Exclusive Hezonja to the Blazers

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Think min-contract Outlaw...?
 
Yea it looks like he will be in Turner's role for the 2nd unit. For that unit right now I see.
Simons
Bazemore
Hood
Hezonja
SKals
That's pretty good group right there they all can hit the 3 ball talking about stretching the floor.
1st unit
Dame
Cj
Harkless
Zach
Leonard
 
Is Hezonja an alternative to Simons? Basically a replacement for Curry?
 
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If Hezonja can do anything close to that, he would indeed by Super Mario. I could see him helping Any handle the ball on the 2nd unit. If he is out there with Ant, Baze, Hood and Skal, that is a fun line-up that might actually run!
 
joeBlazers said:
Is Hezonja an alternative to Simons? Basically a replacement for Curry?
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Herzonja will provide elements to replace Turner's ballhandling and Aminu's shooting. Simons will be more of Curry's replacement, IMO, but is more dangerous offensively because he's a lot bigger scoring threat getting to the basket.
 
Look at his game logs he hot or cold at the 3 line and does most his damage inside the 3 line. Does turnover the ball little to much that could be trying to much on his passes kind like Nurk sometimes. Play the passing lane well. Attack the rim well. He strong as a point forward so I see him in Turner's role.
 
I just ran the numbers, and when he got over 25mpg with the Knicks (21 games) he averaged 15pts, 2.4 assists, 6 rebs, 54%fg, 33%three. He was 23 years old.

By way of comparison, Harkless played 25+mpg in 25 games. He averaged 12pts, 1.8 assists, 6 rebs, 44%fg, 28%three in those games. He was 25 years old.

On paper they're pretty comparable players. Harkless got his numbers on a competitive team, which is sort of to his credit. But he also got his numbers while Dame was creating looks for him.

I don't think it's a complete given that Hezonja loses out in the battle over starting SF. Especially given that his final 3-game run as a Knick was better statistically than any 3-game run Harkless has ever had.

After 4 seasons of Mo Harkless flakiness, I think Portland will be very tempted to try out a different Orlando castoff.
 
mook said:
I just ran the numbers, and when he got over 25mpg with the Knicks (21 games) he averaged 15pts, 2.4 assists, 6 rebs, 54%fg, 33%three. He was 23 years old.

By way of comparison, Harkless played 25+mpg in 25 games. He averaged 12pts, 1.8 assists, 6 rebs, 44%fg, 28%three in those games. He was 25 years old.

On paper they're pretty comparable players. Harkless got his numbers on a competitive team, which is sort of to his credit. But he also got his numbers while Dame was creating looks for him.

I don't think it's a complete given that Hezonja loses out in the battle over starting SF. Especially given that his final 3-game run as a Knick was better statistically than any 3-game run Harkless has ever had.

After 4 seasons of Mo Harkless flakiness, I think Portland will be very tempted to try out a different Orlando castoff.
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Don't think I'd be surprised for any of Bazemore, Hood, Harkless, Hezonja to start at SF.

At PF it could be again Harkless, Hezonja, Collins.

Heck even Jake could start at either spot.

Some might say if you have 4 options of starters you really have 0 options.... which I agree with... but I'm glad we aren't running back the same Aminu/Harkless duo for a damn 5th year.
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Don't think I'd be surprised for any of Bazemore, Hood, Harkless, Hezonja to start at SF.

At PF it could be again Harkless, Hezonja, Collins.

Heck even Jake could start at either spot.

Some might say if you have 4 options of starters you really have 0 options.... which I agree with... but I'm glad we aren't running back the same Aminu/Harkless duo for a damn 5th year.
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Amen to all of that. We had probably the worst starting forwards in the entire league. It was definitely time to move on.
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Don't think I'd be surprised for any of Bazemore, Hood, Harkless, Hezonja to start at SF.

At PF it could be again Harkless, Hezonja, Collins.

Heck even Jake could start at either spot.

Some might say if you have 4 options of starters you really have 0 options.... which I agree with... but I'm glad we aren't running back the same Aminu/Harkless duo for a damn 5th year.
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I think if Harkless still here he will start at either position it really depends on who starts at center. Hezonja will be point forward on offensive and strong enough play PF on defense. Bazemore will back up Cj and Hood will either start at SF or back up Harkless. The whole key is who start at center. Right now I think it's Leonard and Zach at PF.
 
WesleyMatthews said:
Don't think I'd be surprised for any of Bazemore, Hood, Harkless, Hezonja to start at SF.

At PF it could be again Harkless, Hezonja, Collins.

Heck even Jake could start at either spot.

Some might say if you have 4 options of starters you really have 0 options.... which I agree with... but I'm glad we aren't running back the same Aminu/Harkless duo for a damn 5th year.
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I wouldn’t shocked if they ran Skal at PF. You have Skal and Collins who can play the 4/5.

Unless a trade happens, I still expect Collins at the 4 and Leonard at the 5 until Nurkic is back. Skal can backup either or you can go small if needed. I still don’t believe they will run Collins at 5 for half a season then switch him to 4 when Nurkic comes back.
 
PCmor7 said:
Herzonja will provide elements to replace Turner's ballhandling and Aminu's shooting. Simons will be more of Curry's replacement, IMO, but is more dangerous offensively because he's a lot bigger scoring threat getting to the basket.
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Don't get me wrong, he is no Draymond in any way shape or form, but if you added a stretch 4 to the bench who could handle the ball like Draymond does for GS, it makes the 2nd unit that much better. Yes I know he can not cover or rebound like Green, but he is a better outside shooter. I read an article somewhere (can't find it right now) but it suggested that he is getting bigger/stronger and could be growing in that role based on the size of other stretch 4s around the league. Once Nurk gets back I would love to see a Collins, Hark, Hood, Mario and Simons
2nd unit.
 
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At some point, I would love to see this lineup:
Dame
Hood or Bazemore
Hezonja
Collins
Skal

I think that would generate some highlight offense.

What am I missing on the downside for this guy, defense? Can’t see why at his age Knicks let him go. Seems like a bigger/better Turner at a fraction of the cost. Very crafty with the ball and reads passing lanes well.
 
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Reep said:
I wouldn’t shocked if they ran Skal at PF. You have Skal and Collins who can play the 4/5.

Unless a trade happens, I still expect Collins at the 4 and Leonard at the 5 until Nurkic is back. Skal can backup either or you can go small if needed. I still don’t believe they will run Collins at 5 for half a season then switch him to 4 when Nurkic comes back.
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But out of those 3, isn't Collins the best center? Zach has indicated that he prefers to play center and know he needs to continue to get bigger.
My hope is they start Collins at center and have Meyers back him up.

As for PF I think athletically Collins and Skal are similar (Although I am guessing until we see Skal more this weekend) But I think Skal is a better 3 put shooter. (Again guessing/hoping) That being said I think until Nurk is back, Skal and Hark and Mario are the PFs
 
Hezonja 16/16/11 against the Rockets.



30/6/5 against the Wizards. Some poor tenancies in jumping into the air before making a pass. (That got Dame in trouble in the Playoffs) Has a nice change of pace burst when attacking the basket.

 
Pinwheel1 said:
But out of those 3, isn't Collins the best center? Zach has indicated that he prefers to play center and know he needs to continue to get bigger.
My hope is they start Collins at center and have Meyers back him up.

As for PF I think athletically Collins and Skal are similar (Although I am guessing until we see Skal more this weekend) But I think Skal is a better 3 put shooter. (Again guessing/hoping) That being said I think until Nurk is back, Skal and Hark and Mario are the PFs
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If we didn’t have Nurkic, I would agree. My thinking is that Nurkic is a fixture at starting center. Zach is the second best big, and I think is a good fit next to Nurk and can easily defend most 4s. I know he likes center, but that is taken.

I also think teams run best when everyone knows their roles and position. That is why I think Collins will start at 4 and they will bring someone else in at 5. Kind of like when Layman started when Harkless was out instead of Turner.
 
People, including Jason Quick, are assuming we are going to trade a wing. I was just on a walk and got to thinking how this might not be the case, that this might be more a matter of being able to play -- and, more so, defend -- in the non-positional basketball.

The Blazers right now have a plethora of players who can play the 2 and 3, the 3 and 4, or even all three of those positions. A couple of those guys can defend the point. A couple of those guys can defend the 5 on occasion.

Defending positionless basketball requires guys who are agile, lengthy, who can swarm and close out and recover on the dribble drive and kick. Look at our roster now. Look how many long, agile guys we have.

Defending the pick and roll requires bigs that can move their feet. I mean, maybe our 5s aren't super at that, but you have guys who can play the 5 like Zach and Skal who aren't dead meat if they have to switch on a tough scorer off the dribble. And then guys like Nurk (and Enes) and even Meyers at least try. And Nurk and Enes made up for it on the other end because they were such good pick-and-roll scorers ... if you play a team who runs the pick and roll with a 5 who isn't a threat, well, your 5 isn't going to have to be a great defender.

This might just be a matter of building superior depth and versatility to our opponents, and taking advantage of market inefficiency.
 
PCmor7 said:
People, including Jason Quick, are assuming we are going to trade a wing. I was just on a walk and got to thinking how this might not be the case, that this might be more a matter of being able to play -- and, more so, defend -- in the non-positional basketball.

The Blazers right now have a plethora of players who can play the 2 and 3, the 3 and 4, or even all three of those positions. A couple of those guys can defend the point. A couple of those guys can defend the 5 on occasion.

Defending positionless basketball requires guys who are agile, lengthy, who can swarm and close out and recover on the dribble drive and kick. Look at our roster now. Look how many long, agile guys we have.

Defending the pick and roll requires bigs that can move their feet. I mean, maybe our 5s aren't super at that, but you have guys who can play the 5 like Zach and Skal who aren't dead meat if they have to switch on a tough scorer off the dribble. And then guys like Nurk (and Enes) and even Meyers at least try. And Nurk and Enes made up for it on the other end because they were such good pick-and-roll scorers ... if you play a team who runs the pick and roll with a 5 who isn't a threat, well, your 5 isn't going to have to be a great defender.

This might just be a matter of building superior depth and versatility to our opponents, and taking advantage of market inefficiency.
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This is the same idea the Warriors used to remake the way the game is played. Having 5 good players on the court is better for today’s game rather than having 5 positions covered. Many call it playing small. But I call it playing your best players and to your advantage. Make other teams defend you. Be a nightmare for them to match!
This game is about scoring buckets. If you score them consistently you win games. If you can score with guys who play hard on the defensive side you will win more than you lose.
 
kjironman1 said:
This is the same idea the Warriors used to remake the way the game is played. Having 5 good players on the court is better for today’s game rather than having 5 positions covered. Many call it playing small. But I call it playing your best players and to your advantage. Make other teams defend you. Be a nightmare for them to match!
This game is about scoring buckets. If you score them consistently you win games. If you can score with guys who play hard on the defensive side you will win more than you lose.
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The other thing I mentioned in another thread ... you can get offensive rebounds just by making the other team chase and close out so much that they are out of position. You've got their bigs 20 feet from the basket, the halfcourt is wide open. They you just outhustle them to the loose balls.
 
He has played games as a stretch 4 and is still young enough to develop. He showed glimpses of his talent at Orlando towards the end of his spell there and he has a point to prove. It’s a very low risk move. I like it.
 
Hezonja could be murder in the starting lineup with Whiteside and Lillard and McCollum and someone else who can shoot threes. Hezonja looks like he is passing to the post any chance he gets, and that could be a great help to making Whiteside as valuable as possible. It would also be nice to have Lillard and McCollum play off the ball more with while still getting the same number of shots.

I see Hezonja listed as a SF, so if he can can play that position it could be him along with Whiteside, Collins, Lillard and McCollum.

If he's playable, because we're talking about Whiteside and not Nurkic, I think he'd be more valuable in the starting unit as a facilitator who can see the floor well getting the ball to top-rate finishers, with the hope of making it easier on them to get good looks and boosting their field goal percentages.

With Mario's skill passing to the post, I could see Whiteside attracting a lot of attention on one side of the court, then Hezonja passing to a cutting Collins for a dunk or foul.
 
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He’s a depth piece. Unlikely to get much PT but you never know.
 
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