A view from a couple completely objective viewer

by Gargen on Nov 5, 2009 11:45 AM PST

... a computer.

According to Jeff Sagarin's rating system, Portland is the 9th best team in the NBA, and every team we have played is a "top 16" team. According to basketball reference's SRS rating (basically opponent adjusted point differential), Portland is the 6th best team.

In both cases, a surprisingly strong strength of schedule is the reason for the slack.

The sky isn't falling. It's just a good team going through a tough stretch.

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

i agree

our 3 losses have come against 3 playoff teams and they have all been close.

Once andre and roy start to mesh, look out

bayless leaves over my dead body
andre miller>hedo, blake
START MILLER
hey nate, PUT A CENTER IN

by thomasikehara on Nov 5, 2009 12:15 PM PST reply actions

agree...

yeah,
but we’ve had leads – solid leads, in 2 of those losses (Atlanta, Denver) we had 4th quarters leads that we could have cashed in. So we’re not that far away from being 4-1.

BUT

As we have seen with our own eyes, we look shakier than last year…

M, period. Fresh, comma.

by manzell on Nov 5, 2009 1:34 PM PST up reply actions

I like the persepective.

But computers aren’t watching these games… and for the most part, they have been pretty darn ugly.

"I don't always read blogs regarding the Trail Blazers
...but when I do... I read Blazers Edge."

- resurrect_ha28

by FiveOhThree-RipCity!! on Nov 5, 2009 12:24 PM PST reply actions

agreed

There’s been a complete break down. At times it’s pretty but others… I wouldn’t send my worse enemy to date those games!!! Oh wait, yeah I would.

"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.

But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html

"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez

by ratbastird on Nov 5, 2009 12:36 PM PST up reply actions

Thanks for pointing this out

There’s all kinds of things wrong, and yet we have lost close games to good teams. The Blazers will be a strong team if they can fix their obvious problems.

by jksnake99 on Nov 5, 2009 1:54 PM PST reply actions

Objection!

Dare I mention: BCS computers………..!

"Do me a favor. Put your lip over your head... and swallow." Max Goldman

by clinchmobb on Nov 5, 2009 1:59 PM PST reply actions

the BCS computers-- if they were allowed to include marigin of victory (which they aren't, rendering them useless)...

… would be a lot better than the human polls.

by jksnake99 on Nov 5, 2009 2:53 PM PST up reply actions

we should use computers to determine who gets in the All-Star game...

instead of fan voting, too!

"Do me a favor. Put your lip over your head... and swallow." Max Goldman

by clinchmobb on Nov 5, 2009 3:18 PM PST up reply actions

I would be in favor of that. It would do better than fans do, that's for sure.

by jksnake99 on Nov 5, 2009 3:26 PM PST up reply actions

no argument here

another suggestion I read last year, which I highly prefer over the current, is to have the coaches pick all 12 players for each team, then let the fans pick the starters from those 12.

How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009

by douglast on Nov 5, 2009 3:46 PM PST up reply actions