With Strickland joining them...and Sabonis coming off the bench after his injury, they now have a second 5 that reads: Strickland Smith Detlef Kemp Sabonis Kemp seems to be coming back into a bit of shape, his recent numbers have been pretty solid. They even have Augmon and Anthony who are not even in the second five anymore...that's just crazy! Their second five could almost beat their first... All this...and yet I still have a gut feeling that they won't even win the West. I don't know why...but I just think they are set to crash pretty bad in the play offs. ------------------ [This message has been edited by ScreamingRocketJet (edited March 05, 2001).]
Five, even three years ago, if you read out that line-up to anyone with any basketball knowledge and told them those were all second-stringers, they would have all pooped in their pants. Can you imagine, all these guys (with the exception of Sabonis 'cause he joined the NBA after his prime) have been all-stars and a couple have even been franchise players as recently as just two seasons ago! The depth on that team is freaking ridiculous. Of course, in this league money and talent don't automatically translate into a championship. Dunleavy'y biggest challenge will be to not only juggle fragile playing time, but contain ego's (and whiner's in the case of Pip and Damon) the size of Portland itself. Should be interesting. Azim da Dream ------------------ There's a very fine line between genius and madness. http://www.clutchtown.com
I think they still have the unanswered question of "who takes the last shot?" They need to blow teams out...that's where their depth shines, by simply smashing teams. Last year in THAT game 7, they had LA by the proverbial balls and were up 17 or something...but when LA came back at them, no one could get the decisive basket. Pippen isn't the guy for it...Wallace is too emotional...Stoudamire never has been...I thought Smith was, but he has gone back a bit....Kemp needs to be in shape...etc etc... They still need a go to go guy down the stretch... ------------------ [This message has been edited by ScreamingRocketJet (edited March 06, 2001).]
Wallace hits some HUGE shots late in games, and has had a bit of a breakout year this year as the real team leader. Yes, he is emotional, but I have caught many or Portland's games this year, and he has been clutch! Is there such a problem as having too much depth? I don't think so, if the chemistry is there. But is it? You have a conglomerate of former stars that are used to being the man, and you have guys that ARE stars, and want to be the man. Can they all take a back seat to winning? Is it enough? Steve Smith has been a model player and team representative. He has not only accepted his diminished role (coming from Atlanta where he was the team's best player), but he has told Dunleavy that he is satisfied with allowing Bonzi Wells to start in his place if it will benefit the Blazers. If everyone else had that attitude, the Blazers would be a juggernaut. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Having good depth can be great in the regular season. It allows you to rest your best players more and helps cover for injuries. Did the Blazers even miss Pip when he was hurt? But when the playoffs come, rotations shorten. Good coaches will regularly pare down to 8 or even 7 players. At that point I could care less if your 9th best player is Shawn Kemp or Tracy Murray. They aren't going to get into the game. And when it comes down to crunchtime in the 4th quarter, of course you've only got 5 guys on the floor. Those 5 guys didn't get it done for Portland last season when it mattered most, and in a Game 7 its probably going to be about the same cast out there this season. ------------------ In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
And Strickland won't be late to practice anymore because the West Coast is 3 hours behind the East Coast. So he'll pretty much be arriving on time. Ha! ------------------ humble, but hungry.
I know Wallace is a 'go to guy'. No doubt about it...although he did miss everything down the stretch in THAT game 7, including his free throws. The BIG question is, can you say for sure he will be in the game when the last shot needs to be taken? I love his game...but the naswer to that is 'no'. The way he picks up technicals is crazy. You can almost guarantee he will get chucked from at least one play off game. ------------------
For all of those who continue to question if the Blazers have a go to guy? The answer is yes, Almost every time the Blazers have needed a hoop this season the ball has gone through Wallace. Portland's chemistry has been better recently..now with Strickland..I guess time will tell. ------------------
ABSOLUTELY!!! Just two seasons ago, Portland had a team very similar to this one (OK, maybe not quite as talented) and they had problems sharing the ball. I get the feeling that San Antonio is coming out of the West this year. They're not as talented as Portland, but everyone knows their role, they're better defensively, and they have an incredibly consistent go-to man (Duncan) vs a go-to man who may get ejected from the game with techs. (Wallace) STAY TUNED! ------------------
They would poop in their pants if you told them those were starters. That is basically Seattle' starting 5 of a couple years ago(Minus one all star pg, add another, with a better center and another all-star caliber player at the two) ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
Just give it to wallace and they'll be fine. ------------------ Rasheed Wallace gots mad skilz. Who cares about the techs?
The Blazers destroyed their team in the Summer of 99. The Pippen and Rider trades just killed them. Then, to top it all off, they traded the heart and soul of the team the very next year. Of course, I'm talking about Brian Grant. Look at this team: Stoudamire Anthony Rider Jim Jackson Wallace Walt Grant Augmon, Oneal Sabonis Cato Adding Pippen knocked Brian Grant out of the starting lineup, ruining the chemistry they had developed. Now this: Stoud Strickland Wells Smith Pippen Shremph Wallace Kemp Sabonis Davis While on paper, the second lineup looks best, the players just don't fit together. Stoudamire, Strickland, Pippen, Shremph, and Kemp are all rather heartless. They bring very little emotion to their team. Not to mention the fact that they are much older. The first squad was filled with young talent, and fire. They needed ONE more year to gel before they could have dominated the league for a title. I like the first starting lineup much better than the second. Those 99 Blazers were so much fun to watch, but they destroyed all that by adding a bunch of cold, heartless players that are hard to care about. ------------------ I'm the most positive Rocket fan in the world.
Rider was always going off the rails...and still is...so they were wise to get rid of him when they did. You are right ZRB...the team doesn't seem to gel very well at all. San Antonio kicked their asses today and I really think the Spurs will win it all. ------------------
wallace kicked out again last night. portland's problem is that they have too much talent. too many wanna be superstars and too little role players. add to that the already brewing pg controversy between rod and damon. add to that the lack of a go to player. they'll self destruct in the playoffs, again.
Shouldn't this thread topic be titled Wallace vs. Portland? ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited March 09, 2001).]
