Is Portland the best team in the West?

[Sheldon Shape]

Dame Lillard is not around here if you always play to develop the young ones, especially if they do not produce and are in and out of the active list because of injuries. Sorry, man, that's your unrealistic expectations.

Except he totally values developing Shaedon Sharpe. It's fine to not develop the young guys if you have really good vets in front of them, not Tolliver and Hezonja though. That's just a horrid excuse.

Don't know what Ant was instructed to do or not, but Meyers problems began when Neil fired the big man coach we had and did not replace him. As for Melo, as bad as he was offensively that year, he was still better than Ant - and he was brought in to try and help the Blazers save their season - so it would not be reasonable not to try and get him going.

Frankly, you are reading too much into your expectations and love for the young talent for that season, in the context of what it was, what Terry did given the crap roster he had to work with was more than reasonable.

Sure, Olshey should have hired a big man coach. But Terry is the HEAD COACH. It was his responsibility at the end of the day. And he let Meyers drift further and further from the paint, which made him successful against Memphis before. Again, fine to not develop when you have Rodney Hood and Seth Curry. Not okay to not develop when you're putting Tolliver and Hezonja over your first round picks.

 

[blazerfan11]

I said this in June and I’ll say it now. I don’t believe Dame wants to “develop” young talent….he wants to win NOW!

Win now in the regular season, or win now in the playoffs?

 

[blazerfan11]

I said this in June and I’ll say it now. I don’t believe Dame wants to “develop” young talent….he wants to win NOW!

Sharpe doesn't need to be "developed." He needs experience.
He needs playing time because he's really, really good.

 

[wizenheimer]

I said this in June and I’ll say it now. I don’t believe Dame wants to “develop” young talent….he wants to win NOW!

those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. Talented rookies can be getting 'developmental minutes' (I'm not even sure what that means) and still be able to contribute to wins. I think Sharpe is really close to those standards right now

 

[THE HCP]

Sharpe doesn't need to be "developed." He needs experience.
He needs playing time because he's really, really good.

Fine, who sits and why?

 

[blazerfan11]

I said this in June and I’ll say it now. I don’t believe Dame wants to “develop” young talent….he wants to win NOW!

For a while it's going to be "Watch and Cheer NOW" for Dame.

 

[andalusian]

Anyone with two eyeballs can tell you Little and Gabriel's defense was better than Tolliver and Hezonja's. Little came in with an NBA body. One of the few. I hardly think Stotts was looking at DBPM stats. All things being equal, you give your first round pick run over guys who are hanging onto the NBA dream by a fingernail.

The scoreboard is a set of numbers, games are not won on eyeballs unless they are a lot more capable than ours, as fans, frankly. No disrespect, but your eyesight is clearly wrong here - we have multiple years of data to go through and Little has yet to have a positive DBPM in all his career (including under Chauncy). He is yet to be a good defender in the NBA and has not yet, 3+ years in, to have as good a defensive year as Herzonja had that year.

Except he totally values developing Shaedon Sharpe. It's fine to not develop the young guys if you have really good vets in front of them, not Tolliver and Hezonja though. That's just a horrid excuse.

First, Sharpe is a much better prospect than Little, the team has come from missing the playoffs and not from reaching the WCF and finally, everyone with 2 eyeballs can see that Sharpe actually know what he does on defense as far as being in the right place and moving. He is still not a good defender (early in his rookie campaign), but at least he is much more impactful on the offense than Little was as a rookie, so it makes more sense to give him the time. Again, you are ignoring context. Context is important.

 

[andalusian]

Sharpe doesn't need to be "developed." He needs experience.
He needs playing time because he's really, really good.

That is absolutely not right. Sharpe has holes in his game, which is to be expected. Handle, defense for sure.

He also needs experience, but to think he is a final, ready prospect is not right.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Fine, who sits and why?

Right now, Dame, because he's injured. Ask again in 2 weeks.

 

[THE HCP]

That is absolutely not right. Sharpe has holes in his game, which is to be expected. Handle, defense for sure.

He also needs experience, but to think he is a final, ready prospect is not right.

Did somebody hack your account FAMS?

 

[andalusian]

Did somebody hack your account FAMS?

Why? I said I am impressed with him, I believed he will make an impact, but I am not oblivious to where he looks like a rookie...

 

[Pinwheel1]

I said this in June and I’ll say it now. I don’t believe Dame wants to “develop” young talent….he wants to win NOW!

I agree, he does want to win now. However, I believe you were adamant in June that there was no way the Blazers would keep their
lottery pick. They did and I believe Dame is just fine with it.

 

[THE HCP]

Why? I said I am impressed with him, I believed he will make an impact, but I am not oblivious to where he looks like a rookie...

No you have just posted some very well thought out quality posts today. Just worried about you.

 

[THE HCP]

I agree, he does want to win now. However, I believe you were adamant in June that there was no way the Blazers would keep their
lottery pick. They did and I believe Dame is just fine with it.

I think I said that if we did use it, that would mean we didn’t bring in vets to help asap. We’ll see where we sit mid season.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I think I said that if we did use it, that would mean we didn’t bring in vets to help asap. We’ll see where we sit mid season.

True enough. After drafting this mystery kid who hadn't played in a year and is clearly not ready to contribute this season, the team refused to make any win-now-type moves like trading for another team's best player, or signing a top-tier defensive player in free agency.

 

[andalusian]

No you have just posted some very well thought out quality posts today. Just worried about you.

Thanks brother. That's real love there. Appreciate it!

 

[blazerfan11]

That is absolutely not right. Sharpe has holes in his game, which is to be expected. Handle, defense for sure.

He also needs experience, but to think he is a final, ready prospect is not right.

All of our players have holes in their game. That doesn't keep them from playing.

 

[blazerfan11]

That is absolutely not right. Sharpe has holes in his game, which is to be expected. Handle, defense for sure.

He also needs experience, but to think he is a final, ready prospect is not right.

He's definitely ready, and also not final.

 

[illmatic99]

don't look now, but zach collins is quietly putting together some very solid stats/contributions whenever he's playing. the spurs will eventually reach a point when they realize they should not be winning as much and detour towards the tanking route. i think we are solid right now but there still remains a glaring hole at C behind nurk. he can't play 30 mpg + nightly and we can't sustain 18 mins with either winslow/eubanks at C. and there's an even bigger worry if nurk goes down with injury.

i would explore this trade in a few months just to bolster that C position:



yes we would be in the tax, but that should be a given for playoff teams.

 

[andalusian]

don't look now, but zach collins is quietly putting together some very solid stats/contributions whenever he's playing. the spurs will eventually reach a point when they realize they should not be winning as much and detour towards the tanking route. i think we are solid right now but there still remains a glaring hole at C behind nurk. he can't play 30 mpg + nightly and we can't sustain 18 mins with either winslow/eubanks at C. and there's an even bigger worry if nurk goes down with injury.

i would explore this trade in a few months just to bolster that C position:

View attachment 50441

yes we would be in the tax, but that should be a given for playoff teams.

I love z-co, but I am not ready to let go of keon yet. If anything, a nas z-co trade makes more sense to me unless you can't do it because of the recent extension

 

[illmatic99]

I love z-co, but I am not ready to let go of keon yet. If anything, a nas z-co trade makes more sense to me unless you can't do it because of the recent extension

i could be down for that exchange too. nas is trade eligible in january or so.

 

[blazerfan11]

"How the Trail Blazers are shutting down everyone's best plays"

The Portland Trail Blazers have made drastic strides in the defensive end this season. Especially defending after timeouts, going from 25th in 2021-2022 to currently ranking 2nd in the NBA in after-time-out Defense.

In the huddle most NBA coaches are used to facing man defense. The Trail Blazers mix this up by having two different calls.
Their zone call is fist where they hold a fist up, their man call is five, five fingers up.

 

[illmatic99]

Look at what Dame is reading:

 

[Idog1976]

Is Portland the best team in the West? **Checks standings** Yes!

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Discuss:

Top three in my opinion and will only get better.

We are best in West right now. Let’s stay there with a win tonight. We haven’t lost with Dame this year, not including the game in which he got hurt.

 

[tykendo]

Even after the loss tonight, where the Mavs were healthy, and we were missing a few KEY contributors, i feel the Blazers are playing like a top 5 team right now. Health is huge for every team, obviously. But this team has the makeup to do something very special. Go Blazers!

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Even after the loss tonight, where the Mavs were healthy, and we were missing a few KEY contributors, i feel the Blazers are playing like a top 5 team right now. Health is huge for every team, obviously. But this team has the makeup to do something very special. Go Blazers!

Yep

 

[KSF-ERIC]

1. Portland 9-4
2. Denver 9-4
3. Utah 10-5
4. Phoenix 8-4
5. Memphis 9-5
6. Dallas 6-5

It’s the same top 6 (in any order) as last year except we’ve replaced GS.

Who thought this could be true after a 6 game road trip?

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Even after the loss tonight, where the Mavs were healthy, and we were missing a few KEY contributors, i feel the Blazers are playing like a top 5 team right now. Health is huge for every team, obviously. But this team has the makeup to do something very special. Go Blazers!

Yep. We are a contender.

 

[blazerfan11]

Since Golden State isn't even a play-in team right now, yes the Trail Blazers are the best team in the Western Conference.