Game Thread GAME# 2: SPURS @ BLAZERS - OCTOBER 20, 2018 - SATURDAY, 7:00 PM (PDT), NBCSNW

People in this thread keep using the +/- stat about Collins in these first two wins.

Doesn't everyone know that +/- is inflated by being on the winning team?
Also, all stats are inflated by being on a Stotts-style team.

I never, ever look at that column in the box score. Useless.

 

Even if you're right, there was no reason to dump Davis and his tiny $4 million 1-year contract. He was content being a substitute and did not whine for minutes. So Collins' getting development minutes did not require Davis' exit.

(This is why it's fruitless for you guys to argue that we don't need Davis. If I can't beat you on Davis vs. Collins, I can sure beat you on Davis vs. Leonard.)

Olshey should have kept Ed Davis.

 

Collins is better and you can't really bench Ed. Ed would've been unhappy in Meyers' role.

 

To me its really early its been two games, to pronounce Collins is good and ready. Ed is still a way better rebounder than collins.

 

Even if that's true, the differential in the number of rebounds we get WITH Davis vs WITHOUT Davis is probably something like 2 rebounds per game. Not a big deal. Sure, that can be the difference between winning and losing, but if you're winning on such a razor thin margin you're not a good team. Therefore, it's pointless to spend money - even the VET MIN, which is all the league thought Ed was worth - on a player who doesn't do much for you today, and has no untapped potential to help you improve down the road.

 

I think you're missing the point. One of the ways we get more 3s is by having Collins flash to the 3 point line. With Ed, the opposing Center basically gets to play zone. If he loses track of Collins, he'll flash to the line for a 3. Right now, he's 2-4, so it's a concern for the opposing defense. Put another way, it's about spacing, not rebounding.

On defense, we now have Collins at the 5, Harkless at the 4, and ET at the 3. All three of those guys can switch, making our defense better with Collins, too.

 

I would say Zach is a better shot blocker, but I believe there is more to defense than just that. Ed is more of a positional defender. Banging with guys to keep them off balance or out of position to get rebounds.

 

I think Zach is is underrated in that aspect though. I think hes solid, and gets a lot of bad calls against him.

 

Bullshit. Now you're making up reasons to blindly justify whoever's in authority. Ed Davis is the perfect NBA substitute. You can't do better.

Even if you're right (you're not), you wait for dissatisfaction to happen. You don't preemptively give away your 4th-best player last season according to stats.

1-2 years from now, under a conventional cheapskate owner, Olshey will stop giving away good players to create roster openings. Then his lack of trading talent will be more obvious.

 

No, I'm using common sense.

What am I not right about, exactly?

So you make Ed Davis pissed off and unhappy, potentially causing locker room issues, instead of letting him walk? Horrible idea.

 

Why don't you get rid of Lillard in case he's unhappy next season?

And don't trade him. Give him away.

God, how stupid.

 

People might not like the Moda Center 15 years from now. Why don't we set it on fire now? After all, we'll need that space to slowly build its replacement for a few years, because we burned it down. So let's demolish it right now.

 

This is pretty much what i was gonna post. Zach can hit a 3 and a mid range on top of being a good defender. I liked Davis but he had some holes in his game that Zach can fill.

 

He probably will this year. the calls will come and the experience will mount.

 

Both Collins and Davis has there strength and weakness. Olshey went with Collins due to there more upside and so he can play more center. With having Davis on the roster that wouldn't happen. I do like Davis because he was a gamer when play and good team mate. He also was good mentor for Zach. But when Zach continue to add strength in long run he will be better rebounder then Davis. There a lot thing that Zach can do now Davis couldn't do like guarding player away from the basket.

 

Are you thick?

Why would we keep someone just to bench him (and barely play him) knowing it'll make him unhappy? How does that compare to Dame possibly becoming unhappy? Really?

 

So stupid.

 

You realize people are referencing him having the highest plus/minus In the team? Hopefully you can see why this is an invalid counter...

 

Jeezus, this whole Ed vs. Zach debate is insufferable and pointless. They are different players on different career trajectories. It's just anther excuse for the haters to bash Olshey. Get the fuck over it. HE'S GONE and he's not coming back.

Any stats Ed Davis posts this season are irrelevant. He's playing on a crappy, losing team in the minor league (Eastern Conference). So, we don't need nightly updates on Ed's performance.

I don't think there is a single member of this forum who didn't love Ed. This is a fan base that loves hard working role players, and this is the definition of Ed Davis. He is, was, and always will be a role player, and even in that role he is limited to being a back up center. I don't like the rampant use of the term "positionless" when describing today's NBA. There is still a difference between a 1 and a 5. I'd call it more position fluid. You want your bigs to be able to seamlessly slide between the 4 and 5 spots, your forwards to be able to ply either the conventional 3 or the small ball 4, and there is a blurring between the traditional 1 and 2 roles as most starting PGs are "scoring guards" who often find themselves playing off the ball.

In that context, Ed doesn't have the size, bulk or shot blocking to be a starting 5. He never did. That's why he's a career back up who averages 17 - 18 MPG. He also doesn't have the game of a stretch 4. In today's position fluid NBA, Ed Davis is position rigid.

Great guy, good at what he does, knows his limitations. Ed Davis is currently doing Ed Davis things for the Brooklyn Nets - a team with a losing record. Ed Davis isn't going to transform them into winners, nor is the loss of Ed going to transform the Blazers into losers.

For anyone who hasn't noticed, we are 2-0 and our bench isn't just doing well, they are excelling - without Ed Davis. Zach will give us both rim protection and scoring that Ed never did/could. He's also just 20 and will only continue to get better. Ed reached his ceiling long ago and will never be more than he is. Even Meyers, the favorite forum whipping boy, is playing well in his limited role. Yeah, he's not Ed, but Ed isn't Meyers, either. With Zach's role and expanding, that leaves only about 9 MPG for our 3rd string center.

In the very first game of the season, in addition to Zach doing something Ed has never done on defense (block 6 shots), Meyers in his 8 minutes did something on offense Ed has never done - assisted of four 3-pointers. Those four passes from Meyers directly resulted in 12 points. Not only can Meyers knock down open 3-pointers, he can also find his teammates for open 3s.

Again love Ed and love that he knows his limitations, the problem is they ARE limitations and everyone else knows them, too. It's why NOP was able to ignore Ed and trap Dame 25-feet from the basket and completely stifle our offense at the point of attack.

I wish Ed well, but I accept that he's gone. The team we have on the floor today is better equipped for today's NBA than the one that got swept by NOP. To me, that's progress, even if it meant saying goodbye a fan favorite and good guy like Ed Davis.

BNM

 

Yes, your "logic" is stupid. Damian Lillard is perfect for the modern NBA. Ed Davis isn't. I know you're attempting to be facetious, but you're not changing anyone's mind with this kind of nonsense. It makes your rants look even more desperate and nonsensical.

BNM