Who's our fifth starter?

[Tince]

This is a great question. There is no doubt who our 5th best player is (Hart), but there is a real question as to who should start due to the roster imbalance.

Sharpe and Walk are easy to rule out. I think Winslow is also a scratch because I think he plays more 5 and than he plays 3 this season. This leaves Little, Hart, (or Payton), in my book. I voted Hart because I'm guessing Billups will want the best guy, but I'm not sure that's what I want.

 

[Scalma]

So, you have Justice starting?
There really isn't any wrong answers here...For now, anyway.

Nah, I left him out completely. Dunno where he fits, unless Grant doesn't play with the second unit. Then wed be relying heavily on Ant and Hart to score. Idk, point of the second unit is usually just to maintain leads, so I'll sacrifice offense for defense.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think it's gonna be Hart to start the season.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I hope it’s Little.

Right, I hope he is healthy enough and shows enough to win the spot.

 

[Scalma]

I think he plays more 5 and than he plays 3 this season.

Winslow at the 5? Doubt that. Would have to be some super rare instance imo. Three seems way more likely, especially if Walker gets into the rotation or Nas goes down.

 

[SharpeScooterShooter]

I hope it’s Little.

Me too. I would be okay with Hart. But like Nas’s size better.

 

[Scalma]

Looking at the roster, and the end of the bench doesn't look as useless as it usually does. Outside of Didi, everyone seems capable of contributing in an actual NBA game.

 

[andalusian]

There is a lot of scoring on the first unit and both hart and nas can score, I think Winslow makes the most sense, he does not need to score, he sets Nurk well and that way nas and hart can really keep the 2nd unit scoring next to ant.

 

[Scalma]

There is a lot of scoring on the first unit and both hart and nas can score, I think Winslow makes the most sense, he does not need to score, he sets Nurk well and that way nas and hart can really keep the 2nd unit scoring next to ant.

Winslow is pretty much a poor mans Ben Simmons anyway, so not completely crazy.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

There is a lot of scoring on the first unit and both hart and nas can score, I think Winslow makes the most sense, he does not need to score, he sets Nurk well and that way nas and hart can really keep the 2nd unit scoring next to ant.

There is a lot of scoring, but do we have enough good perimeter shooting?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Winslow is pretty much a poor mans Ben Simmons anyway, so not completely crazy.

More and more, I'm wondering if Winslow should actually be right of like a non-shooting backup PG?

 

[Scalma]

There is a lot of scoring, but do we have enough good perimeter shooting?

Whats the barometer for enough? Boston was an average three point scoring team and got to the finals, for example. Memphis was the second seed in the west and ranked 17th. Dallas was 19th and made it to the conference finals. I think it just depends on how teams want to play. I dont get the sense that Billups wants to rely on the three as much as Stotts did. Like the three point attempts were considerably reduced this past season compared to the previous year.

 

[Chris Craig]

Little

 

[42N8Bounce]

I want it to be Little since he represents the future and I always love to see potential talent bloom into actual talent. But if we look at the actual production of last year:

Little:
6'5, 220 lbs
Age: 22-154d
Per36: pts 13.6, reb 7.8, ast 1.8, 3pt% 33.1

Hart:
6'5, 215 lbs
Age: 27-131d
Per36: pts 22.4, reb 6.0, ast 4.8, 3pt% 37.3

Hart is the better player at this time in my opinion.



I think Little should be one of the first off the bench to grab as much SF or SG minutes as possible. Winslow can swing between PF and SF.

After watching Walker in the Summer League, I'd love to see him break into that primary 9-man rotation. It looks like his natural position is PF, but I think he has the mobility to match up against the quicker SGs and SFs.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Part of me wants it to be Hart, because he has the most experience, is the most proven, but another part doesn't want him because he's not big enough.
Part of me wants it to be Little, because he has the most prototypical skillset, but another part doesn't trust him to stay healthy.
Part of me wants it to be Winslow, because he's the best facilitator, but another part doesn't want him because he can't shoot.
Part of me wants it to be Walker, because he has the best size for the position, but another part worries whether he has sufficient perimeter skills to play the 3.
Part of me wants it to be Sharpe, because he has the most star potential, but another part says he needs way more experience before he can play serious minutes.

If it were my choice, I think I'd start Nas, holding my breath with every play, and being prepared for the inevitability of needing to replace him due to injury.

I guess you see why I asked the question...

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Walker

 

[Predator]

What I want it to be/should be:
Dame
Hart
Nas
Grant
Nurk

What I fear it will be:
Dame
Ant
Hart
Grant
Nurk

 

[Tince]

Winslow at the 5? Doubt that. Would have to be some super rare instance imo. Three seems way more likely, especially if Walker gets into the rotation or Nas goes down.

He's a PF in my eyes, but like I said, I suspect he'll get more minutes at the 5 than the 3. I could be way off, I'm just going off how Cronin/Billups decided to put the roster together.

 

[Phatguysrule]

I'd start Hart. Let Little prove he can stay healthy before giving him the starting nod. Not because I want to punish him, but I don't want to do that to Hart if Little is just going to get injured constantly.

Little has a lot to prove. He can do it off the bench.

 

[perkinsfor3]

Dame / Ant
Hart / GP² / Keon
Nas / Walker
Grant / Winslow
Nurkic / Watford

Right mix of offense/defense/playmaking and secondary playmaking (allowing Dame to play off the ball and deal with double teams better - big pain in past seasons) in first unit. Then with second unit you can start staggering certain players.

I wanna see Dame/Hart play together a lot. Hart's defense is needed with Dame. Ant would be the most talented partner for him in the backcourt, but I think he'd thrive playing with the second unit and mixing it up with specific rotations.

I'd try to avoid playing Nas, Grant and Nurk together too much when there's not at least two of Dame/Hart/Ant on the court, because all three need playmakers in order to fully function. Sliding in Winslow to play with these guys is a pretty neat option to have. GP is the guy you would like to have on the court whenever Dame and Ant play, due to them stretching the floor and opening up things inside. He's basically a PF in that sense. Check why he worked so well in GS and don't try to reinvent that wheel. I believe Walker is just such a perfect fit on this team. He's such an intelligent player that you can basically slide him into any unit and let him play with almost any combination of players. Amazing pick. Keon showed nice glimpses this preseason. I'd give him a chance. Eubanks only when it's sorely needed.

 

[perkinsfor3]

He's a PF in my eyes, but like I said, I suspect he'll get more minutes at the 5 than the 3. I could be way off, I'm just going off how Cronin/Billups decided to put the roster together.

Whenever Winslow and GPII play together, it'll be Winslow playing PG and GPII PF a bit. Due to their limitations on offense, I doubt they'll spend a lot of time on the court together though. Closing out a tight game could be fun if you'd throw GPII, Hart, Nas, Winslow and Walker at a team.

 

[blazerfan11]

So many options.

the Key to getting the most out of them is Chauncey Billups.
We have enough options at every position except center that Billups can sit down players who aren't performing, and experiment to get the best lineups.
If he doesn't do that and gives special treatment to certain players (the one I'm worried about is Grant) , especially on a good-average team, there is no excuse.

 

[blazerfan11]

Whenever Winslow and GPII play together, it'll be Winslow playing PG and GPII PF a bit. Due to their limitations on offense, I doubt they'll spend a lot of time on the court together though. Closing out a tight game could be fun if you'd throw GPII, Hart, Nas, Winslow and Walker at a team.

I really hope we see an all-defense lineup at times.

 

[andalusian]

There is a lot of scoring, but do we have enough good perimeter shooting?

Excellent question. I have a feeling however that with Dame, Ant and Grant being able to shoot from the outside and Winslow / Nurk working so well for offense at the post - and having 3 ball handlers on the court, it would be really hard to trap the Blazers as teams used to do to the Dame, Cj with Harkless, Aminu and Nurk group. That team basically also had 3 acceptable 3 point shooters and 2 sub-par ones (Nurk, Harkless), but it did not have 3 ball handlers, only 2.

I would love to see a more balanced Blazers team where when the 2nd unit goes in there is a much smaller fall in offensive production.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Excellent question. I have a feeling however that with Dame, Ant and Grant being able to shoot from the outside and Winslow / Nurk working so well for offense at the post - and having 3 ball handlers on the court, it would be really hard to trap the Blazers as teams used to do to the Dame, Cj with Harkless, Aminu and Nurk group. That team basically also had 3 acceptable 3 point shooters and 2 sub-par ones (Nurk, Harkless), but it did not have 3 ball handlers, only 2.

I would love to see a more balanced Blazers team where when the 2nd unit goes in there is a much smaller fall in offensive production.

Agreed--that, in my mind is the best argument for Winslow as starting 3. Of course, my hope is that if Sharpe and Walker show themselves to be capable scorers and worthy of rotation minutes, they along with GP2 and Hart/Nas would offer enough second unit scoring to push Winslow out of the rotation entirely.

 

[HoopsFanAZ]

With change … plenty of it for Portland …

Dame / Simons / Hart / Grant / Nurkic — with Hart as the glue helping Dame.

Little coming off injury/surgery and nicked up all along … if he earns the 3, then Portland’s win total just went up.
IMHO, Grant will fit right in. Dame is the floor general and the locker room camp counselor.

A good thing, hope is. Maybe the best of things.

 

[andalusian]

Agreed--that, in my mind is the best argument for Winslow as starting 3. Of course, my hope is that if Sharpe and Walker show themselves to be capable scorers and worthy of rotation minutes, they along with GP2 and Hart/Nas would offer enough second unit scoring to push Winslow out of the rotation entirely.

I doubt it would happen this year, honestly. Also, I might be a bigger Winslow fan than most. I just remember how well he ran the offense in Miami when he had the chance before the injuries. He is basically ET that is paid like what ET should have been paid when he played for Portland. Not a star, but an excellent role player that can guard. Also, if he can unlock Nurkic, he is very valuable for Portland and we saw some glimpses of that last year.

Also, he seems like a good BBIQ player and I like these kind of players.

 

[HailBlazers]

There is a lot of scoring on the first unit and both hart and nas can score, I think Winslow makes the most sense, he does not need to score, he sets Nurk well and that way nas and hart can really keep the 2nd unit scoring next to ant.

One of my favorite (and most hated) things about the great Spurs teams over the years was their second units ability to dominate and how Pop would let them run with it.

 

[PHXBlazer1]

KD

 

[Tince]

Whenever Winslow and GPII play together, it'll be Winslow playing PG and GPII PF a bit. Due to their limitations on offense, I doubt they'll spend a lot of time on the court together though. Closing out a tight game could be fun if you'd throw GPII, Hart, Nas, Winslow and Walker at a team.

The spacing on offense with that group would be awful. One legit shooting threat.