Game Thread GAME# 29: WIZARDS @ BLAZERS - FEBRUARY 20, 2021 - SATURDAY, 7:00, NBCSNW (1 Viewer)

[BlazerBeav]

It's such a rough loss because even a mediocre performance beats Washington. Two days off beforehand too, started off great and then cratered.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Little dives literally at the feet of Terry Stotts to save a possession and is never seen again.

Great example of hard work paying off.

The team was only a plus eight for the five minutes Little was in. He's gotta do better!

 

[beast blazer]

Rodney doesn't look like he lost athleticism, but his shot is horrible, and that's the only reason he's in the league. How much time do you give him.

 

[B-Roy]

We really missed CJ tonight offensively. Defensively I’m still baffled by Stotts thinking. It’s like he just randomly chose this game to go back to the passive defensive scheme that hasn’t worked all season. I thought we turned a corner on defense since we started switching more, and then we go back to this shit.

 

[kjironman1]

If Melo isn’t hitting wide open shots he’s completely worthless.

Got to agree with you there. He needs to hit those open looks. He didn't hit them tonight. Then he tried a few too many times to force his jab step mid range that nobody falls for anymore. He couldn't even keep handles on the ball to get to his spots. Very tough night for Melo. Looks really old right now. Needs a couple weeks off.

 

[Scalma]

Bro if you’re not gonna make an effort to give hood shots just play little instead

 

[kjironman1]

Rodney doesn't look like he lost athleticism, but his shot is horrible, and that's the only reason he's in the league. How much time do you give him.

Rodney Hood floundered around out there tonight as well. Very tough game for Hood.

 

[kjironman1]

Dolladime Coin?

 

[twobullz]

Tonight showed how bad the Blazers need another PG. This game was lost in the second when Simons was supposed to be running the offense and it was bad.

 

[kjironman1]

we were due for one of these games

Every team has them. Lets hope it doesn't last more than a couple quarters in one game.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I just read that Cousins will be available very soon......

 

[kjironman1]

Outside of Kanter, we were 9/35 (25%) from 2... unacceptable.

Really needed a 2nd big man tonight.

No question Nurk would have helped in that game. As far as I'm concerned CJ would have been a huge help as well.

 

[blazerkor]

We were 18 for 48 on two point shots tonight. That's 37.5% on twos. Pretty crazy. Only six of the two point shots were from outside the paint all misses. So we went 18 for 42 in the paint. Two of those were from outside 5 feet also both misses as well. So from inside 5 feet we were 45% at 18 for 42 and that's unacceptable. The point though is that we made just over 1/3 of our twos. That's pathetic.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that despite our leading scorer being 10th in the league in assists, the team is dead last.

 

[BigGameDamian]

I just read that Cousins will be available very soon......

Probably not for the Blazers.

 

[blazerkor]

We really missed CJ tonight offensively. Defensively I’m still baffled by Stotts thinking. It’s like he just randomly chose this game to go back to the passive defensive scheme that hasn’t worked all season. I thought we turned a corner on defense since we started switching more, and then we go back to this shit.

CJ and Nurk or possibly another second option with the exact same team as played tonight... I'd want a different coach too but all of that is a pipe dream because the root of all of those problems is Olshey.

 

[B-Roy]

Dunno why people are so focused on the offense. Even though the bench wasted almost all of their offensive possessions, the 39 minutes with Dame on the floor we actually had enough good shots to win the game. There's so much more opportunity to improve the defense.

 

[wizenheimer]

Rodney doesn't look like he lost athleticism, but his shot is horrible, and that's the only reason he's in the league. How much time do you give him.

Matthews had terrible shooting season for 2 years after his Achilles injury. He never was the same shooter. His 3 point percentage came back even though he never was quite as good as he was before the injury. But his 2 point percentage dropped way down and stayed there

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I just read that Cousins will be available very soon......

Yeh, yeh, I know; I missed the entire thread on him.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Watching the beginning of the 4th quarter is a good example of why Trent plays better with the first team. He is a complimentary scorer only who struggles to create his own shot. I would not go as far as saying he is strickly a 3 and D player, but his handles are average at best for a SG. I also wonder if he guards SFs better than he does quick SGs. This was a game where we desperately needed CJ. 36% from the field as a team will not cut it.

 

[calvin natt]

Turn the page, move on, just a bad game. I would love to know this teams record in their first game back from a road trip the last five years. It’s awful.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Dolladime Coin?

Deep Coin!

 

[kjironman1]

So how far out is he here? Half court is 47 feet.
This looks to be like about a 40 footer? Maybe 41 or 42?

 

[blazerkor]

No question Nurk would have helped in that game. As far as I'm concerned CJ would have been a huge help as well.

That's obvious but would they help enough to justify being our second and third options and taking up 42M in cap space (especially CJ's 30M). I personally can't read a statement without thinking that a lot of legit second options in the league could help us out more than both of them could.

Yeah health would help us beat a team that came in tonight having won just over a third of their previous games but it's going to take a new GM who isn't afraid to shake things up to get us in contention.

 

[blazerkor]

Dunno why people are so focused on the offense. Even though the bench wasted almost all of their offensive possessions, the 39 minutes with Dame on the floor we actually had enough good shots to win the game. There's so much more opportunity to improve the defense.

I think it's because offense has been the only thing we've been able to count on for the vast majority of the Stotts era. So you're right we should be playing far better defense but a lot of people around here have given up on defense. We've just been beaten into submission to the fact that we'll be bad on D. So we just know that we can't win shooting under 36% from the floor.

 

[kjironman1]

That's obvious but would they help enough to justify being our second and third options and taking up 42M in cap space (especially CJ's 30M). I personally can't read a statement without thinking that a lot of legit second options in the league could help us out more than both of them could.

Yeah health would help us beat a team that came in tonight having won just over a third of their previous games but it's going to take a new GM who isn't afraid to shake things up to get us in contention.

The money those two make right now for this season makes absolutely no difference.
This team will win games when healthy.
First step in any season is to win games.
Second get into the playoffs.
Be healthy and playing well when you get to the Playoffs and anything can happen.

Worry about Money in the off season. It's pretty much why i post very little in the summer. Who cares about contracts IMO. It ain't my money.

 

[blazerkor]

The money those two make right now for this season makes absolutely no difference.
This team will win games when healthy.
First step in any season is to win games.
Second get into the playoffs.
Be healthy and playing well when you get to the Playoffs and anything can happen.

Worry about Money in the off season. It's pretty much why i post very little in the summer. Who cares about contracts IMO. It ain't my money.

Yeah, I just don't believe that part I put in bold. I think this roster is deeply flawed and when coupled with this coaching has no chance at a title but I hope they prove me wrong. I do think we'll win at least one of these next three games, so that's something.

Edit: Also we should all care about money when CJ's contract gets us to way over 1/5 of the luxury tax. That really hampers our ability to get the kind of pieces that Dame needs to win a chip.

 

[OneSport3]

Would any other franchise in the league play Melo over Little right now?

 

[wizenheimer]

No question Nurk would have helped in that game. As far as I'm concerned CJ would have been a huge help as well.

probably, but at the same time I've seen the brickfest-disease infect the whole team before. CJ has had many bad shooting nights, and Nurkic can throw up horrible shit around the rim

this was pretty much a bad team effort tonight except for Dame's 3rd Q and Kanter working the boards

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Postgame Notes – February 20, 2021
Washington 118, Portland 111
Game No. 29, Home Game No. 14


TEAM
• Portland was 19-of-55 (34.5%) from deep, while Washington was 6-of-26 (23.1%) from 3-PT range. Portland’s 55 attempts set a new franchise record. The Trail Blazers have made 18 or more three-pointers in four straight games.
• Portland outscored Washington in second-chance points, 21-17, as well as 12-10 in fast break points.
• The Trail Blazers had all five starters finish in double-figures for the third time this season, falling to 2-1 in those games.
• Portland recorded 17 offensive rebounds and 50 total rebounds, reaching the 50 rebound mark for the second time in the last three games.
• The Trail Blazers had 10 steals to the Wizard’s eight. It was the sixth time this season Portland has recorded double-digit takeaways.

PLAYER
• Damian Lillard led Portland with 35 points (10-30 FG, 7-17 3-PT, 8-8 FT), six rebounds and 12 assists. It was Lillard’s fourth consecutive game with 30+ points and 10+ assists, tying his own franchise-long streak (Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2020). Lillard is one of four players in NBA history to record such a streak on multiple occasions (Harden, Robertson, Archibald).
• Gary Trent Jr. had 16 points (6-16 FG, 4-11 3-PT), three rebounds, two assists and one block in 38 minutes.
• Gary Trent Jr. recorded his 10th consecutive game with at least three made three-pointers, tying the franchise record held by CJ McCollum and Damon Stoudamire.
• Enes Kanter recorded his 16th double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points (8-12 FG, 3-5 FT), 13 rebounds, one assist and one steal. It was his 11th game with 13+ rebounds this season, tied for the sixth-most in the league.
• Derrick Jones Jr. finished with 11 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 1-2 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks. It was Jones’ third consecutive game finishing in double-figures, his longest streak of the season.
• Robert Covington had 11 points (4-11 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 1-2 FT), 11 rebounds, two steals and four blocks in 35 minutes. It was his second double-double of the season, and third consecutive game with at least four blocks.
• Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 37 points (16-27 FG, 2-8 3-PT, 3-4 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. It was his 17th game with 30+ points this season, second only to Damian Lillard (18).
• Russell Westbrook recorded his league-leading eighth triple-double of the season, finishing with 27 points (11-17 FG, 5-7 FT), 11 rebounds and 13 assists over 37 minutes.

 

[kjironman1]

probably, but at the same time I've seen the brickfest-disease infect the whole team before. CJ has had many bad shooting nights, and Nurkic can throw up horrible shit around the rim

this was pretty much a bad team effort tonight except for Dame's 3rd Q and Kanter working the boards

I just feel Nurk would have handled RoLo better and having the second Big being Kanter would have helped the second unit out there. I also feel CJ would have been a better option than what Simons was bringing tonight.
The long drought in the second and at the beginning of the 4th might not have been as bad. IMO Blazers win this going away with them playing. Should have anyway.