There's a lot to be positive about

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SharpesTriumph said:
Defense has been way better than expected, very encouraging.

Really curious to see how this team performs when two of our PGs get back.
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That’s good for team construction going forward. Figure out the defensive scheme, then draft guys who can fit in with the defense and also take the offense up a notch.

The Warriors figured it out on defense under Jackson before Kerr eventually came in and transformed the offense.
 
Cugel said:
Most important thread on the board. Baby steps. Look at how nicely OKC is playing. That is the goal.
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OKC has a superstar in SGA
And another potential superstar in Holmgren

Right now we don't have superstar or potential superstars on the roster unfortunately
 
Portland2014 said:
OKC has a superstar in SGA
And another potential superstar in Holmgren

Right now we don't have superstar or potential superstars on the roster unfortunately
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Shaedon is a potential superstar and according to all of the experts so is Scoot... so unfortunately you're speculating and then writing it like it's a fact. Look at SGA's stats his first two seasons and somehow you still eliminate potential superstardom from Shae and Scoot. SMH.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Yeah, we lost.

Yeah, we're 3-7.

Who cares? This isn't supposed to be the season where we go for it. This is about developing guys, and that's exactly what we're doing.

Sharpe already looks like he's going to be a legit star. Yes, he has holes. Yes, he makes silly mistakes. He's 20 years old. I'm much more enthused about what he CAN do. The fact that he can go out and have a rough shooting night, but get 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals is awesome. I love it. Sharpe is the future of this team.

Jabari Walker and Toumani Camara are legit. They're going to be rotation guys for a long time. Those two would be buried on a playoff team, but we're getting to see them grow before our very eyes.

Ayton is a solid center. Is he a star? No. Should he have been the #1 pick? No. But I'd much rather have him than Nurk. He hasn't even hit his prime yet, and we're just starting to learn how to use him. I think the future is bright for this young man.

Thybulle and Grant are finally starting to hit shots. In October, Grant struggled from three in the first four games. He shot 19% from deep. In November he's shooting 44.7% from three. That's going to help Scoot immensely when he comes back. He needs Grant and Thybulle hitting their open shots. Thybulle is shooting 38% from three this season.

We will hopefully get Simons and Scoot back in December and then we can see what we've got. I'm actually fine with moving Brogdon. Keep Mays. He's an adequate backup. We don't need Brogdon. Let's move him when he's healthy for a pick and maybe a player.

Murray and Rupert have looked good on the Remix. Hopefully they can continue to grow.

RWill was great when he was healthy. Hopefully he can come back next season and be healthy. Our center rotation was awesome with Rob and Ayton.

I just think there's a lot of positives to be happy about right now. We're rebuilding, but we have a great young core to build around. Sharpe, Simons, Scoot, Ayton, Camara, Walker, Murray, and Rupert. Plus we will most likely have our pick this year and the Warriors look like ass right now. We could end up with two lottery picks this summer. That's two more guys we can add to this core. If we keep Grant and Thybulle, great. They seem to be fine playing with our young guys. If we trade them, fine. We have guys who can take their minutes.

About the only thing I'm really seriously grading this season is Billups, but I trust Cronin to make the right move. Joe Cronin deserves A LOT of credit for putting together a complete rebuild in not even 2 years and we have a bright future. Plenty to be excited about. Go Blazers!
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Hold on. Let me fix this.

WRONG!!!!1
 
SharpesTriumph said:
Defense has been way better than expected, very encouraging.

Really curious to see how this team performs when two of our PGs get back.
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I too am encouraged by the improved D, which comes from having legit sized athletes at each spot especially the 5. While the maturation of Shaedon and Scoot should improve them over time, clearly they still need to add talent. Frustration over short term results this season is silly as even with a fully healthy roster they are a ways away.

STOMP
 
Swinging back to Walker...he has impressed me. His stroke from the 3pt line is looking much more "confident". Last night he was 3-4 and another that was waived off. I like Camara, but I wonder if Walker should start and bring Camara off the bench moving Grant to the small forward position. If Walker can continue to shoot the 3-ball well he jumps ahead of Camara IMO....for now. Either way, he has been a positive this year
 
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These are glorified summer league games to be honest. A player who is getting killed on here for a week will fall off the opposing team’s scout and have a good couple games…..then it will switch up and it will be somebody else. I’m sure Camara will get lit up here soon.
Just sit back and enjoy that RipCity life. Go Blazers.
 
I agree that the defensive numbers are somewhat encouraging

but there is some important context to that: Portland has only played one game against a team that is in the top-10 in offense; and only 3 games against teams that are in the top-half of the league in offense. On the other hand, they have played 4 games against teams in the bottom-5 on offense; and 6 games against teams in the bottom-10. That's a fairly lop-sided sample size and 7 of their 11 games have been against teams with losing records. Portland's SOS is 28th

their defense hasn't been tested much so far. Another factor could be that Portland's offense is last in the league and their pace is 22nd. The Blazers are now one of those teams that can 'ugly-up-a-game'. That's not conducive to good offense on either end. Also, the Blazers haven't had Ant's matador defense out there. He'll improve the offense when he returns but he sure won't help the defense
 
Haven’t we played the easiest schedule in the league?
 
BankTeller said:
Echoing my sentiments exactly. We don’t ever have to worry about him getting there on offense. Doubters were worried about all the other facets of his game. I love the rebounds, and he keeps getting better at finding guys. His ability to process the game seems like it might be farther along than his handle is. I’m really excited to see what he becomes when he DOES have a handle.

Even tonight: terrible shooting night, but had 7 boards and a 5-0 ast/to ratio, 6/7 from the stripe. All really encouraging signs. Dude is also dealing with a hand and knee thing too, right?
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Knee thing?!?!
 
Pinwheel1 said:
Swinging back to Walker...he has impressed me. His stroke from the 3pt line is looking much "confident". Last night he was 3-4 and another that was waived off.
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He has impressed me as well. I don’t really have an opinion on starting Camara vs Walker, it doesn’t really matter to me because eventually neither will be starting when the other guys come back.

But I’m highly encouraged about having both Camara and Walker as high role-playing forwards coming off the bench. Both guys can play either forward position—as long as they keep getting better at different facets of the game, as all players do, we have a pair of cost-effective forwards who are good at a little bit of everything…but they come off the bench.

Let’s enjoy this year of development from Walker and Camara, and see where the ping pong balls land. Any kind of rapid development from Camara and/or Walker pretty much guarantees that we will have one of the deepest benches in the league by the time this team is really ready to compete.
 
Portland2014 said:
OKC has a superstar in SGA
And another potential superstar in Holmgren

Right now we don't have superstar or potential superstars on the roster unfortunately
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lol you met your quota on making someone laugh, great job!
 
BankTeller said:
Let’s enjoy this year of development from Walker and Camara, and see where the ping pong balls land.
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Yeah, that’s the ticket! Maybe we can get another “superstar” point guard like Scoot Henderson!
 
Bingo Bango said:
Yeah, that’s the ticket! Maybe we can get another “superstar” point guard like Scoot Henderson!
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I know you're trying to be ironic but seriously Scoot has played 5 games and neither of his injuries point to something chronic. The dude is 19, so I'll side with virtually every scout that said he was a sure thing heading into the draft as opposed to your pretty constantly negative speculation.
 
I listened to old man reporter Dwight Jaynes on the radio last night. He's really enjoying these Blazer games. The team plays intense defense and gives a lot of effort. That's all anyone should ask for. Then he finished his glitzy observation with; the Blazers simply need to draft about 15 more rookies over the next several years, and they'll be perfectly fine.
 
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