Game Thread GAME# 21: MAGIC @ BLAZERS - NOVEMBER 28, 2018 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM, NBATV & NBCSNW

[Darkwebs]

2018-19 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
ORLANDO MAGIC
10 - 10
(4-4 Road)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
12 - 8
(7-3 Home)

______________________________
---------PROBABLE STARTERS---------

PG

D.J. AUGUSTIN VS DAMIAN LILLARD

SG

EVAN FOURNIER VS C.J. McCOLLUM

SF

WESLEY IWUNDU VS JAKE LAYMAN

PF

AARON GORDON VS AL-FAROUQ AMINU

C

NIKOLA VUCEVIC VS JUSUF NURKIC

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WHEN: 7:00 PM (PST), WEDNESDAY, 11/28/2018

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

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--------------BENCH--------------

---- ORLANDO MAGIC ----

BRISCOE , CAUPAIN , GRANT

FRAZIER Jr. , SIMMONS , ROSS

ISAAC , JEFFERSON , BIRCH

MARTIN , BAMBA


---- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ----

CURRY , BALDWIN , SIMONS

TURNER , STAUSKAS , TRENT Jr.

HARKLESS , SWANIGAN

COLLINS , LEONARD


INJURIES
MAGIC
Timofey Mozgov(sore right knee): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Jusuf Nurkic (right shoulder contusion): QUESTIONABLE




HEAD COACHES

- VS –

STEVE CLIFFORD --- TERRY STOTTS



OFFICIAL MAGIC'S GAME NOTES
OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

• Wednesday’s game marks the second of two meetings between the Trail Blazers and the Magic during the 2018-19 season. Portland leads the season series, 1-0.

• LAST MEETING: Portland scored 70 points in the second half while shooting 55.2% for the game to beat the Magic in Orlando, 128-114, on Oct. 25. Damian Lillard erupted for 41 points (13-23 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 10-12 FT) to go with seven rebounds and six assists while Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic.

• CJ McCollum had 22 points (7-12 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 6-6 FT), two rebounds and two assists against the Magic on Oct. 25.

• Jusuf Nurkic recorded a double-double of 18 points (7-14 FG, 4-7 FT) and 10 rebounds to go with three blocks at Orlando on Oct. 25.

• Terrence Ross scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting (5-9 3-PT) to go with four rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes off the bench against Portland on Oct. 25.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 33-25
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 18-11
AT THE MAGIC: Trail Blazers lead, 15-14

​

 

[Darkwebs]

Rip City's mood right now:

 

[Darkwebs]

3-game skid. No matter what, we have to right the ship here (with or without Nurk).

 

[TBpup]

This is probably a 'must win'. If they lose 6 out of 8 right before playing the Nuggs and then heading out on the road, this could get ugly in a hurry.

I picked Meyers to start just because I'm afraid if Collins starts, he could foul out in the 1st quarter.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Lose this one, lose to Denver, then head out on the road. We should start a pool on what date the Blazers fall below .500. If the team was going to rally and get back on track, it would have been tonight.

BTW, is there any actual news on Nurk, or is the team just having fun F'ning with us?

PS: I pick Dec 12th.

 

[beast blazer]

It's utterly meaningless.

 

[Scalma]

If they lose, fire Stotts.

It’ll never happen, but I want that out in the universe.

 

[blazerkor]

We need this win badly. I think we'll start hitting our threes again and start rolling from there.

 

[H.C.]

If Nurk can't go it'll be based on matchups imo.
Against Vucevic Nards should get the nod.

 

[oldmangrouch]

If they lose, fire Stotts.

It’ll never happen, but I want that out in the universe.

I would amend that to Stotts and Olshey. With ownership in limbo, why do we even need a GM? There won't be any trades or meaningful FA signings, and the scouts can handle the draft.

 

[TBpup]

Chalkboard Strategy:

"Get hot from '3'"

Meeting adjourned.

 

[BonesJones]

If Nurk can't go it'll be based on matchups imo.
Against Vucevic Nards should get the nod.

Nah, Vucevic can hit 3s and actually do a little bit off the dribble.

 

[Chris Craig]

No Nurk and Vucevic will destroy us. Stotts will probably start Nards and Put Aminu on Vucevic because that makes so much sense.

 

[Labinot41]

We can still tank for Zion

 

[Lukee]

After that Warriors loss, I find it really hard to stay up all night watching this team. I would rather if we can lose 10 straight and fire Stotts and make some trades than watching same old

 

[hoopsjock]

We can still tank for Zion

How?

 

[Labinot41]

How?

Lose games

 

[hoopsjock]

Lose games

LMFAO, @TorturedBlazerFan this stupid shit is exactly what I was talking about the other day.

@Labinot41 You can't just decide to tank and lose games. Please explain how we would do that, especially to the point where we'd be worse than the Cavs, Hawks, and Suns to get Zion?

 

[blue9]

Losing this game would be FAR MORE entertaining than winning it...and sports are all about entertainment!

 

[Labinot41]

LMFAO, @TorturedBlazerFan this stupid shit is exactly what I was talking about the other day.

@Labinot41 You can't just decide to tank and lose games. Please explain how we would do that, especially to the point where we'd be worse than the Cavs, Hawks, and Suns to get Zion?

Bro it was just a joke. Do not take everything so seriously. I know we will not tank.

 

[hoopsjock]

Bro it was just a joke. Do not take everything so seriously. I know we will not tank.

Yeah, okay, say that now that you have no response and realize how it wouldn't work.

 

[Labinot41]

Yeah, okay, say that now that you have no response and realize how it wouldn't work.

Lol

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

LMFAO, @TorturedBlazerFan this stupid shit is exactly what I was talking about the other day.

@Labinot41 You can't just decide to tank and lose games. Please explain how we would do that, especially to the point where we'd be worse than the Cavs, Hawks, and Suns to get Zion?

Fair enough, I just dont (still) understand why you kept telling me I needed to propose a plan for how they tank, when I wasnt the one saying they should.
I still believe when we say tank in the general sense like I was, that we all generally know what it means. Lose games in hopes of landing a super star in the draft.

Now if I said they should tank, I think its perfectly fair to ask me how I would go about doing that, because there are different forms of it, and some are long term where you’re hoping that sometime in the next decade you’re relevant again. Some are more short term.

 

[Reep]

I would give Leonard the start just to see if he can put two decent games together. If he shows up and rebounds well and shoots the three then maybe he earns a better spot in the rotation. He's trying Jennifer.

 

[hoopsjock]

Fair enough, I just dont (still) understand why you kept telling me I needed to propose a plan for how they tank, when I wasnt the one saying they should.
I still believe when we say tank in the general sense like I was, that we all generally know what it means. Lose games in hopes of landing a super star in the draft.

Now if I said they should tank, I think its perfectly fair to ask me how I would go about doing that, because there are different forms of it, and some are long term where you’re hoping that sometime in the next decade you’re relevant again. Some are more short term.

Once again, you kept bringing up "tanking" as something that is fair game to be discussed. I simply pointed out that this type of thing usually happens when people say we should tank and that I think they should be called out on it. I never meant that you personally had to give your proposal but that you shouldn't defend crap like this.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Once again, you kept bringing up "tanking" as something that is fair game to be discussed. I simply pointed out that this type of thing usually happens when people say we should tank and that I think they should be called out on it. I never meant that you personally had to give your proposal but that you shouldn't defend crap like this.

Sure? You said “you” a lot in your replies to me, may have been the more general you, I suppose...

I get that it frustrates you when people say lets just lose and get zion and all will be well, because they could lose a lot and end up not getting Zion. So I get why its frustrating.

 

[hoopsjock]

Sure? You said “you” a lot in your replies to me, may have been the more general you, I suppose...

I get that it frustrates you when people say lets just lose and get zion and all will be well, because they could lose a lot and end up not getting Zion. So I get why its frustrating.

That part doesn't even really frustrate me. They could trade Dame and CJ, lose every game the rest of the season, and still not end up with the #1 pick. Since the lottery rules change this year I think the team with the worst record could end up with the 6th pick now. In reality I think it is way easier to hit on a later pick than it is to successfully tank.

The part that gets to me every time is that certain people (not YOU) seem to think the Blazers could just decide to tank.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Once again, you kept bringing up "tanking" as something that is fair game to be discussed. I simply pointed out that this type of thing usually happens when people say we should tank and that I think they should be called out on it. I never meant that you personally had to give your proposal but that you shouldn't defend crap like this.

So how do you define tanking? If I propose the team should give more minutes to Leonard/Collins/Layman is that tanking? What if I say we shouldn't waste minutes on 1 year rentals, and should bench Curry/Stauskas in favor of Simons/Trent? At what point do short term sacrifices for potential long term gains become tanking? Is sacrificing wins to build a better team always tanking?

 

[blue9]

So how do you define tanking? If I propose the team should give more minutes to Leonard/Collins/Layman is that tanking? What if I say we shouldn't waste minutes on 1 year rentals, and should bench Curry/Stauskas in favor of Simons/Trent? At what point do short term sacrifices for potential long term gains become tanking? Is sacrificing wins to build a better team always tanking?

If so, then BRING OUT THE TANK!

IMO, unless you have a legitimate shot at doing damage in the POs you have to CONSTANTLY be developing. Maybe that doesn't mean that Curry/Sauce don't play at all - but it certainly means that Simons/Trent get at least an equal amount of playing time over the course of the season (ditto for the Collins / Aminu position). With a middling team such as ours we have to balance the development with the winning in order to keep Dame engaged - but he should also be smart enough to know that accelerated development at the cost of a few wins is also in his best interest if he's truly ride or die.

 

[hoopsjock]

So how do you define tanking? If I propose the team should give more minutes to Leonard/Collins/Layman is that tanking? What if I say we shouldn't waste minutes on 1 year rentals, and should bench Curry/Stauskas in favor of Simons/Trent? At what point do short term sacrifices for potential long term gains become tanking? Is sacrificing wins to build a better team always tanking?

No, I don't think any of that is tanking. At the end of the day as long as Dame and CJ are on the team together there is no way to be bad enough to lose enough games to get a high draft pick. Without tanking Olshey still found a way to get the 10th pick in the 2017 draft. Now if you say that we should start Simons and Trent over Dame and CJ then that would be tanking but that's pretty much impossible to do and we should just trade them before that happens. There are ways to stealth tank like trading Aminu for an under-performing guy on a rookie contract or something like that but once again is it really worth doing that if it gets us like the 12th pick instead of the 18th pick (whatever just examples). The only other real legit way to tank is if Dame gets hurt and misses most or all of the rest of the season.

I'm actually a big proponent of always trying to develop young players, even on good teams.