Game Thread 2022-23 Game #13 BLAZERS @ MAVERICKS - NOVEMBER 12, 2022 - SATURDAY - 5:30 PM (PDT) ROOT

[wizenheimer]

The teams star and lead scorer needs to shoot. Unfortunately, he didn't shoot well tonight.

he scored plenty...29 points on 16 shots is great. His role has been changed to more off-the-ball action and that will result in fewer shot opportunities, at least compared to the Stotts offense

 

[OneSport3]

It’s not just his Post-D against Luka he DID miss rotations Dinwiddie and others leaving wide open threes no hand up. He also looked off Sharpe open on the three point line at least twice. I love Ant but he’s been gaining some bad habits (lack of effort at times on D and selfishness on offense). I’ve legit been wondering if he’s jealous of/threatened by Sharpe. I swear he never passes Sharpe the ball.

This is incorrect. I watched it again. He gave up 2 pts to Dinwiddie on a transition layup. Luka had a nice spin move on a layup. On the barrage of 3s he didn’t miss any rotations.

The first Dinwiddie 3, he was on Dinwiddie and left him to help Grant on Luka. The 2nd Dinwiddie 3, he was on Luka in the post. Eubanks missed the rotation. The 3rd Dinwiddie 3, Dame was slow on the rotation. The 3 by Finney-Smith, he actually did a good job of rotating cross court but Dame missed the rotation.

 

[Wade Garrett]

It's not just Ant and Hart. This will be considered sacrilege to some, but how the Blazers played tonight reminded me way too much of Dame/CJ. A couple of players taking most of the shots, having 'good' games, while not getting their teammates involved. One thing about Dame being out, the ball moved more and everyone was involved. Dame is incredibly talented, but nothing irritates me more when the ball completely stops, 4 guys are standing around watching, and it becomes Iso ball. That is a good way to lost. Dame and Ant put up a lot of points, but were a combined 15-36 from the field. Sharpe, Little and Watford, were a combined 6-9...but couldn't get any shots. Grant was at least efficient when he was shooting a lot of shots....big props.

Ant and Dame seem to just take turns when they are in the game together....to the exclusion of the rest of the team outside of Grant. Win or Lose, tonight's style was not as enjoyable as many of the games have been so far this year. No one on the Blazers will be able to out-Luka Mr. Doncic. It will take a team effort....and the Blazers didn't really get a chance to do that tonight.

Dame felt like an "assist machine" tonight.
I think we are struggling to see Lillard in such a "defer to this guy" role.
He may be struggling with it too, but it is the right way to do it, especially with a team who can produce a different hero every night.
Hell, it's already won a couple games for them
Tonight, for most of the game, I actually thought he was too passive..
Just goes to show......

 

[Pinwheel1]

Really missed Justise tonight.

Yep, I really wanted to see his physicality with Luka. He would have fouled out but he would have worn him down a bit.

 

[TBpup]

Luka is just on a different level. It takes serious teamwork to beat him but we seemed to try to go mano-a-mano too often. When the ball move quickly, we got good looks. When we stagnated and went hero/Iso ball, the shots were much more contested.

 

[tykendo]

It's not just Ant and Hart. This will be considered sacrilege to some, but how the Blazers played tonight reminded me way too much of Dame/CJ. A couple of players taking most of the shots, having 'good' games, while not getting their teammates involved. One thing about Dame being out, the ball moved more and everyone was involved. Dame is incredibly talented, but nothing irritates me more when the ball completely stops, 4 guys are standing around watching, and it becomes Iso ball. That is a good way to lost. Dame and Ant put up a lot of points, but were a combined 15-36 from the field. Sharpe, Little and Watford, were a combined 6-9...but couldn't get any shots. Grant was at least efficient when he was shooting a lot of shots....big props.

Ant and Dame seem to just take turns when they are in the game together....to the exclusion of the rest of the team outside of Grant. Win or Lose, tonight's style was not as enjoyable as many of the games have been so far this year. No one on the Blazers will be able to out-Luka Mr. Doncic. It will take a team effort....and the Blazers didn't really get a chance to do that tonight.

Dame wasn't on shooting wise, but he can , carry the team as well as anyone in the league, when he's on. Doubt if you will, but i've seen it too many times to think otherwise. Plus they were healthy, the Blazers were not. Depth WAS an issue tonight.

 

[Portland2014]

One thing that bothers me: we don't set good screens!

Everybody always sleeps giving our ball handler zero advantage against the defender

 

[tykendo]

Luka is just on a different level. It takes serious teamwork to beat him but we seemed to try to go mano-a-mano too often. When the ball move quickly, we got good looks. When we stagnated and went hero/Iso ball, the shots were much more contested.

Blazers can go mano-a-mano with the Mavs. But with a lack of depth tonight, they wore down. Nurk could have dominated in this game against their smallish front court. And Winslow's frantic effort, and strong body whould have been very helpful on the glass, and on defense. Not saying Luka isn't amazing, but his constant whining gets old. Hats off to the Mavs. They made their open shots, but in NO WAY, do i think they're a better team .

 

[tykendo]

One thing that bothers me: we don't set good screens!

Everybody always sleeps giving our ball handler zero advantage against the defender

I think Nurk sets great screens, but the rest so - so.

 

[Freshtown]

The wide open threes at the end that put this game away were concerning.

Was it just bad effort and laziness on our part? The wrong scheme? Or the wrong players to execute the scheme?

I feel like we’ve been getting lucky with a lot of open threes that have been missed against our zone the past few games and now I wonder if it’s balancing out.

A bit more concerning than “oh it’s just the end of a road trip, no big deal” imo.

 

[illmatic99]

The wide open threes at the end that put this game away were concerning.

Was it just bad effort and laziness on our part? The wrong scheme? Or the wrong players to execute the scheme?

I feel like we’ve been getting lucky with a lot of open threes that have been missed against our zone the past few games and now I wonder if it’s balancing out.

A bit more concerning than “oh it’s just the end of a road trip, no big deal” imo.

you double luka, you get burned

 

[OneSport3]

My question/concern is when fully healthy, will Chauncey have the guts to bench Dame and Ant for possessions when we absolutely need defensive stops. Would he be willing to put a lineup of Nurk/Grant/Hart/Winslow/GP2 for late game possessions?

 

[BigGameDamian]

Ant and Hart ignored Sharpe

What do you expect? Sharpe is a rookie on a top 4 team in the west. It’s not like he’s a 2nd or 3rd option player.

 

[tykendo]

My question/concern is when fully healthy, will Chauncey have the guts to bench Dame and Ant for possessions when we absolutely need defensive stops. Would he be willing to put a lineup of Nurk/Grant/Hart/Winslow/GP2 for late game possessions?

I think if the Blazers are up, 8 seconds left, and the ball in the opponents possession , with a chance for that team to tie or win, Dame would gladly want the best defensive guys to be on the floor with a chance to seal the victory with defense.

 

[tykendo]

The wide open threes at the end that put this game away were concerning.

Was it just bad effort and laziness on our part? The wrong scheme? Or the wrong players to execute the scheme?

I feel like we’ve been getting lucky with a lot of open threes that have been missed against our zone the past few games and now I wonder if it’s balancing out.

A bit more concerning than “oh it’s just the end of a road trip, no big deal” imo.

Fair point, but teams have lucked out against the Blazers missing plenty of wide open 3's as well.

 

[Wade Garrett]

My question/concern is when fully healthy, will Chauncey have the guts to bench Dame and Ant for possessions when we absolutely need defensive stops. Would he be willing to put a lineup of Nurk/Grant/Hart/Winslow/GP2 for late game possessions?

Yes.

 

[blazerkor]

We're good enough to win every game no matter who it's against. The fact that we were in this without our only rotation level big and our sixth man is a testament to how good this team is. We also aren't taking full advantage of the talent we have out there. Shae should be getting more touches and shot attempts.

I honestly think that Joe and Chauncey are really smart guys and there will be a trade made (probably near the deadline) that frees up PT and touches for Shae and upgrades our post play. That's what this team needs better depth/talent in the post and less redundancy on the perimeter.

 

[MickZagger]

First game all year I wasn’t able to watch. But from the highlights I saw enough. The right guy got hot at the right time.

 

[blazerkor]

First game all year I wasn’t able to watch. But from the highlights I saw enough. The right guy got hot at the right time.

The wrong fucking guy got hot at the wrong fucking time. Other than that, yeah a guy on the other team got really hot made a few threes and that was the difference.

 

[inconceivable]

If we had Nurk, Justise, GP2, Luka would've had a harder time and we probably win. Luka is simply amazing

 

[stampedehero]

Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks - NBA Box Score - November 12, 2022 | ESPN A loss.

 

[TBpup]

Dame wasn't on shooting wise, but he can , carry the team as well as anyone in the league, when he's on. Doubt if you will, but i've seen it too many times to think otherwise. Plus they were healthy, the Blazers were not. Depth WAS an issue tonight.

Of course Dame can carry a team at times, but that had nothing to do with what I posted. And the Blazers were missing key players....which also didn't have to do with what I posted. With Dame/Ant, much like Dame/CJ, there were far too many possessions where 4 guys were just standing around not moving while one player with the ball would hold it, jab step, crossover multiple times and completely stagnate the offense and rhythm of everyone else on the court.

When they did move the ball, they got good, open shots. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't, but that is what you want. And it is MUCH more fun to watch as a fan regardless of who is on the floor.

 

[Labinot41]

Josh 0-9 and 2-6 from the free throw line. He cost us the game imo. Was out of control sometimes. Sharpe and GP2 should get some of his minutes

 

[Fairly-Hard]

My question/concern is when fully healthy, will Chauncey have the guts to bench Dame and Ant for possessions when we absolutely need defensive stops. Would he be willing to put a lineup of Nurk/Grant/Hart/Winslow/GP2 for late game possessions?

Sure. If they have a time out and can call it to get him back on in case they need a score. Without being able to get him back on the court for offense you will not be seeing Dame out in a close game at the end. We could talk about a thousand scenarios here but in the end you win or lose with your best players on the court.

 

[Pinwheel1]

My question/concern is when fully healthy, will Chauncey have the guts to bench Dame and Ant for possessions when we absolutely need defensive stops. Would he be willing to put a lineup of Nurk/Grant/Hart/Winslow/GP2 for late game possessions?

It depends on a lot of things. What is the score and how much time is left? If the other team needs 3s then there would be no need for Nurk. I might want an extra clutch free-throw shooter in there in his place. But up 2 with less than 10 seconds Chauncey should have that line up in, but I am not sure that he would.

As for tonight's game..... that is the downside of the zone against good 3-point shooting teams, at some point of whipping it around the perimeter, someone will get open, especially at the end of the game and the end of the long road trip. The focus and energy were not good enough in the last few minutes. That happens to most teams. I will take 4-2 on that trip when most of us before the season would have killed for 3-3 or even 2-4

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I might want an extra clutch free-throw shooter in there in his place.

One more of the thousands of scenarios. Dame is pretty much automatic from the FT line at the end of a game.

 

[Cugel]

Look, that game was totally win-able. Defensive breakdowns, bad passes, missed a few shots too. Hart had one of his worst games you will ever see from him. Doubling Luka isn't worth it. Put him on the line. Healthy Portland can more than handle Dallas. Adding either Nurk, Justise, and GPII, hell even Keon, are each significant help. Healthy and smarter, Portland should take Dallas in a 7 game series.

 

[OneSport3]

It depends on a lot of things. What is the score and how much time is left? If the other team needs 3s then there would be no need for Nurk. I might want an extra clutch free-throw shooter in there in his place. But up 2 with less than 10 seconds Chauncey should have that line up in, but I am not sure that he would.

As for tonight's game..... that is the downside of the zone against good 3-point shooting teams, at some point of whipping it around the perimeter, someone will get open, especially at the end of the game and the end of the long road trip. The focus and energy were not good enough in the last few minutes. That happens to most teams. I will take 4-2 on that trip when most of us before the season would have killed for 3-3 or even 2-4

The zone wasn’t the problem in this game. The zone was right coverage this game. Dallas came into this game at 19th in 3P%. Before that barrage of 3s at the end by Dinwiddie, they were only shooting 10-39 (25%). And Portland was in man coverage when Dinwiddie hit those 3s. The problem was they were rotating off the WRONG guy. You need to stay at home on Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie was shooting 43% from 3 on the season. He just had a game where he hit 7 3s vs the Wizards. While all of the other Mavs on the floor at the time have only been shooting 29-33% from 3 on the season.

 

[blazerfan11]

Looks like Winslow is our 6th man, our most important bench player.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

@Chris Craig needs to open up the Spurs thread!