Game Thread GAME# 20: BLAZERS @ WIZARDS - FEBRUARY 2, 2021 - TUESDAY, 5:00, NBCSNW

[wizenheimer]

This a hundred times over. Some people can't argue an issue without getting personal about the messenger instead of the message. Over the years, harassment drove a few posters tired of Olshey/Stotts off the board.

harassment goes every direction....I mean, HCP says his butt hurts

 

[wizenheimer]

. One thing about treading water: it beats drowning.

most people who drown, tread water first....science

 

[e_blazer]

most people who drown, tread water first....science

Same for those who survive...also science.

 

[James lamphear]

Well we really don't have a clue what we want to on defense. We got guys supposed to switch and we end up two on the ball with opposing team man wide open. There's no help defense when someone drive to the ball all I see players flat footed reaching for the ball. We played one good quarter of defense and the rest of the game we become clueless. We are slow getting back on defense giving up easy basket. The coaches and leaders can talk all about it that don't solve damn thing you got start to hold players accountable that's include your leaders all the way down. Because if they don't we not even going to reach the playoffs and that might be a good thing maybe someone up above will be make changes with ones that's putting this team together and that's the GM and coaches they need be held accountable too.

 

[THE HCP]

All this whining and crying about how SOME people want their team to win a championship and aren’t “peachy” with a mediocre team is bullshit. Save that for your mama!
Everybody on here wants us to win a championship or at least contend.
This all comes down to expectations and reality, plain and simple.
How you handle defeat.
This is a great place to come and vent, that’s why I love it.
Anyway, my 6th man is inconsistent, my 7th is lost once he steps foot on the court and my 8th and 9th shouldn’t even be in the league...... oh ya, and we don’t even have a 10th-12th.......
So I’ll be happy after EVERY god damn win regardless of how it was played or coached.
Looking forward to the Sixers game thread. I don’t realistically think we have a chance, but still rooting for my favorite team.
And firing Stotts mid season won’t change that.

 

[Kano John]

A lot of us have experienced that once in our life. It's great. It's like being a 60 year-old virgin and finally getting laid.

I had recently turned 21 when they won the championship. I remember going to a bar with some friends that evening and not much about the next 24 hrs. I do remember waking up with a terrible headache though!

 

[blazerkor]

All this whining and crying about how SOME people want their team to win a championship and aren’t “peachy” with a mediocre team is bullshit. Save that for your mama!
Everybody on here wants us to win a championship or at least contend.
This all comes down to expectations and reality, plain and simple.
How you handle defeat.
This is a great place to come and vent, that’s why I love it.
Anyway, my 6th man is inconsistent, my 7th is lost once he steps foot on the court and my 8th and 9th shouldn’t even be in the league...... oh ya, and we don’t even have a 10th-12th.......
So I’ll be happy after EVERY god damn win regardless of how it was played or coached.
Looking forward to the Sixers game thread. I don’t realistically think we have a chance, but still rooting for my favorite team.
And firing Stotts mid season won’t change that.

Firing both Olshey and Stotts, with a replacement for Olshey before the trade deadline would send a message that there is accountability in this franchise and that we're ready to do what's necessary with the talent we do have (even if that means trading some of it) to move towards contention instead of staying on the mediocrity treadmill. Obviously you can't hire your coach of the future in the middle of the season but you can do just as well with someone familiar with the players and the system who is willing to shake up that system a little.

That said. I'm happy after wins. I want all of the guys on the roster to give their best and I'd love it if they were all healthy. I just think we are worse than the sum of our parts and that falls directly on both Neil and Terry. I also know that right now seems like a dumb time to talk about it with possibly four or five (depending on how you see Zach) of our top six out but if you're someone like me you've been thinking that these two have needed to go for some time so I don't think there's a point in waiting for things to be perfect that likely won't ever be.

For the record if we made big changes like I'm calling for and still got bounced in the first round, I'd be OK with that because at least we would finally start showing that the middle of the pack isn't good enough and will result in wholesale change.

 

[riverman]

I had recently turned 21 when they won the championship. I remember going to a bar with some friends that evening and not much about the next 24 hrs. I do remember waking up with a terrible headache though!

I was 23 when it happened....didn't drink but had a hell of a time celebrating

 

[riverman]

Firing both Olshey and Stotts, with a replacement for Olshey before the trade deadline would

......turn us into the Twolves or Knicks over the last 15 seasons.....I don't want to watch 12 CJ Elleby's learning to play basketball for what remains of my life...we just need a healthy season...we have the team now. Blowing this team up is not going to move the needle...it's just going to chase away your all star calliber players and turn the Blazers into the Washington Generals

 

[kjironman1]

...and yet posters get referred to as 'haters' quite often.

Yeah. The Hater thing is bad.
People said I hated Aminu. Absolutely loved the guy. Gave 100% all the time worked as hard as anyone and was a solid defender. Just didn’t want him as a starter. I didn’t even want the guy gone. Now I’m stuck with Melo.

 

[riverman]

Yeah. The Hater thing is bad.
People said I hated Aminu. Absolutely loved the guy. Gave 100% all the time worked as hard as anyone and was a solid defender. Just didn’t want him as a starter. I didn’t even want the guy gone. Now I’m stuck with Melo.

in fairness Chief has barely played a game in a couple years due to injuries....we sort of dodged a bullet but I loved Chief when he was here....

 

[Natebishop3]

we just need a healthy season

This is where you and I disagree.

A healthy season still doesn't make us a true contender. You don't win a championship playing defense like we play defense.

 

[blazerkor]

......turn us into the Twolves or Knicks over the last 15 seasons.....I don't want to watch 12 CJ Elleby's learning to play basketball for what remains of my life...we just need a healthy season...we have the team now. Blowing this team up is not going to move the needle...it's just going to chase away your all star calliber players and turn the Blazers into the Washington Generals

Neil? Terry? Is that one of you? But seriously, you think that this team is a contender when healthy and coached by this coach? With Dame and CJ getting the most minutes on the team and especially coached by Terry this defense will never be a championship level defense. Sorry, that's my opinion.

Also why would firing two guys that have not been able to get the job done for almost nine years make us a revolving door franchise like the Knicks. Also we have an all nba player, with the best attitude in the league at the height of his career so unless we are planning on changing him in for magic beans then I don't see us sinking to the level of the Knicks.

I am also not advocating turning any of our guys into picks or projects just equal talent that fits better with Dame.

 

[kjironman1]

This is where you and I disagree.

A healthy season still doesn't make us a true contender. You don't win a championship playing defense like we play defense.

But you might win one playing defense the way the team might play if they were all healthy and available.

 

[riverman]

Neil? Terry? Is that one of you? But seriously, you think that this team is a contender when healthy and coached by this coach? With Dame and CJ getting the most minutes on the team and especially coached by Terry this defense will never be a championship level defense. Sorry, that's my opinion.

Also why would firing two guys that have not been able to get the job done for almost nine years make us like a revolving door franchise like the Knicks. Also we have an all nba player, with the best attitude in the league at the height of his career so unless we are planning on changing him in for magic beans then I don't see us sinking to the level of the Knicks.

I am also not advocating turning any of our guys into picks or projects just equal talent that fits better with Dame.

I do think our core healthy with some chemistry and experience playing together can contend....this team being Nurk, CJ, Zach, DJJ all back in the rotation.....I think 20 games in we're on our 6th starting lineup with virtually no training camp due to covid.......and new guys learning their spots....the blessing in disguise is that Hood and Roco and Trent as well as Ant are starting to hit shots...we're getting steals and when we win we outrebound the other team......I'm a fan of Terry and Neil. Have been all along.....love the stability...wasn't a fan of the Kaleb Canales, season at all when we didn't even have a GM.....we're way better off now.....people who don't like Terry are not going to agree with me...that's demonstrable here but I got his back...think he's actually the perfect coach for our team....Dame agrees with me. That's enough support for me.

 

[AldoTrapani]

This is where you and I disagree.

A healthy season still doesn't make us a true contender. You don't win a championship playing defense like we play defense.

Preach!! My favorite poster here

 

[Tince]

Firing both Olshey and Stotts, with a replacement for Olshey before the trade deadline would send a message that there is accountability in this franchise and that we're ready to do what's necessary with the talent we do have (even if that means trading some of it) to move towards contention instead of staying on the mediocrity treadmill. Obviously you can't hire your coach of the future in the middle of the season but you can do just as well with someone familiar with the players and the system who is willing to shake up that system a little.

This is much more idealistic than it is realistic.

Again, I'm fine if Olshey and Stotts are let go, but I understand there is risk in making moves like that. I saw what firing Adleman and Dunleavy gave us: PJ Carlismo & Mo Cheeks. Some like the idea of change for the sake of trying something new, but I perfer waiting to make a move until your highly confident that your next move will be an upgrade, is someting your all-NBA player is on board with, etc.

If we think we have the right GM in place to make a coaching move that will make us a championship team, great, pull the trigger.

If we think McGowan and Jody are in a place to hire a GM that will improve the roster and coaching situation, great, pull the trigger.

 

[blazerkor]

I do think our core healthy with some chemistry and experience playing together can contend....this team being Nurk, CJ, Zach, DJJ all back in the rotation.....I think 20 games in we're on our 6th starting lineup with virtually no training camp due to covid.......and new guys learning their spots....the blessing in disguise is that Hood and Roco and Trent as well as Ant are starting to hit shots...we're getting steals and when we win we outrebound the other team......I'm a fan of Terry and Neil. Have been all along.....love the stability...wasn't a fan of the Kaleb Canales, season at all when we didn't even have a GM.....we're way better off now.....

Yeah we're better off because of what Dame does on the court with what he has, not because of those two guys. I know there's nothing to back that opinion up but there is evidence to show that these two haven't got us to a contending spot despite having one of the top guys in the league.

I liked the WCF run too but lets not fool ourselves into thinking that team was a contender or this one is either... especially with a guy coaching that answered the questions after the last loss the way he did.

Again, I like continuity too and don't want a revolving door but stagnation isn't acceptable either. So I don't want three GMs in two years like we had right before Olshey but what's Einstein's definition of insanity?

 

[riverman]

Coach Thibs....considered by team USA the best defensive coordinator in the league.....was coach and GM in a couple of stops....check his career from Chicago to Minnesota to the Knicks.....has he built a contender yet? Has he had more playoff success than Stotts? .......more drafting success than Neil? Only under Doc with the Celtics as an assistant did he have success..(he had some in Chicago until he frustrated the organization)..Stotts won a ring with Dallas as an assistant too.....show me why one coach has better results than the other?

 

[Tince]

This is where you and I disagree.

A healthy season still doesn't make us a true contender. You don't win a championship playing defense like we play defense.

If I understand your stance from pervious posts, you don't think we have a championship roster regardless of who's coaching either. Correct?

 

[Tince]

Coach Thibs....considered by team USA the best defensive coordinator in the league.....was coach and GM in a couple of stops....check his career from Chicago to Minnesota to the Knicks.....has he built a contender yet? Has he had more playoff success than Stotts? .......more drafting success than Neil?

So many times when a coach isn't doing well, people want to hire the polar opposite of that coach. I do not see how a Thibs experiment ends well.

 

[blazerkor]

Coach Thibs....considered by team USA the best defensive coordinator in the league.....was coach and GM in a couple of stops....check his career from Chicago to Minnesota to the Knicks.....has he built a contender yet? Has he had more playoff success than Stotts? .......more drafting success than Neil?

Yeah, I don't want a guy who burns through players like that but I don't want one that panders to players either... there are a bunch of better guys who fall in between.

 

[blazerkor]

If we think we have the right GM in place to make a coaching move that will make us a championship team, great, pull the trigger.

If we think McGowan and Jody are in a place to hire a GM that will improve the roster and coaching situation, great, pull the trigger.

As a big fan of this team I would hope this is the case.

 

[Hoopguru]

Give me the name of a player that could be acquired that would improve our defense substantially, and what would we have to give up?

 

[Tince]

As a big fan of this team I would hope this is the case.

I hope we do, but I'm far from confident we do.

 

[blazerkor]

Give me the name of a player that could be acquired that would improve our defense substantially, and what would we have to give up?

I'm not a GM but step one would be having a coach that cares about defense and step two would be having a GM that wasn't so religiously devoted to the worst defensive starting back court in the league that happens to be the back court with the best combination of two offensive guards individually but not the best combined.

 

[Tince]

Give me the name of a player that could be acquired that would improve our defense substantially, and what would we have to give up?

If the objective is for a big jump in defense, the best move would be to replace our below average on-ball defending perimeter players with above average ones.

 

[riverman]

Roco. Trent and DJJ are our defensive guys who you put on the ball handler......Tony Allen and Jrue Holliday are excellent defenders but we are not going to get them through trades. Trent did a decent job on Bradley Beal and that's a tough cover

 

[Tince]

Roco. Trent and DJJ are our defensive guys who you put on the ball handler......Tony Allen and Jrue Holliday are excellent defenders but we are not going to get them through trades. Trent did a decent job on Bradley Beal and that's a tough cover

Trent did a nice job. His defensive abilities got its own thread, much of which I agree with.

RoCo is not a great on the ball defender, but a GREAT team defender. If you face a team with 2 elite guards and are forced to put your SF & PF on them, that means we're putting Dame & CJ on the other teams SF & PF; which causes a bunch of other issues.

 

[Natebishop3]

If I understand your stance from pervious posts, you don't think we have a championship roster regardless of who's coaching either. Correct?

Not correct. I have no clue how this team would perform under a new coach. We have never seen Dame/CJ play under a different coach.