We started 7-2, beating good teams at home (Philly, Lakers) and on the road (OKC). We had no major injuries (just Elliott Williams). And now we're, as Noah put it, the "worst.". We're getting blown out every night and it was even worse before the trades. What the fuck happened? Aldridge talked about winning the West this year. He's been healthy all year and we're probably gonna finish 13th in the West. Unbelievable. What the fuck happened?
Expectations getting a little too high too early for a lot of fans happened. On the court, they lost Roy for good with zero compensation coming in return, they added (or had) too many guys with expiring contracts, guys who came up in the league playing under a lot of different coaches got a taste of Nate and decided they'd rather not put up with his brand of coaching ... and they got their heart ripped out probably one too many times in close losses which sapped their confidence. And when your confidence goes ... that's it, you're done.
Good post, Nik. I guess the good news is that we are in a pretty good position for the offseason. If we keep playing like tonight, we have a chance at finishing 5th or 6th worse in the league and we could win the lottery which would be amazing. We could turn this whole thing around in a couple years. I think we need to trade Aldridge and Batum though. We need to Start. Over.
You're just being a prisoner of the moment. Now I'm not saying that those guys are going to be option 1 and 1a moving forward (this team probably needs some kind of elite playmaker at the 1 or the 2 given the state of the league) but I think both of those guys can be really good number 2 and number 3 options on a contender. Nicolas in particular seems to thrive as more of a "glue guy" and given time I really do believe he'll mature into a pretty close approximation of Tayshaun Prince -- but he's got some work to do.
What happened in the first few games of the season was higher defensive focus and effort. There have been way too many games where bad defensive decision-making, bad p and r defense, and lazy rotations/closeouts have kept the team from getting the kind of buckets they need to get confidence and some rhythm on offense. This team REALLY needs to create turnovers and get some easy baskets to be able to compete.
I agree that Aldridge and Batum aren't guys you can build a franchise around. They don't possess the leadership/killer instinct to be franchise players. HOWEVER, basketball is still a team sport and Aldridge and Batum would be good 2nd and 3rd options. Aldridge would probably be more comfortable going back to a 2nd option. And Batum is that one piece that championship teams always have ala a Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Tayshaun Prince. We have a chance through free agency or the lottery to see if we can find that #1 option/franchise player. Until we see what we can get through those avenues trading Aldridge and Batum would be irrational at this point.
Right now we definitely don't have enough talent, but even before the trade deadline I think the biggest problem is that we didn't have enough talent where it counts. The reality is that the league's rules have turned the game into a opne that's dominated by elite 1s and 2s; the great teams usually have a great point guard or a shot creating shooting-guard to drive the engine. The Blazers unfortunately just don't have anybody to replace Roy's talent on the wing ... and unfortunately even when Roy was here and at full health the offense was often too stagnant and predictable when it came to playoff time and the whole second season shifts gears from a being able to win games on sheer hustle and effort to one of matchups and adjustments. This team has to add some real difference makers and they need a top notch coach.
We didn't have enough difference-makers. We had Aldridge and several slightly-above-average players... and our second- and third-best players were both small forwards. We also had no injection of talent from the draft in a couple of years. That definitely catches up with a team over time. Ed O.
It's hard to make up for losing a crunch-time scorer like Brandon Roy over an extended period of time. The team got lucky earlier in the season because they were playing hard, but contrary to popular belief, you don't win consistently at the end of NBA games by running the 3-man weave or a motion offense, and giving everybody a chance to touch the ball. Coffee is for closers, and the Blazers don't have a Starbucks in the locker room.
It is true... though it's hard to admit it. When you're a fan, you think your team should be better than it is, but to outside observers, there is nothing to fear when you look at our roster. They just had to beat Chicago...
I'd generally agree with this, but add the SF position as well. We don't have players with a quick first step that can create for themselves. The NBA rules favor those players and we lack a single one.
A workable offense can be fashioned to funnel into Roy. A workable offense cannot be fashioned to funnel into Mr. Softy Aldridge. I could get into how this year was the first time McMillan's roster was so experienced that he was forced to climb out of his skin and coach uptempo, when he is the league's worst uptempo coach, but the above paragraph suffices.
The first ten games of the season we R A N ! And boy did we ever run. I was shocked to see this happening after six previous seasons under Nate. I was thinking "Coach of the Year" and everything. Charles Barkley (of all people) was even saying we were the team to beat in the West...... Then the shortened season kicked in. Guys were tired. And I began to wonder if the team even knew how to run a 3 on 1 fast break any longer? Then Nate slowed it all back down! And that pretty much ended things.
I think teams were rusty and we weren't getting their best efforts. Our team simply lacks talent and as teams have found their groove, they've improved and we haven't. Fools gold. Those opening games were largely at home, and the crowd influence probably played a factor in us playing harder resulting in wins. We can occasionally still play at those effort levels, but it doesn't result in turnovers much anymore. Teams simply move it around long enough finding a weak spot, and then exploit the opening and capitalize.
