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

[illmatic99]

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.

Kanter is killing our offensive spacing. I'm hoping his impact will come in the playoffs for his 15 mpg when we can throw him the ball down low and get buckets, but right now, his presence has been bad for our bench. Playing him with Zach at least sorta mitigates his defensive issues though so I think we figured something out there. .

 

[hoopsjock]

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.

I made the comments back around the time we were 15-13. The 2nd unit was struggling big time and I suggested that integrating Baldwin, Simons, Trent, Layman, and Collins wouldn't be much worse than playing guys like Turner and Stauskas. Like @blue9 suggests maybe those guys would be contributors by now if they took their lumps earlier in the year. Mix in Hood and Kanter with whatever players stepped up from that group and by this time we'd be in better shape both this year and moving forward.

 

[hoopsjock]

Kanter is killing our offensive spacing. I'm hoping his impact will come in the playoffs for his 15 mpg when we can throw him the ball down low and get buckets, but right now, his presence has been bad for our bench. Playing him with Zach at least sorta mitigates his defensive issues though so I think we figured something out there. .

There shouldn't have been anything to figure out. Kanter and Collins should have been playing together the whole time.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

There shouldn't have been anything to figure out. Kanter and Collins should have been playing together the whole time.

Also Nurkic and Collins...

 

[CupWizier]

I made the comments back around the time we were 15-13. The 2nd unit was struggling big time and I suggested that integrating Baldwin, Simons, Trent, Layman, and Collins wouldn't be much worse than playing guys like Turner and Stauskas. Like @blue9 suggests maybe those guys would be contributors by now if they took their lumps earlier in the year. Mix in Hood and Kanter with whatever players stepped up from that group and by this time we'd be in better shape both this year and moving forward.

Ok, but the outcome was for the better to keep things pretty much the way they were as I doubt we would be in the same position as we are now if those changes were made. We also don't have the benefit as to how players play in practice.

 

[hoopsjock]

Also Nurkic and Collins...

Oh god, don't get me started on that this morning.

 

[hoopsjock]

Ok, but the outcome was for the better to keep things pretty much the way they were as I doubt we would be in the same position as we are now if those changes were made. We also don't have the benefit as to how players play in practice.

Why's that? Because Turner has won so many games for us this year?

 

[CupWizier]

Why's that? Because Turner has won so many games for us this year?

Well, like you said, we were 15-13. Now we are 43-27 and 16 games over .500 with Turner in the rotation so something must be working.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Oh god, don't get me started on that this morning.

 

[illmatic99]

There shouldn't have been anything to figure out. Kanter and Collins should have been playing together the whole time.

Meh the Collins benching was warranted. The Kanter signing has clearly lit a fire under his ass and he's playing so much harder now. Still think they're doing Meyers dirty-- he was having his best season of his career.

 

[hoopsjock]

Well, like you said, we were 15-13. Now we are 43-27 and 16 games over .500 with Turner in the rotation so something must be working.

Turner didn't play in 8 of 42 of those games (19%)

16 out of the 42 games he played less than 20 minutes (38%)

That's 57% that he's had what I'd call minimal impact on the game outcome. Sure some of those games he played less than 20 minutes he probably still played well in but I would say there would be just as many, if not more, where he played more than 20 minutes but didn't play well so I'll just call it a wash.

I don't think Turner is really bringing anything that an average NBA guard couldn't also bring.

 

[CupWizier]

Meh the Collins benching was warranted. The Kanter signing has clearly lit a fire under his ass and he's playing so much harder now. Still think they're doing Meyers dirty-- he was having his best season of his career.

Kanter in only 4 more minutes per game is averaging close to double the points and double the rebounds since he has been here and that's with only 12 games played here. He also has over 2 offensive rebounds per game as compared to Leonard with less than 1. It is definitely an adjustment and a work in progress, but we are getting more offensive production out of Kanter at this stage and neither are good defenders,

 

[illmatic99]

Turner didn't play in 8 of 42 of those games (19%)

16 out of the 42 games he played less than 20 minutes (38%)

That's 57% that he's had what I'd call minimal impact on the game outcome. Sure some of those games he played less than 20 minutes he probably still played well in but I would say there would be just as many, if not more, where he played more than 20 minutes but didn't play well so I'll just call it a wash.

I don't think Turner is really bringing anything that an average NBA guard couldn't also bring.

It's just funny Neil made a big deal about learning from his mistake with holding CJ back on the bench in favor of Wes/Afflalo and not doing the same thing with Collins. It's how he justified letting go of Ed Davis.

Yet the same thing happens again not only to Zach but the guards as well.

 

[hoopsjock]

It's just funny Neil made a big deal about learning from his mistake with holding CJ back on the bench in favor of Wes/Afflalo and not doing the same thing with Collins. It's how he justified letting go of Ed Davis.

Yet the same thing happens again not only to Zach but the guards as well.

Well that goes against your point that Collins being benched was warranted though. It's probably better to let him take his lumps, in my opinion.

Imagine if Trent was getting minutes, got his confidence up by now, and was giving us just 1/4th of what he was doing in the G-League? That's like 8 or 9 points per game.

 

[CupWizier]

Turner didn't play in 8 of 42 of those games (19%)

16 out of the 42 games he played less than 20 minutes (38%)

That's 57% that he's had what I'd call minimal impact on the game outcome. Sure some of those games he played less than 20 minutes he probably still played well in but I would say there would be just as many, if not more, where he played more than 20 minutes but didn't play well so I'll just call it a wash.

I don't think Turner is really bringing anything that an average NBA guard couldn't also bring.

In any team sport like basketball, it is the sum of the parts, not the sum of one individual. All I can base it on is where we are at and it's pretty good and better than the analysts and most posters thought was possible this year. Right now Turner has been struggling since his injury and Stotts has monitored his minutes accordingly but with CJ out, we will need Turner.

 

[illmatic99]

Well that goes against your point that Collins being benched was warranted though. It's probably better to let him take his lumps, in my opinion.

Not really. I thought we saw enough out of Collins to stick him on the bench. The guards and other youngins are unknown and I agree with you there that they can't possibly be that much worse than what we have now.

ET has some clout for some reason. Every stat says he sucks, but Stotts/ Dame/ etc seem to trust him. I can't wait for him to be gone

 

[hoopsjock]

In any team sport like basketball, it is the sum of the parts, not the sum of one individual. All I can base it on is where we are at and it's pretty good and better than the analysts and most posters thought was possible this year. Right now Turner has been struggling since his injury and Stotts has monitored his minutes accordingly but with CJ out, we will need Turner.

Turner was struggling long before his injury.

 

[James lamphear]

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.

Zach is getting experience every day it don't matter if he playing or not.