without CJ taking early shots in volume..you might get double digit scoring out of Turner or even Vonleh early...the ball sticks with CJ
It's not a question of "scoring" (though, even if it were, there's no way Turner or Vonleh can even approach McCollum's quality of attempts)--it's spacing. With minimal shooting on the floor around Lillard, the defense has a lot less area to guard and can much more effectively choke off the offense.
If you bring CJ off the bench, and play him the same amount of minutes, then you'd have Lillard and CJ together against mostly bench units. That's not a good thing, because they've shown to let bench players look like all stars. Instead it letting those who normally do damage do their damage then defending well soonest bench units, instead you'd have starters still doing damage with bench players going off too. CJ would also have to play 17-18 minutes to end each half, as subbing in a bench player before 6 minutes into each half defeats the "purpose" of bringing him off the bench. So CJ would be gassed at the end of each half. Only way to fix that would be to play him less, making us worse. Bringing him off the bench would make things worse, and playing him less would make things worse. This is the best way to go.
CJ loves to dribble and Turner is a good passer if guys actually catch his passes and finish, he'd have more assists..CJ has been with the system and roster for years....Turner is learning on the fly...different skill sets
Turner is a good passer but you're underestimating McCollum's playmaking for others. Turner has about a 20% Assist Rate (Assist Rate is the percentage of team field goals that the player assisted on during their time on the floor) both this year and for his career. McCollum has averaged a 20% Assist Rate over last season and this season (he was a much worse creator in his first two seasons). So, honestly, while Turner may have the reputation as a creator for others and McCollum may not--they're pretty equivalent in that respect. McCollum passing the ball productively is not a problem for the Blazers.
McCollum knows his teammates a bit better than Turner, but c'mon...CJ wants to dribble and shoot...not pass first..CJ is a great player...I think it's a lot more than that though...Turner once comfortable is a better passer, rebounder and defender...CJ is a shooter
I think you just have baked-in perceptions about the players, even though the data suggests otherwise. Also, "knowing your teammates" and how to get them the ball productively is a sign of a good and willing passer--just saying. Incidentally, Turner's Assist Rate this season is the same as his career average--it's not lower than normal as he "learns his teammates." He's passing as productively as he always has. McCollum is just passing equally productively. Maybe McCollum is more than a dribbler and shooter.
I think Turner looks for his own shot before looking to pass as much or more than CJ. To me it seems like usually when CJ has the ball, he's a threat to do either, you don't really know. With Turner, he's either going to do one or the other, and you know which one it is right away.
I get that a lot, but my opinion about roster use doesn't have really measurable data yet...we're not doing what I think would work and stats aside...the biggest stat to me is we're not winning much or controlling games often. It's ok...my thoughts about CJ are not popular around here and I love the guy's game and think he's worth every penny...I'd use him differently...scoring punch guy.
The Blazers actually hung in against the Thunder but when our back court is outscored by anyone else's back court, we have almost no shot. Being outscored (and out-defended) by Westbrook/Oladipo......there is not shame in that. It's the being taken to task by (Not Steph) Curry and a 10-day contract smurf that is overly frustrating
I think something nobody mentions is that improvement has been dull from our new contract guys. I give Turner a pass but if Crabbe, Leonard, Mo, Ed and offensively Chief had made a significant leap in their games.....we'd have a better record...like them or not, I think this has to frustrate Stotts and Olshey..they, like us, probably expected more....a lot of this I put on individuals more than the system or opportunity...Leonard didn't make the leap at all from what I see. Right now we're a 3 man team....Dame CJ and Mason....we have nobody averaging a double double on the roster
And with the messed up contract/cap situation, we may not have Mason next season I would like to write this season off, and start experimenting with new lineups. Lets give the project players some burn. BUT, we keep skipping into and out of the playoff bracket. Stotts has to play to make the playoffs. Which is a shame since this roster is going nowhere in the post season. We are stuck in no-mans land, the worst place to be. With no end in sight, this is getting very frustrating.
I think there's a good chance we don't make the playoffs...I'd love to give Vonleh bigger minutes and even throw Layman into the mix to see if their talents can get a jumpstart. Our 3rd string has a lot of potential. Connaughton is probably our best hustle guy...if he found his stroke, he'd make a huge improvement..passes well, defends. I'd also love to see Paul Allen invest in a real D league franchise totally owned by the Blazers and use it.
I think we get the 8th seed. I would prefer we don't at this point though even though I love watching us in the playoffs.
I'm not sure how much sense it makes for a team to own and pump resources into a D League team when the players on the team aren't contractually obligated to the NBA team. Like, Briante Weber, the guy the Warriors just signed, came from the Miami Heat's affiliated D League team. Weber could have signed with anyone he chose. So, it's not like a farm team. It would almost be like an NBA team owner donating tons of money to a college program, like Duke, even though none of Duke's players may ever play for you.
Yeah, the wins against CLE, BOS, and MEM really screwed us. Had we lost those we'd be 3rd worst in the West, and the optics would make it easier to give up on that cursed 8th seed. Unfortunately it appears that we're going to do battle with DEN and DAL (and maybe SAC) right down to the wire - meaning we won't be developing any of our players, and we'll get the worst lotto pick possible. Lose/lose. That's the season in a nutshell: lose/lose.
see Austin Toros and how the Spurs used them..the rules have changed for D league with the new CBA....I'd like it to mirror baseballs minor league system but I still think being proactive in D league development is good...It's not like Oregon has so many sports choices....a D league in Eugene would rock!
