Shem wrote:JasonStern wrote:Shem wrote:
So you're saying there was no tanking... at all during the last 3 seasons???
Here's a hint: Last year the Blazers were 29-31 at one point and finished 33-49.
That's not what I said at all. I drunk post as well, so no offense taken. The last 2 seasons, intentional tanking occurred once the playoffs were out of reach.
The last play-in team in the west (New Orleans) had a 42-40 record. Now go back to when the Blazers were once at 29-31. They could have gone for it and no your argument doesn't hold how it was out of reach at that point.
However, it would have ended with either a play-in loss or a 1st round exit at best. Management decided it was best to tank for the draft pick thus leading to the 3rd pick of the draft which was a much better outcome in the long run than going for it.
JasonStern wrote:What I am saying is if the Blazers had retained Stotts as opposed to Olshey throwing him under the bus for bad general management, the Blazers would have been in the playoff hunt the last two seasons.
Again after just explaining Year 2 (again) and how they could have gone for it, Year 1 of Billups as coach (explaining it again) Dame was playing with a core stomach issue and only played 29 games and his last game he played that season was in December.
The only argument you have left with Year 1 is how you believe the Blazers could have made the playoffs without Dame since December. So if you really truly still believe your argument, I hope you have a good one for how they could have made it without Dame.
Yes, during Year 2 of Chauncey's suckage, the Blazers were 29 - 31 after 60 games and in contention to reach the play in before they shut it down and went all in on the tank. However, it was painfully obvious to anyone watching the games that Chauncey's ineptitude is what forced them to tank. Here's two things that happened in Year 2 - BEFORE THEY DECIDED TO TANK, when they were actually trying to win as many games as possible:
POR was a HORRIBLE clutch time team, the worst in the league, blowing games they should have won ( and would have easily won under Stotts):
POR went 0-8 over an 8 game span if Clutch Time performances. The combined records (at the time) of their opponents was 143-165. Not exactly the elite of the league.
POR's execution was absolutely pathetic in the 4th quarter of close games. The Lakers game was just ine debacle. They had that one won, and also the IND game where POR was outscored 13-0 the close out the game.
In those 8 games, POR was outscored 71-25 during Clutch Time. POR has shot 17.6% from the field, 10.0% from 3-point range for a eFG% of 20.6%. Their opponents shot 51.0% from the field, 31.6% from 3-point range for an eFG% of 56.9%. POR turned the ball over on 25% of their Cutch Time possessions. POR had 0 points off TOV, their opponents had 16.
During Clutch Time, POR had a league worst ORTG of 54.5, a league worst DRTG of 136.5, and, of course, a league worst NETRTG of -82.0 (second worst was HOU with a NETRtg of -57.6).
What really stands out here, is that despite of their Clutch Time ineptitude, POR actually had the 5th best overall ORTG of 115.9. POR clearly had the talent to score the basketball, yet their execution with the game on the line was absolutely abysmal. I blame this 100% on Chauncey. The team was completely lost during Clutch Time. No one knows what they are supposed to do. I see no clear play calling, just chaos that leads to shot clock violations, bad, forced shots, defensive breakdowns and countless unforced TOVs.
Bottom line, POR was consistently getting abused by inferior talent during the closing minutes of close games. They lostvgames they should have won. Stotts was far from perfect, but his teams never struggled to execute during crunch time. Under Stotts, POR was a great 4th quarter team. During his final season in POR, the Blazers were 24-13 in Clutch Time with a league best 126.9 ORTG, a 3rd place DRTG of 99.3, for a league best, by far, NETRTG of +27.4. We went from the most clutch team in the league to the worst. This is the difference between an experienced coach and one with absolutely no clue how to run a modern NBA offense.
Second, POR was the worst team in the league when it came to blowing double digit leads in the second half. Again, this was due to Chauncey's ineptitude. He had the talent to consistently be up double digits, but as soon the the opposing coach made adjustments at halftime, the game was over. Chauncey had no clue how to respond. When POR decided to shut it down, they had blown a league worst, by far, 17 games where they led by double digits in the second half.
Yeah, Chauncey got a pass in Year 1 due to Dame's injury, but what's his excuse for blowing 17 double digit leads when he had POR's best starting 5 since the Aldridge era??? He had three scorers averaging over 20 PTS/G - a luxury Stotts never had, and he had the best Clutch Time performer in the league having his best season ever, yet he can't figure out how to hold a 20-point lead.
If POR was just 10-7 in those games, they would have been solidly in the 4th seed, just 1 game back of the No. 2 seed SAC. Yeah, Cronin blew it up at the deadline when he realized this team wasn't going anywhere with Chauncey at the helm, but we started the season with the best staring 5 we've had since Aldridge left. This didn't have to be a wasted season. Chauncey made it so.
So yeah, Chauncey has proven he has absolutely no idea how to coach at the NBA level. Sure, the goal now is to lose, and he is certainly good at that, but his incompetence is also hurting the development of the same young players we tanked to get. He was an absolute disaster of a hire for a team trying to win, but his lack of experience and incompetence also makes him a terrible choice for developing our young players.