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

[BonesJones]

The amount of color analysts from opposing teams calling our games that gush about Stotts as a coach is enough for me to understand he's fine as a coach.

I do think it'd be interesting to take a chance on David Vanterpool if we did fire stotts but Stotts isn't the problem

The color commentators that see us a couple times a year and are focused on their teams and calling the games when they do sure know the most about our team. Especially more-so than someone who watches nearly every possession all year long.[/QUOTE]

 

[BonesJones]

wtf is Whiteside doing really? this possession is pathetic.

Youre blaming Whiteside for this...?

 

[BonesJones]

The screens are bad but CJ isn't helping either by jogging slowly and not trying to run his defender into the screen at all.

Do you see what I mean by set design though? Almost all our motion is like this: around the perimeter with every option being outside the arc, with wasted motion to start.

Even our Horns sets, which you can run a lot of cool wrinkles through, usually just involves with the big at the elbow getting the ball, then down screens to the corner for a wing to come up and recieve a handoff from the big at the perimeter, turning the play into a basic pick n roll... same thing.

 

[BonesJones]

Have you guys played basketball either in high school or college? Your legs get tired as the season goes on and they start to feel dead after awhile no matter how conditioned you are. That's only 1/3 of the NBA season. It absolutely wears on guys to play heavy minutes.

Are we not remembering Dame getting worn out at certain points during the season and in the playoffs every year?

Plus those extra 3 minutes means he's fresher during each game at the end. Take tonight for example, they built an 11 point lead in the 1st quarter. Stotts could've taken Dame out with 4 or 5 minutes left in the 1st and then if the team is sucking you can put him back in. But he left both Dame and CJ in tonight and they blew the lead so what was the point of keeping them out there? I realize Dame sat much of the 2nd so it's basically the same thing but I think the early you can sneak minutes for him the better it could turn out later on. If he comes out in the 3rd quarter maybe some games the team would build or maintain a lead so he might not even have to go back in or when he does he doesn't need to exert so much energy trying to carry a whole franchise on his back. Of course most games he will still have to because our team sucks right now but if he rested 8 minutes in the first half and came out around 3 minutes left in the 3rd then every once in awhile his minutes would be in the low to mid 20's.

What they also fail to realize is its not simply just "running", and the body gets exponentially more tired and worn the more minutes are played. The difference between 35mpg and 38mpg isnt the same as 0mpg and 3mpg. If that was the case, why not play them 41mpg? Or 48mpg?...

 

[BonesJones]

I think blown coverages and poor execution is having 9 new players who are still learning the playbook and your frontcourt injured, playing your 3rd stringers 10 games into a season...Stotts sees blown coverage or poor execution and doesn't melt down...so the way I see it...his detractors melt down and point at him. I disagree. He's a great, coach but a patient one and a guy who experiments with rosters early every season. He's playing Nas, Moses, Trent Jr this early in the season...he doesn't have an ideal situation for success right now but he has my support as a fan..He's as pissed at losing as anyone...probably more so

Golden State's offense is much more complex than ours and they have a bunch of rookies and G-League guys who have never ran it, yet the game they played against us was a better style of basketball than we've played all season.

 

[GDiama]

Youre blaming Whiteside for this...?

Not only, i just focused on him and CJ. Hassan certainly did not do what he was supposed to do here. This guy i believe will be out of the league in 2 years. He will get a 1+1 this summer and then that's it.

Funny thing is this guy is probably our 2nd best player right now the way CJ is performing. Which basically shows why we are a terrible team.

 

[Mediocre Man]

In all honesty, do you really believe that Stotts has what it takes to lead this team to a championship? If you say yes, we’ll leave it at that.

Have any coaches really LED their teams to a championship?

Coaches have definitely got more out of their team, but the NBA is a players league. The best players win, not the best coaches. Example.....if Portland calls heads or drafts Jordan, or Sabas comes over right away, Mike freaking Schuler goes down as the greatest coach in NBA history over Phil Jackson.

Erik Spoelstra went to 4 straight championships, and hasn't done shit since. Did he suddenly become a bad coach, or did he simply stop having the best player in the league on his team?

The Blazer have overachieved most years under Stotts. With the right talent they can win with Stotts.

And whoever said we should have hired Budenholzer.....what has he won?

 

[BonesJones]

Have any coaches really LED their teams to a championship?

Coaches have definitely got more out of their team, but the NBA is a players league. The best players win, not the best coaches. Example.....if Portland calls heads or drafts Jordan, or Sabas comes over right away, Mike freaking Schuler goes down as the greatest coach in NBA history over Phil Jackson.

Erik Spoelstra went to 4 straight championships, and hasn't done shit since. Did he suddenly become a bad coach, or did he simply stop having the best player in the league on his team?

The Blazer have overachieved most years under Stotts. With the right talent they can win with Stotts.

And whoever said we should have hired Budenholzer.....what has he won?

You're underestimating the impact of a head coach to defend Stotts... Its a weird tactic. And what did the last 2 championship winning coaches win before getting there? Exactly.

 

[BonesJones]

Not only, i just focused on him and CJ. Hassan certainly did not do what he was supposed to do here. This guy i believe will be out of the league in 2 years. He will get a 1+1 this summer and then that's it.

Funny thing is this guy is probably our 2nd best player right now the way CJ is performing. Which basically shows why we are a terrible team.

Its also the set design. Almost all our motion is like this: around the perimeter with every option being outside the arc, with wasted motion to start.

Even our Horns sets, which you can run a lot of cool wrinkles through, usually just involves with the big at the elbow getting the ball, then down screens to the corner for a wing to come up and recieve a handoff from the big at the perimeter, turning the play into a basic pick n roll... same thing.

 

[Hoopguru]

I’m liking our chances of a big time trade that when you couple with the return of Nurkules with the excitation of Ant we again could be a tough out in the playoffs.
This team has always responded ok to adversity!

 

[Reep]

The guy we brought in to fill the gap is doing a pretty damn good job is all I’m saying.

I'm glad we have him over not having him. But, he doesn't provide nearly the impact Nurkic does on both ends of the court. His numbers are very welcome, but the screen setting, PnR action, team defense, ball movement all suffer as compared to Nurkic.

 

[tester551]

who are we gonna replace him with? There isn’t a remotely better alternative.

Listening to Stotts in the post-game, it seems clear he’s not panicking at all. He knew there would be a steep learning curve. I don’t think anyone in the blazers organization is panicking tbh, it’s only the fans. Our weaknesses are all simple fixes, it’s just gonna take time playing together.

I completely disagree. We must be watching completely different teams.

Some of our weaknesses (ie - roster construction/injuries) - there are no simple fix for.
Other of our weaknesses (ie - ball movement / fast break opportunities) - are the same issues the team has had for several years now.

There's a lot more going on than "just gonna take time playing together".

 

[Blazers1977]

I completely disagree. We must be watching completely different teams.

Some of our weaknesses (ie - roster construction/injuries) - there are no simple fix for.
Other of our weaknesses (ie - ball movement / fast break opportunities) - are the same issues the team has had for several years now.

There's a lot more going on than "just gonna take time playing together".

I think Neil knows more about roster construction than you. We also made it to the WCF last year without “ball movement or fast break opportunities” bc that’s not the style we play, nor should it be.

 

[tester551]

Interesting how Stotts gets 0 credit for how good Lillard has turned out, even though Stotts has been Lillard’s only NBA coach and Lillard praises him highly.

No one said Stotts doesn't get any credit for Dame's progress. Again - Stotts is an AVERAGE coach, not a terrible coach.

However, there's also many other coaches that significantly impact Dame's progress. Dame has specifically talked about Vanderpool & the guy he trains with during the summer (can't remember his name) as guys that have helped him develop his game.

 

[Labinot41]

No one said Stotts doesn't get any credit for Dame's progress. Again - Stotts is an AVERAGE coach, not a terrible coach.

However, there's also many other coaches that significantly impact Dame's progress. Dame has specifically talked about Vanderpool & the guy he trains with during the summer (can't remember his name) as guys that have helped him develop his game.

Phil Beckner

 

[Blazers1977]

No one said Stotts doesn't get any credit for Dame's progress. Again - Stotts is an AVERAGE coach, not a terrible coach.

However, there's also many other coaches that significantly impact Dame's progress. Dame has specifically talked about Vanderpool & the guy he trains with during the summer (can't remember his name) as guys that have helped him develop his game.

average coaches don’t improve no-name lottery picks from unknown schools into MVP candidates. Vanderpool is someone Stotts hired...

 

[riverman]

Have any coaches really LED their teams to a championship?

Coaches have definitely got more out of their team, but the NBA is a players league. The best players win, not the best coaches. Example.....if Portland calls heads or drafts Jordan, or Sabas comes over right away, Mike freaking Schuler goes down as the greatest coach in NBA history over Phil Jackson.

Erik Spoelstra went to 4 straight championships, and hasn't done shit since. Did he suddenly become a bad coach, or did he simply stop having the best player in the league on his team?

The Blazer have overachieved most years under Stotts. With the right talent they can win with Stotts.

And whoever said we should have hired Budenholzer.....what has he won?

Great post

 

[riverman]

Its also the set design. Almost all our motion is like this: around the perimeter with every option being outside the arc, with wasted motion to start.

Even our Horns sets, which you can run a lot of cool wrinkles through, usually just involves with the big at the elbow getting the ball, then down screens to the corner for a wing to come up and recieve a handoff from the big at the perimeter, turning the play into a basic pick n roll... same thing.

we've had bad timing with Hassan on pick and roll passes...too many turnovers...it's why our guards stopped trying to force the pass into the paint...it was leading to turnovers...Dame addressed this timing with Hassan post game after our first home win. The rookies that beat us in Golden State played a hell of a game...I respect them and credit them for that....if they bricked shots all night, it would have been a different game...Dame and CJ have blown alley oop passes to Hassan several times already...they need to get in synch for our system to be effective....

 

[Blazers1977]

Let me say it again, it's called doing a coaching search. Do you know who the coach of the Raptors was before Nick Nurse? It was Dwayne Casey. Do you know who the Coach of the Year was that year? Dwayne Casey.

Your reasonably successful coach has already shown his limitations.

not really. He took us to the WCF and has been getting coach of the year votes.

Virtually nobody thinks Stotts should be fired outside of some disgruntled and frustrated blazer fans, who are delusional about our level of talent and always think the grass is greener on the other side.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

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.

I think even with Hezonja, coach could do more to help him succeed. All summer and in exhibition, Hezonja played with units that passed a lot and fast break a lot. Now he is with a starting unit that doesn't do that. Is it any wonder he is confused?

 

[HailBlazers]

It's literally running 3 more minutes a day. That's not going to kill you. Over the course of 82 games and 6 months it's like running 2 extra hours TOTAL. Now I get that it's 2 hours of extra time where they can get into a freak accident, but for conditioning....these guys are professional athletes. And from everything I've seen Dame and CJ are guys that take nutrition and health very seriously. They aren't Dwight Howard eating candy bars every day, or Raymond Felton binging on donuts. As long as they avoid a freak accident I really don't think they will be more tired come April playing 38MPG vs 35MPG or 32 MPG.

I'd like to add, Nurks freak accident came in OT because we couldn't execute and close out in regulation. Shades of McMillan.

 

[riverman]

I'm still cheering....we'll weather this brutal early schedule and get new players acclimated...our bigs will get back on the court eventually and by then our bench will be better.....kicking the team when it's down is a bad habit in my view. I think people forget our first season with Mo and Chief on the roster....Mo never played well early in any season he was a Blazer...Chief had shooting slumps early...I think the fans are not doing Kent Bazemore or any of the new guys favors by not cutting them some slack and letting them get up to snuff with Blazer ball.

 

[riverman]

I think even with Hezonja, coach could do more to help him succeed. All summer and in exhibition, Hezonja played with units that passed a lot and fast break a lot. Now he is with a starting unit that doesn't do that. Is it any wonder he is confused?

Mario is looking like Victor Claver so far....defensive motor but mentally hesitant on offense

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

And I'm not sure if the coach is helping Whiteside much to succeed either. It's very obvious to me that Whiteside would prefer a lob pass to a bounce pass, and yet the team pretty much refuses to throw a good lob pass to him. Now, he seems to not even be ready when someone is thinking about throwing a lob pass, it's like he just isn't expecting it. Of course he may not be smart enough to know quickly what will work best in any given situation?

 

[tester551]

The amount of color analysts from opposing teams calling our games that gush about Stotts as a coach is enough for me to understand he's fine as a coach.

I do think it'd be interesting to take a chance on David Vanterpool if we did fire stotts but Stotts isn't the issue.

All color analysts 'gush' about the opposing coach regardless of how good or bad they are. That's a terrible way to accurately assess how good a coach is.

 

[THE HCP]

I'm glad we have him over not having him. But, he doesn't provide nearly the impact Nurkic does on both ends of the court. His numbers are very welcome, but the screen setting, PnR action, team defense, ball movement all suffer as compared to Nurkic.

I’m not sure many on here thought he would do better than Nurk though did they? He is replacing Meyers and Mo in my opinion. I know you can’t just look at numbers, but he is on par or better with Nurk when it comes to them.
Nurk does the little things and his chemistry with the guys won’t be matched by Whiteside no doubt, But I didn’t think they ever would.

 

[wizenheimer]

generally I pull out the popcorn when there's a massive debate about Stotts. Personally, I think he's ok as a coach, but nothing special. But I also think at times, he doesn't have good enough tools in his toolbox because of questionable roster construction:

* Last season Portland averaged 23 assists a game which ranked 25th; they had a .544 assisted FG rate. This season, Portland is averaging 17 assists a game, ranking 30th; they have a .415 assisted FG rate. Last season, Dame accounted for 29% of Portland's assists; this season, it's 39%

* last season, Portland led the NBA in offensive rebounding rate; this season, they are 19th

those two components are significant offensive issues and they sure appear structural to me. Add those to the defensive problems and you have a 4-7 record

 

[Blazers1977]

And I'm not sure if the coach is helping Whiteside much to succeed either. It's very obvious to me that Whiteside would prefer a lob pass to a bounce pass, and yet the team pretty much refuses to throw a good lob pass to him. Now, he seems to not even be ready when someone is thinking about throwing a lob pass, it's like he just isn't expecting it. Of course he may not be smart enough to know quickly what will work best in any given situation?

It’s not all on whiteside, either. Lillard hasn’t been throwing good passes. Lillard has never been good at lobbing allyoops.

 

[THE HCP]

Lillard has never been good at lobbing allyoops.

What? What have you been watching? He’s been tossing dimes for years, he just doesn’t have chemistry with Whiteside yet in my opinion.

 

[OneSport3]

I’m not sure many on here thought he would do better than Nurk though did they? He is replacing Meyers and Mo in my opinion. I know you can’t just look at numbers, but he is on par or better with Nurk when it comes to them.
Nurk does the little things and his chemistry with the guys won’t be matched by Whiteside no doubt, But I didn’t think they ever would.

Agreed. Also, if you look at it from the standpoint that Whiteside was acquired as a FILL-IN for Nurkic, not as a REPLACEMENT for Nurkic, then expectations should be tempered a bit.