Game Thread PRESEASON GAME # 3: BLAZERS @ LAKERS - OCTOBER 11, 2016 - TUESDAY, 7:30 PM (PDT), NBATV

Crabbe looked terrible.
Hopefully Leonard forgets about building up the muscles and focuses on quickness. Speed kills in the modern NBA. It's the one thing that keeps him from taking the starting job from Plums.

 

There aren't 20 minutes for him, at least not now.

 

Crabbe needs to play off other players. Most of the minutes he played out there was when there was only one other playmaker on the floor. He needs to be on the floor with any two of CJ/Dame/Evan. I don't really like the look of the team when they start Turner. He really is redundant playing next to CJ and Dame at the same time, and just seems to lead to a lot of over dribbling by all the guards. Harkless should definitely be the starter, with Crabbe and Turner coming off the bench.

 

Pretty much boiling down to this. Starting Moe, and bringing ET and AC off the bench seems to be the best for everybody.

 

Fully agree.

McCollum's stats were shocking. 2-13, wow. It's just one game and a preseason one but he needs to be more consistent.

Very happy to see Harkless doing well again. It's still a small sample but I think he's made 4 of 8 three-pointers attempted in this preseason, which is nice.

 

There will be once we consolidate our bigs for someone top quality. Besides Ezeli is a bit injury prone, which might force us to play Davis at center, opening up a space at power forward. Besides I don't think Aminu is untouchable at PF either, if Vonleh takes his chance, he will get minutes. We don't really have a top quality power forward, Aminu and Davis are fine but hardly impossible to beat for someone of Vonleh's potential.

 

Do you really think there is just "one" thing?

 

I definitely agree that ET should not play with Lillard and McCollum (at the same time). And I do feel like Harkless would be the best starting SF. But I also feel like ET and Harkless would play well together. I get the impression when ET has the ball that he is looking for guys to do something other than what they have been doing; which is mostly moving back and forth on the perimeter. It seems to me he is looking for back door cutters or someone diving down the center and no one is doing it. It seems like Harkless is the guy who might be able to do that the best and also finish the best. So I don't know how to solve that conundrum.

 

I would experiment with line up variations for one more game. After that they need to start focusing on who is playing with who. They just don't look very comfortable with one another which is normal when you play 14 guys. I would not show Utah too much when we play them on the 19th...since we open with them 6 days later. Actually I hope the Jazz kill us that night. Not that we need extra motivation for opening night, but I would hate for us to win easily in preseason and get over confident.

But other than that game they need to start getting the rotation decided.

 

As you obviously didn't see in the S2 Guidelines and Rules section.......
Rule 8, sub bylaw 3, section 15, amendment 29.32 PLAINLY READS the following....... "Rookies are to be seen and not heard" "No questions or thread starting of ANY kind will be tolerated"

 

3rd game and I've mentioned it once.....actually we can reference any comparison point we want...people bashed Meyers and he didn't really deserve it more than CJ or Crabbe did last night...if you think salary isn't a talking point....you forgot when we extended Batum....folks couldn't ever let his salary go. My point was that Meyers contributed more to last night's win than higher paid starters did in some cases...he played better than Crabbe, Aminu and CJ yet he gets the criticism and they don't

 

I'm nervous for this season. I feel like we have too many players with similar skill sets, and they ALL deserve minutes. It's going to be hard for most of the guys to get into the flow of the game, especially on defense. IMO this team needs to consolidate the roster and do a 2-1 or 3-1 trade. Addition by subtraction.

 

I agree with this in terms of starting the game. But there are definitely some scenarios where I want all three on the court at the same time. There are certain teams who pick up the defensive intensity in the 4th quarter. The Clippers come to mind. When Doc goes to a trapping defense late in games,we need 3 ball handlers on the court. I was at a game when Dame, Wes, and Nic could not even get the ball within 15 feet of the basket down the stretch of a game in LA. I am hoping Dame, CJ, and ET will never have that problem.

 

Meyers, for whatever reason, is a divisive force around here. People either root for him or against him. I think that reason is expectations. The people that hate him want him to be what they want him to be and unless/until he is, they will never accept him.

I mean fuck, the guy hadn't played in 7 months, wasn't even cleared to start 5 on five drills until 3 days ago, yet he put up a decent stat line of 11 points, 6 boards and 1 block in 20 minutes. A lot of the same people that were hating on him last night would be perfectly happy with any other player that could average 16 points and 9 rebounds per 36 minutes. Well, guess what 11/6 in 20 minutes is equivalent to 19.8/10.8 in 36 minutes. On this team, Meyers will never get 36 MPG (neither will any of our other bigs, we're just too deep), but if he can consistently get that level of production in 20 minutes coming off the bench, it will help this team.

But, the haters will still piss all over everything the guy does. Again, WTF? The guy hadn't played 5 on 5 in seven fucking months (gee, do you think a little rust is to be expected?) and didn't play nearly as bad as multiple guys who had all summer and a full training camp to work on their games. Yet, he was the one the nattering nabobs of negativity chose to single out.

BNM

 

Lol, right. All you do is piss all over Meyers for ONLY being a 3-point shooter and now when he scores 8 of his 11 points and shoots .500 from inside the arc, you shit all over him for having an off 3-point shooting night (after not playing in 7 months).

Make up your fucking mind. Perhaps you didn't (more accurately, chose not to) notice Meyers also had six rebounds and a blocked shot in his 20 minutes of playing time.

Exactly who the fuck did Crabbe guard last night? He played like shit on both ends and was far less productive than Leonard. Yet, you preferred his game over Leonard's (who hadn't played in 7 months and make slightly more than half what Crabbe does).

Compare their stat lines:

Leonard (in 20 minutes): 11 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 tov, .400 FG%, +0
Crabbe in (24 minutes): 2 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 tov, .333 FG%, -6

So, you'd prefer that stat line from Crabbe over Leonard's far better stat line in fewer minutes. If so, it proves something we've all already known, your hatred for Leonard completely destroys your objectivity and credibility.

BNM

 

I think the battle is btw him and Lenoard over the next three preseason games we'll see what happens. Personally I think its Meyers' playing time to lose but Vonleh is gaining on him without question. Vonleh has just been more productive when on the court (outside of scoring) his defense and rebounding are miles ahead of Meyers and he is starting to finish better around the basket. Which are positive signs. As we approach the trade deadline I wouldn't be surprised if we have to pick between the two.

Meyers just looked rusty, but like I have said early and often about this guy, he ain't gunna figure out the defensive side, its the one thing you cant teach. He got destroyed by Black, Randle, and Mosgov last night. DESTROYED. He needs time though, and he'll get it throughout the preseason I just don't know that it'll make much of a difference.

 

Has anyone coined the term "Shabazzket" when Napier makes a shot? If not, it's time to start.

 

The only thing that makes their salary relevant is one is a wasted lottery pick making half as much as a 2nd round gem. Why are you still responding to these statements if they anger you so?

 

There you go. You proved his point....
You usually have a fair and balanced view overall, but your hanging on Meyers is gonna make you lose all cred...

He had a good game.

Your kinda like HCP getting on me for being excited that Vonleh did well in game two. Why do you guys feel the need to shit on those of us who get excited when a hopeful has a good game? Why do you keep making those posts and then wonder why people keep responding and getting annoyed by them?
We all know you don't like Meyers. you are beating a dead horse that's been dead and then you wonder why people get annoyed with you?
Come on man....
He has as much right to keep rebutting you as you have on making the same comments over and over, yet you don't seem to get that your doing the same thing as him, but in an antagonizing type of way.
Your answer is, put you on ignore, or don't read or respond to your posts, but really lets be partial here. I like most of your posts, but sometimes... wow... you just love to say the same thing over and over and over and yes... it gets annoying, especially when your statements are a direct contradiction to the stats....
And as much as we can ignore them, you can also back off and understand your drowning everyone with your nonstop ML hatred. Get over it and move on.

 

Considering he won't ever get off the bench, probably isn't the best time.