Which is why I wouldn't be surprised if Neil dealt LMA. This team played on all cylinders in the playoffs, 48 min. of pure hustle and the Spurs showed that this team isn't close to being a real contender.
Good points in this post The Blazers were 21-22 vs teams .500 or better 31-9 at one point in the season. Went 23-19 after that to get to 54-28. Staying the course is foolish. Just adding a bench won't make the Blazers a contender. Neil needs to make some real moves and decisions this offseason.
Blazers were 7th in the league record wise and now this is shocking... we were also 7th in the league against .500 teams. Thats why that 21-22 isn't an actual bad stat looking at it. We also went through a stretch where we lost a ton of close games and if you look at the end of the season standing we were 8-9 in games decided by 3 points. Every team close to us had significantly better record in games decided by 3 points or less, and that is something that can be improved upon by improving execution and you don't have to make major changes to do that. We also had 3, or was it 4?, 4 games in 5 night stretches while only one other team in the entire league had 2 and that was PHX, and that is brutal no matter what teams your playing. You can say staying the course if foolish, I think there are things that are easily improved upon and freaking out and moving key pieces just to make a move would be foolish.
Stay mediocre? We won 54 games (same as Heat) and advanced to 2nd round. Blazers are a near elite team. The Hornets are mediocre.
That is not true at all. Look up the definition of mediocre. The Timberwolves are mediocre. Then there are above average teams like Phoenix and Memphis. Then there is the fringe contenders like us, Indiana, and the Clippers. Then there are the juggernauts like SA! OKC (kinda) and Miami. We have two all NBAers both of wok significantly improved last season and still have room to grow especially since they have a reputation of working hard in the offseason. We will challenge for 60 wins this season even if we stand pat.
Def of mediocre: of only moderate quality, not very good http://www.google.com/search?q=mediocre&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari The Blazers are very good. Only 5 teams beat a 50+ win team in the playoffs this year. We were one of them. We won 59 total games this year and have two All Stars one of whom (Lillard) is on the rise and has said he this he can win MVP in this league. Aldridge is also coming off the most improved year of his career and played like a BEAST in the playoffs.
That's what people said last year. And then he jumped up 2 points and 2 rebounds in his averages and had back to back 43+ point games in the playoffs. Aldridge has made it a habit of working hard in the offseason and adding a new wrinkle to his game every year. He still has room to grow.
He still isn't going to get better to the extent we need. I love LA and his game but he really is capped out and frankly we needed him to have back to back 40+ point games to win the series against Houston.
Steph Curry and that Jason guy (can't remember his name) both said Aldridge is the third best player in the NBA. Of course, Cleveland wants to trade a draft pick for him.
So none of our young players will get better? That's hard to believe. That being said no one is saying stand pat. We need to use the MLE wisely. Regarding LMA, he has skills that few big men have. Personally I enjoy watching him. Find the missing piece while keeping him. It is the smarter move IMO
EXACTLY. That's how great he is! We needed him to back to back 40+ games for us to win the series so that's what he did! He's a winner who is on the rise. With one year under our belt with this starting 5, we'll challenge for 60 wins this year.
Obviously then, the smart move for Portland would be to move a player entering his prime, and who looks like an MVP candidate, for some scrubs and the #1 pick from Cleveland. On the off chance that the #1 pick turns out to possibly be worthy of MVP consideration in 4-5 years.
I think our best options are either to trade the supposedly MVP candidate (who can't play defense at all and is not the best offensive player even on our team) for someone who is more likely to be an MVP candidate and will probably be as good as Lamarcus by mid-season (Exum) while allowing us to play just one player who doesn't play defense for 40+ mpg, instead of two. Lillard, Exum, Batum, T-Rob, Rolo is a better defensive lineup and probably a better lineup offensively, right now. We can trade him, then draft badly with Parker or Embiid, not sure I'd even trade him for Wiggins because we would just have 2 Batums, but for Exum - I make this trade. The other scenario I would accept is bring everyone for another year then hope Stotts grows enough balls to use the bench effectively.
How the hell do you replace Wesley and LMA with Exum and TROb and think that there's ANY chance that it's a better offensive lineup right now?
I don't think the Blazers a near elite. I think the Blazers would have lost in the 2nd round if we played either the Clippers or OKC. Which is why you have to ask yourself just how much better can this team get? Both Aldridge and Batum are already pretty much at there peak now.
