Game Thread GAME# 46: BLAZERS @ CAVALIERS - JANUARY 28, 2015 - WEDNESDAY, 4:00 PM (PST), KGW

[crowTrobot]

I've seen La left off a lot of ballots. If anyone should be left off it is dame not LA. But I think they both should, and will make it.

Nothing keeping Silver from naming LMA to replace Kobe if he happens to miss out in the vote because of the poorly timed surgery announcement. The west will have plenty of guards either way.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Really? That is nice. Was that with KD or without?

KD out with the toe...RW for 40

 

[magnifier661]

KD out with the toe...RW for 40

In a losing effort. Seems like the norm in OKC. Funny how the Durant led, RWless team had a 67% record last season!

 

[KingSpeed]

Really? That is nice. Was that with KD or without?

Without KD. I don't think KD deserves to go to the All Star game. Hasn't played enough and his team sucks.

 

[KingSpeed]

In a losing effort. Seems like the norm in OKC. Funny how the Durant led, RWless team had a 67% record last season!

And Harden is MVP candidate. OKC fans must be miserable.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Silver lining: Meyers continues to grow.

At this rate he'll be 9 feet tall by 2018!

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Agreed. He's obviously tired ... Wes, too. Those guys have been shouldering the load with RoLo, Freeland, and Batum all banged up as well as LA missing a few games here and there. It's also the middle of January, I can't recall any Blazer team that played well during this part of the season.

That's fair; they're working hard out there and look gassed... now that the initial anger over the game has passed I'm feeling more generous.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Much Respect for #12. Great game.

 

[Strenuus]

Lebron is gonna go for 55.

I totally jinxed the wrong one.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Mozgov is their RoLo.

That was a solid move.

 

[illmatic99]

I was shocked that they didn't go to a double team on Irving in that last sequence. I understand he is philosophically against doubleteams but when a guy is that hot I think you have to do it.

Kyries night wasnt as much a heat check as much as it was volume. Dude chucked it 36 times, and he was substantially cooler in the second half.

 

[KingSpeed]

Kyries night wasnt as much a heat check as much as it was volume. Dude chucked it 36 times, and he was substantially cooler in the second half.

Good point. He shot 19 threes! Who does that? I'd like to see Dame shoot 19 threes some night.

 

[KingSpeed]

well it looks like this one wasnt worth seeing either. every blazers sucked tonight except LA.

Meyers Leonard played very well. We should get more shots for him. He is money and right now, nobody's guarding him.

 

[oldmangrouch]

It's sad, but I can't even muster any emotion about the team. They are banged up, not playing well, and have no intention of making any roster moves.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Well......that sucked. I hate losing to the Ohio L*kers. I blame Kingspeed.

 

[BBert]

As great a night as Aldridge had, he really fucked the pooch on two plays in the fourth when he had Meyers Leonard wide open begging for the ball, but instead forced two horrible horrible shots. You got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to pass the fucking ball to a wide open good shooter.

But what really sealed the loss in my mind was the patented, once-per-game amazingly stupid and bad Kaman pass. I mean literally, he's good for one of these per game. In this case, if he turns around and hits the wide open two-foot layup, we win. Instead -- turnover -- game ugly blouses. SMH

 

[blue32]

As great a night as Aldridge had, he really fucked the pooch on two plays in the fourth when he had Meyers Leonard wide open begging for the ball, but instead forced two horrible horrible shots. You got to know when to hold 'em, and know when to pass the fucking ball to a wide open good shooter.

But what really sealed the loss in my mind was the patented, once-per-game amazingly stupid and bad Kaman pass. I mean literally, he's good for one of these per game. In this case, if he turns around and hits the wide open two-foot layup, we win. Instead -- turnover -- game ugly blouses. SMH

That dude shoots when he should pass, and passes when he should shoot! So frustrating sometimes.

 

[BBert]

Aldridge or Kaman? LOL

 

[BrianFromWA]

Meyers Leonard played very well. We should get more shots for him. He is money and right now, nobody's guarding him.

nobody's guarding him b/c even when he's the closest wide-open teammate to a guy who's being doubled, he can't get the ball.

EDIT: Already talked about above by BBert.

 

[blue9]

Tell that to Golden State and Houston who shoot the threes more than us

And according to you neither of them are contenders.
And yet, both of them score a higher percentage (41.7% and 42.2%, respectively) of their points in the paint than we do (35.3%).
The fact remains that rather than trying something different when Terry's long-shot offense isn't working, he sticks with it hoping that the shots will eventually start to fall. Early in the season it worked - Dame would bail us out in the 4th quarter with regularity. But is that really a good game plan? I would argue that it's not.

 

[MAS RipCity]

I was shocked that they didn't go to a double team on Irving in that last sequence. I understand he is philosophically against doubleteams but when a guy is that hot I think you have to do it.

I was thinking the same thing last night right after the game. Obviously, we couldn't run and trap when they spread the floor, but we allowed them to get into their offensive set and really didn't push back or make it difficult for the Cavs to set up shop at all.

Irving was the only Cavalier shooting worth a damn last night and we should have trapped him from the moment he touched the ball and tried to disrupt their offense. We've got enough athletes on this team who are smart enough to know when to trap and when to rotate on defense. If JR or Love got a better look, so be it. You take that risk when the opposing point guard had 52 prior to the final play.

It's hard to complain about our non-first quarter defense, but this is one area that has always irked me. I'm not saying we should double team every time down, but Stotts' stubbornness to incorporate some form of trap or double throughout games is a little bothersome. While it was solid defense from Nico, Irving was able to walk the ball up the court, size up his man, and pull up for a jumper without being under any real duress.

 

[Duvalier]

And according to you neither of them are contenders.
And yet, both of them score a higher percentage (41.7% and 42.2%, respectively) of their points in the paint than we do (35.3%).
The fact remains that rather than trying something different when Terry's long-shot offense isn't working, he sticks with it hoping that the shots will eventually start to fall. Early in the season it worked - Dame would bail us out in the 4th quarter with regularity. But is that really a good game plan? I would argue that it's not.

What exactly do you want him to try? The team is made up of mostly jump shooters and Aldridge. Lopez isn't an offensive threat when he is playing. What kind of offense do you think they should be running, that will get them all kinds of opportunities in the paint?

 

[blue9]

What kind of offense do you think they should be running, that will get them all kinds of opportunities in the paint?

Picks, cuts, ball and player movement. He's supposedly an offensive genius, in which case he should be able to come up with some good offensive shots resulting in high-percentage shots. I've detailed several ideas in other threads and don't feel like typing them all out again.
Not that this would have resulted in points in the paint, but one very simple change he could have made last night would have been to switch the floor positions of Nic and Wes. On the few occasions we actually kicked the ball out of the post and swung it around to the weak-side we had Nic in the corner as the end-recipient. Why on earth would you have the guy with an injured wrist and huge brace be the end-recipient? On two occasions the ball stuck because the players (Wes and Dame) were about to pass to Nic then thought better of it which allowed their defender to close on them as they took a contested 3.

 

[blue9]

Picks, cuts, ball and player movement. He's supposedly an offensive genius, in which case he should be able to come up with some good offensive shots resulting in high-percentage shots. I've detailed several ideas in other threads and don't feel like typing them all out again.
Not that this would have resulted in points in the paint, but one very simple change he could have made last night would have been to switch the floor positions of Nic and Wes. On the few occasions we actually kicked the ball out of the post and swung it around to the weak-side we had Nic in the corner as the end-recipient. Why on earth would you have the guy with an injured wrist and huge brace be the end-recipient? On two occasions the ball stuck because the players (Wes and Dame) were about to pass to Nic then thought better of it which allowed their defender to close on them as they took a contested 3.

Oh, and another simple thing he could do is have LMA PASS THE FUCK OUT OF THE DOUBLE-TEAMS! Last year when we were bombing 3s it was because LMA actually kicked the ball out of the post. He doesn't seem to be doing that much anymore. I know it was already brought up, but twice in a row he had Meyers WIDE OPEN for three but instead shot contested fade-away jumpers over a double-team.

 

[Kaydow]

And according to you neither of them are contenders.
And yet, both of them score a higher percentage (41.7% and 42.2%, respectively) of their points in the paint than we do (35.3%).
The fact remains that rather than trying something different when Terry's long-shot offense isn't working, he sticks with it hoping that the shots will eventually start to fall. Early in the season it worked - Dame would bail us out in the 4th quarter with regularity. But is that really a good game plan? I would argue that it's not.

And you would be right. Lillard draining 28'ers to finish games is fantastic, but not sustainable. Since last season I've been saying we need a playmaking SG/SF who can handle the ball. We're taking too many well contested 3s down the stretch of close games. When Dame has it going teams are trapping him. When LA is hot he gets doubled or forced out to deep perimeter. Take away those 2 and all you have to do is run our shooters off the 3pt line/force them to dribble drive. Love Wes, but he's no threat off the bounce, neither is Nic (anymore). There is a blueprint on how to defend the Blazers. If we want to be a championship team we're going to need to find a way to get easier looks down the stretch of close games. Olshey even admitted recently that even at full strength we lack a dynamic perimeter playmaker who can break down a defense. We hoped CJ would be that guy but he's not. We need another guy on the roster or we'll continue to have to try and win games draining deep/contested 3s or with LA fade aways from 20'.

 

[Duvalier]

Oh, and another simple thing he could do is have LMA PASS THE FUCK OUT OF THE DOUBLE-TEAMS! Last year when we were bombing 3s it was because LMA actually kicked the ball out of the post. He doesn't seem to be doing that much anymore. I know it was already brought up, but twice in a row he had Meyers WIDE OPEN for three but instead shot contested fade-away jumpers over a double-team.

But you were lamenting points in the paint earlier, but with this example and the Nic one above you're still talking about jump shots being the end result. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, that's just how this team is built right now so that's the offense Stotts utilizes right now.

 

[illmatic99]

And you would be right. Lillard draining 28'ers to finish games is fantastic, but not sustainable. Since last season I've been saying we need a playmaking SG/SF who can handle the ball. We're taking too many well contested 3s down the stretch of close games. When Dame has it going teams are trapping him. When LA is hot he gets doubled or forced out to deep perimeter. Take away those 2 and all you have to do is run our shooters off the 3pt line/force them to dribble drive. Love Wes, but he's no threat off the bounce, neither is Nic (anymore). There is a blueprint on how to defend the Blazers. If we want to be a championship team we're going to need to find a way to get easier looks down the stretch of close games. Olshey even admitted recently that even at full strength we lack a dynamic perimeter playmaker who can break down a defense. We hoped CJ would be that guy but he's not. We need another guy on the roster or we'll continue to have to try and win games draining deep/contested 3s or with LA fade aways from 20'.

This, I agree with. Our shot selection is a function of personnel. Terry's offense is catered to our strengths, which are LA's post play and midrange, and the rest of the players' outside shooting. Nic needs to get healthy because he is capable of beating guys off the dribble, but he just can't finish right now. Adding a slasher would put us in contention.

 

[blue9]

But you were lamenting points in the paint earlier, but with this example and the Nic one above you're still talking about jump shots being the end result. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, that's just how this team is built right now so that's the offense Stotts utilizes right now.

I said I didn't feel like detailing ways to get better shots again - maybe I'll dig up the thread where I detailed some ideas a few weeks ago. To just say "the roster is made of jump-shooters" is not a good excuse for being so reliant on jump shots. These guys are basketball players - they can do a hell of a lot more than shoot jumpers. But it's on the coach to give them a system that generates higher-percentage shots. Stotts doesn't do a good job at that. He's very much like Nate "Gotta Scrap" McMillan...Terry "Gotta Hit Shots" Stotts. That's not good coaching (though he is much better than Nate).
And then, yes, I gave some examples of how Stotts could have made the jump shot selection better because there were examples from last night's game to illustrate that Stotts isn't even making simple changes to his simplistic offense.

 

[magnifier661]

Oh, and another simple thing he could do is have LMA PASS THE FUCK OUT OF THE DOUBLE-TEAMS! Last year when we were bombing 3s it was because LMA actually kicked the ball out of the post. He doesn't seem to be doing that much anymore. I know it was already brought up, but twice in a row he had Meyers WIDE OPEN for three but instead shot contested fade-away jumpers over a double-team.

It's weird that you brought up 2 times that Aldridge didn't kick out from a double out of how many touches? He almost had the ball in his hands in every possession, so the 2 times it wasn't passed is just silly to bring up, especially when he and Kaman were the only starters that showed up to play.

 

[Duvalier]

I said I didn't feel like detailing ways to get better shots again - maybe I'll dig up the thread where I detailed some ideas a few weeks ago. To just say "the roster is made of jump-shooters" is not a good excuse for being so reliant on jump shots. These guys are basketball players - they can do a hell of a lot more than shoot jumpers. But it's on the coach to give them a system that generates higher-percentage shots. Stotts doesn't do a good job at that. He's very much like Nate "Gotta Scrap" McMillan...Terry "Gotta Hit Shots" Stotts. That's not good coaching (though he is much better than Nate).
And then, yes, I gave some examples of how Stotts could have made the jump shot selection better because there were examples from last night's game to illustrate that Stotts isn't even making simple changes to his simplistic offense.

So it was Stotts' fault that LA didn't pass the ball to Meyers? yuyuza details it perfectly above..."Our shot selection is a function of personnel. Terry's offense is catered to our strengths, which are LA's post play and midrange, and the rest of the players' outside shooting. Nic needs to get healthy because he is capable of beating guys off the dribble, but he just can't finish right now."