Another guy they won't pass the ball to

I have no idea how long it will take Stotts to start running plays for him on the low block, but for now, it will be nice to have a guy who hits the offensive glass and can actually put the ball in the basket when he gets an offensive rebound. Ed and Noah are our best offensive rebounders, but Noah usually gets stuffed when he tries for the put back, and more often than not, when Ed gets an offensive rebound, he passes out to a guard to reset the possession. When Nurkic gets an offense rebound he goes right back up and he goes up strong. That's the way it should be - either finish strong or draw a foul on an opposing big man.

BNM

 

I definitely think it's a confidence issue. He's thinking too much while he's shooting. Exhibit A: All the open looks he passes up.

 

This isn't the only place Stotts has coached. He was in charge of the offense in DAL and didn't try to convert Tyson Chanlder into a 3-point shooter. He works with what he's given.

BNM

 

I'm really happy with Nurkic on the roster...the needle hasn't moved but it's starting to quiver!

 

Yep, the hesitation has fucked up his head and his form. His first instinct is to pass. He only shoots as a last resort, if no one challenges his shot. A shooter's first instinct should be to shoot the ball and only look to pass if you're covered. His instincts are the exact opposite of a great shooter.

BNM

 

If Meyers stands under the rim looking to pass out when he's guarded by Isiah Thomas again, I'll scream...turn around and dunk it! This is my biggest issue...I'd like to see stop thinking he's a 3 pt specialist and learn to dunk and take it to the rack....he can dunk over anybody if he tries...his weakness is his pause button..JUST PUSH PLAY!

 

You can tell what kind of game Meyers is going to have after his first or second shot attempt. If he makes a couple, he will play with confidence and do well. If he misses, forget it, he's not mentally tough enough to push through it. It's actually crazy to watch. I wish he would just say fuck it and let it all go. I almost feel bad for him. Almost.

 

came across it

 

Meyers could be a good player if his mentality was different. I just don't see him changing.

 

One reason why I think they will pass to him, he will actually catch it and score.

 

Seriously???? His last two seasons in POR, LaMarcus Aldridge led the entire league in 2-point FGA, both seasons. How is that making him into a 3-point shooter?

Sure, Stotts gave him the green light to shoot the 3 when he was open and felt comfortable. So, does Greg Popovich in San Antonio. In his last two seasons in POR, 4.2% of Aldridge's FGA were 3FGA. In his 1.6 seasons in SAS, 3.1% of his FGA and 3FGA. Not really much difference there.

OMG, Greg Popovich is a HORRIBLE coach. Fire him NOW!!!! He's trying to make LaMarcus Aldridge into a 3-point shooter! What is he thinking????

BNM

 

Watching tonight, you might think Barkley has a point. Nurkic and Vonleh played a total of 45 minutes. Between the two of them, they missed zero, zip, nada, none no shots. The first thing responders will say is that Vonleh didn't take/get any shots.....which only makes Barkley's point. Nurkic had 13 points on 5 shots. He made every single field goal and was a +19 while he was on the floor.

That means for the 27 minutes when he wasn't on the floor, the team was a -42.

That is enough to boggle the mind. A guy makes that much of an impact and you can't get him more than 5 shots...when he is hitting everything? He and Vonleh were also the top rebounders for Portland and Noah was only -2 in his 24 minutes....meaning the team was -21 when he wasn't on the court. So clearly they had a good to very positive impact compared to almost everyone else.....and they could only get 5 shots between the two of them.

I don't know if Barkley is right or not but damn, it's almost like they are trying to prove him right.

Here's an idea. FEED THE GUY WHO ISN'T MISSING!!!!!!!!

 

I watched closer last night after the Barkley comments, and he's not wrong. The offense that Stotts brought to Portland has a lot of ball and player movement. This is the same offense, with player movement, but the ball isn't moving nearly as much. Maybe that's by design because Stotts told them to? Lack of talent can scare coaches into relying on stars too much. Or maybe the two decided they needed to carry a roster that has Meyers and Patty C in the rotation?

Either way, the ball is not moving like it did in years past.

Not surprisingly, Lillard and Cj's assist totals are down this year

 

What is interesting for me from those figures is that our two best three point shooters get slightly less attempts combined than our two worse shooters. I guess that is partly due to the fact that teams don't worry about leaving Leonard and Aminu wide open. But I would like to see the team work harder at giving Harkless and Crabbe more shots.

 

As far as I am concerned....Dame and CJ don't shoot enough.

OK I am being a little facetious, but seriously this team lacks quality shooters. I am not saying these guy can't contribute on the offensive end, but they are just not what I would call scorers. let alone good shooters: Plums (before he was traded) , Davis, Harkless, Aminu, ET, Vonleh, and Leonard (who should be, but this year is not)

That leaves Crabbe besides CJ and Dame.

ET became a reliable scorer before he got hurt with his driving shots over his defender, but he creates his own shots. A skill that is needed on this team but not someone who is going to help with Dame and CJ's assist totals.

I like Harkless and think he is a keeper along with ET. But if that is the case we need a stretch 4 who can shoot lights out for Dame and CJ to pass to. Otherwise they need to start Crabbe or hope Jake progresses over the summer. They need 3 elite shooters on the floor....at least