Is Portland legit?

[le13]

Definitely legit!

Nothing else to say!!! Maybe their main problem still the bench. Otherwise they have one of the best starting five in the nba right now!

[jag]

They're due a couple ACL explosions this season. It will be much easier to give an accurate evaluation after said explosions.

[Bill_Brasky]

They are 30th in the NBA in points in the paint and 29th in the NBA in defending the paint, both of those categories generally play a large part in a team's long-term success in the NBA, tbh..

Essentially, the Blazers are chucking up jump shots and they have been making them..they are living and dying by the jump shot, along with Terry Stott's new, gimmick defense of only worrying about defending the 3-point line..eventually, their jump shots will stop falling and teams will adjust to their gimmick defense IMO..

Stotts deserves a lot of credit, though..the Blazers don't have the defensive players to be an elite defensive team, or even a good defensive team, but Stotts has developed a great gimmick system of only focusing on defending the 3 and conceding points in the paint, thinking outside of the box..

They aren't a legit contender, but they will be a playoff team, though, and I would rather avoid them in the 1st round, since they seem to own the Spurs..

any defensive strategy that favors giving up points in the paint over allowing threes is definitely not gonna work in the playoffs.

[jag]

They are 30th in the NBA in points in the paint and 29th in the NBA in defending the paint, both of those categories generally play a large part in a team's long-term success in the NBA, tbh..

Essentially, the Blazers are chucking up jump shots and they have been making them..they are living and dying by the jump shot, along with Terry Stott's new, gimmick defense of only worrying about defending the 3-point line..eventually, their jump shots will stop falling and teams will adjust to their gimmick defense IMO..

Stotts deserves a lot of credit, though..the Blazers don't have the defensive players to be an elite defensive team, or even a good defensive team, but Stotts has developed a great gimmick system of only focusing on defending the 3 and conceding points in the paint, thinking outside of the box..

They aren't a legit contender, but they will be a playoff team, though, and I would rather avoid them in the 1st round, since they seem to own the Spurs..

HH all over Terry Scott

Their gimmick system will look impressive until an opposing team answers with the same strategy and takes away Portland's 3-pt attack. Portland is currently 4th in the NBA in 3PA and 3rd in the NBA in 3P%. After you match gimmick defense for gimmick defense, and the outside shots are no longer available, it becomes a battle over which team can score in the paint and defend the paint. As of right now, Portland looks like garbage in both areas.

[Sigz]

Blazers aren't going anywhere with Wes Matthews as their starting shooting guard. He is basically their version of James Anderson. Even down to build, playstyle, and at ude. Both golden boys who think they're god's gift to the nba even years after their careers have fallen off the cliff because of their inherent lazy and unmotivated natures.

Two totally different players.

[barakz21]

Well, at least they're now living up to the hype from years ago. Seriously, it was sad looking at their team. Had tons of potential scrapped by injuries. OKC's probably what they might have been if not for those injuries.

[tlongII]

We're legit. No question. We're deeper than you think as well. Mo Williams, Dorrell Wright, Joel Freeland, and Thomas Robinson have all provided quality minutes off the bench. Robinson was a steal. We'll also have C.J. McCollum joining the rotation soon. We have a plethora of 3-pt shooters on this team. We almost always have 3 guys that can knock down the 3 on the court. That is very hard to defend when you have LMA who has a great mid-range jumper and can get his shot off against anybody. Of course if we have a key injury we'll be in trouble, but the same can be said for any other team.

[tlongII]

And if you think Wessy Wes is lazy and unmotivated you don't know him very well. He might be the hardest working player on the team.

[Mugen]

"License to Lillard"

[tlongII]

[txstr1986]

[FireMicoHalili]

They have a young, dynamic core. Heck Meyers Leonard was a solid prospect and he's a third-stringer.

[rascal]

It's the exact formula they used last year, and they burnt out after the New Year after a strong start, not even making the playoffs.

You gotta have a bench and you have to use it.

They are making the playoffd this year. They are coming together as a team this year and a year older which is in their favor because they are young.

[Sigz]

What is this from LOL?

[Oh, Gee!!]

they seem legit, and they will make the playoffs if they stay healthy. Anything can happen in the playoffs, so I'd say they have a shot. I think Spurs go back to the Finals, but Portland could be a problem.

[ElNono]

We're legit. No question. We're deeper than you think as well. Mo Williams, Dorrell Wright, Joel Freeland, and Thomas Robinson have all provided quality minutes off the bench. Robinson was a steal. We'll also have C.J. McCollum joining the rotation soon. We have a plethora of 3-pt shooters on this team. We almost always have 3 guys that can knock down the 3 on the court. That is very hard to defend when you have LMA who has a great mid-range jumper and can get his shot off against anybody. Of course if we have a key injury we'll be in trouble, but the same can be said for any other team.

They don't play meaningful minutes... Mo is the only guy getting 20+ mpg of that bunch, while the starters ride for 30+ mins every game.

[Brunodf]

If they can stay healthy...

[timtonymanu]

Portland would scare me in a series, tbh.

Soft ass Aldridge only turns into a superstar when he sees us. Mo Williams always goes off on us and Lillard has been destroying us every game.

I think the Spurs would win. The Blazers sort of remind me of the 2013 Warriors.

[HI-FI]

What is this from LOL?

i'm guessing Mr. Bean the movie.

[Kool Bob Love]

[BillMc]

Portland would scare me in a series, tbh.

Soft ass Aldridge only turns into a superstar when he sees us. Mo Williams always goes off on us and Lillard has been destroying us every game.

I think the Spurs would win. The Blazers sort of remind me of the 2013 Warriors.

I agree. I think we'd win too, but they're a bad match up for us.

[moisaenz]

why the blazer fans trolling here, lets see if they get a better record than the spurs this season then they can talk.

[CitizenDwayne]

No.

[elmanutres]

their youth might not get them too far in the playoffs, but in the future, once they get experience and some good leadership in vets, they will be contenders. so i wouldn't worry about them much. Course just to be sure, we should steer away from them in the playoffs. They just play too dam good against us

[TampaDude]

Just let the Clips or Grizz take them out in the playoffs, and we'll be fine.