DaVoiceMaster wrote:DeBlazerRiddem wrote: […] Our only real chance IMO is to play harder than the other team almost every single night.
Ant has a ton he needs to prove this season. It's one thing to put up stats on a team going nowhere with no expectations but to do so on a winning team while deferring to Lillard is a different beast. Plus he needs to shore up his defense to earn that contract IMO, there are just too many microwave scorers in this league to be spending $25 million dollars a year on a guy who plays one side of the court.
Grant hopefully doesn't take too much of a step backwards, since he is in a contract year hopefully we get the best of him and he makes an adequate 3rd option and two way player.
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Backup guards of Payton and Johnson kind of lack offense. I guess that's maybe OK because our starters are all offense but boy would I rather have well rounded players than two offensive and two defensive minded players.
Our forwards look like a collection of JAGs. I seem to be way further down on Nas than others, who I think are projecting him to take a major step forward this season whereas I haven't seen evidence that is in the cards. Watson, Eubanks and Winslow are a big yawn from me, 3rd stringers masquerading as 2nd stringers. Walker and Sharpe are rookies that I expect take a while to develop, yeah Walker had a good summer league but he is still a second round rookie and unlikely to do much this season for us. Didi, Brown and Hughes are pretty much useless for winning basketball, although I'll give Brown a nod that he has the tools to develop into more but the other two I have zero hope for and would dump them for a ham sandwich.
Hopefully I am very very wrong about everything above, I would love nothing more than to be proven horribly wrong. But at the moment I cant help but feel any success we have will be as an underdog because we out hustle and out work the other team and that is a tenuous path to success over an 82 game season and 16+ game postseason where talent almost always wins out. We are going to be fighting against our fate the entire season and so it all depends on our mental fortitude.
I almost didnt And 1 ya due to the GB3 comments. I don't think he amounts to anything. He's out of control most of the time. If he can harness that energy, perhaps he can be a useful SF. I dont see him as a PF.
[edited for length on the re-quotes]
Reasonable statements with some differences IMHO. The number of questions about players is MANY. And significant.
Simons as the starting SG is the biggest. It’s not a concern or a problem to me … in the final year of LMA, CJ showed glimpses and then blew up on a new, less talented roster. Simons showed more than glimpses. And he knows better D is necessary where CJ only has being a veteran to save him from being thoroughly craptastic at that end. I’m much more optimistic about Simons than back then with CJ.
GB3 has little path to minutes
even on the Blazers. Absolutely agree on harnessing the energy — he has to commit as a defensive stopper and fast … he’s getting passed up. In contrast, the offense of
GP2 was actually shown on Golden State. The question is whether the Blazers will use him according to his strengths on PnR, the corner 3, and at the rim … which has to be a yes at least with the starters … with Nurkic and with guys who want to share the ball.
Grant as an unknown on the Blazers is one I look forward to.
How good is the question. The bigger question is
Little in beast mode, ready to leave dings behind him, and earn a 2nd contract.
Hart (as a more proven and versatile rotation player with a year then a p-opt) is headed towards his (likely) final prime years contract, so he has all reasons for motivation … and like Winslow’s contract is a realistic nightly audition. Good that they are pros.
There are ‘hard hats and lunch pail’ guys on this team who can play. And they’re young and with a less experienced coach who values those kinda guys. It’s truly an interesting situation to see develop. [Walker and Sharpe both have runways to playing time in the next year which make trade possibilities for others more likely.]
Due to what others have said (and IMHO), predicting a 7-9 finish is reasonable. However, if the questions go the way I’d guess they will, then 5-7 is about right.
