JDC
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2008
- Messages
- 3,508
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- 3,402
- Points
- 113
- Jrue is such a lovely basketball player and has increased my enjoyment level of this team exponentially. He fits so seamlessly into what we are trying to do and looks like he's having fun playing on the ball more after playing a limited role in Boston the last 2 years. The patience in the pick and roll, the bully ball scoring craft, the "your screen means nothing to me" defense aaaaannnnddd can both pressure full and switch all over floor.....inject that shit into my veins....dude has been an absolute joy. Nice to see the jumper come alive last night too. We nneeeeed that.
- Didn't take long for Deni to find his jumper after a rough Eurobasket and game 1 from 3. Back to shooting more on the way up and the results have followed. Always going to be frustrated by some of his decisions offensively, but the defense has ramped back up to where he was two years ago. Unique blend of strength and quickness make such a valuable piece alongside other switchable defenders. He's such a dependable player and really hope we find a way to bring him back when he hits unrestricted FA.
- The Jerami Grant experience has been a revelation. The Jrue signing and Dame being back seems to have reinvigorated him. Still doesn't rebound or pass at all (although he had nice kick out off a drive last night) but we need his volume shooting and nice to see him figuring out his drive game again although most still look like a car crash you want to turn away from. He's playing unsustainably well right now, but I like the verve he's showing. Haven't seen that much in his Blazers tenure.
- Donovan Clingan...my guy. I'll be honest I was a little worried after preseason that we may not see the jump despite getting in better shape. The reduced weight seemed to be hurting his ability to anchor which got himself into bad body positions when dealing with contact which led to a lot fouls...we heard about the improved 3 ball, but was very reluctant to shoot them...the hands on the defensive boards still looked suspect...looked quicker off the floor, but the touch on finishes was still rough even with his more reliable left hand...but he's been very solid to start the year and I think Tiago is going to lean on him more and more throughout the year. He's much quicker covering ground on defense, the hands defending ball screens has made a huge jump, he's taking just enough threes that it has opened up some passing opportunities when operating out top in the handoff game. And although teams have gotten so much smarter about running action away from elite rim protectors, he's still been very impactful there. Still a beast on the offensive glass (nearly a 20% oreb rate!!!) and has gotten smarter about kicking those back out instead trying to put them back in traffic...he just doesn't have the footwork or touch for that. Love the shit he's talking out there too...talk your shit DC!
- Shaedon Sharpe has been anything but offensively. The jumper looks rough coming out of his hand, the handle is sloppy as hell. Dig on him off the ball and it's an auto turnover...the drive setups aren't working and even when he does get a step, the drives have not ended well for him. The passing decisions have been very lazy/indecisive as well. All of this stuff looked the opposite in preseason so I have no doubts that he will turn it around but still wonder what level he can get to. On the positive side, he hasn't let his struggles affect his defense really at all which is a great sign and really think having Scoot back will help him immensely. He's been asked to do way too much in the bench plus Shae lineups right. Brighter days ahead but the offense has been shockingly bad....
- Toumani is also in his head offensively. Not sure if had a bad warmup prior to the Clipper game or what, but all of sudden he's shooting 3's as a last resort. It wouldn't been be a huge problem if he was making quick decisions to drive or pass, but instead he's becoming a catch and hold player. Yes he's still been good defensively, but unlike Shae, he's let his offensive struggles hurt his typical level of defensive intensity in pockets of the last two games. He did turn it back on in the 2nd half of last night though and looked like last year Tou. Props to him for that. You could see guys in his ear during fist half so nice to see him respond well. Hope he figures it out because we really need another guy willing to take 3's at volume and he has it in him...again we saw it in preseason. The drives are still very wild though and I'm not sure why. Seems like he focused on improving his rim decisions in the off season from the footage I've seen, but he's still taking off from too far away with these wild one hand extension finishes that have no hope. He's long, flexible and athletic enough with a nice turnaround be a weapon off of two feet. Really hope he explores that part of his game.
- Blake Wesley can't shoot at all and is too fast for his own good sometimes, but dude is a fucking mad man. Even when Scoot comes back (who I'm soooo excited to see in this system) it's nice the we have a tempo changer 3rd guard that can be called upon and you know what he can bring.
- Holding my thoughts Hansen...he's played so little and for such short stretches that I think it's unfair to judge him.
Very fun start to the year and looking forward to 78 more of these...and likely more.
GO BLAZEEEEERRRRRSS!
*EDIT
- Not sure how I forgot about Matisse....as someone who's questioned his value to good teams and didn't love that we extended him....he's been really great. Hope he can have healthy year. I saw a version of him during silly season last year that caught my eye and it's carried over and then some. His ball handling, shooting and decision making on offense has looked like a new player and dude is a 1 of 1 defensive playmaker. That player as one of your 8-10 guys is such a luxury. Keep it up Tisse!
- Didn't take long for Deni to find his jumper after a rough Eurobasket and game 1 from 3. Back to shooting more on the way up and the results have followed. Always going to be frustrated by some of his decisions offensively, but the defense has ramped back up to where he was two years ago. Unique blend of strength and quickness make such a valuable piece alongside other switchable defenders. He's such a dependable player and really hope we find a way to bring him back when he hits unrestricted FA.
- The Jerami Grant experience has been a revelation. The Jrue signing and Dame being back seems to have reinvigorated him. Still doesn't rebound or pass at all (although he had nice kick out off a drive last night) but we need his volume shooting and nice to see him figuring out his drive game again although most still look like a car crash you want to turn away from. He's playing unsustainably well right now, but I like the verve he's showing. Haven't seen that much in his Blazers tenure.
- Donovan Clingan...my guy. I'll be honest I was a little worried after preseason that we may not see the jump despite getting in better shape. The reduced weight seemed to be hurting his ability to anchor which got himself into bad body positions when dealing with contact which led to a lot fouls...we heard about the improved 3 ball, but was very reluctant to shoot them...the hands on the defensive boards still looked suspect...looked quicker off the floor, but the touch on finishes was still rough even with his more reliable left hand...but he's been very solid to start the year and I think Tiago is going to lean on him more and more throughout the year. He's much quicker covering ground on defense, the hands defending ball screens has made a huge jump, he's taking just enough threes that it has opened up some passing opportunities when operating out top in the handoff game. And although teams have gotten so much smarter about running action away from elite rim protectors, he's still been very impactful there. Still a beast on the offensive glass (nearly a 20% oreb rate!!!) and has gotten smarter about kicking those back out instead trying to put them back in traffic...he just doesn't have the footwork or touch for that. Love the shit he's talking out there too...talk your shit DC!
- Shaedon Sharpe has been anything but offensively. The jumper looks rough coming out of his hand, the handle is sloppy as hell. Dig on him off the ball and it's an auto turnover...the drive setups aren't working and even when he does get a step, the drives have not ended well for him. The passing decisions have been very lazy/indecisive as well. All of this stuff looked the opposite in preseason so I have no doubts that he will turn it around but still wonder what level he can get to. On the positive side, he hasn't let his struggles affect his defense really at all which is a great sign and really think having Scoot back will help him immensely. He's been asked to do way too much in the bench plus Shae lineups right. Brighter days ahead but the offense has been shockingly bad....
- Toumani is also in his head offensively. Not sure if had a bad warmup prior to the Clipper game or what, but all of sudden he's shooting 3's as a last resort. It wouldn't been be a huge problem if he was making quick decisions to drive or pass, but instead he's becoming a catch and hold player. Yes he's still been good defensively, but unlike Shae, he's let his offensive struggles hurt his typical level of defensive intensity in pockets of the last two games. He did turn it back on in the 2nd half of last night though and looked like last year Tou. Props to him for that. You could see guys in his ear during fist half so nice to see him respond well. Hope he figures it out because we really need another guy willing to take 3's at volume and he has it in him...again we saw it in preseason. The drives are still very wild though and I'm not sure why. Seems like he focused on improving his rim decisions in the off season from the footage I've seen, but he's still taking off from too far away with these wild one hand extension finishes that have no hope. He's long, flexible and athletic enough with a nice turnaround be a weapon off of two feet. Really hope he explores that part of his game.
- Blake Wesley can't shoot at all and is too fast for his own good sometimes, but dude is a fucking mad man. Even when Scoot comes back (who I'm soooo excited to see in this system) it's nice the we have a tempo changer 3rd guard that can be called upon and you know what he can bring.
- Holding my thoughts Hansen...he's played so little and for such short stretches that I think it's unfair to judge him.
Very fun start to the year and looking forward to 78 more of these...and likely more.
GO BLAZEEEEERRRRRSS!
*EDIT
- Not sure how I forgot about Matisse....as someone who's questioned his value to good teams and didn't love that we extended him....he's been really great. Hope he can have healthy year. I saw a version of him during silly season last year that caught my eye and it's carried over and then some. His ball handling, shooting and decision making on offense has looked like a new player and dude is a 1 of 1 defensive playmaker. That player as one of your 8-10 guys is such a luxury. Keep it up Tisse!
and certainly nothing to ever hint at the infamous 'i' word!
