I know people don't believe in such things as a bad win or a good loss. Just got home from the airport around 2;45AM (We beat the Suns here by the way) Tonight kind of embodies how I said the season was going to go. I realize it was one game, but it went how I thought it would. Hang with some teams, catch em off guard for a half or 3 quarters, but not have the talent to finish em off. We lost by a ton, and shot in the upper 30s % wise I think and got out rebounded. BUT there was some damn exciting and fun plays going on out there tonight! Our boys were flying all over the place. Great block shots.....fast break dunks......alley oops! You go back to 04-05-06, we were young and inexperienced like we are now, but those teams were boring as shit! Low scoring, no fast breaks or dunks! We will lose a TON this season, but they might just be some of the most fun losses we've seen in awhile. On to the next one!
I just hope that, given that we're going to lose, Stotts loosens the reins a little and spreads the minutes around more. Harkless needs more time. Davis needs more time. I'd like to see Frazier play more if only to get Lillard/McCollum some minutes off (and because, although this isn't saying much, he's probably our best distributor). I want to see some wacky lineups. I want to see some Project Pat! When Henderson gets back there'll be even fewer minutes to go around.
Fixed your post for ya. I agree. just not on the number of losses. We will lose, but I just dont think we lose 60 games. I wouldn't do it for the reasons we think we are going to lose anyhow, I don't think that is the spirit and or mindset you want around the team. With that said, I agree completely. spread the minutes out. If Stott's doesn't we wont know what we have and who is going to work out and might end up making a bad decision come trade deadline when we move someone who didn't get time that might have flourished.
Agreed with spreading out the minutes. Watching Dame and CJ each jack up 20+ shots on night they aren't hitting will get old in a hurry. I want to see other guys get a chance to develop and not just set picks and crash the boards for copious amounts of offensive rebounds due to all the clanging. Run some hi/low with Plumlee up top and how about a backdoor lob once in a while? There are some freak athletes on this team but haven't seen even close to one attempted. Through Vonleh down on the block once in a while just to give him a chance to work on it and same with Meyers, Plumlee and Davis. It might not be the best shot in the world right now but when it's not about making the playoffs......develop the players. I already know Dame and CJ will go Steph Curry/Monta Ellis if given the chance.
I see a lot of entertainment value with this squad that those mid-2000 teams didn't have. And no Jailblazer hangover types to spoil the fun of sucking well.
Could not agree more. This year will be very fun to watch. They will need to get experience winning on the road. Even more so i really want to see how they respond to losses like this one. Tonight they will most certainly be playing with a chip on their shoulder. Love to see them light them up and blow this team out of the Moda Rose Garden! They can as we all know do it.
Also agree that some of the bench needs more minutes to develop. When Dame and CJ go cold others are not yet confident enough to score. Harkless is getting closer. I loved seeing Harkless and Aminu together. I think I will like it even better when Henderson plays the SG beside them.
I also hope that this opens up Stotts mind to bringing CJ off the bench. I do think the refs were inconsistent, but there were several plays where Dame let guy go right around him without even trying. CJ wasn't doing much better. Suns guards where good examples of how swarming guards can be. Nothing against CJ, but unless he AND Dame play much better defense we are going to see a lot of games where our bigs get into foul trouble and the other team is shooting a lot of AND-1s. I'm not sure they are both capable of that defense and would really like to see Hendo get a chance. He might be a perfect fit there.
Our defense has some very entertaining plays. We got into foul trouble all night and Phoenix played very aggressive defense without fouling. Unlikely to win that way. Flip that aspect and we might blow them out. The half court offense is definitely a concern; we don't want CJ and Dame jacking up bad shots but I saw them pass repeatedly where nobody else on the team can create. That might just be a permanent problem with this roster. We need a third scorer. Is it best to wait until the offseason to get him? Might be. Or can someone here become a third scorer? Seems unlikely but would be great if it happened. Don't want our players to develope bad habits though.
You'll be happy to know that the same crew is not working this game tonight. James Capers, Sean Corbin, Eric Dalen (Dalen must be a rookie... crap.)
Last night's game would have been more entertaining if it werent' for those refs fucking it up. Portland would have still lost, but it wouldn't have been such a big margin.
Amino looks like he might be the answer. He has a pretty smooth stroke from outside and can drive to the hole. Let him work on his dribbling and handles a bit more and he might be a 17/8 kinda guy. Just waht we need with that SF spot when you combine it with potential first/second team all D.
Strongly disagree if you mean a third half court creator. As a third player putting up Jerome Kersey points perhaps; but thats not what I meant. I really enjoy what Amino brings, he could be the answer at SF, but creating offense in the half court will never be one of his strong skills. If he averages close to 17 it'll be from open court plays, putbacks, and teammates collapsing the defense. We need a third player who can get his own shot.
Aminu has a decent looking stroke but Harkless is the one who should be taking more shots from deep imo. That kid also probably has the biggest gripe on the team about playing time too. He deserves more minutes with the way he is playing.
In order to win last night we needed more rebounds, scoring from Crabbe and Leonard and a new crew of refs
Some perimeter defense would have helped also. The penetration created some problems for our bigs. They got into foul trouble pretty fast.
