Kinda over Stotts

[Schilly]

Everyone know I lean apologist, but watching the complete befuddlement with Stott's ability to figure out a rotation has got me to the "it's time to move on" point.

Every team wants a long 3 and D guy at the SF .... Add Aminu's 3pt shooting this season (even last season) and you have exactly that mold, a long 3 and D player. But's he's playing PF?

In the current starting lineup CJ and Turner both need to handle the ball to create space to score but we have a really solid Pick and Roll combo in Dame and Nurkic. Even when CJ catches the ball with time running out he has to make a move to shoot.

Dame get's injured so instead of inserting our backup PG into the lineup we insert our 3rd string SF and slide our SG to PG and SF to SG.... That lasted for 8 minutes then the next 2 games Shabazz started and played really well. Then Dame came back and our Backup C who has been making good progress for a 19 year old kid goes from consistent minutes, going to before Dame was hurt, to garbage minutes.

Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately.

The rotations just simply have me scratching my head, to my fans eye they seem jacked up and the stats are kinda supporting my eye. Sorry if someone already had a thread about this, I've been away a couple weeks and was too lazy to search.

 

[riverman]

Everyone know I lean apologist, but watching the complete befuddlement with Stott's ability to figure out a rotation has got me to the "it's time to move on" point.

Every team wants a long 3 and D guy at the SF .... Add Aminu's 3pt shooting this season (even last season) and you have exactly that mold, a long 3 and D player. But's he's playing PF?

In the current starting lineup CJ and Turner both need to handle the ball to create space to score but we have a really solid Pick and Roll combo in Dame and Nurkic. Even when CJ catches the ball with time running out he has to make a move to shoot.

Dame get's injured so instead of inserting our backup PG into the lineup we insert our 3rd string SF and slide our SG to PG and SF to SG.... That lasted for 8 minutes then the next 2 games Shabazz started and played really well. Then Dame came back and our Backup C who has been making good progress for a 19 year old kid goes from consistent minutes, going to before Dame was hurt, to garbage minutes.

Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately.

The rotations just simply have me scratching my head, to my fans eye they seem jacked up and the stats are kinda supporting my eye. Sorry if someone already had a thread about this, I've been away a couple weeks and was too lazy to search.

you make some valid points Schilly.....that and Stotts is clearly frustrated...his interviews are getting a bit shaky recently. Sort of like a coach that knows major changes are around the corner....I think roster more than anything but maybe he's on the chopping block?

 

[tester551]

Welcome to the club.

 

[Five Second Violation]

His sudden refusal to play Vonleh now that he's actually earned minutes is one of the dumber developments of the season.

 

[Driew]

Vonleh is hurt so that's why he's not playing. I too was confused as fuck why Collins only got garbage minutes. I've noticed that our defense does even better with Collins he just knows where to be it seems.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Poorly built roster + average coach = predictable result. I'm definitely not opposed to firing Stotts, but he's about 35% of the problem (and probably not part of any long-term solution).

 

[Strenuus]

Vonleh is hurt so that's why he's not playing. I too was confused as fuck why Collins only got garbage minutes. I've noticed that our defense does even better with Collins he just knows where to be it seems.

If Vonleh is hurt and still getting garbage minutes, then what the fuck is up with Meyers?!

 

[Schilly]

Poorly built roster + average coach = predictable result. I'm definitely not opposed to firing Stotts, but he's about 35% of the problem (and probably not part of any long-term solution).

I agree some of it is roster, but for the most part he's not even using the roster he has right. I don't know I'm just a fan but it sure seems like a rotation of

PG Dame - Napier
SG CJ - Connaughton
SF Aminu - Turner
PF Vonleh - Collins
C Nurkic - Davis

Would be far better night in night out than the hodgepodge rotation he has been using. I will give him a little bit of a pass on Harkless since he went MIA this season, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out as every player is pretty much a capable NBA player.

 

[Five Second Violation]

Vonleh is hurt so that's why he's not playing. I too was confused as fuck why Collins only got garbage minutes. I've noticed that our defense does even better with Collins he just knows where to be it seems.

Vonleh dislocated his finger on December 22 against Denver. Prior to that he had played a combined 24 minutes over the previous five games, two of which were DNP-CD.

Since then, he was inactive for two games due to the injury and then cleared to play on the 30th. In those three games since his return to the active list, he has played 3 minutes in a blowout loss, had a DNP-CD, and then played garbage minutes last night against Cleveland.

Clearly the finger injury isn't the reason for his benching, since he had already fallen out of the rotation prior to that and he has now been healthy for 3 games and still has yet to return to receiving regular minutes.

 

[julius]

Welcome to the bandwagon. No jumping off

 

[tester551]

I agree some of it is roster, but for the most part he's not even using the roster he has right. I don't know I'm just a fan but it sure seems like a rotation of

PG Dame - Napier
SG CJ - Connaughton
SF Aminu - Turner
PF Vonleh - Collins
C Nurkic - Davis

Would be far better night in night out than the hodgepodge rotation he has been using. I will give him a little bit of a pass on Harkless since he went MIA this season, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out as every player is pretty much a capable NBA player.

I'm seeing the same thing as you. I'd probably cut Pat out of the rotation as well, just to get a solid 9 players. 10 players is a bit too much IMO.

 

[tester551]

Poorly built roster + average coach = predictable result. I'm definitely not opposed to firing Stotts, but he's about 35% of the problem (and probably not part of any long-term solution).

I agree with this as well. He's not the solution long term.
I don't think changing coaches will magically make this team a contender, but I'd sure like to see Dame & Co play under the direction of another coach before making significant changes.

 

[Blazers Roy]

I like Aminu defending in the paint more than i like him guarding quick perimeter players.
Maybe it's because his movement is kinda awkward, but his lateral movement\quickness seems rather slow.

On offense he plays PF to space the floor for Nurk and find himself more open for 3 point shoots.

I think that's the reasoning for playing him at the 4.


I have always liked Vonleh at starting PF.

 

[Driew]

Vonleh dislocated his finger on December 22 against Denver. Prior to that he had played a combined 24 minutes over the previous five games, two of which were DNP-CD.

Since then, he was inactive for two games due to the injury and then cleared to play on the 30th. In those three games since his return to the active list, he has played 3 minutes in a blowout loss, had a DNP-CD, and then played garbage minutes last night against Cleveland.

Clearly the finger injury isn't the reason for his benching, since he had already fallen out of the rotation prior to that and he has now been healthy for 3 games and still has yet to return to receiving regular minutes.

No you are correct. If anything I think the team is hiding Vonleh so that hopefully his contract isn't too bad come this summer. We're clearly showcasing our vets to maybe get a second round pick here and there at the trade deadline to get below the salary cap. If we're winning big we'll keep our vets like Aminu/Davis--but if we're still struggling I'm sure we'll trade them before just letting them walk this offseason.

 

[Scalma]

His sudden refusal to play Vonleh now that he's actually earned minutes is one of the dumber developments of the season.

I think they’re just showcasing other guys for a trade, or trying to keep trade pieces healthy. There’s really no other explanation because Vonleh was playing well. I expect this roster to look a bit different in a month.

 

[Scalma]

Since were airing our grievances, I got some too, some already mentioned.

1. Aminu. I agree, he should be playing SF with Vonleh and Collins sharing time at PF.

2. CJ is not a point, and will never be one, yet we’re on what, year three of the experiment? He should never run the offense, and I mean literally never.

3. Short leashes. Stotts rotations and lineups this season have been all over the place, with no continuity at all. Guys playing two minutes, guys getting benched for no real reason, etc. I’m willing to throw him a bone here though, because of what I said in my above post.

4. Robot rotations. Probably my biggest problem. No matter how good or bad a guy is playing, when the clock hits a certain point, bye. This applies to the regulars.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Litterally every single person in the world sees that Aminu should start at SF with a PF rotation of Vonleh-Collins

Except, you guessed it, our beloved coach

 

[Scalma]

Litterally every single person in the world sees that Aminu should start at SF with a PF rotation of Vonleh-Collins

Except, you guessed it, our beloved coach

It’s annoying because we’ll see Aminu get overpowered by traditional fours yet Stotts makes no adjustment. I’d get if he didn’t think Collins was ready (kinda) but Vonleh is built and ready to defend every PF in the league.

 

[TBpup]

Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately.

@Schilly ...that is one of the bigger confoundments for me as well. Vonleh was the starting PF for our best stretch last year (14--6) and 8-3 this year when he gets more than 20 minutes.....not Rocket science. The Blazers play better when he is playing...period. He is the best big perimeter defender (I don't count Aminu as a big since he is only 220 lbs), he attacks the offense, gives a good outlet for Nurkic and for dump offs from the guards and finishes with emphatic dunks. His shooting was getting better as well as he got more rhythm and confidence.

A real head scratcher.

 

[riverman]

Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately.

@Schilly ...that is one of the bigger confoundments for me as well. Vonleh was the starting PF for our best stretch last year (14--6) and 8-3 this year when he gets more than 20 minutes.....not Rocket science. The Blazers play better when he is playing...period. He is the best big perimeter defender (I don't count Aminu as a big since he is only 220 lbs), he attacks the offense, gives a good outlet for Nurkic and for dump offs from the guards and finishes with emphatic dunks. His shooting was getting better as well as he got more rhythm and confidence.

A real head scratcher.

Being traded?

 

[WillG]

I've never been a fan of Stotts' system (Been wanting a change for a few years now). He Does seems like a good guy.
He's had a very generous tenure by NBA standards, however when does enough become enough?

We're playing very mediocre. Look at the guys during timeouts - they look spaced out, and not engaged. A whole bunch were looking into the crowd that last game.
Everytime I look at the starting lineups (that Darkwing displays in his excellent game threads) I think we really have a good chance against most teams rosters.
But the effort on the court, the execution and the commitment is just not there. Decision making is flat out lazy and our body language is terrible.
This roster could be playing MUCH better than it is.

Either Terry is just not as good as his reputation or the players ( a roster of good guys right - they'll do the right thing) are lazy and/or tuning out the coach. I think it's a little of all.

This team needs a new coach either way. Even if there is massive roster overhaul you'll still see anemic play in the post, very little development from our front court players and terrible effort/execution - there is very little downside to replacing Stotts at this point.

 

[JDC]

We complain about our offense, but now people want to throw out an Aminu-Vonleh-Nurkic frontline...lord.

There's a reason we haven't seen that alignment at all this year. I don't think you guys understand how ugly that would look offensively. The reason Aminu isn't a disaster offensively is the space he's provided to shoot going up against traditional PF's.

I'm all for trying things but until we can get more skill on the floor at the 4 and/or 5 position, Aminu at the 3 is not a long term solution.

Basically, this roster isn't balanced/skilled/good enough yet to where we aren't having to take a bunch off the table on one side of the floor w/ any one alignment.

It's why we are just a meh team overall.

 

[Labinot41]

We complain about our offense, but now people want to throw out an Aminu-Vonleh-Nurkic frontline...lord.

There's a reason we haven't seen that alignment at all this year. I don't think you guys understand how ugly that would look offensively. The reason Aminu isn't a disaster offensively is the space he's provided to shoot going up against traditional PF's.

I'm all for trying things but until we can get more skill on the floor at the 4 and/or 5 position, Aminu at the 3 is not a long term solution.

Basically, this roster isn't balanced/skilled/good enough yet to where we aren't having to take a bunch off the table on one side of the floor w/ any one alignment.

It's why we are just a meh team overall.

Our starting line up during Nurkfever last Year was Dame-CJ-Moe-Noah-Nurkic and we had a top 10 Offense and top 10 defense, so why we shouldn't bring that line up back and put Aminu at the 3 instead of Moe? Or Maybe Turner at the 3 who is playing good the last few Games and Aminu coming of the bench? I think Aminu is same productive at the 3, his only Job on Offense is Shooting 3s, our bench would also be Stronger. If im Stotts that's my rotation

PG: Dame 36/Napier 12
SG: CJ 36/ Pat 12
SF: ET 26/ Aminu 22
PF: Vonleh 28/ Collins 20
C: Nurkic 30/ Davis 18

But fucker Stotts is to stupid to see

 

[Labinot41]

Sounds weird but maybe Zach gives hin Confidence on Offense, when Zach has the Ball and in good Position, he is Not afraid to Shoot even he's Rookie. So Maybe if vonleh saw him Shooting he says: "fuck it im doing the same now". If vonleh hopefully is starting to play again i like to See him taking some shots, his midrange Game is so underrated

 

[Mediocre Man]

You don't think rotations are a product of a flawed roster?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Sounds weird but maybe Zach gives hin Confidence on Offense, when Zach has the Ball and in good Position, he is Not afraid to Shoot even he's Rookie. So Maybe if vonleh saw him Shooting he says: "fuck it im doing the same now". If vonleh hopefully is starting to play again i like to See him taking some shots, his midrange Game is so underrated

Vonleh could easily miss as much as Collins, why not?

 

[Orion Bailey]

Sounds weird but maybe Zach gives hin Confidence on Offense, when Zach has the Ball and in good Position, he is Not afraid to Shoot even he's Rookie. So Maybe if vonleh saw him Shooting he says: "fuck it im doing the same now". If vonleh hopefully is starting to play again i like to See him taking some shots, his midrange Game is so underrated

He can hit the 3 too.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately.

@Schilly ...that is one of the bigger confoundments for me as well. Vonleh was the starting PF for our best stretch last year (14--6) and 8-3 this year when he gets more than 20 minutes.....not Rocket science. The Blazers play better when he is playing...period. He is the best big perimeter defender (I don't count Aminu as a big since he is only 220 lbs), he attacks the offense, gives a good outlet for Nurkic and for dump offs from the guards and finishes with emphatic dunks. His shooting was getting better as well as he got more rhythm and confidence.

A real head scratcher.

Maybe Neil told Stotts that Vonleh isn't being re-signed?

 

[Labinot41]

Maybe Neil told Stotts that Vonleh isn't being re-signed?

Or Maybe he get's his playing Time back when Davis is tradet at the Deadline. We could also try this line up After the All Star break:

PG: Dame 36/ Napier 12
SG: CJ 36/ Pat 12
SF: ET 28/ Harkless 20
PF: Noah 26/ Aminu 22
C: Nurkic 30/ Collins 18

Our starting 5 would be the same, Aminu coming from the bench and still playing at the 4, and all bench Players could hit the 3 and Aminu and Harkless can Switch anything on Defense

 

[Labinot41]

And also Remember how often the opponent PF got hot because Aminu could not defend him because he was to small and to skinny. Aldridge is a good example.