Blazers 2023-2024 Thread

[StevensTechU]

Dame Time in Milwaukee! So glad to see him with a real team.

Blazers are in for a rough couple years, but I'm definitely excited to watch some hoops without expectations or disappointment. Eager to see if Scoot can become a guy capable of leading a franchise.

It kind of felt like watching the Blazers but I'm not sure if that's just from watching Dame or if the entire Bucks teamed transformed overnight, lol. It's one game so no need to over-react to how they'll gel over the season.

As for PTB, they need a real tactician and teacher as a Head Coach now, that much is clear from watching them essentially run zero plays until Brogdan got on the floor. There's just no clear offensive identity that was shown or how they want to play besides rat-ball. Granted, its 1-game for this group and against 3 former All NBA defenders, but for me its that lack of purpose together that's bothersome and the fault of the HC. This team is clearly going to lose a lot of games to earn a Top 5 pick this season but they need to at least be learning some things along the way.

My bigger issue was the disarray defensively. I expect the offense will take time to gel, but holy s*** was that a poor effort on the defensive end.

[gogreen55]

Billups actually spent time coaching these guys during training camp? One game in, there is no evidence of this. If this happens with any sort of consistency over the next month or so, I don't even know the point of keeping him employed.

[Duck07]

Dame Time in Milwaukee! So glad to see him with a real team.

Blazers are in for a rough couple years, but I'm definitely excited to watch some hoops without expectations or disappointment. Eager to see if Scoot can become a guy capable of leading a franchise.

It kind of felt like watching the Blazers but I'm not sure if that's just from watching Dame or if the entire Bucks teamed transformed overnight, lol. It's one game so no need to over-react to how they'll gel over the season.

As for PTB, they need a real tactician and teacher as a Head Coach now, that much is clear from watching them essentially run zero plays until Brogdan got on the floor. There's just no clear offensive identity that was shown or how they want to play besides rat-ball. Granted, its 1-game for this group and against 3 former All NBA defenders, but for me its that lack of purpose together that's bothersome and the fault of the HC. This team is clearly going to lose a lot of games to earn a Top 5 pick this season but they need to at least be learning some things along the way.

My bigger issue was the disarray defensively. I expect the offense will take time to gel, but holy s*** was that a poor effort on the defensive end.

Well they were running a 23 zone 5 minutes into the game...lol

[pezsez1]

I don't know if Billups is a good coach or not. He really has gotten a raw deal here. His first year, GM was fired and the new GM blew up his roster and then tanked. Second year, tons of injuries and underachieved. Now this, roster is even more blown up and playing with a bunch of rookies and bench players, and most analysts peg us as one of the worst teams in the league.

For Billups to win 30+ games this year would be an overachievement, yet half the fanbase would still rake him over the coals.

I think Billups is in a can't-win situation here, and it's for that reason I think the team should move on from him. Hopefully he gets a shot to prove himself someplace else without so much roster turmoil. That said, I don't think Jody is in a rush to buy him out, so I expect he'll be around a couple more seasons until we transition to a new coach.

No harm done in the meantime. The Blazers need to be in asset-gathering mode anyway.

[StevensTechU]

I don't know if Billups is a good coach or not. He really has gotten a raw deal here. His first year, GM was fired and the new GM blew up his roster and then tanked. Second year, tons of injuries and underachieved. Now this, roster is even more blown up and playing with a bunch of rookies and bench players, and most analysts peg us as one of the worst teams in the league.

For Billups to win 30+ games this year would be an overachievement, yet half the fanbase would still rake him over the coals.

I think Billups is in a can't-win situation here, and it's for that reason I think the team should move on from him. Hopefully he gets a shot to prove himself someplace else without so much roster turmoil. That said, I don't think Jody is in a rush to buy him out, so I expect he'll be around a couple more seasons until we transition to a new coach.

No harm done in the meantime. The Blazers need to be in asset-gathering mode anyway.

It's because the expectation for a coach is that you see their stamp on a team. The Blazers improved on defense for about 1/8 of a season in his first year, then that fell by the wayside and the team eventually decided to throw in the towel for the year. Offensively, there's no identity.

If you see an identity and the team just struggles to execute it, you go 'well, they need to get the right guys.' But what we've seen since that 1/8th mark of Billups first season is that no identity seems to exist.

[bellsduck]

Fire Billups? What's he in, year 3 of his contract? So he's gonna finish this year and next year and then if the team isn't showing progress the Blazers won't pick up his option. Firing him costs the Blazers buyout money. I'm wondering who people would hire as a coach? Who wants to come in on the 1st year of a total rebuild and coach a team like this?

This team is playing for a #1 pick in the 2024 draft and that's all anyone should expect or hope for. Brogden will be traded at some point this year for more assets to help in the rebuild.
They lost to a team that hopes to make the Western Conference Finals this year with Paul George, Kawai Leonard, and Russell Westbrook.

The only way Billups gets fired is if he does something off-court that is basically criminal or if the players raise some sort of revolution because they hate him.

[pezsez1]

Fire Billups? What's he in, year 3 of his contract? So he's gonna finish this year and next year and then if the team isn't showing progress the Blazers won't pick up his option. Firing him costs the Blazers buyout money. I'm wondering who people would hire as a coach? Who wants to come in on the 1st year of a total rebuild and coach a team like this?

This team is playing for a #1 pick in the 2024 draft and that's all anyone should expect or hope for. Brogden will be traded at some point this year for more assets to help in the rebuild.
They lost to a team that hopes to make the Western Conference Finals this year with Paul George, Kawai Leonard, and Russell Westbrook.

The only way Billups gets fired is if he does something off-court that is basically criminal or if the players raise some sort of revolution because they hate him.

Agree with all of that.

I'd personally ride with Billups for a couple more years regardless of public opinion because he really hasn't had an honest shot with a real (and consistent) roster. He's like the young NFL quarterback who always seems to struggle but has also had to deal with multiple HC and offensive coordinator changes. And he still doesn't have a balanced roster.

One good thing about Billups -- he's clearly had a good influence on Anfernee Simons. Kid's confidence is way up and he is much more effective on the floor. If Billups can help guide Scoot and Ayton on similar development arcs then he'll be worth keeping around during two more years of tanking.

[StevensTechU]

When you look at what the 76ers got for Harden, it makes the Dame trade look even better.

[Duck07]

Tanking was the right move when you watch Wemby play.

[Tray Dub]

Tanking was the right move when you watch Wemby play.

Just insane tonight. He is such an interesting player to watch right now. Sometimes he looks like an awkward giraffe, sometimes he looks unstoppable. Tonight he looked like someone destined to be a superstar.

[pezsez1]

Tanking was the right move when you watch Wemby play.

Watching him makes me wonder what's the point of even trying. I mean come on.

[bellsduck]

Buyers remorse 4 games in? Nah, it's the coaches fault probably.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2023/ ... bucks.html

Whoever watched Damian Lillard and thought he was even average at defense. This should not be a surprise.

[Phalanx]

Buyers remorse 4 games in? Nah, it's the coaches fault probably.

https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2023/ ... bucks.html

Whoever watched Damian Lillard and thought he was even average at defense. This should not be a surprise.

This is funny showing up in the Oregonian. Now that Lillard is no longer on the team, we can speak frankly about this gaping hole in his game. Meanwhile, the media in his new city notices it immediately.

I have a new conspiracy theory that all of Lillard's antics with his agent were actually subterfuge, planned in advance with Cronin, in order for the Blazers to get maximum value for him, in thanks for the mind-numbing extension the Blazers gave him. By focusing for months on the manufactured dysfunction, it took attention from Lillard's defensive weakness and prohibitive contract, and made potential suitors think they were getting something amazing on a fire sale. Only when they open the package on Christmas morning do they find out that all they got was a guy with artificially inflated offensive stats and no defense and there is no return policy. Congrats, Milwaukee, you just traded Jrue Holiday, who helped you win a championship, and now he is playing for your biggest conference rival. I can just imagine them sitting in the car flipping through blank pieces of paper like the guy at the beginning of The Sting after he realizes he's actually the one who got ripped off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAF9OAO4TtA

[greenyellow]

Portland is now on a 3-game win streak and 1-0 in their In-Season Tournament games. They've been playing bottom tier teams, but they're showing some growth even while short-handed (Simons out 4-6 weeks with a thumb injury and Scoot sat out with an ankle sprain.) Shaedon Sharpe is making plays on both ends of the court and has been unstoppable on offense at times. Brogdon has provided a nice veteran presence for the young guys. Toumani Camara has been a welcomed surprise coming off the bench and playing in key situations. Ayton is almost a guaranteed double-double every night.

[pezsez1]

So... how are my fellow Blazer fans doing lately?

I honestly haven't watched many games. Didn't upgrade my Xfinity package but watch sometimes on StreamEast. The injuries definitely haven't helped, but it's been hard to watch.

Big takeaway so far: After the Lillard hoopla started, I remember Cronin looking into the camera and saying Scoot & his other draft choices were "win now" moves. OK, Joe. Look, I have faith that Scoot & the others can mature into good players -- maybe even great players, in time -- but Scoot isn't close to being ready and the team had to have known that after working him out before the draft.

Not trying to criticize Cronin for drafting Scoot & trading Dame. He got a good haul and it worked out well for everyone. But dang, I don't understand why the Blazers organization is so dishonest with its fans. Just say "we had a great draft, our future is bright, but buckle up for a few years while we figure things out." I think that's what most of us expected (and are fine with) so why not just say it.

Otherwise, I'm neither up nor down on this season. I've been entertained during some of the quarters I've watched, and it's nice not really caring about wins, losses, or playoffs for the time being. Lots of other good basketball around the league to keep busy with this year, so I've mostly been watching other teams play. Been interesting watching Dame figure things out in Milwaukee (still not shooting great, but he's impacting games when it matters). Wemby is a beast. Any team that wants to contend within the next decade will need someone to deal with the Wemby problem.

I'm excited for Scoot to get back with the team. He seemed to be trending in the right direction before he got hurt. The team had actually won a few games and looked halfway decent. Will definitely be more interested in watching once Scoot and Shaedon are playing together. I kind of hope they bring Scoot off the bench for a bit because he seems incredibly overwhelmed playing with the 1s.

Thoughts on the season so far?