Exclusive Hezonja to the Blazers

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Yep. Pretty much my thoughts. If he brings what Turner did without the obligatory "Turnovers" he will be a great addition at a fraction of the cost. Then if they keep him and pay him a reasonable contract he will be even better.
He'll be both much better and much worse than Turner - (based on his history) I'm expecting LOTS of "aggressive"/hairpulling/WTF turnovers from Supe.
 
Yep. Pretty much my thoughts. If he brings what Turner did without the obligatory "Turnovers" he will be a great addition at a fraction of the cost. Then if they keep him and pay him a reasonable contract he will be even better.

That’s the best part of Hezonja. Almost no risk. If he sucks we move on. But if he’s good they’ll have the money to pay him and with Nurk around, the Blazers will have an advantage.
 
He'll be both much better and much worse than Turner - (based on his history) I'm expecting LOTS of "aggressive"/hairpulling/WTF turnovers from Supe.

Yeah I agree. I would not expect less wtf turnovers either. Especially the first few months while playing with the 2nd unit.
Plus ET did not have as many as most fans thought.
 
When I looked at Hezonja's shooting numbers they were good and pretty bad.
But, Hezonja seems to be able to get to the hoop on his own (from anywhere) and finish despite being bumped or fouled, which has been something we have been missing from a guy his size (he's listed at 6'8"). At least that's what it looks like in this video:

His passing stats don't look great, but if that really is something he can do well, dribble full court, pass, and finish at the hoop he could be more important than I expect.
 
Hezonja did a little bit of everything Sunday, pushing the ball on offense, hoisting threes in half-court sets and — more than anything — trying to create scoring chances for his teammates. He finished with four points, four rebounds and a game-high-tying three assists. As Hezonja evolves into his new role as a point-forward, he’s focused on distributing rather than scoring.

“I told (Bazemore) and Rodney, ‘When I’m playing with you guys, you’re going to eat a lot,’” Hezonja said. “I’ll be targeting those shooters, because we need them. I can finish the game with zero points, I don’t give a damn. Whatever it takes to impact winning and to bring the championship to this team. I’m doing all the little things and all the dirty stuff for us to be successful.”
 
Hezonja did a little bit of everything Sunday, pushing the ball on offense, hoisting threes in half-court sets and — more than anything — trying to create scoring chances for his teammates. He finished with four points, four rebounds and a game-high-tying three assists. As Hezonja evolves into his new role as a point-forward, he’s focused on distributing rather than scoring.

“I told (Bazemore) and Rodney, ‘When I’m playing with you guys, you’re going to eat a lot,’” Hezonja said. “I’ll be targeting those shooters, because we need them. I can finish the game with zero points, I don’t give a damn. Whatever it takes to impact winning and to bring the championship to this team. I’m doing all the little things and all the dirty stuff for us to be successful.”

Perfect mindset for him to succeed... can't wait to see how all of this plays out!
 
Hezonja did a little bit of everything Sunday, pushing the ball on offense, hoisting threes in half-court sets and — more than anything — trying to create scoring chances for his teammates. He finished with four points, four rebounds and a game-high-tying three assists. As Hezonja evolves into his new role as a point-forward, he’s focused on distributing rather than scoring.

“I told (Bazemore) and Rodney, ‘When I’m playing with you guys, you’re going to eat a lot,’” Hezonja said. “I’ll be targeting those shooters, because we need them. I can finish the game with zero points, I don’t give a damn. Whatever it takes to impact winning and to bring the championship to this team. I’m doing all the little things and all the dirty stuff for us to be successful.”
I love that in his interview he flat out said he's going to guard the best player on the court every night...and doesn't care if he scores zero pts...this is a dude who's blocked Lebron before. He's frickin' built like a tank...lot of lower core and upper core strength...I think he's an X factor..he's a lot stronger than he looked before...
 
Take it one step further; how many 6’9 (or above) playmakers are there in the league? And by playmaker I don’t mean just passing. I mean operating the pick and roll, putting the ball on the floor, and breaking down a defender.

Lebron
Simmons
KD
Giannis
George
Ingles (technically not 6’9 but close enough)

That’s all I got but that’s just off the top so I probably missed someone.
I know Green is not 6'9" but I see Mario doing the same as Green did against us by pushing the ball to the hoop.
 
I know we are expecting Hezojna to play mainly with second team but I'm really interested to see how he plays with Dame and CJ. Very intriguing.
 
I know we are expecting Hezojna to play mainly with second team but I'm really interested to see how he plays with Dame and CJ. Very intriguing.

I agree. He could be what they envisioned Turner being, minus the $70M price tag. While his shooting percentages are inconsistent, I can almost bet teams won’t be leaving him open and daring him to shoot.
 
I know we are expecting Hezojna to play mainly with second team but I'm really interested to see how he plays with Dame and CJ. Very intriguing.

Yes, I like him this year as the distributer and tempo pusher in the second unit, but I still think there is a hole in the SF spot. Mario could fill that perfectly if he can hit the three at a decent rate. Next season we are clearly not keeping everyone on the final year of their contracts. If Mario could own the SF spot, then you could shorten the 2020-21 rotation to something like:

Dame
CJ
Hezonja
Collins
Nurkic

Ant (backup 1/2)
[one of Baze/Hood/Trent Jr.] (backup wing)
Skal (backup 4/5)
 
Hezonja has looked pretty solid as he is much more versatile than Layman

Bigger, stronger, more multidimensional....just better at everything but catching lobs and three point shooting.

That highlight video answers so many questions about him. Everything in it he created for himself (except for the wide open three). If he can somewhat consistently replicate that video....man. What a steal.
 
Bigger, stronger, more multidimensional....just better at everything but catching lobs and three point shooting.

That highlight video answers so many questions about him. Everything in it he created for himself (except for the wide open three). If he can somewhat consistently replicate that video....man. What a steal.

I would say 3 point shooting is about even right now as Jake was very streaky and after having some very strong games from outside he also went through a long period where he couldn't hit a shot. It will be interesting to see where each ends up in 3 point shooting this year.
 
I think at this point if you want to compare Jake to somebody on the team, his nearest comparable is actually Bazemore. Athletic wing guy who can play with speed. Similar size. Opportunistic scorer. Baze is obviously better overall and better defender, but less athletic.

Mario is basically Evan Turner, only you turn the dial up on most of the settings. Better shooter, bigger, faster, stronger. Not as good of a defender though.
 
I would say 3 point shooting is about even right now as Jake was very streaky and after having some very strong games from outside he also went through a long period where he couldn't hit a shot. It will be interesting to see where each ends up in 3 point shooting this year.
agree, Jake is
I think at this point if you want to compare Jake to somebody on the team, his nearest comparable is actually Bazemore. Athletic wing guy who can play with speed. Similar size. Opportunistic scorer. Baze is obviously better overall and better defender, but less athletic.

Mario is basically Evan Turner, only you turn the dial up on most of the settings. Better shooter, bigger, faster, stronger. Not as good of a defender though.
He's much better than Turner at finding seams for penetration to the hoop, and with authority. Once Jake gets that down he will be really tough.
 
agree, Jake is

He's much better than Turner at finding seams for penetration to the hoop, and with authority. Once Jake gets that down he will be really tough.
Plus he doesn't get a rebound, dribble up the court, post up a defender, spend the entire shot clock backing him down and then air ball a turnaround fadeaway over him 5 times a game.
 
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