Game Thread GAME# 48: ROCKETS @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 29, 2020 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM, ESPN & NBCSNW

[kjironman1]

Here is a funny one.
Apparently D'Antoni doesn't know jack about how to run an offense without Harden playing well.
He also doesn't know anything about his roster because his rotations suck.
He needs to learn how to run proper hedges and different stunts on defense other than simple doubles on Dame.
Best quote i read. "Wish we had a real coach like Portland"
-Clutchfans

Oh Yeah- Also boy they must have paid the refs......

 

[Shaboid]

With Steph Curry out, can we agree that Dame is the best pure shooter playing right now?

 

[James lamphear]

With Steph Curry out, can we agree that Dame is the best pure shooter playing right now?

He definitely looks fresh right now it seems like got his 2nd wind.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

With Steph Curry out, can we agree that Dame is the best pure shooter playing right now?

Um...no. JJ Redick has that designation on lockdown until he retires.

 

[Shaboid]

Um...no. JJ Redick has that designation on lockdown until he retires.

 

[TBpup]

Whiteside had a huge impact on the game whether he had empty stats or not. That said, there are things Nurk does that don't necessarily show up in the box score that are vital for this teams success. Would HW come back on a reasonable contract next year?

A Jussan Nurkside center combo would be scary!

 

[illmatic99]

Whiteside had a huge impact on the game whether he had empty stats or not. That said, there are things Nurk does that don't necessarily show up in the box score that are vital for this teams success. Would HW come back on a reasonable contract next year?

A Jussan Nurkside center combo would be scary!

He was really big defensively after a brutal start to the game. The first quarter was an absolute abomination.

 

[BonesJones]

Whiteside had a huge impact on the game whether he had empty stats or not. That said, there are things Nurk does that don't necessarily show up in the box score that are vital for this teams success. Would HW come back on a reasonable contract next year?

A Jussan Nurkside center combo would be scary!

I'll be soooo frustrated if we keep Hassan.

 

[tester551]

Would you trade CJ for DeRozan?

Yep. I would

 

[SIeepwalker]

Man I like Trent

 

[illmatic99]

Man I like Trent

You can see that one year of college ball and practices with Coach K (no matter how much I hate him and his rat face) making a difference between him and Simons. Trent just instinctively knows where to go and plays within his skillset. I wish Trent were 3 inches taller-- he'd be a perfect SF for us.

Ant is definitely behind him at the moment, but he's got tantalizing upside.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Yep. I would

Why the hell would you do that? Raps got immediately better when Derozan left plus he can’t hit 3s for shit like CJ does

 

[AldoTrapani]

Man I like Trent

Man me too a lot. Who woulda thought he would be better than weak ass Simons

 

[illmatic99]

Yep. I would

Derozan is quite possibly the worst SG fit next to Dame in the league. He pounds the ball and can't space the floor.

 

[TBpup]

I'll be soooo frustrated if we keep Hassan.

I'd love for them to move him for something like an OPJ. It would improve our wing situation tremendously and I doubt he signs for very close to his current contract in his next deal. This team will go as far as a healthy Nurkic/Dame/support staff will take them. Whiteside needs to be moved for the long-term benefit of the team unless he is willing to come back hear for around $10-12M which I just don't see.

 

[illmatic99]

I'd love for them to move him for something like an OPJ. It would improve our wing situation tremendously and I doubt he signs for very close to his current contract in his next deal. This team will go as far as a healthy Nurkic/Dame/support staff will take them. Whiteside needs to be moved for the long-term benefit of the team unless he is willing to come back hear for around $10-12M which I just don't see.

How does Otto Porter help our long term prospects?

He has only played 9 games this season and last played on November 6th. He has a PO for 28.5 mil that he can pick up this summer. If he recovers, he might leave us for nothing. If he is still injured, he'll prolly pick up that option. Then that's a massive price to pay for the hope of him returning next season, when he would be again be a free agent.

He is the absolute ideal fit at forward for us, but given his health, I don't see it.

He does have ties to PDX though as we've discovered in the past. I think his girl is over at NBCSNW or something.

 

[tester551]

I'd love for them to move him for something like an OPJ. It would improve our wing situation tremendously and I doubt he signs for very close to his current contract in his next deal. This team will go as far as a healthy Nurkic/Dame/support staff will take them. Whiteside needs to be moved for the long-term benefit of the team unless he is willing to come back hear for around $10-12M which I just don't see.

You think he'll be able to find more than that on the open market?

The teams projected to have more than the MLE to spend are: Atlanta, Memphis, Cleveland, Charlotte, New Orleans, Toronto, and New York

I'd expect Atlanta to go after Drumond & use Whiteside as a fall-back option. The rest of these teams, I struggle seeing any of them chase a high-paid center... certainly not paying more than $20m/yr

Whitesides only options may be sign a contract in the $12-15m range with one of these teams (or Portland), or take a $10m MLE contract with someone else.

 

[H.C.]

I think there are real questions what kind of offers Whiteside will get this off-season. Will he get offered more than Nurk? I doubt it.

 

[Scalma]

You think he'll be able to find more than that on the open market?

The teams projected to have more than the MLE to spend are: Atlanta, Memphis, Cleveland, Charlotte, New Orleans, Toronto, and New York

I'd expect Atlanta to go after Drumond & use Whiteside as a fall-back option. The rest of these teams, I struggle seeing any of them chase a high-paid center... certainly not paying more than $20m/yr

Whitesides only options may be sign a contract in the $12-15m range with one of these teams (or Portland), or take a $10m MLE contract with someone else.

I thought Kanter was going to get paid last summer and he had to settle for what, 4M? And he came with a lot less baggage than Whiteside and was four years younger. I think Whitesides market will be limited, but he’s also a cheaper alternative to Drummond. My stance has been if he’s happy being a backup we should keep him. But I also think teams like Sacramento, Charlotte, New Orleans, and possibly Atlanta and New York could use him.

 

[illmatic99]

I thought Kanter was going to get paid last summer and he had to settle for what, 4M? And he came with a lot less baggage than Whiteside and was four years younger. I think Whitesides market will be limited, but he’s also a cheaper alternative to Drummond. My stance has been if he’s happy being a backup we should keep him. But I also think teams like Sacramento, Charlotte, New Orleans, and possibly Atlanta and New York could use him.

Dallas could open up capspace and they seem to like him. Spurs too. As we have all seen over the past few years, it's not THAT hard to clear 10-15 mil in room.

 

[Hoopguru]

Whiteside will want to stay here and he probably will make it attractive by willingness to come off the bench.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Isn't it about time for someone to drag up that thread of predictions for this tough 18 game stretch? I'm sure not gonna do it cuz they already have twice as many wins as my maximum prediction.

 

[kjironman1]

Whiteside will want to stay here and he probably will make it attractive by willingness to come off the bench.

I keep wondering about this? Does he want to be here?

 

[wizenheimer]

BPM is not a plus minus stat. It’s based purely off of Hassan’s individual box score stats. It’s like PER but with better weights. So I don’t see how WL can affect it. Are you thinking of Win Shares? Blazers had better BPM last year because they had better players playing.

you're right....I was kind of blurring distinctions in my brain that late in the day

on the other hand, the baseline for BPM is an average player on an average team; BPM is an estimate of how many points/100-possessions above, or below, that baseline the player contributes. So, I'd think there might be a little bump, or drag, to a players production depending on the quality of his team

it's kind of interesting thinking about that baseline and at the career BPM of current, and past, Blazers:

Lillard +4.2
Batum +2.3
Aldridge +1.5
Ariza +1.4
Nurkic + 1.3
Matthews +0.9
Whiteside +0.8
Melo +0.8
Harkless +0.4
CJ + 0.2
Lopez 0.0
Aminu -0.1
Curry -0.1
W. Barton -0.4
Tolliver -0.6
Hood -1.0
Kanter -1.1
Bazemore -1.2
Meyers -1.3
Collins -1.4
Turner -2.0
Hezonja -3.1

looking at that list, the only one that surprises me is Batum.

and, how good is Dame?

another thing: what the fuck was Olshey thinking last summer?

 

[GhostOfPGA]

We still need a back up point guard because no pass CJ isn't cutting it!

#BringBackFrazier

 

[stampedehero]

Trevor Ariza F 38 21 9 - 14 0 - 0 3 - 6 4 1 2 0 0 3 <<<<<<<<<<Ariza is impressive!

Carmelo Anthony F 34 6 2 - 11 2 - 2 0 - 4 13 5 1 0 4 3

Hassan Whiteside C 28 15 6 - 9 3 - 4 0 - 0 10 0 0 5 1 1

Damian Lillard G 39 36 11 - 21 8 - 10 6 - 12 10 11 1 0 8 3

CJ McCollum G 38 22 9 - 19 3 - 7 1 - 7 5 3 2 2 3 3

 

[TBpup]

Ariza -------21 points on 14 FGAs
Whiteside - 15 points on 9 FGAs
Lillard ----- 36 points on 21 FGAs
Little ------- 10 points on 5 FGAs
Trent ------- 10 points on 7 FGAs

McCollum - 22 points on 19 FGAs
Anthony --- 6 points on 11 FGS

Such difference in efficiency.

 

[GhostOfPGA]

Ariza -------21 points on 14 FGAs
Whiteside - 15 points on 9 FGAs
Lillard ----- 36 points on 21 FGAs
Little ------- 10 points on 5 FGAs
Trent ------- 10 points on 7 FGAs

McCollum - 22 points on 19 FGAs
Anthony --- 6 points on 11 FGS

Such difference in efficiency.

CJ and Melo didn’t take many “bad” shots last night. CJ had some bad passes and decisions but his shots were all pretty much in his wheelhouse. Melo just couldn’t hit shots, shit happens.

 

[CupWizier]

Ariza -------21 points on 14 FGAs
Whiteside - 15 points on 9 FGAs
Lillard ----- 36 points on 21 FGAs
Little ------- 10 points on 5 FGAs
Trent ------- 10 points on 7 FGAs

McCollum - 22 points on 19 FGAs
Anthony --- 6 points on 11 FGS

Such difference in efficiency.

Lillard and McCollum help make others more effecient by demanding more attention from the defense and game planning.

 

[tester551]

CJ and Melo didn’t take many “bad” shots last night. CJ had some bad passes and decisions but his shots were all pretty much in his wheelhouse. Melo just couldn’t hit shots, shit happens.

Ok, lets look at the season as a whole....

Lillard ----- 1,333 points on 912 FGAs (1.46 p/a)
Whiteside - 687 points on 472 FGAs (1.46 p/a)
Hood ----- 230 points on 172 FGAs (1.34 p/a)
Skal ------- 190 points on 147 FGAs (1.29 p/a)

Trent ------- 202 points on 176 FGAs (1.15 p/a)
McCollum - 952 points on 833 FGAs (1.14 p/a)
Anthony --- 522 points on 466 FGAs (1.12 p/a)
Little ------- 128 points on 115 FGAs (1.11 p/a)
Simons ---- 435 points on 406 FGAs (1.07 p/a)

McCollum & Anthony are right in the middle of a bunch of 1-2 year players.... with "meh" efficiency.

*** I didn't put Mario, Baze or Tolliver on here 'cause we know they suck ***