All right. So from what I saw, the overall talent level of the Pelicans is more or less equal to the Blazers. The problem is that the Blazers had absolutely no mental toughness tonight, and it's gotten worse as the series has progressed.

Game 1 - Blazers lose by 2 (Was 5 before CJ's long three, Blazers had botched several possessions with the chance to get ahead)

Game 2 - Blazers lose by 9 (Actually a bit closer than 9, due to botched possessions and free throws at the end)

Game 3 - Blazers lose by 17 (30 before the starters left)

Every time the Blazers are hit, they come back weaker and weaker mentally.

In Game 3, they would go on runs of 8 or 10 points fueled by their defense and then when Mirotic made a shot or Davis converted on an alley oop, they'd panic on the other end and start dribbling wildly like Bambi on ice.

They did have some stretches of great defense, but again, tried to play at the Pelicans' pace on the offensive end, far too often forcing possessions wildly and desperately. Lillard and CJ would dribble into a crowd of 3 defenders, for example.

We also saw somewhat of a continuation of the "cold check" shots where Lillard & sometimes CJ would jack up really long 3's early in the shot clock to see if they were still cold, and they were.

When the Blazers slowed down the pace a few times in the game, they were able to convert and get buckets. But they just couldn't stay settled down.

New Orleans was shooting at a really high percentage, and some of that is because of lapses on the Blazers defensive end, but a good part of that had to do with the 32 points off turnovers, many of which were fast breaks and alley oops when the defense is not set. With the pace New Orleans plays, they will make teams pay for turning the ball over. Also, New Orleans did not turn the ball over at their usual rate, they took much better care of the basketball than usual.

What are the main flaws with the Blazers this season IMO? Biggest flaws at the top.

1. Forcing It by Driving In A Wild Fashion or Lazily Jacking Bad Shots (Especially in the Playoffs)

2. Hero Ball (Lillard/CJ shooting over and over again when they're cold)

3. Insufficient Passing On A Play (Not making the defense work)

4. Stotts not calling enough time outs to stop huge runs (This really lets the Blazers get into big holes)

5. Getting "whimpered down" and not getting back on defense (This has improved to a degree)

Regardless of a team's talent, if they play with those 5 flaws when they're challenged, they will lose a lot of games. Stotts should be jumping up and down and screaming at these players for their fundamental errors. He's too much of a softie.

The Blazers need consistent bench scoring that's not in garbage time. They also need more shooters coming off the bench.

在某种程度上,开拓者打得如何ing, Stotts has to take responsibility for the team's play, scream at them, bench CJ for hero balling to teach him a lesson, do something, anything, instead of just standing there with a tired smile on his face. Aside from his faces when complaining about what he considered bad calls, that was pretty much his only expression tonight.

The Blazers need a new coach, one that's a bit more hard nosed and one that doesn't experiment with line ups at the end of the regular season as if it's preseason. Stotts may be good at developing the talent of players but he has some fatal flaws when it comes to keeping them focused and stable. I think Mark Jackson will do, at least temporarily. Then we can see how the stars respond to a coach that holds everyone accountable.

Don't get me wrong, I would put Olshey on a very, very short leash. One more goof up, Olshey is gone.

这是我第一次风扇后,我把很多thought into this season. I have the bad habit of posting comments without thinking very much which can lead to incoherent rambling sometimes. I hope to improve my writing and thinking skills. So also let me know how I'm doing terms of the composition of this post.