To win Playoffs and Championship

[dviss1]

and the failure to include Meyers for 2nd half defense

 

[swish3]

Meyers continues to lead the Blazers in these statistics, ORtg 128, 3P% 46.6, TS% 67.3, eFG% 65.0, and Points/FGA 1.47! Remember his achievements in the Jan 30 UTA game, after UTA had beaten us badly twice in December, including his play against Gobert, and you might see why I would include Meyers talent in the 2nd half when Enes is letting down, failing to get rebounds, failing to even put a hand up to defend, and failing to hustle on defense.

For the Championship, we need to optimize the talent, keep Center scoring at 36+, accomplish bench scoring of 36+, and keep consistent determined defense using enough substitutions.

 

[swish3]

Of the combinations of scoring lineups available, the top 10 include 3 with Meyers who should start as Blazer Center in place of Nurk. The only group of 5 in the top 10 with Zach is with Meyers as Center. Given the excellent win over UTA Jazz on Jan 30, the NBA leading 3P%, 1.47 points/FGA, screening, passing, and hustle that Meyers brings, the game plan for winning in the Playoffs should include starting Meyers who is improving in defense and rim protection and can alternate with Enes for optimized Blazer front court effectiveness. With support of Blazer coaches and what he has learned from Nurk to develop his defense as well as his excellent offense, Meyers will be the Blazer to step up and get the wins on the path to the Western Conference Championship.

 

[KingSpeed]

Of the combinations of scoring lineups available, the top 10 include 3 with Meyers who should start as Blazer Center in place of Nurk. The only group of 5 in the top 10 with Zach is with Meyers as Center. Given the excellent win over UTA Jazz on Jan 30, the NBA leading 3P%, 1.47 points/FGA, screening, passing, and hustle that Meyers brings, the game plan for winning in the Playoffs should include starting Meyers who is improving in defense and rim protection and can alternate with Enes for optimized Blazer front court effectiveness. With support of Blazer coaches and what he has learned from Nurk to develop his defense as well as his excellent offense, Meyers will be the Blazer to step up and get the wins on the path to the Western Conference Championship.

This makes me happy.

 

[KingSpeed]

Hey swish- what did you think of EK’s two swish3s on Monday?

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

It honestly wouldnt surprise me if even with the injurybto Nurk we still dont see ML much. They’ll probably just play smaller with Zach at center.

 

[swish3]

Hey swish- what did you think of EK’s two swish3s on Monday?

It was great to see Enes score these, now making him 2 of 9 (22.2%). His strength is at the rim and getting many offensive rebounds, which is what I look for him to do. Let's have Meyers score the 3-6 swish3s per game and keep the Center point production from Meyers and Enes combined over 30 points per game!

 

[swish3]

It honestly wouldnt surprise me if even with the injurybto Nurk we still dont see ML much. They’ll probably just play smaller with Zach at center.

This plan would be a waste of the 9-18 swish3 points that Meyers should be scoring per game, and that can mean wins through the Playoffs. Zach belongs at Forward, where he can excel with blocks and defense as he gains finesse, as he and Meyers get more coaching support for effective defense that will bring success. As the last Jazz game showed, we will get a lot out of starting Meyers and enjoying his continuing improvement in his best season of Blazer basketball.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

This plan would be a waste of the 9-18 swish3 points that Meyers should be scoring per game, and that can mean wins through the Playoffs. Zach belongs at Forward, where he can excel with blocks and defense as he gains finesse, as he and Meyers get more coaching support for effective defense that will bring success. As the last Jazz game showed, we will get a lot out of starting Meyers and enjoying his continuing improvement in his best season of Blazer basketball.

It could be argued thats its a waste. I just think Stotts doesnt really want to play him at this point.

 

[tlongII]

This plan would be a waste of the 9-18 swish3 points that Meyers should be scoring per game, and that can mean wins through the Playoffs. Zach belongs at Forward, where he can excel with blocks and defense as he gains finesse, as he and Meyers get more coaching support for effective defense that will bring success. As the last Jazz game showed, we will get a lot out of starting Meyers and enjoying his continuing improvement in his best season of Blazer basketball.

Meyers was 0-3 on swish3’s tonight. Not good.

 

[kjironman1]

Meyers was 0-3 on swish3’s tonight. Not good.

Rusty?

 

[swish3]

Meyers appeared rusty after not playing in the last 7 games, and only took 3 shots. However, Seth, our other swish3 talent, was 4 of 7 and made 20 points, and the bench had a season high 70 points in what was a pleasant lead all the way game against a weak CHI Bulls team. It was good to see all Blazers who played score points, and the 30 assists and limiting turnovers to 8.

Let's look for efficient swish3 scoring that will be needed against ATL and in future games as the Blazers can go 4-0 on this road trip and aim to maximize wins in the Playoffs!

 

[swish3]

What we learned from the disappointing DET loss Mar 31 was that failure of the coaches to adjust when Dame, Mo, Chief, Jake, Zach, Rod, and Seth were all missing swish3s in the 1st Q wasted the chance for having a 12+ point advantage. Given that Meyers leads the Blazers in TS%, eFG%, ORtg, 3P%, and points/FGA, Meyers should have been in at the 4 min to go mark in both 1st Q and 2nd half and with enough min to score 2 or more swish3s in each half. And in all Q we should be aiming for 15+ to win, and at least the season average 11, and using the best swish3 shooting talent to score those points. We should have won the DET game and been set for the 54 wins! Let's get back on track and get the next 6 in honor of Nurk!

In the absence of Nurk, we should be using the high post, screening, passing, defense, and swish3 scoring talent of Meyers to alternate with Enes to provide for a varied offense (to Enes low post near the rim pattern) to keep DET, MIN, MEM, DEN, LAL, and SAC off balance and behind for the wins. Enes and Meyers are both making progress on defense with ongoing Blazer coaching. Making the best use of talent and optimizing the substitution pattern to be able to count on 30+ points and consistent hustle defense from the Center, and having Zach, Chief, and Mo on the court as Forwards can deliver wins in all 6 of the remaining games. Let's dial up swish3 scoring and get these 6 wins!

 

[swish3]

From the Chris Ballard Apr 3 SI Crossover article, I see a Budenholzer idea that can work for the Blazers in the Playoffs and should be tried while we have the chance against MEM Grizzlies. That is to go big and use the "positionless motion" concept to maximize multi-threat offense, spacing, assists, and scoring. Here is the quote:
[Budenholzer] 'he “channeled my inner Nellie” and ran out a lineup that stood 7 feet, 6'11", 6'10", 6'10" and 6'8". It’s not something he plans to do often—they’ve only been together 22 possessions—but the results were intriguing: Their point differential per 100 possessions was 119.6. “It was f------ beautiful!” says Bud.'

The Bucks Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Ersan Ilvaysova, Nikola Mirotic, and Khris Middleton replaced with our 7,1 Meyers, 7,0 Zach, 6,9 Chief (or 6,11 Skal), 6,9 Mo (or 6,9 Jake), and 6,8 Rod would pose a high scoring, rim defending scoring attack competitive with even the Bucks! And this is added to 12 points from 6,11 Enes and 8 from Seth.

Bud has coached the Bucks to the NBA leading status with swish3 shooting that now ranks 2nd, and has Brook now averaging 6 swish3 attempts per game. Just as Meyers is averaging only 1.8 3PA/game, Giannis is averaging 2.7 3PA/game, and being mandated by Bud to shoot more. The Bucks average 13.5 of 38.2 swish3 attempts per game, 117.9 points vs opponents 108.6 points, and have only Malcolm Brogdon at 42.6% above 40% for 3P%. Blazers using the positionless motion plan with enhanced swish3 shooting can get this Title. In the NBA Finals, I can imagine the Blazers winning over the Bucks, as well as steadily progressing along the road to the Western Conference Championship, with this strategy.

Link:
https://www.si.com/nba/2019/04/03/g...milwaukee-bucks-mike-budenholzer-mvp-playoffs

 

[swish3]

Blazer coaches did just the oopposite [new word that seems apt] of what I posted on Mon (#43). Instead of optimizing talents of Enes and Meyers to score 30+ points from the Center position, coaches called for 0 shots by Meyers and wasted the 3-4 swish3s (Meyers made 4 of 5 swish3s and 6 of 7 FGA in the Jan 30 Jazz win) that could have won the Apr 5 DEN game. We needed those swish3s especially with Seth missing. Meyers leads the Blazers in several categories, including 3P% 45, TS% 67.4, ORtg 129, and 1.476 points/FGA. When we waste the scoring that he is contributing, we lose. Let's see 6 swish3 attempts by Meyers in the Apr 7 DEN game and get the win on the way to a 53-29 season. On to winning in the Playoffs!

 

[BonesJones]

Blazer coaches did just the oopposite [new word that seems apt] of what I posted on Mon (#43). Instead of optimizing talents of Enes and Meyers to score 30+ points from the Center position, coaches called for 0 shots by Meyers and wasted the 3-4 swish3s (Meyers made 4 of 5 swish3s and 6 of 7 FGA in the Jan 30 Jazz win) that could have won the Apr 5 DEN game. We needed those swish3s especially with Seth missing. Meyers leads the Blazers in several categories, including 3P% 45, TS% 67.4, ORtg 129, and 1.476 points/FGA. When we waste the scoring that he is contributing, we lose. Let's see 6 swish3 attempts by Meyers in the Apr 7 DEN game and get the win on the way to a 53-29 season. On to winning in the Playoffs!

Teams guard Meyers 3 and dont give him the space to shoot. It's not about coaches not "assigning 3s to Meyers". Its not as simple as "Let's have Meyers shoot X amount of 3s!", because he shoots very slow and defenders have only have to be within 5-10 feet on the catch, which they usually are.

 

[swish3]

These arguments that teams don't give Meyers the space to shoot are not consistent with facts and documented by his leading statistics. This defeatist attitude so often repeated and exaggerated on RC2 leads to not running plays for Meyers to score. But the statistics are real and in spite of weaknesses that can be and have been overcome. What we should be doing is using Meyers off-ball floor pattern to be like that in the Jan 30 Jazz game and earlier this season. Meyers has a deliberate shot that depends on catch and shoot assist passes, but when he has 4+ feet and 2.5 seconds, he has demonstrated excellent swish3 scoring that can mean more wins. Let's run some plays for and look to pass to Meyers and see how many more wins result!

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Teams guard Meyers 3 and dont give him the space to shoot. It's not about coaches not "assigning 3s to Meyers". Its not as simple as "Let's have Meyers shoot X amount of 3s!", because he shoots very slow and defenders have only have to be within 5-10 feet on the catch, which they usually are.

His shot is so slow that teams guard him like he’s a bad shooter. Which sucks because I think he might be the best “pure” shooter on the Blazers roster.

 

[swish3]

His shot is so slow that teams guard him like he’s a bad shooter. Which sucks because I think he might be the best “pure” shooter on the Blazers roster.

I agree that teams underestimate Meyers, and this is a plus! His shot is deliberate, but has been effective enough to score 4 of 5 against the Jazz and establish the NBA Playoff record for 10 or more when he scored 10 of 13. These accomplishments show why we should be relying on him for 12+ points per game. Let's see some assist passes to Meyers on the arc and get the wins!

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I agree that teams underestimate Meyers, and this is a plus! His shot is deliberate, but has been effective enough to score 4 of 5 against the Jazz and establish the NBA Playoff record for 10 or more when he scored 10 of 13. These accomplishment show why we should be relying on him for 12+ points per game. Let's see some assist passes to Meyers on the arc and get the wins!

The Jazz might be a good match up for him in that the further you can get Gobert away from the basket, the better.

 

[swish3]

The Jazz might be a good match up for him in that the further you can get Gobert away from the basket, the better.

I agree, and imagine that we win in the Playoffs against the Jazz! It was pleasing to see Meyers not only score 80% of his swish3s but also embarrass Rudy Gobert with a drive through the paint.

 

[H.C.]

The Jazz might be a good match up for him in that the further you can get Gobert away from the basket, the better.

Eh. I think with time to prepare Utah puts Ingles/favors on Nards.
Portland would have to have Nards as the only true big on the court to find that matchup imo.
If stotts goes into this series hoping the other team is undiciplined again. I will lose my shit

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Eh. I think with time to prepare Utah puts Ingles/favors on Nards.
Portland would have to have Nards as the only true big on the court to find that matchup imo.
If stotts goes into this series hoping the other team is undiciplined again. I will lose my shit

I actually think that Putting ML and Zach or Kanter at the same time would force Gobert to stay with his man a bit he’s gonna have to guard one of them. I like the matchup with the Jazz ok, and in some ways better then the Clippers.

 

[H.C.]

I actually think that Putting ML and Zach or Kanter at the same time would force Gobert to stay with his man a bit he’s gonna have to guard one of them. I like the matchup with the Jazz ok, and in some ways better then the Clippers.

Possibly, but I think he'd be guarding Kanter or Zach. Not Nards.
Neither of those two are as deadly with their jumper as Nards is.
But also have to remember that Gobert gets the love for DPotY. But Favors is also a great defender at the rim as well.
I think between Ingles/Favors/Crowder. Utah is able to match up with Portland decently enough to allow Favors to play closer to the rim.
Unless Nards is the lone big at the 5.
But then we've seen teams put their rim protector on Aminu and live with the result.

Nards has a place in the series. But he's had a place all year imo.

 

[swish3]

The Blazers won the Apr 7 home game against the DEN Nuggets, but with major coaching mistakes that allowed them an 8 point lead in the 4th Q. The Blazers gave up a deficit of 12 points scoring 9 vs 13 swish3s that could have been matched by relying on Meyers for 3P scoring expertise, screens, passes, fresh legs, and hustle in the 4th Q, and this need for 4th Q scoring and hustle will be important in the Playoffs. Remember that Meyers scored 4 of 5 swish3s in a starting role against Rudy Gobert in Jan! As noted in the rusty return of CJ, it is important to play Blazers who will be needed to have them in the flow for optimal scoring. Zach and Jake were not playing well in this game, where having Meyers on the court with active off-ball patterns to open shots on the arc will allow us to match swish3 scoring with playoff opponents. Enes looked tired and played some weak defense in the 4th Q when a rested and determined Meyers could have provided more opposition and even rebounds. Enes scored 11 points in 27 min and Zach scored 6 in 19 min for only 17 points from the Center position from which we need 30+. Substituting Evan for Enes in the last 2 min was shocking (even though it worked out). The Blazers need more 4th Q power from the front court. In the last 2 games, let's see better substitution to get our 3P% back up to 38%+ by using the 45% swish3 shooter, and improve defensive consistency in preparation for optimizing Blazer talent for winning in the Playoffs!

 

[swish3]

The Apr 9 Blazers win over LAL again revealed coaching mistakes that will not be sufficient to win in the Playoffs. Zach had a terrible game which was obvious in his first 5 min in the game, and should have been replaced by Meyers even in the 2nd Q and especially in the 2nd half. Zach, Jake, and Rod all missed all of their shots (composite of 12), which compounded an off game for Chief, who also missed all 4 of his shots. The Blazers must have scoring, and when Blazers are cold and there is our leading shooting efficiency Meyers (with Blazer leading TS% 67.4 and 45% swish3s, 1.476 points/FGA and 129 ORtg) on the bench, there is a coaching failure to use Blazer resources. We only had 18 assists vs LAL 29 and 15 fast break points vs LAL 29.

In this game, Mo was the hero with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, a number of good scrappy plays, and most notably the final swish3 from the corner at only 0.7 sec left! This was also an off game for CJ who scored 11 points and made some good plays, but scored only 1 of 6 swish3s. Thanks to an excellent game by Mo, a good game by Enes, 5 of 8 swish3s and critical steals by Seth, and good intense (although inconsistent) defense, we squeaked by with the thrilling last swish3 score. But for the Playoffs, the points made in my earlier posts in this thread need to be considered. When Zach, who has fallen to 32.8% 3P% is cold, missing his FG and even a layup, and losing the ball with bad passes, failing to get rebounds (LAL outrebounded us 51 to 45), and allowing uncontested shots (although he did block 2) in lapses of defense, the coaches should be playing Meyers. And when Jake is not contributing, let's try Skal. There could have been fresh legs and hustle from off the bench that will be needed in the Playoffs. Let's see the coaches better use the most efficient scoring resources in the last SAC Kings game in preparation for more adaptive substitutions, off-ball patterns, passes, and consistent hustle defense in the Playoffs!

 

[swish3]

Although the Blazers won Playoff Game 1, there are weaknesses revealed in the coaching that did not provide consistent hustle to defend in the 2nd and 4th Q, and with too many turnovers and some missed chances for rebounds. OKC won the rebounds 49-48. Zach had a poor game, and should have been replaced by Meyers and/or Skal, and using plays designed to get them shots as well as to benefit from increased energy and fresh legs in the closing minutes of each half. OKC made adjustments that cut Blazer scoring to only 15 in Q2 and 22 in Q 4 when we need 26+/Q. The 15+ point lead slid down to about 5. In this game, Meyers set solid screens, bothered OKC shooting, made good passes, and could have contributed more swish3 and dunk2 scoring!

OKC was terrible at swish3s, making only 5 of 33 (15.2%!) which we can't rely on for future games. We held George to 26 points with 4 of 15 swish3s, Westbrook to 24 points with 0 of 4 swish3s, and Schroder to 11 points with 0 of 7 swish3s. But we need to have 3 swish3s each contributed by Meyers and Seth, or Skal, to add to the 5 by Dame and 3 by CJ and to aim for 15+ per game. Mo also had an off game scoring only 2 points. To win the Playoffs, let's be ready to replace Zach and Mo in games when they are only contributing 2 points with increased energy, more hustle, stronger defense, and better scoring options for the wins.

It was in Playoff games that Meyers set the NBA record scoring 10 of 13 (76.9% that Basketball-references shows in bold), and this excellent achievement under Playoff game conditions needs to be recognized and given the chance to repeat in Blazer plans to win the 15 additional games needed for the NBA Championship!

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Although the Blazers won Playoff Game 1, there are weaknesses revealed in the coaching that did not provide consistent hustle to defend in the 2nd and 4th Q, and with too many turnovers and some missed chances for rebounds. OKC won the rebounds 49-48. Zach had a poor game, and should have been replaced by Meyers and/or Skal, and using plays designed to get them shots as well as to benefit from increased energy and fresh legs in the closing minutes of each half. OKC made adjustments that cut Blazer scoring to only 15 in Q2 and 22 in Q 4 when we need 26+/Q. The 15+ point lead slid down to about 5. In this game, Meyers set solid screens, bothered OKC shooting, made good passes, and could have contributed more swish3 and dunk2 scoring!

OKC was terrible at swish3s, making only 5 of 33 (15.2%!) which we can't rely on for future games. We held George to 26 points with 4 of 15 swish3s, Westbrook to 24 points with 0 of 4 swish3s, and Schroder to 11 points with 0 of 7 swish3s. But we need to have 3 swish3s each contributed by Meyers and Seth, or Skal, to add to the 5 by Dame and 3 by CJ and to aim for 15+ per game. Mo also had an off game scoring only 2 points. To win the Playoffs, let's be ready to replace Zach and Mo in games when they are only contributing 2 points with increased energy, more hustle, stronger defense, and better scoring options for the wins.

It was in Playoff games that Meyers set the NBA record scoring 10 of 13 (76.9% that Basketball-references shows in bold), and this excellent achievement under Playoff game conditions needs to be recognized and given the chance to repeat in Blazer plans to win the 15 additional games needed for the NBA Championship!

But if ML is going to get minutes he’s gotta shoot the shots he has. His first stint in the game he had a pretty open look in the corner and passed it up. Needs to shoot those shots.

 

[KingSpeed]

I need some Jake Layman in game 2.

 

[swish3]

Yes, Meyers is a scoring power in the corners, and we need to feed him some shots there by the game plan that optimizes his active off-ball movement. Let's do it!