Man, you guys aren't just "Glass Half Full" you are GLASS IS OVERFLOWING! So I'll ask you the same, you think all the talent we lost was only worth 8 wins? REALLY?
Our weak spots are clearly starting SG and starting SF. Our strengths are youth, athleticism, speed, and hunger. We'll win 52 games, after a sloppy start.
I think what people are saying this team we got now might not be has good as last year due to being more inexperience. I am saying that this team can be or better then that team in the future. We still got dame and Henderson is just good player then Wes and Aminu will be close double double guy Davis and plum lee better then rolo and our bench will be a lot better then last year I saying 12 due to the experience.
We are not weak in those position we might have different style players in those position but there just as good as the ones that left.
The talent we lost was more than replaced. So was the athleticism and love of the game. Had we stood pat with last year's lineup we'd likely have missed the playoffs this year. Wes is done, LaMarcus's mental issues prevented any real chemistry from ever taking shape, Batum has been in a 2 year slump, Rolo pulled a Cliffy at playoff time and Blake hadn't made a basket since the 2013 season.
That's just crazy talk there. Mike Miller is our best SF and we don't have any SG I'd want to see starting.
10-11 seed..youth and defense. We lost our identity but replaced it with athletic, young talent. It's all up to the coaching staff to speed up the learning curve..get some chemisty and see who sticks. It's been tough to lose 4 starters that I've invested years in as Blazers but it's a new chapter with a blank page now. Lot of talent on our roster now. Built to run.
Yeah I think most fans view 50 wins as an average team, because their only paying attention to the 20 teams in the league that are relevant and over half of those get there. So the thinking is if their team is slightly below average they can easily get 40+ wins. But thats not how the math works out; its just the common perception. For every 49 win team theres a 35 win team. For every 55 win team theres a 29 win team.
The reality, in my opinion, is this team will either be just good enough to make the playoffs or middle of the ping pong ball pack. They can be a 25-30 win team at worst and a 31-40 win team at best. It's going to depend on Leonard, Vonleh and CJ. I think we will get what we expect from Davis, Plumlee and Aminu. The x-factors are CJ, Vonleh and Leonard.
Well, considering Dame has yet to miss a game in his career, I'd say...zero. Either 25-30 wins, or 31-40 wins. So in other words, somewhere between 25-40 wins. Way to go out on a limb there, Mags...
I am guessing the upper. I'm just saying that I wouldn't be surprised if we are the lower, just because we are so young. I actually think we will be a 38 win team.
My best (neither optimistic nor pessimistic) estimate is 28 wins. However, I really think this team is better than that (~38 wins) - but it might take another year to get to that point. I just don't see much of a step backwards. Coaching will be what holds this team back. Dame = Dame Henderson < Wes (but, at least in terms of scoring, it's not a HUGE difference) Aminu < Nic (this is the biggest drop-off) Meyers < LMA (The drop-off isn't going to be that big because LMA didn't do anything other than score inefficiently - the double-teams he created were negligible.) Plumlee > Rolo CJ = CJ Davis > Freeland Crabbe > Wright Vonleh > Claver Kaman = Kaman Frazier > Blake Pressey > Frazier We were a top-heavy team last season, and most of our starters were disappointing for much (or all) of the season. This season we're much more diverse, and our talent isn't relegated to just the starters. The only thing we lack is someone to take pressure off of Dame. Can Henderson help out in that regard? He certainly has the ability to play with the ball in his hands, but is he limited to just creating for himself? Still, creating for himself is something we never had with Wes/Nic, so perhaps it'll be a wash. For me - aside from coaching - it all hangs on how much Leonard improves. I'm hopeful that he makes the leap - he's shown enough flashes in several areas that I expect him to develop a multi-faceted game. If it happens he'll be better than LMA sooner rather than later.
Based on our current roster, I think the fetal position is the one we're going to need the most around here.
I actually agree with your assessment about being too top heavy. I think our problems always were on our starters last couple of seasons. If 2 of our starting 5 are playing like shit, we usually lost the games. We had zero bench to fall back on, which would have offset times when the starters weren't firing on all cylinders. With a much much better bench than the last 3 seasons, we have the ability to have a balanced attack. If one player isn't doing as well, there is the next man up that can.
