Game Thread GAME # 2: TRAIL BLAZERS VS PHOENIX SUNS - OCTOBER 23, 2021 - SATURDAY, 7:00 PM, ROOT SPORTS, NBATV

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Who stood out to you in the season opener?

  • CJ McCollum

    Votes: 11 20.4%

  • Damian Lillard

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Cody Zeller

    Votes: 15 27.8%

  • Larry Nance Jr

    Votes: 2 3.7%

  • Anfernee Simons

    Votes: 15 27.8%

  • Jusuf Nurkic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Robert Covington

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Norman Powell

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Harrison Barnes

    Votes: 11 20.4%
  • Total voters
    54
SlyPokerDog said:
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams


On tonight’s loss…

“I didn’t have us ready to play, that was the deal. Our communication was not to the level that it needed to be, and typically when you don’t communicate it means your mind is crowded with stuff so that’s on me to get us clear on what we’re supposed to be doing. And they played with a great deal of pace and their screen setting was the best that we’ve seen, it’s a short season but those guys were intent on getting the ball open and downhill tonight. Those were sacrificial screens that they set. But we did not play at a great level tonight defensively, the first quarter we were terrible but after that it just snowballed. They hit a lot of off the dribble shots tonight, which is what you want to force [but] they just hit them. There was a point tonight where in the NBA sometimes you have night’s like that, you can just leave it there, but I can’t do that as a coach. We have to be better and more consistent with our defense.”

On Portland’s offense tonight…

“They have two guys that play off the dribble, about as good as any guards in the league, and they now have two screen-setters that can free those guys up. We lost to Denver [Nuggets] and all I talked about was us, but the bottom line is they beat us tonight. The same way Denver did so credit to them.”

On what the offense can improve on…

“We didn’t generate enough three’s tonight. Portland’s a team that gives up threes because they have their bigs up in the pick-and-roll, so that’s on us. If you can get the ball to the big and find on the backside, we’d love to get Mikal [Bridges] at least twelve shots a night, playing with Chris [Paul] and Devin [Booker] you should be able to do that and we just didn’t do it tonight. But I don’t know that number, when he [Bridges] got his shots he made them tonight, we just have to be aware of that and try to find him when he’s hot.”

On attributing Portland’s twenty-four assists to their off the dribble shots made…

“Yeah, I mean you can use that as an excuse, it’s a fact but I don’t want to rest on that or use it as a pass but they made a ton of off the dribble shots tonight – even three’s. You got to close to their feet and get them off the line, and get them out of rhythm, but even when we did that, they still made tough shots. They had a great night, it happens in the NBA. We can’t get down about that part but there’s still some things that we can get better at. Like I said from the jump, the communication wasn’t there and then there were other areas where we have breakdowns and then we missed a ton of shots in the first half and that fueled their break. When you score that many points you expect them to have way more assists but they made so many off the dribble shots tonight, it was something you don’t typically see in an NBA game.”
Click to expand...

The screen setting was the “best we’ve seen”. I didn’t get to watch the game but in the highlights I saw a ton of Nurk screens creating open looks. How about Zeller and Nance how are their screens?
 
Fairly-Hard said:
All of this is correct but my gut is telling me this is a Blazer win.

They do play the games for a reason and today is one of those reasons.
Blazers win this one in a barn burner.
Click to expand...

you called it my man! You called Blazers win from the get go. Other than Kingspeed, who always see us winning, you seriously called it.
Good job.

NOW.

Call em all this way from now on will ya!?!
:)
 
Yeah, the win is nice, but Terry Stotts had a beer at the Timbers game...
 
It's one win and they play really good but still has things to improve on defense but it's night and day from preseason though and that's what your looking for as a coach improvement. I love they are forcing pace off a rebound and I think if they continue that there more dangerous on offense plus more opportunities for open shots but been saying that for years. Plus it's showing we don't need big games by Dame to win and he had 8 assist in 3 quarters last that's I like to see in him.
 
Is there a reason that Powell only played 12 minutes? Did he get a knock, or is it just that we were far enough ahead and the players who need minutes are all guards and wings?
 
Orion Bailey said:
you called it my man! You called Blazers win from the get go. Other than Kingspeed, who always see us winning, you seriously called it.
Good job.

NOW.

Call em all this way from now on will ya!?!
:)
Click to expand...
This was actually pretty easy.
Second of the Back to Back.
They are all living in Phoenix and just played in LA.
They got in a plane Thursday night late and flew here. When they got off the plane they were met with RAIN! Lots of it.
It rained all day and everything the team was doing was dodging raindrops. Their luggage was wet. Their trip to the arena was wet.

Now the Blazers are a little more accustomed to it and were here. They haven't even traveled yet.
I know it's way too early to start saying schedule loss but this one had schedule loss written all over it.
Blazers were due for a good game. This needs to carry over. I hope it does.

Next game is a toss up. Clippers just lost to the Grizzlies. They also lost to the Warriors in a tight game.
The thing is the Blazers played last night with an energy of a healthy team that is well rested. CJ is literally holding everyone accountable for shopping his name all summer.
You want to give up CJ at this point you better get something for him because he will be winning this team some games this year.

The Clippers have Batum back but obviously not Leonard yet. PG threw in 41 in that loss to the Grizz.
Blazers need to stop PG and the rest will fall into place.

My call is Blazer will be in a position to win it at the end. How they perform at that point is where the question comes.
 
This is going to be a pretty crazy "Game Thread" year i can see. Not just this site but pretty much every Blazer site.
Seems people around here over react a bit? Gonna win the Finals when they win and are wondering if they can keep their draft pick if they lose.
Relax a bit maybe? Losing the next game will not end the season.
 
James lamphear said:
It's one win and they play really good but still has things to improve on defense but it's night and day from preseason though and that's what your looking for as a coach improvement. I love they are forcing pace off a rebound and I think if they continue that there more dangerous on offense plus more opportunities for open shots but been saying that for years. Plus it's showing we don't need big games by Dame to win and he had 8 assist in 3 quarters last that's I like to see in him.
Click to expand...
yes sir, pushing the pace is key and last night CJ push the ball up some while Dame played off the ball. Also, Norm push's the ball.
Smith is another guy thats comfortable pushing fast and even Nurk tossed a couple quick outlet pass's.
 
Fairly-Hard said:
This is going to be a pretty crazy "Game Thread" year i can see. Not just this site but pretty much every Blazer site.
Seems people around here over react a bit? Gonna win the Finals when they win and are wondering if they can keep their draft pick if they lose.
Relax a bit maybe? Losing the next game will not end the season.
Click to expand...

no way. The parade is a lock!
 
Scalma said:
So pissed we wasted years with Nurk in drop coverage, he covers so much space and closes lanes.
Click to expand...
I'm not sold on him in this scheme yet; sometimes he seems to be quite slow in recovering back to the big. Hasn't seemed to hurt us much so far, maybe teams are just getting used to what Blazers are doing?
 
SlyPokerDog said:
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams


On tonight’s loss…

“I didn’t have us ready to play, that was the deal. Our communication was not to the level that it needed to be, and typically when you don’t communicate it means your mind is crowded with stuff so that’s on me to get us clear on what we’re supposed to be doing. And they played with a great deal of pace and their screen setting was the best that we’ve seen, it’s a short season but those guys were intent on getting the ball open and downhill tonight. Those were sacrificial screens that they set. But we did not play at a great level tonight defensively, the first quarter we were terrible but after that it just snowballed. They hit a lot of off the dribble shots tonight, which is what you want to force [but] they just hit them. There was a point tonight where in the NBA sometimes you have night’s like that, you can just leave it there, but I can’t do that as a coach. We have to be better and more consistent with our defense.”

On Portland’s offense tonight…

“They have two guys that play off the dribble, about as good as any guards in the league, and they now have two screen-setters that can free those guys up. We lost to Denver [Nuggets] and all I talked about was us, but the bottom line is they beat us tonight. The same way Denver did so credit to them.”

On what the offense can improve on…

“We didn’t generate enough three’s tonight. Portland’s a team that gives up threes because they have their bigs up in the pick-and-roll, so that’s on us. If you can get the ball to the big and find on the backside, we’d love to get Mikal [Bridges] at least twelve shots a night, playing with Chris [Paul] and Devin [Booker] you should be able to do that and we just didn’t do it tonight. But I don’t know that number, when he [Bridges] got his shots he made them tonight, we just have to be aware of that and try to find him when he’s hot.”

On attributing Portland’s twenty-four assists to their off the dribble shots made…

“Yeah, I mean you can use that as an excuse, it’s a fact but I don’t want to rest on that or use it as a pass but they made a ton of off the dribble shots tonight – even three’s. You got to close to their feet and get them off the line, and get them out of rhythm, but even when we did that, they still made tough shots. They had a great night, it happens in the NBA. We can’t get down about that part but there’s still some things that we can get better at. Like I said from the jump, the communication wasn’t there and then there were other areas where we have breakdowns and then we missed a ton of shots in the first half and that fueled their break. When you score that many points you expect them to have way more assists but they made so many off the dribble shots tonight, it was something you don’t typically see in an NBA game.”
Click to expand...
My favorite part: "And they played with a great deal of pace and their screen setting was the best that we’ve seen, it’s a short season but those guys were intent on getting the ball open and downhill tonight. Those were sacrificial screens that they set."
He also mentions we have two screen setters; I assume that's Nurk and Zeller?
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
My favorite part: "And they played with a great deal of pace and their screen setting was the best that we’ve seen, it’s a short season but those guys were intent on getting the ball open and downhill tonight. Those were sacrificial screens that they set."
He also mentions we have two screen setters; I assume that's Nurk and Zeller?
Click to expand...

Yeah Nance was good too, Billups mentioned him playing stretch five this season.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
ANFERNEE SIMONS


On how they celebrated with Coach Billups…

“We did the normal stuff. We just waited for him and poured a bunch of water on him.”


How important was it for you guys to play well tonight?

“It was very important. It was a boost of confidence for us. We’ve been working so hard to fix the things we done in preseason and the first game and I think after the first game we came with a positive attitude saying we did a lot of things well, some stuff we need to work on. Today we just wanted to come in and go full head of steam. I think we did well in that.”


Watching you it seems like there’s a difference in confidence and skill set. Do you feel like it’s coming together? Where do you feel like you are at?

“Yeah, for sure. The natural trust that Chauncey has in me gives me enough confidence to go out there and play my game, go out there and play free. I go out there and play my game no matter what. Doesn’t matter how bad it is, how good it is, he just trusts me to be myself each and every time I go out on the court.”


On feedback during the game…

“Yeah, for sure. We had that conversation before the season how I wanted to be coached and I told him you can be hard on me because that’s all I know. My dad was hard on me growing up so that’s the only way I can get better is somebody constantly on me on certain things. It’s been good, good feedback. Tell me anything no matter what. Have no filter for me. And that’s the only way we’re going to get a better relationship and how we get better.”


On Nas’ energy on the court...

“It’s really big. He’s a big athletic guy. He comes in and gives us a lot of energy. Gives us shooting. Gives us hustle plays as well. It’s big for us. It’s just a different pace we go at when he is in there. We play a little faster. It’s good for us.”
Click to expand...
Absolutely love the part I bolded.
 
Fairly-Hard said:
This was actually pretty easy.
Second of the Back to Back.
They are all living in Phoenix and just played in LA.
They got in a plane Thursday night late and flew here. When they got off the plane they were met with RAIN! Lots of it.
It rained all day and everything the team was doing was dodging raindrops. Their luggage was wet. Their trip to the arena was wet.

Now the Blazers are a little more accustomed to it and were here. They haven't even traveled yet.
I know it's way too early to start saying schedule loss but this one had schedule loss written all over it.
Blazers were due for a good game. This needs to carry over. I hope it does.

Next game is a toss up. Clippers just lost to the Grizzlies. They also lost to the Warriors in a tight game.
The thing is the Blazers played last night with an energy of a healthy team that is well rested. CJ is literally holding everyone accountable for shopping his name all summer.
You want to give up CJ at this point you better get something for him because he will be winning this team some games this year.

The Clippers have Batum back but obviously not Leonard yet. PG threw in 41 in that loss to the Grizz.
Blazers need to stop PG and the rest will fall into place.

My call is Blazer will be in a position to win it at the end. How they perform at that point is where the question comes.
Click to expand...

maybe it's just my computer, but looking at the format of your post on my screen, I was thinking you had composed some kind of poem. Kind of like a Haiku that Edgar Allen Poe and landed in when trapped in a fever dream about Jabberwocky. Quoth the Raven: Blazers in 6
 
It's one game and the Suns were coming off a back-to-back flying from LA to Portland, so I'll temper my enthusiasm.

However, lot to feel good about from what I've seen in the preseason through the first two games of the regular season when you look at the halfcourt defense with the way they scramble and close and just the energy -- there was a shot I think Booker made inside last night but it not only was contested in front but two guys were trying to swipe it from behind. Also, reasons to be happy with the offense in terms of a lot of guys are touching the ball, we're setting good screens and using them well and generally getting pretty good shots ... you have to make them but I'd rather get open looks then having our stars have to invent something every possession. I think (hope) we'll see even more ball movement and involvement as the players become more and more accustomed to the offense.

The other thing that stood out to me is Nurk's play. When he's mentally engaged, we are really efficient offensively. He cleans up defenders with his screens.

Things to work on: Transition and secondary break defense. Also, we're a bit slow on the recover after hedging or blitzing the small-big high PnR. Kings caught us recovering a few times for easy shots. Suns caught us twice but I thought they missed a few chances ... could be attributable to the Blazers forcing the ballhandler into position where it was tough to see the open roller or just making it a difficult entry pass.
 
Yes, it was a back to back for Phoenix and that played a part. But Portland dominated the second half without a starter...

Paul was awfully cranky last nite, jawing non-stop with Chauncey. Coaches talk to opponents, but Paul was just non-stop out there with,what I presume was trash talk, to Chauncey. He was not smiling. I assume they go back a ways and have a good relationship ???

Portland has a lot of firepower, on any night CJ, Norm, and Ant should combine for 60+. Ant will eclipse 30 pt a game this year, I would wager. And we have yet to see Dame go Champagne Supernova, not even close.

DSJ got some good minutes and is a true PG, he stepped up nicely for the second unit. Interested to see how Snell looks. What will he bring to the rotations?Chauncey's rotation is so much different than Stotts'. It's as if he actually thinks about it.
 
Fairly-Hard said:
This is going to be a pretty crazy "Game Thread" year i can see. Not just this site but pretty much every Blazer site.
Seems people around here over react a bit? Gonna win the Finals when they win and are wondering if they can keep their draft pick if they lose.
Relax a bit maybe? Losing the next game will not end the season.
Click to expand...

you’re clearly new here…
 
Stat of the game for me is that we blew out the Suns and Dame only played 24 minutes and CJ 30, don't expect that too often however I hope we can keep Dame and CJ's minutes down a decent bit from previous years, most enjoyable Blazer game I have watched in a long time - I really like how much more they are trying to push the pace!
 
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