Game Thread Game #36 - BLAZERS @LAKERS - DECEMBER 31, 2021 - FRIDAY - 7:30 PM (PDT) ROOT SPORTS - NBATV

So as long as the Blazers can keep letting teams score 130+ points a game they probably won’t have much problem getting over 100 every game.
#freemeals

 

Ha Ha Ha
Yeah they would.

 

Glad we don't have that loser anymore--we have a new and improved loser!

It'll be "fun" when Billups becomes the new scapegoat because the roster talent still sucks, and the forum once again turns on the head coach because that's the easy change.

 

For most people, it seemed that it was more that Terry had run his course and proved that he couldn't get the version of whatever roster he had, any further. No one (well, with any serious basketball acumen) thought that is was ONLY a coaching issue. That is why so many people see Olshey for the idiot he was when he said, 'it wasn't the roster'. What a buffoon!

 

Yeah prob so..its that they both do one thing well, Dame shoots long threes & Simmons top 5 defender in the league. Pick your poison.

 

It seemed like a lot of fans thought it was (or acted like it was) primarily the coach. I saw a lot of "Before we fire Olshey, let's see what this roster does with a REAL coach," "This is a good roster, but Stotts is completely mishandling it" and similar stuff. Probably just wishful thinking rather than objective analysis but, again, fanbases in general are prone to blaming the head coach for everything because it's simply easier to replace the coach than to replace the roster with a more talented one.

To be clear, I'm completely fine with replacing Stotts and the idea that he's had more than enough time to prove he's not a top-tier coach. But Stotts was definitely not the real issue--he did well the last time the Blazers were actually talented (Aldridge, Lillard, Batum, Matthews) and has been inconsistent with inconsistently talented rosters. He's like most coaches--he goes where the talent takes him. I'm cool with replacing him to try to find a difference-making coach, but found the whole "Stotts is the main reason for failure, FIRE STOTTS!" perspectives to be silly.

 

Skipped another game.
Had a great night
Decision to not watch is really working out
Happy new year

 

Not really. Lillard does more than “one thing”.
Poor take IMO.

 

What I noticed during the parts of the game I was able to watch is how bad our bigs are at setting screens. They would screen for Dame and his guy would just go right around it with no slowing down or issues.

 

Of course they both do more than one thing.

 

Yeah they weee terrible.
One thing Nurk does is set screens pretty well.
Dame needs a good screen to get just enough daylight to get his shot off.

 

Lillard has absolutely gotten better on defense. His man to man D is showing improvement and has every year. He locked Westbrook down twice last night.
Lillard is absolute class on and off the court. Leads by example and can carry a team offensively at times.
Do I need to continue about the multitude of things Lillard does well? Seriously.
There is a reason people laugh at the thought of a straight swap Lillard for Simmons.
It would be the worst trade this team ever made.

 

I'm a huge Dame supporter and it would be great to reload around him and become a contender.
Its not often a team can contend/win the whole enchilada with one all star, especially a guard. Even Curry has had all stars around him.
Everyone has strengths and weakness 's including Dame. Im not bashing him just being real. Dont be so defensive.

 

Last night’s game was VERY important for US!

 

Simmons is substantially younger. I wouldn't do a straight swap. But Maxey, Simmons and three firsts might do it. People still got butthurt about an offer like that. Look at what Harden got for a comparison of what you might be able to get for Dame.

I'm fine not trading Dame only if we get him another top 15 player to play with.

 

Simmons....higher eFG% despite not being able to shoot, and almost identical TS%.
Simmons....MUCH better defender.
Simmons....career averages more assists than Dame.
Simmons...almost double the steals.
Simmons...double the rebounds.

Of course Dame is the much better shooter, but the whole 'Lillard does more than one thing' is discrediting Simmons, fair?

 

LOL...reading that list, Simmons must obviously be better....but he isn't and it's not really close so maybe the list is lacking context

 

The only context it's lacking is era--shooting is by far the most important skill to have and it stitches together all other offensive abilities. Not having it is a gigantic flaw in today's game. In past eras, Simmons would have been the better player, IMO.