NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread

[Boom]

Cedric Coward has been off to a hot start so I will understand those pining for him over Yang but I also know that with Hansen he gets the benefit of 2 years playing before we judge that. If he's so bad that Year 3 doesn't happen than obviously it was a Bust of a pick.

I think one of the real stories through 4 games is the efficient shooting and scoring for Grant and the ability to trade him and get away from his contract for an expiring contract, especially if they can solve the Chicago pick problem in the process.

Tiago should be a good HC for Donovan and he's had a good start to Year 2 so far.

He looks like he could be on some all defensive teams in a few years.

[Boom]

Will be interesting to see how the Blazers do in their 3-game home stand starting tomorrow evening v. Denver, LAL and OKC.

They activated RW3 so my guess is that if Clingan gets in Foul Trouble we aren't seeing Yang on Jokic tonight.

Playing small ball is their best lineup so we'll see how many minutes he can go at the 5.

RW3 had a pretty big impact with limited minutes.

[Boom]

Very validating win. Their defense is going to keep them in a lot of games but the offensive output by the four guys who can create - Deni, Shaedon, Jrue and Jerami - will determine how far they go. Those four shot a combined 43% from the floor and had 18 assists tonight.

Deni is the best player, but Jrue has been the team MVP. It's going to be interesting to see how he holds up at 35 years of age. It's also going to be interesting to see what the team does with Scoot when he returns.

[Boom]

Ayton revenge game

[Everythingsducky]

Yikes, got beat down by the Lakers with Doncic, James and the hottest scorer in the game (the last few games), Reaves out..not a good showing at all.

[Phalanx]

The Blazers paid Ayton's salary to kick their butts tonight. Brilliant! Tell me again how this trade was okay because the Chinese center needed the minutes.

[Everythingsducky]

The Blazers paid Ayton's salary to kick their butts tonight. Brilliant! Tell me again how this trade was okay because the Chinese center needed the minutes.

New ownership hopefully has things in place, and will correct management accordingly. Time to turn the page.

[squintsdd]

The Blazers paid Ayton's salary to kick their butts tonight. Brilliant! Tell me again how this trade was okay because the Chinese center needed the minutes.

You never knew what you were gonna get with Ayton from game to game. Some nights he'll do what he did last night, other nights he'll completely disappear. That said, it definitely was a dumb choice to trade Ayton for what Portland got in return

[StevensTechU]

Game last night was the first frustrating game of the year. Shitty game to watch right before bed. But one game doesn't make an 82 game season so life will go on. Expectations right now are that the blazers make the playoffs and hopes are that they avoid a play in game. As mentioned before, the lack of offensive firepower is the clear weakness of the team but they generally hustle their asses off and are fun defensively.

[alxtw]

Wait until the playoffs and see how Ayton gets pushed around and dominated by tough competition. The dude is a regular season stat-padder when he plays against lottery and mediocre teams.

[pezsez1]

As mentioned before, the lack of offensive firepower is the clear weakness of the team but they generally hustle their asses off and are fun defensively.

Definitely fun to watch, but my fear is this team will be gassed by the time they reach the playoffs. They're young though, so who knows. Also Portland could still make a trade this year, which could truly ignite a playoff run.

I've heard/read pundits saying Portland should try to trade for Ja Morant but I'm a hard no on that. I don't want our franchise given to such a head case.

[dd10snoop28]

whoever was in charge with allowing the scores to be between 120-140 ruined the NBA, amongst many other things that ruined it.

when u change the rules so much so that the historical records can never be compared to the current statistics, then u lose all interest.

box scores of 145-127 are dumb. they've basically created a new NBA starting in 2020....everything before that is a diffrent league.

[TheDrake]

whoever was in charge with allowing the scores to be between 120-140 ruined the NBA, amongst many other things that ruined it.

when u change the rules so much so that the historical records can never be compared to the current statistics, then u lose all interest.

box scores of 145-127 are dumb. they've basically created a new NBA starting in 2020....everything before that is a diffrent league.

Wilt would disagree!

[Everythingsducky]

What is so great about OKC, is that they were willing to have a few crappy seasons, leveraging their draft position, and quietly wait. This wouldn’t work in LA, NY, or other major metro areas. But being the only game in town, they succeeded. And they may succeed for many more seasons. Presti is a genius. Portland, being a smaller market, should have followed that mindset.

[StevensTechU]

What is so great about OKC, is that they were willing to have a few crappy seasons, leveraging their draft position, and quietly wait. This wouldn’t work in LA, NY, or other major metro areas. But being the only game in town, they succeeded. And they may succeed for many more seasons. Presti is a genius. Portland, being a smaller market, should have followed that mindset.

Speaking of OKC, the Blazers finish their home stand 2-1. Great example of how one game doesn't make a season, right after losing to a depleted Lakers team, the Blazers then beat the defending champs. Great win.