Game Thread GAME# 39: THUNDER @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 4, 2019 - FRIDAY, 7:30 PM, ESPN & NBCSNW

[DUB]

I remember feeling slightly embarrassed when Brandon Roy used to get questionable calls in his favour (after he developed his patented “HEY!”).

I’d love to have that feeling back again.

 

[Chris Craig]

Dame hasn't been the same this season. He has lost sight of Dame time.

 

[Jade Falcon]

Harden is going to fucking destroy us.

 

[illmatic99]

Is Dame still sick or something? He needs a break if he is.

 

[Scalma]

Wasn't our best game and neither of our starting guards shot well. It's just 1 game folks.

Not for meJ it isn’t

 

[kjironman1]

That fourth quarter was same old blazers. Everyone was ignored except for dame and CJ

Pretty much.

 

[HailBlazers]

Can't win a game when our guys aren't shooting well. We're just not a defense first team.

And we can't win a playoff series if we're not a defensive team. The blueprint is well out on how to stop the Blazers.

 

[theprunetang]

Not for meJ it isn’t

If you want to dwell on that, that's fine.

 

[BonesJones]

3 huge Lillard TO's than all led to fast break baskets, those killed.

Yeah, we were isolating and setting 35ft ball screens. Common issues.

 

[Blazer4ever]

We're getting better, still long way to go, the season isn't decided in January

 

[JDC]

He has horrible sets and plays out of timeouts.

At times yes, but to fair on that last play, they were switching everything so not sure the quick 2 was a realistic option.

But we'll never know.

 

[BonesJones]

Whyd we stop going to Nurk and running side pick n rolls?

Terry?

 

[LuckyShot]

Two actually. And how many more FTs did they shoot?

At the end of the 3rd, George by himself almost had I think 12 to our team's 6 or 8. Westbrook himself also had 6. It was like a total of 22 to 8. Late in the 4th when they started to pull away a little bit, the refs decided to fix up the box score and called a bunch of cheap, ticky tack fouls on them to get us into the penalty early. The final count was 26 to 21 (fouls ended up being 21-17, but again, they had a bunch of cheap ones called later in the 4th).

 

[illmatic99]

This was such a winnable game.

Moe was unbelievable on defense in the fourth.

 

[BonesJones]

At times yes, but to fair on that last play, they were switching everything so not sure the quick 2 was a realistic option.

But we'll never know.

You have to expect them to switch. In that situation most teams switch everything. He should have a set to take advantage of that, but he doesnt.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Dame hasn't been the same this season. He has lost sight of Dame time.

He's top 3-5 in the league in 2nd half scoring isn't he? I don't think it's "dame time" that's the problem. Just literally everyone has figured out how to guard the Blazers when it matters. Pressure Dame, with traps and double teams. Stick a man on CJ and Nurk, just forget that Moe / Aminu are even on the court and make those guys play 3-5. Once in a while Moe or Chief will make a clutch 3 or play offensively but it's very rare. They do make solid plays defensively, but the offensive is so bogged down in the 4th quarters that's pretty much one of the guards are hitting or you lose. Tonight, they weren't hitting all game long.

 

[illmatic99]

At least the Lakers lost at home to the Knicks.

 

[TBpup]

Whyd we stop going to Nurk and running side pick n rolls?

Terry?

It was working too well and Dame/CJ weren't getting their shots.

 

[LuckyShot]

I remember feeling slightly embarrassed when Brandon Roy used to get questionable calls in his favour (after he developed his patented “HEY!”).

I’d love to have that feeling back again.

Same. I'd prefer if they just called the game straight up, but that's never going to happen.

 

[Labinot41]

Man i hate CJ. FUCK HIM

 

[noknobs]

Best part of the game was the announcer proclaiming Meyers Leonard to be a fan favorite.

 

[BonesJones]

At least the Lakers lost at home to the Knicks.

This made my night better.

 

[hoopsjock]

Why do we go away from running the plays through Nurk at the top of the key in the 4th?

If we're going to feed him in the post why not have him start on the opposite block and set a screen for him so he can seal lower and get a better shot? This is the cross screen action @BonesJones has been calling for.

It's stupid basketball. The defense gets aggressive and we lose our minds and don't know how to react. Then we get down and have to play fast and with urgency and we go on a run. Why not play with that tempo earlier so the defense can't get set every fucking time while we walk the ball up the court?

It's fucking frustrating.

 

[Chris Craig]

At least the Lakers lost at home to the Knicks.

We might lose to the knicks too

 

[KingSpeed]

Dame hasn't been the same this season. He has lost sight of Dame time.

He just scored 4 straight points to force OT in Sacramento and hit a three in Oakland to beat Warriors. Jesus you have a short memory.

 

[TBpup]

Man i hate CJ. FUCK HIM

If MeJ did anything else well it wouldn't be so bad. He did get 5 assists tonight but it seems like ages since he's done that so it's certainly an outlier. Bad defense, stagnating offense, almost abject refusal to pass the ball to wide-open teammates on most nights.

I just don't see how someone who balances out this roster more doesn't improve the team.

 

[LuckyShot]

Why do we go away from running the plays through Nurk at the top of the key in the 4th?

If we're going to feed him in the post why not have him start on the opposite block and set a screen for him so he can seal lower and get a better shot? This is the cross screen action @BonesJones has been calling for.

It's stupid basketball. The defense gets aggressive and we lose our minds and don't know how to react. Then we get down and have to play fast and with urgency and we go on a run. Why not play with that tempo earlier so the defense can't get set every fucking time while we walk the ball up the court?

It's fucking frustrating.

And it's been this way for as long as we've had Stotts. And everyone in the league has known it for years. And we keep at it hoping Dame does something amazing. I want to smash my head through my keyboard watching this shit game after game, year after year.

 

[BonesJones]

He's top 3-5 in the league in 2nd half scoring isn't he? I don't think it's "dame time" that's the problem. Just literally everyone has figured out how to guard the Blazers when it matters. Pressure Dame, with traps and double teams. Stick a man on CJ and Nurk, just forget that Moe / Aminu are even on the court and make those guys play 3-5. Once in a while Moe or Chief will make a clutch 3 or play offensively but it's very rare. They do make solid plays defensively, but the offensive is so bogged down in the 4th quarters that's pretty much one of the guards are hitting or you lose. Tonight, they weren't hitting all game long.

We need to have a couple sets to deal with exactly this. Invite the trap, have outlets in specific places where Dame can actually get the ball out of the trap, then have those outlets take the ball downhill. Their teammates should be in strategic spots to take advantage of the rotating defense, and if they're in the same spots, then it's an easy read for Moe or Aminu when they're attacking the rim.

But instead, we just run Dame into a trap, and then guys don't know what the hell to do, or where to be. And Stotts is like "Uhhh, more pick n roll?"

 

[BonesJones]

Why do we go away from running the plays through Nurk at the top of the key in the 4th?

If we're going to feed him in the post why not have him start on the opposite block and set a screen for him so he can seal lower and get a better shot? This is the cross screen action @BonesJones has been calling for.

It's stupid basketball. The defense gets aggressive and we lose our minds and don't know how to react. Then we get down and have to play fast and with urgency and we go on a run. Why not play with that tempo earlier so the defense can't get set every fucking time while we walk the ball up the court?

It's fucking frustrating.

Perfectly said. It's simple stuff, things that should be automatic for a head coach to be able to adjust to. This was a carbon copy of the Sacremento game down the stretch but OKC is better, so we didn't complete the comeback.

 

[KingSpeed]

He's top 3-5 in the league in 2nd half scoring isn't he? I don't think it's "dame time" that's the problem. Just literally everyone has figured out how to guard the Blazers when it matters

We JUST won 2 overtime games on the road!!