Kevin Pelton's player profiles

[PtldPlatypus]

Any ESPN insiders out there want to give some insight on what Pelton says about our guys?

http://espn.go.com/nba/preview2015/...431804/portland-trail-blazers-player-profiles

 

[Natebishop3]

I have no idea why anyone would pay for that crap. I had free access many moons ago, and it never seemed worth it.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I have no idea why anyone would pay for that crap. I had free access many moons ago, and it never seemed worth it.

Well, obviously I don't, but I figure someone in here probably does. If so, and they choose to use it for our benefit, I'll be grateful

 

[santeesioux]

I have no idea why anyone would pay for that crap. I had free access many moons ago, and it never seemed worth it.

Yeah, and if you really care that much DiscountMags regularly has the awful espn magazine on sale for like 5 bucks for a year which I believe gets you access to their shitty insider shit for a year.

 

[BrianFromWA]

It's a pretty good article...not a ton of new stuff if you scour our board, but a really good synopsis of the team going forward. He has starters as: Dame/CJ/Aminu/Leonard/Plumlee.

Some tidbits:

Portland has surrounded Lillard with pick-and-roll big men capable of drawing defensive attention. That makes sense given nobody in the NBA scored more points as a pick-and-roll ball handler than Lillard last season, according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats.

. As I've said before, this is one of the things I'm most stoked about this season. None of our bigs takes the mid-range J. They roll hard to the hoop or (Vonleh/Leonard) pop for the 3. We should get many more points per P&R possession this year than last, whether it's a defender going under the pick and giving Dame more open looks at 3, or blowing by a guy to a mid-range J if the defender follows the roller, or passing off in a double-team to willing passers in paint or guys that can finish.

McCollum has all the tools to be an effective offensive shooting guard. That starts with 3-point range, and McCollum shot 39.6 percent while attempting almost 40 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He can be effective with the ball in his hands, too, and frequently ran the offense in college. McCollum may get some chance to play point guard with the second unit this season, but he's struggled in his rare minutes there, turning the ball over when trying to split traps and looking too frequently for his own shot. McCollum is better as a secondary ball handler who can relieve pressure on Lillard

I disagree a bit with this. I think that you're hurting yourself defensively (based on what we've seen previously--who knows how much they've improved) by having Dame and CJ in the same backcourt. Maybe CJ's game develops to the point that his offense covers his defensive holes, and Aminu being able to guard the Hardens of the world can help. But in general, a Dame/CJ backcourt for a bunch of minutes kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies.

The fundamental problem with Aminu's development as a small forward has always been his poor shooting...(u)nfortunately, Aminu isn't much of a cutter either, so most of his half-court offense comes in catch-and-shoot situations. (Aminu is an excellent transition player, and will benefit if Portland pushes the pace more this season.) It's worth finding a way to keep Aminu on the court because of his defense. A wiry yet strong 6-foot-9, he's got an ideal frame for a small forward. He got the assignment of defending Harden for Dallas in the postseason, but Aminu isn't ideally cast as a stopper. Because of his excellent shot-blocking (he blocked at a rate better than the average center last season) and activity, he's best as a help defender. Aminu also rebounds like a power forward

. See above. Agree with him being a help defender, but if he's playing wing guys we don't have the luxury (unless Crabbe and Harkless break out) of weakening our weakest position to have Aminu drop to PF do be a good help defender.

According to SportVU data parsed by Seth Partnow of Nylon Calculus, more than 70 percent of Leonard's 3s were "open" (no defender closer than three feet), the league's seventh-highest rate among players with at least 100 attempts. Leonard took advantage: He shot 42.0 percent beyond the arc, and while he didn't technically qualify, Leonard posted the NBA's lone 50-40-90 season, shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 93.8 percent (30-of-32) from the free throw line. Leonard does have a bit of a slow release, something he'll have to improve as defenders stay near, but when the Grizzlies started doing that in the playoffs it opened up driving lanes for the Blazers' guards.

I'm repeating myself again, but many of Leonard's shots were wide-open because he didn't shoot if the shot was contested. I don't see that changing a bunch. If he's contested he's a more-than-willing and proficient passer, and should get more than his share of assists this year if/when defenders come out on him.

Plumlee will now battle Ed Davis and Chris Kaman for the starting center job in Portland. The Blazers likely see Plumlee as a pick-and-roll partner for Lillard. Last season, Plumlee shot 61.1 percent as a roll man, which ranked 12th among players with at least 50 attempts, according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats. He rolls hard to the basket, and though he had some trouble catching the ball on the move last season, Plumlee can out-jump opponents to finish above the rim. Just don't expect anything else on offense. More than three-quarters of Plumlee's career baskets have come within three feet, per Basketball-Reference.com... He'll block the occasional shot, but last season opponents made 55.5 percent of their attempts within five feet with Plumlee as a primary defender -- the third-worst mark among players who defended at least five such shots per game, according to SportVU tracking on NBA.com/Stats...On the plus side, Plumlee is more mobile than Portland predecessor Robin Lopez, giving Stotts more flexibility in defending pick-and-rolls.

There's some good stuff in the rest of the article about the reserves, but again, not a lot of new stuff of the guys we don't know much about. Yes, Pat's a baseball player 3-and-D guy. Yes, Alexander was a top 5 prospect. Yes, Montero went to CC and not college.

 

[jlprk]

Great post, Brian. A great future awaits you, after you retire and join us hippies.

 

[Denny Crane]

Projected starters:

Dame, CJ, Aminu, Leonard, Plumlee.

Vonleh:


He's got a long ways to go, but in some ways Vonleh's inside-outside potential resembles Aldridge's game. He demonstrated NBA 3-point range during this year's Las Vegas Summer League, shooting 5-of-10 beyond the arc. Facing the basket on offense also allows Vonleh to use his quickness to beat slower power forwards off the dribble as he sharpens his handle. One key area of improvement for Vonleh is his finishing over bigger defenders. He shot just 47.1 percent inside three feet, per Basketball-Reference.com, and had 14.5 percent of his shot attempts blocked.

 

[jlprk]

Nice try, Denny. Competing with Brian brings out the best in you.

 

[RR7]

sent it to you

 

[Draco]

It was a good piece by Pelton. He's knowledgeable about our team and has an interesting analysis of it.