Game Thread GAME# 39: WARRIORS @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 8, 2016 - FRIDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), CSNNW

Let me preface this by saying I love Dame. There are things about him that are very difficult to quantify- however there are some things that are quantifiable that I really despise. Particularly his defense. But as far as a quantifiable assessment, I haven't really dove down that rabbit hole this year. While I want to truly call him an elite player- there are questions I have that I don't have the best answers for yet sooooo......

I'm going to dive a bit deeper into this season this weekend- particularly on Damian to see how it compares both in a historical context and who's comparable. I feel like at this point he is what he is- but how that relates to this current iteration of the Blazers is still debatable - and what his and CJ's roles are this season will more than likely be different than what they are in the coming years.

Just for arguments sake- CJ's numbers this year, as great as they are are nearly identical to Dame's soph campaign LINK TO COMPARISON so in the grand context of things I'm not ready to hand the offense over to CJ just yet. More than likely I'll end up posting something Sat/Sun- as it's own separate thread that will give a full synopsis of the Dame/CJ dynamic.

 

Dame made some great defensive plays in our last game.

 

The butt kicking starts in an hour.

 

This could be a fun game...our games don't mean much, but beating the Warriors would be like our championship!

 

Dame and CJ really have to be on tonight!

 

CJ gonna drop 60+ after that fuckup last game.

 

That would be funny if we eeked into the playoffs as the 8th seed and beat the Warriors in the 1st round.

 

Can we put Stotts as inactive?

 

Nice post, and I fully agree. Whilst I love Dames intangibles, he has been woefully inefficient this season - a downward trend that has continued since last season.

I like Dame A LOT, but I feel the team plays better with CJ at the point. CJ can break down any defender the opposing team dare put on him, a talent that Dame simply doesn't have.
Dame is good at the blow-by speed drive, but can have difficulty getting around some of the better defenders to create - and has trouble with the double team - resulting in TO's having shot through the roof.

Cj has the break down moves and handle to be a greater threat for us at the point. And with this valuable experience he is going to improve over the next year or two.
Better creater than Dame, better shooter and better defender.

As they are currently playing, CJ should be our PG going forward.

 

Dog, you're failing to take into account the situation Damians in.

I've seen countless times where Dame sets up a teammate for an open shot, and they'll pass it up and hand the ball back to him. The clock runs down, and he has to throw up a tough lower percentage shot. This results in a lower FG/3pt percentage, because the situation he's in makes it so he HAS TO "chuck" a few shots a game. Sometimes, he just avoids the crappy bogged down unagressive offense that his teammates cause and goes straight into attack mode. But I guess you'd think an Aminu pick n roll with Plumlee would be better? (Lol) Or how bout Meyers passing up an open 3 off a pick n pop and kick to Harkless who then jab steps five times before he bricks a 3?

It also results in less assists because his teammates are passing up shots or not trying to attack once they get the ball. Dame also having to be in constant attack mode naturally means more turnovers, so your AST/TO argument against him holds no weight.

He's also the only guy opposing defenses gameplan for, and he's constantly going against double teams and pressure. But he has to create something out of it because nobody on the team other than CJ can attack or is even above average offensively. Given this, his percentages are to be expected of a star player. He's upped his PPG, assists, 3 point percentage and free throw attempts, while facing a situation infinitely more difficult than he has. But somehow given all these circumstances, and all the things he's doing better, this isn't his best season because his FG% is down by only 2 percentage points? Right.

 

Okay, it's on.

 

That's a prime example of a bad shot by Dame. Does he watch game film of himself?

 

Come on guys, you can't even get up to play the warriors at home?

 

well we suck