We need bench scoring.... badly.

We don't need to make any moves at this point.

 

We may not need it in a general sense because the record is so good. However, there are certainly areas that could use improvement. They are still in the bottom half in defense and the bench is in the bottom 15-20%. If NeO thinks they are at a place close enough to legitimately contend (top 4 teams) then I think you make a move if you can.

The opportunity doesn't come along that often and if you think you're close, take a shot.

 

Then again nobody even thought this team could be as good as they are right now. Internal growing from the players we have already can improve this team's defense, as we are slowly improving already.

If "neo" is a good gm, it's better to wait and see where this team takes us. We will have MLE and vet mins to obtain a solid vet and role players, without even trading.

Then Stotts can give Olshey the model of players he feels he needs, they have a full pre-season to learn the system and our existing players will grow even more.

 

Bullocks! Someone did!

 

Many think my predictions are a joke.

 

Then I fart in their general direction.

 

This is what I'm thinking. I'd only trade now if there is an obvious upgrade opportunity. Asik for Lopez is way too close to a lateral move to be worth disrupting the chemistry right now. Lowery for Mo and change? Won't happen, but you'd have to do that.

 

If that was available, I believe would pull the trigger faster than a two dollar trick running to get her next fix.

Sadly it doesn't look like that type of move will be available. If it is available, then it would be a steal!

 

Bench rankings: (Borrowed from another board)

Minutes - 29th
Points - 27th
Rebounds - 26th
Assists - 13th
FTA - 27th
Efficiency Diff - 27th

In only one of those categories are we better than the bottom 10%. Those are significant areas of concern if the Blazers want to do more than just make the playoffs. CJ might help eventually but he is an undersized SG and historically that hasn't been a big plus. Much as I like Joel's improvement and T-Rob's potential, the front court needs more production and the backcourt more efficiency.

 

... until you found out Maynor is playing half the minutes he played last season in Portland, in DC, and his on/off the court stats are absolute garbage.

 

Yeah, while Maynor was a breath of fresh air last season, it was (as I think Mags called it) a "first candle" scenario. Maynor wasn't really very good, but he was better than Nolan, which was nice then, but not really worth mentioning now.

 

Nolan Smith....where all mediocre players bring their comparison to realize they are better than they could be.

 

Last nights games makes me think we need an upgrade off the bench even more. I know...they won but it's as much because they won as anything.

~ This could be special. ~

LaMarcus is playing at a level unseen before in recent Blazer history and I want him to have a chance to take that as far as possible. A bottom tier bench and Mo Williams giving up massive amounts in PER on a nightly basis along with an almost continual +/- that is often the worst on the team by far could get in the way of that. Last night the Blazers as a team ranged from +20 to -6...except for Mo who was a -13. Sadly, this is not an isolated example.

They really have no scoring threat outside of Williams which seems to make him go one-on-one even more.

If Portland is really going to continue this level of play, I think NeO owes it to them to put the best group around them as possible. I also believe he will do so with the chemistry they have in mind.

I would hate to see such an opportunity derailed by an admittedly bad (albeit improved) bench.

Deal wisely Mr. Olshey.

 

Again, be patient everyone. We have McCollum coming back. T-Rob is getting better every week. And Dorell is looking like he's out of his shooting slump. Neil was able to lure Mo to Portland because of their strong relationship. I doubt he moves him. In fact, it would shock me if he moved Mo. Lastly, we have NOTHING to offer. We can't trade a future pick really and I just don't see teams chomping at the bit to get at Meyers Leonard, Will Barton, Victor Claver, and Allen Crabbe.

 

It's not really about patience but more about reality. Counting on a rookie (CJ) to be the difference for a championship run seems hopeful at best. Dorell is shooting 33% in his last 5 games so not sure is that qualifies as coming out of a slump. In close games, (last night is a good example) Stotts doesn't play T-Rob for more than a few minutes so obviously T-Rob still has a looong way to go. As for not moving someone because of a strong relationship with NeO, ask Eric Gordon about that and see what he says.

I understand there isn't a lot to trade with in terms of assets but as currently contructed, the Blazers starters have to be exceptional....every game. That doesn't bode well for long term success historically.

 

My theory is that if we had a better more reliable scoring threat off the bench, Mo will be able to play a bit smarter since he won't have to undertake as much of a load on offense. He'll play a lot better when there are more scoring options since he won't have to force it. Kind of like when ZBO was a "black hole" on offense because no one else on the floor could make a basket. Wright is not a reliable scoring threat but he is what he is. A veteran SF who can shoot the 3 (even though he hasn't been doing that well recently, he will). I'm fine with Mo and Wright as rotation bench players.

Brings us to our bigs. T-rob and Freeland. Both play in spurts and will have great hustle plays, but honestly, we need a little more than that. But as they do play more they'll get more comfortable so I'm not really that concerned. Trob is a scorer and Freeland is improving so I just say let it be for the time being.


I'm still in the camp that this team is still not a finished product. We can't make any huge moves right now, but over the summer we'll probably start addressing the bench a bit further.

 

I agree with your take. I also agree that we will most likely make moves this summer; where olshey can understand exactly what we, MLE, and players he can live with trading away.

 

The problem with the bench is you can't run isolations for the bigs, so you have to rely on jump shooting more, and those are lower percentage shots.

 

I agree. Good summary. It saved me some time. (I really should get some work done today)

Yes the bench needs to be better, but adding a player now will not increase our bench scoring. If we look at the box score we see a C, PF, SF and PG getting minutes last night combining for 23 points. (only 5 minutes for TRob)

Missing from that list was a SG. We have SG's on the bench, I doubt trading for another one will make a difference.

What offensive player would we go after and how many minutes does anyone really think that person would get? I still say if they add anyone, add a playmaking PG (i.e Earl Watson) and move MO to the 2. (If they go into a slump) Other than that I say allow our current bench to get better. They have 60 more games to do so.

 

I agree with this. I like Robinson, but he's a garbage man. Freeland is still the weakest link. He plays okay defense and he rebounds, but he has virtually no offensive game to speak of. The dropoff between Lopez and Freeland is considerable. You can see the frustration in Nic's eyes when he tries to make a pass to Joel, only to watch it sail out of bounds because Joel isn't as good at running the give and go.