SB Nation User Blog: GoBlazersWIN

You can pay me now, or you can pay me later...

GoBlazersWIN — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:44:18 -0000

Many of you may remember the old car care commercial with the guy saying "You can pay me now or you can pay me later". He was telling us you can either pay for routine maintenance on your car, or you can eventually pay for a complete engine overhaul. Behind him was a mechanic draining some brown crud out of an engine up on a hydraulic lift. This comparison may be exactly equivilent to the position the Blazers are now in.

Coming up on this road trip they have a game against Houston, and a game against San Antonio. This year the Blazers have a terrible record on the road against Western Conference playoff teams (I read somewhere this week we've only won one all year). On the other hand, we have a fantastic home record. It has been said by some lately that home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs means everything for the Blazers. If they get home court they probably will advance to the second round. If not, they probably won't.

Based on the wonderful analysis done on several posts to Blazers Edge, it appears very likely that having home court in the first round will depend on us winning either at Houston or at San Antonio on this road trip. If we lose both of them, we will probably finish 5th or lower.

So the phrase "pay me now, or pay me later" seems to apply here. Either we win a road game against a Western Conference playoff team on this road trip, or we will be forced to win one on the road in the first round. Either way, if we hope to make it into the second round, we will need to win one on the road.

Good Luck!

P.S. If you think it will be tough to win in Houston or San Antonio this week, it will be even tougher in a playoff series.

Trade Oden for Chris Paul

GoBlazersWIN — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:39:10 -0000

I know just by mentioning the word Oden and trade in the same sentence I automatically invite half of Portland to absolutely rip me. But before you do, take a moment for a little objective thought.

Chris Paul would be more valuable to us than Greg Oden right now.

I’m not part of the “down on Oden bandwagon”. I’m also not trotting out the “should we have drafted Oden or Durant” question. Those are both so worn out, and lacking in intelligent analysis.

When you intellectually break down what this team would be like with Chris Paul on it, versus what we lose by trading Oden, we gain alot more than we lose. I wouldn’t say that if we didn’t have Joel Przybilla. But Joel has shown tremendous moxy every time Oden goes out, and the rest of our team still operate quite cohesively. There would certainly be some regret to see Oden on another team for the next few years, but that regret would be more than compensated by the stellar play we would have team-wide with Chris Paul on the team.

If you put Chris Paul and Brandon Roy in our backcourt together next year, we can look The Championship right in the eye. Chris Paul would have an immediate impact on our team from the first minute on the court. Oden still shows signs he needs time to fully realize his potential. Once again I emphasize, I'm not down on Oden. I recognize he has tremendous potential, and will probably someday be the beast we were told he would be. But when you have a chance to open up a possible Championship window which could last for a few years you must take it.

Yeah We Won!!!

GoBlazersWIN — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:01:54 -0000

Yeah great win tonight against Indiana. We should all stop and bask in the glory for about 5 minutes. Unfortunatley that's all the time we can spend gloating over this win, as tomorrow night's game is a VERY important game.

Suprisingly, tomorrow night in Denver we will be playing for first place in our division. That is, if we win. A loss would be very costly. Only 1 game separates 3rd place through 7th place in the West right now. Losses will be very costly down the stretch.

That is not the case however, in the East. After losing to us tonight, Indiana finds themselves 10 games below .500! Lucky for them, they are still only 2 games out of the playoffs right now. Phoenix must be filled with gealousy as they look at the standings in the East. The Suns are starting to look solidly like the odd man out in the Western Conference, yet they would be the 4th seed in the East. (and that's not even taking into account their record would be better if they had been playing all those games against Eastern Conference teams)

The Blazers are now 19-2 against the East. Who would have predicted that in the preseason? Also, we have and impressive home record at 25-5. It's really looking like home court advantage is vital if we want to advance to the second round. More important than who we face, we must have home court advantage.

Yes Portland, the taste of victory is very sweet. Good job tonight! All Blazer fans should really take a moment to enjoy the feeling. Remember those recent times when we were not anywhere near the playoff race, and you would rather stick your head in the Willamette than watch them stink it up on and off the court? Thank God those days are gone. We have some great guys to cheer for, and Blazers managment has earned our trust.

Good luck against Denver tomorrow night.

Who's #2 In the Western Conference? (With Poll)

GoBlazersWIN — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:01:45 -0000

Right now, the Blazers are #2 in the Western Conference standings. (WOW! YAY! HOORAY!) These are the days of good feelings, excitement, and looking forward to the next Blazers win! After the down years we can all collectively rejoice! Give someone a high five! It feels great!

But even being the big-time Blazer homer I am, I have my doubts if we really are the second best team in the West. Has this been a lucky streak, or are we really coming together as a tallented contender? As I pondered this and looked at the current standings, the question came... Who is #2 then?

As you scan down the current standings you see a bunch of good teams with their own question marks. Many of them could make a viable case that they are the second best team. I think we've had 6 or 7 different teams actually ranked #2 at some point so far this season, and some have then fallen as far as 8th. So the question of who's #2 could be answered a few ways:

1. You could fill that position with the team you think will finish runner up in the Western Conference Finals.

2. You could look to the team who you think will finish the regular season with the second best record.

3. You could analyze who you think currently is playing overall to the second best level.

4. You could use one of the many power rankings.

5. Or you could scrutinize the players on each team to conclude who has the second best collection of talent.

Rather than attempt to be brilliant like Dave, and try to break down each of these methods myself, I’ll let everyone hash it out in the comments. But it’s clear that after the L*akers, in the West this year, it’s truly the Wild Wild West.

Vote in the poll below. I have them listed in the order they currently stand.

Poll

Who is the #2 team in the Western Conference? (shown in order of current standings)

2. Portland

119 votes

3. Denver

10 votes

4. Houston

15 votes

5. New Orleans

19 votes

6. Utah

36 votes

7. Dallas

0 votes

8. San Antonio

27 votes

9. Phoenix

4 votes

230 votes | Poll has closed

Time for Martel Webster Update Please

GoBlazersWIN — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:21:29 -0000

Time for Martel Webster Update Please

Does anyone know how soon Martel is coming back?

Are you excited yet?

GoBlazersWIN — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:50:33 -0000

You should be.

When can we start talking solidly about the Blazers making the playoffs without being called a homer? If we beat Phoenix tomorrow night, it's time to start. The operative word for us now is: IMPROVED.

If you're trying to break down a statistical analysis of the Blazers comparing to the rest of the NBA, you really have to separate our recent play from our early season play. Even if you take into accout that we will not blow out opponents like we have in the last two games, we still are showing great improvement. This shows in areas like our offensive scheme. We are really starting to see some offensive flow and cohesiveness. Early in the season it was hard to watch players playing as individuals, and hoisting up bad shots early in the shot clock with nobody near the hoop to rebound. It was hard to see one guy move with the ball and the other 4 standing around. It was hard to watch us poorly trying to be an outside shooting club.

We can brush aside those memories of the early season. We now see our guys showing great discipline, running quality offensive sets. Our outside shots are more timely, and usually after we have broken the defense down. It's great to see our guys actually moving without the ball. We have a great Center coming off the bench. Yeah, how much longer will we see Oden as our backup center? Honestly, it doesn't seem as urgent anymore for Oden to start. Also, it doesn't seem like Brandon has to carry the team on his back.

Sure, much room for improvement still. But I think it's time to start giving credit where it's due. We have a good team! Also, we have a good coach. If we were still seeing the same problems we were early on, we would be justified to feel restless about Nate. But to see such clear improvement in team oriented areas shows Nate has taken hold of our problem areas and corrected many of them. Kudos!

What is yet to come? Now is the time many will be tempted to make sweeping predictions about how far we will make it in the playoffs, and so on. --- Steady --- Let's just take some time to bask in the glory of what we are seeing right now. "It's a great day to be a Blazer" as Brian Wheeler would say. Get excited. Hold your head high. Remember a few years ago when we had many reasons to be embarrased by our situation, and realize days like today are a call to cellebrate, and get excited. Someday we will have our memories to look back at. Let this day be one which brings you smiles for many days to come. This week and last week, were when it really began to come together.

With or Without Oden - Part 2

GoBlazersWIN — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:12:29 -0000

Click here for Part 1

With or without Oden we need to take a health assessment of the current situation:

With or without Oden I believe we can and will still make the playoffs. We have our core team back from last year plus some great new pieces. The good news is, it looks like we won't be going the full season without him. But in the meantime we can still not only be competitive with the best teams, but we can expect to win. In fact if Oden turns out to be what some of the pessimists are now saying (Sam Bowie), we can still be the rising star we have all talked about through the entire offseason. Now that's the positive side of things. With or without Oden we can still be great!

The bad side is, we still looked awful on Tuesday night. If we don't improve drastically we will be toast this season. Don't worry, I believe we will improve drastically. But I don't fault the people who are very upset by our Tuesday night debacle. Because it made us look embarrasingly bad! I was waiting for Nate McMillan to hold up a giant sign saying "Mayday". I thought the Titanic sunk a hundred years ago. Okay, overexagerating. But for that moment in time, in my living room, that's what it felt like. (Admit it, you can relate.)

Yes it was just one game in the standings, but it was a barometer game. In a big game like that, you get a chance to check your temperature and get a general health check. Yes we can and probably will still make the playoff this year, but that game told us alot about just how much improvement we still need. Sure we will rise to the challenge. But you can't justify present poor performance with the hope of future improvement. In the real world people lose their job when they lay an egg like that. A real world boss doesn't excuse a monumental failure by saying "Hey, I know you'll eventually get it right in the next 7 months." Fortunately, sports are not the real world, and Nate McMillan can, over the next 7 months, bring us to our feet and make us into Blazer-maniacs.

Ultimately, I'm saying I can see both sides. I relate to the person who is ticked off and mad about how bad we played and upset Oden is injured (again). I also relate to the crowd who is saying Oden is still the same guy he was before he stepped on Derek Fisher's foot. And these are the same guys who we all believed would make the playoffs this year.

Yes it was embarrasing to see us not be able to penetrate to the hoop, and to not be able to hit a jump shot. But don't forget why we all love sports. Why we love this team. Sports are an escape from the pressures of real life. The rollercoaster ride of emotions we experience by following a team is what makes it so sweet when we finally reach the top of the mountain. In the end, this team gives us something quite valuable. Hope. When the rest of life gets us down, and we feel lost in the mundane, we can still turn to our friend at the watercooler and talk about our Blazers.

With or without Oden we have areas to improve, and much promise we will rise to the task!

With or Without Oden

GoBlazersWIN — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:58:04 -0000

How much of the season will we play with or without Oden? Only time can tell.

As we wait for the results to Oden's MRI we can still come to some conclusions regardless of the status of Oden's foot.

First of all, that was an awful game last night. Even by last season's standards (pre-Oden), that game stunk. The Blazers looked unprepared. It looked like a preseason level of performance. With or without Oden, how can you excuse missing so many layups and 4 foot shots? I keep hearing people say "don't panic", but even if I disregard Oden's injury there were some serious points of concern in that game last night. Not only did the players look awful, but it looked like we we're seriously out-coached.

Of course it's only one game, and last year we showed the ability to come back from bad games, and I'm sure Nate and the guys will again. But that still leaves the question of "With or without Oden"?

I'm not just talking injury. Have we been over-sold on his actual skill set? Have we ever seen him put the ball through the hoop with something other than a dunk? When he tried a 2 foot hook shot last night, he looked worse than the kids who play in my neighborhood. Once again he picked up 2 quick fouls in about 3 minutes. When we ask the question of "With or without Oden", we have to ask the question of what skill set does he really posess? Sure, he is a physically imposing beast. We know he can totally dominate college players. But he will need more than that to dominate over a career in the NBA.

We actually have two concerns:

1. Can he stay injury free?

2. Can he do anything but dunk?

If he can stay healthy, we will still benefit greatly from his physical presence, but if he can't do anything but dunk, he only becomes more likely to get banged up by opposing defenders.

And the final "With or without Oden", Not to be "Johnny Raincloud", I believe this team can make the playoffs this year with or without Oden. We almost did last year. But, the rest of the team needs to play much better. If not, we will actually finish worse than we did last year.

Last Chance To Call Your Shot

GoBlazersWIN — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:48:25 -0000

Since the season begins today, this is your last chance to make any predictions. Once the first tipoff happens you can no longer tell your friends you predicted something before the season began.

Make this the place to officially declare your predictions in a public forum so you can brag about how smart you are in April (if you're right). This post is open to any and all Blazers related predictions, but here are a few for everyone to make their voice heard:

How many games will the Blazers win this season? (regular season)
Will the Blazers make the playoffs? If so, what seed will they be?
How far will the Blazers go in the playoffs?
How many games will Greg Oden start? (regular season)

Have fun, and make sure you vote in the poll below!

CALL YOUR SHOT!

Poll

How many games will the Blazers win this season? (regular season)

Less than 41

0 votes

41 - 44

0 votes

45 - 47

3 votes

48 - 50

22 votes

51 - 52

9 votes

53 - 55

8 votes

56 - 58

2 votes

59 - 60

0 votes

61 or more

1 votes

45 votes | Poll has closed

Questions up for discussion

GoBlazersWIN — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:32:45 -0000

-When does the NBA schedule come out?

-How many games will the Blazers win this year?

-How far will they go in the playoffs?

-How many games will Greg Oden start?

-Will there be any more transactions before the season begins?

-Will there be any transactions between the beginning of the season, and the trade deadline?

-Who will be the Blazer's MVP?

Just food for thought!

My predictions: 52 wins, Second Round of playoffs, 68 Starts for Oden, No more transactions before season starts, Likely something will happen with Raef's contract before trade deadline, Brandon Roy MVP.