Game Thread Blazers vs OKC Tuesday July 28th, 3pm PST NBCSNW

[KSF-ERIC]

Turns out that age is, in fact, something other than a number.

But he's only a year older than LeBron and LeBron is a decent starter in this league still.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

Our starters shot 14/22 from 3. They're the only guys who will play much.

Do you really think Ant is going to get much time in the real games? He'll get some but, hopefully not a lot.

The starters who were shooting from three this game are not the ones who I'm concerned about doing well shooting the three (although if they do, it is a bonus), I'm hoping Dame & CJ can hit at a good percentage?

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Do you really think Ant is going to get much time in the real games? He'll get some but, hopefully not a lot.

The starters who were shooting from three this game are not the ones who I'm concerned about doing well shooting the three (although if they do, it is a bonus), I'm hoping Dame & CJ can hit at a good percentage?

Good point about Ant. We'll see. Quick said the only guys who would play would be Dame/CJ/Melo/Collins/Nurkic/Whiteside/Trent/Little. We'll see.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

But he's only a year older than LeBron and LeBron is a decent starter in this league still.

You don't take the exception and call it the rule.

Melo is old and tired and playing like it. He plays more like the old farts at the YMCA than anyone with respectable energy.

 

[B-Roy]

Good point about Ant. We'll see. Quick said the only guys who would play would be Dame/CJ/Melo/Collins/Nurkic/Whiteside/Trent/Little. We'll see.

Wait, when did he say this?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

One of Anfernee's worst problems is, I think, his attitude. He seems to get down on himself very easily. This is good in moderation (otherwise you're JR Smith or Dion Waiters) but I think he tightens up. Maybe the problem is thinking he's going to get yanked. People forget but he was pretty terrible at the start of that one game against the Kings (that artificially raised our hopes), but the fact that there was literally nobody on the bench to take his place allowed him to settle in for the comeback. I'd honestly like it if Dame and CJ sat out one of the scrimmages.

VINDICATED:

 

[Rastapopoulos]

But he's only a year older than LeBron and LeBron is a decent starter in this league still.

He's also the same age as Kendrick Perkins.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

VINDICATED:

View attachment 32723

Yes, Ant played a decent game but he is clearly a shoot-first player and a look for someone else "if I have to" player. Nice when he does well but don't have high hopes of him making the team as a whole notably better.

Reminds me of Whiteside in a way, Whiteside seems to need to be notably involved to be effective/motivated. Ant same way only his involvement is primarily shooting/scoring. Not distributing/defending.

If he can settle his "I need time to get going jitters", I can see him as a (I'll show my age here) Vinnie Johnson - Microwave off the bench - player but not a starter/star.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Yes, Ant played a decent game but he is clearly a shoot-first player and a look for someone else "if I have to" player. Nice when he does well but don't have high hopes of him making the team as a whole notably better.

Reminds me of Whiteside in a way, Whiteside seems to need to be notably involved to be effective/motivated. Ant same way only his involvement is primarily shooting/scoring. Not distributing/defending.

If he can settle his "I need time to get going jitters", I can see him as a (I'll show my age here) Vinnie Johnson - Microwave off the bench - player but not a starter/star.

Nice point about Whiteside. I wouldn't be surprised if he fell out of the rotation in a tight playoff series.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Wait, when did he say this?

A few days ago.

 

[tlongII]

Neither am I, I'm concerned with our defense.

I am too, but these exhibition games are no indication of the quality of our defense.

 

[JDC]

Really liked Zach's first half minus the last few minutes.

Locked in and active. Thought he was a little out of sorts on both ends vs Toronto so nice to see him bounce back. Nice to see him hit a couple 3s. Really has tightened up his mechanics and you can tell it's coming off his hand nicely right now. Loved that right* hand whip pass to Simons off the O-Board. His decision making is still spotty but I like that he's more assertive with the decisions he's making.

Got a little frustrated with himself in the 2nd half though. Has gotten better at having a next play mentality but looked like rookie Collins out there at times late.

Thought the defense looked solid with Zach and Nurk out there. Flood gates from 3 didn't really open up until we went to 2nd unit. Need to do a better job closing to a touch though. Once OKC found their rhythm, we didn't do much to disrupt it.

Hassan looked out of it most of the game. Also played with some units that he hasn't played with and it showed. We saw that with a lot of units in general.

Couple good sequences for Nurk on both ends. That pump, drive and dunk was special. His positioning gets away from him at the end of these long first quarter stretches but overall, looks great.

Little too much Melo on offense for my liking. He's an awkward fit on both ends with that starting unit. He does allow us to switch a bit more along big frontlines like the lineup OKC had out there, bit I do like Gary quite a bit more with that group in most match ups. Also like what it does for Gary. Can focus on defending and playing off the advantages Dame creates. Think he plays a bit outside of himself at times when he's playing with the 2nd unit guys.

Nas shot looks noticeably smoother and a like how confident he is with it. Looked like a guy that hasn't played in a while otherwise. Step slow on both ends.

Nice to see Ant get it going. So much talent with the ball. Jumper hasn't fallen at times, has made some bad decisions with ball. Needs to learn to talk more on both ends. Has gotten a little stronger and been pretty good on the ball defensively. Still not sure if he'll ever be a high enough feel player on both ends or efficient enough on offense to be really valuable, but there's enough flashes to keep me pretty far away from giving up on him.

 

[kjironman1]

You don't take the exception and call it the rule.

Melo is old and tired and playing like it. He plays more like the old farts at the YMCA than anyone with respectable energy.

Hey now... Us old farts at the YMCA deserve some RESPECT!

 

[kjironman1]

This was kind of what i was afraid of. No noticeable improvement from the team as a whole on Defense and no real improvement on Offense because the players we want to gel are not playing together.

But again there is a built in excuse. Certain players didn't play.

I'm not and do not profess to even be remotely qualified to coach at this level so please just take this as an opinion.

I would have liked to see this team take these games a bit more serious. I would have liked to see more fire and i would have liked to see them play with an intensity that could carry over into the 8 game stretch. I don't like the Stotts's playing it safe at every turn Philosophy to coaching but it wins him enough games to stay relevant i guess. I personally do not see this team making the playoffs if they continue to implement these same strategies. They just don't have that killer coach and history to turn on the intensity at will. They have softballed their way through this so far. What makes anyone think they can exert their will at any given time? Stotts is completely reactionary in his coaching at this point. Maybe by design???? I don't think so.

I will say this again- You will play in games the way you practice! The Blazers did not practice well at all. Lets hope they can catch fire because they sure have not up to this point.

Go Blazers!

 

[bobf]

Hezonja is a Top 5 player in this league.

Closer to bottom 5. The sooner we lose Melo and Hezonja the sooner we can get on the long road to recovery from the summer-19 debacle.

 

[bobf]

Because we have a lot of bad players playing a lot of minutes.

You're making it too complicated. Could you elaborate?

 

[bobf]

Dame and C.J. played all season. Our 3pt defense struggled all season. Neither Dame and C.J. are good defenders. Our shotty 3pt defense during these scrimmages is not due to missing Dame or C.J.

We used to have balance and chemistry. Dame & CJ could get out on the 3 and if (when) they got beat we had three good interior defenders to compensate. Vice versa on offense. Now we are all out of whack. We have sooooo many bad defenders. And we have two centers that are too good to play only 24 minutes each but who together can't defend the 3 point line and unbalance our offense as well.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

You're making it too complicated. Could you elaborate?

Players with insufficient skill to be victorious playing notably more minutes than their skill level would otherwise dictate.

Better?

 

[bobf]

Players with insufficient skill to be victorious playing notably more minutes than their skill level would otherwise dictate.

Better?

Ahhhhhh..... now I get it. Thx.

 

[THE HCP]

Eric Gordon hurts his ankle...... this is why Dame and CJ didn’t play today.

 

[kjironman1]

Eric Gordon hurts his ankle...... this is why Dame and CJ didn’t play today.

Guess we need them in bubble wrap in the bubble.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Really liked Zach's first half minus the last few minutes.

Locked in and active. Thought he was a little out of sorts on both ends vs Toronto so nice to see him bounce back. Nice to see him hit a couple 3s. Really has tightened up his mechanics and you can tell it's coming off his hand nicely right now. Loved that left hand whip pass to Simons off the O-Board. His decision making is still spotty but I like that he's more assertive with the decisions he's making.

Got a little frustrated with himself in the 2nd half though. Has gotten better at having a next play mentality but looked like rookie Collins out there at times late.

Thought the defense looked solid with Zach and Nurk out there. Flood gates from 3 didn't really open up until we went to 2nd unit. Need to do a better job closing to a touch though. Once OKC found their rhythm, we didn't do much to disrupt it.

Hassan looked out of it most of the game. Also played with some units that he hasn't played with and it showed. We saw that with a lot of units in general.

Couple good sequences for Nurk on both ends. That pump, drive and dunk was special. His positioning gets away from him at the end of these long first quarter stretches but overall, looks great.

Little too much Melo on offense for my liking. He's an awkward fit on both ends with that starting unit. He does allow us to switch a bit more along big frontlines like the lineup OKC had out there, bit I do like Gary quite a bit more with that group in most match ups. Also like what it does for Gary. Can focus on defending and playing off the advantages Dame creates. Think he plays a bit outside of himself at times when he's playing with the 2nd unit guys.

Nas shot looks noticeably smoother and a like how confident he is with it. Looked like a guy that hasn't played in a while otherwise. Step slow on both ends.

Nice to see Ant get it going. So much talent with the ball. Jumper hasn't fallen at times, has made some bad decisions with ball. Needs to learn to talk more on both ends. Has gotten a little stronger and been pretty good on the ball defensively. Still not sure if he'll ever be a high enough feel player on both ends or efficient enough on offense to be really valuable, but there's enough flashes to keep me pretty far away from giving up on him.

Excellent post!

 

[TBpup]

• Wenyen continues to do good things every time he is on the floor. Very active and distruptive on defense and starting to make some shots on offense.
• On the other side, Melo plays little defense and the offense comes to a stand still until he throws up a brick and people start chasing rebounds. So even if he starts making shots, he is such a minus on the other end.
• Still giving up a ridiculous percentage from '3'. Same ole', same ole'.
• 16-26 from Trent/Ant? Wow!

 

[KSF-ERIC]

This was kind of what i was afraid of. No noticeable improvement from the team as a whole on Defense and no real improvement on Offense because the players we want to gel are not playing together.

But again there is a built in excuse. Certain players didn't play.

I'm not and do not profess to even be remotely qualified to coach at this level so please just take this as an opinion.

I would have liked to see this team take these games a bit more serious. I would have liked to see more fire and i would have liked to see them play with an intensity that could carry over into the 8 game stretch. I don't like the Stotts's playing it safe at every turn Philosophy to coaching but it wins him enough games to stay relevant i guess. I personally do not see this team making the playoffs if they continue to implement these same strategies. They just don't have that killer coach and history to turn on the intensity at will. They have softballed their way through this so far. What makes anyone think they can exert their will at any given time? Stotts is completely reactionary in his coaching at this point. Maybe by design???? I don't think so.

I will say this again- You will play in games the way you practice! The Blazers did not practice well at all. Lets hope they can catch fire because they sure have not up to this point.

Go Blazers!

Well you are right but we haven't seen their actual practices and obviously Stotts has. They probably had different goals for the exhibition games. I have faith we'll be ready. Remember, last year, OKC swept us 4-0 in the regular season and CJ sat out the last 3 or 4 weeks of the season and then we came out and, boom, obliterated the Thunder on our way to the Western Conference Finals. These guys know what they're doing. I'm sure the primary goal was to get Zach and Nurk some time out on the court and the two of them have looked great. The fact is, with only 8 games left, Dame/CJ/Melo(GTJ)/Collins/Nurk will be playing upward of 40 minutes each I would guess (hope).

 

[KSF-ERIC]

 

[JDC]

Considering his size/athleticism and offensive load, CJ is a fine defender.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Considering his size/athleticism and offensive load, CJ is a fine defender.

Remember when he blocked Paul George and then hit a three on the other end in the playoffs this year? It was unbelievable. I can't find it on YouTube.

 

[JDC]

Remember when he blocked Paul George and then hit a three on the other end in the playoffs this year? It was unbelievable. I can't find it on YouTube.

Got him twice...

https://stats.nba.com/events/?flag=...tals&MeasureType=Base&section=player&sct=plot

He's always been a weirdly good shot blocker. Even in college.

 

[BonesJones]

This was kind of what i was afraid of. No noticeable improvement from the team as a whole on Defense and no real improvement on Offense because the players we want to gel are not playing together.

But again there is a built in excuse. Certain players didn't play.

I'm not and do not profess to even be remotely qualified to coach at this level so please just take this as an opinion.

I would have liked to see this team take these games a bit more serious. I would have liked to see more fire and i would have liked to see them play with an intensity that could carry over into the 8 game stretch. I don't like the Stotts's playing it safe at every turn Philosophy to coaching but it wins him enough games to stay relevant i guess. I personally do not see this team making the playoffs if they continue to implement these same strategies. They just don't have that killer coach and history to turn on the intensity at will. They have softballed their way through this so far. What makes anyone think they can exert their will at any given time? Stotts is completely reactionary in his coaching at this point. Maybe by design???? I don't think so.

I will say this again- You will play in games the way you practice! The Blazers did not practice well at all. Lets hope they can catch fire because they sure have not up to this point.

Go Blazers!

Well said.

 

[kjironman1]

Well you are right but we haven't seen their actual practices and obviously Stotts has. They probably had different goals for the exhibition games. I have faith we'll be ready. Remember, last year, OKC swept us 4-0 in the regular season and CJ sat out the last 3 or 4 weeks of the season and then we came out and, boom, obliterated the Thunder on our way to the Western Conference Finals. These guys know what they're doing. I'm sure the primary goal was to get Zach and Nurk some time out on the court and the two of them have looked great. The fact is, with only 8 games left, Dame/CJ/Melo(GTJ)/Collins/Nurk will be playing upward of 40 minutes each I would guess (hope).

Different team altogether.