Same Ol' Song and Dance

[bestnamezRtaken]

Same Ol' Song and Dance


LaMarcus Aldridge is having a great year...but is the rest of the team?

Portland, OR

After starting the season 0-3, the Blazers went on a 5 game winning streak, with wins over the new look Timberwolves led by [Russell] Westbrook and [Serge] Ibaka as well as the new look Heat with additions of Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko along with LeBron James and Chris Bosh...Both teams very tough to beat. After those 5 wins, the Blazers dropped 3 games on their road trip to the Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Warriors...one heart breaking loss that was close to the Pelicans that just sucked the momentum right out of the Blazers, as they were handled by both the Timberwolves in a revenge game and then spanked by the Warriors.

The Trail Blazers have been here before...being a sub par team, either barely over a .500 record or barely under. Whether or not the Trail Blazers can even squeeze into the playoffs in the tough Western Conference, is yet to be seen. LaMarcus Aldridge is having himself a great season with averages of 21.5ppg, 11rpg, 1.5apg, and 1+ in steals/blocks while shooting 44% from the field. Nicolas Batum is also having a stellar year of 17ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.5apg, and about 1+ on steals/blocks as well as 46% from the field and 42% from downtown. Those two players are about the only highlights of the Blazers.

While Damian Lillard struggles with finding his shooting touch, he'll have games of amazement putting on an absolute show...then the next couple of games, he'll be no where to be found on the stat sheets...whether it's a poor shooting night or early foul trouble against other guards...But the biggest surprise, is the struggle of Wesley Matthews.

Of the starting five, he's been the one to struggle the most, shooting poorly from the field and behind the arc (36% FG and 39% 3FG). "It's been a tough start to the year for him, he's not used to struggling this much for this long. Usually, he's able to get out of his shooting funk but he can't get around it this year." Coach Terry Stotts said after the win against the Pelicans.

Maybe a shake up to the roster is in order...it's not like the Blazers haven't gotten offers either. "We've gotten plenty of offers, for Wesley Matthews, Nic Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge...just nothing that has really stood out for us with the exception of one or two. I wont go into detail but we had one offer that could have landed us Eric Gordon from the Pelicans. We were thinking it over, not wanting to pull the trigger to early on it...and waited just a bit too long before he was shipped out to the Hornets back East." General Manager Tanner Owen said in a press conference. "Don't worry Blazers fans, we'll look to turn this ship around back into the right direction. Whether it's through a trade or us finally clicking and finding our game...The Trail Blazers will make it to the playoffs this year." he finished.

The Blazers started off the new month of December with a key win over Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Can the Blazers build some momentum and fight their way to the playoffs in the tough Northwest Division?

[Dennis]

I love Batum. His 3pt shot paired with the defense he brings on the table is really rare. Same for Aldrige, great all around game, though I expected his FG% to be a bit higher. Your team should be able to get into the postseason.

[GreenBear]

I've always been a fan of Batum, so I'm not surprised at his production. And Aldridge is just being Aldridge. I have no doubt that Lillard will show consistency very soon. He's extremely young, and I remember some people being mentioning being frustrated at how fast Marcus Smart became a beast in the oCSL, so the adjustments may have made the development of young players slow down a bit. Just a theory.

[WillyJakkz]

Not sure what the hassle is with Damian Lillard, 18/7 here 21/6 irl last season.

Tinkering with the offensive sets/ player instructions here would surely increase his point production but I'm not seeing the "oh my god Lillard is struggling" outcry you're seeing.

He also had different teammates in oCSL which definitely correlate to production as well which in turn some teams here have already altered rosters so the status quo will not remain the same on a team vs team player vs player basis.

He's just fine from what I see and you've got a helluva franchise player in him man so don't sweat it.

Woulda been interesting to see how that Pelicans Blazers trade would've looked though.

[HiGrade]

Not sure if you're referring to the specific song or not...but I literally had this song stuck in my head browsing the forums then came across this topic title lol...thought it was a typo. Ironic.


Anyway, this team has some talent. Especially if T-Rob can reach those potentials, he could actually be a really good PF in this file. I really don't like Lillard in this version though, his defense is just not pretty. He can get abused by opposing guards easily. I would personally build this team around LMA & Batum, I'm sure you could bring in a really nice guard in exchange for Lillard. The thing with LMA is he needs to stop taking those jumpers and he could be a real force. Either way this squad should be in good shape moving forward.

[bestnamezRtaken]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it.

And yes, I was referring to the song. Big Aerosmith fan.

[orangeparka]

POR has a great core and a lotta talent/youth to build around. If you decide to make some big moves I see a lotta possibilities. Should be fun.

Yeah Lillard is more like real-life Lillard here, thankfully.