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The Next 25 Games

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The Next 25 Games 

Post#1 » by Wizenheimer » Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:22 pm

I don't know how many have looked at the Blazer schedule, but things are about to get interesting:

Los Angeles Lakers
@ Los Angeles Clippers
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Milwaukee Bucks
@ Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Phoenix Suns
New York Knicks
New Orleans Pelicans
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
@ Orlando Magic
@ Miami Heat
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ New Orleans Pelicans
Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Sacramento Kings
Denver Nuggets
@ Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
Memphis Grizzlies
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors
Oklahoma City Thunder
Utah Jazz

as coincidence would have it, at the end of that stretch, Portland will be exactly at the halfway point for the season

looking at that schedule, I can easily see the Blazers only winning 4-6 of those games. It's a tough schedule. 6 B2B's and only 4 games against teams with worse records, and two of those 4 games are against an improving Pelicans team

what's your guess on Portland's record at the halfway point?

I'll say either 11-30 or 12-29
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#2 » by mactrapper10 » Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:25 pm

Wizenheimer wrote:I don't know how many have looked at the Blazer schedule, but things are about to get interesting:

Los Angeles Lakers
@ Los Angeles Clippers
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Milwaukee Bucks
@ Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Phoenix Suns
New York Knicks
New Orleans Pelicans
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
@ Orlando Magic
@ Miami Heat
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ New Orleans Pelicans
Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Sacramento Kings
Denver Nuggets
@ Utah Jazz
@ Denver Nuggets
Memphis Grizzlies
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors
Oklahoma City Thunder
Utah Jazz

as coincidence would have it, at the end of that stretch, Portland will be exactly at the halfway point for the season

looking at that schedule, I can easily see the Blazers only winning 4-6 of those games. It's a tough schedule. 6 B2B's and only 4 games against teams with worse records, and two of those 4 games are against an improving Pelicans team

what's your guess on Portland's record at the halfway point?

I'll say either 11-30 or 12-29


I would be incredibly happy if we were 11-30 going through that stretch, especially after watching Ben Simmons so far this season. I think we will probably end up winning maybe 7 games throughout all of those. I just hope that they don't end up winning 35-42 games and being bad enough to miss the playoffs, but not quite bad enough to end up with a top 7 pick.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#3 » by Case2012 » Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:25 pm

yikes. I have no idea. I think we can win a third of those games. We've beaten good teams or been close. I'm still all in for tank mode personally but historically the worst team rarely wins the top pick, and it's all about Simmons right now, who looks like LeBron light i guess. So I hope we end up around 3-6 in the draft lottery, which requires winning some games.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#4 » by Soulyss » Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:38 pm

I am going to say 15 - 26, I see the blazers being competitive but losing lots of close games. I suspect we will be outside the top 7.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#5 » by PDX MM » Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:41 pm

Soulyss wrote:I am going to say 15 - 26, I see the blazers being competitive but losing lots of close games. I suspect we will be outside the top 7.


As much as I want us to lose as many games as possible I agree with this prediction
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#6 » by Dame Lizard » Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:56 pm

I'll predict 14-27 after that stretch of games.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#7 » by zzaj » Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:07 pm

Los Angeles Lakers W
@ Los Angeles Clippers L
Dallas Mavericks L
Indiana Pacers L
@ Minnesota Timberwolves L
@ Milwaukee Bucks L
@ Cleveland Cavaliers L
@ Phoenix Suns L
New York Knicks L
New Orleans Pelicans W
@ Oklahoma City Thunder L
@ Orlando Magic W
@ Miami Heat L
@ Atlanta Hawks L
@ New Orleans Pelicans L
Cleveland Cavaliers L
@ Sacramento Kings W
Denver Nuggets W
@ Utah Jazz L
@ Denver Nuggets L
Memphis Grizzlies L
Los Angeles Clippers L
Golden State Warriors L
Oklahoma City Thunder L
Utah Jazz W

6-19 in this stretch, which would put the overall record at 12-29...which is reasonable tank and below where I thought they'd be halfway through the season. I also predict a minor injury (out 4-7 games) to Aminu, Harkless or Crabbe during this period.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#8 » by Norm2953 » Thu Nov 26, 2015 3:12 am

I just hope the team is competitive in most of the games and not get carried away with tanking
for Simmons for they have a long way to get anywhere close to the win less Sixers or perhaps
the worst team in the western conference in the Lakers. Portland if they play Davis and
Plumlee up front with Dame and CJ will likely be competitive with teams like the Mavs and
will win their share of the next 25 games.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#9 » by The Sebastian Express » Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:59 am

Can we call these games "The Ben Simmons Stretch", please?
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#10 » by Masterfully » Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:16 pm

Norm2953 wrote:I just hope the team is competitive in most of the games and not get carried away with tanking
for Simmons for they have a long way to get anywhere close to the win less Sixers or perhaps
the worst team in the western conference in the Lakers. Portland if they play Davis and
Plumlee up front with Dame and CJ will likely be competitive with teams like the Mavs and
will win their share of the next 25 games.


Nobody on the team is tanking. Losses are a natural biproduct of lack of talent. Lack of talent can be remedied by drafting well. So here's a Thanksgiving toast to losing games and drafting well.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#11 » by Norm2953 » Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:14 pm

I do think this team would be good if we had that third scorer on the wing for Davis and Plumlee
are big and physical enough to compete with most teams not having an Andre Drummond for
Imagine a healthy Matthews teamed with CJ and Dame. We've got some decent complimentary
pieces but lack that third scorer who is a legit threat to score 20ppg on a regular basis.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#12 » by Wizenheimer » Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:20 pm

Masterfully wrote:Nobody on the team is tanking. Losses are a natural biproduct of lack of talent. Lack of talent can be remedied by drafting well. So here's a Thanksgiving toast to losing games and drafting well.


that's a good way to put things, even though hoping for losses seems a little off

the further the Blazers progress this season away from good lottery odds may very well be heading in the direction of a treadmill. For me, it's really hard to imagine the current roster maturing into anything resembling a contender. And just adding talent equal or similar to Davis/Aminu doesn't change that dynamic enough. Blazers need more top-end talent, and they need it sooner rather then later

Right now, I see only 1 definite "keeper" on the roster and that's Lillard. Plumlee may be headed towards keeper status because of how much he seems to be improving over a short span of games (and I judge his leveling of Jimmy Butler a positive sign instead of a negative one...having a little fire is good). The rest of the roster, and that includes CJ, look like role players with flaws. All should be viewed as potential trade assets until those other top-end talent(s) are added

the 2016 draft is critical in my view
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#13 » by PDXKnight » Sat Nov 28, 2015 8:37 am

Wizenheimer wrote:
Masterfully wrote:Nobody on the team is tanking. Losses are a natural biproduct of lack of talent. Lack of talent can be remedied by drafting well. So here's a Thanksgiving toast to losing games and drafting well.


that's a good way to put things, even though hoping for losses seems a little off

the further the Blazers progress this season away from good lottery odds may very well be heading in the direction of a treadmill. For me, it's really hard to imagine the current roster maturing into anything resembling a contender. And just adding talent equal or similar to Davis/Aminu doesn't change that dynamic enough. Blazers need more top-end talent, and they need it sooner rather then later

Right now, I see only 1 definite "keeper" on the roster and that's Lillard. Plumlee may be headed towards keeper status because of how much he seems to be improving over a short span of games (and I judge his leveling of Jimmy Butler a positive sign instead of a negative one...having a little fire is good). The rest of the roster, and that includes CJ, look like role players with flaws. All should be viewed as potential trade assets until those other top-end talent(s) are added

the 2016 draft is critical in my view


Yup 2016 will make or break this franchise. If we wind up with a bust there's a chance this team is stuck in 41 win territory but if we get a solid player who can mature into a star or superstar next to Lillard and Plumlee this team could be pretty good in a few years.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#14 » by Soulyss » Sat Nov 28, 2015 2:10 pm

PDX MM wrote:
Soulyss wrote:I am going to say 15 - 26, I see the blazers being competitive but losing lots of close games. I suspect we will be outside the top 7.


As much as I want us to lose as many games as possible I agree with this prediction


I also think we have a better record in the second half of the season.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#15 » by DaVoiceMaster » Mon Nov 30, 2015 11:02 am

I'm 2 games late to this thread so given the Blazers won both games against the Lakers, I'm gonna say they'll go 8-17 in those 25 games (2 wins already... WooT!). And 8 may be a best case scenario!
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#16 » by Wizenheimer » Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:52 pm

DaVoiceMaster wrote:I'm 2 games late to this thread so given the Blazers won both games against the Lakers, I'm gonna say they'll go 8-17 in those 25 games (2 wins already... WooT!). And 8 may be a best case scenario!


only 1 win so far, stretch of 25 started with the last Laker game...24 to go... :wink:
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#17 » by iceman1685 » Tue Dec 1, 2015 12:56 am

i am a bit more optimistic. the blazers have hung with most teams even the top tier ones.

i think i would expect a 12-13 stretch. giving them a record of 19-23. i truly believe that the blazers have a lot of talent and only are going to get better. they should be a 500 team with the ability to get a good FA in the offseason
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#18 » by Wizenheimer » Tue Dec 1, 2015 3:34 am

iceman1685 wrote:they should be a 500 team with the ability to get a good FA in the offseason


hmmm....that kind of makes me thing along the lines of:

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NBA teams could have a combined $1.07 billion in cap space for 2016 free agents.


http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/10/16/9529643/nba-free-agency-2016-salary-cap-space-billions

free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu on Friday rejected the Trail Blazers' $50 million offer and announced he will look for another team.


Spenser Hawes was the Portland Trail Blazers’ primary target when free agency hit earlier this week. Blazers offered Hawes same exact contract he accepted with Clippers


Greg Monroe rejected Portland's offer and signed with Milwaukee
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#19 » by Moonbeam » Fri Dec 4, 2015 6:32 am

I think Portland will likely win a few games they shouldn't (like tonight against Indiana). I can see them going 8-13 the rest of the way through this stretch.
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Re: The Next 25 Games 

Post#20 » by PDXKnight » Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:23 pm

Portland has gone 5-6 so far on this stretch. Let's hope this doesn't mean treadmill season and treadmill team.

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