Game Thread Sunday, July 7th, 7 PM PDT: Blazers vs. Rockets on NBATV

[blazerfan11]

Here is a fun one about summer league “flops”.

 

[BBert]

Trent might be a better PG at this point than Ant, BTW. I think his strength is enough to be able to initiate offense. He also made a couple of really nice passes tonight.

Exactly what I was thinking during the game. He looked more like a PG than Simons.

During yesterday's game I told a friend that the next time Trent passes the ball will be the first.

Today, once he decided to, he made a number of nice passes. It seemed like he sees the floor and the flow better than Anfernee, and that he's just a more mature player. Which is understandable.

Simons is still a kid. Patience, Grasshoppers.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

nba.com video game recap
https://www.nba.com/video/2019/07/07/1521900028-hou-por-recap

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Exactly what I was thinking during the game. He looked more like a PG than Simons.

During yesterday's game I told a friend that the next time Trent passes the ball will be the first.

Today, once he decided to, he made a number of nice passes. It seemed like he sees the floor and the flow better than Anfernee, and that he's just a more mature player. Which is understandable.

Simons is still a kid. Patience, Grasshoppers.

Isn't Simons only like 5 months younger than Trent?

 

[BBert]

Isn't Simons only like 5 months younger than Trent?

Something like that. I'm pretty sure Trent has more playing experience against higher level competition. Also raised and drilled by an NBA vet. To my eye, Trent looks more mature, both physically and how he understands the NBA game.

 

[barfo]

Trent's dad seems more mature too.

barfo

 

[hoopsjock]

doesn't look very nimble. i wonder if he can truly be a perimeter oriented wing

Are you confusing Hoard with Little? It's sometimes hard to tell them apart and one is 6 and the other is 9. Hoard looks clunky to me but I'm not seeing not nimble with Little.

 

[hoopsjock]

Also, I didn't realize Whitehead was this selfish. Yikes.

C'mon man, you should've known that.

No chance he makes the roster.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Aminu is a good comp. but he's like 3 inches shorter

Stanley Johnson?

 

[kjironman1]

It doesn’t play

???

 

[kjironman1]

Exactly what I was thinking during the game. He looked more like a PG than Simons.

During yesterday's game I told a friend that the next time Trent passes the ball will be the first.

Today, once he decided to, he made a number of nice passes. It seemed like he sees the floor and the flow better than Anfernee, and that he's just a more mature player. Which is understandable.

Simons is still a kid. Patience, Grasshoppers.

Sure totally understand giving Simons a chance and that these things take time. But Blazers are in win now mode and there is no time to give him right now. They need a solid PG that can make a difference right now.

 

[Mediocre Man]

It doesn’t play

Of course it doesn't play. It rubs the lotion on it's skin

 

[illmatic99]

Stanley Johnson?

I would hope he's better.

 

[illmatic99]

Are you confusing Hoard with Little? It's sometimes hard to tell them apart and one is 6 and the other is 9. Hoard looks clunky to me but I'm not seeing not nimble with Little.

Not gonna lie, it's entirely possible.

 

[TBpup]

https://www.blazersedge.com/2019/7/...summer-league-nba-gary-trent-jr-31-point-game

We didn’t get to see Mike Daum in the first game. Did he make an impression on you against the Rockets?

Miles: I was disappointed that South Dakota State star Mike Daum didn’t play in game one. Daum averaged 25.3 points per game his senior year while shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc. Daum came into the game on Sunday and provided some nice leadership. He was the most vocal of Portland’s defenders. The lineup of Daum, Simons, Trent, Little, and Jaylen Hoard helped the Blazers win the second quarter 27-17 and push the halftime lead to 16.

Tara: In the second quarter, Daum came in and started barking orders on defense. Along with a Jackrabbits-centric cheering section, Daum became the loudest presence in the arena. This woke the defense up and pulled them all together for the second and third quarters. This was the best that they have looked through two games.

***************************************************************************************************

Both mention his leadership and defensive IQ. (rare for SL). Hope he gets more run.

 

[TBpup]

Full game highlights.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Here is a fun one about summer league “flops”.

I remember watching Curry in SL and it was obvious he was a star.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Thoughts:
TRADE TRENT NOW! He'll never match these giddy heights!
Yes, Simons is not a PG. And I would rather we had an actual backup PG. But we've been playing with people like CJ and Evan Turner as our backup PGs for years, so I guess our FO doesn't believe in them. But right now I'd say Simons is a very poor man's Lou Will. I honestly can't see Stotts giving him a big role in at least the first half of next season, so we're going to need some reliable journeyman. If even Trent (who is barely a SG, let alone a PG) is bringing the ball up the court over Simons, then Anfernee is ridiculously raw.
Likewise Little. In fact, I don't see any member of this SL team being in the rotation for at least the first part of next season. Maybe if they were on the Rockets then Simons' and Trent's one-dimensional scoring skills could be used, but I think Stotts wants more versatility.
PLEASE run some plays for Daum. Apparently he really talks on D, which is a nice change.

A bit worried by some of Simons' body language. He really pouted when Little screwed up his nice bounce pass. Not a floor leader in any respect.

 

[kjironman1]

Thoughts:
TRADE TRENT NOW! He'll never match these giddy heights!
Yes, Simons is not a PG. And I would rather we had an actual backup PG. But we've been playing with people like CJ and Evan Turner as our backup PGs for years, so I guess our FO doesn't believe in them. But right now I'd say Simons is a very poor man's Lou Will. I honestly can't see Stotts giving him a big role in at least the first half of next season, so we're going to need some reliable journeyman. If even Trent (who is barely a SG, let alone a PG) is bringing the ball up the court over Simons, then Anfernee is ridiculously raw.
Likewise Little. In fact, I don't see any member of this SL team being in the rotation for at least the first part of next season. Maybe if they were on the Rockets then Simons' and Trent's one-dimensional scoring skills could be used, but I think Stotts wants more versatility.
PLEASE run some plays for Daum. Apparently he really talks on D, which is a nice change.

A bit worried by some of Simons' body language. He really pouted when Little screwed up his nice bounce pass. Not a floor leader in any respect.

Yeah I’m quickly going sour on Simons.

 

[Pinwheel1]

A bit worried by some of Simons' body language. He really pouted when Little screwed up his nice bounce pass. Not a floor leader in any respect.

I remember that play and I think he was pissed at himself because he had the same reaction when he fucked up another play.
Nothing wrong with that

 

[Pinwheel1]

Yeah I’m quickly going sour on Simons.

This is why I disliked seeing him start at PG. Fans are reacting the same way they did with CJ in summer league. He is playing out of position. He has never played PG before. It is fine experimenting during SL but at the same time you risk hurting their confidence. Point Guard is not a position in the NBA that you easily transition to. Actually it is probably the only one where you can't. And playing with new teammates after a couple of weeks does not help.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Yeah I’m quickly going sour on Simons.

Not me, not at all. Simons played great.

 

[TBpup]

Not me, not at all. Simons played great.

I would submit he shot very well in the first half when he was 5-7. Shot 1-4 in the 2nd half and finished with 6 Turnovers to 2 assists.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I would submit he shot very well in the first half when he was 5-7. Shot 1-4 in the 2nd half and finished with 6 Turnovers to 2 assists.

Some of the turnovers were bad, some were not really his fault. Assists are always good but I thought he made the right play more often than not. Just my personal opinion but I think he's gonna be ok as a backup PG. He's really young trying to learn a new position, and still hasn't seen significant NBA minutes, but every time I see him I think he's going go to figure it out, he just seems so natural and like he's learning as it goes.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I would submit he shot very well in the first half when he was 5-7. Shot 1-4 in the 2nd half and finished with 6 Turnovers to 2 assists.

Ok, not talking about you in particular, but I'm already tired of people looking at the boxscore and seeing 6 turnovers and pontificating. 1 or 2 of the turnovers were bad decisions, but 3 of them were just strength related. He had the ball, the defender makes contact (sometimes a lot of contact), and he lost the ball. He's already made strength related gains from last seasons. As he goes along, these types of turnovers will disappear, as they have for Dame.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Ok, not talking about you in particular, but I'm already tired of people looking at the boxscore and seeing 6 turnovers and pontificating. 1 or 2 of the turnovers were bad decisions, but 3 of them were just strength related. He had the ball, the defender makes contact (sometimes a lot of contact), and he lost the ball. He's already made strength related gains from last seasons. As he goes along, these types of turnovers will disappear, as they have for Dame.

My biggest concern for him is his strength seems like the slightest bit of contact really screws him up. Im sure that’ll come with time, but some guys never really bulk up a ton. I think he’ll figure it out though.

 

[TBpup]

Ok, not talking about you in particular, but I'm already tired of people looking at the boxscore and seeing 6 turnovers and pontificating. 1 or 2 of the turnovers were bad decisions, but 3 of them were just strength related. He had the ball, the defender makes contact (sometimes a lot of contact), and he lost the ball. He's already made strength related gains from last seasons. As he goes along, these types of turnovers will disappear, as they have for Dame.

Some of them certainly were not his fault to be sure. My concern would be that given how poor some of the defense is in SL and how much he had the ball in his hands when he was in the game, 2 assists is quite low. By contrast, Gary 'Black Hole' Trent had 5 with 1 turnover.

Granted, it is SL and much of this is to be take with a grain of salt, but was hoping to see more than 3 assists in two games so far. That seems quite sparse.

 

[Scalma]

Daum looks overmatched physically, and this is just summer league. He’s too small to be a center and not quick enough to play the four. Saw him struggle to get position against a point guard on a switch. It was a fun couple of weeks though. Devin Robinson looks more worthy of a two way but I wouldn’t bang the table for him either.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Some of them certainly were not his fault to be sure. My concern would be that given how poor some of the defense is in SL and how much he had the ball in his hands when he was in the game, 2 assists is quite low. By contrast, Gary 'Black Hole' Trent had 5 with 1 turnover.

Granted, it is SL and much of this is to be take with a grain of salt, but was hoping to see more than 3 assists in two games so far. That seems quite sparse.

In SL I pretty much only watch to see if guys are making NBA plays. In fact Trent was really freaking hot last night, but Im not sure he had a great game in that regard. I think the most NBA like thing he did was a couple of his passes the wrap around pass on a drive and he also made a good over the top pass on a double team that resulted in a dunk.

 

[BBert]

I remember that play and I think he was pissed at himself because he had the same reaction when he fucked up another play.
Nothing wrong with that

That was my interpretation too. My lip reading isn't great, but to me he seemed to be putting it on himself.