Game Thread Game #42 - BLAZERS @ WIZARDS - JANUARY 15, 2022 - SATURDAY - 4:00 PM (PDT) ROOT SPORTS

[Sheldon Shape]

Has CJ ever had a run like the one Simons is having as the main man? I know he elevated his game but I don’t remember him getting 7+ assists every night. Might look it up actually.

Has actually impressive in years past when CJ would fill in as PG when Lillard was out.

 

[Scalma]

Has actually impressive in years past when CJ would fill in as PG when Lillard was out.

send that resume to every GM

 

[Sheldon Shape]

send that resume to every GM

If I acquire CJ, I make him the PG of my team. Not the SG.

 

[Scalma]

If I acquire CJ, I make him the PG of my team. Not the SG.

he’s not a point guard but he should be the primary perimeter scoring option on a team.

 

[Mr. Robot]

this team without dame, cj mccollum & powell has won some games and while they wouldnt get in the playoffs, maybe not even in the play-in, they played like a team, gave their best effort and showed a lot of character

thats a clear sign to the front office, chauncey billups & dame and if they cant see it, then theres no salvation for this franchise

 

[Scalma]

 

[James lamphear]

If you look at the stats everyone is involved and I believe all 5 starters was in double figures tonight. It seems there playing good basketball except last game but when all players happy they give that extra effort on both ends. But you just have guards playing iso ball all game any only pass when they can't there shot off it gets pretty irritating to other players especially when guards don't work hard on the other end. But Monday we will see with CJ in the lineup how his iso ball effects others playing besides him.

 

[illmatic99]

They're only seeing that he's expendable because Ant is so good not because CJ is so bad. Look at the dude's numbers... he's one of the best bucket getters in the league. There are only a couple of national reporters who think CJ is a negative trade asset and even they say that he's seen that way by only a few GMs. The fact is that we can get good value back for CJ, we just can't get the value back that Olshey was demanding, which is just fine. Trade CJ for a piece that fits better, package CJ with other assets to get a star player but for sure you've got to trade the guy.

My issue is Ant. I think he's CJ 2.0 and him and Dame would have very similar problems to those that have plagued us with the Dame/CJ back court. I think unless someone blows us away with an offer for Ant that we keep him here and re-sign him in the off season. If my suspicions are correct and he's not a good match for Dame then we get fair value for him after featuring him for a bit next season.

ant is more like dame and less like cj

 

[Mr. Robot]

ant is more like dame and less like cj

he is now when he has enough shots

with dame, cj mccollum & powell, he was just another selfish prick, playing like cj mccollum

time will tell if he will act like cj mccollum when dame gets back or will he be willing passer and secondary playmaker

 

[Strenuus]

Damnit. We lost.

 

[illmatic99]

Has CJ ever had a run like the one Simons is having as the main man? I know he elevated his game but I don’t remember him getting 7+ assists every night. Might look it up actually.

it's not just the stats for me, it's the way he plays in the P&R and the complete control he has with the ball in his hands. just a spitting image of dame

 

[Wizard Mentor]

ant is more like dame and less like cj

Last 3 years, CJ has averaged 4.7, 4.4, 4.5 ast on roughly 35 mpg (these are his 3 highest assist years)

Last 10 games, Ant has averaged 5.8 ast in 34 mpg.

So, yeah, more like Dame, more like a point guard.

 

[wizenheimer]

I wasn't able to watch the entire game, but what I did see Ant was in command; good job.

too bad the Blazers have won 3 of 4 though if you're looking at the draft pick

 

[Scalma]

Ok I looked it up. In the last two seasons that Dame has missed consecutive games here are CJs numbers

‘20-21: 3 games
29 points, 6assists
22, 6
28, 5

‘19-20: 6 games
27, 10
41, 12
28, 10
28, 8
35, 5
41, 5
——-

Dude needs to and is good enough to be the primary option, just not in Portland.

 

[illmatic99]

Last 3 years, CJ has averaged 4.7, 4.4, 4.5 ast on roughly 35 mpg (these are his 3 highest assist years)

Last 10 games, Ant has averaged 5.8 ast in 34 mpg.

So, yeah, more like Dame, more like a point guard.

if teams go under in drop coverage, ant is shooting his shot every time. if they trap, his timing has gotten so good in finding nurk. and his drive and kick game has gotten super potent. this is dame redux, not cj.

 

[Zach Collins Enthusiast]

I'm hearing CJ is back soon, which means we get back to losing by double digits, then Powell comes back and we'd get blown up regularly.
Oh well, it was nice seeing this group win 3 out of the last 3 (with Ant playing)

 

[James lamphear]

Simons been really good but with CJ coming back and eventually Powell coming back I don't see him getting all those attempts he is getting now. But Billups was smart he continues put the ball in Simons hand and let him run things and have those 2 guys play off of him not the other way around. Monday we will get our first taste.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Can someone tell me if the Blazers get the 10th seed and win two games in the play-in and makes the playoffs. Would the Blazers still get their draft pick?

 

[Strenuus]

Can someone tell me if the Blazers get the 10th seed and win two games in the play-in and makes the playoffs. Would the Blazers still get their draft pick?

No. We aren't in the lottery...

We have to lose games.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

No. We aren't in the lottery...

We have to lose games.

But in 10th place Portland is currently in the lottery. Are you saying if they win both Play-In games they no longer stay in the lottery?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I'm asking because everything I'm reading is not real clear on the subject.

 

[wizenheimer]

But in 10th place Portland is currently in the lottery. Are you saying if they win both Play-In games they no longer stay in the lottery?

IIRC, 11-14 in the lottery as well as the 7th & 8th seeds in both conferences are determined by the play-in. The draft position for 8 teams will be determined by the conference play-in. A team with the best record among those 8 teams can end up in the lottery; and a team with the worst record of the 8 teams can end up in the playoffs

 

[Fairly-Hard]

IIRC, 11-14 in the lottery as well as the 7th & 8th seeds in both conferences are determined by the play-in. The draft position for 8 teams will be determined by the conference play-in. A team with the best record among those 8 teams can end up in the lottery; and a team with the worst record of the 8 teams can end up in the playoffs

Thank you.

 

[blazerkor]

IIRC, 11-14 in the lottery as well as the 7th & 8th seeds in both conferences are determined by the play-in. The draft position for 8 teams will be determined by the conference play-in. A team with the best record among those 8 teams can end up in the lottery; and a team with the worst record of the 8 teams can end up in the playoffs

This is correct, the 15th-18th picks are the 7th and 8th seeds in each conference, while the 1st-14th lottery odds are just the worst through the best records of teams outside of the playoffs. After the lottery winners are determined picks 5-14 are the remaining teams outside of the playoffs determined by worst record to best. So you are right we would lose our pick if we had even the 9th worst record in the league and won our play in games. Last year for instance the Warriors were in the lottery, ended up with the 14th pick even though they had a better record than Wizards, Celtics and Grizzlies who made the playoffs with a worse record than the Warriors but there picks were conveyed outside of the lottery.

This isn't anything new, in the recent past it's usually been the Eastern Conference but quite often before the play-ins the teams with the 13th or 14th worst records in the league would make it into their conference's playoffs which would give them the 15th and 16th picks while the teams with the better records would be left out of the playoffs giving them the 13th and 14th lottery odds which if they didn't win left them with the 13th and 14th picks.

 

[James lamphear]

Can someone tell me if the Blazers get the 10th seed and win two games in the play-in and makes the playoffs. Would the Blazers still get their draft pick?

No

 

[Strenuus]

But in 10th place Portland is currently in the lottery. Are you saying if they win both Play-In games they no longer stay in the lottery?

Yeah because then they would win the seed that represents that they won 2 play-in games. They would no longer be considered 10th.

 

[TBpup]

when you have dame & cj mccollum as two dominant scorers, others will look to get theirs too, powell wont pass the ball and neither will simons and thats a big problem...

In his last 6 games as the PG, Ant has 49 assists which is an 8.2/game average. Ant seems VERY willing to pass. CJ won't really pass (when playing SG) and Norm doesn't really pass much. I think it is no coincidence that Nurk's production has increased with Dame/CJ out. Ant went to Nurk a lot in the 2nd half against the Wiz when they started trapping Simons.

 

[Mr. Robot]

In his last 6 games as the PG, Ant has 49 assists which is an 8.2/game average. Ant seems VERY willing to pass. CJ won't really pass (when playing SG) and Norm doesn't really pass much. I think it is no coincidence that Nurk's production has increased with Dame/CJ out. Ant went to Nurk a lot in the 2nd half against the Wiz when they started trapping Simons.

his willingness to pass the ball is correlation with dame, cj mccollum & powell being out, therefore he has enough shots

our franchise player is a shoot first pg, cj mccollum dont like to pass and therefore, simons & powell will look to get theirs too, which will result in no ball movement

when dame, cj mccollum & powell get back on the court, simons wont be a very willing passer anymore, simple as that