One month and change into the NBA season, and the Blazers stand at 10-8.  It's been an up-and-down campaign so far for Portland, who opened the season by giving up 144 points to the Warriors.  They rebounded with a 107-101 win over the dreadful Miami Heat, but were then blown out by the Cavs two nights later.  They wouldn't get above .500 until mid-November, with a win over the still winless Brooklyn Nets (more on them later) to make them 5-4.  Portland has suffered a handful of blowout losses, but are now 10-8, with key wins over the San Antonio Spurs and the surging Sacramento Kings giving fans reasons to be optimistic. 

Still, this was a 44 win team a season ago, and swapping out Gerald Henderson and Mason Plumlee for Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli might not move the needle as much as some think.  Defensively, the team is simply dreadful, giving up the second most points per game in the league.  Ezeli helps, but Aminu can't handle the league's bigger 4's and Dame and CJ are... yeah.  Offensively, things are fine.  Lillard is having his best season yet, and McCollum has a shot at making the all-star team.  The Blazers like to go small and wreak havoc from beyond the arc.  They are the off-brand Warriors. 

Coming into Phoenix off two straight wins, the Blazers will hope to string together three straight victories for the first time all season and carry some momentum into December.  With a negative point differential and more deserving players than they have minutes for (Mo Harkless, Noah Vonleh and Shabazz Napier have barely cracked the rotation), a trade might be coming if things don't improve soon...

Led by DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and free agency pickup Mario Chalmers, the Sacramento Kings shocked the league by jumping out to an 11-1 start (!).  Then Boogie got hurt and they lost six straight.  Still, with Cousins soon to return, this is a promising start for a team that's become a punchline in recent years.  The real story in the West is the OKC Thunder, who, despite losing Kevin Durant, lead the conference standings with a 13-4 record.  Westbrook has to be the MVP favorite, averaging nearly 30 points and a triple double for the young team.  The Lakers (who have Lance now I guess) and the expansion Sonics are also off to surprising starts, each posting winning records in the early going. 

Of course, for every winner there is a loser, and 17 times that loser has been the Brooklyn Nets.  At 0-17, the Nets are just one defeat away from tying their own record for most consecutive losses to start a season.  First year coach Kenny Atkinson lost his job after just 15 games, that's how bad they are.  In other news, the Cavs look poised to repeat with the league's best record, Toronto is right on their heels, and the Rondo-Wade experiment is working out so far for the 14-4 Bulls. 

Could you have gotten all this information on your own just by reading the standings?  Well, pretty much... Here they are. 

D'Angelo Russell is having a terrific second season, while Ingram won the starting spot over Deng and is lighting it up.  Also Mozgov is shooting 100% from beyond the arc so maybe he was worth the money?  I'm more concerned with the Sonics, led by Mason Plumlee, Ty Lawson and a geriatric Ginobili, having a winning record. 

The Trail Blazers were on the road in LA, trying to defeat the Clippers for their third straight win.  At 14-10, they weren't one of the league's elite teams, but were starting to hit their stride. 

Lyman however, was watching the game from his apartment in Portland, hungover from the night before.  Though Chris Paul wasn't playing, the Blazers were struggling against the Clips, trailing the entire time. ' This isn't helping my headache', thought Lyman as he watched Damian Lillard made incredible plays only to watch the team give those points right back to Austin Rivers or Blake Griffin.  Despite all that however, Portland made a run to force OT. 

The Blazers dominated the overtime period, and took a seven point lead with under a minute to go.  Lyman excitedly opened the victory champagne, and watched as Portland proceeded to turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions and their lead diminish to just two points with 15 seconds left, Clippers ball.  J.J. Redick missed a jumper, but Blake got the offensive board and was fouled.  He made the first and missed the second, and then...

"Kick ball.  Clippers ball." 

Obviously Blake Griffin made a game-winning shot, and Lyman's laptop was in a million pieces. 

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The Blazers rebounded with a 45 point win over the atrocious Miami Heat, but the bad taste from that Clippers loss remained.  Even the schadenfreude from seeing Blake Griffin go down for the season with a stress fracture couldn't cheer him up.  The problem with the team was the defense.  Festus Ezeli is an okay rim protector, but teams made it rain from outside.  Lyman only watched key games and the fourth quarters of close matches because he was bad at his job, but it seemed like whenever he'd watch, both teams would shoot a far higher percentage from the field than usual. 

He mentioned that in passing to the Blazers' owner. " Hmm.  I see.  Well maybe something can be done about this.  Our guys won't score as many points, but they won't give as many up either." 

"Wait, what?  What do you mean?" 

"Don't worry about it." 

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With 12 players on the roster worth giving minutes to, third year players Shabazz Napier and Noah Vonleh have been getting the shaft.  Moe Harkless too was only getting around 10 minutes per contest.  Lyman had to work overtime to keep his guys happy. 

"Noah.  Thank you for coming my office.  I just wanted to say that you're my boy, blue!" 

Noah Vonleh smiled, "Thanks.  I needed to hear that." 

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"Shabazz.  Thank you for coming my office.  I just wanted to say that you're my boy, blue!" 

Shabazz Napier smiled, "Thanks.  I needed to hear that." 

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"Moe.  Thank you for coming my office.  I just wanted to say that you're my boy, blue!" 

Maurice Harkless smiled, "Thanks.  I needed to hear that." 

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"Pat.  Thank you for coming my office.  I just... eh, screw it.  I have nothing to discuss with you at this time. 

Pat Connaughton gave Lyman a concerned look and left his office.  Lyman smiled and thought to himself, 'I'm the best general manager in the league'.  He spun around in his chair, as his phone vibrated to tell him that his new laptop had been sent. 

'Things are looking up.' 

Last edited by Lamrock on Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:20 am, edited 1 time in total. 

Yeah, at times I wish I'd chosen myCareer, but I guess it gives me something to make fun of when I can't think of any behind the scenes stuff. 

My team is pretty good - probably a contender for the WCF since San Antonio is trash in my game for whatever reason.  I think the team as constructed can become at least mediocre on defense with a combination of better sliders, me improving in the game, and player development.  Player development seems to be kind of slow in this game, but we'll see how it goes. 

Westbrook is basically the new Oscar Robinson, averaging a triple double, along with close to 30 points.  The rest of the team is trash, but they destroyed us in a simmed game so idk.  We'll see how it goes when we play them...

Happy 2017 everybody!  Hope you had a fun New Year's..................................

Anyway, the Blazers sit at 20-14 after two months, on pace to win 48 or so games.  More or less, our team has been beating the teams it's supposed to, and losing to the ones you'd expect.  This phenomenon heartbreakingly (screw you speel check, that's a word) manifested itself against the Clippers, in which the Blazers literally dropped the ball, blowing a seven point lead with 40 seconds to go to lose to the CP3-less Clips.  Yuck. 

Still, this 10-6 month puts the team comfortably in the playoff picture, only a game behind the Kings (who nobody takes seriously) for the 3 seed.  Damian Lillard has continued to establish himself as a top 5 player in this league, while McCollum is making a solid case to make his first all-star appearance, despite missing a couple games.  Aminu, Ezeli and Harkless have missed a few games as well, but this team's depth has made this a relative non-factor, being at least two deep at every position.  As such, it has allowed for players like Noah Vonleh and Shabazz Napier to get some decent playing time, where both have had their moments. 

All in all, things are going pretty well for the Blazers.  I mean, they still aren't playing much defense, but they did hold the Knicks to 64 points, which is something I guess! 

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Around The League

*triggered* (although now he's out for the season)

As expected, the Warriors and Cavaliers rule the roost and are in all likelihood headed towards an unprecedented third consecutive Finals face-off.  While the Warriors will need to win all 46 of their remaining games to be breaking any records, they nonetheless are the clear title favorites.  Don't sleep on the surprising Bulls or Thunder however, who are both off to tremendous starts despite significant roster turnover in the off-season. 

The Process is finally paying off - all it took was forcing Hinkie out apparently... The rookie trio of Simmons, Saric and Embiid are leading the way for the 76ers, who currently sit at .500!  Things aren't so peachy however for fans of the Magic and Heat... if it isn't bad enough living in Florida, their NBA teams are a combined 14-56! 

[+]Key Injuries

John Wall (WAS) out for season with torn ACL Blake Griffin (LAC) out for season with right leg stress fracture Darren Collison (SAC) out for season with torn achillesKhris Middleton (MIL) out for season with broken vertebrae

The big news is of course 2009 and 2010 first overall picks John Wall and Blake Griffin both going down with season ending injuries.  Awful news for fans of both teams - Washington now likely to miss the post-season for the second straight year, while the clock continues to tick on Chris Paul's career.  Mario Chalmers will have big shoes to fill as the Kings' new starting point guard, while the Bucks will have to do it without their underrated 2 guard.  Injuries blow, man. 

Key Transactions

Suns trade Tyson Chandler to New Orleans for Solomon HillSpin: Chandler returns to New Orleans - if he has anything left in the tank, he and Davis will be a dominant frontcourt.  The Suns meanwhile replace a solid, though overpaid veteran center with a solid, though overpaid combo forward. Grade for New Orleans: B- | Grade for Phoenix: B

Hornets trade Lamb, Cody Zeller to Nets for Lin, Greivis VasquezSpin: The struggling Hornets decide it was their decision to let Lin walk that's caused their regression, and ship out two young players to get him back.  Solid move for Brooklyn, even if it means Caris LaVert will be their starting point guard. Grade for Charlotte: C+ | Grade for Brooklyn: A-

Hornets trade Belinelli to Knights for AjincaSpin: Charlotte replaces Zeller with Ajinca, a good backup center.  Knights get more scoring. Grade for Charlotte: A | Grade for Kansas City: C

People think we're crazy for letting the Sonics take Plumlee, who just stands there...

Welcome back everybody! 

When we last saw the Blazers, they were 20-14, playing solid, but unspectacular basketball.  Since then, they have won seven in a row to sit at 27-14 exactly halfway through the regular season.  An improved defense and easy stretch of schedule have been the primary factors in this terrific stretch of play.  And to think, that was with Festus Ezeli being out with an injury of some kind!  Knee I think it was... Still an iron man compared to his real life self, but let's get back on topic. 

With that streak on the line, Lillard and company head to Memphis to play the Grizzlies, a perennial playoff team that once again finds itself in the middle of the West playoff picture.  Will Conley, Gasol and Randolph kill them with grindness?  Or does the loss of Tony Allen (picked up by Kansas City in the expansion draft) make them soft now? 

The Portland Trail Blazers came into Memphis with plenty of confidence and for good reason.  They were coming off seven consecutive wins, were finally back to full health with Ezeli returning (off the bench behind Ed Davis) and the Grizzlies were without 96 million dollar man Chandler Parsons.  However, the Grizzlies are never a push-over (the 2016 playoffs where everybody was hurt aside), and though Portland came out firing, it was a close contest early on. 

The second half saw the Blazers open up a nine point lead.  However, McCollum and Lillard were both taken out for a couple minutes, and Terry Stotts paid dearly for that decision, as it sparked an 11-2 Grizzlies run.  The lead changed hands multiple times, but CJ went off in the fourth quarter, helping Portland once again pull away.  He hit a mid-range dagger with two minutes remaining to increase the lead to double digits, but paid dearly for it, going down in the process. 

Portland went on to win by eight, but the locker room was somber after the game.  There was mild relief when they got the news: just a sprained ankle.  However, with McCollum's injury and the severity of the sprain, he is expected to be out until the all-star break.  Well, that streak was fun while it lasted...

Still, the win improves the Blazers to 28-14, with a nationally televised showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming up next.  A win there would mean leapfrogging OKC for second place. 

Notes: After the game, Terry Stotts announced that Ed Davis would be starting indefinitely.  In addition, Meyers Leonard would start in place of McCollum, shifting Turner and Aminu to the 2 and the 3 respectively.  The Blazers were not the only team to receive bad injury news, as the Magic lost starting small forward Mario Hezonja, in the midst of a breakout year, for the season with a ruptured left achilles.  Ouch. 

Despite the winning streak, Blazers general manager Lyman Witherspoon has reportedly been shipping forward Maurice Harkless around.  Harkless, 23, signed a four year, $40 million contract in the off-season after starting in the playoffs.  The additions of Turner and Ezeli have led to limited minutes for Harkless however, and Portland is currently over the luxury tax limit.  A name that has been linked to Portland is Magic guard Jodie Meeks, who has an expiring contract, and would help fill in while McCollum is injured. 

Also, rumor has it that the Portland Trail Blazers will be re-branding for the 2017-18 NBA season.  A leaked picture of the apparent jersey prototype was met with mostly negative reaction, due to it not having the city or team name on the front of it. 

Prior to the marquee match-up between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the all-star starters were announced on TNT.  There were no major surprises, as leading vote-getters like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry were named to the team.  A week from today, the reserves, selected by the coaches, will be revealed.  The starters are as followed:

The NBA officially announced that this season, it would be revealing all of its annual awards at once during a primetime awards program.  The program was initially rumored to be held after the postseason, but instead, it will be in April, the Friday night before the playoffs tip off.  The Most Valuable Player, Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA Teams, All-Rookie Teams and All-Defensive Teams will be revealed in the presentation. 

In a much hyped match-up between the #2 and #3 seeds in the Western Conference, the Blazers managed to beat the Thunder in OKC to take control of 2nd place in the West, and win their ninth straight game. 

Portland came out of the gates on fire, letting it rain from long range.  Their lead got as high as 13 points before a Meyers Leonard turnover sparked a 17-4 Thunder run.  The Blazers led by two points at the half, but would fall behind for the first time in the third quarter.  Fortunately, Portland's bench held strong enough for Damian Lillard to get some rest and keep the game within seven points. 

The Blazer strategy of letting Russell Westbrook get his, and shutting down the rest of OKC worked in the fourth quarter.  The Thunder really missed Kevin Durant down the stretch as a gassed Westbrook did everything in his power to try and will his team to victory, but the shots weren't falling.  Despite being without second leading scorer CJ McCollum, Portland's offense could not be stopped down the stretch, as they stunned the hostile crowd, pulling out a 97-87 victory. 

In the win, the Blazers shot 56% from the field, but the 17 offensive rebounds they gave up kept the game close.  They will hope to go finish their road trip undefeated and push their win streak to 10 against Seattle next. 

The Portland Trail Blazers truly hit their stride in January, opening up the new calendar year with a ten game winning streak before finally losing to the Boston Celtics.  Portland ended up going 13-2 for the month, shooting up the standings to second place.  They did so despite losing CJ McCollum to a severe ankle sprain, which will hold him out for a few more weeks. 

It has been an improved effort on defense coupled with the team's still elite offense that has fueled this run.  Lillard has continued to make his case for MVP, while new starting center Ed Davis has been a force on the boards.  A virtual lock for the postseason, the focus for Portland shifts to the battle between them and the rival OKC Thunder for the second seed in the West.  Most importantly however, they will hope to get McCollum back and go into the playoffs with a healthy squad. 

Expectations are high now that the team is among the upper echelon in the West.  Next month will see the Blazers hope to keep their momentum, as Damian Lillard returns to the all-star game, as well as the three-point shoot-out. 

Hornets fire Steve Clifford, hire David BlattThe Hornets are a huge disappointment, and sign the former Cavs "coach"Caldwell-Pope (DET), Gobert (UTA) get max extensionsThree years for KCP, two years for Gobert - good move?Lakers swap Tarik Black for Wolves' Cole AldrichSpin: Scrub swap!  Scrub swap!  The Wolves, stacked in the front court, get a bit younger, while the Lakers gear up for a playoff pushWolves send Pekovic to Mavs for Dwight PowellSpin: Mavs make one last desperation move to salvage what may be Dirk's last season, while the Wolves ditch Pekovic's albatross contract as lastSuns trade Jared Dudley, John Jenkins to Nuggets for Darrell Arthur, Jameer NelsonSpin: Two lottery teams make a trade seemingly for the sake of making a trade. 

All-Star weekend has come and gone, and as far as all-star weekends go, this was certainly one of them!  With Damian Lillard both playing in the all-star game and competing in the three-point shootout, Blazers fans had reason to tune in, I guess..

It's great that the NBA decided to take a stand and move the all-star game out of North Carolina.  However, it seems like with months to prepare for the game, the good people at Smoothie King Center would get the floor right - for some reason the court is the same as the one for the 2016 all-star game in Toronto.  Come on, son! 

Karl-Anthony Towns was there too...

LED BY INGRAM, ELITES HOLD OFF STARSElites 110, Stars 102

Despite the relative success of last year's USA vs. the rest of the world Rising Stars Challenge, the league opted to have two squads seemingly put together at random, with guys like DeAndre Bembry, who has yet to play a single NBA minute, among those playing.  Despite this, there was still some excitement to be had, as Lakers rookie put on a show.  His Elites held a commanding lead for most of the game, but D'Angelo Russell and Kristaps Porzingis led a furious comeback attempt by the Stars.  Unfortunately for them, a missed free throw that would have cut the lead to two led to a dunk by Jahlil Okafor on the other end, sealing the deal for the elites. 

#1 pick and RotY favorite Ben Simmons had 6 points and 11 boards.  Brandon Ingram finished with 33 points and 8 boards on 12-16, while teammate Russell had 21 points and 6 dimes for the other side. 

"I usually wear the letter "O" on my jersey, but tonight, I took an L" - Damian Lillard after scoring a measly ten points. 

After ceding the three point title two fellow splash brother Klay Thompson in last year's three point shootout, Curry dominated the competition this year to reclaim his crown.  There were three Warriors in this year's contest, with Durant, Curry and Thompson, but only Steph made the finals.  After James Harden and J.J. Redick both underwhelmed in the final round, Curry won comfortably with a fairly pedestrian 18 points. 

LILLARD CHUCKS HIS WAY TO 34 POINTS, LEADS WEST TO VICTORYWest 131, East 118

Lillard won MVP, but this dunk tho...

The Western Conference has won the all-star game once again!  Led by Damian Lillard, who made it his personal goal to take this game over after being inexplicably left out last season, the West dominated from start to finish. 

The first half was shockingly low scoring, with the two teams actually playing defense!  However, in the second half, it was classic All-Star game basketball, with a defensive effort that even Mike D'Antoni would scoff at.  Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan did what they could to keep things relatively interesting, but the West ultimately ran away with this.  After the game, MVP Damian Lillard commented, "man, I wish I could have shot like that last night…"

Lamrock wrote:However, it seems like with months to prepare for the game, the good people at Smoothie King Center would get the floor right - for some reason the court is the same as the one for the 2016 all-star game in Toronto.  Come on, son! 

The trade deadline has come and gone, and there were a few deals.  The biggest one was probably Wesley Matthews to Philly, but the one we'll focus on is the three-team salary dumb that sent Moe Harkless to Phoenix! 

Moe Harkless finished the 2015-16 season strong as the Blazers' starting power forward, earning him a 4 year, $40 million extension.  Unfortunately for him, the return of Meyers Leonard, as well as the additions of Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli, have led to him being buried in the rotation.  Despite currently sitting in 2nd place in the Western Conference standings, the Blazers have decided to make the sound financial decision of shipping him out of town.  They also ship out Luis Montero, and get D-League call-up Alan Williams as well as a conditional second rounder from the Suns. 

The Phoenix Suns, in need of a starting small forward with TJ Warren and PJ Tucker injured, acquire a solid young wing in Harkless, as well as a filler piece in Rudez.  Orlando meanwhile gets... younger at the third-string SF spot with the addition of Montero - they were kind enough to help tie this deal together. 

The Trail Blazers, with their vacant roster spot, have brought back veteran small forward Dorell Wright for the minimum. 

Nuggets trade Wilson Chandler and JaKarr Sampson to Bucks for Dellavedova, Steve NovakSpin: A pair of teams falling behind in the race for the 8 seed decide to swap sixth men.  Will it work?  I don't know.  Probably not. 

Nets trade Justin Hamilton to Hawks for Top 10 Protected 2018 First, Walter TavaresSpin: Nets GM Sean Marks makes the most un-Billy King move ever by trading a backup center for a future first

Mavericks trade Wesley Matthews, Seth Curry to Sixers for Covington, StauskasSpin: The Mavericks decide to go younger and tank the rest of the season, while the Sixers add a key veteran to fight for a playoff spot… Wait, I got these teams backwards, right?