Sheridan Hoops credits freedom & chemistry for team success

[Kasey]

i'm not generally a fan of Sheridan Hoops; mostly for the simple reason Chris Sheridan and his staff seem to be as fixated on large markets and superstars as much as we all know David Stern is. however, every once in a while the site surprises even me. this time is Shlomo Sprung with a decently readable article about the Blazers fast start. Shlomo (yes, apparently that is spelled correctly!) cites freedom on offense and chemistry for the strong start by the Blazers.

The following is a snippet from the article regarding Wesley Matthews freedom in looking for his own shot:

So far, that has been a major key to the success of the NBA’s hottest team. It seems simple, but in a sporting landscape where coaches like to exert influence or control, sometimes giving individuals freedom can get the most out of a ballclub.

A prime example took place in the first quarter of Portland’s 108-98 win in Brooklyn, when Wes Matthews hit four 3-pointers without a miss over the first six minutes.

“After the first one went in, I started hunting a little more,” he said. “The second one went in and I was definitely hunting for it.”

Matthews’ unilateral heat checks are one of the reasons the Blazers are 9-2 with seven straight wins. With a dazzling second-year point guard in Damian Lillard (third in the NBA in threes), the lights-out shooting of Matthews (who leads the NBA with a 136.6 offensive rating) and a stretch-4 dynamo in LaMarcus Aldridge (who leads the NBA in field goals made), Portland has a trio of talented offensive players growing together with a creative green light from the coach. And the young Blazers are taking full advantage and reaping the benefits.

you can read the entire article here: Sprung: Freedom, chemistry behind Trail Blazers early success

[Yeseeka]

This team is amazing. The players we have are playing like a team. I think that's why we're winning games. They're making the fans proud. It's just too bad the team management is making a bunch of dumb decisions which are alienating fans. The new arena name is dumb (how about the Moda Healthcare Rose Garden? Would that have been so hard?), the website is crap, the video pages suck and they just endorsed the Richie Incognito of web forums. The players are very fan friendly. The team itself doesn't seem to give a crap about its fans.

[Kasey]

Nov 21, 2013 12:20:26 GMT -8 Yeseeka said:

This team is amazing. The players we have are playing like a team. I think that's why we're winning games. They're making the fans proud. It's just too bad the team management is making a bunch of dumb decisions which are alienating fans. The new arena name is dumb (how about the Moda Healthcare Rose Garden? Would that have been so hard?), the website is crap, the video pages suck and they just endorsed the Richie Incognito of web forums. The players are very fan friendly. The team itself doesn't seem to give a crap about its fans.

wow Jessica! way to let them have it! it appears you've been listening to me too (sometimes wonder about that! ).

the players, coaches and general manager are awesome. even with Stotts, i've never questioned he wants to win; just questioned many of his methods of trying to do so. so yeah, the product is great and i'm loving what we're seeing. the players are engaging and who would have thought that Fropez had that much charisma. i have absolutely no complaints regarding this area of the team.

on the other hand, i've got nothing but criticisms with everything on the business and promotional sides. you tipped off the first thing with the Rose Garden's renaming. not only that, you provided the most obvious solution which would have appeased both the team and fans. the great majority of arenas are signing arena naming partnerships and we could all probably figure that it was only a matter of time before we did too. they should have put them together like you suggested.

the website debacle is very disappointing. before, there were four websites featuring four different aspects of fandom. now there's about one which has swallowed up another. the blogger network is gone. the fan forum is gone. i read where the Blazers guys said someone had to run the forum and it was a job in addition to that person's original job. that's a huge load in the pants. running the forum was contained within that person's job description. it's absolutely and ironically pathetic that a team owned by the co-founder of microsoft actually downsized their web page(s) and outsourced one of them to a site which is ... well, let's just say it's completely family unfriendly (loved the term "Richie Incognito of web forums!"). there are so many other things where the team is falling way short that it really makes me sad.

i remember three seasons ago. we had players who were great guys too, but the fandom was hopping. it appears, due to a whole bunch of miscues by the front office that while fans love this group of players, they're very much turned off by the organization. i would write them, but it's unlikely they would listen.

[oregondoc]

Yeah, I'm disappointed with the website changes etc...it felt like such a great place for all of us to meet up, etc. Loved the Blogger network..but it is nice to see site that would not normally pay attention to us (from what you've pointed out Kasey) do so for even a little bit.

Well, other than the guys on the team, the fans are the heart and soul of the whole Blazer experience, so hopefully, even if they team isn't appreciating that as far as the bridge that should be there, we can still make it a special project, if I can say that. You've done that with this forum to an extent and our interactions elsewhere will also help that effort - at least I hope it does.

[SurferGirl]

Nov 23, 2013 20:15:00 GMT -8 oregondoc said:

Yeah, I'm disappointed with the website changes etc...it felt like such a great place for all of us to meet up, etc. Loved the Blogger network..but it is nice to see site that would not normally pay attention to us (from what you've pointed out Kasey) do so for even a little bit.

Well, other than the guys on the team, the fans are the heart and soul of the whole Blazer experience, so hopefully, even if they team isn't appreciating that as far as the bridge that should be there, we can still make it a special project, if I can say that. You've done that with this forum to an extent and our interactions elsewhere will help that effort - at least I hope it does.

I agree, Anees, Kasey has always been at the forefront of wanting to share her own Blazers fan experiences and have others share theirs as well. She's mostly gotten crap for it, but she loves her Blazers. This year's players are fun and exciting to watch. That's the real focus at this point I think.