Game Thread 2026 PLAYOFFS RND 1 - GAME #5 - BLAZERS @ SPURS - APRIL 28, 2026 - TUESDAY - 6:30 - ESPN (7 Viewers)

[Strenuus]

We're winning this series

Bringing this up for the laughs.

The team was fucking awful the whole season.

 

[Domihatin]

I had to get an injection in my ass this morning and it was far more enjoyable

I will not ask what sort of "injection"...

 

[Domihatin]

Instead of glazing Spurs management's balls, just once I'd like to hear an announcers say this Spurs team tanked repeatedly, even after getting Wemby, got dog's ass lucky, and got Wemby and two other cornerstones in the lottery. Yeah. Brilliant.

I got extremely angry and vocal when I heard that ass hat say the Spurs had done a great a job or great work to get their players. What a joke. God, I hate tanking and can't believe people condone it.

 

[inconceivable]

I got extremely angry and vocal when I heard that ass hat say the Spurs had done a great a job or great work to get their players. What a joke. God, I hate tanking and can't believe people condone it.

Drafting Wemby, Castle, Harper were easy picks. Three consecutive top 5 drafts picks was responsible for their dynasty

 

[Domihatin]

Drafting Wemby, Castle, Harper were easy picks. Three consecutive top 5 drafts picks was responsible for their dynasty

And it certainly wasn't the result of a great job. It was intentionally losing years of games in a very flawed system to get draft odds. Garbage league.

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

I actually think we take this one.
Yesterday, I wasn't giving us a chance in hell. Nothing changed. Just my mindset.

This didn't age well.
Great job jinxer!!!

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

I remember when the Blazers in the playoffs meant Portland's young guys could develop....how much did Scoot-Sharpe-Clingan develop?

Clingan shot 46 times in the series; 25 of those shots were 3's...he made 5. That right there is a reason to fire Splitter

Scoot-Jrue-Toumani were 7-30 on FG's this game. Add in Thybulle and the foursome were 8-36.....22%

Come on man. Thats bs. Playoffs are experience that helps development. We need to wait until next season to see if it paid off. Judging them now??

That's like starting a diet and expecting to loses 10 lbs in the first day.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

Henderson gets benched for the last 8 minutes?

Both should be traded. They are not NBA material.

I don't agree with that, but it can look like that in times of loss and or blowouts.

 

[Phatguysrule]

Drafting Wemby, Castle, Harper were easy picks. Three consecutive top 5 drafts picks was responsible for their dynasty

That's how you tank. Genius.

 

[kjironman1]

i dunno wtf to say to be honest.
i think Splitter got ultra exposed in the last 2 games in regards to his adjustment strategy when we are being pressed. aka, there is no plan b.
our shooting was absolutely woeful.
11-47 from 3, camara 1-7 , jrue 1-6, deni 1-6, clingan 2-7, matisse 0-5 etc
we had 19 more shot attempts than SA and lost by 19pts
clingan 5 rebounds
4 of our starters had 10pts or less
yang played 1minute and put up 2 3s, missed both.

at this point I cant really see much downside in cleaning the decks of this titanic.
grant, jrue, have to go.
matisse is expiring.
id like to re-sign timelord if we can. i think him and Deni seem pretty close.
Sharpe really needs to work on D, but with Camara on the court he can close a lot of gaps - but any improvement would be good.
scoot - i dunno, he went from having an out of this world game to being completely anonymous. i dont think he is good enough to be either an outright PG or SG, but could be good bench utility.
i still want clingan to lose like 20lbs of thicc and get more mobile. if he cant, i dont really want to watch the trainwrek evolution of another nurkic.

i dont know who is out there for us in regards to potential trades, but at this point i dont really care who comes in, im just sick of watching the same movie with the same cast over n over. the playoffs means we have our own 1st round pick for like the next 6 seasons or something. so drafting well is a huge priority. lord help us here.

whats the go on getting some euros on the team? id like to see more of their play style in our team, i dont think we gonna have the 'stars' to carry us, but we can damn well raise team cohesion and expand the playmaking.

You just typed Splitter got exposed and then went on to explain exactly why he did not get exposed.

 

[Chris Craig]

Everbody shit canned yet?

 

[crandc]

Might have been over reacting when I played Faure's Requiem. But not much.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

Biggest disappoint for me this playoff series was seeing our 20 point a game not play in a series that we needed scoring and yes I understand it was because of his terrible defense. Sure wanted to see him gain that experience. Hope it lites a fire under his ass.

He sure reminds me of my step son. He was all state basketball, football and track star (long jump and triple jump records ). Problem was he had adhd and suffered from anxiety. His coaches struggled daily to get him to apply himself in practice and in games yet he still did good enough to earn all this honors. Coach gave him green light in basketball to shoot anywhere on the floor at any time and he would have games where he’d shoot less than 8 shots. His first few coaches didn’t know how to deal with him and he would completely shut down which made coaches play him even less.

I’m not saying Sharpe has any of this but I can’t help but think maybe there’s something there maybe anxiety? Why didn’t he play in any games in Kentucky? Maybe I’m trying to make excuses I just see so many similarities.

 

[kjironman1]

Biggest disappoint for me this playoff series was seeing our 20 point a game not play in a series that we needed scoring and yes I understand it was because of his terrible defense. Sure wanted to see him gain that experience. Hope it lites a fire under his ass.

He sure reminds me of my step son. He was all state basketball, football and track star (long jump and triple jump records ). Problem was he had adhd and suffered from anxiety. His coaches struggled daily to get him to apply himself in practice and in games yet he still did good enough to earn all this honors. Coach gave him green light in basketball to shoot anywhere on the floor at any time and he would have games where he’d shoot less than 8 shots. His first few coaches didn’t know how to deal with him and he would completely shut down which made coaches play him even less.

I’m not saying Sharpe has any of this but I can’t help but think maybe there’s something there maybe anxiety? Why didn’t he play in any games in Kentucky? Maybe I’m trying to make excuses I just see so many similarities.

It was because of his minutes restrictions due to a calf strain.

 

[wizenheimer]

Come on man. Thats bs. Playoffs are experience that helps development. We need to wait until next season to see if it paid off. Judging them now??

That's like starting a diet and expecting to loses 10 lbs in the first day.

to use your analogy:

Sharpe's first day of the diet was in July 2022; 4 years ago. Scoot's first day was in July 2023. Sharpe has played 239 games; Scoot has played 163. The notion that their last 5 games is critical for their development is sound-byte loopy. Scoot is not nearly as good as the Scoot that scored 49 points on 28 shots in the first 2 games; just as he's not nearly as bad as the guy who scored 5 points on 13 shots in the last 2 games. He's somewhere in between; but we already knew that

Sharpe averaged 29 minutes in the regular season; he averaged 13 in the playoffs, including 6 in game 5. Great development plan

Clingan averaged 6 fewer minutes in the playoffs and spent half of his time on offense parked out at the three point line. The best offensive rebounder in the NBA who need to develop a better game in the paint spent half of his time 25' from the hoop. In 5 playoff games, Gobert has shot 30 times, once from behind the three on a half court heave as time expired. Clingan, in 5 games shot 46 times and 25 of them were three's; he made 5 of 25. The only thing he developed in these playoffs was bad habits and broken confidence

 

[wizenheimer]

Tiago said in his postgame interview that he chose not to play Shae. Said he wanted to stay positive and say that Sidy's defense gave us a better chance.

I think that's bullshit. Only 6 minutes and he had a quick hook for him all series. Shaedon has the second most scoring potential on the team and Tiago wasted that. Shaedon's defense just isn't bad enough to not give him more PT.

SMH.

during the series, defensive rating:

Sharpe 119
Deni 119
Scoot 121

 

[inconceivable]

did wemby snub deni's post-series congratulatory handshake? i saw a clip insinuating such but it was inconclusive. what did deni do to him?

 

[blazerkor]

during the series, defensive rating:

Sharpe 119
Deni 119
Scoot 121

Well Deni played 35 minutes per game.

 

[wizenheimer]

Well Deni played 35 minutes per game.

sure; and Scoot started and played more minutes than Sharpe. But Scoot had the worst def. rating on the team (other than Krejci & Wesley)

I just remember Chauncey's bullshit reason for benching Sharpe was defense when Simons was clearly worse on defense. If Splitter was benching Sharpe for defense, it's similar bullshit

 

[ehizzy3]

did wemby snub deni's post-series congratulatory handshake? i saw a clip insinuating such but it was inconclusive. what did deni do to him?

There’s def something there on Wendy’s end. He was asked about Deni either in the asg or before the series and he had zero to say about Deni

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

to use your analogy:

Sharpe's first day of the diet was in July 2022; 4 years ago. Scoot's first day was in July 2023. Sharpe has played 239 games; Scoot has played 163. The notion that their last 5 games is critical for their development is sound-byte loopy. Scoot is not nearly as good as the Scoot that scored 49 points on 28 shots in the first 2 games; just as he's not nearly as bad as the guy who scored 5 points on 13 shots in the last 2 games. He's somewhere in between; but we already knew that

Sharpe averaged 29 minutes in the regular season; he averaged 13 in the playoffs, including 6 in game 5. Great development plan

Clingan averaged 6 fewer minutes in the playoffs and spent half of his time on offense parked out at the three point line. The best offensive rebounder in the NBA who need to develop a better game in the paint spent half of his time 25' from the hoop. In 5 playoff games, Gobert has shot 30 times, once from behind the three on a half court heave as time expired. Clingan, in 5 games shot 46 times and 25 of them were three's; he made 5 of 25. The only thing he developed in these playoffs was bad habits and broken confidence

Either you arent getting my analogy or you are changing lanes.

This is what you said:
I remember when the Blazers in the playoffs meant Portland's young guys could develop....how much did Scoot-Sharpe-Clingan develop?


This is the first year they have been in the playoffs. How does any game played prior to the playoffs become relevant to your playoff comment and my response?

The diet started a week and a half ago.

 

[wizenheimer]

Wither you arent getting my analogy or you are changing lanes.

This is what you said:
I remember when the Blazers in the playoffs meant Portland's young guys could develop....how much did Scoot-Sharpe-Clingan develop?


This is the first year they have been in the playoffs. How does any game played prior to the playoffs become relevant to your playoff comment and my response?

The diet started a week and a half ago.

is the playoff BB court a different dimension? Is the hoop more than 10' off the floor in the playoffs? Is it a shorter shot clock?

you seem to be operating under the assumption that 5 playoff games will supercharge the development of the young guys. I don't believe, for a second, that Sharpe's minutes dropping from 29 to 13 will help his development. I don't believe that Clingan's minutes dropping by 22% while he was parked 10' out of the paint and shooting more three's than two's will help his development.

Scoot actually scored 2 less points/36 in the playoffs than the regular season, and this after he had an unsustainable conversion rate on three's; he scored 49 points in the first 2 games, and 5 points in the last 2 games. And his per36 assists dropped from 5.4 to 1.5 since he spent no time at all running the offense. Great development plan for an supposed PG

now, maybe Deni and Toumani generated some development lessons, but I wasn't talking about them. Jrue came in having played 98 playoff games. I wasn't talking about him either

 

[Bingo Bango]

If they’re not NBA material, why would any team trade for them?

It often takes two or three trades before the whole league realizes a guy’s limitations. That’s what happened to Travis Outlaw, Caleb Swanigan, Sebastian Telfair, and others.

 

[Bingo Bango]

Come on man. Thats bs. Playoffs are experience that helps development. We need to wait until next season to see if it paid off. Judging them now??

That's like starting a diet and expecting to loses 10 lbs in the first day.

That’s what Portland fans say every off-season: let the players develop just one more season . . .

 

[blazerkor]

It often takes two or three trades before the whole league realizes a guy’s limitations. That’s what happened to Travis Outlaw, Caleb Swanigan, Sebastian Telfair, and others.

It also often takes one trade to realize a guy's value. It's really hard to see clearly when a guy is on his first team... unless they're absolutely a superstar or pure shit.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[kjironman1]

Him and Castle were good though.
Actually looking again it looks like they did at least shake. Not much more.

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

is the playoff BB court a different dimension? Is the hoop more than 10' off the floor in the playoffs? Is it a shorter shot clock?

you seem to be operating under the assumption that 5 playoff games will supercharge the development of the young guys. I don't believe, for a second, that Sharpe's minutes dropping from 29 to 13 will help his development. I don't believe that Clingan's minutes dropping by 22% while he was parked 10' out of the paint and shooting more three's than two's will help his development.

Scoot actually scored 2 less points/36 in the playoffs than the regular season, and this after he had an unsustainable conversion rate on three's; he scored 49 points in the first 2 games, and 5 points in the last 2 games. And his per36 assists dropped from 5.4 to 1.5 since he spent no time at all running the offense. Great development plan for an supposed PG

now, maybe Deni and Toumani generated some development lessons, but I wasn't talking about them. Jrue came in having played 98 playoff games. I wasn't talking about him either

Again. You bring up stats from prior to them being in the playoffs or from this playoffs.
Do you not think they cant take this experience and learn from it? And if you do, then allow time for the education process. The playoffs are indeed different than the regular season. Even most casual fans know this.
All of your stats are irrelevant to them playing in this playoffs and taking the off season to learn from it. Study the tape and the differences from the regular season, like pace and isolation. Pinpoint areas that worked in the reg but not in the playoffs and find answers to those problems, etc.

You are not giving time for the playoff experience to sink in.

 

[kjironman1]

Again. You bring up stats from prior to them being in the playoffs or from this playoffs.
Do you not think they cant take this experience and learn from it? And if you do, then allow time for the education process. The playoffs are indeed different than the regular season. Even most casual fans know this.
All of your stats are irrelevant to them playing in this playoffs and taking the off season to learn from it. Study the tape and the differences from the regular season, like pace and isolation. Pinpoint areas that worked in the reg but not in the playoffs and find answers to those problems, etc.

You are not giving time for the playoff experience to sink in.

I agree with you on this. I don’t think you can take anything from this experience until they have all lost a little sleep over it. Secondly I think they will draw more from watching the second round which I know everyone of them will be doing. They will hone in on skills they need to improve on with a different understanding of what happens when it’s a playoff game.
Those are just different aspects.
Yes I would have rather they had a chance at a decent draft pick but you can’t deny playoff experience is different.