2008-09 Finals: Blazers-Celtics

[Bruiser]

Hey yo!

I think there´s a clear chance that, injuries aside, Celts will clash against Blazers for the title.
There´s no team in the East that can challenge us and Blazers are a very very talented and deep team with a great center, great playmakers, great shooters....

Talentwise they are clearly over Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Mavs, Rockets and other so called West powerhouses. They also have one of the best coaches in the business in Nate McMillan. If they can become a good defensive team I can´t see any team that could stop them.

Any thoughts?

Kind regards.

[Mahoney_jr]

Too early. Between 2010 and 2020 they will win a few championships if they manage the transition from rookie to second contract of their star players. But the NBA is not a league which you can steamroll with a bunch of 24 years olds.

[humblebum]

I really like the roster construction of the Blazers. I'm not sold on their rookies, aside from Oden, having major impacts on the team but Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden is about as balanced a trio as you can get in this league. Brandon Roy IMO is one of the toughest offensive perimeter players in the league when healthy, very Paul Pierce esque in the fact that he hangs below the media attention that goes to the likes of Wade, Kobe, Lebron. Alridrige and Oden is a very, very balanced frontcourt pair and Oden should be an instant beast on the boards and defensively. He'll score simply due to his size, activity level, and the defenses attention on Roy and Lamarcus. I think that Oden will struggle defending the pick and roll game so teams like New Orleans and San Antonio are going to be tough for them. But they have really great size and some nice role players as well. It would be real interesting, and somewhat hilarious if the Blazers unseated the Lakers this quickly as WC Champs.

[Bruiser]

Too early. Between 2010 and 2020 they will win a few championships if they manage the transition from rookie to second contract of their star players. But the NBA is not a league which you can steamroll with a bunch of 24 years olds.

I get your point and I could agree with you. Blazers are very young, but many of their players have performed well under the spotlight. Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Greg Oden, Sergio Rodriguez, Raef LaFrentz, Pryzbilla. None of them seems to be a choker. Aldridge, Webster, Outlaw, Frye, Bayless could be question marks but they are complementary players.

I think the sheer power of Oden, the smarts of Blake, Roy and Rudy and Nate could take them to the finals this year.

[Wizenheimer]

as an avid Blazer fan, I'd say with about 97% certainty that it will be far too early to see Portland advancing in the playoffs this season. They will have a fight just to make the playoffs as the first part of their schedule this season is absolutely brutal: 16 of first 24 games on the road, & 26 of first 36 games against last year's playoff teams.

Realistically, they won't be 'contenders', till 2010 at the earliest.

[Havlicek17]

Although I think the Blazers will be a very good team this year, I don't see them breaking through and being better than the elite veteran teams in the WC just yet. They're just too young. They are the best young team in the league, but need a year or two of seasoning and adjusting to find the right mix.

Portland has LaFrentz' expriring contract at $12 Mil this year. They will be actively looking for a trade this season that will use the expring to get them an elite veteran. If that fails, they could sign a veteran free agent, or packaged with a good young player or two could land a top veteran player after the season is over. If we sign D Miles, Portland will have approx $9 Mil in cap room flexibility after this season.

My biggest concern for the Blazers will be the health of Oden. Some big men just can't stay healthy. Let's hope he can stay healthy, and his first year was the exception and not the rule. If he does stay healthy and they can bring in some complementary veteran talent over the next two years, I see could see them being the team to beat in 2010/2011.

[sunshinekids99]

I really do like the Blazers team, they are going to be very very good. I'm just not sold that this is the year for the Blazers to make the jump. I think they will need a few years to get Oden's feet wet before they can worry about a title.

If I had to pick a finals right now, I'd go with the same matchup as last year.

[Barry Lird]

I really like the roster construction of the Blazers. I'm not sold on their rookies, aside from Oden, having major impacts on the team but Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden is about as balanced a trio as you can get in this league. ...

Don't sleep on Rudy Fernandez. I think he'll be a star in the NBA, and I don't think it'll take long to get there. He's got phenomenal court vision. He was making Bird-like passes.

Watch the Oden/Fernandez highlights of their preseason game here. Really impressive stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWqSjBYqZio&e

[Andrew McCeltic]

This is probably a messed-up thing to dream about considering we just won a championship, but-

Imagine we won the Oden lottery. Imagine that we still made the Big Al-Garnett (but not the Ray Allen) trade. You have Oden, Garnett, Wally with a giant expiring contract, Pierce and Rondo. How sick would that have been?

[humblebum]

I don't no about anybody else but I look at Oden as a transcendent big man. I think he's going to be dominant in the paint from the get-go. If he's able to stay healthy he's going to score 10+ on put backs, dump off-s, and free throw's alone. Never mind his post scoring opportunities. I look at paint play as the greatest determinant of success and with Aldridge, Oden and Pryzbilla they have the potential to dominate right now! Outside of these three bigs they have a diverse offense lead by Roy but with solid options in Webster, Outlaw, and maybe even Fernandez. Steve Blake is a solid guy as a book end to the freakish athleticism and talent of the young blossoming stars.

To reiterate: I think Oden is going to be dominant, this season. He'll struggle in certain areas of team and help defense on the perimeter (which is why I believe they'll be vulnerable to the PG-C top of the arc Pick and Roll that SA and NO run so well) but he'll be able to stand toe-to-toe with the Duncan's of the world right away. Pryzbilla will prove to be a nice balance to Oden as Greg struggles in spurts through his rookie season.

I'm not guaranteeing that the Blazers will get there this season but I'm not counting them out. I think they have the talent right now to win in the playoffs, it just remains to be seen how players will perform under pressure, how the refs call the games, who gets the breaks etc. Their roster construction and depth of talent is Championship calibre.

[avi623]

Watched most of last night's game, and they are so talented it's scary. They are two deep at the 2-5 positions. But point guard will be a huge problem for them. Sergio and Bayless are too young (though they are both studs), and Steve Blake is a backup on a championship contender. Rudy has the passing skills to maybe fill in. He is clearly Manu 2.0. They make the playoffs, but take their licks in getting pinched out in the first round.

As good as they looked last night, let's not forget, what happened last night was preseason against a team that is not going to win more than 25 games. Go figure.

[Dogen]

Blazers/Celtics finals sounds good to me. Still a long way to get there.

[ParticleMan]

having talented youth is great for everything, except winning games. C's fans should know this as much as anyone.

the blazers are too talented not to make the playoffs (assuming they stay healthy). but i don't expect them to get far this year.

[GuyClinch]

^^^ The C's weren't all that talented before just young. The Blazers are legitimately young and talented. I mean Jefferson was the "most talented" guy we had that was young and I doubt he has anywhere near the career that PP, Garnett or RA had if we judge by all-star games. The rest of the young talent won't even make the all-star team!

That being said they could quickly develop ego problems from all that talent. They have guys that will be perenial all-stars. They might need to pair down the roster and bring in some Posey/House bench types to put them over the top..

Pete

[dingodile]

I really do like the Blazers team, they are going to be very very good. I'm just not sold that this is the year for the Blazers to make the jump. I think they will need a few years to get Oden's feet wet before they can worry about a title.

If I had to pick a finals right now, I'd go with the same matchup as last year.

Agreed. I also don't expect them to reach the finals before 2010 and it should be all Lakers until then. Their ascenion in the West will likely mirror the Lakers eventual decline. It'll be your basic passing of the torch.

[BillessuR6]

I think POR will be fighting for the playoffs this year nothing more. Young teams just don`t win in the NBA it`s as simple as this. And they are injury prone. Their 2 best players, Oden and Roy are both projectes to have injury riddled careers...I do like Rudy though. I have been watching him here in Europe for years, so I know what he is capable of...

[Celtsfan1980]

Oden needs to develop an offensive game and they need to acquire a veteran or two. I'd say they're two years away from competing. I feel they have more potential on any team I can ever remember, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to keep the team together. It is funny how people complain about how Boston has made their team, but Portland being handed Oden in the draft lottery is okay.

[Wizenheimer]

Oden needs to develop an offensive game and they need to acquire a veteran or two. I'd say they're two years away from competing. I feel they have more potential on any team I can ever remember, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to keep the team together. It is funny how people complain about how Boston has made their team, but Portland being handed Oden in the draft lottery is okay.

just like San Antonio was "handed" Duncan?

Don't forget, the year before winning the lottery, Portland had the worst record in the league, but the lottery gods saw fit to drop them to the 4th position in the draft. Worst case scenario.

So portland's GM entered that draft with only the 4th pick in the first round and parlayed that single pick into Aldridge, Roy, and Rodriguez.

As to keeping the team together, the blazers won't have much trouble with that, at least not for the next 7-9 years. Rookie scale contracts and the richest owner in sports will see to that.

[s1ickd]

the blazers dont have what it takes at the pg psition. they also dont have a go-to player like kobe, pierce, lebron, or manu to score in the clutch with less than a minute left.

they're pretty good, but dont have what it takes for grind it out, game 7's deep in the playoffs. the lakers, spurs, and hornets are better.

[nasbahceltic]

Blazers are waaaaaaaaaaaaay too young. 2 or 3 years and I think they'll be a dominant team (if they can remain healthy), but no way will they be making it to the finals this year.