Who makes the Grizzlies so big? Jaren Jackson Jr has good length, but I don't really view Memphis as a
team with a lot of size, especially with Adams out. (Who I have never been enamored with anyways) Brooks certainly isn't at SF with his 6'6 wing span.
Bane is listed as 6'5" but he isn't exactly known for attacking the basket. (with his 6'4" wing) Ja can certainly attack but he is only 6'2". Memphis is a good team because they pay tough D, but are they really that much bigger than Portland?
with Adams and Nurkic both out:
Santi Aldama 6-11
Dillon Brooks 6-7
Brandon Clarke 6-8
Jaren Jackson Jr. 6-11
Xavier Tillman Sr. 6-8
Ziaire Williams 6-8
vs
Drew Eubanks 6-9
Trendon Watford 6-9
Jabari Walker 6-9
I can't speak to the listed heights of the Memphis players...I haven't seen them enough, but I'd imagine some exaggeration.. But 8 months ago Jabari Walker was measured as 6′ 6.75, so the 6'9 is total bullshit. Watford was measured at 6’7.5, so 6'9 is kind of bullshit t0o.
the big problem, in terms of functional length, was Grant missing the 2nd half.
in the last 2 games, Portland has been beaten of the offensive glass 29-12; in the last 3 games it's been 44-15. I've seen point estimates for offensive rebounds range from 1.08-1.15. That would mean in the last 3 games, the Blazers have given up 32-33 points...about 11 a game. That's a lot of bonus points given to the other team, and it's really quite a substantial hurdle to overcome on the scoreboard. That the Blazers have overcome the hurdle twice is a credit to the rest of their game and a testament to the value of having Dame on a roll
to the topic, I don't think there's any doubt that the reason for that disparity on the boards is because of Portland's overall size and length. It also hasn't helped that Nurkic has been hurt and only had 6 rebounds in those 3 games.
Last night, in the 4th Q, I'm pretty sure I saw Dame (
6'2), Ant (
6'3), Payton (
6'2), Hart (
6'5...but measured at 6′ 3.75” in the combine), and Eubanks (6'9) on the floor at the same time. In case you're keeping track, that's an average of 6'4.25"....LOL....in the NBA. That would be short even in the small college ranks. Portland won the game because in the last 5 minutes they were 6-6 on FG's and 7-7 on FT's. I might be wrong but that looks like pretty good efficiency to me
the problem, IMO, is that as an NBA season starts winding down, team weaknesses & flaws become more pronounced. Hard to scheme away the holes when the teams are fully scouted. That Portland had a size and length deficit was obvious in training camp. There should have been moves to correct those issues then, especially considering Nurkic's injury history. Compounding the problem is the near certainty that Cronin has been hamstrung by the Vulcans with instructions to stay under the tax line. They are so close to the line right now that the only way the Blazers can get more size is to make trades for it and that takes the cooperation of other teams
