Game Thread GAME# 64: BLAZERS @ PISTONS - MARCH 6, 2016 - SUNDAY, 3:00 PM (PST), CSNNW & NBATV

[Cippy91]

I saw a stat today that whiteside is 6th in heat shot blocking history only after two years with them. If there is a rim protector out there who we could overpay for, that would be it.

 

[Cippy91]

Mavs have a tough schedule too. Gotta play the Warriors twice. Two games against us. Clippers tomorrow. Memphis is on their schedule. Cavs and Spurs. Two important games against Utah and Houston. I think it's safe to say we make it in unless we implode

 

[Tunchi]

Well Rockets won

 

[dead247]

Both teams played harrrrrrrrd.

 

[Rhal]

Remember Miami doesn't have bird rights on whiteside and whiteside is a monster. People don't wanna take chances on him though just because he has shown to be a head case at times

Headcase and has shown the Javelle McGee syndrome of going all out of blocks and actually being a detriment defensively to your team when he is on the floor.

 

[Cippy91]

Rockets won but they are still in the same place they were before. Rockets are unstable. Bad chemistry team. I see them staying at 8. I see is staying at 7 or moving up to 6 with Utah being left out

 

[stampedehero]

Post Game: Crap another loss

 

[Orion Bailey]

Dame is going to go off. I think he is pissed. I think he is going ot have double digits in assists and probably still hit the 30pt mark yet again. He was verbally and noticeably frustrated with the Toronto win even though he acknowledged that it was overall a good game and all that.
I just think he is still going to score like that, but dish the ball more and we will also see 6 players in double digits.

This team is young yes, but they somehow have a vet like mentality that I think they have passed the point in their confidence that this did nothing to it. They know they are good now and are only going to get better, so I think the Blazers and Dame come out will all guns Blazing!!!!!


Go Blazers!!!!

Geez man, that dude really blew that one....

 

[Strenuus]

Well damn... I guess I wasn't the only one that took a nap during this game? Bah, Blazers! Come on!

It's okay. 3-3 on a 6 game road trip is fine. They always say, go .500 on the road! We did that, at least!

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Both teams played harrrrrrrrd.

I read this with a Scottish accent

 

[kjironman1]

I read this with a Scottish accent

I tried that and it came out like a pirate....
Of course a really tall pirate that had a white spot on his head.

 

[illmatic99]

Headcase and has shown the Javelle McGee syndrome of going all out of blocks and actually being a detriment defensively to your team when he is on the floor.

We could use a little bit of crazy. Look at Draymond.

 

[Rhal]

We could use a little bit of crazy. Look at Draymond.

Draymond is a headcase but had tons of skill and a great work ethic. I'v heard tons of talk on radio and podcasts about Whitesides work ethic not being great and that he is a very me first person which is what led to his bench roll in Miami even with Bosh hurt.
You say Draymond but to me its more like Lance, has the talent but the head just gets in the way.

 

[illmatic99]

Draymond is a headcase but had tons of skill and a great work ethic. I'v heard tons of talk on radio and podcasts about Whitesides work ethic not being great and that he is a very me first person which is what led to his bench roll in Miami even with Bosh hurt.
You say Draymond but to me its more like Lance, has the talent but the head just gets in the way.

Definitely some validity to what you say. Fact that his maturity is in question even in that setting with Wade/Bosh/Spo/Riley is a worry for sure.

But I still think we could use an asshole on the team. Someone who fires up the guys and gets in their faces. Dame's leadership is amazing from all accounts, but positivity can only take you so far. Need a Draymond-like character out there calling guys out and yelling at them when the energy is down. Unfortunate that Terry doesn't do any of this.

 

[illmatic99]

Also.

You guys voting for Hark in this poll. Are you being serious here?

 

[Elton]

Unsurprisingly, this is how the road trip ends:

Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Draymond is a headcase but had tons of skill and a great work ethic. I'v heard tons of talk on radio and podcasts about Whitesides work ethic not being great and that he is a very me first person which is what led to his bench roll in Miami even with Bosh hurt.
You say Draymond but to me its more like Lance, has the talent but the head just gets in the way.

You can't have that kind of body if you dont have any work ethic

So many teams gave up on Drummond just because of "questionable work ethic".

 

[Blazers Roy]

I know i'm not being a very good fan right now, but part of me likes seeing Stotts getting owned by better coaches.

 

[Tunchi]

I know i'm not being a very good fan right now, but part of me likes seeing Stotts getting owned by better coaches.

Oh stop it he can't turn water into wine.
Sometimes look at the personnel he's working with. Outside of dame and Cj there's tons of scrubs on this team

 

[HolyBackboard]

Why does Stotts hate defensive strategies? He offers up zero resistance to opposing defenses and allows them to do as they please. How many times is Reggie Jackson going to get a wide-open 10-ft shot in the paint? Dude's averaging 35.5 ppg against us this season.

Detroit was throwing the playbook at Lillard, yet we let Jackson walk the ball up the court, set his pick and roll, and operate on our defense. No traps. No double-team. No press. No nothing.

This is the same Pistons team that scored 89 points against the lowly Knicks the night before, and we allowed them to put up 123 on our defense!

He's a good coach, don't get me wrong, but we'll never be a serious threat out West if he doesn't start taking defense more seriously.

 

[illmatic99]

Why does Stotts hate defensive strategies? He offers up zero resistance to opposing defenses and allows them to do as they please. How many times is Reggie Jackson going to get a wide-open 10-ft shot in the paint? Dude's averaging 35.5 ppg against us this season.

Detroit was throwing the playbook at Lillard, yet we let Jackson walk the ball up the court, set his pick and roll, and operate on our defense. No traps. No double-team. No press. No nothing.

This is the same Pistons team that scored 89 points against the lowly Knicks the night before, and we allowed them to put up 123 on our defense!

He's a good coach, don't get me wrong, but we'll never be a serious threat out West if he doesn't start taking defense more seriously.

Really curious to see if this is coaching or personnel.

Nearly every guard/wing everyone on our team is garbage at going around picks on defense. Dame still gets demolished at least 7-10 times every game. It has to wear on his body. He was improving on this and taking better angles, but last 5 games or so... he's back to running into walls.

If he actually gets around the pick with a reasonable angle, Terry's defense would kinda work better.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

You can't have that kind of body if you dont have any work ethic

If you like gettin' swole, you'll work out because it's fun. But work ethic also involves practicing things you don't like, like proper help defense and positioning on the court.

 

[HolyBackboard]

Really curious to see if this is coaching or personnel.

Nearly guard/wing everyone on our team is garbage at going around picks on defense. Dame still gets demolished at least 7-10 times every game. It has to wear on his body. He was improving on this and taking better angles, but last 5 games or so... he's back to running into walls.

If he actually gets around the pick with a reasonable angle, Terry's defense would kinda work better.

With this being Stotts' 4th year at the helm, I would lean towards it being on his defensive scheme. We've have quite a few players come through here and all the bigs sag back on the pick and roll and I can't remember the last time I've seen a guard fight through screens on a regular basis (Might have been Henderson during the last Charlotte game).

I know we don't have any all-world defenders (AFA is our best, but still not elite), but I'm more concerned/frustrated with the lack of changes to the defense. If a team is destroying you time and time again with the same play, why not try something else on D?

 

[riverman]

We just have a team that's built to run and move the ball...we win when we run and tire out teams with our style of offense. If we get forced into playing a half court grind game, we'll probably lose more than win because we don't have bigger, slower rim protectors in the frontcourt. It's sort of pick your poison but for this young team to win, they have to run other teams out of the gym..they're not winning by defending in the half court...Plumlee rarely raised his arms against Drummond so Drummond could shoot over him all day long. Van Gundy was smart...got us to play his game which is not our game. You can't build a team both ways really...you commit to a running style or a grind style. Teams with grind it out centers that can score are tough matchups for us...we are also throwing a 20 year old Vonleh into the starting lineup and it's not because he's winning us games but because he's in training for the future. Against Detroit we would have probably had a better shot at winning starting Kaman but we're obviously developing Vonleh as a priority

 

[riverman]

Just add that it will be good for the team to get home, watch film and practice defensive team work. I get a sense after the first 3 road wins, the team sort of expected Lillard to score 50 every game. We went from 6-7 guys scoring in double digits and rebounding in double digits to 2 or 3 guys scoring double digits and not one of our bigs getting more than 7 rebounds the last few games. Adjustment...Stotts has proven he can adjust...he seems like a guy who uses film and practice to address weak links more than games...part of that is the fact that even over achieving this season..we have guys who are still learning to play together.

 

[Orion Bailey]

We just have a team that's built to run and move the ball...we win when we run and tire out teams with our style of offense. If we get forced into playing a half court grind game, we'll probably lose more than win because we don't have bigger, slower rim protectors in the frontcourt. It's sort of pick your poison but for this young team to win, they have to run other teams out of the gym..they're not winning by defending in the half court...Plumlee rarely raised his arms against Drummond so Drummond could shoot over him all day long. Van Gundy was smart...got us to play his game which is not our game. You can't build a team both ways really...you commit to a running style or a grind style. Teams with grind it out centers that can score are tough matchups for us...we are also throwing a 20 year old Vonleh into the starting lineup and it's not because he's winning us games but because he's in training for the future. Against Detroit we would have probably had a better shot at winning starting Kaman but we're obviously developing Vonleh as a priority

Just add that it will be good for the team to get home, watch film and practice defensive team work. I get a sense after the first 3 road wins, the team sort of expected Lillard to score 50 every game. We went from 6-7 guys scoring in double digits and rebounding in double digits to 2 or 3 guys scoring double digits and not one of our bigs getting more than 7 rebounds the last few games. Adjustment...Stotts has proven he can adjust...he seems like a guy who uses film and practice to address weak links more than games...part of that is the fact that even over achieving this season..we have guys who are still learning to play together.

Great posts and points!!!