Mailbag: Trail Blazers’ slow starts & ranking Damian Lillard

If you would like to see your questions addressed in next week’s edition of Mailbag Monday, email them to ripcityproject@fansided.com. I am always happy to hear from you. For more information, check out the introductory article.

"Hello, my name is Geof H. and I have a question. I’m a die hard Blazers fan and I’ve been trying to get information on how the Blazers and/or cheereleaders make an appearance for an event but haven’t heard anything. Is that something that is frowned apon? As a fan, I’m proud of what the Blazers are doing mainly when it comes to closing games. In a few games that I’ve been able to see they look like they’re starting off slow. Do the other teams have a great game plan or are the players there mentally? I hope you’re having a great day!Sincerely,Geof"

I can’t say as I’ve attempted to navigate the web of links that would lead to an appearance request page, but I imagine it is convoluted. If you have exhausted traditional venues, it may be worth it to hop on twitter and message the appropriate accounts for a direct reply. The Trail Blazers HR account is maintained by Human Resources Director Finnian McNeff, and the Blazer Dancers account is usually pretty active. Perhaps they can point you in the right direction.

As for the Trail Blazers’ slow starts, the team seems to drag at first because it’s usually one player that carries Portland through the first quarter before either team makes adjustments. This makes it appear as if the team as a whole is struggling, which can be true, but the way the points per quarter break down indicates that they aren’t as slow as you might think.

The Trail Blazers average 25.4 first quarter points, 25.6 second quarter points, 26.1 third quarter points, and 25.4 fourth quarter points per game. The differentials are far from staggering, but I certainly see where you’re coming from. The Trail Blazers have a tendency to ride the hot hand until they can figure out which adjustments will get the players that started cooler more involved.

"Hey David! There has been a lot of talk about top PGs lately. Where do you rank Dame on your list?Sara B."

I believe most of the lists that have been floating around are for the top-5 point guards, but it is a deep position, so I’m going to do my top-10:

1) Chris Paul
2) Stephen Curry
3) Russell Westbrook
4) Tony Parker
5) John Wall
6) Damian Lillard
7) Kyle Lowry
8) Mike Conley
9) Kyrie Irving
10) Ty Lawson

There is probably a little bias in there, as there is on everyone’s list. I happen to think Rajon Rondo, for instance, was put on a pedestal when surrounded by future hall-of-famers, but has been an overall detriment since by placing import on decisions that will earn him individual statistics instead of team success. Ever watch him dribble out the clock, looking for an assist instead of swinging the ball, only to leave a teammate with a second or two to shoot?

But I digress. I am pretty comfortable with Lillard at sixth right now. He doesn’t have the scoring presence of Curry or Westbrook, nor the floor general feel of Paul or Parker, but he is certainly an elite player in this league. I think occupying the Wall/Lowry tier puts him in pretty good company. Whether or not he is a top-5 point guard is inconsequential.