It's February dude. However Portland has looked a whole lot worse than they did early. Not coming off them though...yet.
The problem is they don't have any depth and those guys are running on E. Injuries aren't helping either.
I don't see that. I think they have great depth and good repetitiveness surrounding a very, very good post up option in LaMarcus. Frankly, I think they are bored and unmotivated right now because they know they can turn it on and flat out beat guys. But boredom is a quick gate to failure. They need to wake up and play, imo.
Batum, Crawford, and Thomas are all they really use off the bench. In a compacted schedule, you need more depth to compensate.
San Antonio will win the West. Miami the East Miami wins in 7. If I had to choose a team other than the Rockets to go to the finals it would either be Denver or Portland. Not who will go, but who I would like to see go. Portland has suffered through the same sht we have and I like that Denver has come back strong after losing Melo.
It's five team race with two hanging on the bubble of a being a contender in playoffs. Thunder, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, and Nuggets. Grizzlies (w/ a healthy Randolph) , Blazers are bubble teams. In the end, it's going to be the Thunder against one of the LA teams. I don't see any winnable series in that first five, except maybe the Nuggets. I'm not sure how long that would last if they get Wilson Chandler back at some point or make a move. Moreover, they'd have to finish in the top 4 teams. Of the other 4 teams, the only team we could give a good series to is San Antonio. Mainly, because of age and worn from NBA season. Some people will bring up the Grizzlies series as a recipe, but we lack two really good bigs, like the Grizzlies with Gasol and Randolph who also had very athletic and versatile lineup behind them. Even this season without Randolph and Arthur, the Grizzlies are hanging in the playoff picture. I rather not make the playoffs, if we end up against the Lakers, Thunder, and Clippers. Those series would be embarrassing, if those teams are at full-strength or get better through the season (with another deal). We might could steal one game from all 3, or have the brooms brought out fast on the Rockets. The Grizzlies are another team (though they are likely road team in the first round) that would give us alot of trouble. It's an issue where we cannot match-up with those front lines, match their depth, lack of athleticism (on our side), or we lack a go-to player to off-set the stars of the other teams. 5-8 vs. Western teams over .500 Wins Spurs (x2) - Ginobili only played in one game (out of 4) Trailblazers (x2) Nuggets (x1) - Missing Nene and Affalo, Gallinari got injured in that game. Losses Memphis (x2) OKC (x2) Lakers (x1) Clippers (x1) Spurs (x2)
Portland lacks another offensive minded big man to support Aldridge. Thomas/Camby are ancient with zero offensive game. And Ray Felton sucks a fatty.
Raymond Felton is a wimp and lacks mental toughness. Ditto for Wesley Matthews. The Blazers miss the on-court mental toughness of Andre Miller & Brandon Roy. They also miss Roy's lockerroom foot in their behinds. I don't know if they have the proper team chemistry and leadership to make a Finals run. They are sitting on the edge of the playoffs, Nate McMillan is getting defensive and some people are wondering if he'll last the season. Time for the Blazers to dig deep and see what they are made of. I think they should trade for some leadership.
