Blazersedge: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Once A Metro covering Red Bull New York!

According to this writer, this is the newest NBA rivalry. I can agree with most of his toughts, except for the end of course. While I can see these teams ending up seperated by 1 win, I don't agree with his reasoning of "chemistry". Apparently he believes that the Nuggets will have better chemsitry than the Blazers this year because the Blazers are adding a new starting PG.

While Miller is not guarenteed a starting spot, adding him might change the chemistry a bit in PDX, however he has never been seen as a disruptive type, and last season PDX had tremendous chemistry amoung the team. So I don't see this as an issue.

6 months ago Tiny usmcr3049 41 comments 0 recs  | 

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

I think chemistry...

is pretty far down the list of worries in Portland right now, even with the addition of Miller. Chemistry comes from the top down, and while the top might have been Pritchard or Nate a year or more ago, it belongs solely to Brandon now.

I think chemistry could be a definite concern for Denver, but then that’s just the mud I’m throwing back over the fence. The author’s last sentence sums it up.

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

by lukeyhere on Aug 25, 2009 9:00 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

ha

the nuggets are going down!!!!!!!!!!

by jpaulson on Aug 25, 2009 9:06 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Temporartly replaces Portland/Utah

As the #2 rivalry for us. But there is of course no question that the Fakers-Blazers games are #1.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Aug 25, 2009 9:19 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

what a homer

he thinks Denver got better? Head to Head Blazers win, hands down the only thing they have going for them is being a mile high and they are use to no O2

by prof.mike on Aug 25, 2009 9:40 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

The author makes some good points

although I do have to call him to task on a couple.

1) He says that the Nuggets upgrade at both starting SG and backup SG. I can go with Smith as an upgrade to Jones as a starter, but how is Afflalo an upgrade to Smith as a backup? Personally, I think that exchanging Jones for Afflalo is a wash – Jones was better defensively and I think Denver will miss that even though Afflalo is probably a slight offensive upgrade.

2) He claims that Wally will be a defensive upgrade over Kleiza. Hey, Linus was not the greatest defender in the world. But if the Nuggets do actually sign Wally, they are not getting better defense….

3) Ty Lawson the best PG in this year’s draft? He’s a good young talent and Denver was smart to trade for him, but c’mon….

That said, I think there will be some epic battles between the two teams this year.

by Storyteller on Aug 25, 2009 10:07 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

For number three,

I actually think Ty Lawson was just way too underrated throughout this draft. Everyone started focusing on the other point guards like Flynn, Jennings, Rubio, and Holiday. But Lawson is just so fast, but he’s also a great shooter. True, his size may prevent him from succeeding in the league, but I don’t think it’ll be THAT big of a difference.

The Kings have the best bench I’ve seen. There are easily 14 guys on this team good enough for every bench in the league. Now if we could only get some starters, I’d totally jizz in my pants.

Kings fan

by dyshooter182 on Aug 25, 2009 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Lawson thoughts

I saw Flynn and Lawson at Summer League and based on what I saw, Flynn was head and shoulders better than Lawson there. Lawson is speedy, but best PG in his draft class is questionable imo. Still, he’s going to help Denver, maybe not as much as the author hopes though.

by BradBBlazer on Aug 25, 2009 1:40 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

What is definitely underrated is that New Orleans, Utah, Denver (and Atlanta, but they aren’t title contenders or our direct competition) all got very good upgrades to back up their existing starting star point guards in this year’s draft. That is going to become a factor me thinks :)

by Norsktroll on Aug 25, 2009 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

At the same time, so did we, just not it the draft.

*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

by staylost on Aug 25, 2009 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ty Lawson is one tiny dude, but I could see him having an impact as a rookie like D.J. Augustin ...

did with the Charlotte Bobcats last season. Lawson will never be a star player and his size will always hinder him — epsecially on defense — yet, regardless of those drawbacks, he’ll perform better than a few fellow rookie point guards who were drafted ahead of him, which include Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, and Stephen Curry.

Stupid people have stupid ideas.

by AK1984 on Aug 26, 2009 12:54 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think Denver may have improved

Lawson is a nice pickup for them.

I don’t see any intensity of rivalry, particularly. They are out there, a good team. Good for them. We’ll be better, so they aren’t any big deal.

They win 57-59, we win 62.

Potential problem — too many head cases. J.R. Smith is doubtful, as is Melo, now Balkman has been arrested. Guys who can’t control themselves off court sometimes become unreliable on court.

I’m guessing that Billups cracks the whip and these guys behave enough to be effective when they step on the court, and they don’t implode. If so, Denver should be improved, just not enough to stay ahead of Portland.

"if Nate has Roy or Miller in the game at all times, that stagnation will turn into conflagration" -- two4larue

by jscot on Aug 25, 2009 10:08 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

62 wins would be incredible.

"Brian (Outlaw is Rejector) is now on the fan saying he put this on to see what would happen " - 123_G.O._RipCity

by Outlaw is Rejector on Aug 25, 2009 3:06 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think it is very credible

But it would be very good.

"if Nate has Roy or Miller in the game at all times, that stagnation will turn into conflagration" -- two4larue

by jscot on Aug 26, 2009 3:20 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Chemistry?

I guess thats what develops between your players when they can all share drug/arrest/jail/dui/murder stories.

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Aug 25, 2009 10:24 AM PDT reply actions   1 recs

Denver is like us in the Jail Blazer era

Two many egos spoil a good team.

"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely

by skywaker9 on Aug 25, 2009 10:46 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

...

Actually we were way worse.

"Brian (Outlaw is Rejector) is now on the fan saying he put this on to see what would happen " - 123_G.O._RipCity

by Outlaw is Rejector on Aug 25, 2009 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, both team had the same type of guys.

Just that ours could never realize they were being self destructive, while many of Denver’s players have already figured this out. Birdman knew he had a problem and worked through it, Melo found out that defense and leadership matter (he may still not be great at either), etc.

It is like we both started in the same place but ended up on quite different paths.

Billups is pretty awesome.

*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

by staylost on Aug 25, 2009 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

girl after my own heart.

Numerically Blazers Edge is #25

by Outlaw is Rejector on Aug 25, 2009 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Smith is going to start?

Have fun trying to get the ball to Nene.

"Goals are good. Plans are better." -Ben.

by Sabonis4Ever on Aug 25, 2009 2:28 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Say what?

I’m going to go along with the assumption that you think JR Smith is really the starter and Jones was the backup… even though Dahntay started 71 games last year.

With that aside, Birdman was still a bigger scorer off the bench than Jones.

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Aug 25, 2009 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think he is saying the two biggest scorers off the bench

which would be Kleiza (813) and Smith (1233). Anderson (452) is coming in next. You are correct that Jones (429) was the starter.

by lee3022 on Aug 26, 2009 12:22 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Andre Miller will make sure Portland finishes ahead of Denver

he’s got an axe to grind with the Nugs, for how they dumped him for AI

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Aug 25, 2009 3:35 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Cold man - really cold

Unfair to use our bench (72 points on 62% shooting) against their starters (51 points on 35% shooting)!

But what we they to do when their bench only brought more misery (25 points on 28% shooting).

That was not a game for them to show their wives and others.

Based on this one game maybe Korver would improve their defense!

by lee3022 on Aug 26, 2009 12:51 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

How can the nuggets maintain chemistry

when there is always someone serving a jail sentence

"shaq and zach randolph have the same trainer... "

best one liner i ever heard.

by bowdown on Aug 25, 2009 4:36 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

It helps the fact that there aren't enough minutes for all the talent problem.

They can’t complain about court time while they are in jail!

Plus, the rest helps keep them fresh for the playoffs and reduces injury risk.

*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

by staylost on Aug 25, 2009 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I live in Colorado.

There is no rivalry here.

"These are dreams that we have." --Rudolfo Fernandez

by bfan on Aug 25, 2009 5:55 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

There is really no rivalry here either.

The Nuggets? Sure, they are good.

Do I look forward to them on the calender or hope that we will beat them for the sake of keeping them down? Not in the least.

*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

by staylost on Aug 25, 2009 6:22 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm still bitter about the '86 playoffs

the last game Dr. Jack coached for the Blazers was game 5 in that series, against…D*nver

the Schonz signed his radio program off with this warning “and the speculation begins NOW!”

(and these were the days before the internet…)

Mike Schuler coached the ‘86-’87 team and won NBA coach of the year (49-33 record)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Aug 26, 2009 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

and don't get me started

re: the Kiki Vandeweghe trade…Portland handed the Nuggets that 52 win season and the best all-around PG in either team’s history…Fat Lever

Rick Neuheisel used to coach at the Univ of Colorado, that has nothing to do with Denver but every Duck fans hates his guts…so that just adds to the OR-CO rivalry!

two words: John Elway. (Enough said, for any Seahawk or Brown’s fans out there…)

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Aug 26, 2009 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah i feel like there has to be more negative feelings for something to be a rivalry

The nugs are good. They’re in our division. But i have no hard feelings or anything. I was routing for them last year after the blazers were eliminated.

by moflow on Aug 25, 2009 6:25 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Some of y'all foolishly believe off-court chemistry makes a lick of difference, even though nothing could ...

further from the case. On-court chemistry, however, is of vast importance, which is one of the Denver Nuggets strongest qualities. After shipping out me-first gunner Allen Iverson for the team-oriented Chauncey Billups, it all came into place in the Mile High City.

Chris Andersen’s past drug addictions, J.R. Smith’s thggish lifestyle, Kenyon Martin’s brash personality, and Renaldo Balkman’s DUI are of no value whatsoever; it’s all sideshow bullcrap. Once they’re on the court, they play with a winning mixture of skill, drive, and intensity on both sides of the court.

All Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien needs to do now is fill out the ballclub’s roster, with a high-scoring reserve wing (e.g., Wally Szczerbiak) and a third-string pivotman (e.g., Robert Swift) potentially filling those voids in a cost-effective manner. Yes, Szczerbiak is a stiff on defense; however, Linas Kleiza had the same flaw, so it’s a moot point.

Also, swapping Dahntay Jones for Aaron Afflalo — who should start over Smith for the purpose of balancing the first and second units — is a wash. A multitude of people overrate the defense that was played by Jones, who was overaggressive and prone to committing mindless fouls on the perimeter.

Stupid people have stupid ideas.

by AK1984 on Aug 26, 2009 1:13 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Hmm

I don’t think this is entirely true about off-court chemistry. Let’s break it down.

1. Good off-court chemistry does not really add anything. It doesn’t matter if you like your teammates a lot.
2. Bad off-court chemistry may or may not have an impact on court. If you really don’t get along with your teammates, it can spill over onto the court. If you have reasonably mature and professional players, they won’t let it spill over onto the court. But if they are reasonably mature and professional, they are probably mature enough to get along reasonably well off the court, too.

Bad off-court chemistry usually results from immaturity and/or lack of self-control on the part of at least one person. That aspect of his character can come through on court, too. It doesn’t make him a bad teammate, but it is a danger signal.

Denver is led by a real professional (Billups). As long as all the head cases let him set the tone for the team, they’ll be fine. They were last year, and good for them. But they have quite a few guys who could blow up on or off the court. Maybe they’ll grow up. Maybe they’ll at least keep it under control on the court. But the off court stuff should be setting off warning bells in the Denver front office — this thing could all blow up on them. They should be wary of adding any more nut cases right now.

"if Nate has Roy or Miller in the game at all times, that stagnation will turn into conflagration" -- two4larue

by jscot on Aug 26, 2009 3:42 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Nice job

getting the plug for Robert Swift in there. I am beginning to think you drop his name in every post.

by usmcr3049 on Aug 26, 2009 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

and if Wark ever gets ahold of Mike Miller

KP and Nate should just bow down and hand over the NW division trophy

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Aug 26, 2009 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

After thinking a bit about it, Mikki Moore would be a better fit under George Karl than Robert Swift.

Although Moore is poor defensively because of his scrawny frame, he’s the kind of athletic center on offense in the mold of Nenê and Chris Andersen who Karl likes to employ in his high-octane offense.

Stupid people have stupid ideas.

by AK1984 on Aug 26, 2009 4:27 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

the nuggets are a boring team to watch and not worthy adversaries.

also, not fair to bring up their jail problems when we’re fresh off all of ours.

let’s not turn into the lakers and start chanting d.u.i.

Baylessedge - A Site by Bayless fans, for Bayless fans

by richardb on Aug 26, 2009 1:54 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

The thing that gets me

We win 54 games: It’s a nice start for our young team.

They win 54 games: NEW FRANCHISE RECORD.

The games will be lots of fun to watch, and they are a good team. I’m glad Billups got to show how valuable he really is. I’m also a big fan of Nene.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on Aug 26, 2009 2:06 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Dangit

Correction: 54 wins TIED a franchise record.

They’re at their basic peak, we’re on the way up still. I like how we match up with them.

Morty

by Mortimer on Aug 26, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

A site by Blazer fans, for Blazer fans
Start posting about the Trail Blazers »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of this community's choice
Small
Sched Ahead Daily Update, Games of 3/18
Joel_przybilla_small
To:Juwan Howard, with love.
Small
China fans' reaction to Big Events of this season
Small
Sched Ahead Daily Update, Games of 3/13

Recent FanPosts

Troll_stone_cropped_small
Joelconomic Junk Sat March 20 Anno Domini 2010
Small
Umm, has anoyone noticed the washington win gaurantees us a winning season for the third year in a row?
Nalin_tonia_small
Off-Top: I'm loving how those two Pac-10 teams punked those two Big East teams
Small
Sched Ahead Daily Update, Games of 3/19
Small
Taking Care of Business (3/19)
Picture_533_small
Gavin Dawson appreciation thread.
Billy_hoyle_small
Oden update
Southparkphil_small
03/19 Biggest pressure moment in my life JD...Vegas Style

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recommended FanShots

Self explanatory
A fantastic piece of NBA journalism, even if it is about the L*kers.
Paul Allen and his Vulcan Advisor

Add your own caption...
Good article on Roy by Marc Spears
Great LMA Interview by Brian Smith (Columbian)

Recent FanShots

Wall or Turner? Ask LeBron, Kobe-- More praise for Roy
NBA.com LOVES BLAZERSEDGE
High School Phenom Jeremy Tyler Quits Maccabi Haifa
Duck News
Vote for 3 Blazers to be in the new NBA JAM
Andre Miller: Old & Awesome says YahooSports
Murray State beats Vanderbilt with amazing buzzer-beater
Viral Story: KP at Risk reported as Rumor on Yahoo Sports

+ New FanShot All FanShots >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

San Antonio Spurs guard Malik Hairston is fouled on a dunk attempt over the Golden State Warriors' Anthony Tolliver during the second half of an NBA basketball game at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Friday, March 19, 2010. The Spurs beat the Warriors, 147-116. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

Spurs Torch Warriors, 147-116, In Highest Scoring Game Since 1991

Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams, looks for a shot against Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw, left, of France, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Philips Arena, Friday, March 19, 2010 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

Johnson Does His Best Jordan Impersonation, Hits Winning Shot In OT

New Orleans Hornets forward James Posey, left, reaches in for the ball as Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony looks for a shot in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 93-80 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Thursday, March 18, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) link

Nuggets Rout Hornets 93-80

More from SBNation.com >


Editors

Kitten_small Dave

Ben_small Ben.

Moderators

Pict1126_small -ken

Polar_bear_small jorga

Terryporter_small prezofdeath

Small usmcr3049

Lamb_small T Darkstar

Wallpaper_small geoffm