Game Thread Preseason Game #1: Nuggets @ Blazers - Veterans Memorial Coliseum

[Scalma]

Skal is better than Tolliver but I don’t like him at center. I love him with another big though.

I didn’t know Nassir had a handle like that tbh. It’s preseason but I don’t remember either Harkless or Aminu pulling a move like that off, like ever. He won’t be in the rotation but Stotts will give him a shot at some point while he tinkers with lineups.

Expanding on Brown, you can’t teach size and he seems fairly mobile. The weight will come with time. We only have one center under contract next year. Stotts talking him up to the ESPN crew is noteworthy imo. Olshey mentioned some standouts among the training camp invites. Pretty sure he was talking about Brown now.

 

[James lamphear]

The players the stood out to me was Mario and Skals. Zach play pretty good defense and look good with the 1st unit. Had little trouble securing the ball with 4 turnovers. He needs to slow down with his moves his main problem.

 

[RipCityWarrior]

The two times I’ve watched brown he has done some good things! Definitely worth the second 2 way if he keeps it up. Low risk for potentially high rewards.

 

[Zipperhead]

What does Trent do well?

The truth is, Trent is complete and utter garbage. I don't know why some people keep clinging to the idea that he will become a productive NBA player. If he didn't have a famous name and came to the Blazers as a camp invite, there is nobody in the world that would think he is an NBA caliber player.

 

[Scalma]

The truth is, Trent is complete and utter garbage. I don't know why some people keep clinging to the idea that he will become a productive NBA player. If he didn't have a famous name and came to the Blazers as a camp invite, there is nobody in the world that would think he is an NBA caliber player.

Saved for later. Thanks!

 

[theprunetang]

Kind of a sloppy first game, as was expected. I do like what Mario brings to the court though. Plays a bit like Ben Simmons. Not to the same level, obviously, but plays in a similar fashion. He'll have his turnovers and bad shooting nights for sure, but I'm already soooooo glad I get to watch him as a point forward instead of ET. For real.

 

[BigGameDamian]

The truth is, Trent is complete and utter garbage. I don't know why some people keep clinging to the idea that he will become a productive NBA player. If he didn't have a famous name and came to the Blazers as a camp invite, there is nobody in the world that would think he is an NBA caliber player.

I hate to agree but I do.

 

[James lamphear]

The truth is, Trent is complete and utter garbage. I don't know why some people keep clinging to the idea that he will become a productive NBA player. If he didn't have a famous name and came to the Blazers as a camp invite, there is nobody in the world that would think he is an NBA caliber player.

He was 2 round draft pick

 

[Jon]

Brown was horrid.

 

[DDolla]

OK back to my first question... Where can I cop those white shooting Blazers shirt? Asking for a friend.

 

[theprunetang]

Brown was horrid.

Dude is 19 and super raw. It's to be expected. Nothing wrong with having a project big on your team.

 

[AldoTrapani]

What does Trent do well?

Not being shy

 

[julius]

Things I took out of the game:

Even though he still might be this years Stauskas, I think Mario will be a good addition.
Bazemore reminds me of Wesley Matthews, but with poorer shooting skills. I like him.
Ant looks good, but probably isn't really ready to be the on court distributor yet.
Whiteside looked flat, I think the ankle was an issue.
CJ and Damian looked a lot like "can we just start the regular season please?"
Skal looked ok, still needs strength.
You Little Hoard. I really liked the effort Little put in the game, with the one behind the back scooping shot. It kind of looked like he and Porter (jr) had a beef.
Anyone notice the fan who got kicked out at half? Gary Harris fell into him and they exchanged words.
Brown looked good, but oh my god he looks like stretch armstrong. His upper body is rookie year Jermaine O'neal, his lower body is Caleb Swanigan.

The rest of the group (not counting Hood)..eh...

All in all, the game meant much more to Denver than it did to Portland. Damian and CJ played 15 minutes, Whiteside played 12. Denver wanted to send a message (in a meaningless game), Portland didn't. All in all, it's a pre-season game...doesn't really mean a lot in the long run.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Fans: Hey Terry, you wanna win?

Terry: Meh....

Before the game started I kind of wanted us to get killed both times by Denver. Let them get their revenge out of the way. That way when the real game one rolls around it will be the Blazers with something to prove on opening night.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Liked what I saw:
- Collins
- Mario
- Moses Brown
- Bazemore
- Simons

Didn't like:
- Trent

Not sure:
- Whiteside
- Tolliver
- Skal
- Nas
- Hoard

 

[James lamphear]

Skal out play rollover with a double double last night with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Baze stood out with his defense.

 

[H.C.]

Was busy but had game on in background.
Simons was questionable at best on the defensive end. He'll get minutes but he has to do better.
Little reaches a little too much, young guy projects as plus defender. Shouldn't be an issue going forward.
Didn't realize Armon Johnson still played on the Blazers. Trent needs to work on that.
We'll see how the vets Portland added start playing after game 20.

 

[kjironman1]

Best look for me was Collins and Little. Zach needs to stay healthy. Little could pick up a few minutes. Collins was well on his way to a DD and showed a smooth mid range shot. Couple open looks at three just didn't fall.
Little is not only a threat to play above the rim but his athleticism makes teams have to guard him from putting the ball on the floor. The Nuggets ended up putting him on the line. Little made the Free Throws
Worst look was Trent. Needs to calm down and play with the team in mind. He didn't hit shots so it made it worse. If a few would have fallen for him maybe he looks better?
Still uncertain Simons ( I'm typing so the spelling is correct). Yeah he can shoot a three when open but obviously against players that are also trying to win a spot on the roster he struggled. 3-11 shooting didn't look good. The hype is a bit much at this point. Game #82 was a long time ago and nobody on the other team cared at all. The Kid is about as bad on defense as i have seen in a long time. The Blazers were literally 4 against 5 on the defensive end with him on the court. If he is gonna contribute this year he has a bunch of work to do. First preseason game so he got some good video to watch.
The Blazers need Simons this year. That kid is gonna have a bunch of pressure. Hope Blazer fans support him. Trent quickly turning into the whipping post.....

 

[illmatic99]

Baze takes risks defensively. Terry hates going for steals, but we actually have personnel who can force turnovers now.

Hope our coach lets loose a bit.

 

[mook]

Baze takes risks defensively. Terry hates going for steals, but we actually have personnel who can force turnovers now.

Hope our coach lets loose a bit.

I agree. Especially if you have two 7 footers to protect the rim and provide weakside shot blocking. Portland needs to gamble more on passes. When it goes badly it mostly result in jumpshots anyway, and the benefit is that it allows Portland to get out and run.

 

[illmatic99]

Anyone else notice the lack of spacing on offense with Zach and Hassan both in there? This needs some serious work. Dame had no passing lanes and the ball kept sticking as a result. Think it also contributed to our pitiful 3pt shooting.

 

[illmatic99]

The rest of the group (not counting Hood)..eh...

All in all, the game meant much more to Denver than it did to Portland. Damian and CJ played 15 minutes, Whiteside played 12. Denver wanted to send a message (in a meaningless game), Portland didn't. All in all, it's a pre-season game...doesn't really mean a lot in the long run.

Their best player and MVP candidate didn't play a single minute. Not sure how much it meant to them either.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Skal out play rollover with a double double last night with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Baze stood out with his defense.

One of the greatest typos/autocorrects I've ever seen. He will henceforth be known as "Anthony Rollover".

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Anyone else notice the lack of spacing on offense with Zach and Hassan both in there? This needs some serious work. Dame had no passing lanes and the ball kept sticking as a result. Think it also contributed to our pitiful 3pt shooting.

FREE SKAL!

 

[Chris Craig]

Things I liked:

Bazemore: Kent attacked attacked attacked. He a great energy and was unafraid of the defense. He passed well when he got cut off.

Hezonja: Super Mario looked good. He played alot of point forward and helped portland on the run. Got to the basket easily. That zany passing showed up though.

Labissiere: Skal can play. He can shoot the three or come inside against defenders. He should play ahead of Tolliver at PF

Simons: Kid can shoot. His three is silky smooth. He often got lossed in the shuffle and looked a little slow on D at times. He showed his youth, but he also showed some growth.


Little: The rook has moves! And he can shoot free throws. Little could be good

Blazers Fast Break: the Blazers played with a fast pace. It looked good at times, but players were still shaky a bit and learning playing with each other. Once the jitters are gone, the Blazers fast break is gonna be killer.

Other things:

Defense: At times the Blazers defense looked sharp. Though they had trouble guarding the arc and when the 3rd strings came in, it collapsed.

Collins: Zach showed us a nice jumper, but he struggled when the other starters sat down and he got a lot of looks. I expected more of him on both ends. It's just preseason though and we don't know if his foot is still ailing.

Lillard, McCollum, Hood, and Whiteside: The starters didn't play alot of minutes as Terry wanted to see what he had from his newer players. They looked good when they were in though. Both Dame and CJ had strong moves to the basket where they got And1s. Whiteside was still obviously dealing with injury.

Tolliver: I thought dude could shoot? Tolliver struggled on the night. We haven't seen the best of him, but more was expected. He made some shots inside, but was too quick on his release from three.

Paul Gasol: Gasol didn't play. I am curious to see how he will fit.

The Nuggets wanted to make a point against the Blazers who beat them in the second round of the playoffs. It was obvious and felt awkward in a preseason game. "We added Grant and we're good, neener neener." The Blazers were just getting a feel for each other and the starters barely played.

I'm looking forward to the first game of the regular season between these two. It is going to be good.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Things I liked:

Bazemore: Kent attacked attacked attacked. He a great energy and was unafraid of the defense. He passed well when he got cut off.

Hezonja: Super Mario looked good. He played alot of point forward and helped portland on the run. Got to the basket easily. That zany passing showed up though.

Labissiere: Skal can play. He can shoot the three or come inside against defenders. He should play ahead of Tolliver at PF

Little: The rook has moves! And he can shoot free throws. Little could be good

Blazers Fast Break: the Blazers played with a fast pace. It looked good at times, but players were still shaky a bit and learning playing with each other. Once the jitters are gone, the Blazers fast break is gonna be killer.

Other things:

Defense: At times the Blazers defense looked sharp. Though they had trouble guarding the arc and when the 3rd strings came in, it collapsed.

Collins: Zach showed us a nice jumper, but he struggled when the other starters sat down and he got a lot of looks. I expected more of him on both ends. It's just preseason though and we don't know if his foot is still ailing.

Lillard, McCollum, Hood, and Whiteside: The starters didn't play alot of minutes as Terry wanted to see what he had from his newer players. They looked good when they were in though. Both Dame and CJ had strong moves to the basket where they got And1s. Whiteside was still obviously dealing with injury.

Tolliver: I thought dude could shoot? Tolliver struggled on the night. We haven't seen the best of him, but more was expected. He made some shots inside, but was too quick on his release from three.

Paul Gasol: Gasol didn't play. I am curious to see how he will fit.

The Nuggets wanted to make a point against the Blazers who beat them in the second round of the playoffs. It was obvious and felt awkward in a preseason game. "We added Grant and we're good, neener neener." The Blazers were just getting a feel for each other and the starters barely played.

I'm looking forward to the first game of the regular season between these two. It is going to be good.

The one thing I agreed with @BonesJones last night on his stream was Pau’s role in the half court could be extremely important for the second unit. Using his passing and ability to make plays could be their best option in the half court.

 

[illmatic99]

FREE SKAL!

That could be an option, but getting Hassan to actually make contact on his screens would also do wonders. How can a guy that big barely touch defenders on screens? Just looked lazy, on both ends.

I really hope for his sake that what we saw last night was because of his ankle.

 

[Chris Craig]

Anyone else notice the lack of spacing on offense with Zach and Hassan both in there? This needs some serious work. Dame had no passing lanes and the ball kept sticking as a result. Think it also contributed to our pitiful 3pt shooting.

They were playing too far out.

 

[tlongII]

I thought we looked like shit. Doesn't matter though because it's preseason and we have a bunch of new guys. I think we'll be ready for the season opener.

 

[illmatic99]

The Whiteside + pick for Otto Porter idea is a drum I'm gonna be beating for the next few months, bear with me.

- Zach is really a center and we have only Mario as our one rangy forward, and his defense is a question mark.
-Denver is loaded with these kinda guys and are only one of the many WC teams who can cause us problems. We have all 2 guards and centers. This problem needs to be temporary if we truly want to compete in the west.
- There will be only a finite number of center minutes to go around and neither Hassan nor Nurk are known to take a minutes crunch quietly. This should be resolved before February so that Nurk can step right into his C-spot and compete only with Gasol/Zach for minutes.
- Chicago will not want to pay Porter what he will want this summer with their glut of forwards.