Game Thread GAME# 37: 76ERS @ BLAZERS - DECEMBER 30, 2018 - SUNDAY, 6:00 PM, NBCSNW

[TorturedBlazerFan]

You could very well be right. It could also light a fuse under one of the non rotational guys and ignite his game? But from what i am seeing those three in particular are a long ways away from seeing court time for any real game time situation.

I guess in my eyes, (and I'm a fan too, though I don't speak for all fans), I wouldn't see the Blazers as tanking unless they sat, Dame or Nurk, maybe CJ(?). Let's face it most of their wins are predicated on Dame and/or Nurk's success. Almost every role / bench player on the team has been extremely inconsistent this year. Now if you get a month in and it's just completely obvious that Simons or Trent or Baldwin don't belong out there then you gotta try something else. Which is actually part of why I find Layman almost never playing kind of odd I think he proved he did belong at least for short stretches. Nik has only played maybe 4-5 good games this year, I'm not sure if any of the young guys would do worse.

I just believe as long as Dame is out there then he will win them enough games to be in the playoff picture and maybe better that dude is incredible... He needs help though and I believe developing young talent will really help him to get that help.

 

[kjironman1]

I guess in my eyes, (and I'm a fan too, though I don't speak for all fans), I wouldn't see the Blazers as tanking unless they sat, Dame or Nurk, maybe CJ(?). Let's face it most of their wins are predicated on Dame and/or Nurk's success. Almost every role / bench player on the team has been extremely inconsistent this year. Now if you get a month in and it's just completely obvious that Simons or Trent or Baldwin don't belong out there then you gotta try something else. Which is actually part of why I find Layman almost never playing kind of odd I think he proved he did belong at least for short stretches. Nik has only played maybe 4-5 good games this year, I'm not sure if any of the young guys would do worse.

I just believe as long as Dame is out there then he will win them enough games to be in the playoff picture and maybe better that dude is incredible... He needs help though and I believe developing young talent will really help him to get that help.

I totally understand that and believe me when i tell you am not against it at all. This team is closing in on the halfway mark. You are not going to see players change that much between now and April. The only way this team finds a new look is to either make changes to rotation or make an impactful trade. The impact trade would be what i'm hoping for. This is also around the time that he tired of Harkless last year and sat him a bit. Personally i would yank Turner in a heartbeat. But that's just me.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I do think they would get better. I agree it would develop them. But i also think the team would lose games they should win.

Let's say the team signed Curry, but not Stauskas. Gave his minutes to Trent or Simons instead. Do you really think the team would have a worse record? If the rookies struggled, it would just mean more burn for Curry.

Bringing in one veteran guard (Curry) made sense. Bringing in Stauskas just to block the rookies...not so much.

 

[Hoopguru]

Stotts will continue to tinker with the rotation, as he's simply looking for someone who's got the hot hand off the bench when it comes to Curry, Sauce or Layman. Tuner is his utility guy and Collins the Zfender!

 

[kjironman1]

Let's say the team signed Curry, but not Stauskas. Gave his minutes to Trent or Simons instead. Do you really think the team would have a worse record? If the rookies struggled, it would just mean more burn for Curry.

Bringing in one veteran guard (Curry) made sense. Bringing in Stauskas just to block the rookies...not so much.

Well if you are looking for my opinion on that i would have stuck with Pat Con and also kept Davis but that is just my take.

 

[kjironman1]

Stotts will continue to tinker with the rotation, as he's simply looking for someone who's got the hot hand off the bench when it comes to Curry, Sauce or Layman. Tuner is his utility guy and Collins the Zfender!

U-turnover-ty guy?

 

[blue9]

How many times have we heard on a S2 thread this year that Stotts should start to develop Simons, Balwin, Trent, Swanigan and sit the likes of Turner, Stauskas, Curry and Harkless.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that those guys see the floor AT THE SAME TIME. That would be idiotic (unless it's a blow out). But playing them on the floor with other established players (say subbing Trent for Nik) would give them the minutes AND support they need to develop, without negatively impacting the team.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Well if you are looking for my opinion on that i would have stuck with Pat Con and also kept Davis but that is just my take.

If Pat ever develops his skills to match his physical talent, he is going to be a solid player. The drawback of being a 2 sport star?

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Just looking through Philly's fans blog. Saw this and I laughed because so many hear do not appreciate how he is playing this year.

"We can’t have a backup center like Meyers Leonard? I don’t understand how we can’t upgrade. I hate that I’m pining for Robin Lopez."

I'll solve that problem: Leonard for Fultz.

 

[kjironman1]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that those guys see the floor AT THE SAME TIME. That would be idiotic (unless it's a blow out). But playing them on the floor with other established players (say subbing Trent for Nik) would give them the minutes AND support they need to develop, without negatively impacting the team.

I have watched a single player absolutely destroy their own team on the floor. We all have seen it this year.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I have watched a single player absolutely destroy their own team on the floor. We all have seen it this year.

C'mon....just say "Turner." Name him, shame him, and blame him.

 

[kjironman1]

C'mon....just say "Turner." Name him, shame him, and blame him.

Aminu could be included in that statement. But yes.... Shame Shame!

 

[Hoopguru]

Swann assigned to G league

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Simmons = 6'11" Lonzo Ball

 

[riverman]

How do you know he improved from last season? You're seeing 2 seasons of improvement all at once, since he never played last season (254 minutes). He's just more on display now than last season.

Last season was just to piss him off....this season he can vent

 

[CupWizier]

I'll solve that problem: Leonard for Fultz.

and that would completely unbalance us as that would add another guard and put us very light on bigs. Last I heard, they weren't even sure if Fultz will be able to play this year again as right now he is listed out indefinitely with a nerve issue.

 

[hoopsjock]

I don't want Baldwin on this team going forward. Not sure what people saw in him.

I think if he ever learns to control his aggression he can be an elite defender in this league.

 

[hoopsjock]

and that would completely unbalance us as that would add another guard and put us very light on bigs. Last I heard, they weren't even sure if Fultz will be able to play this year again as right now he is listed out indefinitely with a nerve issue.

Are you saying you wouldn't trade Leonard for Fultz straight up?

 

[swish3]

He looking he starting to figure it out on offense end he just not 3 point shooter on this team. His dunks are over players so that part it good to see. Now is defense is better then it was but to me it still below average for a big. His rebounding has been good this year that a plus due Zach yet is a strong rebounder yet.

This is just wrong! Meyers has repeatedly shown the highest % swish3 shooting on the Blazers, was 2nd in the NBA early in the season, has dominated rebounding, is setting excellent screens to get open shots for teammates, has remarkable assists, and is among the best defenders. Those of you who do not recognize the excellence that has Meyers as the best ORtg and eFG% Blazer are unwilling to look at the statistics rather than just repeating your negative bias.

If the Blazer coaches would call the offense to direct 6 catch and shoot at the arc plays to Meyers, the Blazers would add points, perhaps 9 or more including FT, and win more games.

 

[BonesJones]

This is just wrong! Meyers has repeatedly shown the highest % swish3 shooting on the Blazers, was 2nd in the NBA early in the season, has dominated rebounding, is setting excellent screens to get open shots for teammates, has remarkable assists, and is among the best defenders. Those of you who do not recognize the excellence that has Meyers as the best ORtg and eFG% Blazer are unwilling to look at the statistics rather than just repeating your negative bias.

If the Blazer coaches would call the offense to direct 6 catch and shoot at the arc plays to Meyers, the Blazers would add points, perhaps 9 or more including FT, and win more games.

These are false, and you cant simply assign x amount of shot attempts, but I dont know why I try to help.

Also, nobody's being negative. He was saying "hes not just a 3pt shooter, hes more than that" and you're calling him out for being negative...

 

[swish3]

You don't have >50% shooting (early this season) and NBA playoff record 76.9% if you are not a 3 point shooter. You are denying reality reported in BBal-ref. Not recognizing facts is being decidedly negative.

 

[BonesJones]

You don't have >50% shooting (early this season) and NBA playoff record 76.9% if you are not a 3 point shooter. You are denying reality reported in BBal-ref. Not recognizing facts is being decidedly negative.

NOBODY IS SAYING HES NOT A 3PT SHOOTER

 

[swish3]

BJ, if you read the James Lamphear quote in my post, you will see that is exactly what he said. That prompted my reply.

Some of the comments in this thread do not acknowledge that Meyers has the highest ORtg and TS% on the team, who is making solid contributions at both ends of the floor. He is a scoring resource that the Blazers need to better utilize. I can see him averaging 12-16 PPG and bringing more wins.

 

[BonesJones]

BJ, if you read the James Lamphear quote in my post, you will see that is exactly what he said. That prompted my reply.

Some of the comments in this thread do not acknowledge that Meyers has the highest ORtg and TS% on the team, who is making solid contributions at both ends of the floor. He is a scoring resource that the Blazers need to better utilize. I can see him averaging 12-16 PPG and bringing more wins.

I did, and that's not what he was saying. He flipped a couple words. I told you that once and he liked it. You're arguing with something nobody even said.

 

[jlprk]

Leonard does have a couple of good per-minute stats. But as we all know, when given more minutes, he fouls out fast.

So I sorted by fouls/minute divided by usage (how much he handles the ball). Leonard is 4th-worst.

0.4 Maurice Harkless
0.3 Zach Collins
0.3 Caleb Swanigan
0.3 Meyers Leonard
0.2 Seth Curry
0.2 Al-Farouq Aminu
0.2 Jake Layman
0.2 Jusuf Nurkic
0.2 Evan Turner
0.1 Wade Baldwin
0.1 Anfernee Simons
0.1 CJ McCollum
0.1 Nik Stauskas
0.1 Damian Lillard
0.1 Gary Trent

That list also explains why certain other bench-dwellers can't get more traction in playing minutes.

 

[swish3]

Jlprk, your analysis shows the tendency of the refs to call fouls, many of which are phantoms, and calls for Blazer coaches to defend our players like opposition coaches do. Meyers is setting excellent screens, some of which have resulted in fouls. But if the refs called it consistently, there would be more fouls called against shove, push, and grab artists like Dray Green, Jerebko, Muscala, Korkmaz, and others.

No, Meyers does not foul out quickly, as his fouls have allowed him extended min in recent games. What we need is for Blazer coaches to insist on consistent calls.

 

[DDolla]

Kings announcer impressed on Meyers body, no mention about his game.