Game Thread 2023-24 Game #5 - BLAZERS @ PISTONS - NOVEMBER 1, 2023 - WEDNESDAY - 4:00 PM PST - ROOT

[Chris Craig]

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STARTERS


Scoot Henderson Shaedon Sharpe

Matisse Thybulle Jerami Grant

DeAndre Ayton


Cade Cunningham Jaden Ivy

Ausar Thompson Isaiah Stewart

Jalen Duren

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WHEN: NOVEMBER 1, 2023 - WEDNESDAY - 4:00 PM PST

WHERE: LITTLE CAESARS ARENA, DETROIT MI



TV BROADCAST


RADIO BROADCAST


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BENCH


Robert Williams III

Malcolm Brogdon Toumani Camara

Ish Wainright Jabari Walker

Moses Brown Kris Murray

Rayan Rupert Duop Reath*

Justin Minaya* Skylar Mays*

Anfernee Simons

*2 Way Player


Bojan Bogdanovic Joe Harris

Marvin Bagley III James Wiseman

Alec Burks Killian Hayes

Monte Morris Isaiah Livers

Marcus Sasser Stanley Umude*

Jared Rhoden* Malcolm Cazalon*

*2 Way Player

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COACHES


Chauncey Billups


Monty Williams

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INJURIES

BLAZERS

Ish Wainright - Calf - Out
Anfernee Simons - Thumb - Out

PISTONS

Isaiah Livers - Ankle- Out
Monte Morris - Quad - Out
Bojan Bogdanovic - Calf - Out

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GAME NOTES
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• The Blazers will play the Pistons again on 2/8/24 in Portland
• Chauncey Billups is 4-0 vs the Pistons
• Chauncey Billups is 3-4 vs Monty Williams
• Isaiah Stewart was drafted by the Blazers and traded to the Pistons via the Rockets in the 2020 draft
• Jared Rhoden was signed by the Blazers after going undrafted in the 2022 draft but was waived before the season
• Jerami Grant played for the Pistons from 2020-22. He was born in Portland.

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​

 

[Chris Craig]

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​

 

[riverman]

I forgot Monty Williams is coaching these guys...Ayton will probably come out on fire to win this one.

 

[andalusian]

I forgot Monty Williams is coaching these guys...Ayton will probably come out on fire to win this one.

He will have to work for it because Duren is on fire.

 

[BassPlaya]

Amazing how much good will and energy can be squeezed from just one win. I feel stupidly and naively confident.

Screw it, I'm rolling with it.

 

[Whyachi]

Blazers have whooped the Pistons for 4 straight years.

when CJ Elleby can look like Scottie Pippen, I reckon the Pistons have serious issues.

 

[blazerfan11]

He will have to work for it because Duren is on fire.

Duren will also have to work for it.

 

[riverman]

Chauncey is loved by this city. Have they retired his jersey yet? (just looked it up and his and Big Ben's were retired in 2015-16 seeason)

 

[THE HCP]

Chauncey is loved by this city. Have they retired his jersey yet? (just looked it up and his and Big Ben's were retired in 2015-16 seeason)

I'm confused....he never played in Detroit FAMS! #GoogleIt

 

[BIG Q]

I'm confused....he never played in Detroit FAMS! #GoogleIt

Nobody plays in Detroit, it's Auburn Hills.

 

[THE HCP]

Nobody plays in Detroit, it's Auburn Hills.

#DingDingDing

 

[riverman]

I'm confused....he never played in Detroit FAMS! #GoogleIt

becausee it so says Auburn Hlls on his Pistons jersey? HAHAHA

 

[riverman]

I'm confused....he never played in Detroit FAMS! #GoogleIt

googled it!
Let me know where you got your Wilsonville Blazers jersey at though! That'll be a collector's item

 

[THE HCP]

googled it!View attachment 58957
Let me know where you got your Wilsonville Blazers jersey at though! That'll be a collector's item

I wish you would have actually gone into inner city Detroit looking for a Bad Boys game back in the day. HA!

 

[riverman]

I wish you would have actually gone into inner city Detroit looking for a Bad Boys game back in the day. HA!

I'd be hard pressed to come up with one reason for my country ass to ever visit Detroit. I'd rather have seen them play in Portland.

 

[illmatic99]

I forgot Monty Williams is coaching these guys...Ayton will probably come out on fire to win this one.

if his games against phoenix were any indication, then he's gonna fake an injury and sit out.

 

[blazerfan11]

Nobody plays in Detroit, it's Auburn Hills.

Little Caesars Arena is in Auburn Hills?

 

[BlazerBeav]

If ever there was a proof a franchise should be contracted, there it is folks.

 

[Idog1976]

I said it in the other thread where I got Scoot showing improvement, Ayton having a big game, along with Sharpe right, and I will say it again. I think this is going to be a breakout game for Scoot. He will finally come alive and get 8-10 assists and 16-20 pts along with a few boards and a steal.

 

[Whyachi]

Nobody plays in Detroit, it's Auburn Hills.

speaking of technicalities...
let's talk more about Scoot's potential assists

 

[inconceivable]

speaking of technicalities...
let's talk more about Scoot's potential assists

Let me put it this way, you put Scoot in place of Jamal in Denver, Scoot will win RoY

 

[blazerkor]

Could have a two game win streak on our hands but I doubt it. Detroit is scrapping for every win and we're trying to get this new group to play together. A team has to shoot under 20% from three to lose to us. I'm not saying winning this game is impossible but it is unlikely. Then it's on to the Memphis games which we will also have a chance at winning but likely won't be favored for. After that it's on to teams that are decidedly better than us for the next 17 games but hey, I think Toronto is decidedly better than us so we just need teams to shoot half of the three point percentage on high volume and badaboom we've got a win.

Honestly I think the last four games have been indicative of what this team is and as we get better so will the teams with more talent and experience. So 20 or 21 wins at the most is what we should expect from our squad this season... then again it will probably be less than that because Joe will probably (and should) dump quality vets at the deadline for picks and prospects.

 

[inconceivable]

Could have a two game win streak on our hands but I doubt it. Detroit is scrapping for every win and we're trying to get this new group to play together. A team has to shoot under 20% from three to lose to us. I'm not saying winning this game is impossible but it is unlikely. Then it's on to the Memphis games which we will also have a chance at winning but likely won't be favored for. After that it's on to teams that are decidedly better than us for the next 17 games but hey, I think Toronto is decidedly better than us so we just need teams to shoot half of the three point percentage on high volume and badaboom we've got a win.

Honestly I think the last four games have been indicative of what this team is and as we get better so will the teams with more talent and experience. So 20 or 21 wins at the most is what we should expect from our squad this season... then again it will probably be less than that because Joe will probably (and should) dump quality vets at the deadline for picks and prospects.

I think we go back to back. We have to win against non playoff teams like Detroit. It doesn't bother me to lose to better teams. But we have to win against teams like Orlando, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Washington. . Idk who else are lottery-bound

 

[JDC]

Posted this in the DA appreciation thread, but for those that didn't see that and want some things to look out for for tonight....

Chauncey found some stuff late against Toronto that gave DA more room to operate.

Horns Rip DHO



Love this action for Scoot. That angle makes it much harder for Scoot's defender to go under the screen and opens up the pocket pass. Like exit screen to the corner for Jerami as well to occupy the strong side help.



Simple flat ball screen with Scoot cutting to weak side dunker. Like the first play, the main thing here is to space the floor to help take away the heavy nail help that Ayton is seeing when we run spread ball screen--where each corner and one wing is filled. Big problem when both Tisse and Scoot are out there. Teams don't care about them off ball and are loading up damn near past the nail to muck things up in the middle.

Need to continue to move these guys around. The throwback pass is there to Scoot if he does find himself on the wing. He's quick enough to catch on the run and beat even a sagging recovering defender. Would also like him cutting behind that help more as well.

But nice to see the guys put some good things on film after a brutal start to the year. Excited for tonight.

 

[blazerkor]

I think we go back to back. We have to win against non playoff teams like Detroit. It doesn't bother me to lose to better teams. But we have to win against teams like Orlando, Houston, San Antonio, Detroit, Washington. . Idk who else are lottery-bound

I don't think we have to win any games this season and as Orlando showed us we aren't better than these teams. I honestly don't know if we'll be favored in a game this season. Maybe injuries to other teams will make that the case but if healthy there might not be a team in the league that Vegas favors us against. I still think we'll win around one out of every four games and I also think that will put us in the bottom three in the league and give us equal odds. That being said it's really early in the season and I wouldn't put it past some of these young guys to outperform my expectations.

 

[wizenheimer]

speaking of technicalities...
let's talk more about Scoot's potential assists

I'm responding to this but only because I want to increase my potential 'likes'

 

[BlazerBeav]

Duren is a game time decision - chances of winning would increase.

 

[TBpup]

Duren is a game time decision - chances of winning would increase.

Winning streak?

 

[riverman]

This is a game we should win. Will be a good test of whether last game was a fluke or what we can expect.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH MONTY WILLIAMS

(On if he wants to see more 3-point attempts): “I've talked to the team about just being free to shoot the ball
when you're open. We want to get great shots. We probably have turned down great shots. Sometimes when you're
coaching and teaching as much as we've had to, I think that can put the brakes on guys at times. I have to do a
better job of allowing guys to feel free to take those shots when we have them.”

(On challenges defending Deandre Ayton): “You got to keep up him off the glass. He just had 23 rebounds in
a game [against Toronto]. A lot of those tip-outs he can tip to himself. Our guys know who DA is as a player.
They respect him. He's got a lot of experience playing in that program for four years, playing in playoff games
and playing against every kind of pick-and-roll coverage. Our guys know we have to respect his game.”

(On Jaden Ivey’s production off the bench): “I like when he scores in the offense. I like it when the ball moves
a bit. Where I've talked to him is -- just to make plays that help the team and your talent will show. I don't want
him to feel like he's got to hit home runs. There's been games where you see him off of an action go downhill and
take a shot or make offense for someone else. And that's a work in progress for someone like him who's scored
pretty much his whole life. It’s a balance for me to not mess with his DNA, but there's also the balance of doing
what's best for the team and that second unit.”

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

(On Toronto win): “It was probably the most complete game that we’ve played from the standpoint of everything
that we’ve talked about defensively that we wanted to do. We didn’t just match their energy, we kind of exceeded
it. [Toronto] was a really tough, gritty team. I was happy and proud of our guys and how they played the whole
time.”

(On the team applying full court pressure): “I like it. Having that presence defensively slows teams down and
gives them less time to run their offense on the other side. For us, we need to find ways to wear teams down and
to score. We just have to find ways to manufacture points, and I think that when we’re aggressive that way, it
helps everybody. I’ve been happy with our [full court] pressure, we want to challenge people.”

(On rookie Toumani Camara): “I love everything about him, I really do. He plays with so much heart and
physicality. I want him to always be aggressive out there and he’s going to take on any matchup on the offensive
side and the defensive side. He’s just been a pleasant surprise to have, and he’s gaining our staff and his teammates
respect more and more every single game. In my opinion, he’s going to be an elite role player in this game.”