Game Thread 2022-23 Game #44 - BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - JANUARY 17, 2023 - TUESDAY - 6:00 PM (PDT) ROOT

[blazerfan11]

Can Cory Jez coach?
I think he would create a game plan to take advantage of the opponents weaknesses and try to mitigate their strengths.

 

[blazerkor]

I honestly think that Shae could start and it wouldn't hurt our defense. I don't know what he would do with more offensive opportunities but he's definitely a defensive upgrade over Ant at SG.

 

[PCmor7]

That was Chauncey...

I think he's an easy scapegoat, and I don't think it's that accurate. He's part of the problem, but there are a lot of problems. Some of the stuff Stotts did still lingers as a problem on this team. Many of the roster composition errors by Olshey still haunt this team.

People that think just changing the coach is like waving a magic wand and this team is going to put it all together, I believe, are going to really get their eyes opened when/if that happens.

 

[TBpup]

An airball to finish the game.....how appropriate.

 

[Haakzilla]

 

[AldoTrapani]

Man this dude needs to go to a better franchise

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

I honestly think that Shae could start and it wouldn't hurt our defense. I don't know what he would do with more offensive opportunities but he's definitely a defensive upgrade over Ant at SG.

I just said this to my son.
You hiding in the other room again?

 

[Chris Craig]

Man this dude needs to go to a better franchise

Or a better team needs to be put around him because this is pathetic.

 

[MickZagger]

Can’t really blame it on the bench because they suck too. But our starters go through long scoring droughts and don’t know how to play off each other

 

[blazerfan11]

I think he's an easy scapegoat, and I don't think it's that accurate. He's part of the problem, but there are a lot of problems. Some of the stuff Stotts did still lingers as a problem on this team. Many of the roster composition errors by Olshey still haunt this team.

People that think just changing the coach is like waving a magic wand and this team is going to put it all together, I believe, are going to really get their eyes opened when/if that happens.

That's most likely true.
Did Steve Kerr suddenly become a worse coach? Is he the reason they're currently .500?

Still, it's frustrating to watch a team play worse than I think they are capable of.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Or a better team needs to be put around him because this is pathetic.

Just sad another wasted year for Dame..

 

[blazerfan11]

We saw one lob to Sharpe.
I said that would be the last one.
It's sad.

 

[blazerkor]

Man this dude needs to go to a better franchise

This fucking shit right here. SMH. This franchise needs to get Dame some help but Dame just needs to do Dame. He has said it very clearly so even people who have a hard time understanding things should know... he wants to be here. So bag on the team all you want but please just cut it out with this played out bullshit take.

Oh and just preemptively, please don't start with feast or famine the next time Dame misses a few shots, don't fucking say that he's washed the next time he has bad game. You've got to know the takes of yours that you spam that are just complete fucking trash, so just stop.

 

[Bingo Bango]

Want to know why we lost?

4 rebounds from our starting power forward
6 points from our starting center
4 points from our starting small forward

Did somebody tell these guys to start tanking? If so, Lillard didn’t get the memo, I guess.

 

[AldoTrapani]

How the hell do we have the same record as okc when their goal is to lose as much as possible? Lol

 

[MickZagger]

This fucking shit right here. SMH. This franchise needs to get Dame some help but Dame just needs to do Dame. He has said it very clearly so even people who have a hard time understanding things should know... he wants to be here. So bag on the team all you want but please just cut it out with this played out bullshit take.

Oh and just preemptively, please don't start with feast or famine the next time Dame misses a few shots, don't fucking say that he's washed the next time he has bad game. You've got to know the takes of yours that you spam that are just complete fucking trash, so just stop.

I just don’t think the return for what we have would be anything great

 

[blazerfan11]

Can’t really blame it on the bench because they suck too. But our starters go through long scoring droughts and don’t know how to play off each other

They also have no impetus to work for easier shots. And don't seem to know the tendencies of the other team.

 

[TBpup]

Want to know why we lost?

4 rebounds from our starting power forward
6 points from our starting center
6 points from our starting small forward

Did somebody tell these guys to start tanking? If so, Lillard didn’t get the memo, I guess.

Right at his career average.
Our starting SF, is a bench SG in disguise.
...and Jokic is Nurk's DADDY.

 

[FlashWad]

Ant has no place on this team he needs to go he’s so bad

100 million dollar player btw

 

[blazerfan11]

How the hell do we have the same record as okc when their goal is to lose as much as possible? Lol

SGA had 28 points in their last game.
Explain why you think their goal is to lose as much as possible.

 

[blazerfan11]

Why the hell can't Billups just have Simons come off the bench???
He already fucked that up last season with Norman Powell and Nassir Little.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Blazer Twitter and instagram - Nurk is clearly the new most unliked person in Portland

 

[wizenheimer]

I wanted to believe the two wins over the Mavs were a sign that we were figuring it out, but an object tends to its most natural state, and the Blazers' most natural state is mediocrity and not having any idea what to do when the pressure's on.

so, a road loss in Denver, against a team that is 20-3 at home and had won 13 in a row at home, and is historically one of the most difficult arena's to get wins, means more that two straight wins against a team that came in as the 4th seed. geeeeezuz

 

[PCmor7]

That's most likely true.
Did Steve Kerr suddenly become a worse coach? Is he the reason they're currently .500?

Still, it's frustrating to watch a team play worse than I think they are capable of.

Absolutely. I feel the same, because when they play well, they look really, really good.

I don't know how much of this is Chauncey finding his way as coach and how much of it is players not fully buying into what he wants/fighting it and how much of it is this length-challenged roster.

And there's the other thing: Everyone wants a trade that's going to fix it. Trading for a longer guy doesn't make the Blazers a better team, necessarily. Sometimes it might help, but is it a fix more times than it might be a detriment? I've seen the Blazers of the past too many times trade starters for other team's subs because they just had to fill that niche, or give up valuable assets to acquire guys who weren't real different-makers, and I'd hate to see them panic because of Dame's window and do the same thing now and doom both the team's present and future at the same time.

 

[blazerfan11]

What the fuck.
Billups says the team played well.

 

[MickZagger]

Absolutely. I feel the same, because when they play well, they look really, really good.

I don't know how much of this is Chauncey finding his way as coach and how much of it is players not fully buying into what he wants/fighting it and how much of it is this length-challenged roster.

And there's the other thing: Everyone wants a trade that's going to fix it. Trading for a longer guy doesn't make the Blazers a better team, necessarily. Sometimes it might help, but is it a fix more times than it might be a detriment? I've seen the Blazers of the past too many times trade starters for other team's subs because they just had to fill that niche, or give up valuable assets to acquire guys who weren't real different-makers, and I'd hate to see them panic because of Dame's window and do the same thing now and doom both the team's present and future at the same time.

A lot of it is a talent issue. Other teams just have better players while some of our players are overvalued. Nurk, Simons..

 

[PCmor7]

so, a road loss in Denver, against a team that is 20-3 at home and had won 13 in a row at home, and is historically one of the most difficult arena's to get wins, means more that two straight wins against a team that came in as the 4th seed. geeeeezuz

Absolutely ... so long as you don't completely gloss over important nuance, like, you know, the way the team played, the way it lost.

Then again, it wouldn't be the Blazers' board if you weren't trying to misrepresent something I wrote in a feeble attempt to try to show me up. If only Ant's shot was as consistent as your MO.

 

[blazerfan11]

Absolutely. I feel the same, because when they play well, they look really, really good.

I don't know how much of this is Chauncey finding his way as coach and how much of it is players not fully buying into what he wants/fighting it and how much of it is this length-challenged roster.

And there's the other thing: Everyone wants a trade that's going to fix it. Trading for a longer guy doesn't make the Blazers a better team, necessarily. Sometimes it might help, but is it a fix more times than it might be a detriment? I've seen the Blazers of the past too many times trade starters for other team's subs because they just had to fill that niche, or give up valuable assets to acquire guys who weren't real different-makers, and I'd hate to see them panic because of Dame's window and do the same thing now and doom both the team's present and future at the same time.

Yeah, we don't know what we'd get in a trade for someone like Anfernee Simons. We don't think he's too great to keep, but somehow expect an upgrade in talent in return.

 

[blazerfan11]

so, a road loss in Denver, against a team that is 20-3 at home and had won 13 in a row at home, and is historically one of the most difficult arena's to get wins, means more that two straight wins against a team that came in as the 4th seed. geeeeezuz

That's exactly the point. You know it's going to be a difficult place to play, so why not pull out all the stops. Try to exploit their weaknesses.
The Blazer should've tried to hammer the nuggets at the hoop.
The Blazers threw exactly one lob to Shaedon Sharpe and they were successful. And as expected that was it for the rest of the game. We saw one more lob, and no more, to Nassir Little.
There was no game plan, other than what we usually see.
I don't think too many people are disappointed at losing in Denver. It's the lack of being able to adjust at all.

 

[wizenheimer]

Just time to make big changes. Obviously Dame still has it. The pieces around him should be more complementary. Obviously if we're going to contend the talent level has to go up but if we even want to compete Joe has to make this roster more balanced and a more cohesive mix of skills.

yeah, except I think it's even simpler than that. Blazer have some talent, but they are just too fucking small. That has been painfully evident since Olshey decided to form the Dame/CJ team. BLAZERS NEED LENGTH. Portland has lost several games lately to teams that had length all over the floor. The basket isn't 7 feet off the floor, it's 10 feet off the floor. Lenght has high value

they aren't trading Dame (and couldn't now anyway). So I think Cronin has to go right thru the roster at every position and whenever a player is undersized for his position, he needs to be on the trade market with the goal being to add more length

Dame-Sharpe-Grant are about the only players that shouldn't be actively shopped