Game Thread GAME# 48: BUCKS @ BLAZERS - APRIL 2, 2021 - FRIDAY, 7:00, NBATV & NBCSNW

[AldoTrapani]

Quick can’t wait to see what happens. Love it. He’s about to put the pressure cooker on Stotts

 

[BonesJones]

WHAT?!? In what world should they not be better than us?

Find one NBA writer who thought we'd be better than them coming into the season. One. Then I'll find you a handful that disagree.

Because our roster is underrated as fuck by people that want to make it out as trash to make Stotts out as some basketball savant that turns shit into gold. We have a great roster. You can make it out to be trash as if we should always get blown out by good teams. As I said in my quoted post, nobody is stopping you.

 

[BonesJones]

You don't want "Consistency" were you help from. You are not supposed to do it the same way every time. You are not supposed to do it every time either. If you do it won't work.

Whats funny is that's been one of my critiques of Stotts that's been shot down... We agree on this, you're just misinterpreting what im saying...

Switching it up on a possession by possession basis doesnt mean you're supposed to employ two contradicting helpside principals on the SAME possession, which is what Im referring too.

Switching up schemes doesnt mean running parts of multiple schemes at the same time.

 

[blazerkor]

Because our roster is underrated as fuck by people that want to make it out as trash to make Stotts out as some basketball savant that turns shot into gold. We gave a great roster. You can make it out to be trash as if we're should always get blown out by good teams. As I said in my quoted post, nobody is stopping you.

I think we both agree that there is a ton of talent on the roster. It seems like you think the right coach could make that talent work together but I think we need both another coach and a couple of moves for better fitting pieces... same level of talent. Then we'd be great. The thing is if Olshey's slimy ass decides to finally throw Stotts under the bus this off season, I think you'll probably get to see if you're right.

 

[BonesJones]

I think we both agree that there is a ton of talent on the roster. It seems like you think the right coach could make that talent work together but I think we need both another coach and a couple of moves for better fitting pieces... same level of talent. Then we'd be great. The thing is if Olshey's slimy ass decides to finally throw Stotts under the bus this off season, I think you'll probably get to see if you're right.

I mean sure. The roster can get better... but it's ridiculous how we get blown out pretty regularly by good teams and people just scream "personnel!".

Everybody bitched about our forwards. We went out and got RoCo and a 20ppg scorer on elite efficiency that's athletic and can defend and its "personnel".

 

[Labinot41]

We're going nowhere with that bum Center

 

[royo]

We're going nowhere with that bum Center

Can you tell me why you bitching on him? Honest q. I didn't see the game. All I got on him, a long time now, offensively he is not Beast, he tries to be point guard instead of bulling and dunking. What else is wrong?

 

[Mr. Robot]

defense was bad, but thats long lasting issue, so nothing knew there

but it was a really bad shooting night for us and i wouldnt read to much into it, shit happens

 

[royo]

defense was bad, but thats long lasting issue, so nothing knew there

but it was a really bad shooting night for us and i wouldnt read to much into it, shit happens

Lol

 

[stampedehero]

Bucks vs. Trail Blazers - Box Score - April 2, 2021 - ESPN<<<< We have been wasted by Superman.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Death, taxes, and the Blazers getting blown out by good teams

 

[SIeepwalker]

Stotts is a fucking trainwreck

 

[SIeepwalker]

Giannis is just too much tonight

When you come into the game with the gameplan of guarding him with Nurk and Melo, he's tough to handle yeah

 

[mook]

Eh, for an utter beatdown it wasn't that bad, really. I felt like we missed a ton of wide-open looks. I mean guys were getting open shots that they just weren't seeing against shitty defenses like Detroit and they just couldn't hit them tonight. It just changed the tenor of the whole game when everything just seemed to clang.

I knew we had no answer for Giannis other than to score three points when he scored two. Our only defense is a good offense, and tonight our offense just wasn't very good. A little of that was Giannis and Holiday disrupting things, but a lot of it was just missing shots our guys normally make.

I've rarely been optimistic after a beatdown, but this may be one of those times.

 

[stampedehero]

"You saw it," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the 130-77 loss. "We just got destroyed. Not a whole lot to be said. Humiliating for everybody involved." Don't feel bad about our loss last night. The Warriors lost to a team who lost 12 in the last 13.

 

[Labinot41]

I'm all for Stotts bashing, but to be fair, it’s not his fault that the players are missing shots, easy shots. Especially Nurkic, it’s mind blowing how many easy shots he misses at the rim. And please dont come with that "he will figure it out" bullshit or "he needs some time" excuse. This is who he is, a guy who after 7 years in the league stil cant make an easy Layup or floater. That's not Stott's fault

 

[kjironman1]

I'm all for Stotts bashing, but to be fair, it’s not his fault that the players are missing shots, easy shots. Especially Nurkic, it’s mind blowing how many easy shots he misses at the rim. And please dont come with that "he will figure it out" bullshit or "he needs some time" excuse. This is who he is, a guy who after 7 years in the league stil cant make an easy Layup or floater. That's not Stott's fault

He did try to dunk twice. At least he did that. I was kind of shocked actually.

 

[kjironman1]

Whats funny is that's been one of my critiques of Stotts that's been shot down... We agree on this, you're just misinterpreting what im saying...

Switching it up on a possession by possession basis doesnt mean you're supposed to employ two contradicting helpside principals on the SAME possession, which is what Im referring too.

Switching up schemes doesnt mean running parts of multiple schemes at the same time.

There's that word "Schemes" again. Not saying you are wrong. I do get what you are saying.
It does seem that this view tends to forget those are people and players on the court. They are not Droids and they don't work with a hand held controller.
Players sometimes make decisions on the court. Opposing players respond in turn. On the court situations change very quickly.

"These are not the droids we're looking for."

 

[tlongII]

We were too hyped up.

 

[James lamphear]

Zach is not a part of this team. Stop talking about a guy whose numbers are virtually meaningless. That is not an excuse. Zach would have got five points, five boards, one block and fouled out in twenty minutes. Zach is not an excuse!!! I can not overstate that. Also, how is Zach our starting PF when Neil said that RoCo and DJ were our starting forwards when we still thought that Zach would play in January???

Now one our starting fowards didn't even see the floor in the 2nd half. We all don't know what's going happen when Zach comes back so let approach that when it happens instead just cutting him down. Matter fact he has foul out less then Nurk and he try contest anything around him not like Kanter. You guys look at advance stats to much instead his play that he actually plays.

 

[e_blazer]

Eh, for an utter beatdown it wasn't that bad, really. I felt like we missed a ton of wide-open looks. I mean guys were getting open shots that they just weren't seeing against shitty defenses like Detroit and they just couldn't hit them tonight. It just changed the tenor of the whole game when everything just seemed to clang.

I knew we had no answer for Giannis other than to score three points when he scored two. Our only defense is a good offense, and tonight our offense just wasn't very good. A little of that was Giannis and Holiday disrupting things, but a lot of it was just missing shots our guys normally make.

I've rarely been optimistic after a beatdown, but this may be one of those times.

Agree. I thought the Blazers came out too amped up and bricked a bunch of very make-able shots. I don’t know what was up with Melo. His bricks weren’t even close until he made that first 3.

I will say that I am very glad we don’t have to play the Bucks again this season. Giannis is otherworldly when he’s dialed in.

 

[e_blazer]

Now one our starting fowards didn't even see the floor in the 2nd half. We all don't know what's going happen when Zach comes back so let approach that when it happens instead just cutting him down. Matter fact he has foul out less then Nurk and he try contest anything around him not like Kanter. You guys look at advance stats to much instead his play that he actually plays.

I think that Jones not playing must be because he’s got some minor injuries that are bothering him. I don’t think playing Simons that much was something Stotts wants to do on a regular basis.

 

[PCmor7]

Fair point. Some here expect us to win every game. 72-0 is reasonable to some.

You'd be hard pressed to find a non-Blazer fan who would think Portland should be better.

You're better than this hyperbole, Tince.

I didn't say to expect to win every game. I also don't know that random fans are a good measuring stick of who should be better. How many fans do you think expected the Bucks to be so good a couple of years ago or would have predicted the Jazz and Suns to be the best in the West this far into this season? How many fans can even name the Bucks starters and/or first guy or two off the bench?

Trust informed, reasoned people and the performance you have. The Bucks haven't been great this year, they've been disappointing, especially considering they added Jrue Holliday to Giannis and Middleton.

But look at the rest of the Bucks roster? There's no one there who couldn't be very easily replaced by another solid NBA player like teams do every year. I actually think the Blazers have the deeper roster, if you look at it objectively.

They were one game better than the Blazers coming into the game and that's playing in the East. That's not a juggernaut.

The facts really are that the Blazers missed an atrocious number of good, open looks early last night. I don't know, maybe the Bucks game plan was to give guys who shoot 50% overall shots from inside 5 feet and guys who shoot 40% from 3 wide open looks outside the arc. Statistically, those are shots the Blazers normally make, and, if they make them, it's no worse than a tie game at halftime. Instead, we buried ourselves. Nurk was unengaged. Melo played selfishly. Giannis had a game even better than usual Giannis.

The Blazers deserved to lose, but it was more because they played horrible rather than they were facing a team that overmatched them.

 

[Hoopguru]

Nurk’s touch around the rim hasnt improved since he’s been here?

 

[Tince]

We did have 11 steals; that's pretty good.

If only that was a meaningful stat.

You're better than this hyperbole, Tince.

I didn't say to expect to win every game. I also don't know that random fans are a good measuring stick of who should be better. How many fans do you think expected the Bucks to be so good a couple of years ago or would have predicted the Jazz and Suns to be the best in the West this far into this season? How many fans can even name the Bucks starters and/or first guy or two off the bench?

Trust informed, reasoned people and the performance you have. The Bucks haven't been great this year, they've been disappointing, especially considering they added Jrue Holliday to Giannis and Middleton.

But look at the rest of the Bucks roster? There's no one there who couldn't be very easily replaced by another solid NBA player like teams do every year. I actually think the Blazers have the deeper roster, if you look at it objectively.

They were one game better than the Blazers coming into the game and that's playing in the East. That's not a juggernaut.

The facts really are that the Blazers missed an atrocious number of good, open looks early last night. I don't know, maybe the Bucks game plan was to give guys who shoot 50% overall shots from inside 5 feet and guys who shoot 40% from 3 wide open looks outside the arc. Statistically, those are shots the Blazers normally make, and, if they make them, it's no worse than a tie game at halftime. Instead, we buried ourselves. Nurk was unengaged. Melo played selfishly. Giannis had a game even better than usual Giannis.

The Blazers deserved to lose, but it was more because they played horrible rather than they were facing a team that overmatched them.

I agree that you don't think we should go 72-0. However, find me a game thread where someone doesn't think we should've won that specific game. I couldn't, which is where I got my win every game stance. Yes, it was hyperbole to some degree though, you're correct there.

I respect that you don't think the Bucks have a better roster than us. I disagree though. It appears most of the national guys who cover the NBA also would disagree with you. Doesn't mean the Blazers can't win a game against the Bucks. Doesn't mean a team picked to finish behind the Bucks can't finish ahead of them. I just think it means that it shouldn't be the expected outcome.

 

[Tince]

Because our roster is underrated as fuck by people that want to make it out as trash to make Stotts out as some basketball savant that turns shit into gold. We have a great roster. You can make it out to be trash as if we should always get blown out by good teams. As I said in my quoted post, nobody is stopping you.

Why do the national writers want to make it out as trash in order to elevate Stotts? That sounds like some strange propaganda.

I'm not sure where you got that I think this roster is "trash". Use the search function to try and find where I've called this roster trash. Saying they're not as good as the Bucks (picked by many to win the East) or not top 4 in the West (which is loaded) doesn't make them trash.

I also never said we should always get blown out by good teams.

In summary, nearly any provable statement in this post is a total lie. You're better than that.

 

[wizenheimer]

Luckily I don't own a gun.

no problem....as a Blazer fan you should have a fully loaded liquor cabinet

 

[LayneStaley]

So they traded CJ for no one?

Lol I didn’t get that far, I just want him gone.

 

[LayneStaley]

Iso ball and shit D are the problem and as far as I’m concerned that’s mostly one persons fault. I have no problem expanding the blame to Melo and CJ too though, mostly because I think they are both one dimensional basketball players that I hate. The answer is simple...

Fire Stotts this offseason

Trade CJ for the best package available this offseason

DO NOT resign Melo this offseason

 

[wizenheimer]

Because our roster is underrated as fuck by people that want to make it out as trash to make Stotts out as some basketball savant that turns shit into gold. We have a great roster.

the irony alert light is flashing red!

that looks a lot like one side of an agenda-loaded coin. The other side is people significantly overrating the talent in order to make Stotts look worse.

I think Portland has decent talent. Top-10? Could be. Maybe not. But you said 'talent' and 'roster' as if they are one in the same. They aren't IMO. In order to be a contender, the talent has to mesh, and mesh well. The sum of the parts has to be greater than the whole, or at the very least, equal.

That has been the Blazer problem under Olshey/Stotts, and especially since Olshey went 110% in on building the team around the Dame/CJ duo. The sum of the parts has been less than the whole because the top two integers bleed on each other. OK, maybe mixing metaphors is a bad idea

the point being that this isn't all on Stotts. It's on Olshey too, and in my view, more of it is on Olshey than Stotts. They both need to go