Science Will Dame and Ant succeed as a back court?

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Will Dame and Ant be able to work together?

  • Yes, their offense is good enough to overcome defensive deficiencies

    Votes: 13 39.4%

  • Yes, their offense will be excellent and defense decent to great

    Votes: 7 21.2%

  • No, their defensive deficiencies will overcome their offense

    Votes: 6 18.2%

  • No, Ant and Dame both need the ball to be effective and their defense will be atrocious

    Votes: 7 21.2%
  • Total voters
    33
Idog1976

Idog1976

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Simple enough question. Do you have faith Dame and Ant can succeed together? Why or why not and please explain below.
 
I personally think they will be amazing offensively and they will put together at least adequate defense. I don't buy for a second Ant cannot be effective off-ball. I have faith Chauncey can get Ant up to decent to good defense and same with Dame who will be injury free and get more rest due to Ant’s emergence as a great passing guard.
 
So many gray areas. I think I said in the other post, it's possible we might see Dame at 80% and Ant at 80% because they both need the ball. Is that better than Dame at 100% with Hart or Ant at 100% with Hart or Nas? :dunno:
 
I foresee opposing teams having, NO WAY , to double team both players, leading to a plethora of great shots by each other, and leading to fantastic looks for teammates. It will be a nightmare for opponents. It's gonna be fun to watch. And for those who think Dame will be a ball stopper, no chance. He's watching film, watching his teammates, and will adapt his game to Chauncey's way, knowing that it gives this team the best chance to win. But if the team needs him to go nuclear, he will. Especially healthy. Plus Cronin will add a top flight power forward to assist any short comings. The future's so bright , rip city's gonna need shades.
 
As already asked, What Is The Definition of Success? Neil Olshey thought the Lillard-McCollum backcourt was a success, or at least, not a problem.
A better question is: "Which Backcourt would be better overall. - Lillard/Ant + Josh Hart or Lillard + Simons. We already have those players.
I would choose Lillard or Simons plus Josh Hart. I can't see all the easy points that Hart scores on offense, or his effectiveness everywhere else (other than shooting contested shots) being matched by Lillard or Simons.
This is just my guess, and I hope that Lillard and Simons makes the offense so unstoppable that it makes up for deficiencies anywhere else.
Hart's 3-point shooting in Portland is at 52 percent and that isn't sustainable. The question is, what will it be long-term in Portland? The Debbie downers say it's going to go back to 35% at some point. I would say, if he keeps taking almost all open 3-pointers, he could be at Lillard/Simons level near 40% long term. We'll see.
 
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In this scenario are the Blazer forwards pushing the ball up the floor? The more we run the less I see the need for a true PG and more the need for players who can spread the floor and knock down the 3.

Dame will succeed when he is running the show. Ant will succeed when Dame is on the bench. Dame and Ant will both succeed if Winslow or
Hart are pushing the ball and finding Ant and Dame open on the wings.

Of course, the true success will be measured by wins and losses. And I am not totally certain who the supporting cast will be.
 
We already tried the small backcourt/good offense/weak defense scheme. Can we try something different, just for shits and grins?

Now, if Ant is willing to come off the bench and be a 6th MOTY candidate, that might work.
 
One huge problem is needing to have both Dame and Simons on the court on defensive possessions at the end of a game after a timeout. Does Chauncey have the balls/power to say to Dame or Ant, you sit down? I highly doubt it.

Klay Thompson can shoot over Lillard or Simons like they're not even there.
 
A long range cannon on the left.

A long range cannon on the right.

A Nurk tank up the middle.

Ball and player movement.

A swarming defense, featuring several excellent defenders.

Average defense from Dame and Ant.

Commander Chauncey Billups motivating the troops.

I'm optimistic.

:cheers:
 
That's why Lillard should come back this season and see if it works.
I really, really don't know if he is as hungry as Billups and young guys are.

It is all on him now. I hope he works on his defense now as much as he works on his nonbasketball projects.

One thing that makes me blah about this backcourt idea is it seems like we coming back to what we tried to work for 9 years. I didn't work. If we want to check it again - and those long 9 years gives us 80% of chance it is not going to work - we have to do it this season.
 
So tired of the false equivalency that Ant is the same as CJ. We aren’t redoing the past 9 years. Ant’s mentality is nothing like CJ’s. He’s a willing and intuitive passer. You could argue he’s already a better all around player than CJ and he’s 22 with tons of upside. I for one believe in Ant and his ability to improve defensively. If he does that and only that this is a whole new ball game. He makes his teammates better and that’s something CJ never did.
 
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I'm not saying Ant is like CJ, but is he more CJ or Jrue Holiday?

Ant is coachable under Billups. He is going up. Dame will have to change his game a bit.

And there is another thing. How will Ant play in playoffs under pressure?

Imo, it would be not smart not to play Dame this season to find out how they fit.

And another thing. This team can go on 5 game losing streak and this forum will meltdown again.
 
royo said:
I'm not saying Ant is like CJ, but is he more CJ or Jrue Holiday?

Ant is coachable under Billups. He is going up. Dame will have to change his game a bit.

And there is another thing. How will Ant play in playoffs under pressure?

Imo, it would be not smart not to play Dame this season to find out how they fit.

And another thing. This team can go on 5 game losing streak and this forum will meltdown again.
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I'd say Ant is more like Lillard than he is CJ.
Agreed.
Our playoff experience has earned us Jack and Shit. I don't think it'll hurt Ant at all. Magic earned playoff MVP as a rookie.
Dame's gonna Dame - he'll decide if he's ready to come back or not.
What fanbase in what sport wouldn't melt down at a 5-game losing streak? Hell, if we started the season 20-0, and lost 5 in a row, there would be lots of melting.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
What is your definition of the word "succeed" in this context?
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'IF'....Joe surrounds them with defensive length that can attack the basket and hit outside shots, perhaps. Dame needs to start pushing the pace or at least running with the pack at age 32. It remains to be seen if that can be done. I think it's possible we get a Grant/Collins to add to the mix. There desperately needs to be a backup center (no matter how hard Watford tries or how high Brown can jump), and Nas needs to develop into a legit SF.

LOTS of variables there.
 
The thing I like about Ants game over CJ’s is his willingness to pass. When CJ was the release valve teams didn’t worry about him breaking down the defense and making players around him better but both Ant and Dame are willing passers who should be able to make the game much easier for their teammates. If Dame is doubled Ant, Winslow, and Hart are all aggressive going to the hoop where in the past we just had guys sitting at 3 pt line watching Dame waiting for pass for 3 pt shot.

I like the group now just think we really need another big or two to fill out roster. Power forward and backup center who are tenacious on defense and can switch to smaller players, block shots and create easy scores.
 
At the end of the game in Milwaukee, Anfernee Simons wasn't making his shots, so he switched to becoming a passer and made some nice assists to Josh Hart and CJ Elleby. Simons and the offense seem to be able to adapt.

For me, there are a lot of concerns about Lillard being a part of the offense.
Will Lillard and/or Simons take fewer shots on average to increase efficiency and diversity in the offense?
Will the team run the court immediately after a rebound (or even a made shot) as often as they are doing now?
Will Lillard jack up unnecessarily long 3-point shots without first looking for better options?
I don't know what his percentages are from ridiculous long range but it's depressing to watch one of those shots clank off the rim without him looking to shoot right at the three-point line or throw the ball to his teammates first.

Will the ball rotate as quickly as it is now? I think the role of Elleby and Winslow in quickly moving the ball has helped increase scoring efficiency. Only one guy can shoot, and I think it may be under-rated how getting a quality look for your shooters is as important as having a lot of shooters on the floor. It's great to see guys passing right back to the shooter for a better shot opportunity (such as McLemore to Winslow back to McLemore for three).

Will Billups, Lillard and Simons FINALLY figure out how to get easy baskets when they are double teamed in the playoffs?
 
blazerfan11 said:
For me, there are a lot of concerns about Lillard being a part of the offense.
Will Lillard and/or Simons take fewer shots on average to increase efficiency and diversity in the offense?
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discard this season because of the injury

in the previous 2 seasons, Dame was essentially 2nd on team to Whiteside, then Kanter, in TS%

in those two seasons, the team averaged 1.27 points/shot while Dame averaged 1.46 points/shot

assuming he's back to form, Dame taking less shots will reduce team efficiency, not increase it. And I think Dame's history has shown he more than enough a willing passer and initiator to maintain offensive diversity.
 
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