Game Thread 2025 SL GAME #3 - BLAZERS VS PELICANS - JULY 15, 2025 - TUESDAY - 7:00 PM PST - ESPN - ESPN+

My theory is that they taught him to box out in the CBA, so he's letting others rebound right next to him. Of course, my son says that's copium....

 

I wonder if that's why he started but played only 10 minutes.

 

This was a game that left me with a sour taste. Maybe it's because my freezer and my mouse both started to act up at the same time right before the game and it put me in a negative mindset.

Yang had his best statistical game, but watching him play against Queen just really made it clear to me how far Yang is from being a rotation guy, because Queen outplayed him and I don't really think Queen is going to be anything special.

Love -- nice stats, but I can see him as a guy that will frustrate me and make me want to see him off the team in the event he ever gets good minutes. He just seems like one of those players who is so gifted that he can create an open shot almost any time, so he takes them, even if they aren't good shots.

And, not that he'll be anything, but I really thought Pedulla would be a bulldog out there that was fun to watch. No. He's completely overmatched and he plays like he knows it. He blew a wide-open layup on a great pass by Yang last game. This game, he starts off by losing an inbound pass because he stops coming to the ball. Then he was a defensive liability all game. I think he can see he's not good enough and he's really stopped playing hard, and playing hard was a big part of his appeal.

Rupert's looked great, though. And Carton put in a nice game.

 

I had to laugh at the very beginning when Cory Alexander referenced Arvydas Sabonis and ended up saying “He’s not YourVydas, he OurBonis”

 

I'm just now in the 2nd quarter. Queen just picked up two fouls in 30 seconds. I agree with the ESPN guys, he looks like Shitty Z-Bo.

 

I'm not sure I agree...

Grant & Yang absolutely should not spend any time on the court together. But in a perfect world both players are backups and coming off the bench. As a result-> Im guessing they will see a fair amount of time together

 

Did I imagine it or did their depth chart list Love as the backup to Jrue with no mention of Scoot?

 

Of course Grant will start.

 

I think Timelord may play in front of Yang but Timelord doesn't ever play B2B, has averaged 13 games a season as a Blazer, and the team could even play both together at times.

I see 7 that think they're starters, who's your 8th?

Clingan
Deni Grant
Camara
Sharpe
Jrue Scoot

 

So the 84% of the games RW has been injured as a Blazer is when Yang plays as the primary backup? That's a lot.

 

Good points. Yeah Yang might really struggle guarding certain players. Queen is very good offensively though. But yeah might be best to be strategic about the matchups Yang plays and even play Duop or go small in some games. Kid has only been 20 a few weeks so there's no rush.

Hope your mouse is ok.

 

Let's see if the NBA give us more National TV come next year

 

Almost certainly, because Yang will draw more eyeballs than SGA. There are way more chinese NBA followers than the entire US population

 

LOL

 

May have been mentioned here already but apparently in China, centers are taught to box out and let teammates grab the rebound. This tracks with what Yang has been doing. He needs to change this habit and box out with the intent to secure the board himself

 

Why? To make his stat line look good?

 

I believe boxing out with the intent to grab the board mentality is superior to simply boxing out and letting a teammate grab the ball

 

I don’t care who grabs the rebound as long as our team secures it

 

I didn't see that, because I didn't look this time. I thought the first game they had Scoot as backup, but I might have imagined it, too.

 

You would think that with Yang’s size he would be the player most equipped to grab the rebound. Someone has to grab the rebound.