anybody but those two, obviously. I'm not talking all 41 of their shots and I'm not talking all 81 of their minutes. I just don't see one good logical reason why those two are playing as much they are and shooting as much they have been. The last time Brogdon and the vets were healthy, Ant/Grant/Brogdon/Ayton played 147 of Portland's 240 minutes, took 62 of Portland's 92 shots, and scored 76 of Portland's 119 points. Ant played 39 minutes; Scoot played 22. Grant played 38 minutes; Camara played 23. Ayton played 35; Reath played 13. Blazers won the game by 3.
I would imagine that both Grant and ANT as vets, would be pissed of if they were healthy and didn't play much, for the tank and youngsters development. Way back in the day many coaches were reluctant to play rooks and youngsters to many minutes unless they beat someone out....
Yeah, the only thing entertaining about these games now is watching the unestablished guys run (I avoid using the word young because Ant is pretty damn young but very well established). Even when a guy like Kris is bricking all of his shots we get to see his sound defense and attempts. We get to see what Tou can contribute. We get to see the further growth of Bari's game. Hell I'm more excited to see if Hagans and Banton are worth keeping then seeing Ant do the things we already know he can do and not do the things we no he just doesn't... the exact same for Jerami. I don't mind Ayton getting PT and touches but I'd prefer if he were getting those things with Scoot on the floor, so they're developing something meaningful for the future under Chauncey's "system?". Jerami being the oldest established player out there and given our glut of first and second year tweener forwards would make him the most logical guy to start sitting for the rest of the season next game. Then when Scoot gets back sit Ant. I would love to see lineups like but not limited to Scoot, Tou, Kris, Bari and Ayton out there even if they were seriously struggling. Obviously ideally it would be Scoot and Shae along with Ayton and whoever earns minutes but at some point and probably some point soon (so not likely we see Shae and Ayton again this season) they should shut down Deandre just because he's a true big who has a developed game and it won't hurt him to get a third of a season off before coming back next season with a young team around him that hopefully makes more sense. If the objective is to trade him the dude has shown that even with limited touches he is very capable of putting up 15 points, 15 boards and either a block or a steal a game. Cliffs Notes: I'm ready to watch our young guys even if they're scrubs because I get to see something new.
Look I would also prefer if Scoot and Sharpe were in there getting all the minutes and shots. But they were not available nor was Ruppert. They still started 2 rookies who both got over 30 minutes plus 2 Gleague players. I don't necessarily like it but it did make sense based on who is NOT healthy.
I understand he has more ceiling to reach theoretically, but if we're trying to takes strides, I'd rather have Brogdon coming off the bench. He's steady. Ant's highs and lows swing so wildly. I think he has to go to another team for his role to truly change.
I try not to look at stats because I know they’re bad but Scoot may finish with single-digit PER. VORP/OBPM/DBPM/BPM are all in the negative I still think he has high upside, DRose-esque, but he’s so far away from being a consistent contributor. A stint with the Remix was probably needed.
I don't think he needed a stint with the Remix he needed more opportunities but he wasn't healthy enough to get the kind of momentum he needed to build and build on what he started with. He has got a ton better but also fuck having Ant on this roster. Ant is a terrible player to develop someone next to, the dude dominates the ball and sucks on defense. Scoot's role is also constantly changing. This season has been all over the place for him besides the fact that he has made steady improvements... just maybe not at the level that we were all hoping for. We also all got set up to have crazy high expectations for where he'd be coming into the league at. Yeah he had some media hype but Cronin's campaign about Scoot being ready to help Dame was absolute bullshit or Cronin is the worst evaluator of where players' games are at than anyone in the league... I'm going to go with absolute bullshit. Yes he needs more reps being "the guy" but I think a stint with in the GLeague would have been pointless. He played exhibition games in that league, at that level and I think he would look good but it wouldn't help him with what he needs which is to acclimate to the NBA level game and the GLeague just isn't that. The reps Scoot needs, need to be against the best players in the world. Even if those reps aren't the prettiest. I'm really hoping Ant sits the rest of the season and Banton is told to defer to Scoot running the show going forward.
Did you believe he was going to “contribute” this season? I damn sure didn’t. I like what I see and there are some things I don’t. But I remind myself he’s so young. I think he is going to be a solid player. I think the people who are disappointed were the ones on here starting threads after the draft about how now that we have a HOF PG again, we should trade Ant.
My only red flag with Scoot other than his slow start would be his favorite player being Russell Westbrook...I know the HCP is lappin' that shit right up!
There are worse options to have as a favorite. Westbrook has some qualities that nobody else does. To be able to average a triple double for a season is amazing. Westbrook’s main failing IMO is that he isn’t a closer. Dame had nowhere near the complete game Westbrook did but Dame could close like few ever could. Westbrook’s other detriment was his arrogance. He thought he was better than everyone and for most the game that was true. If Scoot can have a Westbrook-like career only with the ability to close better or to show more trust in his teammates in crunch time, I would be ecstatic.
I think it’s fair to be deeply disappointed that Scoot isn’t Him already, but a bit unfair to call him a bust already.
It's not just that he hasn't contributed, most rookies have major faults and can be a net negative. But Scoot has been so bad he doesn't even belong close to an NBA roster right now. If he was 29 he wouldn't be in the league. No, I didn't expect this poor of a performance from the 3rd pick being labelled as a #1 overall pick level talent. Players like Kyrie, DRose, Westbrook, Wall, Morant, etc all had vastly superior rookie seasons. It's not like the Blazers are making a playoff push and have a bunch of vets taking his opportunities. The team started him game 1 until a few weeks in it was so stunningly obvious he was failing he had to be moved to the bench. If there was a redraft I'm not sure Scoot would be taken in the top10. Doesn't mean he can't improve greatly next year or seasons after. But this rookie year was a massive disappointment.
choices.....although Kobe didn't choke in the fourth qtr most of the time in a close game. You just named both HCP's heroes!
