"Players Only" on NBATV spent about 15 minutes just ripping OKC's players. It was a great listen for a change.
It really is bizarre, especially as a life long Blazer fan. If you compare the stats from this season to last season, the offense/defense has done a complete 180°. I never thought I would see that happen. A couple of notes on that: If you compare this season's defensive numbers vs the overall stats of last season, they look nothing alike. However, if you compare this season to last year post Nurk trade, they are almost identical. So, the final stretch of last season was a preview of things to come. Apparently, Nurk called our defense "trash" during the off-season, and it was a point of emphasis during the summer for everyone. I think some of the offensive struggles boil down to all of increased activity on the defensive end. Guys are putting in more energy on that side of the ball. The other big factor is the inconsistency from Nurk. Some nights he makes great patient moves, and sometimes he rushes things causing turnovers and bad shots. I wish we had Dame for this one. Napier is a much better player than I thought, however.
The main source of the Blazers offensive woes is Evan Turner playing a bunch of minutes now that Crabbe is gone.
How did I do . . . .. Heat - 90 Raptors - 89 --- DEFENSIVE STRUGGLE - L Blazers - 117 Thunder - 106 -- L Magic - 99 Mavs - 114 -- L Kings - 86 Lakers - 99 - W This is why I don't gamble Rocket River
