The second unit

[Natebishop3]

Our bench killed us last night. Very little ball movement. Lots of hero ball. On paper, that unit should be rock solid.

Turner
CJ
Crabbe
Vonleh
Davis

Turner still looks uncomfortable. He also looks like he's pressing. I'm not concerned. I think his shot will come along eventually. Harkless looked pretty shitty at the start of last season as well. Stotts and Dame will find a way to make him feel comfortable.

CJ is simply not a point guard. He only knows how to call his own number, and that's fine when his shot is falling, but last night it was not. I just hate watching him try to run the offense.

Crabbe did well when he got shots, but we need to get him the ball.

I think it's a work in progress, and eventually they will find a rhythm, but last night was ugly.

 

[Chris Craig]

More Napier, less Turner

 

[Natebishop3]

More Napier, less Turner

I disagree. I think Turner is key to our success moving forward, so we need to find a way to get him comfortable in the offense. That's not going to happen by playing him less.

 

[BBert]

Turner does a lot of things very well. Shooting a basketball does not appear to be one of them. He should do it less.

 

[Natebishop3]

Turner does a lot of things very well. Shooting a basketball does not appear to be one of them. He should do it less.

He has to take shots. He has attempted a grand total of 15 shots so far this season.

 

[Chris Craig]

He has to take shots. He has attempted a grand total of 15 shots so far this season.

And how many has me made?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Turner is a guy who will eventually start hitting those medium range jump shots, which will help out tremendously.

Crabbe hesitated several times yesterday. I really want him to have more freedom in shooting.

 

[Natebishop3]

And how many has me made?

Oh, well since we have played a whopping two games, that's CLEARLY enough of a sample size to tell him to stop shooting altogether.

 

[BBert]

He has to take shots. He has attempted a grand total of 15 shots so far this season.

He seems to be pressing. By that I mean, he seems to be forcing himself to take bad and/or out of rhythm shots, because he has to take shots. And they are generally bad shots. And his form...oye vey...the opposite of smooth.

 

[BBert]

I don't mind if he shoots. Everyone on the court should be a threat. I'd like them to be better shots, is really my concern.

I agree with the "only two games in" argument. He needs to get comfortable, and his teammates have to get comfortable with him.

I was a big supporter and defender of the Evan Turner signing. At this point, I'm nervously hoping he proves me right.

 

[Natebishop3]

He seems to be pressing. By that I mean, he seems to be forcing himself to take bad and/or out of rhythm shots, because he has to take shots. And they are generally bad shots. And his form...oye vey...the opposite of smooth.

He seems to be pressing... and the second unit doesn't seem to have any rhythm, which is causing ET and CJ to take bad shots. One example last night was when Crabbe was trying to run off screens and CJ was standing at the top of the key dribbling.... for like 15 seconds.... waiting for Crabbe to get open. He never got open, so CJ jacked up a bad shot. Nobody else was moving. Everyone was standing around except for Crabbe.

Our starting unit has so much more chemistry right now, because they played together last season. Stotts needs to find a way to get the second unit into a rhythm, and I think that's only going to come with time and patience.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Yeah I think it was like 45-20 on bench points. And that was with Crawford going 3-12.
That number is a little misleading since CJ is on the floor too, so theoretically he and Crabbe should be taking most of the shots.

Either way they need to get better, but I would stick with the same line up for another 10 games or so. They need to figure it out. They need to put ET in a position to attack the basket.

I was more concerned with Aminu's 0-6 than ET's 2-8

 

[e_blazer]

I think everybody was trying to do a bit too much individually instead of sticking with the game plan. They'll get better.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think everybody was trying to do a bit too much individually instead of sticking with the game plan. They'll get better.

This team panics when we go through droughts. Dame is probably the most guilty. He tries to take it on himself to keep us afloat and it often leads to him taking bad shots.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Last season Turner shot .482 on 2-point attempts. That's an 81 game sample size.

Last season Dame shot .450 on 2-point attempts.

Last season C.J. shot .463 on 2-point attempts.

So, for those who think Turner should stop shooting based on a 2 game sample size, do you also think Dame and C.J. should stop shooting?

I say we give him a few more games to figure it out and get in a rhythm.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

Last season Turner shot .482 on 2-point attempts. That's an 81 game sample size.

Last season Dame shot .450 on 2-point attempts.

Last season C.J. shot .463 on 2-point attempts.

So, for those who think Turner should stop shooting based on a 2 game sample size, do you also think Dame and C.J. should stop shooting?

I say we give him a few more games to figure it out and get in a rhythm.

BNM

 

[DroppinDimes]

They are trying to acclimate ET to the Blazers style of basketball, which doesn't look like he's very natural at. He looks very awkward in set plays, but does a pretty good job of breaking down the defense and finding cutters, getting to the rim, or taking a midrange jumper, which should eventually start falling. You have to remember he's coming onto a team that has mostly been together for over a year, it'll take some time.

 

[Nhawz]

I agree that turner needs more time and his shot may come around, but god damn I cringe every time he shoots that thing. Same reaction and feeling I get when chuck swings a golf club.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Our bench killed us last night. Very little ball movement. Lots of hero ball. On paper, that unit should be rock solid.

Turner
CJ
Crabbe
Vonleh
Davis

Turner still looks uncomfortable. He also looks like he's pressing. I'm not concerned. I think his shot will come along eventually. Harkless looked pretty shitty at the start of last season as well. Stotts and Dame will find a way to make him feel comfortable.

CJ is simply not a point guard. He only knows how to call his own number, and that's fine when his shot is falling, but last night it was not. I just hate watching him try to run the offense.

Crabbe did well when he got shots, but we need to get him the ball.

I think it's a work in progress, and eventually they will find a rhythm, but last night was ugly.

More Napier, less Turner

I agree that CJ is not a PG but Turner is definitely not a PG. A Point-Forward, maybe, but you don't use a Point-Forward as a PG. Lebron and Batum are Point-Forwards but they don't play PG. Greek Freak is supposed to even play PG but I don't buy it. Point Forwards give you extra advantage when they're used as forwards

 

[KeepOnRollin]

I seem to remember CJ averaging 6.5 assists a game when he started at PG last year when Dame was hurt?

 

[DroppinDimes]

I agree that turner needs more time and his shot may come around, but god damn I cringe every time he shoots that thing. Same reaction and feeling I get when chuck swings a golf club.

I hear you. I had the same feeling last year anytime Aminu put the ball on the floor. At least that looks to be improved.

 

[BBert]

I hear you. I had the same feeling last year anytime Aminu put the ball on the floor. At least that looks to be improved.

Aminu does seem to be doing better at that, at least if we discount the time last night he drove the ball into the middle of three defenders and promptly lost it, haha. That was classic last season Aminu. (Or "Amino" as Reggie Miller calls him, SMH)

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Talkin' Ball and my fellow message boarders blowing up after the first loss of the season... Predictable.

The bench is fantastic, but certainly didn't play like it. It's a process. We don't have to wait for 5 years like the 76er fans, but we might have to wait for 20 games.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Evidently It'll take Turner more time to acclimate here.

He's a facilitator, not much of anything else. His jumper is über flat. He's like Draymond Greene - minus: elite defense, passing, jumper. But he's paid nearly the same. N'awesome.

Crabbe is a player who'll have big games sporadically but last night is the player I think we'll mostly see - solid but minimal impact. It'd be different if he were just consistent offensively. You need him to put up around 15 ppg to take that next step IMO.

You know who would've been awesome to this current core and especially off the bench? Willíam Bartón

Kinda ironic thar Bartón is a piece that this team is missing.

 

[BonesJones]

We couldve had Parsons and Ezeli and let Meyers go. Ugh.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

We couldve had Parsons and Ezeli and let Meyers go. Ugh.

How exactly could we have had Parsons? HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE!

 

[Driew]

How exactly could we have had Parsons? HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE!

But...but...I thought everyone wanted to play in rainy Portland!

 

[BonesJones]

How exactly could we have had Parsons? HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE!

We could've had Parsons if he didn't choose the Grizzlies. We were his 2nd option.

We really should've let Leonard go, which would've left us with $26M in cap space considering the Ezeli signing.

Then we could've made 2 value signings on underrated players (signings that Olshey is good at) instead of trying to make a splash on a bench player. 2 players at $13M a piece have so much more collective trade value than an $18M bench player.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

We could've had Parsons if he didn't choose the Grizzlies. We were his 2nd option.

We could have had Whiteside if he didn't choose the Heat.

We could have had Howard if he didn't choose the Hawks.

We could have had Horford if he didn't choose the Celtics.

Shall we continue? They're all silly. When it comes to free agency, the old saying "second place is the first loser" couldn't possibly be more applicable.

We really should've let Leonard go, which would've left us with $26M in cap space considering the Ezeli signing.

Then we could've made 2 value signings on underrated players (signings that Olshey is good at) instead of trying to make a splash on a bench player. 2 players at $13M a piece have so much more collective trade value than an $18M bench player.

20/20 hindsight, of course, but not a completely unreasonable position.
However, rather than lamenting players we pursued who didn't choose us, would you like to point out a couple of players who signed as UFA's for 10-12m per year this off-season whom you would have preferred we had overpaid rather than paying Meyers and Turner? Then we could at least have a discussion based in a semblance of reality.

 

[H.C.]

While I'm not the biggest supporter of Nards.
I don't believe it's fair to harshly judge a player like Nards, after he just missed 6 months of basketball action.
Nards has always been inexperienced basketball wise, and needed live game action.
After missing 6 months I personally wasn't expecting much from him this season.
I believe his contract reflects that. However whenever he's on the court, he will still make me wish he was plastered to the bench every possession.

As far as Turner goes, I'm looking directly at Stotts and the coaching staff. To me they are responsible for Turner's struggles.
Besides the body fat... there isn't much difference between how Sarge didn't understand offense enough to put Doughboy in a position to succeed.. Neither is Stotts putting Turner in a position to succeed. However Stotts is known for his offense, so there is no excuse. Eyes are on you Stotts.
I'm sure Stotts is aware of this because he is not Sarge... I'm sure these upcoming games we'll see Turner setting picks trying to force switching or double teaming... Which would allow Turner to either make plays out of a 4 on 3 situation. Or have a smaller/bigger defender that he can either post up, or take off the dibble.

I have faith in Stotts to put Turner in a position to succeed.
He was originally bought in to put Aldridge in a position to succeed. He did.
He then needed to change everything and put Lillard in a position to succeed. He has.
Now it's time to include Turner in the puzzle.