Blazers vs Magic
Blazers come up after a pretty nice win Monday against another team that has a decent center and a couple guys that can Make things happen on the court from the forward positions. Vucevic while not a dominant center can score averaging about 18 a game and bringing in about 7 rebs. They recently played Denver and Jokic was a problem for him so i think the Blazers can have an advantage if Nurkic is playing well.
Forwards for the Magic are Evan Fournier and Arron Gordon. These guys are also averaging 19 and 18 a game respectively and this is where they have been winning games. They can shoot the ball well. They score around the hoop and from deep. Orlando is shooting 3's and making them. Almost 30 a game hitting 40%.
Portland's own Terrence Ross also has been having an impact. He has had a few double digit games and seems to be holding his own as he is a big guard. Listed at 6-7 he is going to be able to get shots against CJ. So i expect Stotts to switch a bit. Look for what coaches do in this matchup? This is exactly where you see 6-5 Pat C come in at times. The flip side is Ross is not going to guard CJ or Dame/Napier for that matter. It works both ways. Adjustments could be crucial in this game.
Giving Swanigan a start is a great idea IMO. But i see this as a natural progression type thing. We watched it last year with Vonleh. Noah consistently got starts but in crunch time we watched veterans take the court. Vonleh is now really looking like those 8-10 mins a game last year are paying off. The same thing goes for Pat. There seems to be only so many minutes and development will go a long way. Watching Swanigan foul out in 20 mins was painful to say the least but he will learn. This is how it happens.
This is a 4 game road trip for Orlando and their last game before heading home. They just lost to Denver and GS. Something tells me they will be gunning to get a win. Portland better not fall asleep on these guys because the Blazers have looked beatable for most of this season so far. Teams do not fear coming into the Rose Garden this year. Sad really.
The good news is that the Blazers continue to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. They also are without a doubt killing it on the boards. Ratings defensively are top 10 across the board. This is no doubt in my mind why the offense has suffered. Dame is busting and fighting through screens all game long. It is effecting his shot. Some like it but i start to think this game is about scoring more than your opponent. They need 30+ every now and again from Dame. I'm watching close to see how it all pans out?
Pick tonight is the three headed monster.... Turner/Pat/Napier. If this trend continues to impress the Blazers are very tough to beat. Sit Dame and CJ so they are not gassed from playing defense and stay in the game. We have not seen that before last game. Have to credit Davis a bit also. He does so much of the dirty work.
Go Blazers! Get this one!
Kjironman is a fan!!!
