Game Thread 2025 SL GAME #3 - BLAZERS VS PELICANS - JULY 15, 2025 - TUESDAY - 7:00 PM PST - ESPN - ESPN+

[SharpesTriumph]

This was a game that left me with a sour taste. Maybe it's because my freezer and my mouse both started to act up at the same time right before the game and it put me in a negative mindset.

Yang had his best statistical game, but watching him play against Queen just really made it clear to me how far Yang is from being a rotation guy, because Queen outplayed him and I don't really think Queen is going to be anything special.

Love -- nice stats, but I can see him as a guy that will frustrate me and make me want to see him off the team in the even he ever gets good minutes. He just seems like one of those players who is so gifted that he can create an open shot almost any time, so he takes them, even if they aren't good shots.

And, not that he'll be anything, but I really thought Pedulla would be a bulldog out there that was fun to watch. No. He's completely overmatched and he plays like he knows it. He blew a wide-open layup on a great pass by Yang last game. This game, he starts off by losing an inbound pass because he stops coming to the ball. Then he was a defensive liability all game. I think he can see he's not good enough and he's really stopped playing hard, and playing hard was a big part of his appeal.

Rupert's looked great, though. And Carton put in a nice game.

Good points. Yeah Yang might really struggle guarding certain players. Queen is very good offensively though. But yeah might be best to be strategic about the matchups Yang plays and even play Duop or go small in some games. Kid has only been 20 a few weeks so there's no rush.

Hope your mouse is ok.

 

[TYDame]

Let's see if the NBA give us more National TV come next year

 

[inconceivable]

Let's see if the NBA give us more National TV come next year

Almost certainly, because Yang will draw more eyeballs than SGA. There are way more chinese NBA followers than the entire US population

 

[lawai'a]

Hope your mouse is ok.

LOL

 

[inconceivable]

May have been mentioned here already but apparently in China, centers are taught to box out and let teammates grab the rebound. This tracks with what Yang has been doing. He needs to change this habit and box out with the intent to secure the board himself

 

[KingSpeed]

May have been mentioned here already but apparently in China, centers are taught to box out and let teammates grab the rebound. This tracks with what Yang has been doing. He needs to change this habit and box out with the intent to secure the board himself

Why? To make his stat line look good?

 

[inconceivable]

Why? To make his stat line look good?

I believe boxing out with the intent to grab the board mentality is superior to simply boxing out and letting a teammate grab the ball

 

[KingSpeed]

I believe boxing out with the intent to grab the board mentality is superior to simply boxing out and letting a teammate grab the ball

I don’t care who grabs the rebound as long as our team secures it

 

[PCmor7]

Did I imagine it or did their depth chart list Love as the backup to Jrue with no mention of Scoot?

I didn't see that, because I didn't look this time. I thought the first game they had Scoot as backup, but I might have imagined it, too.

 

[Sedatedfork]

I don’t care who grabs the rebound as long as our team secures it

You would think that with Yang’s size he would be the player most equipped to grab the rebound. Someone has to grab the rebound.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

I cannot stand Loves game especially for a guy who is older. He’s a “ME” player that isn’t a good scorer but thinks he is and makes little effort as a guard to make players around him better. Exact opposite of the type of player I want as our 3rd guard.

damn read your draft bio and realize why you didn’t get drafted. Should have come into summer league with mindset of showing he’s working on his weakenss.

as far as Yamg I can t wait to see him with good players around him. Offensively he should be really good fit defensively he’ll definitely struggle to stay in front of quicker guys but some of that is conditioning and pace of NBA game. He’s got good work ethic and high BBIQ I think he’ll adjust as season goes on. His rebounding numbers has me a little concerned

 

[kjironman1]

Why? To make his stat line look good?

Because the other centers he will be playing against will eat him up and take that rebound.

 

[Tince]

I'm not sure I agree...

Grant & Yang absolutely should not spend any time on the court together. But in a perfect world both players are backups and coming off the bench. As a result-> Im guessing they will see a fair amount of time together

Define "fair amount". How many minutes per game do you think they'll play together?

 

[Tince]

So the 84% of the games RW has been injured as a Blazer is when Yang plays as the primary backup? That's a lot.

That's certainly true. When I do depth charts, I don't factor in injuries, even though we know they're likely to happen. If 4 rotation players get injured, then I would think the Grant/Yang minutes would go way up.

 

[Everything Beagle]

Nobody should be putting RWIII near any depth chart unless that chart includes towel wavers

 

[SharpesTriumph]

That's certainly true. When I do depth charts, I don't factor in injuries, even though we know they're likely to happen. If 4 rotation players get injured, then I would think the Grant/Yang minutes would go way up.

I calculated in another thread - if you look at mpg for the Blazers with the 10 or so most minutes last year it was 280mpg. So yeah I think that's a far more accurate way to estimate PT than the 240mpg posters here list.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I cannot stand Loves game especially for a guy who is older. He’s a “ME” player that isn’t a good scorer but thinks he is and makes little effort as a guard to make players around him better. Exact opposite of the type of player I want as our 3rd guard.

damn read your draft bio and realize why you didn’t get drafted. Should have come into summer league with mindset of showing he’s working on his weakenss.

as far as Yamg I can t wait to see him with good players around him. Offensively he should be really good fit defensively he’ll definitely struggle to stay in front of quicker guys but some of that is conditioning and pace of NBA game. He’s got good work ethic and high BBIQ I think he’ll adjust as season goes on. His rebounding numbers has me a little concerned

I would like to see Love with good players around him as well. Right now, he is the only player on the SL team who can create his own shot. That generally leads to forcing bad shots. And although he did not have a good game last night, he still filled the box score. He could have had more assists with better finishers. He plays hard on both ends of the court. And no one had more rebounds than him yesterday....... on any of the 14 teams that played

Bottom line is he will not be a starter. So what he does in SL will not be the same role. The difference between him and other combo guards we have complained about in the past is that he is physical and plays defense. He might be an older rookie, but he is still a rookie. He needs to get better, just like the rest of them.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I would like to see Love with good players around him as well. Right now, he is the only player on the SL team who can create his own shot. That generally leads to forcing bad shots. And although he did not have a good game last night, he still filled the box score. He could have had more assists with better finishers. He plays hard on both ends of the court. And no one had more rebounds than him yesterday....... on any of the 14 teams that played

Bottom line is he will not be a starter. So what he does in SL will not be the same role. The difference between him and other combo guards we have complained about in the past is that he is physical and plays defense. He might be an older rookie, but he is still a rookie. He needs to get better, just like the rest of them.

12 rebounds is outstanding. Wish he had better decision-making on when to take a shot, but I'm guessing his coaches for five years in college also did.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Rupert was a plus 27 last night; the only guy who came close to him was Carton, who was plus 9 and I thought had a pretty decent game. Love a plus 4

 

[Pinwheel1]

Rupert was a plus 27 last night; the only guy who came close to him was Carton, who was plus 9 and I thought had a pretty decent game. Love a, plus 4

Rupert's 3 ball last night was looking sweet. Solid 3 and D player. Still won't be on the 2nd team but should be the next guy up at both SG and SF when injuries occur

 

[Pinwheel1]

2 rebounds is outstanding. Wish he had better decision-making on when to take a shot, but I'm guessing his coaches for five years in college also did.

12 is even better

 

[wizenheimer]

Almost certainly, because Yang will draw more eyeballs than SGA. There are way more chinese NBA followers than the entire US population

this confuses me. So, Yang will draw eyeballs in China so the Blazers will get more national games in the USA?

I'd wonder if China will tap into Blazer broadcasting. New partnership?

 

[Pinwheel1]

this confuses me. So, Yang will draw eyeballs in China so the Blazers will get more national games in the USA?

I'd wonder if China will tap into Blazer broadcasting. New partnership?

Well, there are 5 million Chinese living in the US. And China does get ESPN via Tencent.
But yeah, I would imagine the Blazer would want to tap into that market via Blazer broadcasting.

 

[wizenheimer]

Caleb Love is a chucker. He was a chucker in college. And in 3 SL games he's averaging 17.7 points on 17.7 shots. Maybe he'll finally develop discipline and better shot selection under NBA coaches....that's possible. But he'll be 24 when the season starts and likely busy chucking away in G-League

 

[Pinwheel1]

Caleb Love is a chucker. He was a chucker in college. And in 3 SL games he's averaging 17.7 points on 17.7 shots. Maybe he'll finally develop discipline and better shot selection under NBA coaches....that's possible. But he'll be 24 when the season starts and likely busy chucking away in G-League

A chucker who actually is willing to play D. Unlike the others we have had.

 

[Sedatedfork]

Does Caleb potentially grow into the Ant role? I don’t think anyone is expecting All Star potential. But on some teams he might fill a role/need. Willingness to create and take shots off the bench

 

[Pinwheel1]

Does Caleb potentially grow into the Ant role? I don’t think anyone is expecting All Star potential. But on some teams he might fill a role/need. Willingness to create and take shots

Maybe the role many wanted. He is not currently as good offensively as Ant, but he checks the other boxes. (Cheaper, would be thrilled to come off the bench, pretty good defender) Neither are true PGs.

 

[Natebishop3]

Does Caleb potentially grow into the Ant role? I don’t think anyone is expecting All Star potential. But on some teams he might fill a role/need. Willingness to create and take shots off the bench

No. He sucks. He's going to be on the Remix.

 

[THE HCP]

Let's see if the NBA give us more National TV come next year

No chance in hell

 

[THE HCP]

Almost certainly, because Yang will draw more eyeballs than SGA. There are way more chinese NBA followers than the entire US population

More likely what’s going to happen is we run an extra cable out of the back of the TV truck and that signal gets shot back to China. Their announcers would call the game from home. We did that during Ichiro’s rookie season in Seattle. I made a lot of money that season FAMS!