Alright enough about me. Though I've enjoyed writing about my experiences at BCIT so far this year it's time for me to flex my NBA fandom and rant about my Portland Trailblazers.
The Blazers were fantastic last year, the team's depth and continuity were staples for a team that had a stellar season and went all the way to the Western Conference Finals before fizzling out against the reigning Champion Golden State Warriors. The team fought through adversity after losing their starting Centre Jusuf Nurkic to a gruesome broken leg late into the season. They were without Nurkic for the final stretch of the regular season and all of the playoffs. Despite the loss of their third-best player, the Blazers put together an incredible playoff run highlighted by Damian Lillard's 50 point performance in a close-out Game 5 of the first round against Oklahoma City which was punctuated by the greatest shot a Blazer has ever hit.
CJ McCollum's monster 37 point performance in Game 7 of the Blazers second-round series against Denver is a franchise record and was another high moment.
So this season with the Blazers currently at 5-9, has been incredibly disappointing. Jusuf Nurkic is still injured, rising star Zach Collins has been sidelined for an extended period and longtime fan favourites Moe Harkless, Meyers Leonard, and Al-Farouq Aminu are all playing in new cities. The Blazers aren't just losing this year they're losing badly. On November 4th when playing the Warriors, even though the Warriors didn't play a single one of their 4 All-Stars, the Blazers still lost. On November 8th even behind a franchise-record 60-point performance by Damian Lillard, the Blazers still lost.
Right now the Blazers can't catch a break with injuries piling up and a roster full of new and unproven faces, things are beginning to look bleak. Team management has gotten desperate, Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey has looked to the basketball gods for salvation, and has sent up a prayer by signing Carmelo Anthony, a former All-NBA caliber player who has been completely unplayable the last two years. Olshey is feeling the pressure of fans and the impending doom that is lingering over the team, he has gotten desperate. Carmelo Anthony is the only player who may be able to help the now lowly wing rotation that's led by the likes of Mario Hezonja, Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver.
The Blazers are truly on the brink, sitting in 12th place in the conference with only a prayer to get them back on track expect more moves to come soon. Carmelo Anthony may be able to help the Blazers marginally but the team is in need of a major revamp to get them back to the championship level that fans are expecting. Look to see the Blazers make another move if the Anthony experiment doesn't pay off quickly. The Blazers have young prospects such as Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, and Zach Collins as well as draft assets that could all be packaged in a trade for a player, or players that can make a strong and immediate winning impact. Though this season has been tough so far, the Blazers are not without hope and have an immediate path to contention.
Zach Kiedaisch
BCIT Broadcast and Online Journalism
Look for more NBA write-ups from me soon.
The Blazers were fantastic last year, the team's depth and continuity were staples for a team that had a stellar season and went all the way to the Western Conference Finals before fizzling out against the reigning Champion Golden State Warriors. The team fought through adversity after losing their starting Centre Jusuf Nurkic to a gruesome broken leg late into the season. They were without Nurkic for the final stretch of the regular season and all of the playoffs. Despite the loss of their third-best player, the Blazers put together an incredible playoff run highlighted by Damian Lillard's 50 point performance in a close-out Game 5 of the first round against Oklahoma City which was punctuated by the greatest shot a Blazer has ever hit.
CJ McCollum's monster 37 point performance in Game 7 of the Blazers second-round series against Denver is a franchise record and was another high moment.
So this season with the Blazers currently at 5-9, has been incredibly disappointing. Jusuf Nurkic is still injured, rising star Zach Collins has been sidelined for an extended period and longtime fan favourites Moe Harkless, Meyers Leonard, and Al-Farouq Aminu are all playing in new cities. The Blazers aren't just losing this year they're losing badly. On November 4th when playing the Warriors, even though the Warriors didn't play a single one of their 4 All-Stars, the Blazers still lost. On November 8th even behind a franchise-record 60-point performance by Damian Lillard, the Blazers still lost.
Right now the Blazers can't catch a break with injuries piling up and a roster full of new and unproven faces, things are beginning to look bleak. Team management has gotten desperate, Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey has looked to the basketball gods for salvation, and has sent up a prayer by signing Carmelo Anthony, a former All-NBA caliber player who has been completely unplayable the last two years. Olshey is feeling the pressure of fans and the impending doom that is lingering over the team, he has gotten desperate. Carmelo Anthony is the only player who may be able to help the now lowly wing rotation that's led by the likes of Mario Hezonja, Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver.
The Blazers are truly on the brink, sitting in 12th place in the conference with only a prayer to get them back on track expect more moves to come soon. Carmelo Anthony may be able to help the Blazers marginally but the team is in need of a major revamp to get them back to the championship level that fans are expecting. Look to see the Blazers make another move if the Anthony experiment doesn't pay off quickly. The Blazers have young prospects such as Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, and Zach Collins as well as draft assets that could all be packaged in a trade for a player, or players that can make a strong and immediate winning impact. Though this season has been tough so far, the Blazers are not without hope and have an immediate path to contention.
Zach Kiedaisch
BCIT Broadcast and Online Journalism
Look for more NBA write-ups from me soon.
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