Portland, Leveraging Mo Williams

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland's killer offense isn't quite as killer during the minutes Williams and Damian Lillard share the floor, per NBA.com, but it's still damn good. Portland always has a ton of shooting, and Terry Stotts leverages that shooting and Williams's all-around skills in very smart ways. Take the play unfolding here against the Clippers:

Williams has just rocketed off a LaMarcus Aldridge screen on the left side and curled into the middle of the floor, ready to catch a pass from Wes Matthews at the top. Aldridge is the screener here for a reason: He's an elite midrange shooter, and if his man (DeAndre Jordan) shifts off of him to contain Williams, the little guy can just pitch the ball back to Aldridge for an open jumper.

The Clippers understand that threat. Blake Griffin, guarding Robin Lopez, has already slid off Lopez and into the center of the paint — a position from which he can rush out at Aldridge. Chris Paul, guarding Lillard in the right corner, has followed Griffin's lead by sliding in front of Griffin's man (Lopez). The Clips are on a string here, but, man, what the hell are you supposed to do?

Williams can hit that little floater if he gets by Jordan cleanly. If Griffin slides into Williams's path, Williams can just kick to Lillard in the right corner. Jamal Crawford, guarding Matthews, can crash down into Williams's driving lane, but that opens the pitch back up to Matthews, and I don't think Matthews has missed a 3-pointer yet this season. (Note: I have to check the stats on that.)

This kind of thing is just unfair.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10218662/the-overhaul-toronto-raptors

 

[TBpup]

The offense may be good but like the Lillard/Maynor combo from last year, the defense seems abysmal.

 

[HailBlazers]

Portland's killer offense isn't quite as killer during the minutes Williams and Damian Lillard share the floor, per NBA.com, but it's still damn good.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10218662/the-overhaul-toronto-raptors

When they're not making sloppy passes, Ill advised quick shots, and sloppy turnovers yea.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is that just me?

 

[magnifier661]

Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is it just me?

Lmao! I did too! I was a little let down after I saw what the content was.

 

[BBert]

Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is that just me?

That's exactly what I thought.

 

[Eastoff]

Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is that just me?

Lmao! I did too! I was a little let down after I saw what the content was.

That's exactly what I thought.

Add me to the list. =\

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

The offense may be good but like the Lillard/Maynor combo from last year, the defense seems abysmal.

It is a tradeoff, but teams have to be able to take advantage of it. At least it is fun to watch.

 

[TBpup]

Originally Posted by KeepOnRollin
Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is that just me?

Originally Posted by magnifier661
Lmao! I did too! I was a little let down after I saw what the content was.

Originally Posted by BBert
That's exactly what I thought.

Add me to the list. =\

+1....and growing.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Yeah, me too.

 

[Strenuus]

Add me to that list of dissapointed posters.

 

[jlprk]

I like Mo!

Notice how he's the one curling at the speed of light while others are stationary?

 

[Rhal]

Us trading Mo would be nice but i'v figured he will stay with us unless we lose 17 in a row and he asks out. Were in a small market that doesn't get any marque FA so we kind of have to treat the FA we get with some respect or we will have a harder time getting FA in the future.
I do like posts talking about how ridiculously good our offense is... if only we could have a good D as well lol

 

[blue32]

I love posts like this. Mainly because I suck at recognizing basketball plays to that level. So it's cool to see this kind of stuff drawn up.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Portland's killer offense isn't quite as killer during the minutes Williams and Damian Lillard share the floor, per NBA.com, but it's still damn good. Portland always has a ton of shooting, and Terry Stotts leverages that shooting and Williams's all-around skills in very smart ways. Take the play unfolding here against the Clippers:

Williams has just rocketed off a LaMarcus Aldridge screen on the left side and curled into the middle of the floor, ready to catch a pass from Wes Matthews at the top. Aldridge is the screener here for a reason: He's an elite midrange shooter, and if his man (DeAndre Jordan) shifts off of him to contain Williams, the little guy can just pitch the ball back to Aldridge for an open jumper.

The Clippers understand that threat. Blake Griffin, guarding Robin Lopez, has already slid off Lopez and into the center of the paint — a position from which he can rush out at Aldridge. Chris Paul, guarding Lillard in the right corner, has followed Griffin's lead by sliding in front of Griffin's man (Lopez). The Clips are on a string here, but, man, what the hell are you supposed to do?

Williams can hit that little floater if he gets by Jordan cleanly. If Griffin slides into Williams's path, Williams can just kick to Lillard in the right corner. Jamal Crawford, guarding Matthews, can crash down into Williams's driving lane, but that opens the pitch back up to Matthews, and I don't think Matthews has missed a 3-pointer yet this season. (Note: I have to check the stats on that.)

This kind of thing is just unfair.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10218662/the-overhaul-toronto-raptors

What happened to the guy who was guarding Mo in that play? Did Aldridge screen him into oblivion? Kinda looks like the Blazers are playing 5 on 4 there...

 

[BlazerCaravan]

What happened to the guy who was guarding Mo in that play? Did Aldridge screen him into oblivion? Kinda looks like the Blazers are playing 5 on 4 there...

It's all fair though because Lillard is standing around since he knows Mo won't pass to him.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

It's all fair though because Lillard is standing around since he knows Mo won't pass to him.

That would be funny, except that he did pass to Lillard on that play, and he hit the three.

 

[e_blazer]

That would be funny, except that he did pass to Lillard on that play, and he hit the three.

I figure the guy knew that Dame is so money with his shot that he may as well try to leak out and see if he can score when the Clips take the ball out of the net.

 

[santeesioux]

Did anyone else think this thread would be about showcasing him for a trade when they opened it or is that just me?

Yep.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

What happened to the guy who was guarding Mo in that play? Did Aldridge screen him into oblivion? Kinda looks like the Blazers are playing 5 on 4 there...

DeAndre Jordan screened his own teammate into oblivion.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

That would be funny, except that he did pass to Lillard on that play, and he hit the three.

oops!

:MARIS61:

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Change the title of this thread!

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Change the title of this thread!

No!

 

[BBert]

Again, I'd like to see Mo play SG instead of PG. I think it would benefit everyone involved. (Especially the guy he's guarding. Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

 

[blue9]

Again, I'd like to see Mo play SG instead of PG. I think it would benefit everyone involved. (Especially the guy he's guarding. Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

I hope that someday we'll get a PG who's adept at passing the ball. Neither Mo, nor Lillard, are all that great at it. Lillard is great at shooting - but we need a back-up who can come in and run an offense when Lillard isn't shooting well. Having Mo spell Lillard at PG is terrible.
Really, really wish we could get 'Dre back. Or talk Rondo into splitting duties with Lillard - having the two of them on the floor together, rather than Lillard/Mo, would be tremendous.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

Portland's killer offense isn't quite as killer during the minutes Williams and Damian Lillard share the floor, per NBA.com, but it's still damn good. Portland always has a ton of shooting, and Terry Stotts leverages that shooting and Williams's all-around skills in very smart ways. Take the play unfolding here against the Clippers:

Williams has just rocketed off a LaMarcus Aldridge screen on the left side and curled into the middle of the floor, ready to catch a pass from Wes Matthews at the top. Aldridge is the screener here for a reason: He's an elite midrange shooter, and if his man (DeAndre Jordan) shifts off of him to contain Williams, the little guy can just pitch the ball back to Aldridge for an open jumper.

The Clippers understand that threat. Blake Griffin, guarding Robin Lopez, has already slid off Lopez and into the center of the paint — a position from which he can rush out at Aldridge. Chris Paul, guarding Lillard in the right corner, has followed Griffin's lead by sliding in front of Griffin's man (Lopez). The Clips are on a string here, but, man, what the hell are you supposed to do?

Williams can hit that little floater if he gets by Jordan cleanly. If Griffin slides into Williams's path, Williams can just kick to Lillard in the right corner. Jamal Crawford, guarding Matthews, can crash down into Williams's driving lane, but that opens the pitch back up to Matthews, and I don't think Matthews has missed a 3-pointer yet this season. (Note: I have to check the stats on that.)

This kind of thing is just unfair.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10218662/the-overhaul-toronto-raptors

I was wondering when Zachariah was going to stop trying to explain why Portland should be terrible, and why they will "come back down to earth." That Portland win in OKC broke so many hearts in the lame stream sports media tonight. "BUT, BUT... Westbrook!!!!" And? Shut it.