Either trade Hickson for cap space at the deadline, or stop killing the starters before one of them gets a major injury. If the idea is to tank, start limiting the minutes of Lillard, Batum, and LMA now. Get them all under 35 mpg and just call it good after a trade for cap space or a pick. What is the plan here?
THE SOLUTION IS TO TRADE HICKSON, A PRODUCTIVE STARTER FOR MORE MEDIOCRE BENCH PLAYERS WHO HAVEN'T GONE ANYWHERE IN THE LEAGUE!
there are guys out on the market that keep getting snatched up by other teams, didnt toronto just sign pietrus? he would get 30 mpg here
Hickson is the most valuable trade asset on the team. Package him with Babbit and Smith, who don't have options next year, and it's around $9 million more in cap space depending on what is available.
Pietrus isn't a "plan", though. Can somebody tell me the last time Hickson made a big shot near the end of a game? He was benched against OKC, and should have been on the bench tonight. LMA hit him IN THE FREAKING HANDS on a play that would have been an easy dunk. JJ was wide open!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JJ HICKSON WE COULD JUSTIFY TRADING ALDRIDGE FOR BECAUSE HE WOULD BE SUFFICIENT?
Yeah, not a bad decision. Is this the worst bench in NBA history? If so, can Olshey at least start using it to tank the season before he injures one of his main players? The Blazers have 3 out of the 11 players in this category this season. Batum #3 - 39 mpg Lillard #6 - 38.4 mpg LMA #11 - 37.9 mpg Somebody is going to wear down with these minutes and get a major injury.
Trading Hickson will put more of a tear on the starters. Need to bench him and start freeland or Leonard
That actually not a bad plan. Reduce LMA's minutes with Hickson on the court instead of LMA, and then just throw Nolan Smith and Babbit out there because their trade value can't go much lower at this point. OPERATION TANK!!!
its either play the good players and win half the time or play the scrubs and get blown out every night
Is a .500 record worth overplaying the young core? It's just bizarre to me that Batum, Lillard, and LMA are in the top 12 in the NBA in minutes per game. I know players want to play, but at some point, the coach has to be realistic about how many minutes his future core is playing.
Hell, Wes is #32 at 35 mpg! 30 teams in the league, yet the Blazers have 4 in the top 32 in mpg. Is Stotts in over his head? http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/minutes/sort/avgMinutes
its tough man, he takes them out and the bench gets killed, so he puts them back in...need help on the bench
I honestly don't give a fuck how much Lillard, LA and Batum are playing. They are our cornerstones. If San Antonio was bad a few years ago, do you think they would want to "preserve" duncan and not be competitive? What kind of bullshit is that. Play to win. Rest of the team blows donkey cock, so you have to play the starters.
PF mpg LMA #1 http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/minutes/sort/avgMinutes/position/power-forwards
Duncan hasn't played over 36 mpg since he turned 27. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duncati01.html LMA is at 38 mpg right now.
