I must say that loss hurt. You guys did what championship contenders do and thats find a way to win. I thought we played one of our best games of the year and still lost. Five flipping threes in the fourth and that that scoop shot by Manu was unbelievable. I can definitely see you guys contending for the le. Just curious what your thoughts were on our team. Always good to hear honest assestments from fans of other teams good or bad.
I thought the Blazers played a really good game. I haven't watched too many of their games. They had plenty of rest and it showed. They were very active on the boards and passed the ball well. Last night's fourth quarter just showed the difference between a veteran championship quality team and an up and coming team. Roy is very good and will get better. If this teams sticks together, they will be good for plenty of seasons.
By the way, welcome.
The Blazers youth movement seems to be coming along nicely. The Roy/Jack combo has all kinds of potential, but they could really use some help in the post and Magliore doesn't seem to be the answer (nor does Przybilla). Too bad they couldn't trade Mags a few weeks ago.
That said, they can probably get a really solid center or power forward in this year's draft, maybe somebody like Yi Jianlian?
I haven't seen a ton of Blazer games, but, outside of the FT shooting, that's got to be close to the best they've played all year. Their ball movement was really impressive in stretches.
The only thing about them is I don't think you can build an effective team around Zach Randolph's skills. So either he's got to be willing to take a secondary role to Roy or they need to get value for him now.
Thanks for the feedback. Our hope is that we get a decent pick in this years draft and are able to make a run at the 8th spot next year.
Portland is going to eventually be good. Nate McMillan is one of the best coaches in the league. I was impressed by how patient the Blazers were on offense and how hard they competed on defense. Those are the marks of a good coach.
Roy, Aldridge and Rodriguez is an amazing rookie class. Roy could develop into a superstar, Aldridge is going to be a quality starting big and Rodriquez has huge potential, too. Jack is a good point and players like Webster and Outlaw could blossom in the coming years.
Randolph has had a very good year ... although I think the Blazers should look to trade him while his stock his high. He has a history of being a headcase and already has had microfracture surgery. He's also not a good defender and I think they'll be better off building around Roy's offensive skills down the line.
Right now, the Blazers are good enough to make the playoffs in the East. In the West, they're probably a couple of years away.
Getting rid of the JailBlazer reputation is very welcome too and can only help the 'Blazers in the future
Too bad they're not in the East--they would probably be making a run for the playoffs this year!
The microfracture surgery may not be that big a deal for someone like Zach, who never jumped anyway and whose game is based on the occupation of horizontal space. It may eventually affect his longevity.
The Blazers have good young players.
Roy is going to be very good in this league.
Aldridge needs to bulk up and learn to play inside a bit more, but he's also very solid.
Rodriguez is an underrated backup, so he and Jack should be sharing the rock quite a bit in the future.
Outlaw is another kid that needs to bulk up and learn to play inside a bit more, but he brings defense and hustle.
Randolph is a monster and it appears that his questionable character was somewhat a product of the environment...much improved of late.
Webster has needs to bulk up (looked flabby last night) and become more of a slasher rather than just relying on his three-point ability, but he's young with plenty of upside.
Very good, young pieces that need some veteran leadership and swaggar to take the next step.
One problem I see is the $10M of cap space being eaten up by Darius Miles, the worst contract in the league IMO. For the Blazers sake, I hope he has a Jonathan Bender-like early retirement and the $$ he's owed comes off the books. That would be helpful in getting those pieces through FA.
Of course, I'd never wish that on a player.
Great responses and most of you share the same thoughts we have about the Blazers. We are pretty excited about finally having a foundation to build upon with Roy, Aldridge, Jack and Sergio. Zach is the biggest question mark here. I think most of us would be willing to trade him but no one knows for sure what his value is. The guy is unbelievable scorer in the post and has good range on his jumper. I think he is a great second option and Roy will end up being our first option.
Keep Randolph. Too many questions with too much production means the Blazers won't likely get "equal value" in return.
It's a similar situation with Pau Gasol in Memphis, but they do not have near the # of good prospects that Portland does and Pau's trade value is higher.
Yeah Randolphs D is Atrocious....As soon as they put him in the fourth we started draining threes...
Her Timr a long time Blazer fan her too. As a fan i admire the Spurs organization, they have the scouting, coaching, players, and seem to be fiscally(sp) responsible. They are a model NBA team. Our young Blazers will grow up, as a Blazer fan i see us in the playoffs in two seasons. Roy will be the ROY, or better be , and with LMA and ElMago we have had the bets draft in the NBA IMO. these three guys are solid NBA type players and will be a huge asset to this teams future. GO BLAZERS Rip City.
P.S. hope The Spurs punk the Mavs!
They played with a lot of heart. Roy's comment after the game was something like "I'm going to learn from this". That's what you want to hear from your young guys.
There's some good young talent there, and you've got a great coach.
I'm not to much into the chatter....but blazers looked scary with all that Athleticism...what happened to that SHOT BLOCKER on your team.....can't member his name....
Portland makes their free throws, and Portland wins the game going away. 10-20, including 0-2 on technicals, that kills you just about every time.
Prybilla is out for the season with knee surgery. In some ways it's good because it's allowed Lemarcus Aldridge to get more PT. I think we'll be close to the playoffs next year and make it the following barring injuries. I was very impressed that we were able to control the game for 46 minutes unfortunately your team is a championship caliber team and they know how to pull those games out.
I remember watching the Blazers do it to other teams in the early 90's.
What was Stackhouse's comment??
"We don't like them. They don't like us," Stackhouse told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week. "That's it. It may all sound sweet when you're talking to the media, but when you actually get between those lines, man for man, I don't like them.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s...v.309578a.html
And if there's something we Spurs fans know about, it's crappy FT shooting. Congrats to the Blazers who outplayed SA for about 3 2/3 quarters last night ... definitely not playing like a "last place" team.
Missed FT's....something we Spurs fans know all too much about.Portland makes their free throws, and Portland wins the game going away. 10-20, including 0-2 on technicals, that kills you just about every time.
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