A CJ McCollum - scoring 22.7ppg on 46/41/100 percentages with a team leading PER of 21.8. Can create his own shot against seemingly all defenders. Fully capable of playing backup PG, infact that may be his superior position. Only 1.0 turnovers per game. Excellent 3 game stretch. Defense at SG could be better. A- Al-Farouq Aminu - Breathtaking defender. Averaging 13.7 ppg on 43/50/91 percent shooting. Can defend nearly every position on the court. Negatives are 3.7 turnovers per game and taking some poor half court shots. Only has a PER of 13.3 but with his defense that is fine. 3 point shooting of 50% won't continue but if he can hit enough to force the defense to guard him that will open up the offense for teammates. B++ Mason Plumlee - scoring 10.0 ppg on 67% FG with a PER of 20.1. Unique dribbling and passing skill set for a big man. Dangerous in the open court. Quick to the rim. Can be a third playmaker when the defense overplays Damian and CJ. Half court defense a concern and was outplayed by Tyson Chandler. Tyson is one of the top NBA centers though. 22% FT's will be a problem all year. B+ Maurice Harkless - Defense has been excellent, similar to Aminu. Shooting 50% on two's and 44% on threes. 8.0 ppg with a PER of 12.2. Played impressive stretch at the start of the second half against Phoenix in place of Meyers Leonard. Can't believe he was acquired for basically a $2 million salary dump. B Ed Davis - 8.0 rebounds 1.0 block in 23 minutes. A PER of 14.0 with 6.0ppg on 63% FG. Excellent hustle and help defense. A fun hardworking easy to root for player. Similar to Wes Matthews in he gives you everything he can. 44% FT's will be a problem all year B- Damian Lillard - scoring 22.7ppg same as CJ. But only shooting 30.4% on three while hoisting almost 8 attempts per game. 2 point shooting of 46% and free throw attempts have both been great. 8.3 assists; but 5.3 turnovers per game. Defense isn't good but isn't as horrible as some critics say. Needs better shot selection on attempts early in the shot clock. PER of 17.4 would be lowest since his rookie year. C- Allen Crabbe - Poor three point shooting of 14%. Defense has been good. PER of 3.7 is bad. Will get some more time to play out of his funk. If he doesn't shoot better Hendo will likely eat all his minutes. D+ Noah Vonleh - Not playing well, appears a step slow. Thinks about what he should be doing. Yes he's only 20 years old but he may need some more practice time before playing rotational minutes. I don't want to see his confidence destroyed by early failures nor the beginning of bad habits. D Meyers Leonard - Scoring 7.0 ppg and 4.0 rebounds as a starter with 15.4% 3 point shooting. Has a PER of 5.6. Besides the offense he's been terrible defensively. Lacks the foot speed to guard PF's. The team has played far better with Aminu or Harkless at PF. Is athletic when compared to other 7 footers but not against wings. Long term may be best as a backup center, but there are two of those on the roster playing better. Pat with a A+ garbage time PER of 66.5. Frazier with a C- in 7 total minutes. Montero with an F -40.7 PER in 2 minutes.
I'd agree with most of that. Can't give McCollum an 'A' when his assist totals are so low on a team that really only Dame and sometimes Plums will get assists. Low turnovers because he rarely passes the ball. He about got Aminu killed on a fast break last night as his pass was behind him when he had a wide-open dunk. Aminu had to stop all his momentum which allowed the defender to catch up and then flip him back onto his head which hit the floor hard. He completely missed him for a dunk later and also missed Harkless twice for what would have been easy slams.
Yeah, great post, but I would give CJ an A-, B+. His FG% and PPG are skewed from the first game. Still overall doing pretty damned good though. Im stiff though A+ to me means hes making the all star team. I dont think he is there yet. The rest is damn near spot on.
Yeah, A- for CJ, C+ for Dame (we know he can do better, but Phoenix's guards give him fits). Everything you said is pretty much spot on.
A+ to the post, well-written. Several Blazers suck at FTs. Kaman deserves Leonard's minutes, but then Davis would start. You are generous with Connaughton and harsh on Vonleh. As for shoot-first McCollum passing only when he's not open... ...you must be comparing to Lillard, who has no special slick on his passes either. To see great passes, watch tapes of the rookie Sergio Rodriguez.
I'd give no A's, D's or F's... .the guys you gave A's to get B+'s.. .the guy's you gave B's to get B-'s, C's get C+'s The D's get C's and the F gets a C-
12th place in the West so everyone gets a F. 12th is lottery hell. Get to 16th and everyone gets an A+!
Thinking about our team a little more has me perplexed about our roster composition. We have two dynamic score first point guards, three uniquely skilled backup centers and a pair of extremely athletic all around small forwards.
Between the hitch and the way he shoots it one-handed, I can't believe that is the best the coaches can do. If so, time to sharpen up the Shooting Coach applications.
Expectations are being met by all players on the team. Bottom line is the Blazers are in the tough West... No game is a certain with this young and inexperienced roster.
As for free throws, sometime this season we will see history, so keep your VCRs ready so you can show your grandchildren. The all-time worst starting frontline will be Plumlee (career .539), Davis (.564), and Harkless (.573). Okay, everyone goes to Basketball-Reference to prove me wrong. If you find something, we'll all learn so it's win-win.
I think Dame grade is a little to nice. I say he deserves a D. This season so far in the fourth quarter he is 1-for-15 from the field. And we all know dame a long time ago was one of the most reliable and steady 3 point shooters where so far he's averaging 29% from there. His finishes have been terrific tho so there's that.
No one has played up to expectations except Aminu, Plumlee and Harkless. But that was to be expected. 3 games is not enough to evaluate this group, but if it is....well fuck me.
