GAME THREAD: WOLVES @ BLAZERS - FEB. 23, 2014 - SUNDAY, 6 PM (PST), CSNNW

[Natebishop3]

At times yes

There were other times he was playing way off Kevin Love and giving him easy shots. Mike Rice pointed it out numerous times.

Look. This was a great game for Thomas Robinson. Career game for him. It just doesn't magically change who he is, though.

He's undersized and hasn't really shown much skill to his game.
His basketball IQ is below average
Looks lost on both ends of the court at times
Despite having good rebounding numbers, he's not that good at boxing out. It's all effort/hustle with him.

There's a reason why he lost his spot at one time to...... Meyers Leonard

What happened for him tonight was his energy/hustle (his best asset at this point) was off the charts and Minnesota couldn't match it. It was a great performance.

But looking ahead, there's nothing in this game that really changed my opinion on him as a player.

He's kind of average most nights
Below average others nights
Then he has a few real gems like tonight sprinkled in there

He's a kid man!

He's only 22 years old, he has barely played 1.5 seasons, and he's raw. He needs to be developed. He's not the first big guy with raw athletic skills but lacking polish.

I think it's obvious that the scouts got it wrong, he should not have been a top five pick, but look at the rest of that class. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is very underwhelming. Dion Waiters is a knucklehead. Beal is solid. That draft was filled with misses. Robinson is an athlete. He has some unique tools that could be developed. I think people underrate his IQ.

Also, I would have backed off Love too. He was 2-8 from deep tonight.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

It's not just hustle and effort

It takes SKILLS

I'm still right

You are talking about athletic skills, right, not ballhandling or shooting skills? In case I am sounding too nit-picky today, want to say I really enjoyed the game and I love all my Blazers! And i'm glad some of our bench guys are coming through for us with a little more playing time.

 

[RoyToy]

He's a kid man!

He's only 22 years old, he has barely played 1.5 seasons, and he's raw. He needs to be developed. He's not the first big guy with raw athletic skills but lacking polish.

I think it's obvious that the scouts got it wrong, he should not have been a top five pick, but look at the rest of that class. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is very underwhelming. Dion Waiters is a knucklehead. Beal is solid. That draft was filled with misses. Robinson is an athlete. He has some unique tools that could be developed. I think people underrate his IQ.

Also, I would have backed off Love too. He was 2-8 from deep tonight.

All of that is why I said if he puts it all together he could be a JJ Hickson. I said that back in the summer, and right now it looks completely accurate.

He's still not the finisher at the rim JJ is though.

And he'll be 23 in March. When JJ was 23 he was doing this

[video=youtube;wi9AHvhUh9Q]

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Why did Berea try to mount Wes?

I think because Wes is kind of cute in his own way.

 

[jlprk]

I just told you my "deal." You have your guys that you like to pick on and you'll completely ignore any positives so you can focus on the negatives. If the positives become too much for you to bag on them, you'll just disappear. Go look. In this thread you had post #300 and then you vanished into thin air during Robinson's big run. You didn't post again until #382.

Sounds like how Portland treated Hickson. Robinson is worse than Hickson within a practical window (say, 2 years) and maybe forever. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

 

[cmeese47]

Thank you terrible Minnesota coaching. JJ Barea dominates us and then you rest him for the third quarter and let Portland take over the game. Pathetic.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Thank you terrible Minnesota coaching. JJ Barea dominates us and then you rest him for the third quarter and let Portland take over the game. Pathetic.

So the third quarter cooled him off, not halftime? Rubio had 11 assists in 23 minutes and plays better with Love than JJ does. Barea was killing us in the 2nd, but I am not sure I would have benched Rubio because of it. If JJ was so dominant, wouldn't they want him playing the 4th like he usually does.

 

[maxiep]

He played great defense on Kevin Love too.

There was one series where Love (who is a big, meaty dude in his own right) slammed into Robinson to get some space and Robinson didn't flinch. Love bounced back, slammed into him again while trying to shoot, and Love, once again, bounced off while the ball bounced off Robinson's outstretched arms. Love got so flustered, he caught his own shot and took a step before trying again. The officials were so stunned as to what just happened, they took a good couple of seconds to call Love for the travel.

You don't see many PFs bang with Love that way. It took strength, speed and grit to do so.

We won't see this kind of production for Robinson every game, but last night we saw an inkling of what he can become. If he can step up his game, it's huge for us. It means we can play LA a few minutes less per game and give him the rest he needs to be 100%.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Yeah it can go one of two ways: either he's ZBo getting his chance against Dallas, or he's Von Wafer carrying us to a victory on a long hard road trip...

 

[maxiep]

All of that is why I said if he puts it all together he could be a JJ Hickson. I said that back in the summer, and right now it looks completely accurate.

He's still not the finisher at the rim JJ is though.

And he'll be 23 in March. When JJ was 23 he was doing this

[video=youtube;wi9AHvhUh9Q]

JJ Hickson has never shown the kind of defensive ability as a vet that Robinson has shown through his second year.

 

[Pinwheel1]

We already have a starting PF. What we need is a back up PF. Someone who brings energy off the bench, and who can start when injuries occur. I am not sure I care exactly how big Robinson is. He seems big enough to me for that role. If he was any bigger, with those hops, I doubt he would be content to come off the bench. Nor would we have been able to get him in the first place. Personally I am happy with the scenario as it is.

 

[B-Roy]

JJ Hickson has never shown the kind of defensive ability as a vet that Robinson has shown through his second year.

JJ Hickson has not shown defensive ability period.

 

[HailBlazers]

There was one series where Love (who is a big, meaty dude in his own right) slammed into Robinson to get some space and Robinson didn't flinch. Love bounced back, slammed into him again while trying to shoot, and Love, once again, bounced off while the ball bounced off Robinson's outstretched arms. Love got so flustered, he caught his own shot and took a step before trying again. The officials were so stunned as to what just happened, they took a good couple of seconds to call Love for the travel.

You don't see many PFs bang with Love that way. It took strength, speed and grit to do so.

We won't see this kind of production for Robinson every game, but last night we saw an inkling of what he can become. If he can step up his game, it's huge for us. It means we can play LA a few minutes less per game and give him the rest he needs to be 100%.

Good Stuff. Repped.

 

[oldmangrouch]

What did we give up for Robinson again?

Your anal virginity?

 

[THE HCP]

Haven't had that in decades!

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I have no voice today from last night's game. "Love" what Love said about the Ptd crowd:

''This is a good team, even with LaMarcus out,'' said Love, who also had 10 rebounds for his league-leading 47th double-double. ''They're good, they can put up points in a hurry. They shot the ball well and this is one of the best, if not the best, crowds in the league.''

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

There was one series where Love (who is a big, meaty dude in his own right) slammed into Robinson to get some space and Robinson didn't flinch. Love bounced back, slammed into him again while trying to shoot, and Love, once again, bounced off while the ball bounced off Robinson's outstretched arms. Love got so flustered, he caught his own shot and took a step before trying again. The officials were so stunned as to what just happened, they took a good couple of seconds to call Love for the travel.

You don't see many PFs bang with Love that way. It took strength, speed and grit to do so.

We won't see this kind of production for Robinson every game, but last night we saw an inkling of what he can become. If he can step up his game, it's huge for us. It means we can play LA a few minutes less per game and give him the rest he needs to be 100%.

what I saw on that sequence is that he has very quick hands. he had his hands (or forearms on love's body and twice Love tried that trick where a guy swings his arms up very quickly trying to get a foul call; but Robinson pulled his hands back so quick that there was no contact. I've also seen some slap steals by him that show very quick hands, a little bit like jerome kersey used to do.

 

[riverman]

TRob is like a concrete wall, when he gets his feet set very few guys can move him out of position. He was amazing last night and you could see LaMarcus just beaming on the sidelines.