Blazers Mid-Season Grades and Awards

Incredible post dude!!! Way to go!!!!

Henderson was a starter. I would assume his per would drop considering he is coming to us in a new position ( off the bench) and had to get back to game shape from an injury) Henderson has looked much better the last couple of weeks I think.

On the contrary, I think Meyers grade is accurate and thats coming from one of his biggest supporters. The guy was supposed to work into our starting PF or Center for the future and injury or no injury, he is just no where close to that. It almost looks like his game has actually slowed its pace a bit.
Watch him when he gets passed the ball on the perimeter but doesnt take the shot and doesnt pass right away. His movements are like molasses. I think the most he will ever become is a spot up shooter off the bench. Ive come to believe his game is very limited and am doubtful it will expand much,if any, more than it has. Makes me sad, but I give him a D too....

 

CJ (A+) Easy One

Dame (B) Has been at times brilliant, mostly solid and sometimes absent. Performs when we really needed but can get lost still in games which as our almighty supreme leader I'd like to see him improve at. Basically doesn't get an A because expectations are very very high. I'm not comfortable giving him an A every half year of his career just because he is Dame.

Mason (C) Great hustle but I'm not yet convinced. Has shown a lot of holes as a starter.

Aminu (B) Solid contributor, long-term 7th man. Spacey dude who isn't always in the game but I rate his performance compared to initial expectation.

Vonleh (C/Incomplete) Super young. Davis should start but Vonleh is a long term. I'm happy to see him do what he does.

Meyers (C+) You guys are harsh. Will he be a starter? No way. Will we pay top dollar for him? Nope. Is he a young handy bench big that can shoot 3s and open the paint for decent second unit guards. Oh yeah! I love him. I think you guys are expecting a lot more from him than you should.

Davis (C) Should be our starting PF. Simple as that. Great rebounder, hustle, decent defender. Why isn't he starting? He hasn't been good enough to not give Stotts a choice but to start him. I want to see him take that position and not give it to Noah for two seasons.

Mo (B+) We got the guy for a 2nd pick that Tim Duncan might die of old age before seeing come through that they then traded to Cleveland for a Joe Harris, whatever that is. A great steal and has hit some big plays just at the moment we need him to. That moment when the Blazers have a big 3-4 possessions he always seems to have the second or third of them. Class act and hopefully a handy 15-20 mpg for seasons to come. Hope Harris and 2075 second rounder flop like a fish.

Crabbe (B) The hardest one for me to rate. Was great while Dame was out and I think I have missed some of his best games. I like the progression by I think a lot of guys are heaping a lot of praise on him compared to some harsh critique on Aminu. I'd love to see a comparative debate about their performances this year. (Might start a thread)

Hendo (D) Harsh, I know. Injured early but for me he was never a part of this team's plan and he is basically caught in two world's. We should play him more to raise his trade value. And we should play him less because he won't be here in two years time, he doesn't fit the long term. He is a victim of our 9th place. He has done well, I just don't like seeing him on court as I'd much rather Crabbe or PC/LM/CA out there for developmental sake.

PC (P) Pitcher. Hope I'm wrong.

Frazier (D)-League

Kaman (U) Still ugly as ever.

Montero (WC) Wild Card. Like a joker in a card deck, will probably never feature prominently in a game.

Stotts (A) We are a rebuild team in 9th place (albeit a weak west from 8th downwards) but compared to other teams with much better lists I'm so proud of this Blazers team and of Terry for this season.

 

I agree that Dame should be a B or a B+ because of his shooting struggles earlier in the season, but I disagree about Plums and Davis. I especially disagree about Davis. That guy has been a steal. His offensive efficiency is off the charts.

Here is an excerpt from an article that's already linked in the Ed Davis thread:

How can you give a guy with those stats a C?

 

Because he is playing 2 minutes less than he did last year on a team where I think he should be starting. Your actually proving my point in a way and as is the word "surprising" that appears in that article.

My C grade is attributed perhaps a bit to Stotts desicion not to start him and the fact he has surprising stats, not stats that say "He is our starter for sure". I'd call it constructive critiscm as I think he should starting and play 28 minutes.

 

I don't think his coming off the bench is a reflection on him. I think Stotts likes Plumlee because of his ability to pass the ball, and trying to play Plums and Davis together would be a disaster. Stotts likes to have a big who can spread the floor, so that's why we're seeing Vonleh/Plumlee and Davis/Leonard.

 

I wouldnt have though Vonleh spaces the floor any better than Davis. The guy never shoots and has a slightly better range than Ed.

I don't disagree mind you.

Which raises the question.....who survives long term? For me I'd rather see Davis get the big minutes and Mason be moved on for another C. I preemptively realise I may be the only one to say that however.

 

Vonleh has three point range. We saw it in summer league a lot more though. Maybe he's just gun shy. Davis, to my knowledge, has zero three point range.

 

Yeah i dont think Eds three point range would surprise anyone.

I also think the same as I thought in Summer league. Let's take this Vonleh performance with the worlds largest grain of salt. I don't think any NBA defences are thinking too much about Vonlehs 3 point range at the start of a game.

 

I'm on the fence with Plumlee. I really like his game, and with his skills I think that he could be very useful as a starting C...in the right scenario. But his erratic production is a little concerning to me. Pairing him with DMC could work really well. Apparently DMC has said that he'd rather play PF - putting him next to Plumlee could improve both of their games. The passing alone with those two would be awesome to watch. And DMC mitigates the problem of Plumlee's erratic production, and let's him just play his role.

 

DMC is who I would like to target, with CJ/Vonleh as the primary pieces that I would offer.

 

How would you feel about also taking on Gay? I've never been a fan of his - and honestly, I haven't watched him play since he was with the Grizz! - but after watching Aminu for half a season I'm much more open to the idea of playing Gay at SF. I'm not sure what SAC's intentions are, so maybe they aren't looking to unload him. Just an idea.

Dame
Crabbe
Gay
DMC
Plumlee

Frazier (blech)
Henderson (meh)
Aminu
Davis
Meyers

We'd really need to bring in a back-up PG if we trade CJ.

 

C-

 

Super risky though. DMC is a crazy person.

 

I don't think he's crazy - just emotional/passionate and a little immature. He's basically Sheed, IMO.
He also seems to have deep respect for Dame, and I believe he would love to fall in line behind a leader, rather than being the leader himself - again, just like Sheed.

 

Why do you say he has a deep respect for Dame?

 

To quote Kelly's Heroes, "we're all crazy or we wouldn't be here!"

 

Who is conspicuous on this list?

Tier 4: A tad too inconsistent for greatness

Could it be the A/TO ratio?

 

Snowballs chance. 1. Not of Neil's ilk. 2. Two of Neil's guys.