Duckley Palace No. 1 Share Posted February 6 I know where most of us put our sports loyalties on here. But I was talking to a Mutt fan from that place up north. He was talking about how all the fans up there are still grieving over the loss of the Sonics, especially with the Thunder now having the best record in the NBA. He asked me if I was a Blazer fan, I told him not really. But then again I'm originally from the Midwest, right around the Dayton area. So while I became a Duck after moving to the great northwest, I have no loyalties to the Blazers. He said it's better to have a terrible team, than none at all. Any of you guys follow the rebuilding Blazers? Do you agree with the decision to trade Lilliard to Milwaukee, signaling the rebuild? Myself, I don't care about most pro sports until the playoffs. Especially MLB, NHL, or the NBA. Just too many games that don't matter. Every Duck football game matters, that's why I love the team so much. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 2 Share Posted February 6 I'm a huge Blazers fan. We should have traded Dame a long time ago. Also, I pretty much root for us to lose every single game because I have no problem with tanking. The NBA has a salary cap and zero free agents want to move to Portland. The only way to win is to get lucky in the draft, or to time your trades right. If I wasn't clear- I love the Blazers and hope we lose every game. That could give you an idea about how little I care about the little guy in college football. I wish the Blazers could simply outbid for players and essentially give them an offer to live in the rain that they can't refuse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 3 Share Posted February 6 For me nba is unwatchable. 3 point line ruined basketball forever. IMHO. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted February 6 On 2/5/2024 at 10:32 PM, Duckley Palace said: He said it's better to have a terrible team, than none at all. Let me give a little history here, having the jail blazers wasn't better than none at all. The best thing that could happen to the Blazers is to put the ownership we have now behind us. I do hope the blazers can get the spark they had back in '77, that would be something. Until the Paul Allen era is completely behind us I have little interest in the blazers. Bring in Phil Knight, new ownership, an Oregon vision, and I will start paying attention again. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred flintstone No. 5 Share Posted February 6 Free agents......Who wants to pay 10% of their earnings to the state of Oregon. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GODUCKS15 No. 6 Share Posted February 6 Bandwagon Blazer fan. Seasons too long to watch seriously so if they're decent at the end then I'll watch a few games. Haven't been a serious fan since Drexler and Sabonis days. Too many other things in life to sit and watch a losing team several nights a week. Plus the NBA's kinda boring till the playoffs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 7 Share Posted February 6 Had season tickets through most of the Drexler era, until 3 years ago. The Portland crowd that attends games is knowledgeable and always very supportive. As for rebuilding, and trading Lillard. If he actually asked to be traded, then he deserved that his request be honored. The guy gave his all for the Blazers, and Portland fans loved him for it. Rebuilding in the NBA is painful and tedious. The team is a mess right now. They do need to tank the rest of the season and get another high draft pick. Who knows, they just might break the Sam Bowie, and Greg Oden draft curse. “Lickety brindle, up the middle.” Rip City will be back. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 8 Share Posted February 6 On 2/6/2024 at 2:50 AM, Just Ducky said: For me nba is unwatchable. 3 point line ruined basketball forever. IMHO. The decision to not play defense ruined basketball at the pro level. The three point line has been there for ages and it wasn't until offenses figured out that they could just win games by chucking up lots of threes did it become a viewer issue. Granted... I figured that out playing NBA Courtside on the Nintendo 64 when all I did was shoot threes and win every game. The NBA is due for a defensive revolution but I doubt that will happen. This current brand of basketball is flashy and is a constant highlight reel. I'd also say reduce the number of games in the season to make them matter more but the NBA won't do that because the money. And the playoff is pretty boring if you ask me. Best of 7s! That's a season in itself and usually the statistical winners from that really long regular season are in the final 2. It's rare to have a Cinderella contender. Wasn't it Miami last year that made a nice run as an 8 seed? Could be completely wrong... But any of the lower seeds making it out of the first round is rare because they have to win four games to do it. Anyways... There's my rant on why I am bored of NBA basketball. Though to answer the posters original question... I was a Blazers fan in middle school but not anymore. If they are having a good year I may keep an eye on some news stories about them but that's it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FG Lumber No. 9 Share Posted February 6 After watching numerous games in person in the 70s and 80s, I could now care less about the Blazers and the NBA in general. I'd rather watch new paint dry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCati855 Moderator No. 10 Share Posted February 6 I was a huge Blazer fan during the Drexler/Kersey/Porter/Duckworth era. Then marriage and children came. By the time I had time to watch basketball again... the Blazers sucked... BAD! Now I only watch the NBA if it happens to to be on in the restaurant/pub and eating in. If the Blazers ever become relevant again. I'll likely get back into it. But, that will not happen until there are new owners and management. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan2785 No. 11 Share Posted February 6 It will never happen, but if they brought back hand-checking it would make the game better, you would be able to actually play physical defense, nowadays you breath on a star player and it's gets called as a foul, the game needs to become a lot more physical if it wants to become a better product. I'm sure the NBA though doesn't want this since they love being able to talk about stars going for 60+ points, or games being in the 130+. Like others I used to love the Blazers, I liked the BRoy and Lilliard eras, and now I'm pretty much just looking at box scores to see how the young guys are doing, I might get back into watching them once they start to show that there is a slight hope again. There is so much wrong with the NBA today, you don't have rivalries, all the players are best friends with each other, players are able to move teams on a dime since they have all the power now, players are more entitled than any other sport, no loyalty, just a bunch of whiners who would never survive back in the 80s or 90s when real tough guys played. College basketball is still watchable though not nearly as good as just 10 years ago due to the portal, but the NBA is such a shell of the game 25-30 years ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckhart2 No. 12 Share Posted February 6 Been a TB fan since day one. Always have been a basketball fan first, both college and pros way before Blazers landed. I agree that there needs to be arm and/or hand checking to give Defense a fair shot. I also hope the team sells preferably to a local owner/group. The NBA has been marketing machine for years and the expanded playoffs worked big time in that it gave more fans an opportunity to hope their team could shock the world. Even though 80% of the teams are mediocre at best. Even football and baseball exposed their playoffs and now division one football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duxster No. 13 Share Posted February 6 LOL. I grew up in the 50s and 60s and thought players in the 80s and 90s wouldn't have made it playing the tough guys from 20 years earlier. I guess it all depends on your perspective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 14 Share Posted February 6 On 2/6/2024 at 10:31 AM, spartan2785 said: I'm sure the NBA though doesn't want this since they love being able to talk about stars going for 60+ points, or games being in the 130+. I find it funny how casual talk about a player scoring 60+ points is today. And then you watch what a defense is doing... or more to the point not doing... and it is completely believable. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 15 Share Posted February 6 Lol I hate the NBA Comments crack me up. Whiny players, no defense, they don’t play like I want them to play, etc, etc….I do remember Doug Moe and the Nuggets not playing defense…we set the memorial Coliseum record for most point scored against them. 156 to 116 in 1983. 40 years of no defense. At least they give the sports bars live sports programming. Everybody has reasons to not watch certain sports, but for a long time the Blazers were the only game in town. Now we have another choice… Portland Timber soccer…sigh…not a fan. Although there is an active baseball sports group that has offered to buy the Red tail golf course in Beaverton to build a baseball stadium. I would definitely buy tickets for that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikethehiker No. 16 Share Posted February 6 There's a lot of reasons I've stopped watching all professional sports, but entitlement and showboating are at the top of that list. It's gotten pretty bad at the college football level, but I reserve Oregon Ducks as my sports outlet. Drexler era and brief Pippen/Wallace/Sabonis era gave us hope, but there hasn't been any hope since the NBA stars started joining forces and assembling super teams instead of committing themselves to beat their rivals. There is more parity now, and it would be the perfect time for the Blazers to finally be good, but they're not. I have no hope or expectation that they'll contend for a championship again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 17 Share Posted February 6 (edited) On 2/6/2024 at 1:33 PM, Drake said: 40 years of no defense. I think the NBA has always been more lax on defense than say college ball. However, right now when scores regularly soar above a hundred shows how little defense is even being attempted. In the early 2000's scoring a hundred points in a game wasn't uncommon but it was unusual. And maybe I just feel that the flow of basketball just isn't as entertaining as football, in particular college football. Basketball has a lot of back and forth but it doesn't feel like any particular possession matters too much until you're in a close game with under two minutes to play. In the end I don't really hate the NBA, I'm just disappointed with the product and find the product uninteresting these days. Edited February 6 by David Marsh 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan2785 No. 18 Share Posted February 6 On 2/6/2024 at 2:25 PM, mikethehiker said: There's a lot of reasons I've stopped watching all professional sports, but entitlement and showboating are at the top of that list. It's gotten pretty bad at the college football level, but I reserve Oregon Ducks as my sports outlet. Drexler era and brief Pippen/Wallace/Sabonis era gave us hope, but there hasn't been any hope since the NBA stars started joining forces and assembling super teams instead of committing themselves to beat their rivals. There is more parity now, and it would be the perfect time for the Blazers to finally be good, but they're not. I have no hope or expectation that they'll contend for a championship again. NBA is more luck than any other professional sport, you have to have a MVP candidate to win, and unless you are in a huge city, you basically have to luck into a superstar. I don't think there are many cases of franchise just being better in terms of scouting or coaching, there are a couple, but mostly it's either be located in a major media center, or luck into a superstar in the draft. NFL, MLB, NHL all have degree of being able to win without having the best player in the game, NBA, it usually come down to your stars being better than the other teams stars. It's the most individualist sport out of the major sports by far. So I basically have the same hope for the Blazers, that they luck into a superstar and a star in the draft, unlikely but that's the basically the only hope. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 19 Share Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 5:25 PM, mikethehiker said: NBA stars started joining forces and assembling super teams instead of committing themselves to beat their rivals. This completely ruined the NBA for me. It started with LeBron in Miami and then him jumping around from city to city amassing a group of talented stars to help him win championships. That got Golden State into the act when they signed Durant to go with Curry. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryM9 No. 20 Share Posted February 7 I am a Blazer fan. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Ducker1 No. 21 Share Posted February 7 Blazers? Do they compete in the NBA? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemangi No. 22 Share Posted February 7 At least the Lakers are always interesting for one reason or another, good and bad lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grateful Duck No. 23 Share Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 7:12 PM, TerryM9 said: I am a Blazer fan. Short and sweet! Me too. Trading Lillard was the right thing to do, for both the player and the franchise. Based on the direction the team needed to go with young players/draft choices and really not hitting the free agent market, keeping Lillard would've been disastrous. (TBH, I'm not certain he'll win a ring in Milwaukee either.) I really would love to see a team in Seattle. 1st, I live up here. 2nd, having a more local rival is good for both franchises. I'll never hate the Nuggets, OKC, the Jazz, the T-wolves like I'd hate a new "Sonics" franchise. Gawd, I hated the Sonics! It's easier to root for this team as presently constructed: a young base, a couple of outstanding/likeable vets, and some 2ndary guys who give effort. Will they win? No. But if we keep collecting young, solid talent, we might again. Hell, if the T-wolves and the Thunder put together winning rosters... The Blazers certainly could. But... First, New ownership, preferably local! The Vulcans must go! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck No. 24 Share Posted February 7 Well, if you live in Southern Oregon, you are about equal distance between the Blazers arena and the Kings arena, so there is really not automatic loyalty to the Blazers just because they are in "Oregon." And, the Kings have played better lately. I am not an NBA fan because of the style of play as noted by others earlier. Add in taking steps, traveling, pushing off, ticky tack defense calls, etc. The guys are very athletic, but that is just not enough to garner my interest because of how the game is played/allowed. I am not a baseball fan either, but I understand the passion some baseball fans possess. Likewise, understand the passion some possess for the Blazers in Portland Metro. It is nice to live in a sports era with choices where there are still options beyond those you ignore. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace Author No. 25 Share Posted February 8 I grew up in the back end of the Jordan era, beginning of the Kobe/Shaq era. LeBron James took the joy out of basketball for me. The guy builds teams, wins a title, and then bolts for a team capable of providing him the newest means to win titles. Meanwhile the team he leaves is old, overpriced, and has no draft capital. Filled with guys that James handpicked to suit his needs. Look at Cleveland in '10, Miami in '14, and Cleveland in 2019.. Plus he just isn't likeable in any sense. He's definitely no Jordan. Contracts mean nothing either. Star players like Durant, Harden, Irving ,and really anybody can force their way out. Or they pout, making the team toxic. They say there's no I in team, but there is a me in the lettering. So I get the loss of interest.. It's like a pickup game, guys are all friends. Guys making millions giving effort when they want to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
