Early but to clear to call: We need change

[kjironman1]

OK, I'll bite: what about the current roster are you expecting to dramatically change? Is Whiteside going to grow a new personality? Are Tolliver and Mario suddenly going to learn to play basketball? What is the mystery that is yet to be revealed?

Nurk and Zach are hurt, Chief and Kanter are gone, and their replacements are woefully inadequate. It's not that hard to figure out.

Well it's more than Nurk and Zach though that is a big bite. Hood being out has taken it's toll. Whiteside playing through injury has been tough to get over. Then Skal is just getting the first injury free games as well. Relying on Tolliver way too much. Skal being asked to play and Moses having to even be on the court should speak volumes. Who actually thought Mario was going to have to play starting minutes at PF when this season started?
But sure lets assume this is all set in stone and the coach as well as the GM should have known.

 

[perkinsfor3]

SMH...

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

SMH...

Basically Dame's good, everyone else isn't.

 

[Dougnsalem]

Starting 4-7 and 11th in the West is hardly what any of us imagined. We also didn't forsee a spate of Blazer injuries to start the season. We have yet to see the whole team play. Jusuf was going to be out till spring anyway. Gasol was supposed to return earlier, but his foot has not complied. Collins dislocated his shoulder. Hood seems to get injured whenever he is playing. Skal got a scare.

The Blazers are bare bones, they are relying on youth. Opponents are like sharks in the water. They smell blood. They know we are weakened from injuries and are forced to play inexperienced players and role players more minutes in our rotations.

There is no easy answer here. Stotts is not going anywhere for those blaming him. There is no one better to replace him for one. For two no one could do much better with this team as it is.

As for Trades, there aren't many that would fix our situation. Perhaps we could find a better fit than Bazemore or Whiteside. The same problem would persist. We would still be shorthanded. Too, many teams aren't going to be willing to make trades yet.

Can the Blazers file for an injured player exception? How does that effect their cap situation? Maybe an IPE is the best answer at this point.

All there is to really do is to ride it out at this point. See it as experience for our younger players. It's good development for guys like Simons and Labissiere. We've gotta hope the Blazers younger guys like little and GTjr can step up.

Tolliver is frustrating, but he has never had to play such a big role. He is having a pretty bad start, but us better than he has played. Whiteside has been off and on. He needs to get angry more. Angry Whiteside is like the Hulk to calm Whitesides Bruce Banner, all chill and avoiding conflict.

Dame has been playing his best basketball. He has also been playing more minutes than usual because of injuries. I feel bad for him that he often appears to have to do most of everything himself to get his team wins.

CJ had a terrible start to the season shooting. MeJ seemed to return. His shot looks to be coming back though. Hopefully he will be continue to find his shot and get out of his slump. Dame could use the help.

Simons has looked great. He still very young and he will only get better. It's exciting. Skal too.

The Blazers lack of size due to injury is killing them inside. Teans are attacking the paint knowing there is no one there to stop them. Blazers are getting dominated game after game at tge basket. This might not change much until bigs return from injury. The Blazers can do a better job closing off the lane.

The Blazers are also continuing to allow opponents to many three point attempts. Their perimeter defense continues to be lackadasical. They need to tighten it up if they are going to win games.

It is a tough early season, but it is early still. I know there are concerns about getting in a hole with such a competitive west. I have those too. We have to be patient. Radical acceptance.

And that right there, sums it up perfectly. Great post. Seriously.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Basically Dame's good, everyone else isn't.

And last night Dame wasn't even that good.

 

[THE HCP]

And last night Dame wasn't even that good.

Bro, you must be crazy!

 

[wizenheimer]

about that strength of schedule and Portland's supposed brutal start:

right now, bbref says Portland's SOS has only been the 22nd hardest. I believe that's just based upon win/loss records. PowerRankingGuru says it's the 18th most difficult and the remaining SOS is 12th. TeamRanking says it's the 8th most difficult but at this stage, their ranking is heavily influenced by pre-season rankings, and that skews their numbers a lot

Portland has 4 wins and those came against teams with a 15-25 record (16-25 after last night)

Portland has only played 4 teams with winning records

 

[kjironman1]

about that strength of schedule and Portland's supposed brutal start:

right now, bbref says Portland's SOS has only been the 22nd hardest. I believe that's just based upon win/loss records. PowerRankingGuru says it's the 18th most difficult and the remaining SOS is 12th. TeamRanking says it's the 8th most difficult but at this stage, their ranking is heavily influenced by pre-season rankings, and that skews their numbers a lot

Portland has 4 wins and those came against teams with a 15-25 record (16-25 after last night)

Portland has only played 4 teams with winning records

Funny though two games ago the Blazers SOS was way tougher. So in this case sample size does matter. Check again in like 6 games and they will be very close to the top again.
By the way SOS also makes no rating allowance for B2B's and Road-Home-Road games or injury status. All of which the Blazers have been heavily impacted by.

 

[Natebishop3]

LOTTERY HERE WE COME!

 

[OneSport3]

There is no easy answer here. Stotts is not going anywhere for those blaming him. There is no one better to replace him for one. For two no one could do much better with this team as it is

How would you know this? Have the Blazers done a comprehensive coaching search?

 

[wizenheimer]

Funny though two games ago the Blazers SOS was way tougher. So in this case sample size does matter. Check again in like 6 games and they will be very close to the top again.
By the way SOS also makes no rating allowance for B2B's and Road-Home-Road games or injury status. All of which the Blazers have been heavily impacted by.

it was 17th after the Clippers game (Ive been watching). Since then, Portland has played 3 teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of those games were at home

yes, at this point, sample size does have an impact...no debate

but the stuff about B2B and injuries is a real stretch because the Blazers aren't the only team playing B2B's, and they aren't the only team dealing with injuries. Last night, the Kings were without Fox and Bagley and Dedmon only played 7 minutes because of his ankle. Tonight, the Raptors will be missing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw...that's 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists they will be missing

 

[e_blazer]

it was 17th after the Clippers game (Ive been watching). Since then, Portland has played 3 teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of those games were at home

yes, at this point, sample size does have an impact...no debate

but the stuff about B2B and injuries is a real stretch because the Blazers aren't the only team playing B2B's, and they aren't the only team dealing with injuries. Last night, the Kings were without Fox and Bagley and Dedmon only played 7 minutes because of his ankle. Tonight, the Raptors will be missing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw...that's 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists they will be missing

The only thing I would say regarding the back to backs is that after tonight the Blazers will have played 5 home games vs 7 road games, and of the home games 2 of them will have been B2Bs on the back end of a road trip. Glad to hear that the Raptors are dinged up. The Blazers will need all the help they can get.

 

[riverman]

it was 17th after the Clippers game (Ive been watching). Since then, Portland has played 3 teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of those games were at home

yes, at this point, sample size does have an impact...no debate

but the stuff about B2B and injuries is a real stretch because the Blazers aren't the only team playing B2B's, and they aren't the only team dealing with injuries. Last night, the Kings were without Fox and Bagley and Dedmon only played 7 minutes because of his ankle. Tonight, the Raptors will be missing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw...that's 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists they will be missing

I've noticed so far that there's a lot of bench talent that I've never seen play at this level before....it's a great season as a fan because the landscape is nothing like we've seen in the NBA before in my view...teams are deep....draft picks are figuring it out. Guys are coming out of the G league hungry. For this early in a season a lot of games have gone down to the wire...not many blowouts...I've enjoyed basketball all season even though the Blazers are having their own issues early...a lot of guys getting first opportunities are having their Wade Baldwin or Nick Stauskas moments...whether it continues we'll see when scouting reports focus on them...some of those guys will be traded at the deadline as well.

 

[kjironman1]

it was 17th after the Clippers game (Ive been watching). Since then, Portland has played 3 teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of those games were at home

yes, at this point, sample size does have an impact...no debate

but the stuff about B2B and injuries is a real stretch because the Blazers aren't the only team playing B2B's, and they aren't the only team dealing with injuries. Last night, the Kings were without Fox and Bagley and Dedmon only played 7 minutes because of his ankle. Tonight, the Raptors will be missing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw...that's 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists they will be missing

Here is a pretty clear look at this season. As you can see. Portland overall for 82 games will come out fairly even with most every team. The problem is to this point (10 games) essentially 1/8 of the way through the season they have had a third of their B2B's and nearly half of their 3 in 4's with with 4 of 10 at home. Tonight will be the second of 5 home games on the Road to Home (Not Soft) B2B's .
https://www.nbastuffer.com/2019-2020-nba-schedule-rest-days-analysis/

 

[wizenheimer]

The only thing I would say regarding the back to backs is that after tonight the Blazers will have played 5 home games vs 7 road games, and of the home games 2 of them will have been B2Bs on the back end of a road trip. Glad to hear that the Raptors are dinged up. The Blazers will need all the help they can get.

but...those SOS rankings I listed included only 1 B2B for Portland, and it was a Dallas/San Antonio B2B.

after tonight, Portland's SOS will climb higher, but still, a 5-7 home/road imbalance is not egregious (although it will be the biggest in the WC), and only 5 of the teams Portland has faced have winning records.

for sure, 21 games into the season Portland's SOS will likely be top-7 or so. That's 10 more games, with 7 on the road. But, if they are 8-13 or 7-14 at that time, that's a pretty deep hole to dig out of

 

[e_blazer]

but...those SOS rankings I listed included only 1 B2B for Portland, and it was a Dallas/San Antonio B2B.

after tonight, Portland's SOS will climb higher, but still, a 5-7 home/road imbalance is not egregious (although it will be the biggest in the WC), and only 5 of the teams Portland has faced have winning records.

for sure, 21 games into the season Portland's SOS will likely be top-7 or so. That's 10 more games, with 7 on the road. But, if they are 8-13 or 7-14 at that time, that's a pretty deep hole to dig out of

I’m not arguing about SOS, which, like most stat-head stuff, is mostly BS because it doesn’t consider factors like injuries and resting players. I’m just saying that the Blazers have had a road-heavy schedule and aren’t getting full benefit of what home games they have had because of the B2B issue. That said, the losses are way more on the players than they are on the schedule.

 

[wizenheimer]

Here is a pretty clear look at this season. As you can see. Portland overall for 82 games will come out fairly even with most every team. The problem is to this point (10 games) essentially 1/8 of the way through the season they have had a third of their B2B's and nearly half of their 3 in 4's with with 4 of 10 at home. Tonight will be the second of 5 home games on the Road to Home (Not Soft) B2B's .
https://www.nbastuffer.com/2019-2020-nba-schedule-rest-days-analysis/

I don't really get what it is you're trying to argue? You've seen the Blazers play...given that do you really believe a little easier schedule would have resulted in any more wins? I sure don't

the season is only 11 games old...they have barely begun the grind of the season yet. These guys should still be fresh (except Dame & CJ), and to this point, 8 teams have played 11 games and 20 others have played 10. The Blazers get 3 days off before the road trip starts. Tonight's game is big; at this point there is a difference between being 5-7 and 4-8

 

[B-Roy]

Dame's efficiency is off the charts this year.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I don't really get what it is you're trying to argue? You've seen the Blazers play...given that do you really believe a little easier schedule would have resulted in any more wins? I sure don't

the season is only 11 games old...they have barely begun the grind of the season yet. These guys should still be fresh (except Dame & CJ), and to this point, 8 teams have played 11 games and 20 others have played 10. The Blazers get 3 days off before the road trip starts. Tonight's game is big; at this point there is a difference between being 5-7 and 4-8

The schedule has been rough, but also the real issue is Zach's injury. We all knew going into the season that the year was really going to be dependant on Zach and Anfernee, well that didn't last long and it turns out they don't really have a PF now who can provide really anything on both ends, and some of the options are providing nothing on both ends. Now the hope is they "gel" and Pau can play sometime soon. He's not a PF either but at least he's a very smart player who may help with on-court Chemistry.

 

[kjironman1]

I don't really get what it is you're trying to argue? You've seen the Blazers play...given that do you really believe a little easier schedule would have resulted in any more wins? I sure don't

the season is only 11 games old...they have barely begun the grind of the season yet. These guys should still be fresh (except Dame & CJ), and to this point, 8 teams have played 11 games and 20 others have played 10. The Blazers get 3 days off before the road trip starts. Tonight's game is big; at this point there is a difference between being 5-7 and 4-8

I wasn't arguing anything. Adding information is all. Posted a site that is pretty cool.

 

[wizenheimer]

The schedule has been rough, but also the real issue is Zach's injury. We all knew going into the season that the year was really going to be dependant on Zach and Anfernee, well that didn't last long and it turns out they don't really have a PF now who can provide really anything on both ends, and some of the options are providing nothing on both ends. Now the hope is they "gel" and Pau can play sometime soon. He's not a PF either but at least he's a very smart player who may help with on-court Chemistry.

sure....there was an obvious roster hole at PF. And at C. Portland could not afford an injury to either Whiteside or Zach and it happened. And now we see the massive miscalculation on basically having the backup bigs be Tolliver, Hezonja, and Gasol. When Portland signed Gasol it was only 2 months after he had surgery on a broken foot. Shades of Ezeli. And frankly, nothing about the careers of Hezonja and Tolliver suggested they'd be adequate, but my god, they are combining to average 40 minutes a game

Olshey has a pronounced tendency to go after players he's targeted before, even after subsequent seasons and circumstances establish their value differently. He reportedly had Thomas Robinson rated just after Dame, and then went out and spent cap-space and essentially 4 second round picks to get him. He tried to sign Gasol in 2016. And Whiteside before him. And he tried to trade for Hezonja before. Maybe he should re-evaluate his value gauges

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

it was 17th after the Clippers game (Ive been watching). Since then, Portland has played 3 teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of those games were at home

yes, at this point, sample size does have an impact...no debate

but the stuff about B2B and injuries is a real stretch because the Blazers aren't the only team playing B2B's, and they aren't the only team dealing with injuries. Last night, the Kings were without Fox and Bagley and Dedmon only played 7 minutes because of his ankle. Tonight, the Raptors will be missing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, and Patrick McCaw...that's 52 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists they will be missing

You right. Thats facts....

 

[TBpup]

The coaching scheme doesn't seem to emphasize getting players in spots where they can play to their strengths...except for Dame/CJ.

There are some guys that are much better in transition (Mario, Little, Ant, Skal, Baze)....but the Blazers won't run.
Hassan is one of the biggest lob threats in the game....but the Blazers have thrown 2-3 to him so far?
Skal is very athletic and has a decent mid-range shot....you don't see anything run for him to give him that opportunity.
If Whiteside can't cover anyone in a 5-out offense, why not at least try a zone?

There are so many different things that are fairly easy to spot from game to game that seem like missed opportunities that aren't rocket science.

 

[riverman]

The coaching scheme doesn't seem to emphasize getting players in spots where they can play to their strengths...except for Dame/CJ.

I think it does but two things, one we don't make the bucket...Ant went 1-9 on wide open buckets against the Kings...we bricked layups and bunnies at the rim..and second point...the new guys are out of position within the offense way too many times...it's why passing has been hesitant in the pick and roll and paint...guys are thinking about where to be instead of second nature reading a reacting. Flow offense doesn't work without ….flow....Mo played way better with Chief on the floor with him...Chief was vocal with Mo every game and they had chemistry...our new guys aren't even close to that yet.

 

[TBpup]

I think it does but two things, one we don't make the bucket...Ant went 1-9 on wide open buckets against the Kings...we bricked layups and bunnies at the rim..and second point...the new guys are out of position within the offense way too many times...it's why passing has been hesitant in the pick and roll and paint...guys are thinking about where to be instead of second nature reading a reacting. Flow offense doesn't work without ….flow....Mo played way better with Chief on the floor with him...Chief was vocal with Mo every game and they had chemistry...our new guys aren't even close to that yet.

Agreed about the passing/flow aspect, but this offense has never been built on assists. It is built on the uncanny ability that Dame and CJ have to at times get hot and hit difficult shots. So it should get better as guys get more familiar, but in terms of passing to create high quality looks, that has never really been a Stotts thing.

 

[TBpup]

Not sure if it is a coaching mentality or what but the Blazers miss so many wide open teammates. CJ is the most guilty but by far not on his own.

Nassir, after playing great defense, busted his butt, passed everyone down the court, and was wide open for a lob dunk....Dame missed him.
Later, Hezonja had a drive with Ant wide open for a kick out '3'....instead drove into 2 guys for a contested lay up....missed.
And still no one will throw a lob to Whiteside who has lived on those for years. It's not like his wingspan got any shorter.

There are wide open teammates on so many posessions where Blazers would get GOOD, uncontested looks but instead, they often ingore, pass it up or just completely miss it ofter for a much more difficult opportunity.

 

[Pridan]

Yeeeeeeeah, we need some major changes

 

[tester551]

Not sure if it is a coaching mentality or what but the Blazers miss so many wide open teammates. CJ is the most guilty but by far not on his own.

Nassir, after playing great defense, busted his butt, passed everyone down the court, and was wide open for a lob dunk....Dame missed him.
Later, Hezonja had a drive with Ant wide open for a kick out '3'....instead drove into 2 guys for a contested lay up....missed.
And still no one will throw a lob to Whiteside who has lived on those for years. It's not like his wingspan got any shorter.

There are wide open teammates on so many posessions where Blazers would get GOOD, uncontested looks but instead, they often ingore, pass it up or just completely miss it ofter for a much more difficult opportunity.

When things are a point of focus and attention, they get better.
When they are not - there is no change. Based on the past several years, I'd say that's not a point of emphasis for Stotts.

I did have to laugh at CJ throwing a temper tantrum because Mario missed him on the wing during the Kings game last night... he finally got to feel like to get ignored by a teammate

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Agreed about the passing/flow aspect, but this offense has never been built on assists. It is built on the uncanny ability that Dame and CJ have to at times get hot and hit difficult shots. So it should get better as guys get more familiar, but in terms of passing to create high quality looks, that has never really been a Stotts thing.

It's interesting (to me) how, when we get behind, I start thinking that either CJ or Lillard better get really hot if we want to get back in the game. I don't even bother wishing for better defense or getting everyone involved in the offense.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

We need a PG off the bench.

Tyus Jones would be my primary target.