< Before his first game and after he scores 6 for 6 in opening nights contest. FEAR Stauskas! AT least for now////
Another great game. 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block on 50% shooting. Some are criticizing Lillard for that last play but he trusted Stauskas enough on the play that should’ve won the game in regulation. As Stauskas keeps proving himself he’s going to find himself on the court more and more late in games, and hopefully builds more of his teammates confidence in him to make those kind of plays. He’s built for the big moment, you could just feel it. I already trust him more than CJ to deliver late in games. Would not be surprised if he started building a reputation around it.
He only scored 4 but both were impressive buckets at the rim. He also had a sick hesi against Ross. I knew he could do more than shoot, but I honestly didn’t know he was this good off the dribble/attacking the basket. There’s no way he makes this play earlier in his career. He’s put in work in the weight room.
This guy totally reminds me of Walt Williams for some reason. Fairly athletic, but definitely shooter first with lots of hesitation moves to clear space.
He's much better than I expected. Good find by olshey. You can see why he was taken at #8. I hope he keeps it up and stays a blazer. He reminds me of Danny ainge.
Stauskas certainly seems to have found a home here in POR. Not only does he finally play in an offense that allows him to use his skills - all of them - he is playing with a top flight PG for the first time in his career. If you go back and look at his past teams, not only were those teams just flat out bad, they struggled to put a decent PG on the floor. Most actually switched starting PGs during the seasons Stauskas was there. Prior to this year, during his rookie year in SAC, Darren Collison was probably the best PG he's played with, but Collison only lasted 45 games that year before he was injured and replaced by Ray McCallum. His first year in PHI (the 10-win season), Isaiah Canaan began the season as the starting PG, before being replaced by Ish Smith. Second season in PHI, Sergio Rodriguez started at PG for the first 30 games, before losing his job to T.J. McConnell. And then last year in BRK, they changed from Spencer Dinwiddie to D'Angelo Russel as their starting PG. So, in addition to playing in a better system, for the first time in his career, he has the luxury, and stability, of playing with a PG of Damian Lillard's caliber. Of course Stauskas doesn't start but he has been on the court with Dame and benefits from the defensive attention Dame commands. I didn't bother to look up who the back up PGs were on his past teams, but based on the dubious quality of their starting PGs, I think it's safe to say the back up PG situations were most likely pretty shitty, too. The plan to surround Evan Turner with shooters seems to be working well for both Turner and Stauskas. We all know Turner played this role, and played it well, in BOS, so Stauskas feeding off Turner the facilitator seems to maximize the strengths of both players. Great pick up and great use of his talents (plural). BNM
The one thing I've noticed about Staukus is how into the game he is. He isn't just jacking up threes and leaving it at that. While his defending sometimes leaves something to be desired..... he's moving well off the ball, taking the ball to the hole and shooting well. He reminds me of the player he was in college. The Blazers are asking him to do what he can.... not what he can't.
The 8 rebounds against WAS also showed me he's totally into the games. When your back up shooting guard pulls down 8 rebounds, it shows he's putting forth effort and not just focused on getting his shots. BNM
I never weighed in on the signing, but count me in as a person who was less than enthusiastic about it. He has definitely proven me wrong and has already outperformed what I thought we’d get from him. It’s still been a small sample, but I have enjoyed watching him play and it shows that he is clearly not just a jump shooter like many thought he was.
I was certainly not against the signing at the time. A 1-year min contract is as low risk as you can get. I figured Stauskas and Curry were just place holders to hold down the back up guard spots until Trent Jr. and Simons were ready. I figured worst case Stauskas would be Connaughton 2.0 and by March Trent Jr. would be getting his minutes. At this point, I don't see Stauskas losing his minutes to anyone off the bench. He fits his role in this system better than anyone we've had for quite a while. Someone mentioned Danny Ainge from those early 1990s teams. In his first year in POR, Ainge averaged 11.1 ppg and shot .406 from 3-point range. If we can get that kind of production from Stauskas, I'll be thrilled. BNM
Hmmm. Sounds like NO’s under the radar tlaent scouting continues to be better and better. Building a team is a bit like a puzzle. Sometimes its hard to tell when pieces will fit together. I think NO has a pretty good sense of the picture behind the puzzle, making it easier. Stauskas indeed fits perfectly next to ET.
CJ is objectively not good in “clutch” situations, or at least wasn’t last season. The mistrust doesn’t come from nowhere.
C.J. is a supremely gifted ball handler and shooter. He has things he needs to work on, but I trust him with the game on the line.
I don't get why Olshey always gets credit for the work of the Blazers talent scouts and statistical gurus. Olshey is ultimately responsible to act on the information they give him, and he's a good manager for working with his experts to make good decisions, but I don't believe for a minute Olshey is the guy beating the bushes and running algorithms to find undervalued players like Stauskus.
You just proceeded to explain exactly why he should get credit. The notion that a GM shouldn't get credit because he doesn't do every single bit of grunt work himself is laughable.