We need length

[boredinsalem]

While the team has a LOT of issues, one of the apparent items is that the two great defenders we brought in this summer thrive in zones/off-ball and the rest of our defense does not. I think this problem is compounded because our guards are small. It seems apparent that Olshey is committed to Dame/CJ/Simons, and also that Gary Trent is going to make bank, will want to get to a big market (clutch) and would thrive playing with a real PG.

This makes me wonder if a natural move would be to pair Trent/Collins for someone long that thrives in off-ball defense. I think a natural fit would be Boucher TBH. He's come back down to earth, Toronto desperately needs backcourt help and shooting, and he'd be playing with two PGs (and a coach with an offensive system) that can feed him the ball more effectively than our guards and system.

If we added Boucher we would no doubt lose some more scoring, but our steals/blocks/transition offense would grow by leaps and bounds and we could commit to playing zone for significant stretches, which would be a good way to get more out of Jones/Covington and hide CJ/Melo/Kanter on defense for longer stretches.

Lillard/Simons
McCollum/Hood
Jones/Boucher/Little
Covington/Melo/Little
Kanter/Covington/Giles

if Nurk comes back healthy and Hood doesn't step up we could have a playoff rotation with a lot of size and defense.

Lillard/Simons
McCollum/Jones
Jones/Boucher
Covington/Melo
Nurk/Kanter

 

[PCmor7]

If only we could have brought in Jerami Grant ....

 

[wizenheimer]

one way Portland could have landed some length:





look closely at that. The Pistons traded Christian Wood for part of what Portland traded for RoCo. Making it worse, for Portland, is that the Blazers seent out two firsts for RoCo while Houston got a first along with Wood

the Rockets basically traded Covington for Christian Wood and two 1st round picks. That was an incredibly good trade for Houston, and Olshey looks like a dope

 

[Sheldon Shape]

We had more length tonight and we still got blown out.

We need a coach more than we need length right now.

 

[Tince]

We had more length tonight and we still got blown out.

We need a coach more than we need length right now.

We had more length than Milwaukee?

 

[Scalma]

We could have five Draymonds out there and we still wouldn’t be able to defend as a team. It’s not a personnel issue.

 

[THE HCP]

I honestly thought Sly’s sister started this thread!

 

[Natebishop3]

We need girth.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

We had more length than Milwaukee?

Did I say that?

We had more length than we usually do and still got blown out.

 

[AldoTrapani]

If only we could have brought in Jerami Grant ....

Omg he’s exactly what we’ve needed he’s the perfect piece for Lillard too

 

[jlprk]

the Rockets basically traded Covington for Christian Wood and two 1st round picks. That was an incredibly good trade for Houston, and Olshey looks like a dope

Wow, the 2 trades were only 2 days apart, so it was all available to Olshey. He obviously valued Covington as being two #ones better than Wood. I thought the time elapsed between trades would be his excuse.

P.S. It's nice to see someone else use the site I've pushed for many years,

http://prosportstransactions.com/basketball/index.htm

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

While the team has a LOT of issues, one of the apparent items is that the two great defenders we brought in this summer thrive in zones/off-ball and the rest of our defense does not. I think this problem is compounded because our guards are small. It seems apparent that Olshey is committed to Dame/CJ/Simons, and also that Gary Trent is going to make bank, will want to get to a big market (clutch) and would thrive playing with a real PG.

This makes me wonder if a natural move would be to pair Trent/Collins for someone long that thrives in off-ball defense. I think a natural fit would be Boucher TBH. He's come back down to earth, Toronto desperately needs backcourt help and shooting, and he'd be playing with two PGs (and a coach with an offensive system) that can feed him the ball more effectively than our guards and system.

If we added Boucher we would no doubt lose some more scoring, but our steals/blocks/transition offense would grow by leaps and bounds and we could commit to playing zone for significant stretches, which would be a good way to get more out of Jones/Covington and hide CJ/Melo/Kanter on defense for longer stretches.

Lillard/Simons
McCollum/Hood
Jones/Boucher/Little
Covington/Melo/Little
Kanter/Covington/Giles

if Nurk comes back healthy and Hood doesn't step up we could have a playoff rotation with a lot of size and defense.

Lillard/Simons
McCollum/Jones
Jones/Boucher
Covington/Melo
Nurk/Kanter

I have noticed this also, as I watch the games. We often seem overmatched by teams with much more length than us.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

This is one reason I thought we should have tried to keep Wenyen Gabriel.

 

[Chris Craig]

We're growers not showers

 

[Tince]

Did I say that?

We had more length than we usually do and still got blown out.

You said "more length' and I was asking for clarification on more in relative to what/who. I read it as Milwaukee.

 

[Pinwheel1]

You have to be close to the defender for length to be a factor.

 

[tester551]

A couple of weeks ago Stotts said that he was going to meet with NO and discuss what options they had in bringing in another big.... Since then, there has been silence.

This is troubling because we have 1 open roster spot (and 1 open 2-way spot), and yet NO has not taken any action. There is absolutely no downside in filling the 2-way spot...

 

[PCmor7]

A couple of weeks ago Stotts said that he was going to meet with NO and discuss what options they had in bringing in another big.... Since then, there has been silence.

This is troubling because we have 1 open roster spot (and 1 open 2-way spot), and yet NO has not taken any action. There is absolutely no downside in filling the 2-way spot...

One open roster spot, two filled roster spots with players that never will help a team win anything, and trading two first-round picks and Trevor Ariza for a guy who doesn't seem like he's a good fit here.

 

[PCmor7]

But, I mean really, we're wasting three spots on the roster right now if you just count the opening, Elleby and Blevins. Heck, I think we would have at least gotten something out of Jaylen Hoard if we held onto him.

 

[Scalma]

But, I mean really, we're wasting three spots on the roster right now if you just count the opening, Elleby and Blevins. Heck, I think we would have at least gotten something out of Jaylen Hoard if we held onto him.

Why is Elleby a waste of a roster spot?

Jaylen Hoard? No other team thought he was good enough to be on their roster either.

 

[Pinwheel1]

One open roster spot, two filled roster spots with players that never will help a team win anything, and trading two first-round picks and Trevor Ariza for a guy who doesn't seem like he's a good fit here.

Well, I said at the time that the two 1st round picks were too much to include since I did not see much of a difference between Covington and Little. But at least Covington is playing. (Is Ariza?) And I do think he is a good defender.

 

[PCmor7]

Why is Elleby a waste of a roster spot?

Jaylen Hoard? No other team thought he was good enough to be on their roster either.

How isn't Elleby a waste of a roster spot ... and an asset in the second-round draft pick?

Could Elleby make a positive difference for the Blazers if we had to play him? Does he have any upside? I don't see any.

Hoard was a better positional and situational fit for the Blazers as a combo forward and he knew the system. I'm not saying he's great or even good, but being adequate makes him better than what we replaced him with.

 

[PCmor7]

Well, I said at the time that the two 1st round picks were too much to include since I did not see much of a difference between Covington and Little. But at least Covington is playing. (Is Ariza?) And I do think he is a good defender.

Well, I guess if you mean Covington's on a roster and he's getting run as "Covington is playing," I guess I can't argue that. Producing? That's another matter entirely.

And I wasn't making the direct comparison between Covington and Ariza. I was making the point that we wasted a lot of assets this offseason.

 

[Chris Craig]

Why is Elleby a waste of a roster spot?

Jaylen Hoard? No other team thought he was good enough to be on their roster either.

Elleby should be a two way

 

[Scalma]

How isn't Elleby a waste of a roster spot ... and an asset in the second-round draft pick?

Could Elleby make a positive difference for the Blazers if we had to play him? Does he have any upside? I don't see any.

Funny that you’ve come to that conclusion already, even though his numbers in limited time have been good.

14.1 PER
54% FG
38% 3PT
16 ppg/36

So once again, how is he a waste of a spot?

 

[Scalma]

Elleby should be a two way

His contract fills the 14 man limit while keeping the team below the tax. So, not really.

 

[PCmor7]

Funny that you’ve come to that conclusion already, even though his numbers in limited time have been good.

14.1 PER
54% FG
38% 3PT
16 ppg/36

So once again, how is he a waste of a spot?

For the same reasons I said above. I don't care what his stats have looked like in small-sample garbage time. Meaningless.

 

[Scalma]

For the same reasons I said above. I don't care what his stats have looked like in small-sample garbage time. Meaningless.

so what are you basing YOUR meaningless opinion on? You gave zero reasons.

 

[PCmor7]

so what are you basing YOUR meaningless opinion on? You gave zero reasons.

"How isn't Elleby a waste of a roster spot ... and an asset in the second-round draft pick?

Could Elleby make a positive difference for the Blazers if we had to play him? Does he have any upside? I don't see any.

Hoard was a better positional and situational fit for the Blazers as a combo forward and he knew the system. I'm not saying he's great or even good, but being adequate makes him better than what we replaced him with."

I think that's more than zero. Maybe you learned common core counting, though.

 

[Scalma]

"How isn't Elleby a waste of a roster spot ... and an asset in the second-round draft pick?

Could Elleby make a positive difference for the Blazers if we had to play him? Does he have any upside? I don't see any.

Hoard was a better positional and situational fit for the Blazers as a combo forward and he knew the system. I'm not saying he's great or even good, but being adequate makes him better than what we replaced him with."

I think that's more than zero. Maybe you learned common core counting, though.

I still see zero reasons why you don’t think he has any upside besides because I said so. As for Hoard, he plays like a five and is built like a three. Not a good combo. Almost all his buckets in the g league games I watched came around the rim on pure effort. That’s not really gonna work in the nba with his frame. There’s a reason why he’s not even on a two way contract. Could the entire league be missing something you’ve identified? Possibly, but not likely.