Game Thread Blazers vs Pacers Game Thread 7/23/20 12:30pm PT NBCSNW and NBATV

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The odds are really stacked against our team making the playoffs, so I'm just going to enjoy these games for what they are:

I will obviously watch the games, but I really don't like the way this team is "constructed". We have too many bigs and no well-rounded wings. Trent is good... for a second-round pick. Melo is good... no, wait, he just isn't. He isn't great on offense any more and he was never good on defense. I was really hoping he wouldn't go in the bubble, to be honest. Playing him at SF at this stage in his career, skinny or not, is just asking for trouble. I'm pinning my hopes on Nas, but the chances of him ending up better than Bol Bol seem to depend on Bol Bol getting injured.

The chances of something really bad happening (particularly to Nurk or Zach) seem to be higher than something really good happening. If Stotts can wrangle this mismatched selection into something good, it'll outdo even his job in the playoffs last year.

But hey, Basketball! And believe it or not, this is me in a good mood - LEEDS, CHAMPIONS AND HEADING BACK TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!

  • A trial run for deciding if we want to keep Melo and Whiteside next year.
PLEASE GOD NO!
 
This would have been great in the nineties. Maybe.

Trends cycle. Maybe we are just ahead of the curve the NBA is about to enter. So we have a current trender in Dame and the future trend with the best 3 man big rotation in the league(homerism).

We are set for now and the future.
 
The best team in the west starts two bigs. Trends are just that, trends. There’s a reason playing big has outlasted all other configurations. If you’re dominating the boards, you will win the possession battle. If you win the possession battle, you’re in the drivers seat to win the game. For example, the team that averages the most possessions this season? The bucks. They also lead the league in rebounding. It’s not that complex of a game.
 
The best team in the west starts two bigs. Trends are just that, trends. There’s a reason playing big has outlasted all other configurations. If you’re dominating the boards, you will win the possession battle. If you win the possession battle, you’re in the drivers seat to win the game. For example, the team that averages the most possessions this season? The bucks. They also lead the league in rebounding. It’s not that complex of a game.

The best team in the west starts two bigs because AD is a special player. The 2nd best team in the west starts a 6'8" 218 pound PF.
The trend is having PF's who are multi-skilled. If you get one who is tall....all the better.
 
The odds are really stacked against our team making the playoffs, so I'm just going to enjoy these games for what they are:
  • A trial run for deciding if we want to keep Melo and Whiteside next year.
  • Enjoying seeing Nurk and Zach back on the court happy, healthy and having fun.
  • Seeing if Nas lives up to the hype. (I know he's not playing in the first game, but he will eventually.) The guy took 11,000 jumpshots during the shutdown. That just seems like an insane number of shots.
  • Dame being Dame.
In the recent Lowe Post podcast, I thought Stan VanGundy brought up a good point, that without home court advantage there's not a lot of incentive for the contending teams to play extra hard. These games are a tuneup for them, while it's life-or-death for teams like ours. Our brutal schedule may not be as brutal as it looks.
Unless Zion is out for an extended period, I see no way that we even make the play-in. The same kinda schedule quirks also apply to NO, so we have no real advantage there. #lowexpectations
 
  • Hope Nas is okay after his concussion
  • Want to see what SF looks like for the Blazers from starter to bench
  • How will Whiteside fit in with the 2nd unit?
  • Will the Blazers go Twin Towers at times?
  • How rusty will both teams look?
Been trying to glean stuff from the limited practice footage we have, but I see Nurk and Whiteside both together in lineups with Dame/CJ/Melo. Collins has been the one to play with the 2nd unit.
 
Been trying to glean stuff from the limited practice footage we have, but I see Nurk and Whiteside both together in lineups with Dame/CJ/Melo. Collins has been the one to play with the 2nd unit.
Yes I see that too but we don't know what part practice that is taking neither. But we will get pretty good idea tonight who is in the starting lineup which way Stotts is leaning to.
 
The best team in the west starts two bigs because AD is a special player. The 2nd best team in the west starts a 6'8" 218 pound PF.
The trend is having PF's who are multi-skilled. If you get one who is tall....all the better.

The raptors just won a championship with Gasol and Ibaka..so uhhh.

Ibaka is Zach’s ceiling btw.
 
Things I want to see
  • Dame's half court three
  • How good is Skinny Carmelo
  • How good is the Blazers solidified front court
  • Back up SF
  • What the rotation will look like
  • Naz when he returns - heard lots of good things
  • Nurkic hitting threes, beasting
 
The raptors just won a championship with Gasol and Ibaka..so uhhh.

Ibaka is Zach’s ceiling btw.

Yeah but when the game was on the line they both rarely were in there at the same time.

This is their starting line up now. Not big at all:

Kyle Lowry
Fred VanVleet
OG Anunoby
Pascal Siakam
Serge Ibaka
 
It's been so long since I've watched a game I have forgotten where I find unauthorized streams.
 
No whiteside just means more minutes for Wenyennnnnn
 
Wish I could watch this live. Damn it. Gonna try to DVR
 

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