Game Thread GAME# 65: THUNDER @ BLAZERS - MARCH 7, 2019 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM, TNT

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Of the following Blazers, who is the worst defender?

  • Total voters
    66
  • Poll closed .
wizenheimer said:
I guess if you want to blame somebody for the loss you could find a scapegoat

to me, it looked like the same issues Portland has had for 4 seasons now, which is when the going gets tough, Portland goes iso. That's another way of saying it was a team effort, and that includes the coaches. Another way to look at it is that OKC is just a better team; they shouldn't be 4-0 better though

another thing I saw was that the officials didn't blow this game for Portland; check the points in the paint and the FT advantage Portland had.

another way to look at things is that it's just poor management that Dame doesn't have better help than he does right now, and I include coaching as part of management. Dame did enough in this game to earn a win if only somebody else was good enough to complement him, or the offense had enough diversity. This was a playoff level game with Portland having HCA and they couldn't get a win

and yeah, it was a pretty entertaining game. Chuck and Kenny doomed the Blazers at halftime though
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Nurk took 8 shots. CJ took 24.

Why? No one besides Dame and CJ and double digit shot attempts....in an overtime game.

This is an overt failure of the coaching staff, and has been for the longest time. Dame and CJ are too stubborn in tough games to give up the ball. And sure, Dame actually shot really well tonight, but we know there are nights where his shot is not falling. Sometimes it's CJ who is making shots and Dame taking a backseat but at the end of the day these two guards dominate the ball and the coaching staff gives them the freedom to do whatever they want.

It's like Stotts thinks imposing the slightest bit of discipline on his team is going to make them rebel against his coaching. At this point I've given up that he's going to change. 6 years of this is enough to convince me that we will live and die by his coaching philosophy. Unironically, if we had Harden I believe we may actually have a shot at the finals. Not that I would ever give up Dame for Harden.
 
BonesJones said:
Sad to see Kanter has become an automatic scapegoat for us not defending because our closeouts and perimeter defense sucks.
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He hurt us bad tonight
 
blue9 said:
Apparently his shoulder has been bugging him and he's missed games due to it. Seems like that's a likely reason for him missing shots. As for fouling him - that's what happens when his defender can't stay in front of him. Dame kept Westbrook in front of him, and he only got 8 FTA.

I think it's time to re-write the book on Dame and Aminu's defense. From what I've seen lately Dame is a much better defender - he understands positioning.
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Dame was impressive defensively tonight. Aminu definitely struggled and hes a good defender but not great like some people think.
 
perkinsfor3 said:
Had we still had Ed Davis to come in at the end kf the game, we wouldve pulled it out .How many Orebs did okc get late in the game?! Also, he's a much better screener than others and wouldve done a better job freeing up Dame .
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Yeah i really miss Ed Davis.
 
Hopefully we can get back to winning against Phoenix on Saturday
 
blue9 said:
No.
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Five years of plus minus says he is - Point differential while he’s on the floor adjusted for who else is in the floor.

There’s only one thing worse than acquiring bad players (you don’t have to play them) and that’s getting rid of your good players.
 
BonesJones said:
Sad to see Kanter has become an automatic scapegoat for us not defending because our closeouts and perimeter defense sucks.
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Honestly, it's not like this is anything new. He did have a few 'better' defensive stands tonight but for the most part, it has been a yellow brick road to the rim when he is in.
 
BonesJones said:
I think we shouldve dug a little more off the ball, and Aminu shouldve directed him towards digging help side. Make him kick the ball to have other guys hit jumpers instead of letting him get downhill and fouling.
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Yeah that would have at least made him work harder or have to decide to get the ball out of his hands.
 
BonesJones said:
Sad to see Kanter has become an automatic scapegoat for us not defending because our closeouts and perimeter defense sucks.
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Bro, give it a rest. Yes, our wings and guards are not good at keeping their man in front of them, but that's why your center is supposed to be the second line of defense. With Kanter, it's get by your man and score. It's literally the reason why guys like Kanter and Greg Monroe can't get roles on teams even though counting and advanced stats are insane.

Apparently, Stotts noticed it too since he played Nurk 34 minutes in regulation (>34 minutes in regulation has only happened twice this season). He couldn't have Kanter play any more minutes.

And it was magnified by the fact that Kanter couldn't even make a layup today. If he's not mitigating his deficiencies on the other side of the score by scoring he's literally unplayable.
 
BonesJones said:
Dame was impressive defensively tonight. Aminu definitely struggled and hes a good defender but not great like some people think.
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He really isn't though. I still remember Gallinari coming back from knee surgery and he blew by Aminu on the first dribble all night long. It happens all the time. Aminu has arm length and that's it. If it weren't for his arms he probably wouldn't even be in the NBA. Offensive players attack him with impunity.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
Nah, outside of some really odd officiating... They lost because no one on the team could consistently hit open shots and the offense stalled into Dame hero ball.
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It really sucks our guys can't be consistent
 
B-Roy said:
Bro, give it a rest. Yes, our wings and guards are not good at keeping their man in front of them, but that's why your center is supposed to be the second line of defense. With Kanter, it's get by your man and score. It's literally the reason why guys like Kanter and Greg Monroe can't get roles on teams even though counting and advanced stats are insane.

Apparently, Stotts noticed it too since he played Nurk 34 minutes in regulation (>34 minutes in regulation has only happened twice this season). He couldn't have Kanter play any more minutes.

And it was magnified by the fact that Kanter couldn't even make a layup today. If he's not mitigating his deficiencies on the other side of the score by scoring he's literally unplayable.
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He couldn't make a shot tonight...ugly
 
If I cared enough I'd go bump some Nurk sucks threads earlier in the season.
These same threads where people claimed Nurk was the issue when our guards were giving up straight line drives because they were cheating the screen or just dying on it.
These same people who claimed Collins > Nurk because Nurk is too slow of foot and Collins is better at defending 2 on 1.

Now that our guards are actually fighting to re-attach to their man Nurk looks better instead of being asked to play 2 on 1 in the paint against the lob threat, and the runner/layup threat.

Tonight Kanter had multiple, multiple times where our second unit guards/wings died on the pick or gave up a straight line drive. Meaning a poor-er defender in Kanter was left to play 2 on 1 against Westbrick/Schrouder/PG13.
Shocking that a poor-er defender couldn't accomplish that when Nurk. (Who no one on this board would call a poor defender anymore.) Struggled with the exact same shit early in the season.

Now I think Kanter was worse tonight than Nards could've been offensively tonight and I would've played Nards just to keep Adams from helping on defense.
But at the end of the day while Kanter had a couple defensively lapses. Kanter is not to blame for the guards cheating and getting beat giving up a straight line drive. Nor is he to blame for guards dying on the pick.
 
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