This franchise owes Dame everything to give him a second star for the rest of his prime

[Tince]

On paper and offensively this team should be better than Denver.

Defensively we're the same trash team that we were in the first game of the season.

I do think this team is slightly better than Denver without Murray. I do not think the Denver role players are getting way easier looks than Portland, but I think guys like Rivers/Morris haved made shots while CJ and others have been worse in executing their equal, if not better looks.

Yes, our defense still stinks, that shouldn't be a major surprise.

 

[wizenheimer]

speaking of Corner Three's, in the regular season:

* on offense, Portland was 29th in the NBA in percentage of corner 3's attempted vs all 3's (15.9%). And they were 16th in percentage made (39.3%)

* on defense, Portland was 24th in rate of corner three's allowed (24.5%). And they were 28th in FG% allowed (42.6%)

Meanwhile, Denver was 3rd in the NBA in FG% on corner three's at 42.9%. So yeah, Portland is vulnerable defensively on corner 3's, and Denver is a bad matchup for that vulnerability

 

[BonesJones]

Have you had time to watch the second overtime back?

Just tuning into you an Eric's post game stream and I don't think your frustrations match the film imo.

We ran Dame off ball off a pindown into a handoff with Melo that put two on the ball, that Melo failed to make the defense completely pay for. Norm corner three in rhythm, but Jokic was able to get in a better contest than he should have.

I also struggle with the off ball vs pnr/iso argument when, as you noted, Dame was completely gassed. Is sprinting off / setting up a screen (that also will most likely be switched) not as exhausting and likely less effective than what we saw putting Jokic in every pnr?

I mean hell, we got a Dame layup, the play that I talked about before that yes you can call a pnr if you want--a pull up 3 with Jokic laying back--and dame turning the corner on Jokic and hitting Cov on a well timed 45 cut that led to a missed dunk?

Idk....

I don't think Terry is a great coach and would be excited by a change as well. But, there's a reason why I push back on a lot of what you and Eric like to point out about your issues with him.

I also thought questioning the effort for the first 5-6 minutes of the game interesting. Yeah Norm missed a box out and Dame lost Compazzo on a re-location, but I thought we were better on the ball and racked up a ton of deflections with nothing to show for it. The shot selection was what I was most disappointed in and even then, that's including 2 missed bunnies by Dame and Nurk that led to transition opportunities for Denver.

I always appreciate how respectful you are and how well you back up your opinions. I enjoy our conversations and disagreements! Maybe next year we'll be able to agree on a coach, that'd be pretty dope too.

As far as the 2nd OT, I haven't watched it back. Too painful. But if all we ran was Dame into a handoff on one possession when we knew he'd get trapped, that's kinda my point. When I watch Golden State and Curry is hot they use him off the ball in a way that either gets him more looks, or makes the defense overcommit to stop it which opens up role players for great looks, including cuts towards the rim. This isn't dependent upon having a Draymond or a Klay out there, and a lot of times I see Draymond make passes to a cutter or a shooter that I think any NBA player could make. That's why it pisses me off when Dame's on fire and he's just standing on the other side of the court being faceguarded and we're not doing anything for him outside of a handoff into a trap.

Dame said he wasn't that gassed but he might've been. But we've consistently struggled to utilize him properly off the ball so it's just a continuation of the same for me.

I'm also not saying to NOT run pick n roll, or that it wouldn't work at all. Your point about play that got RoCo a dunk chance that he missed is a testament to that. But we can fall back into that with the shot clock winding down after we run some good offensive action that gives us a better chance at getting Dame a clean look or get the defense scrambling to take him away which we then exploit with the proper passes and cuts (i.e. ball & player movement).

My main frustration though is how scattershot and random our help-defense and recoveries are behind the point of attack. I don't know if you heard us talk about that but that's the main thing that lost us the game. Our off-ball fall-off on defense correlates with DVP leaving. Stotts has no idea how to coach it.

As far as the lack of effort, I felt like they weren't busting their ass through screens or attacking rebounds as hard as they could. Also felt like they could've done a better job running back in transition, I can't remember how much that led to points for Denver to be honest so it may not of killed them but the overall feel defensive and on the boards for me was these guys aren't going balls to the wall... Offensively, they weren't making an effort to attack or get cleaner looks and were settling for a lot of contested 3s. Maybe that falls under execution but it just seemed lazy. Sure, we missed a couple looks inside but it seemed like this team was not as mentally engaged as they should've been off the bat and I figured that was going to be the case going in.

 

[JDC]

I always appreciate how respectful you are and how well you back up your opinions. I enjoy our conversations and disagreements! Maybe next year we'll be able to agree on a coach, that'd be pretty dope too.

As far as the 2nd OT, I haven't watched it back. Too painful. But if all we ran was Dame into a handoff on one possession when we knew he'd get trapped, that's kinda my point. When I watch Golden State and Curry is hot they use him off the ball in a way that either gets him more looks, or makes the defense overcommit to stop it which opens up role players for great looks, including cuts towards the rim. This isn't dependent upon having a Draymond or a Klay out there, and a lot of times I see Draymond make passes to a cutter or a shooter that I think any NBA player could make. That's why it pisses me off when Dame's on fire and he's just standing on the other side of the court being faceguarded and we're not doing anything for him outside of a handoff into a trap.

Dame said he wasn't that gassed but he might've been. But we've consistently struggled to utilize him properly off the ball so it's just a continuation of the same for me.

I'm also not saying to NOT run pick n roll, or that it wouldn't work at all. Your point about play that got RoCo a dunk chance that he missed is a testament to that. But we can fall back into that with the shot clock winding down after we run some good offensive action that gives us a better chance at getting Dame a clean look or get the defense scrambling to take him away which we then exploit with the proper passes and cuts (i.e. ball & player movement).

My main frustration though is how scattershot and random our help-defense and recoveries are behind the point of attack. I don't know if you heard us talk about that but that's the main thing that lost us the game. Our off-ball fall-off on defense correlates with DVP leaving. Stotts has no idea how to coach it.

As far as the lack of effort, I felt like they weren't busting their ass through screens or attacking rebounds as hard as they could. Also felt like they could've done a better job running back in transition, I can't remember how much that led to points for Denver to be honest so it may not of killed them but the overall feel defensive and on the boards for me was these guys aren't going balls to the wall... Offensively, they weren't making an effort to attack or get cleaner looks and were settling for a lot of contested 3s. Maybe that falls under execution but it just seemed lazy. Sure, we missed a couple looks inside but it seemed like this team was not as mentally engaged as they should've been off the bat and I figured that was going to be the case going in.

I have my issues with the point of attack defense and rotations as well, but I struggle to put that all on Stotts and give the credit to David Vanterpool for our past successes.

He's done shit for Minnesota's defense and our fall off is also tied to Nurk and Zach's injuries and the downgrade in defensive talent off the bench in favor of more offensively oriented players.

During the regular season we were in the 81st percentile defensively with Nurk on floor, 19th with him off.

That trend has continued in the playoffs to even a greater extent.

A defensive rating of 108.3 with him on the floor (-7.3 vs playoff avg.) And a 145.4! with him off.

 

[BonesJones]

I have my issues with the point of attack defense and rotations as well, but I struggle to put that all on Stotts and give the credit to David Vanterpool for our past successes.

He's done shit for Minnesota's defense and our fall off is also tied to Nurk and Zach's injuries and the downgrade in defensive talent off the bench in favor of more offensively oriented players.

During the regular season we were in the 81st percentile defensively with Nurk on floor, 19th with him off.

That trend has continued in the playoffs to even a greater extent.

A defensive rating of 108.3 with him on the floor (-7.3 vs playoff avg.) And a 145.4! with him off.

That's because Nurkic can guard Jokic 1v1. When it comes to providing help or knowing where to position off the ball, or how to rotate out to shooters, we're completely lost. That should not be the case and makes the gap look even larger than it is. Yes, having better defensive personnel helps, but...

I've seen guys overhelp one-pass away far too much. I've seen us go under screens against an on-fire Monte Morris seemingly by design. I've seem guys seem confused on who's supposed to help and who's supposed to take the first knock-out pass. I've seen bigs fail to take away Jokic's post moves going baseline, which he loves, when the help is towards the middle. I seen Stotts try to play RoCo and Kanter in 1v1 coverage with no help against Jokic even though it gets burnt constantly. I've seen far too much of us switching into mismatches defensively this series too. I've seen him decide to play Kanter against Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green. I've seen RHJ play when it should actually be DJJ. There hasn't been a single positive adjustment on the defensive end. I think that's all on Stotts. Nurkic having a good defensive rating and bench personnel arent responsible for any of those coaching mistakes, in my opinion. They're not being coached properly on the defensive end. This is all stuff that a Tom Thibodeau would clean up.

 

[JDC]

That's because Nurkic can guard Jokic 1v1. When it comes to providing help or knowing where to position off the ball, or how to rotate out to shooters, we're completely lost. That should not be the case and makes the gap look even larger than it is. Yes, having better defensive personnel helps, but...

I've seen guys overhelp one-pass away far too much. I've seen us go under screens against an on-fire Monte Morris seemingly by design. I've seem guys seem confused on who's supposed to help and who's supposed to take the first knock-out pass. I've seen bigs fail to take away Jokic's post moves going baseline, which he loves, when the help is towards the middle. I seen Stotts try to play RoCo and Kanter in 1v1 coverage with no help against Jokic even though it gets burnt constantly. I've seen far too much of us switching into mismatches defensively this series too. I've seen him decide to play Kanter against Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green. I've seen RHJ play when it should actually be DJJ. There hasn't been a single positive adjustment on the defensive end. I think that's all on Stotts. Nurkic having a good defensive rating and bench personnel arent responsible for any of those coaching mistakes, in my opinion. They're not being coached properly on the defensive end. This is all stuff that a Tom Thibodeau would clean up.

Yeah Tom always been good at teaching the little things defensively. He also had a struggles against Atlanta with lack of adjustments on his pick and roll coverage on Trae.

We've gotten burnt by the soft help on Jokic. I understand the philosophy in showing a body to a guy like that and trying to bait him into a kick out pass on a short closeout but credit their shooters they've made us pay.

I also haven't loved the decision to put Roco on Jokic over Melo when we go small. Yeah he
has shown a knack for getting deflections and being pretty good at fronting the post and then getting back behind, but if we are going to double anyway, I'd rather have the bigger body just play behind and free up our best help defender by far to make an impact that way.

Yes the Morris unders were by design. I think the objective there is to allow Nurkic to stay connected to Jokic in pick and roll and not have to help and recover or bring a third guy into rotate to the pop.

But I don't know man I feel like you can play this game with every coach in the league. If we are on the other side of things we fucking hate Mike Malone's late game decisions on how he guarded Dame and the numerous breakdowns they had in the 4th and in the overtimes. There were too many count.

Looking back over your post, we definitely both agree on the lineup and rotation decisions. I've had my issues with them all year. Its the the big thing I worried about with this roster coming into the year, and it's played out like I thought it would unfortunately.

 

[Hoopguru]

That's because Nurkic can guard Jokic 1v1. When it comes to providing help or knowing where to position off the ball, or how to rotate out to shooters, we're completely lost. That should not be the case and makes the gap look even larger than it is. Yes, having better defensive personnel helps, but...

I've seen guys overhelp one-pass away far too much. I've seen us go under screens against an on-fire Monte Morris seemingly by design. I've seem guys seem confused on who's supposed to help and who's supposed to take the first knock-out pass. I've seen bigs fail to take away Jokic's post moves going baseline, which he loves, when the help is towards the middle. I seen Stotts try to play RoCo and Kanter in 1v1 coverage with no help against Jokic even though it gets burnt constantly. I've seen far too much of us switching into mismatches defensively this series too. I've seen him decide to play Kanter against Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green. I've seen RHJ play when it should actually be DJJ. There hasn't been a single positive adjustment on the defensive end. I think that's all on Stotts. Nurkic having a good defensive rating and bench personnel arent responsible for any of those coaching mistakes, in my opinion. They're not being coached properly on the defensive end. This is all stuff that a Tom Thibodeau would clean up.

Thib's better become more balanced or he's down the road after next year.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

* on defense, Portland was 24th in rate of corner three's allowed (24.5%). And they were 28th in FG% allowed (42.6%)

That certainly confirms what we have been seeing on the court all season. Not enough defensive attention to corner three shooters. Seems easily correctable but for some reason never was.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I don't get it. People have this idea that "X is a great player so X DESERVES a championship" but at the same time get all mad when players ALSO believe it and so you get the Heatles or the current Nets.

Fortunately, Dame seems to get that it's enough to be the best player you can be and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[calvin natt]

Been saying trade CJ for nearly 4 years now, are others finally ready to hop on that train?

Yeah you're the only one

 

[MickZagger]

If I was Lillard I would be irritated as fuck at my teammates. He pulls the team out of a 20 pt deficit. Carries them on his back to 2 overtime’s.

Kanter’s put back was the only thing they could get from the rest of the guys. Carmelo fumbles the ball out of bounds, Covington blows a dunk and CJ steps out of bounds all to seal a Blazer loss.

 

[wizenheimer]

4:24.0 N. Powell misses 3-pt jump shot from 24 ft 121-124
4:22.0 Offensive rebound by D. Lillard 121-124
4:19.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 121-124
4:17.0 Offensive rebound by E. Kanter 121-124
4:15.0 E. Kanter makes 2-pt jump shot from 3 ft 123-124
3:33.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 123-126
2:49.0 Personal foul by M. Porter (drawn by D. Lillard) 123-129
2:42.0 R. Covington misses 3-pt jump shot from 28 ft 123-129
2:39.0 Offensive rebound by Team 123-129
2:37.0 D. Lillard misses 3-pt jump shot from 23 ft 123-129
2:11.0 D. Lillard makes 2-pt layup from 3 ft 125-132
2:11.0 Shooting foul by A. Rivers (drawn by D. Lillard) 125-132
2:11.0 D. Lillard makes free throw 1 of 1 126-132
1:40.0 C. Anthony misses 3-pt jump shot from 27 ft 126-134
1:33.0 Offensive rebound by R. Covington 126-134
1:33.0 R. Covington misses 2-pt dunk at rim 126-134
1:00.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 31 ft (assist by C. Anthony) 129-134
0:29.0 Defensive rebound by D. Lillard 129-134
0:23.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 29 ft 132-134
0:14.0 Defensive rebound by R. Covington 132-135
0:06.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 135-135
End of 1st overtime

4:29.0 D. Lillard makes 2-pt layup from 2 ft 137-135
3:47.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 31 ft 140-138
3:02.0 D. Lillard misses 3-pt jump shot from 32 ft 140-140
2:38.0 Defensive rebound by D. Lillard 140-140
2:35.0 N. Powell misses 2-pt layup from 3 ft (block by A. Gordon) 140-140
2:35.0 Offensive rebound by Team 140-140
2:27.0 C. McCollum misses 2-pt layup from 7 ft 140-140
2:25.0 Offensive rebound by Team 140-140
2:14.0 C. McCollum misses 2-pt jump shot from 19 ft 140-140
0:41.0 R. Covington misses 2-pt dunk from 2 ft 140-143
0:17.0 Defensive rebound by R. Covington 140-143
0:10.0 Turnover by C. McCollum (step out of bounds) 140-143
0:08.0 140-145
0:06.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 140-145
0:00.0 A. Simons misses 3-pt jump shot from 29 ft 140-147
End of 2nd overtime

 

[Natebishop3]

Circling back to the original point of the thread, what stars will most likely be available after this season?

Paul George?
Butler?
Sabonis?
DeRozan? (free agent)
Kawhi is a free agent, right?

If we're looking to make a trade, what resources do we realistically have to offer?
CJ
Simons
Little
DJJ (if he doesn't opt out)
Nurk

Honestly, the only players I would really like to see on our team next year are:
Dame
Norm
RoCo

 

[Rastapopoulos]

If I was Lillard I would be irritated as fuck at my teammates. He pulls the team out of a 20 pt deficit. Carries them on his back to 2 overtime’s.

So we're just forgetting the fact that the Blazers blew out the Nuggets in the previous game with Dame shooting 1-10? Let's be glad you're NOT Lillard, who, I hope, has a more enlightened view.

 

[Natebishop3]

So we're just forgetting the fact that the Blazers blew out the Nuggets in the previous game with Dame shooting 1-10? Let's be glad you're NOT Lillard, who, I hope, has a more enlightened view.

It's a good thing the game is about more than just scoring, right?

Or are you just forgetting the fact that Dame almost had a triple double in that game?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

4:24.0 N. Powell misses 3-pt jump shot from 24 ft 121-124
4:22.0 Offensive rebound by D. Lillard 121-124
4:19.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 121-124
4:17.0 Offensive rebound by E. Kanter 121-124
4:15.0 E. Kanter makes 2-pt jump shot from 3 ft 123-124
3:33.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 123-126
2:49.0 Personal foul by M. Porter (drawn by D. Lillard) 123-129
2:42.0 R. Covington misses 3-pt jump shot from 28 ft 123-129
2:39.0 Offensive rebound by Team 123-129
2:37.0 D. Lillard misses 3-pt jump shot from 23 ft 123-129
2:11.0 D. Lillard makes 2-pt layup from 3 ft 125-132
2:11.0 Shooting foul by A. Rivers (drawn by D. Lillard) 125-132
2:11.0 D. Lillard makes free throw 1 of 1 126-132
1:40.0 C. Anthony misses 3-pt jump shot from 27 ft 126-134
1:33.0 Offensive rebound by R. Covington 126-134
1:33.0 R. Covington misses 2-pt dunk at rim 126-134
1:00.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 31 ft (assist by C. Anthony) 129-134
0:29.0 Defensive rebound by D. Lillard 129-134
0:23.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 29 ft 132-134
0:14.0 Defensive rebound by R. Covington 132-135
0:06.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 135-135
End of 1st overtime

4:29.0 D. Lillard makes 2-pt layup from 2 ft 137-135
3:47.0 D. Lillard makes 3-pt jump shot from 31 ft 140-138
3:02.0 D. Lillard misses 3-pt jump shot from 32 ft 140-140
2:38.0 Defensive rebound by D. Lillard 140-140
2:35.0 N. Powell misses 2-pt layup from 3 ft (block by A. Gordon) 140-140
2:35.0 Offensive rebound by Team 140-140
2:27.0 C. McCollum misses 2-pt layup from 7 ft 140-140
2:25.0 Offensive rebound by Team 140-140
2:14.0 C. McCollum misses 2-pt jump shot from 19 ft 140-140
0:41.0 R. Covington misses 2-pt dunk from 2 ft 140-143
0:17.0 Defensive rebound by R. Covington 140-143
0:10.0 Turnover by C. McCollum (step out of bounds) 140-143
0:08.0 140-145
0:06.0 C. McCollum misses 3-pt jump shot from 26 ft 140-145
0:00.0 A. Simons misses 3-pt jump shot from 29 ft 140-147
End of 2nd overtime

Nice. Now do the fourth quarter of Blazers-Lakers, 2000 playoffs, for the full sadomasochistic experience.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Dame has maybe 2 or 3 years left of his prime? This franchise needs to give everything in order to give him a legitimate second star.

Easiest way to do that is to trade him. "If you truly love something, let it go."

 

[wizenheimer]

Nice. Now do the fourth quarter of Blazers-Lakers, 2000 playoffs, for the full sadomasochistic experience.

IIRC, I'd have to include the last 30 seconds of the 3rd Q too....however long it took to include Brian Shaw's 30' bank shot

 

[Natebishop3]

Haha Rasta has me on ignore

 

[wizenheimer]

So we're just forgetting the fact that the Blazers blew out the Nuggets in the previous game with Dame shooting 1-10? Let's be glad you're NOT Lillard, who, I hope, has a more enlightened view.

you have been a big advocate of posting +/-

guess which Blazer had the highest +/- in that game 4

 

[Rastapopoulos]

you have been a big advocate of posting +/-

guess which Blazer had the highest +/- in that game 4

And Norm Powell had +11 in Game 5, and yet is being shit on for missing shots. Thank you for making my point for me.

 

[wizenheimer]

And Norm Powell had +11 in Game 5, and yet is being shit on for missing shots. Thank you for making my point for me.

and Dame only had a +2

just maybe, +/- for a game is kind of meaningless

 

[JoshuaHall]

I don't recall your history of takes, but the standard take around here is we give up way too many easy corner threes. Then we take those same easy corner threes (and miss them) with high quality shooters, people want more dunks. I wish it were the easy. Maybe the next coach will have us getting 30 dunks/layups a game if it's as easy as some here think it is.

We took as good or better shots than Denver, with better shooters, we missed, they made more. Sucks.

We give up way too many easy buckets, period. Not just 3s, but layups, particularly when Nurk isn’t in the game. The one thing I did say Stotts did that I liked was playing Jokic straight up. When you double him he finds people for wide open layups most of the time. This gets his role players in rhythm then they start canning 3s. And frankly 3pt defense starts with dribble penetration as well. So not sure how people can complain about corner 3s and not acknowledge that as a result of an entirely garbage defensive system. It’s not like we give up 3s cuz we totally shutdown the paint. Or give up layups cuz we totally shutdown the 3. We give up EVERYTHING.

I do not care about the “standard” take around here. And frankly, I see more people saying our defense is “ass” in general rather than “oh we give up too many 3s.”

And, like I said, I don’t care if it’s a *good* shot by the numbers. Over the course of a game I like the results of continually attacking the rim rather than jacking up 3s. (More easy buckets for us {something Charles Barkley has been saying for YEARS and he’s not exactly some genius. Same with Shaq. “They get no easy baskets.”}, more free throws, causes foul trouble for the other team which would be a welcome surprise). It’s not all about “oh this is a better shot.” Over the course of 48 there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Oh and then they’ll be more hesitant to close out quickly at risk of a blow by.

oh and guess what. When you’re missing shots but decide to attack the basket, good things happen.

 

[calvin natt]

"Go get a second superstar". Cool, wonder why the Blazers havent thought of this already? Dummies.

 

[THE HCP]

If I was Lillard I would be irritated as fuck at my teammates. He pulls the team out of a 20 pt deficit. Carries them on his back to 2 overtime’s.

Kanter’s put back was the only thing they could get from the rest of the guys. Carmelo fumbles the ball out of bounds, Covington blows a dunk and CJ steps out of bounds all to seal a Blazer loss.

I can understand people feeling this way, but basketball doesn’t work that way right? Back to back processions down the stretch, Rico played fabulous defense on Jokic..... CJ made a HUGE break 3 late. We wouldn’t be in the position to win without those plays, right? Let’s hope Dame gets a HELL of a lot more help tonight though.

 

[Natebishop3]

"Go get a second superstar". Cool, wonder why the Blazers havent thought of this already? Dummies.

Maybe... just maybe.... because Neil has been unwilling to trade CJ?

 

[MickZagger]

I can understand people feeling this way, but basketball doesn’t work that way right? Back to back processions down the stretch, Rico played fabulous defense on Jokic..... CJ made a HUGE break 3 late. We wouldn’t be in the position to win without those plays, right? Let’s hope Dame gets a HELL of a lot more help tonight though.

Look for Carmelo to have a big game tonight. He was missing a lot of shots he normally hits.




Also look for whoever he’s supposed to be guarding to have a huge game as well

 

[Tince]

We give up way too many easy buckets, period. Not just 3s, but layups, particularly when Nurk isn’t in the game. The one thing I did say Stotts did that I liked was playing Jokic straight up. When you double him he finds people for wide open layups most of the time. This gets his role players in rhythm then they start canning 3s. And frankly 3pt defense starts with dribble penetration as well. So not sure how people can complain about corner 3s and not acknowledge that as a result of an entirely garbage defensive system. It’s not like we give up 3s cuz we totally shutdown the paint. Or give up layups cuz we totally shutdown the 3. We give up EVERYTHING.

I do not care about the “standard” take around here. And frankly, I see more people saying our defense is “ass” in general rather than “oh we give up too many 3s.”

And, like I said, I don’t care if it’s a *good* shot by the numbers. Over the course of a game I like the results of continually attacking the rim rather than jacking up 3s. (More easy buckets for us {something Charles Barkley has been saying for YEARS and he’s not exactly some genius. Same with Shaq. “They get no easy baskets.”}, more free throws, causes foul trouble for the other team which would be a welcome surprise). It’s not all about “oh this is a better shot.” Over the course of 48 there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Oh and then they’ll be more hesitant to close out quickly at risk of a blow by.

oh and guess what. When you’re missing shots but decide to attack the basket, good things happen.

I hear you... don't agree on everything, but get where you're coming from.

We give up to many easy baskets, yes. The why is the bigger question.

I do not think simply attacking the basket all games would result in more points, I actually suspect it would be the opposite. What's the perfect balance? That's the tough question.

 

[riverman]

The Blazers have given Dame the reigns to the franchise since he was a rookie plus max deals and extensions....they've signed his cousin to the bench...kept his closest friends on the roster with the exception of Barton, Frasier and Ed Davis...
etc......Dame couldn't ask for a franchise to treat him any better than he has already been treated by the organization.....as far as winning...he's the captain....he has the ear of his teammates...there's no "poor Dame" scenario in his life.....he's a success story. Pure and simple. He also has the ear of the front office....I'm sure he's content unlike a contingency of disgruntled forum members. I think he's just getting started on his ring quest....he's actually taking defense more seriously since Norm joined the team...Gary Trent wasn't teaching that to Dame. When your best player and coach are on the same page, it's a good thing. I doubt he has unrealistic expectations about the journey to a championship that some here seem to have...thinking a small market team would dominate the league from the first game to the finals. A lot of things need to fall into place for a championship....we have a shot but I'd probably put money on the Nets to win this season given how stacked they are.

 

[AldoTrapani]

I can understand people feeling this way, but basketball doesn’t work that way right? Back to back processions down the stretch, Rico played fabulous defense on Jokic..... CJ made a HUGE break 3 late. We wouldn’t be in the position to win without those plays, right? Let’s hope Dame gets a HELL of a lot more help tonight though.

Damn all this for a short handed Nuggets team. Imagine what the next round would be like. If we even get there... Lmao