JAKE LAYMAN!

[Scalma]

Better to play well for sure, but Fabio's stats looked good also, and he is less than good

My excitement about Layman since summer league had nothing to do with stats (not even sure what his SL stats were, probably nothing special) and everything to do with his skill set. To me, we got a lottery talent in the second round.

The next step is to see if he can translate his game with more meaningful minutes.

Blazers fans should be excited though. You don't see college seniors with as much untapped potential too often.

 

[KingSpeed]

I really think we should be starting. How many people have to get hurt for that to happen? Or give him Turner's minutes.

 

[BBert]

Yes, in the regular season Layman has only played in two blowout losses. This is true. I think people are excited because of the eye test. Every time I've seen him in preseason and in those blowouts, he's looked fluid, athletic, under control, and smart, his shot is fluid and automatic, and he can score in many ways. I haven't been impressed with his defense (NBA defense is hard), but on offense he's clearly a gem. The real challenge offensively is when other teams scout for you. Let's give them that chance and see what happens.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

Lillard
Cj
Layman
Harkless
Plumlee

Make it happen neil. he's the new harkless. they are now tied for guy im rooting for to make it big.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Who says he has to start to get minutes? That is jumping the gun a bit. Just entering the rotation is enough for now.

 

[BBert]

Who says he has to start to get minutes? That is jumping the gun a bit. Just entering the rotation is enough for now.

Yeah, I would definitely not start Layman, LOL.

Unless it's to send a message. Cause Stotts is such a hard ass.

But I'd also find him more minutes, just to test the waters.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Lillard
Cj
Layman
Harkless
Plumlee

Make it happen neil. he's the new Harkless. they are now tied for guy im rooting for to make it big.

Sorry but Hark is not a four. You think interior D is an issue now, or opponents points in the paint?

We will get smashed with that lineup consistently.

 

[Mediocre Man]

My excitement about Layman since summer league had nothing to do with stats (not even sure what his SL stats were, probably nothing special) and everything to do with his skill set. To me, we got a lottery talent in the second round.

The next step is to see if he can translate his game with more meaningful minutes.

Blazers fans should be excited though. You don't see college seniors with as much untapped potential too often.

I liked his skill set on SL also. Would love to see him with good teammates vs better players

 

[jlprk]

Stotts should try Snake Bite at the SG position. He'd have the height advantage on defense, like when he guards Chris Paul.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Jake has good size for a small forward. 6'8" (6.9.25" with shoes)

That is basically 3 inches taller than Crabbe. Yet AC makes up for it with a longer wing span and a longer standing reach. (By about 2") They weigh the same.

I don't have a point here....I was curious so I looked it up.

 

[Scalma]

I liked his skill set on SL also. Would love to see him with good teammates vs better players

This is probably the best argument as to why he should start. His game compliments our starters (doesn't need plays run for him but still spreads the floor) and would allow Crabbe to stick with the second unit.

 

[selloutking]

but out side of cj the second unit isn't scoring. so if he worked his way up into the second unit and started scoring for them that might be a better spot anyway.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

Sorry but Hark is not a four. You think interior D is an issue now, or opponents points in the paint?

We will get smashed with that lineup consistently.

nothing can stop harkless

 

[Sinobas]

Let's start a protest!!!! Or maybe we can go lay in the street until Stotts agrees to play him more.

 

[julius]

Let's start a protest!!!! Or maybe we can go lay in the street until Stotts agrees to play him more.

Let's use the logic of the idiots who rioted last night, and tear down the Moda Center! That'll show them!

 

[TBpup]

nothing can stop harkless

Harkless has shot the ball much better this year. 51/39/86. That is quite good and you wish he could get some more shots if he is shooting that well. The problem is Aminu is at 28/25/53 which makes him a complete liability on offense so far. Combine Aminu with Plumlee not being a threat and you have a very distinct disadvantage in the front court.

Going small is fine if you have players that can shoot and handle but 40% of the Blazers starting lineup can't do that at all. So then the disadvantage on offense rolls over to the defense where you are consistently out-sized, out-muscles and out rebounded.

Portland's leading rebounder is Aminu at 6.6 Here is how that compares to the other 7 teams currently ranked in the way-to-early Playoff race.

Clippers: Jordan 11.6, Griffin 10.1. (CP3 gets almost as many as Aminu at 5.8)
Warriors: Green 10.4, Durant 7.8 (Pachulia very close at 5.8)
Thunder: Adams 8.5, Westbrook 8.3, Kanter 6.5
Rockets: Harden 7.8, Capela 7.4, Anderson 6.6
Spurs:::: Gasol 6.8, Aldridge 6.6 (Leonard and Dedmon chip in with 5.6)
Jazz::::: Gobert 10.3, Favors, 7.5, Haywood 6.3
Lakers :: Deng 6.3

So every team but the Lakers has at least 2 players that get as many or more rebounds than Aminu and some have a very close third. That puts Portland at a pretty big disadvantage on a nightly basis especially against the better teams.

Wins:
Jazz: 5-4 (Home) Jazz missing 2 starters and a key bench player.
Nuggets: 3-5 (Away) Denver with one of the biggest meltdowns in the final minute you'll see all season.
Mavs: 2-6 (Away) No Bogut and Nowitzki only played 16 minutes. They better have won that game.
Grizzlies: 4-4 (Away) Best win of the season so far.
Suns: 3-6 (Home) Barely beat a bad Suns team. 2 nail-biters against a team you should be blowing out.


Losses:
Clippers: 7-1 (Home) They are just the much better team right now.
Warriors: 7-2 (Home) Warriors not as good as last (yet) because they have no size. Neither does Portland so it's actually worse for the Blazers.
Suns: 3-6 (Away) Bad loss to a bad team.
Clippers: 7-1 (Away) A complete embarrassment. A 40+ point deficit heading into the 4th quarter.

So Portland is beating the bad teams for the most part but not competitive with the good teams as of yet. Last year it seemed they played up to the level of their competition much better for the most part.

Did too many players get paid this last off-season?

 

[Orion Bailey]

Let's use the logic of the idiots who rioted last night, and tear down the Moda Center! That'll show them!

I swear to god if they delay/deny my commute to the game tonight you might not see me for a while I will be making citizens arrests and might get my ass beat down for it, but I don't care.

They are breaking the law. God forbid a guy is driving his wife to the hospital who is in labor or something.
These fucking idiots should be shot with bean bags and tossed in jail!!!!
And I voted for Hilary!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TBpup]

I swear to god if they delay/deny my commute to the game tonight you might not see me for a while I will be making citizens arrests and might get my ass beat down for it, but I don't care.

They are breaking the law. God forbid a guy is driving his wife to the hospital who is in labor or something.
These fucking idiots should be shot with bean bags and tossed in jail!!!!
And I voted for Hilary!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is somewhat ironic how intolerant they are being because they don't like Trump's....intolerance. Can you imagine the outrage if it were Romney protesters against Obama or Trump protesters if Hillary had won?

I spoke with one of the protesters yesterday and he really couldn't give me an informed reason as to why he was protesting. I get that whichever side loses is frustrated or upset but this making it worse, not better.

 

[Blazers Roy]

I don't understand why Jake is so comfortable on the court.
He's open? "pass me the fucking ball, Meyers" *shoots* .
two guys on him while he drives to the basket? *passes to the man behind him for the open 3*.

Aminu open for 3? *gets the ball--->jabs--->fakes the shot---->decides to shoot it*
Aminu gets double teamed while he drives? *thinks about passing---> feels like it's impossible--->decides to do a eurostep into a poor photographer*.

 

[Orion Bailey]

It is somewhat ironic how intolerant they are being because they don't like Trump's....intolerance. Can you imagine the outrage if it were Romney protesters against Obama or Trump protesters if Hillary had won?

I spoke with one of the protesters yesterday and he really couldn't give me an informed reason as to why he was protesting. I get that whichever side loses is frustrated or upset but this making it worse, not better.

Comes down to this. Two wrongs do NOT make a Right.

Its hypocrisy. Blatant hypocrisy.

 

[blue9]

Can you imagine the outrage if it were ... Trump protesters if Hillary had won?

Well, that's exactly what his supporters - and Republican politicians - were saying the WOULD do if she won. And they would have done it with guns.

I think the destruction of property is absolutely stupid and uncalled for. And I don't get the point of shutting down streets/freeways. But I absolutely understand the anger and discontent and desire to display those emotions. But let's not pretend that it's a problem with "crazy liberals" when the same thing would be happening on a much more serious scale if the tables were turned. I mean, the "winners" of the election have been destroying property! Racial epithets and swastikas are being spray painted throughout the middle of the country, peoples cars are being smashed simply because of the color of the car owner's skin.

 

[Scalma]

Another good game. This time in meaningful minutes. We know he can shoot but his defensive potential is impressing me. He can move laterally and had some really good defensive possessions tonight, specifically against Gay. Of course he also made some mistakes but that's expected. His all around potential is actually pretty filthy. I bet he could even develop into a decent ball handler. He also has a decent post up game we haven't even seen yet.

 

[KingSpeed]

Another good game. This time in meaningful minutes. We know he can shoot but his defensive potential is impressing me. He can move laterally and had some really good defensive possessions tonight, specifically against Gay. Of course he also made some mistakes but that's expected. His all around potential is actually pretty filthy. I bet he could even develop into a decent ball handler. He also has a decent post up game we haven't even seen yet.

Yep. He looked very comfortable on both sides of the court. More minutes for Layman, please.

 

[B-Roy]

Biggest compliment I can give him is that he looks like a basketball player. Always seems to know the right thing to do.

 

[julius]

Against their bench (and some starters) he looked like he belonged. A little timid, but considering they didn't really run much through him, it's hard to get a really good read on him.

I did like what I saw, and hope he continues to show promise.

sarcasm

He definitely makes Damian expendable, and is untouchable.

/sarcasm

 

[Pinwheel1]

Too bad he had that 3 pt basket wiped away on a suspect offensive foul away from the ball.

 

[Darkwebs]

The guy that Layman could eventually make expandable is Crabbe. Crabbe has more value around the league than our other "tradeable" pieces and could be the key to someone like Noel.

Is this another Raymond Felton situation?

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Against their bench (and some starters) he looked like he belonged. A little timid, but considering they didn't really run much through him, it's hard to get a really good read on him.

I did like what I saw, and hope he continues to show promise.

sarcasm

He definitely makes Damian expendable, and is untouchable.

/sarcasm

 

[mook]

He kind of reminds me of a rookie Tayshaun Prince. Same kind of build, similarly unheralded, same kind of unremarkable-yet-competent offensive game, complimentary role player who just kind of fits in at the small forward position. Hard to say he has Prince's defensive instincts with so few minutes, but he didn't seem like a total fuck up, which is a good sign for a second round rookie in his first real minutes against a pretty accomplished SF in Gay.

 

[Sarni]

He was fine yesterday, I like how comfortable he looks out there. He is not quite there yet but we got him for next to nothing and nobody even gave him much thought in the Summer and he looks like the best of the new three signings - Ezeli is not there at all, Turner has been bad and Layman has shown glimpses of quality.