Game Thread Game #9 - BLAZERS vs PACERS - NOVEMBER 5, 2021 - FRIDAY, 7:00 PM, ROOT SPORTS

[Orion Bailey]

C'mon now. I love the positive vibes thing but we also got to stay in reality. People all over have been watching him even before it came out he was playing injured. They all were saying "He looks injured". This injury is not going away by the 2nd game of a B2B. Actually this is exactly the kind of game i would expect him to sit out.

but if he has played through it before why cant he again?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

im not sure he is us hurting us as much as he is not elevating.
11 assists is still eleven assists.

ive long been of the opinion, the number one offensive weapon cant be the point guard.
Do we really need Dame to score if he gets others to?

We won last night aNd he scored 4 points.
He can be our best player without being our leading scorer. Much rather see him play more like chris paul than Allan Iverson….and i think we would be better for it.

Couple big statements there. First 11 assists only happen when someone else makes the shot. This was a home game and we all know those don't fall on the road. Next even at home that game was a Fluke with RoCo sealing the deal. CJ was not getting good looks at the end.
Here is what i watched. I watched a sub par team take the Blazers to the limit at home. They did it by changing how they guard the Blazers. They no longer are meeting Dame at half court. They are no longer using a double to keep Dame under wraps. They are sagging off him and allowing him to get open looks because they are starting to feel confident he won't make it.
The Lakers (Westbrook) and every other team are watching and scouting the Blazers right now. 11 assists is a good thing but 4 points from Damian Lillard? The Blazers will get cooked tonight if that continues. Even without LeBron.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

but if he has played through it before why cant he again?

He sure couldn't in the Olympics and he sure isn't right now. This injury is progressive. What have you seen in the first 9 games that leads you to believe he will in fact play better with this injury? How many games are you willing to wait this out? 20? 30? If they wait 30 games are they then done for the season?

 

[Orion Bailey]

He sure couldn't in the Olympics and he sure isn't right now. This injury is progressive. What have you seen in the first 9 games that leads you to believe he will in fact play better with this injury? How many games are you willing to wait this out? 20? 30? If they wait 30 games are they then done for the season?

i think that's the magic question everyone is trying to pinpoint an answer. How many games does he get to try to figure it out?

You may very well be right, but i think he deserves more than nine games to figure it out though.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Couple big statements there. First 11 assists only happen when someone else makes the shot. This was a home game and we all know those don't fall on the road. Next even at home that game was a Fluke with RoCo sealing the deal. CJ was not getting good looks at the end.
Here is what i watched. I watched a sub par team take the Blazers to the limit at home. They did it by changing how they guard the Blazers. They no longer are meeting Dame at half court. They are no longer using a double to keep Dame under wraps. They are sagging off him and allowing him to get open looks because they are starting to feel confident he won't make it.
The Lakers (Westbrook) and every other team are watching and scouting the Blazers right now. 11 assists is a good thing but 4 points from Damian Lillard? The Blazers will get cooked tonight if that continues. Even without LeBron.

Those open looks might help for him to start seeing the ball into the hoop though, no?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Those open looks might help for him to start seeing the ball into the hoop though, no?

Bottom line is I'm not willing to "Give Up" on Dame. I just want him playing healthy. Right now it's pretty obvious he isn't playing healthy at all. Depending on the severity of a chronic abdominal strain and the amount of damage He could be out 3-4 months. The very fact that they have considered surgery to fix the injury tells me this strain is not just a run of the mill strain and because he even admits he has been plagued by this for years tells me it's only getting worse.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Bottom line is I'm not willing to "Give Up" on Dame. I just want him playing healthy. Right now it's pretty obvious he isn't playing healthy at all. Depending on the severity of a chronic abdominal strain and the amount of damage He could be out 3-4 months. The very fact that they have considered surgery to fix the injury tells me this strain is not just a run of the mill strain and because he even admits he has been plagued by this for years tells me it's only getting worse.

yeah, without detailed medical reports, its so hard to tell the severity. Is it all the injury because its bad? Or is it the normal, mild injury he has overcome in the past, combined with a new ball and a new style of offense?
With him/them having been so closed lipped, its tough to gauge.
I don't disagree with anything you said…buuut, i sure hope you are wrong.

 

[Hoopguru]

it's hard to watch but he's gone thru similar before. Not for a few seasons though

I don't know if the abdominal injury is an issue or not. Sometimes, he doesn't seem to be moving right, but other times he shows the same speed and explosion he always has had

it could be a combination of a new ball, a very short off-season, and the new foul rules. Over the last 2 seasons Dame has averaged 7.5 FTA/game. This season, it's 3.5. Some of his shooting rhythm may have been because of lots of FTA's, and that's been cut in half

I think he's in his own head right now, and that's making it worse

I think the fewer FT attempts could very well contribute.
Someone yesterday on the radio talked about Curry and Harden FT attempts down as well as there shooting percentage, dont know this to be true or not?

 

[FlashWad]

Its encouraging we can win with Dame providing so little offensively. Could it be that he knew about the upcoming Neil investigation and that distraction has been a reason for his play?

 

[wizenheimer]

Its encouraging we can win with Dame providing so little offensively. Could it be that he knew about the upcoming Neil investigation and that distraction has been a reason for his play?

I doubt that

Dame has gone over Olshey's head before to talk directly to Paul Allen about the direction of the team (2018). And he wouldn't have spent a couple of months seriously considering asking for a trade if he had confidence in Olshey. I really doubt Dame has any sense of loyalty to Olshey, especially after the way Olshey threw Stotts under the bus when he announced the firing

 

[James lamphear]

If Dame is injured then he needs to get it fixed and reason he not in his 20 but he in his 30's. Yes he still young but the older he gets the worst the injury will get. They show they can win without him putting up big numbers so it till me they can hold the fort down until he recovers.

 

[Strenuus]

Great win, but holy shit is Dame done

9 games or 9 years?

Just remember, you gave up on Dame, so no cheerng him when he does what he's done for 9 years. You gave that up.