Well if my post has no clue, then, typical of a ref, you're post is blind. Re-watch the game, particularly all of the replays where they are lauding Dame for 'Getting back into the play' - after he has been left in the wind. A decent defender wouldn't be that far behind the play in the first place.
First off, I'm not your "typical ref". And anyone who would say "typical ref" must be a "typical fan". And we all know what fan is short for... Now to address the idiocy of your post. Did you play basketball?? What position did you play? I played PG which is a position that continuously has to fight over ball screens. I also, on every team I've played on, been the best on the ball defender. Now, He wasn't "left in the wind"... He was getting over a screen and forcing the shooter in to a semi contested, mid range shot. And he got 3 blocks doing it while creating many missed shots. Was he out of position a few times? Sure. That happens to every on the ball defender. But on the whole, he was excellent on D.
Why would he? He's established himself as a starter, he's relatively young, and he's still got a couple of more contracts to play for. My guess is that he'd do better for himself being either a starter on this team, or the lead guard on another team. Taking a subservient role this early in his career isn't maximizing his earning potential. So like I said, if you're going to have him come off the bench, your gambling that he'd be OK with that. I think that's unlikely, but who knows? To me, the most logical way to make sure you get an outcome you can live with is figure out a way to make it work with Damian in the starting lineup. If you can't do that, then trade him. If you can't get decent value in a trade, then broach the subject of trying juggle his role and try to bring him off the bench as a last resort.
You think CJ would start at PG for other teams? I think he is an adequate back up PG but I think he excels as a SG. I think CJ would be fine coming off the bench if there was a good reason for it. Assuming he was still getting his minutes. And because this team does not have an abundance of great shooters, he needs to be on the floor as much as possible. So I am not sure it makes a difference if he starts or comes off the bench, he still needs to play 30+.
One thing I know CJ will be the starter for this team until they decide that it doesn't work and they make a trade.
So where does his rest come from reach half? Nobody seems to answer this question when they're talking about keeping his minutes the same and bringing him off the bench.
I haven't read the thread, so I can only assume you're responding to the idea of bring CJ off the bench. "Silly" is putting it nicely. The only way you could even think of it is if you had a stud 3/D SG. Evan Turner is not that player. He's okay defensively, but not nearly good enough to think about bringing CJ off the bench. The worst player I'd consider starting over CJ would be Avery Bradley. And then, only if CJ gave his blessing.
We beat this horse to death last year and the only thing that has changed is Dame and C.J. now have a beast backing them up on defense. It makes even less sense to bring him off the bench now than it did last year. The pro C.J. as a 6th man pundits like to point to Manu, Crawford, Jason Terry, etc. as examples of how C.J. would make a great 6th man. None of those guys came off the bench at such a young age. Crawford did not move to the 6th man role until 29. Manu and Terry did not become 6th men until they were in their 30s (Manu was an all star as a starter at 33). None came close to averaging 23 ppg as a starter, like C.J. did last year. C.J. is younger and better than all of those guys were when they "accepted" the 6th man role. Has there ever been a player who averaged 23.0 ppg at the age of 25 that was moved to the bench the following season? I can't think of a single example of anyone that comes close. Crawford probably comes closest. He averaged 19.7 ppg as a starter at 28 and was moved to the bench at 29, but he was also traded to a team that already had an all star starting at SG. But, none of this matters anymore because we beat a crappy team by 48 without C.J. BNM
Exactly. But here's my point. It makes no sense to bring a player off the bench instead of start them unless you bring them in at least 5 minutes into each half. There's 10 minutes of rest. It's also bad to play a player 18-19 minutes straight, and when subbed out, they should rest for at last 3 minutes. Therefore, CJ would need an additional 6 minutes of rest over the course of the game (3min a half). That means he would only be able to play 32 minutes at the most, or he'll be gassed at the end of games, or the purpose of bringing him off the bench in the first place will be defeated by bringing him in too early. It makes no sense from a rotational/minutes perspective, and that's not even getting into other things.
A lot of us the same age probably have nightmares about Vince Johnson and project that onto CJ. There’s no way in hell CJ should come off the bench because he works too well with Dame. And if you’re going to start Turner or Patty C or something like that, what’s the point if they come out after 3 minutes?
They aren't good, but I'd be willing to wager the Blazers don't have a 58 point lead the rest of the season no matter who they play....especially on the road.
That begs the question in bold, exactly. He’s being paid, and he should continue to be paid. It’s no knock on him, it’s just situational. He’s not the only really fine player who’s smallish at SG.
Vinnie Johnson came off the bench for DET because they had TWO future Hall of Famers starting ahead of him in their backcourt. He also never averaged more than 27.8 MG and 15.7 MPG. He was a great role player for those Bad Boy Pistons teams, but nowhere nearly as good as C.J. BTW, anyone that thinks Dame and C.J. can't coexist in the backcourt because they are too small, needs to realize that Joe Dumars (6'3") and Isiah Thomas (6'1") were even smaller. And before you play the "it was a different generation" card, remember that Dumars and Thomas had to get past two of the greatest guards of all time (Michael Jordan at 6'6" and Magic Johnson at 6'9") to win their championships. Maybe Nurk is right. Maybe we should be emulating those Bad Boy Pistons teams. Back up our two high scoring undersized guards with a tough, no-nonsense front line. The Blazers can be the Bad Boy Pistons to GSW's Showtime Lakers. BNM
It's not a "rule". I asked for examples of guys who averaged 23 ppg as a starter that were moved to the bench during the prime of their careers. Your Gordon example does not apply. It's not even close to the same situation. Sure, Gordon won the 6th Man of the Year award as a rookie, but he was a starter when he was in his prime. BNM
No, I didn't. I ever claimed no young player had ever won 6th Man of the Year. I said I can't think of a single example of the player who went from a starter averaging 23 ppg at 25 to a bench player at 26. Or more broadly, any player that moved from starter to the bench and won 6th Man of the Year during the prime of their career. BNM
