Who would step up...

[julius]

Since Westbrook went down, the Thunder have struggled a little. Maybe not as much as most Blazer fans hoped, but still struggled. Obviously a lot of it has to do with Westbrook being out (I think not having a strong 3rd scorer hurts a lot). Made me wonder, who would step up if Damian missed a chunk of games?

Are the Blazers, 3-9 better than OKC 3-9?

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Is telling a mod to go straight to hell against the rules? Just asking a question.

 

[e_blazer]

Mo would start at PG, Watson would back him up, CJ & Barton would compete for backup at the 2G spot. They might be able to cover for a stretch, but the Blazers would lose a lot more games if Dame were out for an extended period.

 

[julius]

Is telling a mod to go straight to hell against the rules? Just asking a question.

you can tell Sly to go to hell all you want.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

you can tell Sly to go to hell all you want.

Cool as long as he spreads it around to the rest of you. Mostly the ones who start jinx threads for some insane reason.

 

[e_blazer]

Cool as long as he spreads it around to the rest of you. Mostly the ones who start jinx threads for some insane reason.

No need to worry. Obviously this season is karma payback to Blazer fans for the past 13 years of injury hell.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

No need to worry. Obviously this season is karma payback to Blazer fans for the past 13 years of injury hell.

You are right. Thinking positive.

 

[ponderguy]

Since Westbrook went down, the Thunder have struggled a little. Maybe not as much as most Blazer fans hoped, but still struggled. Obviously a lot of it has to do with Westbrook being out (I think not having a strong 3rd scorer hurts a lot). Made me wonder, who would step up if Damian missed a chunk of games?

Are the Blazers, 3-9 better than OKC 3-9?

Thanks to Mo I'm not terribly worried if Dame misses a handful of games. I'm more worried about what happens if either of LMA or Lopez goes out. Freeland is a nice backup but if he was in the starting role it would really hurt. Same goes for Leonard/Robinson filling in for LMA. While Leonard is showing progress offensively of being able to play a similar role as LMA he isn't nearly as good defensively. Robinson is better than Leonard on that end but he isn't able to stretch the floor the same way Leonard and LMA can.

 

[oldmangrouch]

The blunt answer is "nobody."

Dame has a combination of talent, killer instinct, and ice-water in his veins. Mo doesn't have the talent to fill his shoes; Nic and Wes don't have the mindset.

 

[Strenuus]

The blunt answer is "nobody."

Dame has a combination of talent, killer instinct, and ice-water in his veins. Mo doesn't have the talent to fill his shoes; Nic and Wes don't have the mindset.

I'd say Wes has the mindset, just not near the game of Dame.

 

[Draco]

Our starters have outscored opponents by 11 points per 100 possessions. But with Mo playing alongside the starters in place of Damian we've outscored opponents by 18 points. Yes our team has been 7 points better with Mo playing instead of Lillard. I don't believe those stats are the be all end all, I still think Lillard is far better than Mo. But it does show our team can be very successful without Lillard on the floor.

The bench would be more of a concern. Could CJ fill in as a backup combo guard when Mo sits? He is a polished 4 year college player, I think there would be some rough stretches at first but after awhile the bench might be just as good as now; and we could bring in Watson for 5 minutes here or there if we have to.

Our roster has the best depth at the guard spots, especially the PG spot. Batum can help setup the offense. So I'd probably argue Lillard is the least important starter for short term regular season success solely because we have the best backups at that position.

If LaMarcus went down this team would be screwed.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

you can tell Sly to go to hell all you want.

He's already there. He hangs out with me.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I think Batum would step up. He's a natural distributor with a decent handle on the game and a good playmaking foundation. I'd expect Robin's scoring to double in that time, but our record to suffer a bit.

Personally, I don't ever want to see it happen, but I think Batum would step up.

 

[cmeese47]

A loss of any of our starting five would significantly hurt this team. While the team might be able to get by during the regular season a loss of Lillard in the playoffs is a guaranteed trip home.

 

[BlazerBeav]

At 6-5, OKC is definitely struggling (and they should be 5-6, had Minnesota and Love not choked away a win at home).