Game Thread 2022-23 Game #72 - BLAZERS @ JAZZ - MARCH 22, 2023 - WEDNESDAY - 6:00 PM (PDT) ROOT

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blazerfan11 said:
This is 1000% more fun to watch than Dame and Simons. I will happily pay to attend the games, win or lose. Fucking Billups. It's so obvious.
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Come now. This is Sharpe's development year. He wasn't remotely ready earlier in the season. I think they are bringing him along just fine.
 
wizenheimer said:
it wasn't a "new" conclusion for me. Not at all. I've thought Sharpe had a lot of talent since I watched him in the first part of the season. Yes, he's raw but that's very understandable considering his circumstances. Last night was confirmation, not revelation

I will also say this: it's not surprising at all to me that Sharpe had his best game when starting alongside Dame. He's more complementary to Dame's talent than Ant; significantly. I think Dame and Wesley Matthews developed a better synergy with each other in 6 months than Dame and CJ did in 6 years. I think Dame and Sharpe can have a much better synergy than Dame & Simons

I was hopeful for the Dame/Simons pairing before the season started. I'm a lot less hopeful now.
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Again... if you are comfortable drawing a conclusion or in your case, confirming an assumption you made, based off one game, in March, against a botton half NBA team, when there is no pressure to win, that is 100% ok. I'm not comfortable with that. People were ready to make him a starter after a preseason game, so we all arrive to conclusions in different ways.

We agree that Sharpe has a lot of talent. I'd argue half the roster has a lot of talent (Ant included), but success in the NBA is about a lot more than raw talent.

You bringing up the Dame/Ant pairing is interesting because we're not far removed from people wanting CJ gone, to make room for Ant, because they were confident his shooting and athletism would be a better pairing next to Dame.

Having said all that, I hope Sharpe turns into an All-NBA/star player, and I hope he does it in a Blazer uniform. I'm not saying that outcome is impossible (though unlikely). Last nights game was fun to watch. His dunks are amazing. His form looks great. Pre-shot footwork, ehh, but that can improve. I enjoyed the performance.
 
Tince said:
Again... if you are comfortable drawing a conclusion or in your case, confirming an assumption you made, based off one game, in March, against a botton half NBA team, when there is no pressure to win, that is 100% ok. I'm not comfortable with that. People were ready to make him a starter after a preseason game, so we all arrive to conclusions in different ways.

We agree that Sharpe has a lot of talent. I'd argue half the roster has a lot of talent (Ant included), but success in the NBA is about a lot more than raw talent.

You bringing up the Dame/Ant pairing is interesting because we're not far removed from people wanting CJ gone, to make room for Ant, because they were confident his shooting and athletism would be a better pairing next to Dame.

Having said all that, I hope Sharpe turns into an All-NBA/star player, and I hope he does it in a Blazer uniform. I'm not saying that outcome is impossible (though unlikely). Last nights game was fun to watch. His dunks are amazing. His form looks great. Pre-shot footwork, ehh, but that can improve. I enjoyed the performance.
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Maybe some were wanting to move CJ to open time for Ant.... but there was a significant segment that did not to see Ant become CJ-2.0
Most of us were willing to give the Dame/Ant pairing a try -> but it beyond obvious now that its a sub-optimal pairing.
 
Players play to win. In this game some were also playing for a roster spot. Like Knox for example.
 
theprunetang said:
This was probably the best overall game for Sharpe so far. Love the growth I have seen in the kid. He is lucky he is quick enough to retain his own mishandled dribbles most of the time. Right now, his handle is probably the biggest roadblock to stardom. I hope he works on his handle more than anything else this off-season.
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The Meadowlark Lemon dribble was fun :)
 
Tince said:
You bringing up the Dame/Ant pairing is interesting because we're not far removed from people wanting CJ gone, to make room for Ant, because they were confident his shooting and athletism would be a better pairing next to Dame.

.
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I wanted CJ gone for years, but Ant didn't factor into the equation at all

mainly, I knew that Portland needed to fire Olshey so they could move on from CJ. I think it was Olshey's idiot overrating of CJ that was the biggest blockade to Portland making smart moves, and the biggest reason why Olshey pissed away so much of Dame's prime
 
CJ_is_Gone said:
Maybe some were wanting to move CJ to open time for Ant.... but there was a significant segment that did not to see Ant become CJ-2.0
Most of us were willing to give the Dame/Ant pairing a try -> but it beyond obvious now that its a sub-optimal pairing.
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Very possible. It's also very possible, if Ant were to be moved to open the starting job for Sharpe, some will conclude the Dame/Sharpe paring is sub-optimal. Most pairings next to Dame will be sub-optimal, strictly by definition.

I'm not the #1 Ant guy by any means, but I do not believe his fit next to Dame is anywhere near the top issues holding the franchise back.
 
Dame / Sharpe is the future. The future is NOW, and till Dame retires. That probably makes some mad. Oh well. In no way do i return to a Dame / Ant backcourt. Makes zero sense. If Ant stays, it should be as a hot shooting 6th man.
 
Tince said:
I'm not the #1 Ant guy by any means, but I do not believe his fit next to Dame is anywhere near the top issues holding the franchise back.
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Same here. I actually like Ant quite a lot. The real issue with him is that this his first big contract year and he seems to be in the "prove I am worth it" mode, so he only defers to Dame. I am hoping he does a better job of playing team-ball with everyone else and does a better job of knowing when to involve his team-mates and when to take over by himself going forward. Frankly, that's his #1 issue this year, imho.
 
andalusian said:
Same here. I actually like Ant quite a lot. The real issue with him is that this his first big contract year and he seems to be in the "prove I am worth it" mode, so he only defers to Dame. I am hoping he does a better job of playing team-ball with everyone else and does a better job of knowing when to involve his team-mates and when to take over by himself going forward. Frankly, that's his #1 issue this year, imho.
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Not saying i don't like Ant. Just don't like him next to Dame as a starter. Ant could be a 6th man of the year. A guy shouldn't be a starter based on salary alone. Norm Powell has been fantastic as a 6th man. He has a similar salary to Ant. I think Ant would be able to do what he does best as a 6th man. Provide instant firepower. Dame / Sharpe is optimal as a starting backcourt for this team going forward.
 
andalusian said:
Same here. I actually like Ant quite a lot. The real issue with him is that this his first big contract year and he seems to be in the "prove I am worth it" mode, so he only defers to Dame. I am hoping he does a better job of playing team-ball with everyone else and does a better job of knowing when to involve his team-mates and when to take over by himself going forward. Frankly, that's his #1 issue this year, imho.
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I feel like he starts his offensive move and it's blinders thereafter, regardless of open teammates, for the most part (This was a thing with CJ too.)

The thing about Roy that was so great is that he always a passing threat even after he'd started his move, which is so dangerous if you're the defending team. You can't sag off your guy.
 
Tince said:
I'm drawing ZERO conculusions from the Utah game; that's my entire point.

I'm not saying Sharpe is a future all-star or a bust based off 72 games, let alone 1 game in March.
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It was a must win game with playoff implications.
 
AmirIcon said:
Trade Simons, Nurk and picks for the best player you can get, IE Siakam, OG, etc. Keep Sharpe unless you're getting Giannis back.
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given you would trade nurk, i cannot but question your bball knowledge
 
Ed O said:
Fandom is not a marriage. We've made no vows and we have no input into what a franchise does.

The Blazers should be earning our eyeballs and our money, and they know it. Presumably they thought the decisions they've made to date would be a net benefit, and if they're wrong they only have themselves to blame... not fans.
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Then don’t watch. Going through the struggles makes the success that much better in my opinion.
 
Tince said:
Again... if you are comfortable drawing a conclusion or in your case, confirming an assumption you made, based off one game, in March, against a botton half NBA team, when there is no pressure to win, that is 100% ok. I'm not comfortable with that. People were ready to make him a starter after a preseason game, so we all arrive to conclusions in different ways.

We agree that Sharpe has a lot of talent. I'd argue half the roster has a lot of talent (Ant included), but success in the NBA is about a lot more than raw talent.

You bringing up the Dame/Ant pairing is interesting because we're not far removed from people wanting CJ gone, to make room for Ant, because they were confident his shooting and athletism would be a better pairing next to Dame.

Having said all that, I hope Sharpe turns into an All-NBA/star player, and I hope he does it in a Blazer uniform. I'm not saying that outcome is impossible (though unlikely). Last nights game was fun to watch. His dunks are amazing. His form looks great. Pre-shot footwork, ehh, but that can improve. I enjoyed the performance.
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I don’t remember anyone wanting CJ to make room for Ant. People wanted Norm to start at the 2. Then they wanted Hart at the 2. More specifically, people wanted CJ gone to get a player like Simmons or Siakam to balance the roster. It was never about creating playing time for Ant.
 
Mr. Robot said:
given you would trade nurk, i cannot but question your bball knowledge
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I am a huge fan of Nurk, but it's time to turn the page and become more mobile and play faster. I also don't think you should allocate 17m a year for a center unless he's top 5.

It's not about the individual. It's about the end result. Same with Ant Simons. I think he's going to go on and be a great offensive player. The end result for the team is not satisfactory.
 
KingSpeed said:
I don’t remember anyone wanting CJ to make room for Ant. People wanted Norm to start at the 2. Then they wanted Hart at the 2. More specifically, people wanted CJ gone to get a player like Simmons or Siakam to balance the roster. It was never about creating playing time for Ant.
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I believe you when you say that you don't remember people pushing for Ant. The other fan desired lineups you mentioned were also a thing. Anyone with a brain would've loved a CJ for Siakam trade.

You are incorrect that the desire/willingness to trade CJ had nothing to do with giving Ant those minutes.
 
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