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Idog1976 said:
I don't think that is wise because that sets him up for bully ball down low with all the 6'7-9" and bulky SF's in the west like Kawhi and LeBron. Sure, those guys are extremes just illustrating the point. While we still have Simons, if we must start him (debatable), then sure we can briefly have Rim Shaedy at the SF. I'd much prefer to start Scoot, Sharpe, Camara and Ayton and figure out how to get a PF from another team for Grant and/or Simons. We can start Grant for now and Sharpe at the SF until we make a midseason trade, I just don't like Sharpe at SF long term, he will dominate other SG's at both ends, but having him at SF means he's going to take a lot more punishment on the defensive end.
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LeBron can bully almost any starting SF. Kawhi couldn't even bully Ant on opening night. Those guys have to keep up with Sharpe's off-ball movement on the other side of the floor. It's hard to find the perfect fit at PG/SG/SF, but offensively I think Scoot, Ant, and Sharpe has the potential to be the greatest offensive PG/SG/SF combo in the league someday, and I like the fit of those three together. If Ant and Scoot and can defend their position decently and Sharpe can hang with most SFs, then I'll take the potential issues of the rare "bully" SF. Blazers having a guy like Toumani who can slot in at the 3 with a ton of size allows them to mix up lineups depending on matchup.

In the end, the Blazers have all the time in the world to figure it out and try these three together. Selling low on Ant this season doesn't make sense to me. See what they look like over a decent sample and then make a decision when someone like Ant has maybe played himself into a higher trade value.
 
cheesehoff said:
I'm not sure I understand what a lot of you guys are seeing, but I've never considered Grant to be a PF. Not trying to be an a-hole. If Grant and Camara are the starting forwards, I think Grant is the SF and Camara is the PF. I think Camara can play minutes at the SF, like when he's on the court with Jabari. But, in the context of what those positions role's are traditionally, I think it's pretty obvious that Camara is the PF beside Grant.
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Grant is a PF to me for two reasons:

- His offensive game is more unique at that position than the SF position, and he has an easier time beating bigger, slower forwards (more often PFs) off the dribble than SFs.
- He's better defensively as a secondary rim protector instead of a perimeter defender. PF is more of a rim/bottom rotator guy than a SF is.

From people who pay more attention to stats than me, they've said his historical production is better as a designated PF than SF.
 
BonesJones said:
In the end, the Blazers have all the time in the world to figure it out and try these three together. Selling low on Ant this season doesn't make sense to me. See what they look like over a decent sample and then make a decision when someone like Ant has maybe played himself into a higher trade value.
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I generally agree, especially since Ant has a very high ability to space the floor given his great shooting. This is especially important if Scoot does not improve his 3P shooting a lot.

Of course, you would want someone that is much better defensively than him, but someone like that will likely be a super max player... so the question really is, is he (Ant) worth his cost, especially at this time of the rebuild. IMHO, it seems like he easily is.
 
blazerfan11 said:
The one player that doesn't fit too well is Thybulle. He really should be defending guards not "small" forwards or guards the size of Cade Cunningham.
Thybulle seems to have the most limited role if he can't shoot 3-pointers.
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Matching him was such a mistake. $11M a year for a guy who doesn't provide much defensive versatility and gambles off ball too much while providing next to nothing on offense. He was giving Cade way too much space one-pass away last night in the first quarter and Cade caught a rhythm after hitting a couple threes because of it. Toumani guarded him better, especially in the 4th quarter. Sixers gave him up for basically nothing and we already found a SF who's a better fit in the rotation than him as a cheap rookie. I feel like he'll be another Allen Crabbe where we trade him for nothing to Dallas in a year.
 
andalusian said:
I generally agree, especially since Ant has a very high ability to space the floor given his great shooting. This is especially important if Scoot does not improve his 3P shooting a lot.

Of course, you would want someone that is much better defensively than him, but someone like that will likely be a super max player... so the question really is, is he (Ant) worth his cost, especially at this time of the rebuild. IMHO, it seems like he easily is.
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Definitely. I also feel like Ant has another gear in him defensively. I was impressed with his defense in the first game of the year especially on Kawhi. He improved his screen navigation last season but the biggest problem for him was opening the door too much when guys try and drive and letting them get downhill. An opening night, he was doing a much better job of sliding laterally and absorbing contact with his chest. I think he'll end up being better defensively than Dame and CJ ever were and he seemed ready to take a jump on defense this season.
 
BonesJones said:
Definitely. I also feel like Ant has another gear in him defensively. I was impressed with his defense in the first game of the year especially on Kawhi. He improved his screen navigation last season but the biggest problem for him was opening the door too much when guys try and drive and letting them get downhill. An opening night, he was doing a much better job of sliding laterally and absorbing contact with his chest. I think he'll end up being better defensively than Dame and CJ ever were and he seemed ready to take a jump on defense this season.
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I hope you are right. Like everything else, it will take more than one game to get to this conclusion. I do believe his athletic ability probably makes him more likely to be a better defender than CJ and Dame ever were, but if he will be or not, only time will tell.
 
A freaking chair is a better defender than Dame or CJ. Too low of a bar. Sharpe is the best shooting guard on the team. Plus, he has great size. And, he rebounds, and, he assists. Oh, and he makes his teammates better with his all around game. Ant can shoot some, but he no world beater. Sharpe can shoot threes also. Both are equally streaky.

I seriously do not want a repeat of Dame/CJ small ball. If Ant has to start then start him at SF where Portland is only giving up size at one position instead of two with Sharpe playing as a small SF. Now I know that sounds ridiculous, but when we drafted Bowie instead of Jordan, because we had Clyde, the smart NBA minds said draft Jordan and play him at center. It will shake out. Same here. If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG.
 
andalusian said:
I hope you are right. Like everything else, it will take more than one game to get to this conclusion. I do believe his athletic ability probably makes him more likely to be a better defender than CJ and Dame ever were, but if he will be or not, only time will tell.
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Yeah for sure, and that's why I just want to see it for an extended period before making any final decisions on the future. One game means nothing but seeing a noticeable difference in footwork is promising to me.
 
BIG Q said:
A freaking chair is a better defender than Dame or CJ. Too low of a bar. Sharpe is the best shooting guard on the team. Plus, he has great size. And, he rebounds, and, he assists. Oh, and he makes his teammates better with his all around game. Ant can shoot some, but he no world beater. Sharpe can shoot threes also. Both are equally streaky.

I seriously do not want a repeat of Dame/CJ small ball. If Ant has to start then start him at SF where Portland is only giving up size at one position instead of two with Sharpe playing as a small SF. Now I know that sounds ridiculous, but when we drafted Bowie instead of Jordan, because we had Clyde, the smart NBA minds said draft Jordan and play him at center. It will shake out. Same here. If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG.
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Okay, how about an average to above-average defender? Keeping guys from getting a step on you from the 3pt line isn't a size issue, it's a footwork/lateral quickness/effort/strength issue. If Marcus Smart was our starting SG, nobody would worry about the defense. He's no taller than Ant. It's too easy to chalk everything up to whatever the listed height of the SG is... There's so much more to it than that.

Ant assists at a higher rate than Sharpe has so far this year. That's not to discount Sharpe, more-so to not discount Ant's ability to make a play for someone else... Historically, Ant as the lead guard makes plays for others at an even higher rate. Sharpe right now has that privilege. Both dudes can play. Sharpe is very capable of playing SG and SF.

"If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG"... The thing is, positions are situational. So if you're playing Ant and Sharpe together at the wing spots, you don't need to designate them as one or the other because it's about their fit and what the combination of those two guys produces in terms of matchups on both sides of the floor. On defense, it'd make no sense to put Ant on the SF just to say "Yay, we have a big SG because Sharpe is guarding the SG!". When the Blazers are on offense, opposing teams will decide how to guard those two guys based on whatever matchups they want, not what Portland designates those guys as positionally.
 
BonesJones said:
Okay, how about an average to above-average defender? Keeping guys from getting a step on you from the 3pt line isn't a size issue, it's a footwork/lateral quickness/effort/strength issue. If Marcus Smart was our starting SG, nobody would worry about the defense. He's no taller than Ant. It's too easy to chalk everything up to whatever the listed height of the SG is... There's so much more to it than that.

Ant assists at a higher rate than Sharpe has so far this year. That's not to discount Sharpe, more-so to not discount Ant's ability to make a play for someone else... Historically, Ant as the lead guard makes plays for others at an even higher rate. Sharpe right now has that privilege. Both dudes can play. Sharpe is very capable of playing SG and SF.

"If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG"... The thing is, positions are situational. So if you're playing Ant and Sharpe together at the wing spots, you don't need to designate them as one or the other because it's about their fit and what the combination of those two guys produces in terms of matchups on both sides of the floor. On defense, it'd make no sense to put Ant on the SF just to say "Yay, we have a big SG because Sharpe is guarding the SG!". When the Blazers are on offense, opposing teams will decide how to guard those two guys based on whatever matchups they want, not what Portland designates those guys as positionally.
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But it is not Marcus Smart, or Lou Dort. They are proven stoppers and on the small side. Ant is a chair compared to them defensively. You are good with the NeO game plan of playing a starting backcourt that plays no defense and are both 6'2, 6'3. Most Blazers fans are disgusted with it. Now if one of those guys played defense at a Smart or Dort level then we could probably be swayed. But Ant is far from that. All this talk of position less basketball. A team can do that when everyone is 6'6 plus. That is not the case with Scoot and Ant. This team needs rebounding wherever they can get it, especially with Grant getting one per game. Now some says he does a great job boxing out allowing his teammates to snag the board. Ant came up with two in his game, Sharpe is averaging just under six RPG. Along with his playmaking, help defense and far superior athletic ability, Sharpe is a no brainer. And in true Portland fashion, some were saying start Ant, build up his trade value and then execute a trade. But he comes up injured one game in. Ant's value is set around the league already. Trade him or make him the sixth man.
 
I was so glad we took a swing on him in the draft and am even more happy now.

He's the best thing that's happened to the Blazers in a long time. It seems he's putting in the work and seeing him grow as a player is amazing.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Watching Sharpe videos, I realized how much contact he makes and takes, and why it's not a problem for him: dude is literally a hockey player. NBA is nothing compared to that.
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Ha, that's an interesting point about the way he moves. Hockey players are always swimming through and around contact to get position.
 
BonesJones said:
Matching him was such a mistake. $11M a year for a guy who doesn't provide much defensive versatility and gambles off ball too much while providing next to nothing on offense. He was giving Cade way too much space one-pass away last night in the first quarter and Cade caught a rhythm after hitting a couple threes because of it. Toumani guarded him better, especially in the 4th quarter. Sixers gave him up for basically nothing and we already found a SF who's a better fit in the rotation than him as a cheap rookie. I feel like he'll be another Allen Crabbe where we trade him for nothing to Dallas in a year.
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And going by his shooting so far, Dallas got a better version of Thybulle at 1/10the the cost, who seems to actually be able to spread the floor.
 
perkinsfor3 said:
And going by his shooting so far, Dallas got a better version of Thybulle at 1/10the the cost, who seems to actually be able to spread the floor.
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I am not too concerned that we matched his salary. 11m is not that much anymore. His salary could come in handy in a future trade. If not he can be a valuable bench player for us...... just not a starter.
 
Portland is going to get at least one of their 2 seconds back when they move him along.

He's a great locker room guy in an environment with tons of young players.

He's fine sitting.

I'm not sure why there's this urgency to dump every older player immediately—Tisse surely won't be the difference between Portland missing out on the high lottery, and he's not blocking anyone's minutes. I doubt they'd have a problem playing Kris Murray over him when the time comes...

And there are zero negative cap outcomes here.

What am I missing? lol
 
THE HCP said:
You know what he’s saying bro.
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Sharpe is athletic, that doesn't make Roy unathletic.

Roy just had the knees of a 50-year old when he was drafted so there was a ticking time bomb on his athleticism the moment he entered the league—that's different.
 
I really love this possession by Shaedon Sharpe.

First, he goes up high to grab the rebound (not seen in this clip) , then he takes the ball down the court and hits Deandre Ayton with a perfect pass for EASY points.

Earlier in the game Toumani Camara had sealed his man similarly with nobody near the hoop, but Brodgon failed to simply throw it over the top to Camara. That possession ended in an ugly missed shot.

I wish Billups would hammer into the players how to make the pass that Sharpe did, because obviously they need some help recognizing it.

 
How high can Sharpe get his True Shooting percentage?
I believe the more important he is in the offense, the higher it will go, as he scores more points and gets more respect from the refs.
Grant should be doing much better as his shot selection gets better.




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Both Simons (in his 27 minutes) and Sharpe have increased their free-throw rates quite a bit, though not to Lillard or Grant levels.

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Grant $27.6 million
Simons $24.1 million
Brogdon $22.5 million
Timelord $11.6 million
Thybulle $10.5 million

Timelord has value and a good contract … he and Ayton are a good pair.
Grant can play either forward spot, and he’s paid plenty to work hard on his D at SF.

Thybulle has a good value contract on its own or is easily combined in trade. I like his D. But expecting a guy to become other than what he has been is pretty iffy. I’m as guilty of that hope as anyone. I do like him as a 6th or 7th man.

Brogdon vs. Simons. Scoot needs time to develop as does Sharpe. BUT mark them down as keepers and — practically speaking — untouchable. Brogdon works as a 3rd guard at PG/SG … a 6’5, 3 point shooting version of Andre Miller.
[6’3.75” no shoes with a 6’10.5” wingspan and built.]

Simons has value. Get him healthy, he shoots, he scores … and go for it in trade for a youngish SF or PF. Just get frigging better AND athletic AND with positional size/length. Simons isn’t the problem nor is any Blazer — right now. Continuing to rebuild the roster is the only solution.
 
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