Notice TRAIL BLAZERS ASSIGN CLIFF ALEXANDER AND LUIS MONTERO TO D-LEAGUE’S SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS

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jlprk said:
I wouldn't word it that he put on an overall performance, just that he displayed excellent all-around skills. It's like the difference between getting an A in your Theater Arts class vs. producing a whole popular stage play. He can't put it together into anything constructive. It's like when Batum would show glimpses of great defense in his first couple of seasons.
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I only saw the highlights of the 1st game but Montero looks like what Dante Exum was supposed to be. It's only NBDL, of course, Dante Exum can still look like Dante Exum if he gets healthy, but it was impressive no doubt
 
They kind of switched in their 2nd game. Montero didn't shoot as well while Alexander was money at the rim. What I did like to see out of Luis was that he got 7 assists on an off-shooting night. That was offset by 6 turnovers but at least he is showing the ability to get teammates involved. (or at least is trying)
 
For those who watched the game(s), are his turnovers a result of needing to get used to playing in a game like situation, or that he's just careless? Or something else?
 
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, March 18, 7:00 Pacific Time (Blazer game starts 5:00)
Saturday, March 19, 7:00 PT (no Blazer game)

Got a Friday date? DUMP her.
Got a Saturday date? DUMP HER TOO.
Build your weekend around yourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS !!!!!!

Both games are in Santa Cruz, against the Oklahoma City Blue. They know how to save travel expenses in Oklahoma.

schedules
http://santacruz.dleague.nba.com/schedule/
http://www.nba.com/blazers/schedule
 
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An exciting time out!

We are down 9-2, 7:16 left in the 1st quarter. Just ask me what happened. That's why I'm here.

Edit: I was joking that I knew nothing because I had missed everything, and just as I started watching, they started a boring timeout. Oh well, these pearls go over everyone's heads, including mine.
 
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Alexander (I'll type A fast) misses an easy go-up-in-traffic-and-power-it-in. Then Montero (M) sinks a long, long 3-pointer running downcourt. M has had all 5 of our points.
 
M gets his 2nd foul, will probably be out the rest of the half. Great. Last game, he had 3 in the first half.
 
A is a big husky guy. In last week's 2 games, he got winded early and had to be pulled. Coach learned this in the first game and rationed his time in the second game. Now in the third game, A went out about when M did (M, due to fouls). So, a long stretch now without either player of interest.

To get minutes next year with the Blazers, A should lose weight this summer. He has a lot of other things to work on, too.

We are down 27-15 with 1 minute left in the 1st. I think M was helping.
 
29-17, end of 1st. Our two heroes are on the bench resisting the kryptonite which sapped their skills. I predict that the halftime score will be 29-29 with their leadership. Until then, nothing to report.
 
A is coming in at the start of the 2nd quarter. We are saved.
 
He flushes it! An unguarded dunk with power.
 
A takes a 15-footer and it bounces off the rim but he anticipates it. In the middle of others trying to rebound, he gets it 6 feet out, has no path to the basket, so he loop-de-loops around others' arms, Connie Hawkins style and gets 2 points. Fancy shot.
 
M gets in and crashes down when he has nowhere to go. Gets to the line. Shoots 1-2. Now he gets his 3rd foul. Will he stay in? Playing crazy. Now he gets a technical from the bench over the foul. Disaster. We won't see him again this half.
 
Whether or not M was right, he will need to tone down his "crash" Kamikaze game. Meanwhile, A has been in all the while.
 
A keeps outleaping other players, both on his team and not, when rebounding and especially, when stopping shots. An intimidator.
 
45-28, 5 minutes left in the half, Oklahoma City leads. First time I've mentioned which team we're playing. Bad form. Well who cares, I also mention few players other than our 2 heroes.

A has no height over the guys he's outrebounding. He's only 6-8 and doesn't stand out in height even at this level. But he really contests the shots.
 
Leaning into the other team's inside star Johnson who is trying to bring it into the hoop, A gets a foul. But he's a banger, so this is good.
 
A with the put-back jam. He plays physically, partially from inexperience at more subtle play, and partially due to necessity, from guarding shooters an inch or two taller than him. If he ever converts to forward, he may not have to play as physically. He gets another foul, decided after a replay examined by the referees. It's decided that it's just a common foul. Strong elbow almost to the cheek or eye after the opponent got his leg ahead of A and A tried to stop him. A's 3rd foul.
 
After 3 long minutes, they decide. Flagrant One. Aw shit. Man, A and M are playing a little beyond their ceilings in this game.
 
TBpup said:
Flagrant 1
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Nice to have someone join me! Two words. You guys are just too eager to post! I know there are hundreds of you watching the game! Join the thread! I can hear you breathing out there. I'll tell the stagehand to turn up the houselights so I can see you.

Halftime, 59-43. We are down.
 
Kevin Danna and Drew Shiller are the Santa Cruz commentators. Same as before. Colorman Shiller often talks over play-by-play guy Danna, so Danna has to hold back.
 
M is exciting to watch, which is sometimes a positive and often a negative. Where did he play high school, Dominican Republic? Then he played one season Junior College, was it a full season before their season was suspended? Did the NY State Attorney General suspend it, or did the NCAA? The former was investigating, which doesn't usually happen in these things.

Anyway...he shouldn't know how to play. In the first game, he surprised by simply surviving, and actually being spectacular sometimes. But now we see that he's all up and down, a highlight film punctuated by big mistakes. When Olshey signed him, I posted criticism of Olshey, saying that M should be left in the D-League for 2 years. Well, now I see his flashy potential...and I still think that he needs another year in the D-League, even if he's making the big NBA paycheck.
 
I'm here, what happened? Who's winning? Has Montero won D league player of the week yet?
 
But I like watching M and A. This is fun. 2nd half begins. A blocks it out of bounds. M is in, too.

Heyuh, Riverman!
 
We return to the 1st game's coupling of M and A getting scores. M looks for A who lays it up on his 2nd attempt. M misses a shot. A gets his 4th foul on a moving screen. With the Flagrant in the 2nd quarter, A now sits. He doesn't know how to avoid these fouls. M takes a deep contested 2 and misses.
 
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