Re: NBA/Blazers 2025-26 Thread
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2025 11:49 am
The Lakers also played without LBJ and Doncic last night I think.
Oregon Ducks Sports Message Board Forum
https://ducksattack.com/forum/
That was a long winded way to avoid saying that Billups isn't fixing games anymore, so who knows what this team really looks likeStevensTechU wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 11:13 amAsk five people, get five different answers.Greenblood wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 9:53 am I will fully admit that I'm pretty much a fair-weather fan and if the Trailblazers stink this year, you probably won't see me much on this thread. On the other hand, few things would make me happier sports-wise than an Oregon's only major sport professional team to be really successful.
So I'm noticing that the Blazers are currently 2-2, having played all four games v., at least arguably, among the top 10 teams in the NBA. Both losses were relatively close and both wins, including last night's win at LAL, were double-digits. So for those of you who follow the Blazers and the NBA much more closely than I (and putting the Billups thing aside for the moment), what's going on here? Are the Blazers better than expected, or is this just some early season luck? Have they accidentally found a really good coach in Splitter?
The team will contend for a playoff spot this year, barring injuries or meltdown of chemistry. It's a defense-first team with good on-ball and off-ball defenders. The reason they aren't a shoe-in for a playoff spot is that they have a lot of guys who can score but no one you can consistently run your offense through. The top scorers are Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe. So far, Deni is putting up solid numbers at 20 ppg which consists of a lot of buckets in transition and opportunistic 3s. I don't think many people would tell you he's in the top 25 in the league for guys you would want to give the ball to down 1 at the end of the game. Then the other scorer, Shaedon, is looking really sloppy to start the year rather than look like a guy who is poised to take a big step. Basketball is kind of like baseball, though, so it might be a cold streak and get better, but it would surprise if it gets so much better that he turns into the team's #1 scorer. In the absence of a true #1 on offense, you'll see guys like Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday fill the void by forcing more shots than is optimal for their skillset. This looks like a .500 team so far, with a top 5ish defense and bottom 10 offense. The win over the Lakers last night was a gimme as both Luka and Lebron were out.
Not nearly enough sample size on Splitter. Need to at least get to the All-Star break to have any opinion on how that's working.
How do you figure? NBA picks are basically this- top 5 you can’t miss, equivalent to nfl first rounder. Anything after the lottery is you are hoping you hit but no guarantee-equivalent of a nfl 3-4 round pick.Boom wrote: Mon Oct 27, 2025 1:12 pmYang Hansen pick was so much worse.buckmarkduck wrote: Sat Oct 25, 2025 6:39 am Blazers played great without that dead weight around their necks last night. Really think we are one scorer away from really being a very good team. To bad we took Scoot
The Blazers had a lottery pick and traded down.... The pick/trade was controversial in the moment and Yang looks 2 years away from being 2 years away. He's also clearly not a high level athlete. Slow footed centers have a hard time staying on the floor in the playoffs.buckmarkduck wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 7:26 pmHow do you figure? NBA picks are basically this- top 5 you can’t miss, equivalent to nfl first rounder. Anything after the lottery is you are hoping you hit but no guarantee-equivalent of a nfl 3-4 round pick.Boom wrote: Mon Oct 27, 2025 1:12 pmYang Hansen pick was so much worse.buckmarkduck wrote: Sat Oct 25, 2025 6:39 am Blazers played great without that dead weight around their necks last night. Really think we are one scorer away from really being a very good team. To bad we took Scoot
Hmm...through five games, both Grant and Holiday are well above career averages in fg%. Not sure where this 'forcing shots' thing is coming from. I think they both suddenly find themselves on a team that is using their skillset to better advantage.StevensTechU wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 11:13 am [
In the absence of a true #1 on offense, you'll see guys like Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday fill the void by forcing more shots than is optimal for their skillset.
They activated RW3 so my guess is that if Clingan gets in Foul Trouble we aren't seeing Yang on Jokic tonight.Greenblood wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:42 pm Will be interesting to see how the Blazers do in their 3-game home stand starting tomorrow evening v. Denver, LAL and OKC.