Game Thread GAME# 22: NUGGETS @ BLAZERS - NOVEMBER 30, 2018 - FRIDAY, 7:30 PM , ESPN & NBCSNW (1 Viewer)

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I dont think I'm gonna post much in game threads anymore. A certain group of posters have ruined it. I've noticed a lot of the quality posters on this board no longer post in game threads, and I can see why.

I'm sorry I don't ever post in game threads. I don't get to watch the games.

 

[hoopsjock]

Hahaha. I was doing the same thing. I hit rewind about a half dozen times to see who left someone so wide open for an easy three. Aminu and Turnover were the responsible parties every time. The worst was when they left guys wide open for what I have to believe is the easiest, most efficient shot in basketball -- the corner three that every high school player can make -- to cheat back toward the key, when the key was already heavily guarded. So. Fucking. Stupid.

And those two are considered "good" at defense. If they can't even defend well they shouldn't be in the game.

 

[TBpup]

Regression is not what I was hoping for this season.

 

[hoopsjock]

One other thing about the defense...

You have to mix up your pick and roll concepts. Doing the same thing every time leads to being too predictable. Being too predictable leads to the opposing team to know exactly how to attack it. This is why Harden was so shocked last year when the 2nd unit had that almost big comeback because he wasn't expecting Portland to do anything like that.

If I was playing against Portland I would run pick and roll every single time. If by chance it didn't work all I'd have to do is just wait about 3 seconds for an off the ball defender to fall asleep to give one of my teammates a wide open shot. This is coaching, not personnel. The concepts are bad, the adjustments are bad, and the lack of accountability is bad. If it was a matter of the players not executing what the coaches want then that is the coaches fault too. It would be completely different if you saw the players trying to execute properly but just weren't talented enough to do so. If Stotts saw that his players weren't doing what he is telling them to do they should be sat down or yelled at. I know he can do this because he did it to Meyers a few games ago when he was hesitating to shoot when open. Why don't the players falling asleep on defense get the same treatment?

 

[BBert]

And those two are considered "good" at defense. If they can't even defend well they shouldn't be in the game.

They are good when they are up in someone's grill. SO STAY THE FUCK UP IN SOMEONE'S GRILL. That sagging off shit is KILLING us, game after game. They just need to play their fucking man and let our bigs do their job. Of course, if our guards can't do their jobs, then that MIGHT explain why they are sagging and helping so much, but it shouldn't. Just let the bigs bail out the guards. The alternative is the other team taking three point shooting practice while our players watch. I'd rather give up the two.

 

[BBert]

One other thing about the defense...

You have to mix up your pick and roll concepts. Doing the same thing every time leads to being too predictable. Being too predictable leads to the opposing team to know exactly how to attack it. This is why Harden was so shocked last year when the 2nd unit had that almost big comeback because he wasn't expecting Portland to do anything like that.

If I was playing against Portland I would run pick and roll every single time. If by chance it didn't work all I'd have to do is just wait about 3 seconds for an off the ball defender to fall asleep to give one of my teammates a wide open shot. This is coaching, not personnel. The concepts are bad, the adjustments are bad, and the lack of accountability is bad. If it was a matter of the players not executing what the coaches want then that is the coaches fault too. It would be completely different if you saw the players trying to execute properly but just weren't talented enough to do so. If Stotts saw that his players weren't doing what he is telling them to do they should be sat down or yelled at. I know he can do this because he did it to Meyers a few games ago when he was hesitating to shoot when open. Why don't the players falling asleep on defense get the same treatment?

Agreed. It's on the coaches.

 

[BonesJones]

One other thing about the defense...

You have to mix up your pick and roll concepts. Doing the same thing every time leads to being too predictable. Being too predictable leads to the opposing team to know exactly how to attack it. This is why Harden was so shocked last year when the 2nd unit had that almost big comeback because he wasn't expecting Portland to do anything like that.

If I was playing against Portland I would run pick and roll every single time. If by chance it didn't work all I'd have to do is just wait about 3 seconds for an off the ball defender to fall asleep to give one of my teammates a wide open shot. This is coaching, not personnel. The concepts are bad, the adjustments are bad, and the lack of accountability is bad. If it was a matter of the players not executing what the coaches want then that is the coaches fault too. It would be completely different if you saw the players trying to execute properly but just weren't talented enough to do so. If Stotts saw that his players weren't doing what he is telling them to do they should be sat down or yelled at. I know he can do this because he did it to Meyers a few games ago when he was hesitating to shoot when open. Why don't the players falling asleep on defense get the same treatment?

Another thing I've been saying for years!!

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

Naw it’s the dude from Brazil

Glad you remember me. I meet Dame, and I went to Portland to watch 3 first games of the season. I was living in San Francisco

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

You must be new.....this is what they do here......OH.......you are new!

I forget my password of my previous account.

 

[hoopsjock]

Another thing I've been saying for years!!

Me too! Unfortunately in the wrong forum!

 

[kjironman1]

I forget my password of my previous account.

You should ask @SlyPokerDog to help you with that?

 

[kjironman1]

Me too! Unfortunately in the wrong forum!

It's been said by just about everyone who watches the Blazers in every forum there is. The Blazers do not defend the Pick N Roll well. And it isn't just Stotts. It's been that way since Mo Cheeks. The biggest culprit for years was Aldridge. Because he didn't want to mix it up and get contact. Then they got a little better with RoLo but that didn't last long. They started to get some improvement with Plumlee. It has literally been since they had Pryzbilla and Steve Blake when they had two guys that would stay on the PnR and show tough enough to make them pop it back out. That was a small period of time in 2008. The part i disagree with you on is that it is a coaching thing. Tough players play well against the PnR. Stotts can preach and yell all he wants but Tough is Tough. You don't coach toughness. Also.... The NBA rules have made hammering a guy on the PnR almost impossible. The touch fouls and whining have gotten way way out of control. The minute Nurk tries to stand in on a PnR he gets called for a touch foul. Hell even fighting through a screen is frowned upon. If Dame started fighting through every screen he would foul out in the second quarter these days.

I hear what you are saying about playing the PnR all day long but rule changes have also changed the game.

 

[hoopsjock]

It's been said by just about everyone who watches the Blazers in every forum there is. The Blazers do not defend the Pick N Roll well. And it isn't just Stotts. It's been that way since Mo Cheeks. The biggest culprit for years was Aldridge. Because he didn't want to mix it up and get contact. Then they got a little better with RoLo but that didn't last long. They started to get some improvement with Plumlee. It has literally been since they had Pryzbilla and Steve Blake when they had two guys that would stay on the PnR and show tough enough to make them pop it back out. That was a small period of time in 2008. The part i disagree with you on is that it is a coaching thing. Tough players play well against the PnR. Stotts can preach and yell all he wants but Tough is Tough. You don't coach toughness. Also.... The NBA rules have made hammering a guy on the PnR almost impossible. The touch fouls and whining have gotten way way out of control. The minute Nurk tries to stand in on a PnR he gets called for a touch foul. Hell even fighting through a screen is frowned upon. If Dame started fighting through every screen he would foul out in the second quarter these days.

I hear what you are saying about playing the PnR all day long but rule changes have also changed the game.

While being tough helps, the most important part of PnR defense is made before the screen occurs. The coach is the one who puts his philosophies in place on how to defend it. If the players aren't doing what the coach wants on screens then that is bad coaching.

Every coach you mentioned seemed stubborn to only use one type of PnR defense. You have to give the offense different looks, especially if you are dealing with poor defenders. Plumlee for example had to tell the coaches that they should blitz the PnR sometimes. Stotts was still not fully on board and after awhile it regressed back to only doing the same thing every time. My whole point is that they should mix it up and not stick to one strategy. If you're fouling, you're doing it wrong.

 

[THE HCP]

I forget my password of my previous account.

Why is everyone of this guys’ posts in Porteguese!?!?!

 

[kjironman1]

While being tough helps, the most important part of PnR defense is made before the screen occurs. The coach is the one who puts his philosophies in place on how to defend it. If the players aren't doing what the coach wants on screens then that is bad coaching.

Every coach you mentioned seemed stubborn to only use one type of PnR defense. You have to give the offense different looks, especially if you are dealing with poor defenders. Plumlee for example had to tell the coaches that they should blitz the PnR sometimes. Stotts was still not fully on board and after awhile it regressed back to only doing the same thing every time. My whole point is that they should mix it up and not stick to one strategy. If you're fouling, you're doing it wrong.

Totally agree that they have to switch it up. However fouling seems to be much much easier these days. Way too many Ticky Tack fouls being blown. There is also game situations. If you have a foul to give and you want to punish someone then that is the perfect time to lay down the law on them. But it seems now they want to watch video and see if it was a flag 1 or 2. The game has changed and with it P n R defense is a lot different.

 

[JDC]

While being tough helps, the most important part of PnR defense is made before the screen occurs. The coach is the one who puts his philosophies in place on how to defend it. If the players aren't doing what the coach wants on screens then that is bad coaching.

Every coach you mentioned seemed stubborn to only use one type of PnR defense. You have to give the offense different looks, especially if you are dealing with poor defenders. Plumlee for example had to tell the coaches that they should blitz the PnR sometimes. Stotts was still not fully on board and after awhile it regressed back to only doing the same thing every time. My whole point is that they should mix it up and not stick to one strategy. If you're fouling, you're doing it wrong.

Zach was showing on some side pick and rolls vs denver and we got destroyed doing it....

 

[kjironman1]

Zach was showing on some side pick and rolls vs denver and we got destroyed doing it....

And he picked up 2 quick fouls. Then he had to lay off and guess what happened?

 

[James lamphear]

I should've been a little clearer on Zach, I'm not that down on him yet. I just don't get why he's being super aggressive on the perimeter. Baldwin would come in and do the same thing and pick up a couple of immediate fouls and not get to play again. The thing is you can see him about to commit a foul when he does this and then he gets mad at himself for doing so. Last year he was usually in pretty good position on the perimeter too. I don't know we he is over doing it so much when he needs to do the opposite if he wants to avoid fouls.

The only thing I can think of is the old belief that if you are aggressive and physical all the time they can't call everything. Well, Zach is proving that they can.

Yes he has pick up some dumb fouls this year and he had admitted to that but some his problems is he recovering slow due to he shutting down another man going in the lane and when try to recovers back on to his man his monument carriers into the shooter. When players drive on him sometimes he likes to place one of his hands on the guys hip.

 

[hoopsjock]

Zach was showing on some side pick and rolls vs denver and we got destroyed doing it....

I don't know what the fuck Zach is doing on defense when on the perimeter right now. It's almost like he's playing it the same way he plays post defense which is just begging for fouls.

 

[hoopsjock]

Totally agree that they have to switch it up. However fouling seems to be much much easier these days. Way too many Ticky Tack fouls being blown. There is also game situations. If you have a foul to give and you want to punish someone then that is the perfect time to lay down the law on them. But it seems now they want to watch video and see if it was a flag 1 or 2. The game has changed and with it P n R defense is a lot different.

I don't understand why you are focused so much on fouling. Good PnR defense doesn't require being physical, it's about being in the right positions, knowing when to switch, being able to hedge and recover back to your man. None of that involves fouling if done correctly, even with the more enforced rules. In fact, the defense should use the rules to their advantage. If you go the same path as the guy you are guarding the screener would have to move to get you. It got better last year but has reverted back to the old style of our guards doing a horrible job of navigating the picks. Sometimes they get blown up by a pick that they know is coming several seconds before it happens.

 

[Gronk Brady]

I remember reading an article before the season started that said Blazers would overachieve early in the season because of their continuity while other teams were getting used to new players... looks like that came true and now reality is setting in

 

[BonesJones]

I remember reading an article before the season started that said Blazers would overachieve early in the season because of their continuity while other teams were getting used to new players... looks like that came true and now reality is setting in

Yawn.

 

[kjironman1]

I don't understand why you are focused so much on fouling. Good PnR defense doesn't require being physical, it's about being in the right positions, knowing when to switch, being able to hedge and recover back to your man. None of that involves fouling if done correctly, even with the more enforced rules. In fact, the defense should use the rules to their advantage. If you go the same path as the guy you are guarding the screener would have to move to get you. It got better last year but has reverted back to the old style of our guards doing a horrible job of navigating the picks. Sometimes they get blown up by a pick that they know is coming several seconds before it happens.

Seems like you answered your own question. They get called for touch fouls. The way you NAVIGATE picks is to go around or through. Going around don't work. Switching makes for a DUNK. Fighting through puts em on the line. This is simple basketball 101. They push through and bully up on our guards. Then Nurk is alone one on 2. He either gets a touch foul and gives them an and 1 or he puts then on the line for 2. Happens time and again. Sometimes Aminu actually pays attention and helps. If he can get a hand on the ball things look real good. But for the most part he is out of position. Layman did a better job helping out than Harkless has been as of late. But that might just be Moe getting back into the swing of things.

In the end Defense is a team game. The defense on P n R is not the only thing that suffers when the team is not locked in. They must help and they must rotate well. Help defense is huge. Lately i'm starting to fall into what Bones has been saying a bit. Stotts either needs to get these guys to play better or he must go.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I know every year we say that this year is the end of the Spurs... but this year really IS the end of the Spurs. Here's their last ten games:

How nice of us to help them feel better.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I know every year we say that this year is the end of the Spurs... but this year really IS the end of the Spurs. Here's their last ten games:

Maybe next year