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24 Games in....is this what you expected?

I remember looking at the schedule for the Blazers when it first came out and could not believe how difficult the first 24 games looked.  Right now, the Blazers have played more games than any other team, which means they've had fewer days off than every other team in the league.  Right now, the Blazers have played more road games than any other team, including two long 5 game trips.  That's a tough way to start the season for any team, much less a very young team like our Blazers.

So how have they done?  Personally, I'm very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish.  I was hoping that they'd be able to get through this 24 game stretch at 12-12.  15-9 puts them 3 games ahead of my personal expectation, which has been nice to see.  Yes, they've lost some games recently and I have my concerns, but I consider them to be further along than where I expected them to be at this point.  Injuries, trying to incorporate a number of new players, long road trips - I think in general they've held up nicely to the challenges.

I'm interested in your thoughts.  Have the Blazers played up to your expectations or fallen below?  Have individual players progressed as much as you hoped?  Do you look at the team differently than you did on opening night?  Or.....(fill in your own question to answer)?

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definetely above expectations

If not for the Orlando game, I’d be in great spirits right now. Still a great start for Portland. We need a W tonight though.

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Dec 12, 2008 9:35 AM PST reply actions   1 recs

+1 re Orlando

That 70's show:
Kelso: Red! I guess ur wondering why I'm going through your stuff. See, I needed to borrow your saw...because I need to chop down a tree...because there's something stuck in it...an animal...a rabbit...and I would like to return that rabbit to the wild so it can lay its eggs!

Red: Kelso, rabbits don't..............how the hell did a rabbit get up a tree?

Kelso: uhhhhhh Eric threw it up there.

Red: Eric threw a rabbit up a tree?

Kelso: Yeah, he's a sadistic bastard.

by 92wastheyear on Dec 12, 2008 9:36 AM PST up reply actions  

This is much better than expected, but that's also part of the problem

an exciting start raises expectations, and now I find depression where there wouldn’t otherwise be any. It’s a sad day when a team begins so well.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Dec 12, 2008 10:00 AM PST reply actions  

Agreed

It’s to the point where we, as Blazer fans, expect the team to win 90% of the games (if not all of them!), so it changes things from here on out. It’s a nice place to be, but it is different from the last couple of years.

by Storyteller on Dec 12, 2008 10:36 AM PST up reply actions  

There's a flip side to that, too.

I’m a lot more comfortable now with the Blazers taking a lead into the 4th quarter, or even playing from behind. In past years, a 10 point lead in the 4th was like a recipe for disaster…you just knew they were somehow going to blow it. Now I’m more comfortable that they will hold leads and make late runs when behind. The Orlando game just shocked me because my thought was, “Wait a minute…we don’t lose these games!!”

So in some aspects, the stress level goes down even as expectations get higher.

The cowards never started
The weak died along the way
Only the strong survived
They were the Trailblazers

by lukeyhere on Dec 12, 2008 10:44 AM PST up reply actions  

Above expectations but....

Although they are playing with 2 rookies and have won big games Im a little worried about the make up of our team. They have to many scorers and not enough role players. I wish they didnt shoot so many jumpers, played better " D" . I wish we had a better pg that drove to the hole and distribute the ball better. I dont know if we have the team that will compete in the playoffs this year or any year until we get one.

by blazerchamp on Dec 12, 2008 10:01 AM PST reply actions  

Well above expectations

I expected 10-12 wins at this point.

However, I also expected Greg to be starting to find his rhythm, and that really hasn’t happened yet, so I’m glad we’re ahead of schedule on wins.

Sample size is still small, so the projections aren’t trustworthy, but my spreadsheet projects out to 57 wins. I expected to be projecting about 45 at this point, and have it ramp up through January as Martell got back up to speed, Greg improved, and the team melded together more.

That improvement, if it comes, looks like coming later than January, with Greg’s slow progress and Martell’s delayed return. But we may not need it to hit the mid 50s in Ws, since we’re playing above that pace right now.

I’m not too down about the Orlando loss, because I didn’t really expect to win at Orlando, so that win cancelled it out. And really, who expected us to be any better than 7-1 at home after the first 8 games? Who expected us to be that good?

Agreed that we need to win tonight, though. The best way to throw away a good start to the season is to start losing home games to the Clips.

Do you like asparagus?

by jscot on Dec 12, 2008 10:05 AM PST reply actions  

Way ahead of what I expected

But I still keep my prediction of 46 wins this season. This team will go through winning streaks, as well as losing streaks. We must be able to win without putting up 25 – 30 3pt shots. We will not shoot 40-45% every night, and we need to find a way to stay in games when we are struggeling from the outside.

by bad karma on Dec 12, 2008 10:16 AM PST reply actions  

Way ahead of schedule...

so they’re definitely exceeding my expectations.

The great early record against all odds may have inflated my excitement too much, however. I fear the “real” Blazers team might be good but not as good as they’ve looked thus far against that rediculous schedule.

"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Dec 12, 2008 10:19 AM PST reply actions  

I expected a much slower start...

probably not even .500 at this point. Tough schedule and too many new faces.

Orlando loss was the toughest in the coulda-woulda-shoulda category. Much worse than the schooling in Boston.

However, if I had eaten some really bad burritos on day 1 of the season causing me to lapse into a coma and awaken today with short term memory loss to find them 15-9…it wouldn’t matter how they got here or how painful or humiliating any of the losses were. They would simply be far above my expectations.

‘course I’d probably have forgotten about those burritos also and would consume the leftovers.

Individually I expected more from LA (can he just keep playing like the last couple games now??). I expected to see more PT for Rex. Roy is exceeding expectations. I figured with the increased scrutiny by other teams, the scouts figuring out that he’s THE MAN, etc, that he would be doing well to maintain last years productivity.

I actually expected quite a bit from Channing, too. I’m just gonna bite my tongue here.

I’ve been able to ratchet down my expectations for Oden. I bought into the hype. Now I figure he’s just another rookie with potential and things are cool. If Joel wasn’t killing it out there this pill would be a lot tougher to swallow.

The cowards never started
The weak died along the way
Only the strong survived
They were the Trailblazers

by lukeyhere on Dec 12, 2008 10:30 AM PST reply actions  

They are

6 games above your expectations.

Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.

by jonestr on Dec 12, 2008 11:19 AM PST reply actions  

but you have to account for the loses as well

not only are they exceeding predicted win total, but they are exceeding your expected loss total as well.

Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.

by jonestr on Dec 12, 2008 12:44 PM PST up reply actions  

maybe a better way is to express in term of win%

and they are exceeding expectation by 20%

Life is exhausting when you are this stupid.

by jonestr on Dec 12, 2008 12:46 PM PST up reply actions  

Much better

I had us 10 – 14 in my “realistic” prediction which now turned out to be a bit pessimistic so far (45 games overall, more probably more like 50-55). But a few game comments I noted were dead on, especially regarding the losses:

Golden State: “Tired at the end of the first road trip”
Boston: “No chance against their experience”
Orlando: “Hedo Turkoglu drains the last hope”
Utah: “A little pre-Christmas crisis”

My comment for the Clippers game was “Davis is good, but we prevail”.

Viva la Rudylucion

by Norsktroll on Dec 12, 2008 2:36 PM PST reply actions  

We are doing better than I expected.

But like any Blazer adict, I always want more!

I’d say the worst losses were the L@kers, GS, and Heido’s HORSE banker.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Dec 12, 2008 2:59 PM PST reply actions  

i was expecting 10-12 wins. 15 was awesome

but we are kinda getting killed by these close losses

"All our holes," says shooting guard Brandon Roy, a surprise All-Star last year in his second season, "are holes that Greg is going to plug."

by bowdown on Dec 13, 2008 1:52 PM PST reply actions  

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