Game Thread GAME# 11: BLAZERS @ KINGS - NOVEMBER 12, 2019 - TUESDAY, 7:00 PM, NBATV & NBCSNW

[Sheldon Shape]

I agree with you. If you go back to the game thread, I said we should've won that game and I bet the next time we play them, we will beat them.

Again, when you roll out a roster where you're always going to have guys on the floor who are liabilities at one or both ends of the floor, you are going to be subject to lose. Like all NBA teams, we'll win and lose games we shouldn't. Overall though, we're going to be losing a lot more until our front court is healthy again.

All the players on our team have ability. It's what you do with that. Putting Nassir out there isn't enough when he doesn't get passed to and the guards just go 1 on 5. I think the bigger problem is our game plan. We don't have one. A lot of teams suffer injuries. It's having a game plan that saves them.

 

[B-Roy]

The thing I see in Whiteside the ball has to come down where he standing if it two feet away from him he doesn't bother. Defensely he always has his hands down to much to be effective defender or rim protector. Yes he gets blocks but he doesn't change a lot shots around the basket.

His blocks are also mostly useless. And he volleys them out of bounds. Nurk was a master at blocking shots back to a teammate.

 

[Tince]

Healthy Im still of the opinion this team is better. Then last years, but they’re missing so many bigs. Missing Hood hurts too. They need to play Little, stop babying every rookie we get. Its getting old, and our wings havent done anything to speak off.

I totally think that's a legit debate. It may not be clear cut, but it's a debate. With the current state of the roster, I'm surprised we can't all agree that it's a MASSIVE downgrade and therefore the results on the floor should also be expended to be a massive downgrade.

 

[illmatic99]

Season slipped when Zach's arm fell off and Rodney's back freaked out.....we're playing Trent Jr and Moses Brown ...good news is our bench will get better even if we lose some games early on.

We still have our top two dogs and should have been able to stay afloat if Neil had at least ONE rotational forward on the roster.

 

[calvin natt]

It’s strange that people are quick to say the other team isn’t at full strength so the Blazers should win. Is Portland at full strength?

 

[tester551]

Luke Walton is talking about how he’s been emphasizing defense during their recent win streak... thinking back on it, the Kings played very solid, high-intensity defense all night.

Imagine that. Things the team focuses on and practice get better.... who would've thought?

 

[Tince]

All the players on our team have ability. It's what you do with that. Putting Nassir out there isn't enough when he doesn't get passed to and the guards just go 1 on 5. I think the bigger problem is our game plan. We don't have one. A lot of teams suffer injuries. It's having a game plan that saves them.

That's a beautiful idealist thought. If GMs in the league believe that theory, they would constantly be giving up their best players for cheaper bench warmers.

 

[illmatic99]

 

[tester551]

Question: Is Whiteside better than Kanter?

Yes.

But not so much to make up for the loss of Meyers & Moe

 

[Tince]

Imagine that. Things the team focuses on and practice get better.... who would've thought?

The Blazers might be the worst coached team in the league. Having Zach Collins there would have helped in the wins column but our perimeter guys are going 1 on 5 on most possessions and our big guys are discouraged from taking shots inside.

There is no GAME PLAN. It's put guys out on the court and see what happens via Dame or CJ.

How come no local or national media member thinks Stotts is such a bad coach? All I ever hear about Stotts is that he's at minimum an average to great coach, except on this board. The same coach you think is an idiot, got a second tier team to the WCF with the same ability or lack of ability to gameplan.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

That's a beautiful idealist thought. If GMs in the league believe that theory, they would constantly be giving up their best players for cheaper bench warmers.

Players are discovered every year. From Hassan Whiteside to Jeremy Lin to Pascal Siakam. We have players on our roster that are capable. It's up to Terry Stotts to find them and put them in a position to contribute. We won't discover anyone as long as Stotts' game plan is to let the guards go 1 on 5 on nearly every possession.

 

[tester551]

Thought Pau would be good for the Playoffs but never liked the Tolliver signing.
Help me out with this. I don't care who is on the floor for the Blazers, why does it seem on most nights so far, the other team is playing harder and out hustling us?

Part of it is that we are frequently playing 4 guard lineups. We're too small too often. This leads to a lot of missed rebounds and second chance points

 

[Scalma]

Yeah it’s time for Faried or Noah.

 

[OneSport3]

It’s strange that people are quick to say the other team isn’t at full strength so the Blazers should win. Is Portland at full strength?

Portland is not at full strength, but they had their 2 best players (which are also the 2 best players on the floor) while the Kings were missing their top 2 players.

 

[Tince]

Weird, I cant remember ever hearing Stotts say he's been consistently emphasizing defense.

Come on, really? Stotts doesn't tell the media what they emphasize at practice. There is ZERO value gained by stating in interviews what they do in practice. The fact that Walton had to say it makes me question why he felt the need to say it in the first place.

It reminds me of when a team does poorly at the FT line and they say "Why doesn't the coach practice free throws more?"

Would people like Stotts to stream all our practices live so everyone can be sure we work on stuff?

 

[BonesJones]

It’s strange that people are quick to say the other team isn’t at full strength so the Blazers should win. Is Portland at full strength?

Do you not think the Blazers had the more talented roster tonight?

 

[BonesJones]

Come on, really? Stotts doesn't tell the media what they emphasize at practice. There is ZERO value gained by stating in interviews what they do in practice. The fact that Walton had to say it makes me question why he felt the need to say it in the first place.

Well if he is emphasizing it then his coaching is apparently lost in these guys.

 

[BonesJones]

How come no local or national media member thinks Stotts is such a bad coach? All I ever hear about Stotts is that he's at minimum an average to great coach, except on this board. The same coach you think is an idiot, got a second tier team to the WCF with the same ability or lack of ability to gameplan.

Stotts got absolutely clowned by national media after Game 1 last year, and got no votes for COTY.

The national media doesnt pay attention to us.

 

[BonesJones]

It reminds me of when a team does poorly at the FT line and they say "Why doesn't the coach practice free throws more?"

Would people like Stotts to stream all our practices live so everyone can be sure we work on stuff?

 

[Tince]

Players are discovered every year. From Hassan Whiteside to Jeremy Lin to Pascal Siakam. We have players on our roster that are capable. It's up to Terry Stotts to find them and put them in a position to contribute. We won't discover anyone as long as Stotts' game plan is to let the guards go 1 on 5 on nearly every possession.

You understand it is Olshey's job to find players, not Stotts?

Your last statement that we go 1 on 5 nearly every possession is also false.

 

[OneSport3]

How come no local or national media member thinks Stotts is such a bad coach? All I ever hear about Stotts is that he's at minimum an average to great coach, except on this board. The same coach you think is an idiot, got a second tier team to the WCF with the same ability or lack of ability to gameplan.

The people that have criticized Stotts have consistently outlined his weaknesses. Please tell me what you feel Stotts excels at as a coach

 

[Tince]

Stotts got absolutely clowned by national media after Game 1 last year, and got no votes for COTY.

The national media doesnt pay attention to us.

He's got COTY votes 2 out of the last 4 years. He got 2nd one of the years. I wouldn't bring up COTY as a measure of how good a coach is, but please name all the horrible coaches that have got votes 2 out of the last 4 years.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

You understand it is Olshey's job to find players, not Stotts?

Olshey did find him players but it's Stotts responsibility to find the players that will work in the rotation. He's still sticking to Tolliver like he owes him something.

Your last statement that we go 1 on 5 nearly every possession is also false.

Go look at where the Blazers rank in assists season after the season and get back to me. Proof is in the pudding, Pudding. ;-)

 

[calvin natt]

Do you not think the Blazers had the more talented roster tonight?

probably. But that doesn’t mean you win. I think they are a mashup of players right now and guys everyone expected to be significant contributors, aren’t. I think Hassan is a stat collector but doesn’t help you win. Disappointment. I can’t for the life of me understand Tolliver playing. They don’t have a backup PG. they have injuries to main guys. Losing on the road to anyone doesn’t surprise me whatsoever.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Players are discovered every year. From Hassan Whiteside to Jeremy Lin to Pascal Siakam. We have players on our roster that are capable. It's up to Terry Stotts to find them and put them in a position to contribute. We won't discover anyone as long as Stotts' game plan is to let the guards go 1 on 5 on nearly every possession.

Semi-educated guess: coaches in all sports tend to favor mediocre-to-lousy vets over untested youngsters. Some people argue it is a matter of choosing predictability over hope. Others would argue it is more a matter of blame. A vet screws up, many fans/media just blame the player - a youngster screws up and they blame the coach for playing him. Keep in mind that fans in a forum like this are not the norm.

The irony of the Blazer situation, is that Stotts has tremendous job security and injuries have given him a bullet-proof reason to experiment with the younger players. Instead, he is sacrificing the potential good to the proven mediocre (or worse). If he was desperately trying to save his job, I might conjure up some sympathy. Instead, I am just disgusted.

 

[Tince]

The people that have criticized Stotts have consistently outlined his weaknesses. Please tell me what you feel Stotts excels at as a coach

1) He's earned the trust/respect of the teams best player (huge in the NBA)
2) Found a way to get a team to the WCF with one of the worst starting forward combos in the NBA.
3) Coached a team projected to win about 30 games to the 2nd round on the NBA playoffs.

I could make claims about how great he is gameplanning or what he does at practice, but I don't have access to their practices and timeouts like some people here must to validate their claims.

 

[OneSport3]

probably. But that doesn’t mean you win. I think they are a mashup of players right now and guys everyone expected to be significant contributors, aren’t. I think Hassan is a stat collector but doesn’t help you win. Disappointment. I can’t for the life of me understand Tolliver playing. They don’t have a backup PG. they have injuries to main guys. Losing on the road to anyone doesn’t surprise me whatsoever.

When you have the 2 best players on the floor with one being an all-NBA guard while the opponent is missing not one but 2 of their best players, you absolutely have to win that game. No excuses.

 

[tester551]

How come no local or national media member thinks Stotts is such a bad coach? All I ever hear about Stotts is that he's at minimum an average to great coach, except on this board. The same coach you think is an idiot, got a second tier team to the WCF with the same ability or lack of ability to gameplan.

He's not a terrible coach. He's average...

He's a nice likeable guy so his reputation gets elevated because of that. He generally has great repor with they players.

However, he's not a detail guy. He doesn't have the team focus on the 'little things' to make a good team great. Admittedly - its extremely hard to get from a good team to a great team

 

[Tince]

This is a horrible possession. We have scored of that exact set A LOT over the years. Certainly we can't take one good clip or bad clip and say that is proof of anything.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

Semi-educated guess: coaches in all sports tend to favor mediocre-to-lousy vets over untested youngsters. Some people argue it is a matter of choosing predictability over hope. Others would argue it is more a matter of blame. A vet screws up, many fans/media just blame the player - a youngster screws up and they blame the coach for playing him. Keep in mind that fans in a forum like this are not the norm.

The irony of the Blazer situation, is that Stotts has tremendous job security and injuries have given him a bullet-proof reason to experiment with the younger players. Instead, he is sacrificing the potential good to the proven mediocre (or worse). If he was desperately trying to save his job, I might conjure up some sympathy. Instead, I am just disgusted.

Completely agree with this. I would like to add that simply throwing someone into the rotation isn't enough. Putting them in a position to succeed requires you actually mold your offense to take advantage of their strengths. Stotts doesn't do that. NOT ONE BIT.

It's completely by luck and Damian that Nassir had a breakout game. Tonight he played but didn't even get passed the ball. We're wasting Skal and his mid-range game. It's what he was known for in college.