Forensic Fan Game Ten, 11/15/14 vs. BKN From the Top: W 97-87. Low-scoring game that seemed to meet all of the requirements for Blazers victory, even with 2 starters out. Stifling D? How about holding the Nyets to 87 points on 39% shooting? (Check) Unselfish ball-movement-oriented offense? How about 26 assists on 33 made shots? (Check). Limiting opponent fast-break points and points off turnovers? How about 3 (?!) and 9? (Check) A player with enough Big-Boy Huevos to make Sam Cassell jealous? Still, I worry, though. Because if there's one thing I learned from Pesci and DeNiro, it's that you probably should not piss off a made man. Player of the game: Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez took their turns abusing Blazers defenders in the paint, but by-and-large stayed off the FT line and inside the 3-point line. Therefore, even though a bunch of shots went down, their efficiency wasn’t high and a 1-19 day from 3 killed them. Damian Lillard, on the other hand, had 28 points and 10 assists, and shot a few times from the suburbs to break the backs of the Nets. Anyone else think he's Player of the Game? Good. Glad that's settled. Monster Games ™: No double-doubles today outside of Dame’s 28/10ast/5reb. Not a lot of great shooting do go around. Solid perimeter D from the team. Steve Blake had 7 assists in 16 minutes. But anytime someone gets a career-high in something that doesn’t suck, well… (Many props to NateBishop3 and our friends at /ripcity reddit for that one. For those who aren’t sure why SKHRAEURPL! is appropriate here…here ya go.) Points Per Shot: It wasn’t a particularly pretty game if you like to see the ball go into the hoop frequently. Wes had an off night with 10 points on 3-13 shooting, as did Kaman with 12 on 3-11 shooting. Blake’s 7-points-on-three-shots was a couple short of qualifying for today’s award. But Damian’s 2 pps (28 points on 14 shots) takes the honors tonight. Coin Ratio: Again, Blake’s 7 assists on 3 shots busted the Jefferson, while Damian had prime-CP3-level 10 assists against 14 shots. In fact, only 35 other times in history has a player had 28 points or more, with a coin ratio above 70 cents, and 5 rebounds. As you might expect, this list is dominated by Magic, Jason Kidd and John Stockton, but other stars make the list (including Barkley!!?). Dame now has as many of them as LeBron. Efficient, effective, and getting teammates involved. Kind of the name of the game for a PG, especially one whose jumper is… Bench: “Only” 34 points tonight from the reserves (to go along with 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals) but if you add Crabbe and Leonard into the mix the total Bench Mob Experience combined for 49/30/11/5. Yeah, we’ll take that. Even on an off night shooting (Kaman 3-11, CJ 1-4, Blake with only 3 shots) the threes seemed to go in whenever Brooklyn got close, and even though it looked like the Nets were driving down the comeback trail, just about everyone could see that it wasn’t going to end well for them. Something like… Questions for the Group: 1. Leonard: Buy or sell “solid NBA rotation player” right now? Does one game justify his contract extension? 2. Taking care of business at home to start the season: Good because we have a boosted record to start the season, or bad because this means lots of road games are a-coming when teams have already started to gel or are fighting for playoff position? 3.Do you even want to see Robinson, Victor and Dorell right now? Or not mess with a good thing? See you on Monday night versus New Orleans. Stay tuned here for more Blazers/NBA content (including RC2 Power Rankings), and stick around to chat awhile. Until then…
1.) Buy... He's looking much better with boxing out. I've been at peace that he won't be a defensive anchor, but as long as he's boxing out, he won't be such a liability. It's still one game, but if he plays anywhere close to how he did last night, we may finally see 11th pick worthy. 2.) I say good because of our injuries. We were able to develop a couple players, which only helps how we play on the road. Our bench is sooooo important to have success on the road, so these injuries (even though I hate seeing them) are good for our bench. 3.) I want to see Robinson when we play on the road. We need his fabricated energy to help fire up our team when we don't have a crowd to back us. Brian, sweet job once again!
Great job, Brian! 1. He's earned more minutes but not a guaranteed spot in the rotation. 2. Not good or bad, you play the schedule you're given and try to make the most of the home stands. 3. Yes for Robinson, he's an energy player like Barton. Victor I feel bad for, he's just not going to see minutes. Dorell has not earned minutes.
Check out Meyers handling himself well in the locker room interview - http://www.csnnw.com/video_content_type/leonard-im-not-brute-5-confidence-4
that was telling for me, he seems to be "getting it" in more ways than one, now lets see a solid string of performances like last night
Lately I've been having a problem with endless loop of commercial on my nexus 5 when I watch their videos. Maybe our pal Kevin can mention this to someone on high.
I think Leonard played OK. He rebounded and spread the floor. He passes well. The one thing that bugs me is he is slow to react to the guards who get in the lane. Because of that he never blocks their shot. He is getting better with playing time. but I would have preferred Terry taking him out late in the fourth.
1. He's taking a step in the right direction. One games does not justify the contract extension. I need to see the same effort consistently throughout the season. 2. Good because our team has had some difficulties, slight injuries and illness beginning the season. Hopefully they can endure the upcoming road trips. 3. I would like to see Robinson depending upon certain matchups with opposing teams.
1. One game does for that game until the next game comes up. It was a growth game for Leonard and Crabbe. 2. Good. Winning is always good and now the bench has a road monster blowout game in Denver. It's early. These guys still have fresh legs. When they are traveling longer distances, (east) and playing back to backs we'll know more. 3. I think when guys step up, they stay in the rotation. TRob is in a dogfight for minutes and he has to play within the system to stay on the court. At some point Stotts may put Meyers and TRob on the court more together if the starters blow teams out in the 3rd qtr. I think Wright is the guy without a date to the dance Great job Brian!
Good job, Brian. Meyers had some great games in his rookie season when he was given the minutes. He's definitely Roth keeping around. As for our schedule, it is what it is and we have to take advantage and make sure we win these next two and then grab some road wins against bad East teams which is how we got off to a great start last year. As for Claver, Wright, and TRob, play them when needed which is not at all right now.
