Game Thread GAME# 52: PISTONS @ BLAZERS - APRIL 10, 2021 - SATURDAY, 7:00, NBCSNW

[MadeFromDust]

No excuse that Nas should not absorb Melo's minutes.

 

[DDolla]

If only Olshey traded Nurk plus picks for Vucevic, keep Trent and CJ for Harden. Now that’s a team

 

[Darkwebs]

Is he fasting by the way?

One would think he was fasting, seeing how hungry he was on the boards.

But no, I don't think he wasn't fasting. Ramadan doesn't begin until Monday

 

[kjironman1]

Play Kanter vs bad teams and play Nurkic vs good teams. seriously

This is kind of what i figure Stotts did this weekend.
He looked at the two games and felt Kanter was a better matchup and rested Nurkic. Gave him a chance to play Little more as well as RHJ a few minutes.
I feel you will see a couple different looks vs the Heat and They will continue to try to work out some wrinkles.
If this system starts working and the minutes restriction produces better effort on defense while keeping a few players more healthy then I'm all for it.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Nas is clearly the SF of the future. He may be the franchise player depending on what happens in two years...

Franchise player? Stop lol

but he’s good

 

[kjironman1]

Is he fasting by the way?

About 6:32 AM Monday morning he will start fasting.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Nas doesn’t play enough but I think his best position is PF. Basketball-Reference also lists him as strictly a PF.

He’s the same exact size as Draymond and Milsap.

 

[OneSport3]

Like Charles Barkley said, Kanter may have his faults, but you know he will play his ass off and always give you rebounds.

If it came down to choosing to sit Kanter or Melo, it should always be Melo. Both are bad defensively but Kanter provides efficiency, rebounds and unselfishness. While Melo is the epitome of inefficiency and the whole legacy thing.

 

[TBpup]

Nas doesn’t play enough but I think his best position is PF. Basketball-Reference also lists him as strictly a PF.

He’s the same exact size as Draymond and Milsap.

Milsap is 6'7".
Green is 6'6"
Little is 6'5"

 

[kjironman1]

Nas is clearly the SF of the future. He may be the franchise player depending on what happens in two years...

I sure hope you are right on that. This team needs this so badly.
I want to be a fan of the team that has the Player they took with the 25th pick that became the solid player.
Look at the 10 picks before him in the 2019 draft. That draft actually had some good players that are starting to become rotational players.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Postgame Notes – April 10, 2021
Portland 118, Detroit 103
Game No. 52, Home Game No. 26


TEAM
• The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Pistons, 49-38, including a 14-9 margin on the offensive glass.
• The Trail Blazers were 13-of-29 (44.8%) from 3-PT range, while the Pistons shot 9-of-26 (34.6%) from deep. Portland remains unbeaten when they shoot 42% or better from beyond the arc (16-0).
• Portland recorded its eighth win by 15 or more points this season.
• The Trail Blazers blocked eight shots while the Pistons had six blocks. Portland is undefeated this season when recording eight or more blocks, improving to 9-0 in such games.
• The Trail Blazers outscored the Pistons in the paint, 50-44. It was the fifth time this season that the Trail Blazers scored 50-plus points in the paint.

PLAYER
• Enes Kanter finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field (6-8 FT), 30 rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks. Kanter’s 30 rebounds were a career-high and NBA-high this season.
• Enes Kanter’s 30 rebounds broke the Trail Blazer franchise-record held by Sidney Wicks (27, 2/26/75 at LAL). It was the first 30+ rebound game in the league since 2018 (D. Howard), and just the fourth in the last 25 seasons.
• Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers in scoring with 27 points (9-20 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 5-6 FT), three rebounds and 10 assists. With his third three-pointer of the night, Lillard passed Joe Johnson for 12th on the NBA all-time three-pointers list.
• CJ McCollum added 26 points (11-21 FG, 3-8 3-PT, 1-1 FT), four rebounds, three assists and one block in 31 minutes of action.
• Nassir Little had 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field (1-1 3-PT). It was his seventh game in double-figures this season.
• Carmelo Anthony had 11 points (4-9 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 1-1 FT), four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 19 minutes off the bench.
• Norman Powell recorded nine points (2-10 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 4-4 FT), three rebounds, one assist and two blocks.
• Josh Jackson led the Pistons with 21 points (7-12 FG, 5-6 3-PT, 2-4 FT), three rebounds and two assists. It was his seventh game this season with 20+ points, and his five three-pointers tied a career-high (two times).
• Frank Jackson added 17 points (6-9 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 3-4 FT), four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 21 minutes.

 

[AldoTrapani]

Like Charles Barkley said, Kanter may have his faults, but you know he will play his ass off and always give you rebounds.

If it came down to choosing to sit Kanter or Melo, it should always be Melo. Both are bad defensively but Kanter provides efficiency, rebounds and unselfishness. While Melo is the epitome of inefficiency and the whole legacy thing.

That’s why I call him Carmelo “protect his legacy” Anthony

 

[bobf]

Congrats to Enes - what a great effort!!

 

[bobf]

Great game by Nassir. I love this type of player. Doesn’t have to score to make the team better and yet goes 5-5.

 

[BonesJones]

Milsap is 6'7".
Green is 6'6"
Little is 6'5"

What are their standing reaches though?

 

[stampedehero]

Enes Kanter sets Portland Trail Blazers' record with 30 rebounds in win over Detroit Pistons (espn.com) This is it! This is

it!. Enes Kanter has his night!.

 

[stampedehero]

Pistons vs. Trail Blazers - Box Score - April 10, 2021 - ESPN<<<<Enes Kanter<<< Norm Powell

 

[wizenheimer]

DJJ not looking as disgruntled as some are implying.

I slam Olshey plenty, with good reason I'll add...

but one thing he has done (probably at the instructions of Paul Allen), is build a team of very likable, articulate, high-character individuals. The quality of people on the team is incredibly high. I mean, 20 years ago you almost expected some player to appear on a police report every month. These days, a parking ticket would be kind of shocking

I find it impossible to not like Kanter. His personal story is compelling. And while I know his defense drives some here crazy (although I don't believe it's as bad as claimed by those some people), I think most of the time he more than makes up for bad defense with great offense and rebounding. Not only that, his offensive action carves a large hole in the core of opposing defenses.

I'd be fine with Kanter re-signed to a reasonable contract. Frankly, I'd rather see Kanter re-signed than Zach. I do think, if Portland brings back Nurkic and Kanter next season, the Blazers need a rotational PF with good mobility and better size & length than RoCo. I know Olshey probably has Zach pegged for that role, but I'm unconvinced Zach is reliable enough or skilled enough to fill that role. But please god, no melo

 

[wizenheimer]

by the way, speaking of defense and police reports:

 

[wizenheimer]

typical Kanter:

 

[kjironman1]

by the way, speaking of defense and police reports:

Yeah that shit wasn't called either.

 

[tester551]

Nas doesn’t play enough but I think his best position is PF. Basketball-Reference also lists him as strictly a PF.

He’s the same exact size as Draymond and Milsap.

Disagree.. he needs to be the SF and play SG for short stretches.
He's one if the few with enough quickness that Portland can finally have a size advantage

 

[SIeepwalker]

Great game by Nassir. I love this type of player. Doesn’t have to score to make the team better and yet goes 5-5.

Criminally underplayed

 

[SIeepwalker]

Tha Dame - Norm - Nas - RoCo - Kanter lineup was great.

 

[kjironman1]

Tha Dame - Norm - Nas - RoCo - Kanter lineup was great.

Got to admit that was pretty solid. Of course it was against a bad team. Think if you exchange Nurk with Kanter. That line up can compete with a pretty good team.

 

[bobf]

Kanter has 24 points & 30 rebounds!! Can you imagine If Nurkic did that, they would be building him a statue outside right now as we speak

Honestly if he even played slightly below average defense he would be the best center in the league

Take a look at Robert Williams III. He's not quite the rebounder Kanter is... yet... but he's close and it may just be a matter of time. It's only his 3rd season and like Kanter's early years his rebounding numbers are improving fast and he's well ahead of Kanter's 3rd season. On top of that his scoring efficiency is off the charts, he plays great defense, he can pass, and his advanced stats are ridiculous.