First win: 1 point
Second win: 2 points
Third win: 4 points

In just three more wins, we’ll win by 32 points! Woohoo.

Of course, my theory doesn’t tell us how long it takes to get those three more wins.

we have been very fortunate in all 3 of our wins. We need more post play, seems like most everything we take is outside the paint. At one point (end of 1st half I believe), Minn was outscoring us 20-4 points in the paint. If our jumpers don’t fall, we are screwed. Any solutions/ideas? LMA so far seems somewhat incapable of being a rugged bruiser down low, Priz has no inside game, Channing is a LMA clone and Oden…who knows. Settling for jumpers won’t get us anywhere near 50 wins this season.

I was at the game last night and couldn’t BELIEVE the Wolves missed those three point blank shots on that late possession. (Actually, I thought Joel might have put his hand thru the hoop to keep Jefferson’s last shot out, but I haven’t seen a replay yet to confirm that!)

In any case, yes: the Blazers are fortunate to be at .500 right now. But considering the Oden/Martell injuries and the integration of two new players (along with the absence of Jack & Jones from last season), I think the guys are doing very well. The most glaring deficiency has been on the boards, and Trout & LMA have stepped up there the last two games. (Joel, of course, battles each and every night.)

We got this. The Blazers are the Barack Obama of the NBA. We’re all going to spend this year nit-picking and worry-worting about why Sergio Rodriguez isn’t connecting with blue collar workers in southern Ohio or tearing our hair out in outrage that the Lakers would dare to suggest Greg Oden has ties to terrorists, and meanwhile LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy’s ground game in Nevada and New Mexico will quietly register enough new offensive rebounds to get us into a good showing in the Electoral Playoffs this year.

It doesn’t matter if you win with a last-second heave or by 50 points; it counts the same in the standings. Sure, we’d like to blow teams out, but that’s not going to happen in the Western Conference when we’re missing two starters.

I’ve been encouraged that the Blazers are hanging in most of their games while they integrate the new folk in and set rotations. How many people, besides Sophia, thought Batum would make a contribution right away? I think most of us are happy to see that Fernandez’ excellent Olympics has carried over to his play so far.

Point guard still seems unsettled. I don’t like Blake taking more than a few shots a game since that takes shots away from Roy and LMA and who knows where Sergio’s head is?

We were competitive two of the road losses.

Last I checked, Utah and the L*kers are 9-0. They are playing great basketball. We are still putting the pieces together, and are tied for 6th place in the West.

I love where we are. I am shocked we are not 1-5 or maybe 2-6 given the schedule.

Really we should have lost either the Houston or SA game but they weren’t as lucky as Dave suggests— I disagree that Finley hits that shot 8 out of 10— that would have been true a few years ago but he is nowhere near the player he used to be… and while Roy’s shot was a miracle, that Yao three point play wasn’t exactly super repeatable either.

However, Dave’s general idea— that we’ve been a little lucky but but pretty decent. -5.2 point differential suggests we should probobly be 2-4 but even that is not too bad against these teams.

For some reason, he looks confused and perplexed…the team has no identity and the unity on the floor is not there…..the offense is bland ….the defense has no structure …there does not appear to be a game plan…..I see an unorganized group of coaches and players……What does Nate want to do? …… you can’t just let Roy and La take charge and sit and hope for the best…..I’m seeing things out there that make no sense at all…..
    The pressure may be getting to him…..and he appears deflated by it all…..(the ton of hype surrounding this years team) We have good players with a good combination of BBIQ and athleticism, so now it is in the coach’s hands…..Or do we continue on the same path and conclude at some point, we don’t have the right players?
   Lots of people say ….it’s early, so relax and enjoy….But watching the Blazers has not been too enjoyable, so far(from a basketball point of view and not just a fan)…….And isn’t it early for the other teams, as well?

So the Blazers are the owners of the third worst opponent FG% in the NBA. How much is mental on the part of the opposing players and how bad is the Blazers defense? I am an opposing player coming to play the Blazers tomorrow. Coach and stats show that the Blazers give up a high percentage therefore I am going to shoot a high percentage. Is this positive mental outlook for “them” created by a negative defensive image the Blazers are creating for themselves going to create a long-lasting problem? I think so.

Yet, to this teams credit, 3 of the 6 teams that the Blazers have played thus far are in the top 5 in the NBA for FG% (Phoenix 1, Utah 3, San Antonio 4). So, while the Blazers are third from the last in OPP FG%, they have been playing the best teams.

If we have more games like Minnesota, where we only give up 41.7%, this should improve. However, if it doesn’t, players are going to continue to get increasingly confident in their ability to shoot against our Blazers.

Being 3-3 doesn’t give me much comfort knowing how the Blazers have played in 5 of the 6 games. I still feel the only good game the Blazers have played is the Houston game and that was a game where the Blazers blew a 10 point lead in the 4th. The Phoenix game was not that close if you watched it live, you never had the sense the Blazers were in any control of the game even being up at halftime. The Utah game was similar to the Wolves game where you could tell which team was playing and the other just sleepwalking. The Spurs are 1-4, squeaking out a 2OT win over the same Wolves the Blazers couldn’t put away in the 4th.

One thing that gives me pause on the team is how much the offense has to work to score. Nothing comes easy within the offense, even against a poor defensive team like the Wolves. The bread and butter pick and roll has been noticeably ineffective, pushed aside by isolations.

I don’t think Oden and Webster will cure what ails the team. Rebounding has been surprisingly robust and the 3-point shooting is near the top of the league. I feel Przybilla is under appreciated here. His defensive presence and rebounding anchors the team. Batum and Fernandez have stepped up to fill in the void left by Webster’s injury and Jones’ departure. I think the one guy this team misses the most believe it or not is Jarrett Jack. Another guard who will drive to the paint and cause the defense to collapse. Jack took ball handling pressure off of Roy. He played the pick and roll well enough to create some offense for the team. This year, you can see how frequently Roy is handling the ball and acting as the offensive creator on the team. Honestly, I don’t think he’s a good full-time PG because the offense lacks player movement and he becomes a one on one player. Portland needs another penetrating guard and playmaker. No, I don’t think Sergio is the answer, he doesn’t actually penetrate to the paint. The key guy is sitting on the bench, Bayless. I’m hoping he’ll grasp the PG position and mature his game as the season goes on. Right now his game is not ready yet, but I know the coaches are doing everything to help him. I look forward to seeing how Bayless improves.

what i’ve been saying but in different words.

glad to know i’m not the only one seeing it though. I haven’t been frustrated with the team until this year, and i think you said it well. They’re tripping up on steps I had thought they’d already covered and were going to move beyond this year. They’ve seemed like individuals and not a team unit.

Here’s hoping they start bonding.

Here’s also hoping that Aldridge will continue being aggressive instead of running like a sissy girl from the paint. I’m tired of having an awesome power forward that can’t figure out that he can attack and own the guys down low 90% of the time. I swear if he keeps settling for jumpers I’m going to put a bonnet on his head and give him a lolipop. I will also call him sally because that seems like the opposite name of george.

I really do love the team, but I’m taking a little break from them so I can reset my expectations. We may kick it into another gear later in the season, but you’re right about the wins being “lucky”. It has been a coin toss, and it shouldn’t have been if we were playing smarter and more team oriented basketball. That does show that we have some nice talent, but i’m beyond that now. I want the nice TEAM now and I want to see that potential blossoming. We’re watching a team I’d have expected last year. Not this year. This year our team should be better than this. I think they will be, but I was expecting it sooner.

As for Greg. I’m not worried about him this year. He’ll do what he’ll do. Personally, i think it’ll all be gravy, this year. My expectations for him all come around next year.