Game Thread GAME# 70: PACERS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 18, 2019 - MONDAY, 7:30 PM, ESPN & NBCSNW

[blue9]

Myles Turner looks like a young Aldridge out there.

WAY better. Maybe he doesn't always shoot like he did last night, but even if that's the case M.Turner plays good defense and seemed to be a decent passer.

 

[andalusian]

Myles Turner looks like a young Aldridge out there.

It's his 4th year in the league - and he looks pretty good. I doubt he will ever be as good as LMA was at his peak - he does not have even close to the footwork that LMA has/had - but he will be a very good, borderline all-star in this league, I guess.

If anything, you look at him and you can imagine what Zach Collins might be 2 years from now (I suspect Zach will be a better defender, much better post game, not sure he will be as good a shooter).

 

[Cugel]

Help me understand:
Dame gets trapped and our answer is to have Nurk set a pick on the double team so dame can dribble out?
This should happen once, then Terry should spot it and change the scheme to find open targets for Dame to pass and not pull up the dribble and get trapped in the first place. It seems once he or CJ is trapped we fall apart like a cheap suit.
I don't have any BB IQ (the single most overused term that I can recall) to speak of, so I would be happy to be enlightened; this is just what it seems like to me.

 

[Pinwheel1]

if turner plays anymore this season stotts is officially upgraded to a fucking idiot from just idiot.

I don't see how that is possible. With CJ out you have one less ball handler. We did not have enough to begin with. You take ET out of the equation then who do you have left? Hood needs to start at SG so that just leave Seth. We talked about this scenario before we added Kanter. A back up center or a back up PG in case Dame or CJ got hurt for a few games. I am happy we went with Kanter but we still need another true PG.

ET has been worse since his return from his injury. But we know he can play better. He just needs to give us 15 solid minutes.

 

[hoopsjock]

Help me understand:
Dame gets trapped and our answer is to have Nurk set a pick on the double team so dame can dribble out?
This should happen once, then Terry should spot it and change the scheme to find open targets for Dame to pass and not pull up the dribble and get trapped in the first place. It seems once he or CJ is trapped we fall apart like a cheap suit.
I don't have any BB IQ (the single most overused term that I can recall) to speak of, so I would be happy to be enlightened; this is just what it seems like to me.

You are absolutely correct. Stotts runs pick and roll to death even when it is doing nothing but bringing an extra defender to trap Dame. I had to watch the ESPN broadcast last night and they talked about how Dame said he fixed the problem by attacking the trap quicker. Sure, that works sometimes but not consistently and probably won't be super effective for full games in the playoffs. Basically it was an admission that they weren't going to stop doing pick and roll.

I'd like to see them use Hood as the ball handler a little more but the problem is that when CJ is out they don't really have another PG other than Dame. Turner has been forced to be that role but it doesn't take pressure off of Dame when Turner isn't a threat to shoot from the outside. Curry should be able to play point but he hasn't done well setting up the offense this year and when both he and Dame are in the game it leaves us vulnerable against bigger guards on defense. I still think the solution is to play through Nurk in the high post but even he had some really horrible possessions last night.

I think we're just going to have to accept the fact that they aren't going to change much. There can't be anymore of those really bad turnovers that lead to easy fast break points though.

 

[CupWizier]

I don't see how that is possible. With CJ out you have one less ball handler. We did not have enough to begin with. You take ET out of the equation then who do you have left? Hood needs to start at SG so that just leave Seth. We talked about this scenario before we added Kanter. A back up center or a back up PG in case Dame or CJ got hurt for a few games. I am happy we went with Kanter but we still need another true PG.

ET has been worse since his return from his injury. But we know he can play better. He just needs to give us 15 solid minutes.

Always refreshing to see an assessment without resorting to bashing a player or player. Thanks PW.

 

[THE HCP]

Didn’t read this game thread yet, and not sure how you guys reacted.......but Myles Turner did NOT foul Dame on that 3. Looked at it from 10 angles, nowhere near him, all ball.

 

[TBpup]

Due to Jake haven't play a lot minutes until this year I think he has hit a little bit of a wall on his shot.

He may have but I also think it's the types of shots he is getting. They don't look for him on cuts anymore or when he is in, it is often with Kanter and a defensive big is right in the middle of the lane. So that turns him into almost strictly a spot-up 3-pt shooter and that is not what he is. He is a rhythm shooter after getting a couple cuts to the basket or fast break opportunities.

Those shots have become almost non-existent and it affects the rest of his game.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Didn’t read this game thread yet, and not sure how you guys reacted.......but Myles Turner did NOT foul Dame on that 3. Looked at it from 10 angles, nowhere near him, all ball.

Agreed. That call was a joke.

 

[wizenheimer]

I don't have any BB IQ.

well then, here you go:

 

[KingSpeed]

That should totally be allowed

 

[KingSpeed]

You are absolutely correct. Stotts runs pick and roll to death even when it is doing nothing but bringing an extra defender to trap Dame. I had to watch the ESPN broadcast last night and they talked about how Dame said he fixed the problem by attacking the trap quicker. Sure, that works sometimes but not consistently and probably won't be super effective for full games in the playoffs. Basically it was an admission that they weren't going to stop doing pick and roll.

I'd like to see them use Hood as the ball handler a little more but the problem is that when CJ is out they don't really have another PG other than Dame. Turner has been forced to be that role but it doesn't take pressure off of Dame when Turner isn't a threat to shoot from the outside. Curry should be able to play point but he hasn't done well setting up the offense this year and when both he and Dame are in the game it leaves us vulnerable against bigger guards on defense. I still think the solution is to play through Nurk in the high post but even he had some really horrible possessions last night.

I think we're just going to have to accept the fact that they aren't going to change much. There can't be anymore of those really bad turnovers that lead to easy fast break points though.

You make a good point. We only have one point guard on the whole 15 player roster, lol. I love most of Olshey’s moves but how does this happen?

 

[twobullz]

He may have but I also think it's the types of shots he is getting. They don't look for him on cuts anymore or when he is in, it is often with Kanter and a defensive big is right in the middle of the lane. So that turns him into almost strictly a spot-up 3-pt shooter and that is not what he is. He is a rhythm shooter after getting a couple cuts to the basket or fast break opportunities.

Those shots have become almost non-existent and it affects the rest of his game.

He started last night and is not moving anymore. Can't blame the bench when he is playing with the starters and still not doing anything. Personally I think this is the real Jake. He has not shown much besides a short stretch when people in here were predicting 10+million and saying he should start over Moe. Neither of which should or will happen. The league figured him out and took away his slashes and he doesn't have much else.

 

[James lamphear]

well then, here you go:

I heard they rate your interest on your basketball IQ. So higher the interest lower the Basketball IQ.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Didn’t read this game thread yet, and not sure how you guys reacted.......but Myles Turner did NOT foul Dame on that 3. Looked at it from 10 angles, nowhere near him, all ball.

Should have been a flagrant, he almost muredered him.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

You make a good point. We only have one point guard on the whole 15 player roster, lol. I love most of Olshey’s moves but how does this happen?

It Happens when you sign a guy like Turner and are not able to admit your mistake and just cut him. Plenty of PG's have been available for cheap, e.g. Elfrid Payton, who is playing best ball of his life.

 

[CupWizier]

It Happens when you sign a guy like Turner and are not able to admit your mistake and just cut him. Plenty of PG's have been available for cheap, e.g. Elfrid Payton, who is playing best ball of his life.

Yeah, that would make a lot of sense. Cut a guy and eat his 18mil salary for 2 years.

 

[hoopsjock]

It Happens when you sign a guy like Turner and are not able to admit your mistake and just cut him. Plenty of PG's have been available for cheap, e.g. Elfrid Payton, who is playing best ball of his life.

You can't cut ET. The teams that have stretched the bad contracts of 2016 are stupid.

 

[Propagandist]

Yeah, that would make a lot of sense. Cut a guy and eat his 18mil salary for 2 years.

In your opinion, does ET make us better?

I'll preview my opinion. For a "distributor," ball movement sure seems to screech to a halt when he's in the game. He makes some nifty passes, but oftentimes those are peppered with unnecessarily risky passes that many times result in turnovers. Simply put: I HATE the way we play with ET in the game. I think he makes us worse.

That being said, as much as he destroys our flow, he can't be cut. Package him with a bow in the offseason and send him off.

 

[CupWizier]

In your opinion, does ET make us better?

I'll preview my opinion. For a "distributor," ball movement sure seems to screech to a halt when he's in the game. He makes some nifty passes, but oftentimes those are peppered with unnecessarily risky passes that many times result in turnovers. Simply put: I HATE the way we play with ET in the game. I think he makes us worse.

That being said, as much as he destroys our flow, he can't be cut. Package him with a bow in the offseason and send him off.

I thought he played well for us in the first half of the season and was contributing and the second unit was being pretty efficient for a second unit. Since his injury he has struggled to regain his form and hopefully he can find it again. With Turner and Layman playing good we are a much more dangerous team.

 

[B-Roy]

I think the simple answer is Jake has been scouted. Now it's on him to adjust.

 

[Propagandist]

I thought he played well for us in the first half of the season and was contributing and the second unit was being pretty efficient for a second unit. Since his injury he has struggled to regain his form and hopefully he can find it again. With Turner and Layman playing good we are a much more dangerous team.

Yeah, it seemed like Stotts "unlocked" him for a second there... Layman will regroup and figure it out. I think there's less room to manuever with Kanter in the middle.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

You can't cut ET. The teams that have stretched the bad contracts of 2016 are stupid.

I understand it's not practical financially but it could have been done. Replace him with a guy who makes $2 million and the financial hit is not that bad. Otherwise have the guts to tell the coach you made a mistake and he doesn't have to play him. I don't think it would have been the end of the world if they had to dump Labissiere and sign a decent PG. What they're doing is not fair to the team and the fans.

 

[CupWizier]

I understand it's not practical financially but it could have been done. Replace him with a guy who makes $2 million and the financial hit is not that bad. Otherwise have the guts to tell the coach you made a mistake and he doesn't have to play him. I don't think it would have been the end of the world if they had to dump Labissiere and sign a decent PG. What they're doing is not fair to the team and the fans.

Would it really be an issue if Turner and McCollum didn't get hurt? We are in the same situation other teams have been in at times with key players being injured, but when healthy the team has shown to be a very competitive team. Cutting a guy and having to eat his salary for 2 years is not a practical way of running a team. We are 9-4 since the all star break and that's with 10 of those games on the road. Hard to complain about that.

 

[blue9]

I can't fathom the possibility that, had we given all ET's/Curry's minutes to Simons/Trent from the get-go, they'd be worse than ET/Curry at this point. Worst case scenario is they are about the same, but we'd be ahead of where we currently are with regards to their development.

 

[hoopsjock]

I can't fathom the possibility that, had we given all ET's/Curry's minutes to Simons/Trent from the get-go, they'd be worse than ET/Curry at this point. Worst case scenario is they are about the same, but we'd be ahead of where we currently are with regards to their development.

I actually suggested this earlier in the season and was told that would be considered tanking and that fans would stop going to games.

 

[wizenheimer]

You make a good point. We only have one point guard on the whole 15 player roster, lol. I love most of Olshey’s moves but how does this happen?

just theory, but it may be because Olshey is still convinced, all evidence to the contrary, that CJ is a competent back-up PG. And having an actual competent back-up PG would give Stotts an option that could threaten CJ's minutes

It Happens when you sign a guy like Turner and are not able to admit your mistake and just cut him. Plenty of PG's have been available for cheap, e.g. Elfrid Payton, who is playing best ball of his life.

they can't just waive a guy making 18M. I suppose, if Portland was desperate, they could stretch him before next season, but that would be a 6.1M stain on Portland's cap for three more years. That's extreme

there is always the remote possibility that he could be traded next year, but even that carries negative potential. Best is probably just to let his contract expire.

I think the simple answer is Jake has been scouted. Now it's on him to adjust.

yeah, that's likely true. He was hot and everything was working for him, including opposing teams not paying attention to his game. That's not the case anymore and the chances are he was playing too far above his norms to not have regression

 

[CupWizier]

Yeah, it seemed like Stotts "unlocked" him for a second there... Layman will regroup and figure it out. I think there's less room to manuever with Kanter in the middle.

It could be an issue with Kanter, but it has also been a very short time of integrating him into the team so hopefully they learn to work together and more efficiently by playoff time as we need the depth and versatility.

 

[CupWizier]

I actually suggested this earlier in the season and was told that would be considered tanking and that fans would stop going to games.

The problem with that idea is that we are in the midst of a very successful season and still knocking at the door for the 3rd seed with still an outside chance at the 2nd seed but still have teams lurking trying to knock us down. A move like that would be fine if we were really struggling, but we haven't been. We are 9-4 since the all star break and that's with 14 games on the road (7-3). Hard to make a major change when we have that going.

 

[bobf]

Well we Aminu'd our way to a win. By that I mean, we stumbled, bumbled, and fumbled the ball through the hoop in some unreproduceable way.

Or we Aminu swish3'd our way to a win depending on your confirmation bias. I felt good about this game. I thought Zach & Chief both played great. I was focusing on Zach the whole game and I thought that's the best defense I've ever seen him play. Sure I've seen blocked shots before, but I'm talking about when he wasn't blocking shots. He was timing and waiting for the right moment to contest, not frantically jumping too soon, etc. Thought it was awesome.