PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS It’s fair to wonder if their approach on offense is better for the regular season or the postseason. I don’t want to say it can’t work in the playoffs but they’ve got some real holes in their lineup, guys who don’t bring much to the table offensively. But this isn’t a team that you fear in April and May, even when Damian Lillard has it going. . . . Shabazz Napier was in a lot of their good five-man lineups last year. He really helped them. That’s a big loss. [Losing] Ed Davis [to Brooklyn in free agency] was a crippling loss. It totally messes with their frontcourt rotation. . . . Outside of Russell Westbrook, I’d take Lillard over anyone in this division. Westbrook only gets it because of what he’s done in the playoffs. We’ve gotten used to Lillard’s consistency but he needs to make a deep run in the playoffs to take the next step. . . . I’m sure they want more from Jusuf Nurkic. Signing a new contract will put more expectations on him as well. He’s shown in pockets that he’s capable of more. . . . The tricky thing is whether they use Zach Collins as a four or a five. To me, he’s more of a five, but that’s Nurkic’s spot and he’s a stone-cold five. You can’t use him anywhere else. So that limits Collins to a back-up role, or it forces you to play him at the four with Nurkic, which could make for some spacing issues. I think they need to get Collins on the court as often as he can handle. If we look ahead for the next three years, I’d rather have Collins than Nurkic. . . . Nurkic isn’t really a rim protector but he showed me something on the defensive end last year. He was much more reliable and he helped Portland stick to its strategy of forcing teams into mid-range shots. Their defense was top 10 last season because of its discipline, rather than its versatility. That’s another thing that came back to bite them in the postseason. . . . I’ve given up on Meyers Leonard at this point and I bet Portland would have given up on him by now too if they could have. But now Davis is gone, so they have a hole at the fourth big spot. I can’t believe he didn’t block a single shot last year. . . . CJ McCollum is a stud on offense. He’s a dynamic scorer, can shoot it from mid-range and way beyond the arc. He’s one of the craftiest ball-handlers and pick-and-roll guys. He can get better at getting to the free throw line but he’s so crafty that he shifts away from defenders that it sometimes works against him. He’s not huge on seeking out contact. . . . I wouldn’t trade Damian or CJ. Would you rather have Jimmy Butler and his health and attitude questions or have CJ? I’d rather just have CJ and sleep easy at night. . . . One issue is that Lillard and McCollum are older and in their prime and almost their whole roster is really, really young. The front office has gone too far towards the youth movement. If I were Dame or CJ, I’d be getting frustrated with the strategy. Their time to win is now. . . . I think they’re looking at Seth Curry stepping into Napier’s minutes. He’s a better shooter, a little more dynamic with the ball. He can be a secondary playmaker. . . . Nik Stauskas is better in theory than he is in practice. He’ll get a chance with his shooting but he’s busted out in multiple different situations. Three teams have given up on him. He’s that bad defensively. . . . Gary Trent Jr. is a nice shooter. Decent pick for them. I think he’s a nice fit for Stotts’s system. He’s a guy who can take advantage of a green light. https://www.si.com/nba/2018/10/10/nba-scouts-analysis-warriors-lakers-celtics-lebron-james
If I respond to this the way Id like too, Id have a few people jump in and say Im just complaining about NO, so I’ll spare you guys that dont want to see it and just say thanks sly for posting this.
Great, my daughter and I had fun. Thanks. She recognized some of the stunt team members that were in our section. I was REALLY hoping to see Chinanu Onuaku shoot some FTs. I wanted to see her reaction. BNM
Excellent insights I agree with much of it. Been saying all the time losing Ed Davis is crippling, don't see how so many fans are overlooking that. His take on Dame CJ timeline is great too... They are at the end of their prime and need to win now. Trade youth or picks for vets. If we can't do that and nobody else on the roster has all star upside a few months into the season we need to evaluate trading CJ and Dame to rebuild. Sucks to say that and I hope we can figure out a way to contend instead... The clock is ticking.
It's obvious that Olshey is building to make a run two or three yesrs down the line. Probably in line with when all the bad contracts are up. If Lillard or CJ's primes are wssted that's probably a risk he's willing to take. Allen didn't even hold him accountable for making those deals.... why should Olshey worry? All he's gotta do is get rid of any media member in this market who asks questions. Simple as that.
End of their prime? They are just entering it. Dame has improved every single year he's been in the league, he hasn't even plateaued yet. C.J. still has lots of areas for improvement. As hard as both work on their games during the off season, it will be at least five or six years before we see any significant decline from either. BNM
Saying "Chill out" to someone who's asking "How is this okay" is middle school level deflection. I've never seen it. Its gorey...