I wonder if, if we get swept, Stotts is in danger. Somebody's got to take the fall, and maybe management will want to look proactive to keep Aldridge.
Dame+Batum+CJ = 13/44 from the field. Hard to believe any team can be that bad by accident. I wish LMA well in San Antonio.
If Brooks can be canned after all the injuries and what he did there, Stotts very well should be on the hot seat. And I'd welcome that change.
Without a doubt he's in danger. He use to be known as an offensive coach, now his team looks like it's pre-season and they haven't practiced any sets yet. They literally have no idea what to do. Either he's clueless or he's unable to communicate with/motivate the team. Either way it's not good enough. Considering the first 40 games, I'm not sure I've ever seen a team regress as much as this one during the course of a season, and exhibit A is Damian Lillard. I'm not even mad at him anymore, just very disappointed.
Stotts job is safe. Would be a big stupid overreaction even if we get swept. Obviously Neil first priority will be resigning Aldridge. But I wonder about the rest of our free agents after that. Lopez and Batum look more like good bench players than championship starters. Damian looks like he might be better as 6th man where he doesn't get exposed on defense. Wes was our only other legit championship quality 2 way player but nearly everyone losses permenant athleticism from that injury; it's far worse than a ligament tear or miniscus damage. Big decisions to make if we want to give Aldridge a team to contend with in the last few years of his prime.
If we let anyone go, it should be Batum, our worst starter. Tonight, 6 assists on 4 turnovers. Dorrel Wright is every bit as effective as Batum, and not domineering and ball-hungry like Batum.
Everything was going fine this season until injuries... Of course we had some lacks in lineup, which Afflalo partially covered, but without health every team will regress. I'm also dissapointed with Lillard, Batum, Lopez, but on the other hand I see very nice progress in projects like CJ and Leonard - and they will be even better next season. In my opinion - do not make stupid moves, complete current season as it is - we won't make anything big with such depleted roster - then put all the guys to hospital, rehab them well, try to re-sign as many as possible, look for some defensive improvements in the off-season and prepare for next year.
I wonder if the team really lost their offensive efficiency and cohesiveness during the early part of the season when they came to rely too much on Lillard's great shooting and reliance on iso's with Aldridge. Then Lillard lost his shot and this allowed more pressure on Aldridge and the rest of the team has forgotten what to do. Stotts has to take some responsibility for allowing that to happen.
You've got to sort of admire how Memphis is beating us. I don't think anyone on their team has scored 20 yet. It's a total team effort. If they weren't playing us, I'd totally be rooting for them. Are they set to play the winner of San Antonio/Clippers next round? (And yes, I know what I'm implying.) It would be sad if they're matched up with SA, because then the good guys would be fighting each other instead of the forces of evil.
The 2000-01 Trail Blazers say 'Hi!' But yes, I agree, aside from the 01 squad, this regression has been one of the worst I've seen from the Trail Blazers.
