Game Thread GAME# 64: BLAZERS @ LAKERS - MARCH 5, 2018 - MONDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), NBATV & NBCSNW

Yeah, I picked up on it the last two games and predicted we would score 108 in the prediction thread. Gonna have to ride that again tonight!

 

Imagine if Ball did what Lillard did last night. Zach Lowe would’ve released a 3k word essay on it already. But since it’s Lillard, and Portland, silence.

 

If the S2 Blazer forum was voting on it, sure, but the stats don't support it. Similar totals in major categories, Steph does it in less time because he's more efficient. Total shooting % of 60% vs 67% is probably the most glaring difference. Of course it's a team game and Warriors are crushing once again, so that counts too.

Dame makes the 2nd team, which is awesome

STOMP

 

Not a fucking peep on ESPN radio yet this morning. We'll see if Dame gets any recognition from the Disney drama whores today.

 

Larry Nance dunked the ball last night. Big news. Fuck ESPN.

 

Incognito!

 

Max Kellerman looks like a 3rd grader with a beard.

 

Um Lebron?

Curry is a no brainer first team. He's got like a a 28 PER.

1st: Steph-Harden-Giannis-Lebron-Davis
2nd: Dame-Kyrie-KD-Towns-Jokic
3rd: Paul-Westbrook-Butler-Draymond-Gobert

Just feels wrong leaving Derozan and Oladipo off the teams but there's just too much guard talent.

 

It's pretty amazing that we won that game. I mean, Aminu and Turner really stunk; Collins and Leonard did nothing, Nurk's double/double was good, but too many turnovers, easy shots missed, and overall not impressive. Also, I didn't realize until today that Ingram didn't play. It's gonna be really, really tough to hold onto the third seed.

 

Yeah, Green has benefited from the team he plays on. Put him on an average team and he would be good, but not all NBA worthy. His whining alone knocks him off my list.

 

Kobe was not really a clutch player: "No matter how you define crunch time -- from the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime to the last 24 seconds -- and no matter how you define production -- field goal percentage, offensive efficiency, David Berri's Wins Produced, the results tell the same story: Bryant is about as likely to hit the big shot as any player."
http://www.espn.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time

 

Yes there is always a concern, no matter who we play. This Blazer team can not overlook anyone. They are not deep enough. With Wednesday and Thursday nights off.......Terry does not need to worry about resting Dame tonight. They can't approach any game like that.

 

No, I'd like to see us make sure we win against the Knicks. Each W counts the same, and GS is not one of our competitors for playoff seeding.

 

A win on the road is a win no matter what....but the Blazers can't play like they have against PHX and LAL and expect to get very far. Dame's superhuman performances aside, you can't just rely on that to happen because it just won't work on a nightly basis. Amimu can't be an complete zero on offense, Turner has to be more consistent and and you are going to need contributions from two of Davis/Connoughton/Collins/Harkless to make this a legit run.

The Blazers are getting hot at the right time but have also benefited tremendously from other teams injuries. They've absolutely taken advantage but teams like the Spurs are missing 3 of their top 4 players, Wolves missing their best player, and the Jazz with a rash of injuries (again).

It's great to be at the top of this dog pile for at least the time being. I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing teams like the Celtics, Rockets and Warriors to see how far we have really come.

 

Injuries are a fact of life in the NBA and it seems some of our fans never allowed the injury excuse when we were missing players over the past several years. You play what the other team puts on the floor and move on. NO INJURY EXCUSES.

 

He hit that third one from frigging Anaheim!