I would sure like to believe this and I do think it is possible. But Meyers Leonard must become the player I thought he could be. If Meyers is dang good, so will the Blazers will be. I have my doubts about Stotts, but I would be pleased to be wrong.
Very nice post. Your bottom line of how the W's will do is probably accurate, though I truly don't think they'll have much issue blending KD into the mix. He's a great Wing scorer which makes for a much easier transition for him and them then if he were a post up guy or dominant ball handler. They still have the same wealth of ball handers/distributers to help move it to the open look, they'll just have one more guy who can bury it even with the clock winding down. On the other end, he's already been a solid defender of 4s for years and should be a natural in their small ball look with Green at the 5. My guess why they will come up short of last year's gaudy record will be reasons you touched on of Kerr not prioritizing the regular season & the likelihood of injuries catching up to them... they've been pretty very lucky at avoiding them the past couple seasons despite playing a lot of extra games. Curry's health remains paramount to their success. STOMP
Was Kerr a member of the 72 win Bulls team? Those guys went all out to win in the regular season, every season. If anything, babying the players last year wasn't the championship formula.
http://hoopshype.com/2016/09/24/nba-season-preview-portland-trail-blazers/ Post this in the comments here. Hoopshype lost all credibility with me in this one. They are uneducated in their opinions and basketball knowledge and quite frankly must be fucking high.
I read this article earlier and I actually couldn't believe what I was reading. my favorite part was how we are going to struggle without a real backup pg....
"PREDICTION: 4th in the Northwest Division, 9th in the Western Conference." Wow, just wow. The dick riding in the national media for UTA and MIN has reached epic proportions. We're going to drop from 2nd in the NW to 4th and from 5th seed to the lottery. He hasn't published all his other season previews, but he has to have all of OKC, UTA and MIN finishing ahead of us. That's just fucking ridiculous. That shit needs to be posted on every bulletin board and taped to the front of every player's locker at the training facility. BNM
I just read this a third time. I am considering printing it and reading it every morning to start out the day.
This is what you call turning over loose stones to watch us optimistic bugs run, looking for more shade and cover...
I'm still happy with the team, GM, coach, and players. We'll have a draft pick this summer, which can't hurt.