On the way to visit my dad this morning, Coach Stotts was on ESPN radio with Mike Lupica, I think? He did a great job breaking down the teams int he finals, but then said something that I really didn't like, and wanted to see what you big time Blazer fans thought. Towards the end of the interview he talked about Golden State shooting threes and being successful, and said it was good to see a team can be successful doing that. I got the feeling he was sort of justifying the way the Blazers play to all the critics. But I think he forgets what a great defense they have, as well as the MVP of the league and the runner up to defensive player of the year on that team. I guess I am wondering if y'all think a team built like the Blazers can win a title, or do they need to focaus more on things proven to work, like defense, points in the paint and FTA? I haven't looked at stats or anything, so for all I know the Warriors do all those things good
I think the difference between these two teams this year was one team was playing for something and one was just out there running around like a chicken with it's head chopped off. Portland's players need to get on the same page and start playing with purpose. Why they didn't this year, I dunno. Maybe if they can get everyone resigned and get past this free agency period they can get everyone going in the right direction. And then maybe it's an organization that just doesn't have a long title run it. Maybe the dynamics aren't there.
Statistically. The way we play the defense is not how elite teams play it. We don't create chaos, we don't see a ton of hustle, we switch bigs on smalls and we can't defend the pick and roll against competent point guards. That is mostly on the coach. Now to answer the OP... No, we cannot win with the way our offense is set up. We need LA to play inside more and we need to see Dame and CJ be 70/30-Slasher/3pointers. Penetration will lead to open 3s. Less ISO 3s (unless Dame or CJ are insanely hot).
I didn't say they had one. Honestly, Golden State is a flukey type of team. Everything is going right for them because their shooters are so deadly and they have a defensive force of a frontcourt with the best defensive 6 man in the league with Iggy.
I think we can win fine with our team. Open threes are the key to all the teams that made the conference finals. The Blazers shot less threes than a number of teams in the NBA; some Blazer fans don't understand this is a change with all teams in the league the last few years not just a change in Portland. Golden state is deep and has a lot of talent. Iggy comes off the bench and Bogut is an elite defensive big. If we had more talent on the roster and no injuries we could contend but so could many teams in the league; it's very hard to do. Can CJ or Meyers become a good rotational player? Can another addition help the bench? Get that to happen and good health as Golden State has had and we are a contender. Last year with an injured Bogut and no bench Golden State lost in the first round.
Look at the other conference finals teams; who is Houston or Atlanta's inside force? Dwight is terrible posting up and Millsap/ Horford score by moving around. The other team that should've been there was the Clippers; they don't post up Griffin he faces the basket. The Clippers shoot a ton of threes though. Posting up isn't a common trait of winning teams anymore. Memphis is basically the only good team that does it. But one trait all the conference finals teams had was taking a ton of threes.
These final two teams probably have given Portland's officials vindication on the direction they are going. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing. I don't think it matters how you get your points or the way you go about getting your victories. But I think you have to be driven and focused at the task at hand. I think that's what you are seeing with GS. They are outworking the opponent on both ends. If Portland wants to do the same thing, I have no doubt what they do and how they do it will be successful. The question is do these players want it? I don't think everyone of these players wanted it this year. I think they were more than ready for the off season to get underway.
That was kind of my point in response. I think he was alluding to the idea it's needed. I was making the case, it's really not.
Look, you can try to mimic teams like the Cavs or the Warriors but the fact is we don't draw fouls like those teams do, we aren't effecient like those teams are and bottomline we are not as talented as they are. The Warriors may have loss last year in the first but their series was VERY competitive that went 7 games, even without their monster in the middle. We were only competitive when Conley was out... And even then it took some great performances to beat the Grizzlies ONCE.
Do the Blazers need to be better next year to contend? Well yeah. But they don't need to shoot less threes. The portion of their shots that were threes was .316. The NBA average was .268. The Clippers, Hawks, Rockets, Cavs all shot more threes for each field goal attempt than the Blazers. 11 of the playoff teams shot more threes than the league average while only 5 playoff teams; the Nets, Pels, Bucks, Wizards, and Grizz shot less. Three of those teams that shot less threes lost in the first round and the other two lost in the second round. Threes have the biggest statistical correlation to winning of basically any stat you can find. No it doesn't by itself mean the team will be great; the Blazers need to get better in other areas, but its not some inherent problem with the foundation of the team.
There were prognosticators and others saying the same exact thing about GS last year. Heck, they are still saying it and still non believing. But they're proving the doubters wrong. I think it's a process. Any team that is taking the journey to NBA stardom has to go through it. Portland is no different. My question is does Portland have it right from the owner all the way down to the players? GS in the process of taking that journey but had to change their coach. Is Stotts is the guy? Do they have the players that really want it? Is the dynamics in the place as an organization from the owner down? Is it visible to all those that are a part of it what the ultimate goal is and is everyone committed to achieving that goal? Has the owner made it clear to the General Manager what that goal is? Has the General Manager made it clear to the coach? Has the coach made it clear to the players and have they bought into it? Once they do, I think that changes the behavior and what they do on the court. Which is some of the things you are alluding to. Like drawing fouls and becoming more efficient. Outworking the opponent on both ends. I do disagree, I think the talent is there.
I believe it's better to score more points than your opponent vs having them score less points than you.
They are not strictly a perimeter team, if that's what you're implying. They don't have a back to the basket player but they do get to the basket with player like barnes, green, and thompson. They finished the year #8 in points in the paint. .1 from being number 5.
I think don't think there is an issue with the amount of 3's the team is taking - I would just like to see some more variety in the way the team gets the shot. I want more action towards the rim to open up the 3 point shot. We don't have any decent slashers on the team. Without any stats at all to back it up, it seems that other teams consistently get better shots than the Blazers. I think this is in part due to the offense - it is very predictable. If we use Aldridge on the low/mid post area we seem to never have anyone slash to the basket. If the double comes EVERYONE knows that the ball will be swung, including the opposing defense, and it at least to me seemed that as a result they recovered quickly. I think we need more movement off the ball from this position, to make it less predictable. Perhaps a high screen to help open Lillard for a shot or something. And for goodness sake get someone who can set a decent screen to open up a bit more space for Lillard off the pick and roll. At least enough to get some switching of the defense happening, as it seems to me this happens all the time in other games I see. How can every team we play seem to get mismatches off the pick and roll except us? I imagine it would help if just occasionally LMA ducked to the rim rather than popped out for a jumper... I would love to see Meyers used in the pick and roll more next year, with a view for him to try to use his athleticism to attack the basket on the roll. If he can develop that, to couple with his outside shot, he could become a great asset for us. Used in a double pick with LMA in the same fashion as the Clips did with Jordan, Griffin and Paul, I think we could consistently get some goods looks. Anyway, with a bit more variety in the offense I believe we still take as many 3's, but perhaps better looks, with less contested jumpers. My two cents worth.
With Rolo, Freeland, Wes, Nic, Kaman and LA having significant injury setbacks, I think a dropoff in defense is no surprise but that's my take on it. The 3 pt shot is here to stay and it's a weapon that wins games. Stotts is fully aware of how effective his style of ball can lead to success. I've long ago come to understand that some fans just need scapegoats but the last two seasons have been successful on all the important levels while developing the bench players. Stotts had a lot to juggle roster wise and he came out of it making the playoffs and winning 51 games in the west....not enough? I like the stability we have now instead of the constant roster changes we had for years before he got here.
