Tons of ups and downs. 21-14 no Nurk No CJ top to bottom this team deserves some damn respect. Since the beginning of the season, there have been multiple players on this squad we have harped on for there deficiencies and the funny part is we wouldn’t be 21-14 without any of them. Kanter has been a warrior. melo( and I can’t believe I’m saying this) has been huge recently...trent jr’s play speaks for itself. Jones has been everything we need. Covington is starting to turn it on...we at least know what you can expect from him. Ant has stepped up... Nassir Little? Nobody expected that. Stotts deserves credit as well. Give this team some damn respect best record since the “Lamarcus era”
riverman is a fan! Great thread! I can cheer for everyone on this team and in this organization from top to bottom....never got all the scapegoatism and angst. Go Blazers! We just built a bench that is pretty deep going into the second half and playoffs
I think nearly everyone deserves credit and I know I'm tough on Olshey, but this thread deserves positivity, so let me say: Props to Olshey for building a deep enough roster that we could even sustain 3 injuries to major pieces. Let's hear more unqualified compliments of people you all have been critical of.
Pleased so far, but man is the West ever tough. Hopefully with Nurk and CJ back they can pull off some nice winning streaks to creep up a spot or two.
I know it makes Terry uncomfortable playing Nassir Little but I am grateful he's doing it. Even if it makes his skin crawl and he lays awake at night worrying what rookie mistake he's going to make next.
What have you seen occur on the basketball court that Stotts specifically deserves credit for? Honest question. This roster is good enough to go 21-14 on an extremely easy schedule, so props to Olshey and especially Dame for winning multiple games for us with miraculous heroics! There's my positivity
How about playing Nurk and CJ with the second unit when they return? Dame Trent Cov DJJ Kanter CJ Ant Little Melo Nurk
I spent a lot of my younger years wasting time hating Michael Jordan and then Shaq. They were always in my team's way, always too good, always fawned over by the media and fans. Then LeBron came along and I realized I was wrong. They were just transcendent players who should be appreciated for what they are, even if it means beating the shit out of my Blazers. I never miss a chance now to be awed by LeBron's greatness, and I try not to feel resentful or disrespectful of what he brings to this great game. I love having a guy like Damian Lillard on my team. I get to watch transcendent greatness, the kind of guy I'll be reminiscing over 15 years from now like I do those other three, and he plays for my team. He's not as great as those other three on pure talent and impact, but jesus does he create memories. Better than any of them. And he's certainly as good or a better role model and human being than any of them. To any poster on here who never really paid attention to the Blazers in the 2000's, don't for a second take this man for granted. Things will get much shittier at some point. Appreciate his greatness and hold onto those memories. Winter is always coming. You get through it by remembering the sun.
I posted that in this thread because, let's face it, Dame is the team. We're no better than the Kings without him. If that good.
Our last ten games stats are the stats of a team going something like 2-8. We are winning all the close ones. Gotta say, the player who's most impressed me is Kanter. He is absolutely NOT my kind of player - all-O, terrible D, but he's being his best version and it's keeping us afloat (until the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, cuz you know what time THAT is). Oh, and respect to Covington. He is absolutely my kind of player.
trust and developing a bench with the next man up attitude....letting guys make reads and enjoy playing the game....addressing mistakes by film after the game....players coach. That's what they do..they teach between games and trust players to execute the game plan during games....I love it. I checked in with you guys last night after the win and sure enough....first thing I heard was Eric saying..." I just don't like watching this style of basketball"......personally I love watching the team. Stotts handles losses in a very even keeled manner. Stotts simply lets Dame make reads and trusts him. It's what many coaches with superstars do....they let them play their game. I do agree with you that the roster is better than some think...I disagree with anyone who thinks we're stuck in mediocrity...simple...Dame is our closer...he takes over in the 4th because that's when he always wants the ball...always has. Not because he has to but because the smartest way to win is with him as our designated closer. People bitched about Nas not getting burn recently....Nas shot 25% for most of the game last night...but he played hard. Stotts kept him on the court even though he wasn't shooting well....same with Melo a few weeks ago.....Stotts let him shoot out of a slump...players coaches do that....Stotts has used 8 different starting lineups in half a season...he's not afraid to shake up the roster minutes. I think there's a damned good reason Stotts got a contract extension and is not on the hot seat nor has he lost his lockerroom or trust of the front office...Neil didn't hire Terry...Paul Allen did. A great choice by Paul in my view
interesting I'm going back and looking at close games since CJ and Nurkic have been injured; two score or less games so I guess 6 points or less. Because I was curious about how Dame played in wins and losses: W....Dame: 36 - 7 - 7 W....Dame: 39 - 8 - 5 L....Dame: 26 - 10 - 6 L....Dame: 30 - 9 - 4 W....Dame: 44 - 9 - 5 (miracle in Chicago; Dame has 8 points and an assist in last 50 sec; 6 points in last 8 seconds) W....Dame: 30 - 7 - 2 W....Dame: 34 - 11 - 3 W....Dame: 43 - 16 - 4 L....Dame: 25 - 13 - 7 W....Dame: 22 - 6 - 5 (Warriors - Dame goes supernova last 5 minutes) W....Dame: 44 - 7 - 1 so then, 8-3, which is a really good record in close games. Even elite teams might have trouble posting a 73% winning percentage in close games (Utah is currently 3-5 in two-score games). And in 7 of those wins, Dame either scored quite a bit more than his season average or went bonkers in clutch time (or both). The one exception was the home game against the 76ers when Dame just hit his average, but for some reason, Portland has Philly's number (and Dame scored 4 points in the last 75 seconds of a 4 point win) more than that, in one score games, 3 points or less, Portland went 6-1, which is pretty phenomenal....and again it was basically Dame carrying the load. Portland was 2-1 in close games when Nurk and CJ were healthy ********************************************************************* I think it's great that Portland is 21-14. I think most, looking at the first half schedule, would have expected the Blazers to be at or better than 21-14; but that was before the injuries Dame isn't doing it alone. Kanter has been a consistent double-double machine although his defense has been the opposite of consistent....or good. Trent has had hot games and RoCo has been doing well lately. Melo has had some hot games too but this is one of those situations where, IMO, the credit shouldn't be spread around too widely. It's not due, much, to coaching or the supporting cast. It's due to Portland having a 6'2 superstar PG with some of the broadest shoulders in the league
Stotts is trying a new defensive system. We're shooting more 3s. Stotts is responsible for the improvement in our young players. I like a lot of what he's doing. HOWEVER, I think we're still rated 28th in defense, and I think the buck stops with him. Yes, I understand injuries, but we've been terrible at defense for a long time...
Dame is about 90% of the reason we're in this position. The other 10% can be a smattering of whatever you think deserves it.
This is really unfair to the guys who play with Dame......yeah he's our best player but CJ was our best player first dozen games or so...without Enes...Dame didn't get a lot of his second chance shots...Melo has shot us out of holes in games we were falling behind in to get it close enough for Dame to put it away.....exaggerating like we're a one trick pony isn't real Stren...we win and lose as a team and Dame is our closer....simple..no need to water down Enes getting 20/20 last night and getting two stops at clutch time....
Curious. If we were to play like 35 games without Dame, what do you think our record would be? Use the average of all the rosters he's had in his tenure while in Portland and Stotts as the head coach when making this guess.
no way.....not buying it....he's the most important Blazer but that's overkill...when CJ carried the team to wins....he's not like a fraction of a percent of your win share
