You don't want Portland in the first round

P-town getting some love even in LA

almost 3 years ago truls 6 comments 0 recs |

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That was swell

by tominhawaii on Mar 27, 2009 8:13 AM PDT reply actions

Cool Props.

However, I did like how he didn’t mention we blew out the Lakers too.

The young Blazers have turned the Rose Garden into a fortress, having recently beat the Lakers, Spurs and last night the Suns there. And the Spurs and Suns didn’t just lose, they got blown out.

"Every time Troutlaw touches the ball, I pop an anti-anxiety pill."

by DaNoose on Mar 27, 2009 8:40 AM PDT reply actions

lol

I also noticed that right off, home cookin in the paper!

by usmcr3049 on Mar 27, 2009 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions

and that is the blazers, although likely to be finished after the first round, have got the talent to make the 2nd round, theres just too much talent there not to be considered a serious wildcard in the west.

by Yawnie on Mar 27, 2009 9:15 AM PDT reply actions

2010 is our year to advance; not '09

If I were one of the west’s other 7 playoff teams, Portland would be my first choice as a Round 1 opponent, not my last. While our offensive prowess is among the tops in the league (in the top third, actually, in just about every single offensive category, and even 14th in points per game despite our snail’s pace of execution), our experience is palpable. But of far greater importance is defense. While we have the talent to improve D going forward, we rank last in Defensive Efficiency among the 16 teams now aligned for the playoffs — despite Nate’s emphasis on this at season’s start. You must have some measure of defensive prowess to succeed in the post-season. It shows up especially on the road, where the home teams display their offensive passion. D has been our weakness all season long; in the playoffs it will be our Achilles’ Heel.

I wish it were otherwise; sadly, it is not.

by blazerwizard on Mar 27, 2009 10:04 AM PDT reply actions

No chance

We are a total wildcard. San Antonio would love to get anyone else, because they know they can grind it out and beat all the others. There isn’t a team they wouldn’t mind. But Portland is so scary precisely because we are so young and talented.

In 3 of 4 series, the Spurs would beat Utah, Dallas, Houston, or N.O. In one of four, they might lose because somebody gets hurt or they just hit a bad stretch at the wrong time — that happens even to teams like the Spurs.

In 3 of 4 series, they beat us, too. Even if they hit a bad stretch, or someone gets hurt, they probably beat us. But in one of four, they lose to us because all of our young and talented guys catch fire all at once, and we have four games in the series where we play like we did in that game in Portland.

The difference? They are in control of their fate against the other teams. But with our extremely high level of talent, they aren’t. If we can catch fire for four games, we will win a series against anyone. It’s not likely to happen.

A tightrope walker who is good enough that he knows he can cross Niagara Falls 3 out of 4 times would rather do that once, trusting his own skill to get him safely across, than play Russian roulette with four cylinders left and one bullet. He may have the same chance of survival, but he wants it to lie with him as to whether he survives or not.

No one wants to face us in the first round.

When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.

by jscot on Mar 27, 2009 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions