Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2, GAME 5: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - MAY 7, 2019 - TUESDAY, 7:30 PM, TNT

[BonesJones]

You too are also way outta your league with me.

Haha.

 

[oldmangrouch]

The ignorant part is you neglecting to notice how well the opponent is playing.

Serious answer: it's the play-offs. I expect every team to play well. More to the point, I expect every team to play hard.

 

[royo]

I can only hope that the players have my level of anger and embarrassment right now. They will need that fire to win any more games. But I hope they do because that would make it so sweet.

Yes they were. Aminu was wide open 4 fucking times.
CJ was wide open for huge threes 2 more times.
Kater missed point blank shots.
Harkless was fed wide open looks multiple times.

Your tired mantra of trying to look more intelligent than an NBA coach is boring at best.

Put Kanter out. He should stay home prepering for the next game. This was no brainer.

 

[BonesJones]

Wonder how this place will sound when this team comes back to Portland and ties the series.
Something tells me the Blazers are gonna do just that.

Well, if Stotts coaches the way he did tonight, it won't get tied up.
If Stotts coaches well I'll give him props. If he coaches poorly, I'll criticize him. That's how it's always been with me. Can't say the same about others.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Wonder how this place will sound when this team comes back to Portland and ties the series.
Something tells me the Blazers are gonna do just that.

I honestly think this series is kind of over, it seems like the Blazers hit their mental / physical limit and just have nothing in the tank. Would love to be wrong but my gut says this one even if it makes it to game 7 is kind of out of reach. Still a heck of a run without Nurkic and with Kanter playing with one arm.

 

[BonesJones]

I honestly think this series is kind of over, it seems like the Blazers hit their mental / physical limit and just have nothing in the tank. Would love to be wrong but my gut says this one even if it makes it to game 7 is kind of out of reach. Still a heck of a run without Nurkic and with Kanter playing with one arm.

Without Nurkic, I still think we have the more talented team than Denver. We have the best player, the best sidekick, the better #3, the better bench...

 

[oldmangrouch]

Just an observation.

The losses in games 1 and 4 were disappointing, but did not trigger the anger seen tonight. Some folks clearly don't understand the difference. I admit I don't know how to make it any clearer to them.

 

[Stumptown14]

There was some good hustle in the first half. And even though we were down i thought we still had a chance. By the middle of the third the body language of our guys wasn't looking good so i turned it off and it doesn't look like i missed much. If the nuggets end up advancing I'm gonna be rooting for them to beat golden state and take the title. There is no shame in losing to the eventual champions.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Well, if Stotts coaches the way he did tonight, it won't get tied up.
If Stotts coaches well I'll give him props. If he coaches poorly, I'll criticize him. That's how it's always been with me. Can't say the same about others.

Holy shit dude get over yourself.

 

[BonesJones]

Holy shit dude get over yourself.

Tell this to me in person Saturday when we ball.

 

[Natebishop3]

Just an observation.

The losses in games 1 and 4 were disappointing, but did not trigger the anger seen tonight. Some folks clearly don't understand the difference. I admit I don't know how to make it any clearer to them.

I think the reason why is because the game tonight felt like the sweep from last year. Completely outclassed.

 

[kjironman1]

"Harkless was fed wide open looks multiple times" - He was 2 for 3,

Yeah he shot 3
But he fumbled one and passed up a shot on another. This is after being in Foul trouble (Also Not Stotts Fault) and only played 7 mins in the first half.

You are not making any kind of reasonable argument trying to cherry pick the one guy (CJ) to make a point about shooting. Yes CJ was 2-5 from 3 -40%. That still isn't great. Very easily he could have been 3-5 or even 4-5 because his looks were good. The rest of the starters are 3-13. They did that also with good looks. I consider a Dame open 25-26 ft shot a good look. Lillard was 2-9..... What can i say?
Not gonna do this with you.
I don't want to waste my time picking through stats to argue with a guy that only wants to see things from a perspective that supports his narrative that he has gone all in on for far too long.
There is no winning this argument. For every Stat monkey percentage you want to pull up i guarantee you i can pull up one that will counter it because it's STATS.
I watched the game. The offense was fine. Shots didn't fall tonight. Free throws did not fall tonight. When players got in the game that made shots using the exact same offense the Nuggets had to put their starters back on the court.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Without Nurkic, I still think we have the more talented team than Denver. We have the best player, the best sidekick, the better #3, the better bench...

Its matchups. The only guy on our team left who is physically even sort of comparable to Jokic is Meyers, Kanter doesnt make it tough on him (to be fair he’s got one good arm..) Aminu / Harkless cant guard Milsap. So the paint has been dominated by their bigs because the Blazers dont match up. This has led to what feels like an infinite amount of offensive rebounds, but defensively they have to give so much attention to those two that their guards play 1v1, Its almost impossible in the NBA to play a guard 1v1 who can score, so Murray’s killed them. It all basically starts with our PF/C combination just cant stop it. Nurkic would be our answer, he could play Jokic straight up and he wouldnt get bullied. He’d make him work on both ends. The Blazers might have better bench pieces, but Bartons killed them in a couple games.

Nurkic makes a huge difference against a team like Denver. Not saying his health guarantees a win, but it sure changes a lot of things to me.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Tell this to me in person Saturday when we ball.

Will do.

 

[royo]

I didn't care for the laughing and smiling on the bench. Ya it's meaningless but we got our asses kicked and no one seemed to give a damn

CJ looked like he was dissappointed and embarased, at least at some point.

 

[BonesJones]

Its matchups. The only guy on our team left who is physically even sort of comparable to Jokic is Meyers, Kanter doesnt make it tough on him (to be fair he’s got one good arm..) Aminu / Harkless cant guard Milsap. So the paint has been dominated by their bigs because the Blazers dont match up. This has led to what feels like an infinite amount of offensive rebounds, but defensively they have to give so much attention to those two that their guards play 1v1, Its almost impossible in the NBA to play a guard 1v1 who can score, so Murray’s killed them. It all basically starts with our PF/C combination just cant stop it. Nurkic would be our answer, he could play Jokic straight up and he wouldnt get bullied. He’d make him work on both ends. The Blazers might have better bench pieces, but Bartons killed them in a couple games.

Nurkic makes a huge difference against a team like Denver. Not saying his health guarantees a win, but it sure changes a lot of things to me.

It's always an excuse. Last year it was "Oh, Aminu's shooting" when he shot 43% on three 3s a game. Defensively, sure, but Stotts needs to try something different on Millsap (Kanter was definitely not the answer). Try doubling, fronting and trying to intercept the over the top pass... Try something. It's his job to figure that out, not me.

The bigger issue I have is the offense getting shut down every postseason by the same defensive scheme. Last year it was "Anthony Davis"... Now it's... Nikola Jokic? 6'8 Paul Millsap?Seriously?

 

[MightyMouseOps1]

One thing that was clear when the bench players came in is we need more ball movement. The bench moved the ball much more effectively and as a result got better looks. The bench also did a much better job setting screens to free the ballhandler on ball screens.

On defense Stotts is a complete idiot if he does not change the starting lineup. Milsap and jokic are destroying kanter and aminu. Zach has to play big minutes guarding Milsap and Aminu will be more effective subbing in for harkless and guarding Murray than getting a steady dose of Milsap.

 

[BonesJones]

Yeah he shot 3
But he fumbled one and passed up a shot on another. This is after being in Foul trouble (Also Not Stotts Fault) and only played 7 mins in the first half.

You are not making any kind of reasonable argument trying to cherry pick the one guy (CJ) to make a point about shooting. Yes CJ was 2-5 from 3 -40%. That still isn't great. Very easily he could have been 3-5 or even 4-5 because his looks were good. The rest of the starters are 3-13. They did that also with good looks. I consider a Dame open 25-26 ft shot a good look. Lillard was 2-9..... What can i say?
Not gonna do this with you.
I don't want to waste my time picking through stats to argue with a guy that only wants to see things from a perspective that supports his narrative that he has gone all in on for far too long.
There is no winning this argument. For every Stat monkey percentage you want to pull up i guarantee you i can pull up one that will counter it because it's STATS.
I watched the game. The offense was fine. Shots didn't fall tonight. Free throws did not fall tonight. When players got in the game that made shots using the exact same offense the Nuggets had to put their starters back on the court.

BS. I just gave Stotts a ton of props for the first 7 games of this post-season. When have you ever criticized him? EXACTLY. Bye.

 

[BonesJones]

How much do we have to lose by for these guys to criticize Stotts (even just a little bit)… 60? 70? 200?

 

[Jade Falcon]

Its matchups. The only guy on our team left who is physically even sort of comparable to Jokic is Meyers, Kanter doesnt make it tough on him (to be fair he’s got one good arm..) Aminu / Harkless cant guard Milsap. So the paint has been dominated by their bigs because the Blazers dont match up. This has led to what feels like an infinite amount of offensive rebounds, but defensively they have to give so much attention to those two that their guards play 1v1, Its almost impossible in the NBA to play a guard 1v1 who can score, so Murray’s killed them. It all basically starts with our PF/C combination just cant stop it. Nurkic would be our answer, he could play Jokic straight up and he wouldnt get bullied. He’d make him work on both ends. The Blazers might have better bench pieces, but Bartons killed them in a couple games.

Nurkic makes a huge difference against a team like Denver. Not saying his health guarantees a win, but it sure changes a lot of things to me.

I'm not sure about that. Denver was 3-1 against us in the regular season, and the last game they played against us, Nurk got straight up outplayed and embarrassed by Jock Itch. To be fair, I think he took the game too personally, because of their history. But still.....3-1.

I think we need to face the fact that Denver is just a better all-around team. They have an even balance of talent. We have Dame, Nurk.....and then a fall-off. A BIG fall off. CJ shows up sometimes, but not consistently to even that out.

 

[kjironman1]

what gives you that impression?

I am psychic
Also Kanter is on the second day of Ramadan. By Thursday his body will have started to settle on the cycle. He will be on the fourth full day. Aminu as well.
Feelings?

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I'm not sure about that. Denver was 3-1 against us in the regular season, and the last game they played against us, Nurk got straight up outplayed and embarrassed by Jock Itch. To be fair, I think he took the game too personally, because of their history. But still.....3-1.

I think we need to face the fact that Denver is just a better all-around team. They have an even balance of talent. We have Dame, Nurk.....and then a fall-off. A BIG fall off. CJ shows up sometimes, but not consistently to even that out.

OKC was 4-0 against the Blazers in the regular season that seemed to be important...

Denver may be a better team overall.

 

[Natebishop3]

Evan Turner was supposed to be our Paul Millsap.

Narrator: He wasn't.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

How much do we have to lose by for these guys to criticize Stotts (even just a little bit)… 60? 70? 200?

Yeah cause Ive definitely never criticized Stotts...

 

[BonesJones]

Yeah cause Ive definitely never criticized Stotts...

Not referring to you, sorry.

 

[BonesJones]

Evan Turner was supposed to be our Paul Millsap.

Narrator: He wasn't.

Playing him at PF in Game 5 to guard Paul Millsap and Aminu at C guarding Jokic after 3 straight games of terrible defensive rebounding.

Priceless.

 

[Jade Falcon]

Evan Turner was supposed to be our Paul Millsap.

Narrator: He wasn't.

......not sure who besides Neil Olshey thought Evan Turner was anything like Millsap......

 

[oldmangrouch]

I think the reason why is because the game tonight felt like the sweep from last year. Completely outclassed.

Exactly. This wasn't just another loss. For 4 games the teams seemed well matched - then tonight it all went to pieces.

 

[kjironman1]

Well, if Stotts coaches the way he did tonight, it won't get tied up.
If Stotts coaches well I'll give him props. If he coaches poorly, I'll criticize him. That's how it's always been with me. Can't say the same about others.

The only time you ever give him "Props" is if the team wins and you have no other option because people on this board will shut you straight down.
A coach can coach a good game and have a great game plan and still lose. But i understand you cannot quite see that yet.
A person doing anything can do something correct. They can make the right decisions and still not be successful every time. It's called Life on Life's terms. Coaches are human. They must deal with all the same issues everyone else does.

 

[kjironman1]

......not sure who besides Neil Olshey thought Evan Turner was anything like Millsap......

All you have to do to figure that out is read the thread about acquiring him. It's quite revealing to say the least.