Fan pulse: early returns

[Moonbeam]

We're about 20% of the way through the season, with Portland having an 8-8 record, having played the 4th toughest schedule this year by opponent SRS. I thought it would be a good time to take stock and gauge how fans are feeling. I'll start these posts in rough 20% season intervals for the sake of comparison.

Here are some overall stats:

SRS: 1.52 (11th), 1.81 last year
ORTG: 111.3 (6th), +3.7 relative to the league average (compared to +5.5 last year)
DRTG: 111.0 (27th), +3.4 relative to league average (compared to +3.7 last year)

How are you feeling about the season so far? What do you think the prospects are for the near term for the Blazers?

[Matt800]

Does the tough schedule thing factor in the back to backs and frequency of games? I'm pretty encouraged by what I've seen. Defense looks like its getting better, Lillard looks like he's coming out of his slump, young guys are improving, etc. I think most things should trend up over the season. The main concern I have is if there end up being any injuries.

[DusterBuster]

Mixed af.

[monopoman]

Lillard has had much better shooting stats his past 3 or 4 games. I think the record is reasonable for how tough of a schedule we have had, and implementing a new coach.

Kinda surprising how good this team has been at home though and how bad on the road, but record wise I would have been reasonably happy with 8-8 16 games in if you asked me before the season began.

[Moonbeam]

Does the tough schedule thing factor in the back to backs and frequency of games? I'm pretty encouraged by what I've seen. Defense looks like its getting better, Lillard looks like he's coming out of his slump, young guys are improving, etc. I think most things should trend up over the season. The main concern I have is if there end up being any injuries.

No, the opponent SRS is merely an average SRS of the opponents. I have my own version which takes into account home/road split, which matters more early in the season like this, but nothing regarding back-to-backs or frequency of games has been factored in.

[Moonbeam]

Lillard has had much better shooting stats his past 3 or 4 games. I think the record is reasonable for how tough of a schedule we have had, and implementing a new coach.

Kinda surprising how good this team has been at home though and how bad on the road, but record wise I would have been reasonably happy with 8-8 16 games in if you asked me before the season began.

Yeah, I think there are reasons to be optimistic and reasons to be pessimistic given what has transpired. The solid play of youngsters like Ant and Little is great, having Nance Jr as a versatile big is a nice weapon, and even having a guy like DS Jr as a 3rd string guard makes the team's depth a strong point. Lillard's struggles have been quite notable, but he has played better of late. I suppose the concern there is whether he will truly round into form if there's some nagging injury that will continue to limit him.

[monopoman]

Lillard has had much better shooting stats his past 3 or 4 games. I think the record is reasonable for how tough of a schedule we have had, and implementing a new coach.

Kinda surprising how good this team has been at home though and how bad on the road, but record wise I would have been reasonably happy with 8-8 16 games in if you asked me before the season began.

Yeah, I think there are reasons to be optimistic and reasons to be pessimistic given what has transpired. The solid play of youngsters like Ant and Little is great, having Nance Jr as a versatile big is a nice weapon, and even having a guy like DS Jr as a 3rd string guard makes the team's depth a strong point. Lillard's struggles have been quite notable, but he has played better of late. I suppose the concern there is whether he will truly round into form if there's some nagging injury that will continue to limit him.

If we saw typical Lillard at least 12 of those games we would likely have at least 10 wins right now maybe more.

[The Sebastian Express]

I'm positive. I see a lot of good. I'm starting to turn towards the idea of moving Nurk to try to find a more athletic finisher at the rim at center. I love Nurk, he's an integral part of the team, but I think for us to go to the next level we need someone we can trust to finish at the rim in a way that isn't just throwing the ball up on the PNR. Maybe I'd feel differently if we traded CJ for some wingsize and moved Norm to the two.

Loving Nas' development.

I expected it'd be a little choppy out of the gate and being more difficult on the road isn't a surprise, especially with how Dame's been shooting so far this year. But he's starting to round into form a bit and he's directing the offense so well.

[Wizenheimer]

the Blazers have an opportunity to pad their record with 17 of the next 24 games at home

but their schedule from game 41 to game 71 is absolutely brutal

@ Denver Nuggets
@ Washington Wizards
@ Orlando Magic
@ Miami Heat
@ Boston Celtics
@ Toronto Raptors
Minnesota Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks
@ Houston Rockets
@ Chicago Bulls
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Lakers
New York Knicks
@ Milwaukee Bucks
@ Memphis Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets
@ Phoenix Suns
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ New York Knicks
@ Brooklyn Nets
@ Indiana Pacers
@ Detroit Pistons

21 0f 31 on the road, and considering how poorly Portland has played on the road so far, it might not be till mid-march before we have any real handle of how good this team is

[DusterBuster]

the Blazers have an opportunity to pad their record with 17 of the next 24 games at home

but their schedule from game 41 to game 71 is absolutely brutal

@ Denver Nuggets
@ Washington Wizards
@ Orlando Magic
@ Miami Heat
@ Boston Celtics
@ Toronto Raptors
Minnesota Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks
@ Houston Rockets
@ Chicago Bulls
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Lakers
New York Knicks
@ Milwaukee Bucks
@ Memphis Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets
@ Phoenix Suns
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ New York Knicks
@ Brooklyn Nets
@ Indiana Pacers
@ Detroit Pistons

21 0f 31 on the road, and considering how poorly Portland has played on the road so far, it might not be till mid-march before we have any real handle of how good this team is

Two away game against the same team? I honestly can't ever remember that happening...

[Wizenheimer]

the Blazers have an opportunity to pad their record with 17 of the next 24 games at home

but their schedule from game 41 to game 71 is absolutely brutal

@ Denver Nuggets
@ Washington Wizards
@ Orlando Magic
@ Miami Heat
@ Boston Celtics
@ Toronto Raptors
Minnesota Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks
@ Houston Rockets
@ Chicago Bulls
@ Oklahoma City Thunder
@ Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Lakers
New York Knicks
@ Milwaukee Bucks
@ Memphis Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets
@ Phoenix Suns
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Minnesota Timberwolves
@ Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
@ Atlanta Hawks
@ New York Knicks
@ Brooklyn Nets
@ Indiana Pacers
@ Detroit Pistons

21 0f 31 on the road, and considering how poorly Portland has played on the road so far, it might not be till mid-march before we have any real handle of how good this team is

Two away game against the same team? I honestly can't ever remember that happening...

it happened 5 times last season:

Fri, Jan 1, 2021 @ Golden State Warriors
Sun, Jan 3, 2021 @ Golden State Warriors
Sat, Mar 13, 2021 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Sun, Mar 14, 2021 @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 New Orleans Pelicans
Thu, Mar 18, 2021 New Orleans Pelicans
Fri, Mar 19, 2021 Dallas Mavericks
Sun, Mar 21, 2021 Dallas Mavericks
Fri, Apr 23, 2021 Memphis Grizzlies
Sun, Apr 25, 2021 Memphis Grizzlies

but those were just supposed to be exceptions because of Covid

[JasonStern]

Feeling pretty neutral. The team's ceiling and rough start to the season are well documented. But for me, one of the interest killers is this whole Root Sports contract. As someone that currently lives outside the Pacific Northwest, the lack of nationally televised games really puts a damper on personal interest. Maybe once football season ends, especially if League Pass does one of those mid-season promos and the Blazers are playing decently...

[The Sebastian Express]

Feeling pretty neutral. The team's ceiling and rough start to the season are well documented. But for me, one of the interest killers is this whole Root Sports contract. As someone that currently lives outside the Pacific Northwest, the lack of nationally televised games really puts a damper on personal interest. Maybe once football season ends, especially if League Pass does one of those mid-season promos and the Blazers are playing decently...

If you want to know what's really infuriating, it's that even in Oregon games get preempted off Root's normal channel to Root Sports Plus. The other night it was preempted for a volley ball game. So I had to go way over to Root Sports Plus, which seems to have even lesser picture quality than the standard root sports channel (which is bad).

I hate it all. Also sometimes they don't even list the games right on the channels. The other day one was playing on normal Root but it was showing they were going to do Kraken talk show instead.

[monopoman]

That win against Philadelphia has now put the Blazers right in the hunt for a 4th spot.

The Blazers are only 1 game back from the 4th spot that the Clippers currently hold, even despite some rough times on the road this team is still right there in the mix with the other teams battling for playoff position.

Crap, one more road win would have had us tied for 4th right now with the Clippers.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I just want to chime in with a big old "BOO" to Root Sports as well.

[LillardTime]

Ball movement seems way better than last season, assist numbers are up and hero iso ball seems down. Defensive system is much more competitive but results haven’t flowed through on that end yet. Bench is a significant upgrade in defensive capability with Nas and Larry, probably just lacking in some scoring consistency. I think the road record should even out but we still seem primed for a trade. Dame rounding into form nicely as we knew he would.

[Pattycakes]

Happy we’re figuring out what our “stride” will look like if we were to hit it this year. Ant, Nas, Cody, and Larry are major proof you don’t need a fancy bench, just hard play and chemistry. CJ and Nurk working their way back into looking like positive assets instead of anchors. Not mad at all. We’re better than I thought. Hopefully we continue to get better on both sides and maybe we execute a well timed trade at some point to get some more big man depth, but either way... this team seems scrappy, and with a little luck - Chauncey might have us looking at a good seed by playoff time.

[Wizenheimer]

judging by tonight's game against the Kings, and with 2 road games ahead at Warriors and Jazz, there's a very real possibility Portland will have a losing record with more than 1/4 of the season gone

those are not good early returns. The pulse has arrhythmia.

[Village Idiot]

Honestly it doesn't look like either Dame or CJ are having any fun this season. Nurk has some really bad body language and I can see why he's pissed off. He's in a contract year and the team is a lot better when he gets touches. Roco looks pretty disengaged as well. It's pretty clear the pairing has run its course but its hard to see Olshey doing anything about it. Looks like another season of mediocrity. I'd love to see a major line-up change with Little starting at SF, Nance at PF with CJ going to a 6th man role. This team needs some energy and Nas seems like the only guy going full out.

[Wizenheimer]

"Kemba Walker is out of the Knicks rotation “as of right now,” Tom Thibodeau says. He says he will tighten the rotation moving forward. “It would be tough to play three small guards together,” Thibodeau says. Says he has great respect for Walker and all he’s accomplished"

Read on Twitter

note: Blazers are 29th in defense this season, same as last season...."it's not the roster!"