Who can be BEAT PORTLAND???

[jack]

The Blazers swept its preseason assignments. Do you think they can go far in the regular season or play-offs???

[batang uliran]

I think the Spurs remain the team to beat. And I will always be rooting for my Lakers. I'm psyched since I was able to get some tickets to Nets games (I live in NJ) and I'll see them play the Suns, the Spurs and the Lakers this year.

[stanch]

for me, these are the teams capable of beating the blazers...
spurs, knicks, heat, lakers, hornets, 76ers...

:-P

[nix]

Portland's line-up is truly phenomenal. Their only real problem is, there really isn't any proven take charge guy in the team. Scottie isn't take charge. Neither is Smith, Shrempf, or Grant. Rasheed is still too much of a crybaby to fully realize his talent.
So who's going to take the clutch shot with the game on the line? -- That is of course, if the Blazers don't blow out their opponents first.

[bughaw]

Portland is absolutely loaded coming into the season.

Definitely, they should get at least close to the NBA's best record in the regular season.

However, it takes more than just talent to go far in the playoffs. It takes team chemistry, team maturity, and team experience. Only Pippen has won a championship in the Blazers lineup. And their concentration with talent might cause disunity.

Since most of the strong teams in the West are also young and inexperienced, i would say that the blazers may go far enough into the playoffs. But against teams like Utah and San Antonio... experience and maturity have a lot of weight.

Utah, however, is aging. So... I would place my bets on the younger, yet more experienced San Antonio team.

[The Rock]

Unfortunately Jack, pre-season is just that: PRE-season. When the regular season starts, Mike dunleavy will have to figure out a way to dole out minutes to that very talented Portland roster. The Blazers are strong on paper. But paper can't go out and play 82 games for them. They won't come close to the 72-10 record of the Bulls, The Rock guarantees that. Brian Grant will miss the start of the season so that's a loss in the rebounding column. Obviously Rasheed Wallace will have to start. What happens when Grant comes back? Will he be willing to come off the bench? Will Wallace be willing to give up his starting spot?

Portland is beatable. San Antonio is still the best TEAM out there. The Lakers, Rockets, Hornets, Phoenix, Timberwolves, ny of these teams could go out and put a whooping on Portland. Both nix and bughaw raised some pertinent points that have to be addressed by the Blazers. And remember, Portland has the money to go after these free agents because of two things: 1. team-owner Paul Allen is co-founder of Microsoft, and 2. Portland and the state of Oregon have no other professional sports franchises. It isn't exactly the most deisrable place to win an NBA Championship now is it?

[wolverine]

portland may have the strongest lineup this season, but the team still has alot of adjustments to do. new recruits have to learn the system of the team and the blazers veterans have to adjust with the new acquisitions. are they really a good team? or are they just a collection of good individual talents?

nix is also right... who's gonna take the shot come crunchtime? with a lineup like this, who'll be the take charge guy?... parang lakers din...

solid teams from the east like new york, indiana and miami can steal a game or two from the blazers.

and before they reach the finals, they still have to battle it out with the lakers, suns and the defending champions.

[jack]

but it seems that they are blowing their opponents before crunchtime..hehehehehe Probably they even have the best benches.

[The Rock]

Yeah, they're blowing out teams. But which teams, Jack? The Clippers, Warriors, and Nuggets. Three of the lesser teams in the NBA. Judge how good this team really is when they face the upper echelon of the NBA.

[jack]

Rock: how about adding your LAKERS to that growing list!!!!
they're just starting. They didn't even have one of their regular starters in that game.

[fReAk]

Jazz 92, Blazers 87



SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — That's more like it, Karl.

[ronaldo]

There's no question that Portland has the most talented team in the NBA today. There are very few teams that can match up against their starting five, and their bench is the deepest in the league. I'm pretty sure that they will have the best record in the regular season this year. The only reason that I still doubt thier ability to win the championship this season is because they have no leader. Scottie Pippen, with all his talent and championship experience, is not a leader. He showed this in Chicago when MJ left, and he showed it in Houston. The only way the Blazers can win the championship is to have one player step up and be the leader. Someone who makes sure that everybody else is on the same page, pretty much like what Avery Johnson does for the Spurs. Unless this happens, San Antonio is still the team to beat.

[jack]

finally 1 loss

[The Rock]

Hey jack, the Lakers didn't have one of their regular starters either, remember Kobe? Hell, it's been talked about on TV and the Net, with the way that Jermaine O'Neal and guys like him from the Mavs have been fouling Shaq, those should all be called flagrant fouls. That's all right, at the end of the season, we will see who makes it to the Finals, and The Rock has yet to be convinced that it will be Portland.

[yshztaazvaeche]

first of all...ang swerte mo batang uliran!!!

second: walang chemistry ang Portland...if u guys were able to see the suns - sixers game...that was absolute chemistry man...both teams played really well...ball rotation at its best!

third: Lakers pa rin ako...kaso nde pako nakakanood ng games nila so i still dunno wut to say abt them...ne info from u guys will be appreciated...napanood ko *** yng against the rockets...eh ejected si shaq agad eh...and wala pa c kobe(na sana ay nde na bwakaw)

[Bejean]

I think Minessota can beat Portland ... i saw szcherbiak play and he is GOOD ... pero makachamba sana Toronto eheheheh


[This message has been edited by Bejean (edited 11-15-1999).]

[StJames]

While on paper, Portland seems unbeatable, you have to remember that they are combustible, what with ego-maniacs like Stoudamire, Pippen, and Wallace. The only team that can beat Portland is Portland itself. Otherwise, they will be the NBA champs.

[wolverine]

portland is a good team because they are winning games... for now. but what if they start losing games? will they start pointing fingers and blame each other? or will they face the challenge as one team? who will take charge as the team leader? and if one player decides to lead, will the other players give way and listen?

look at the houston rockets team of the past two seasons... they had the players (hakeem, pippen, barkley & co.) to win the championships but still they failed to win one. why? because the players began blaming each other for their losses and forgot to play as a team.

with volatile players like wallace, grant, stoudamire and pippen... this team is a time bomb waiting to explode.

[This message has been edited by wolverine (edited 11-19-1999).]

[jepoy]

What impresses me the most about Portland is not the talent that they have, but the combined experience that they now posses. Pippen's, Smith's, and Shrempf's veteran leadership compliments the young players like Wallace, Grant, and Stoudamire. When the season started, i was one of the first ones to doubt this team. But after seeing a couple of Portland games, I was just blown away. I was amazed at how easy the game was for this new group, they ran the court as if they we're playing against a bunch of gradeschool ballers. They are truly difficult to stop. Watch out for the Smith-Pippen combo.. it seems like these two have been teammates forever. Magic Coach Doc Rivers put it best when he commented on Portland's dominance by saying that "they're so good, Schrempf is their 10th man!"

[jack]

yshz: sixers just lost to portland.... suns are having a disappointing start (they just stopped there 3 game losing streak). Teamwork is important but is useless if you dont have victories.

portland is now 9-1. I'm not a big fan of the the blazers but I acknowledge that they are going to do great this season. So far, they are proving that they can play together. I must admit that its too early to decide. Besides a regular season title doesn't assure one to win the playoffs.