Game Thread 2022-23 Game #23 BLAZERS @ JAZZ - DECEMBER 3, 2022 - 6:00 PM (PDT) ROOT

[RR7]

he definitely needs to improve on that end.

trying more is a start but he's still targeted so frequently that it might be a serious liability in games that matter. the clippers were relentless last week in putting him in actions.

that, and his playmaking. but the improvements are probably enough for me to put him on our untouchable list (unless top players are available).

So you're opposed to the suggestion from a while back in here that we move him and nurk for Conley and olynyk so we could have a solid backup PG?!?!
Still can't believe that was suggested and slightly supported by a few others.

 

[Tince]

I hate to be crude, but Ant is doing things that only All-Stars in this league are doing yet there are dumbass Blazers fans that continually doubt him and want to sell high on him. Just confounding.

Do you think Ant will make the All-Star team this year? Or do you think the coaches who vote for the reserves are doubting him too?

 

[wizenheimer]

Haven't you been criticizing Ant all yr since he signed his contract? It's hardly just the Brooklyn game.

.

criticizing the contract is not criticizing Ant; that was criticizing Cronin, and it was a pretty mild criticism. I just didn't believe that the market for Ant last summer was as high as 25M/year

and, as I said, I've been a pretty outspoken advocate of giving the Dame/Ant combo time. Do you think I'd be doing that if I was trashing Ant as a player?

sure seems like you have a real broad definition for 'Ant-haters'

 

[Pinwheel1]

i very much prefer simons taking a jump shot or if we want our player to drive to the basket for a dunk/layup and/or drawing a foul, give the ball to grant, not dame or simons

Grant is a good option for sure, but that scenario is hardly foolproof. How many times can you do it before teams prepare for it? Grant would simply get doubled and the ball would get knocked away on his drive.
You need multiple options and players who can score in a variety of ways.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Grant is a good option for sure, but that scenario is hardly foolproof. How many times can you do it before teams prepare for it? Grant would simply get doubled and the ball would get knocked away on his drive.
You need multiple options and players who can score in a variety of ways.

i understand and i dont doubt dames & ants ability to draw a foul on a drive, its just that grant has better chance of getting and 1 through layup or dunk, simply due to his size

 

[blazerfan11]

GBIII looked like a NBA player this game... (except that one airball)

Airballs are actually a good thing if your team has a Nurk waiting under the hoop.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Do you think Ant will make the All-Star team this year? Or do you think the coaches who vote for the reserves are doubting him too?

booker, ja morant, shai, steph, fox, bane

these are backcourt players that will get in before ant for sure, maybe edwards too, cant really see ant making an all-star team yet

 

[THE HCP]

league-ing the lead in anything is amazing, FAMS!

Not according to this place. We used to have a center that lead the entire league in Rebounds AND Blocks and according to them that wasn’t good.

 

[riverman]

Not according to this place. We used to have a center that lead the entire league in Rebounds AND Blocks and according to them that wasn’t good.

winning solves all those problems everytime

 

[blazerfan11]

criticizing the contract is not criticizing Ant; that was criticizing Cronin, and it was a pretty mild criticism. I just didn't believe that the market for Ant last summer was as high as 25M/year

and, as I said, I've been a pretty outspoken advocate of giving the Dame/Ant combo time. Do you think I'd be doing that if I was trashing Ant as a player?

sure seems like you have a real broad definition for 'Ant-haters'

Wasn't Simons a restricted free agent?
What's the max he could have been offered by another team ?

 

[SIeepwalker]

Do you think Ant will make the All-Star team this year? Or do you think the coaches who vote for the reserves are doubting him too?

Ant is averaging 24.8 ppg which is good for 15th in the NBA right now. Very good ! The issue is when you look at his ranking amongst the western conference's guards....


So it's probably going to be tough. He has the least assists and rebounds from that list too.
But it's still crazy that Ant, in his first season as a starter, might get closer to the All Star Game than CJ ever got.

 

[THE HCP]

Turns out Jordan Clarkson is a whiny little baby

Clarkson got MURDERED on that play, what are you talking about?

 

[riverman]

Wasn't Simons a restricted free agent?
What's the max he could have been offered by another team ?

I don't think there is one other than the team's own cap room. Teams could offer a restricted free agent way more than we're willing to spend..Ant's contract is really looking good for his production right now. This team will not trade the kid at his age at his price in my view...he's going to take over Dame's job down the road and by then Sharpe and Walker, etc...will be developed...we have a bright looking future with our young players

 

[Pinwheel1]

i understand and i dont doubt dames & ants ability to draw a foul on a drive, its just that grant has better chance of getting and 1 through layup or dunk, simply due to his size

Don't get me wrong, Grant is a good option because he has a nice pull-up mid-range jumper if the lane clogs. But you seem to be too hung up on size. There was a reason why the Blazers rarely went to LMA in crunch time......easy for bigs to lose the ball before they even attempt a dunk or layup. (If the D is ready for it)

Not saying Ant is the best ball handler for a guard, but he is still a good option because of his variety of shots, (3 pt shot, mid-range, floater, hook shot etc. The key IMO is having multiple players that can take the last shot so the defense is not preparing for it.
Dame, Ant, Grant, and to a lesser extent Nurk can all be options....... depending on the opponent.

 

[bobf]

I could be wrong but I remember Dame struggling early in his career at finishing in the lane. Ants baby hook and tear drops are amazing kid has great touch. His turnovers drive me crazy but that should improve

No you are right. At age 23 Dame shot 51% from 0-3 ft while Ant is shooting 59%. That doesn’t mean Ant is a better finisher though.

1. Ant is far more selective about taking to the rim. At age 23 Dame shot 29% of his shots at the rim. Two years ago, Ant shot 8% of his shots at the rim. Last year 11%. This year 16%.

2. Dame welcomes contact at the rim. Ant has largely avoided contact. I suspect Dame was more efficient TS%-wise at the rim despite lower FG% when you factor in free throws.

Ant’s floater and hook shot are great weapons to have, but he doesn’t draw fouls with those shots. Nothing beats a 90% shot. I hope Ant learns to finish through contact and force defenders to foul him. He has shown sign of being more aggressive and his free throw rate has been climbing.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Thanks for that astute observation. Yes, I am aware of the home record which is why I think everyone is probably surprised by having the most road wins in the league.

Our crowd sucks nowadays. We even have a topic about it. I remember when we would need to measure the crowd noise it was so loud and intimidating

 

[wizenheimer]

What's the max he could have been offered by another team ?

same as what a team could have offered Little....salary-cap X .25

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Our crowd sucks nowadays. We even have a topic about it. I remember when we would need to measure the crowd noise it was so loud and intimidating

How many games have you attended this year?

 

[OneSport3]

Do you think Ant will make the All-Star team this year? Or do you think the coaches who vote for the reserves are doubting him too?

No, I don’t think Ant will make the All-Star team this year. If we had maintained our start, there would have been a chance that he would. But since we have dropped back in the field, I don’t see it.

I don’t think the coaches are doubting him. When asked after the Clippers game this week, Ty Lue said Ant was playing at an All-Star level.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

So you're opposed to the suggestion from a while back in here that we move him and nurk for Conley and olynyk so we could have a solid backup PG?!?!
Still can't believe that was suggested and slightly supported by a few others.

Why can't you believe it? I've already admitted that I know nothing about basketball.

(Also, there was a lot more reasoning behind that than you're stating, but we'll just pretend it was as ridiculous as you're reporting)

 

[Tince]

No, I don’t think Ant will make the All-Star team this year. If we had maintained our start, there would have been a chance that he would. But since we have dropped back in the field, I don’t see it.

I don’t think the coaches are doubting him. When asked after the Clippers game this week, Ty Lue said Ant was playing at an All-Star level.

Certainly reminds me of how opposing coaches called CJ and All-Star level player to.

Again, I'm not knocking Ant at all, I think he's very good. Like I said with CJ, I think we should stop calling him an All-Star level player until he makes two of them.

 

[blazerkor]

Clarkson got MURDERED on that play, what are you talking about?

I'm just saying "more like a two game suspension" was whiny... not that he didn't get hit. Does anyone think that play warranted any kind of suspension?

I mean Clarkson deleted it so either he was afraid of a fine or realized how lame that was. If he would have said "for sure" to the guy that he was replying to then I wouldn't have made a comment.

 

[blazerfan11]

No you are right. At age 23 Dame shot 51% from 0-3 ft while Ant is shooting 59%. That doesn’t mean Ant is a better finisher though.

1. Ant is far more selective about taking to the rim. At age 23 Dame shot 29% of his shots at the rim. Two years ago, Ant shot 8% of his shots at the rim. Last year 11%. This year 16%.

2. Dame welcomes contact at the rim. Ant has largely avoided contact. I suspect Dame was more efficient TS%-wise at the rim despite lower FG% when you factor in free throws.

Ant’s floater and hook shot are great weapons to have, but he doesn’t draw fouls with those shots. Nothing beats a 90% shot. I hope Ant learns to finish through contact and force defenders to foul him. He has shown sign of being more aggressive and his free throw rate has been climbing.

Simons so far this season has a true shooting percentage of 58.5%. He finished last season with a true shooting percentage of 58.3%.
Lillard did not reach that level of true shooting percentage for a season until he was 26 years old.
Whatever free-throw shooting advantage Lillard had when he was Simon‘s age it did not lead to a better true shooting percentage.

 

[AldoTrapani]

How many games have you attended this year?

2.. Dude stop being a Homer and bias for 2 seconds man. Even others agree our crowd energy isn’t the same. We were known literally as the most loudest and inundating arenas to play in.

 

[bobf]

Simons so far this season has a true shooting percentage of 58.5%. He finished last season with a true shooting percentage of 58.3%.
Lillard did not reach that level of true shooting percentage for a season until he was 26 years old.
Whatever free-throw shooting advantage Lillard had when he was Simon‘s age it did not lead to a better true shooting percentage.

Right but that’s because Ant is a better 3 point shooter and a far far better mid range shooter. I was talking about at the rim.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

2.. Dude stop being a Homer and bias for 2 seconds man. Even others agree our crowd energy isn’t the same. We were known literally as the most loudest and inundating arenas to play in.

Seemed pretty loud tonight? Not sure what games you went to but the games I’ve been to have been loud when the the game was in play.

Now as far as you telling anyone what to do you better check yourself.

 

[handiman]

2.. Dude stop being a Homer and bias for 2 seconds man. Even others agree our crowd energy isn’t the same. We were known literally as the most loudest and inundating arenas to play in.

Referring to your multiple forum personalities doesn't count.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Referring to your multiple forum personalities doesn't count.

Wanted to ask which games but then asked myself why?

 

[AldoTrapani]

Referring to your multiple forum personalities doesn't count.

Theres a whole topic on it on this board my guy lol

 

[Pinwheel1]

No you are right. At age 23 Dame shot 51% from 0-3 ft while Ant is shooting 59%. That doesn’t mean Ant is a better finisher though.

1. Ant is far more selective about taking to the rim. At age 23 Dame shot 29% of his shots at the rim. Two years ago, Ant shot 8% of his shots at the rim. Last year 11%. This year 16%.

2. Dame welcomes contact at the rim. Ant has largely avoided contact. I suspect Dame was more efficient TS%-wise at the rim despite lower FG% when you factor in free throws.

Ant’s floater and hook shot are great weapons to have, but he doesn’t draw fouls with those shots. Nothing beats a 90% shot. I hope Ant learns to finish through contact and force defenders to foul him. He has shown sign of being more aggressive and his free throw rate has been climbing.

I think his FT rate will also climb when he gets the calls that Dame gets. I would hate to see him whine to the refs about it, but it does seem to work or players wouldn't do it. As for the floater and hook being good weapons, but not conducive to drawing fouls.....I would rather that he has a shot in the lane that is hard to block than take a beating and hitting the floor as often as Dame does. Getting to the line is a good thing, but maybe we overvalue it?