Does Portland NEED a star wing?

[wizenheimer]

They still need a wing who can be a playmaker when Dame gets trapped in the Playoffs. For all the defensive improvements RoCo and DJJ bring, neither approaches that.

I would argue that Melo, Hood, and Trent all have the ability to fulfill that role.

ok, the problem I have with that argument is the definition of "playmaker". Those 3 guys are scorers in my view but they are not playmakers. A playmaker needs to be able to consistently run the offense without forcing lots of turnovers. Last year, those 3 guys combined for 4 assists & 3 turnovers in 84 minutes. That's 1.7 assists per 36. Their assist rate was around 6.5% while their turnover rate was around 8%. That's a ratio under 1.0 and that's not good at all

a playmaker needs to be able to break down defenses and force defensive adjustments that his passing can capitalize on. Just taking the ball, going one-on-one and jacking up shots is being a scorer, not a playmaker. 5 years of CJ has proven that

Portland has wing depth. They don't have any star wings. But mainly what they lack is balanced 2-way wings. Melo is a scorer, but a lousy defender. Same is mostly true of Hood, although he's a little better defender. RoCo and Jones are good-to-great defenders but their offense is not dynamic or consistent. Trent might be closest to a 2-way player, but he's never shown he can consistently create any of his own offense

none of Portland's wings can run the offense; none are playmakers in my view. All have flaws and weaknesses in their games. They all bring good things to the floor, but it becomes bop-a-mole when you have to rely on 5 different wings to each bring something the team needs. Can't play them all at the same time

as for wings, I think there's a broader effective definition than some are giving it. Lebron plays like a wing. Lebron's teammate, AD, spends most of the time playing like a wing. Giannis plays like a wing. Doncic is a wing

we know what Portland's Achilles heel is: the offense stalls against good focused defenses when Dame is blanketed. Nobody else on the roster can effectively run the offense and break down opposing defenses. Portland has had no answer to that for 6 years and I don't really see an answer on this roster right now

 

[oldfisherman]

"A star can win any game;
A team can win every game"
Dr. Jack Ramsay

We got a team.

 

[kjironman1]

i hate that you made me watch that just now...


How do i forward this to Dame???

Damian Lillard
23.3K Tweets


See new Tweets







Following
Damian Lillard
@Dame_Lillard
They say the truth shall come to the light...so everybody grab ya shades cuz ya boy that bright. (Instagram: DamianLillard)
linktr.ee/DamianLillardJoined March 2011
2,409 Following
2.3M Followers
[URL='https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/followers_you_follow']Followed by Reece (#1 Nassir Little fan), Eric Brandt, and 186 others you follow[/URL]

 

[Orion Bailey]

Damian Lillard
23.3K Tweets


See new Tweets







Following
Damian Lillard
@Dame_Lillard
They say the truth shall come to the light...so everybody grab ya shades cuz ya boy that bright. (Instagram: DamianLillard)
linktr.ee/DamianLillardJoined March 2011
2,409 Following
2.3M Followers
Followed by Reece (#1 Nassir Little fan), Eric Brandt, and 186 others you follow

i deleted fb from my phone for a reason.
Im really trying to make this place really my only social media outlet.
Ill leave it for someone else to forward.
But if i read that right, you are following him?

if so, tweet that shit to him(if thats how it works?) and tell him his loyals at S2 got his back!!!

 

[Further]

We definitely need players capable of adequate defense against superstar wings, which hopefully we now have. It’s much less important that our offense comes from a superstar wing as long as we have the high- powered offense coming from somewhere. And the Blazers certainly have that!

I remember a few years back when Damon Stoudamire talked shit saying Spurs would lose to us in a series because they only had Avery Bradley at PG, not a star. Well just like Damon overvalued his position and his abilities- so does PP

 

[tlongII]

ok, the problem I have with that argument is the definition of "playmaker". Those 3 guys are scorers in my view but they are not playmakers. A playmaker needs to be able to consistently run the offense without forcing lots of turnovers. Last year, those 3 guys combined for 4 assists & 3 turnovers in 84 minutes. That's 1.7 assists per 36. Their assist rate was around 6.5% while their turnover rate was around 8%. That's a ratio under 1.0 and that's not good at all

a playmaker needs to be able to break down defenses and force defensive adjustments that his passing can capitalize on. Just taking the ball, going one-on-one and jacking up shots is being a scorer, not a playmaker. 5 years of CJ has proven that

Portland has wing depth. They don't have any star wings. But mainly what they lack is balanced 2-way wings. Melo is a scorer, but a lousy defender. Same is mostly true of Hood, although he's a little better defender. RoCo and Jones are good-to-great defenders but their offense is not dynamic or consistent. Trent might be closest to a 2-way player, but he's never shown he can consistently create any of his own offense

none of Portland's wings can run the offense; none are playmakers in my view. All have flaws and weaknesses in their games. They all bring good things to the floor, but it becomes bop-a-mole when you have to rely on 5 different wings to each bring something the team needs. Can't play them all at the same time

as for wings, I think there's a broader effective definition than some are giving it. Lebron plays like a wing. Lebron's teammate, AD, spends most of the time playing like a wing. Giannis plays like a wing. Doncic is a wing

we know what Portland's Achilles heel is: the offense stalls against good focused defenses when Dame is blanketed. Nobody else on the roster can effectively run the offense and break down opposing defenses. Portland has had no answer to that for 6 years and I don't really see an answer on this roster right now

Incorrect.. Our Achilles heal last year was defense. That has been addressed.

 

[illmatic99]

ok, the problem I have with that argument is the definition of "playmaker". Those 3 guys are scorers in my view but they are not playmakers. A playmaker needs to be able to consistently run the offense without forcing lots of turnovers. Last year, those 3 guys combined for 4 assists & 3 turnovers in 84 minutes. That's 1.7 assists per 36. Their assist rate was around 6.5% while their turnover rate was around 8%. That's a ratio under 1.0 and that's not good at all

a playmaker needs to be able to break down defenses and force defensive adjustments that his passing can capitalize on. Just taking the ball, going one-on-one and jacking up shots is being a scorer, not a playmaker. 5 years of CJ has proven that

Portland has wing depth. They don't have any star wings. But mainly what they lack is balanced 2-way wings. Melo is a scorer, but a lousy defender. Same is mostly true of Hood, although he's a little better defender. RoCo and Jones are good-to-great defenders but their offense is not dynamic or consistent. Trent might be closest to a 2-way player, but he's never shown he can consistently create any of his own offense

none of Portland's wings can run the offense; none are playmakers in my view. All have flaws and weaknesses in their games. They all bring good things to the floor, but it becomes bop-a-mole when you have to rely on 5 different wings to each bring something the team needs. Can't play them all at the same time

as for wings, I think there's a broader effective definition than some are giving it. Lebron plays like a wing. Lebron's teammate, AD, spends most of the time playing like a wing. Giannis plays like a wing. Doncic is a wing

we know what Portland's Achilles heel is: the offense stalls against good focused defenses when Dame is blanketed. Nobody else on the roster can effectively run the offense and break down opposing defenses. Portland has had no answer to that for 6 years and I don't really see an answer on this roster right now

We just have to come to terms with the fact that we are going to be in the bottom three in assists every year. I don't really care about the iso heavy play as long as we're top 5 in offense. The playoff issues were a problem but we have addressed them with better shooting.

The best shooting team we have had in recent history was 2018-19. Think this year is better. The best offensive lineups in the playoffs that year featured Curry/Hood/Collins/Leonard. We still have Hood and Collins, and have Trent and Melo instead of Curry/Leonard.

And the other point I think we all have missed is Dame getting up to 40% on high volume from three. He was always in the 36-38 range earlier. That's a significant step up.

 

[Natebishop3]

Two biggest questions for me this year:

1. Can we stay healthy? Nothing else matters. Can we stay healthy? When this team is healthy I think we can hang with anyone in the league.

2. Can CJ run the second unit? We have a ton of talent on the second unit now and we need someone that can distribute the ball. I am extremely skeptical of CJ as a point guard. GTJ can spot up. Melo can spot up. Hood can spot up. All CJ needs to do is fucking look around for the open man. It's not rocket science.

 

[Hoopguru]

Would you rasther have a star

Two biggest questions for me this year:

1. Can we stay healthy? Nothing else matters. Can we stay healthy? When this team is healthy I think we can hang with anyone in the league.

2. Can CJ run the second unit? We have a ton of talent on the second unit now and we need someone that can distribute the ball. I am extremely skeptical of CJ as a point guard. GTJ can spot up. Melo can spot up. Hood can spot up. All CJ needs to do is fucking look around for the open man. It's not rocket science.

Going to Simons a good portion of the time.

 

[Natebishop3]

Would you rasther have a star

Going to Simons a good portion of the time.

I would bet Simons hardly ever sees the floor. There are far more deserving players who need the minutes.

 

[riverman]

Our guards need a lot of reps with the new guys...it shows we don't know where they need to ball or where their sweet spots are....you could see we know where Melo or Trent want it but the new guys are still trying to develop some chemistry...we'll get there and when we do....the alley oop will be back baby! Our ball handling will look better with some chemistry

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Aaron Gordon/RoCo at PF would vault this team.

Get’r’done!

 

[riverman]

We needed a star wing defender and we got two of them...

 

[Cugel]

You need the superstar wing unless you are good enough to make opponents pay for not being able to match up with your line up. You either play catch up or blaze a new trail (see what i did there) ie new paradigm

 

[e_blazer]

Personally, I am all for Derrick Jones Jr. having a breakout year and becoming a star wing.

 

[Big Dog]

Personally, I am all for Derrick Jones Jr. having a breakout year and becoming a star wing.

Stotts made the comment that he has never coached a player like DJones. His athleticism is off the charts and if he develops a consistent outside a shot, he could be crazy good. The versatility of this team just jumped about 10 fold and instead of guys like Hezonja, Gabriel and Tolliver, we now have guys like ROCO, Jones and Kantner. Huge upgrade.

 

[TBpup]

I would argue that Melo, Hood, and Trent all have the ability to fulfill that role.

Melo had plenty of opportunity last year and couldn't come close to filling that role. That has never really been Hood's forte either. So the last hope would be that Trent can somehow grow into something we haven't seen yet. @wizenheimer had a thorough response so no need to repeat.

I hope someone can fill that role....but it will be in breakout fashion as none of those 3 has done that anytime recently.

 

[RR7]

Personally, I am all for Derrick Jones Jr. having a breakout year and becoming a star wing.

I wish, and obviously, he's super young, so there'a potential. But his handle doesn't look nearly good enough in the half court to be a "star wing"

 

[PCmor7]

So then you are saying Luka isn't a wing either obviously because look at his stats and where his shots come from? Do you want to go this route with Leonard? Harden? Really?
When you have a star player you put the ball in his hands. When he is actually a star he does the things star players do. They get their own shot or get a pass to an open man for a better shot.
LeBron James is 6-9. However he is talented enough that they actually list him as PF, SF, SG, PG. However his All-Star appearances have all been as a Forward ie: Wing.
I rest my case.

If you really want to push this, yeah, Luca really is more a point guard than anything. Why you seem to think this is a "gotcha" moment is weird.

Height doesn't determine the position you play. Magic was 6-9 and no one ever said he was a wing. The smallest guy on your team isn't automatically the point guard.

You understand why they call them wings, right? Because they play on the wing.

A point guard brings the ball upcourt. They facilitate the offense. Who does that for the Lakers and Mavs? Kawhi doesn't do that for the Clippers; he's on the wing and a lot of his stuff is midrange. Harden's like a combo guard who was more a PG now that he's not teamed with Chris Paul, who was in every sense a point guard.

It doesn't matter where the all-star ballot lists him. You know what else forwards do? They play the post. Post players aren't wings. LeBron came up as a 3 and his game has evolved that he now runs the offense from end to end on most Lakers' possessions. He also can post up. So he's grandfathered in as a forward, but that's not what he plays.

The position is what they do. Not what they can do. Not what they might do. What they do.

Anyway, thanks for presenting a case that made Trump's electoral lawyers look competent.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Aaron.

Gordon.

A vastly underrated defender with above average passing.

A PF version of DJJ w/ passing and rebounding.

 

[Natebishop3]

Aaron.

Gordon.

A vastly underrated defender with above average passing.

A PF version of DJJ w/ passing and rebounding.

But can he shoot the long ball?

 

[PCmor7]

It's kind of like the dad of a player I was evaluating when I was scouting for college basketball programs.

I stood next to her, so I had a pretty good idea of her height. Her dad saw the report and, the next time he saw me, he argued with me that the height was wrong, that she was a couple of inches taller than I listed. I told him he was telling me she was my height, and, since I could see over her head, I knew that wasn't the case. He just kept insisting she was taller than I said.

Eventually he slipped and let out that he wanted her listed taller because the colleges might not take her if she wasn't listed a certain height. Didn't change how tall she was. It was all about the narrative he wanted to fulfill.

 

[Tince]

Name the last NBA champion without a star player above 6'7". It doesn't happen often.

 

[illmatic99]

Aaron.

Gordon.

A vastly underrated defender with above average passing.

A PF version of DJJ w/ passing and rebounding.

You keep saying this but you aint getting him for anyone outside of CJ. And Neil wont trade CJ.

 

[Natebishop3]

You keep saying this but you aint getting him for anyone outside of CJ. And Neil wont trade CJ.

He's gonna have to trade CJ if Gary gets paid.

 

[illmatic99]

He's gonna have to trade CJ if Gary gets paid.

Or he could let Gary walk and find a cheaper replacement.

 

[Natebishop3]

Or he could let Gary walk and find a cheaper replacement.

Gary is a better piece to win a title than CJ. How many teams have won a title in recent memory without a 3&D shooting guard?

If we end up needing to pay Nurk, Gary, and DJJ this summer, I would much rather trade CJ and keep those three players.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Gary is a better piece to win a title than CJ. How many teams have won a title in recent memory without a 3&D shooting guard?

If we end up needing to pay Nurk, Gary, and DJJ this summer, I would much rather trade CJ and keep those three players.

I can't wait for someone to claim CJ has more value than those 3 guys combined. (and call you a H8TR for suggesting otherwise)

 

[e_blazer]

Name the last NBA champion without a star player above 6'7". It doesn't happen often.

Hopefully, Nurk accomplishes his goal of being an AllStar this year and then that box is checked.

 

[e_blazer]

I wish, and obviously, he's super young, so there'a potential. But his handle doesn't look nearly good enough in the half court to be a "star wing"

If he becomes the next Jerome Kersey I’m happy.