 with him this year. Ariza was missed quite a bit I think, but AD would have crushed Zach or at the very least, had him on the bench saddled with fouls. And Zach wasn't the starter because he had earned it, he was the starter by default because Olshey cleared the roster of any other competition for that role

    I don't dismiss Portland's injuries because they were significant. But other teams overcame significant injuries. Sure, the Blazers would have been more of a challenge for the Lakers if healthy. But if you cast the Blazers with Zach, Hood, and Ariza, you also have to cast the Lakers with Rondo and Bradley. And those two guards would be matched up against Dame and CJ, negating some of whatever advantage Portland had in the back court

    point being the assumption that Portland would somehow be a contender if completely totally healthy seems flawed to me. For one thing, they will probably never be completely healthy. For another thing, if missing some role players knocks a team down so much, there are probably some problems above the level of the role players
     
  5. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    First, I never said that the Blazers were a contender to beat the Lakers. The Lakers two best players are better than our two best players. In your first post you stated that the Lakers didn't have Bradley, but you don't allow me to use Ariza as a factor for the Blazers? CJ wouldn't use his back as an excuse, but to say it wasn't a factor is absurd, especially early in the play-in games. I don't think that there's another team that overcame as many injuries and roster losses as the Blazers, but ultimately this is like one of the non-fights I get into from time to time with my wife. We both pretty much agree that the Blazers aren't good enough, even when healthy, to compete for a title. Until they figure out the defensive end of the game, which is probably going to require a roster change, they will compete for a 3-6 seed if they are healthy, but will ultimately lose in the playoffs.
     
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  6. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    but ultimately, you'll have to finesse your way into tranquility with your wife. Me you can just call an asshole and go from there
     
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  7. kjironman1

    kjironman1 Well-Known Member

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    How would anyone come to the conclusion that you could possibly be an asshole?
     
  8. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    Sly is spreading rumors again
     
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  9. Drttimmy

    Drttimmy Well-Known Member

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    This is pretty good question I think, because the West seems as wide open as I can recall. Working under the unlikely premise that everyone stays where they are, there are no SuperTeams and not really factoring future acquisitions.
    *The Lakers are likely to win the championship and I think the Durant era Warriors would probably handle them pretty easily. If LeBron was 3-4 year younger, then the Lakers would be the easy and probably only choice over the next 5 years as I think they could develop into a SuperTeam. But he's not. I can seem them repeating next year, then fading to the pretender tier.
    *I really like the Nuggets - good depth, well rounded, a guy in Murray who can close games for them. I think they just need an All Star 3rd wheel, and maybe that's Porter? I'm not factoring whether they can keep the talent financially.
    *The only other two teams I like are the Clippers and Mavericks. I like their best players and they both have great front offices, probably the two most important factors in team building. Both teams have proven they can turnover fast. Wouldn't be at all shocked if they replace their number 2 players sooner than later.

    *Utah - top end talent isn't good enough
    *Houston - come on, with Harden as their best player?
    *OKC - they're curious only because of the picks.
    *Phoenix - I think they could be the new Portland, making some noise in the playoffs, but ultimately not good enough
    *GS - everybody's 30 or over with injuries. It's not an old man's league. They got the 2nd pick, but that's not really a guarantee historically speaking.
    *Portland - I do like our top 3 guys, maybe even better than any other team in the 2nd tier/pretender tier. It's also the hardest thing to get right. It's 4-12 that bothers me and I don't think our GM is capable of making the necessary upgrades. If we magically got Jerry West, Donnie Nelson, or Ujiri, then we could move up fast.
     

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