Are the Blazers Stuck in Mediocrity?

Author: Jack Gordon

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

In the past three seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers have finished as the sixth, eighth, and third seeds, respectively.

This team, in some respects, represents the middle pack of the Western Conference - teams that have dreams of competing for a title (Nuggets could also fall into this category) yet are stuck floating above mediocrity and below solid title contention.

The Blazers have been in this realm for what feels like forever at this point. Lots is always made about the Lillard-McCollum backcourt being the second best in the league (which it probably is), but as a duo, they haven’t ever been dominant. Year after year, their teams are just okay. Pretty good, but not great. We understand how incredible Damian Lillard is, but the supporting cast has never been enough to ever put fear in the hearts of other playoff opponents. Aside from the one appearance in the Western Conference Finals, the Blazers’ consistent inability to be truly relevant finally started spurring the inevitable Lillard trade rumors this summer; rumors which Lillard has outwardly shut down. But, if this team gets off to a slow start yet again, count on that noise to start up again.

So what are they missing? What have been their issues over the last number of years that just haven’t changed, forcing them in this liminal space between success and the lottery?

Well for starters, it’s important to reiterate whether or not the backcourt combo is ideal. Dame and CJ are sort of like the poor man’s Steph and Klay, and what makes the Warriors successful is the incredible off-ball movement in addition to Draymond’s playmaking, both of which the Blazers do not have.

They have been constantly searching for a reliable wing player, and have cycled through the Mo Harkless-Al Fariq Aminou types until trading for Norman Powell this past season. He’s fine, and the team desperately needs some consistency from that position, which would explain his five-year, $90 million contract. The main problem is probably their defense, which through the first few games of the season has proven yet again to be one of the worst in the league. Other various problems that haven’t gone away are Nurkic’s injuries and inability to play up to what the Blazers expect, as well as their lack of a backup point guard (Is Anfernee Simons still their guy at this position?).

The truth is that Damian Lillard, as we all know, is great enough to carry the team to a win on any given night, and even great enough to carry a team single-handedly through a playoff series (like we almost saw him pull off against Denver last season). But the roster construction, despite nice additions like Larry Nance, Jr., isn’t inspiring enough to think they’re going to be in a drastically different position than 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2021. Should they have traded CJ for Ben Simmons? Will they trade Lillard? Will Nassir Little be a future MVP like the Blazers hope? I’m not sure, but all I know is that they can’t keep bringing back this team in the same way if they hope for something to change.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. This past offseason, they made some fine bench signings and replaced Terry Stotts with Chauncey Billups. There is merit to remaining competitive - we saw it with the Suns last year. If you have a team and stay ready, anything can happen. Injuries could hit other teams and the next thing you know, you’re in the finals. The Blazers are staying relevant and making some adjustments, but they still feel like the same team. They’re doing the same thing over and over, and hoping that a generational player like Lillard is enough to carry them to another first or second-round exit. So, I wouldn’t say that the Blazers are insane; but they’re definitely knocking on the door of the mental asylum.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Are the Kansas City Chiefs Doomed?

Author: Max Greenberg

Let’s state the obvious, the Kansas City Chiefs are undoubtedly among the biggest disappointments in the 2021 NFL season so far. Everyone looks at this team and just says “oh, it’s the Chiefs, they have Patrick Mahomes, that offense, they are a contender automatically.” It is not that easy after all, is it?

The Chiefs have come out of the gate in 2021 and have looked sloppy, out of sync, and overall just abysmal. They have stumbled to a 3-4 record and are tied with the Denver Broncos for dead last in the AFC South -- a division they have dominated over the past few seasons.

The offense has looked nowhere near like its old self, as their home run nature has caught up with them hard. Ever since opposing defenses have started playing against the deep ball, they have had to run significantly more plays that are passes close to the line of scrimmage, which has severely limited them.

Their offensive line play has been poor, their run game is virtually nonexistent, and Mahomes is being extremely careless with the football and turning it over. I do not know what it is, but he is trying so hard to play hero ball this year, and has committed several turnovers due to trying to make something happen when the play is clearly dead.

It also does not help that their defense has been able to provide little to no resistance against opposing offenses.

If you are still a believer in the Chiefs at this point in the year, you are basing that entirely off of name value. If they cannot improve their current play, they will struggle to even make the playoffs, let alone make another Super Bowl run.

Things do not look good at all for them right now, but at the same time, it is the Chiefs, and you can never count them out. Keep in mind that this is not the first time that they have looked disappointing with high expectations on their shoulders.

Remember how they had four losses in the 2019 season the year after Mahomes won MVP and were looking flawed on both sides of the ball? They won the rest of their games that year and won the Super Bowl.

Last season, they were slowing down hard at the end of the regular season and people were thinking that they might not even win a game in the playoffs. They still made the Super Bowl.

No, none of those instances have been as bad as what they are currently going through, but they go to show that they have turned themselves around in the past, and they can do it now.

There is a reason that they have had so much success with this group. Their key members are some of the best at their respective roles and know how to win. What is going on with the Chiefs right now is that they may just need to dig deep and make some adjustments.

Now, not all of their problems are fixable, but some of their main ones are. Mahomes could be more careful with the football and stop costing his team possession and momentum. The offense could learn to implicate more plays of ten to twenty yards and make themselves a little less predictable.

Both of those are hypotheticals, but with one of the best head coaches in the game and one of the best quarterbacks, there are few teams more capable of making those adjustments than the Chiefs. That is not to say that you should expect them to make a turnaround later in the season, but you absolutely can never count them out.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Series of Cheaters!?

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Brian Symons

As all baseball fans know, the Red Sox and Astros find themselves in the championship series. After last nights 5-4 nailbiter the Astros find themselves up in the series 1-0. Carlos Correa continues to be incredible in the postseason, and Kike Hernandez...yes Kike Hernandez is becoming a postseason legend. However, as many baseball fans know there is more to this series than just the baseball being played.

Nearly two years ago, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic released a story about a sign stealing scandal involving the Houston Astros. We all know the story by now; but when the dust settled from the cheating scandal, the Astros weren’t quite the same. Gerrit Cole left for the bright lights of New York, nearly everyone’s offensive production on the Astros declined, and Jose Altuve even had a bought with “The Yips”. Despite this, they made it to the ALCS where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games after being down three games to none. Very impressive considering the circumstances; but with all-star outfielder George Springer poised for free agency, it seemed as though the beginning of the end had arrived for the Astros.

Just one month before the Astros sign-stealing scandal was revealed, Chaim Bloom took the helm of the General Manager position for the Boston Red Sox. Manager Alex Cora was fired for his involvement in the Astro’s scandal; and Superstar outfielder Mookie Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom the Red Sox beat four games to one in the World Series just the year before. This ushered what was thought to be a full rebuild for the Red Sox, with the leader of their 2018 championship gone, Boston fans stared at a painful next couple of years.

After all the drama, controversy, and storylines from these respective teams the past few years they find themselves fighting for American League supremacy once again as they did in 2018. They both return to the playoffs with extremely potent offenses. Carlos Correa is slashing .385/.529/.539 in this year’s playoffs, continuing to add to his distinguished playoff numbers. Franchise cornerstones Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman continue to rake in the playoffs, and the supporting cast of Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley, and Kyle Tucker give the Astros lineup a balance that perfectly blends with one another.

For every weapon the Astros have offensively, the Red Sox have a formidable counterpart. Despite trading Mookie Betts, Chaim Bloom kept much of the championship core around; Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, Christian Arroyo, and Christian Vázquez continue to be cornerstones in Boston’s lineup. Kiké Hernández is having the postseason of his life, slashing .435/.440/.826 this postseason. J.D. Martinez and Kyle Schwarber add incredible firepower from both sides of the plate. Newcomers like Alex Verdugo, Bobby Dalbec and Hunter Renfroe also add depth to a very strong lineup.

For how good the offenses are for Houston and Boston, their pitching is somewhat underwhelming. There’s not exactly one pitcher on both teams that could really sway the tides of the series, but this is the postseason after all. Ultimately though, the Red Sox pitching, and offense is slightly better than the Astros, and I think they will ultimately win the series and punch their ticket to the World Series. I would feel more confident in the Astros, but the fact Lance McCullers Jr.’s health is uncertain doesn’t forebode well for Houston.

The circumstances surrounding these teams in the past couple of years are different, yet very similar. They also happen to be quite similar on the field as well, with both teams bolstering offenses that should make for the most explosive games we have seen this October.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE