Blazers need 3 point scoring

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by swish3, Oct 24, 2018.

  1. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    Yes! With Jake and Meyers adding swish3 scoring to boost Dame and CJ, and Nik when he is hot, there is distributed scoring that is ready to challenge any team. My concern is that ET should assist the others, but not attempt swish3s because of his low % scored.
     
  2. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    Distributed swish3 scoring is really the key to optimizing Blazer scoring performance. There is no reason that 4 or more Blazers should not be scoring 3-5 swish3s per game. In the Suns win as in the Nov 20 Knicks game, the swish3 scoring was distributed among players, adding to Dame's 3, and aiming toward the 12-15 that will be needed to win.

    Focusing swish3 shooting on Blazers with the highest swish3 % presently means Meyers (51.2%), Seth (44.2%), Jake (40.9%), Gary (40%), Nik (36.6%), and Dame and CJ (both 36.1%). When Blazers coaches recognize and exploit the swish3 scoring talent of the 5 players currently ahead of Dame, swish3 scoring by the Blazers can average 12+ per game rather than the current average of 11.2, which is less than the opponents who are averaging 11.4. Remembering that Meyers has scored 3-5 swish3s in 28 games over the seasons, and Jake scored 5 of 7 Nov 1 against GSW, and with a game plan that returns to player off ball movement to sweet spots on the arc (including the corners), energy, timing, and enhanced ball movement (at least 24 assists), there should be 3 Blazers with 3-4 swish3s scored and 3 with 1 or 2, which is enough to reach the goal of 15+ swish3s scored per game. In my view, this will be enough to produce a result of 7 wins in the next 12 games (even given strong opponents), and with a few breaks, perhaps 8 wins. Let's try it!
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2018
  3. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 10 of 33 versus MIN 7 of 16 on Dec 8. That is only 30.3% swish3 scoring, and is short of the target 15 swish3s needed to beat strong challenges, like several upcoming. This was a good game for Dame who had 28 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal, and for Nurk who had 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. CJ had 19 points with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. Chief had 14 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals. Mo had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

    The win was limited to the 113 to 105 final score by a high 19 turnovers (MIN had 12) and the erratic officiating which really took the 1st Q momentum away with phantom calls against Nurk, Dame, Mo, Chief, and Meyers. The refs allowed obvious flops by Rose, Wiggins, Towns, Teague, Gibson, Dieng, and Okogie to be called as fouls and did not make calls of fouls of Dame, CJ, Nurk, Chief, and Mo. It is a disappointment that the coaches do not insist on at least consistent foul calls on our home court.

    A major factor in keeping MIN in the game was the turnovers that resulted mostly from bad passes. The turnovers need to be kept under control in future games.

    Dame was 4 of 9, CJ was 3 of 7, Mo was 2 of 3, and Nik was 1 of 3 for swish3 scoring. Those missing all attempts were Chief 3, Jake 6, Zach 1, and Meyers 1. This was a bad game for Jake, who not only continued attempting swish3s after missing 3 consecutive attempts (this defines having a cold hand that means stop), but also scored only 2 of 10 FG attempts and had 0 assists in his 15.3 min. Contrasted with his hot hand in the Suns game 2 days earlier, this cold shooting illustrates why deciding who should attempt swish3s should be governed by in game performance, and why the limit on shooting (3 consecutive misses) is needed.

    The Blazer run of 16-3 in the last 4 min with the starters in the game had only 1 turnover and is reassuring for observing that the Blazers can win a contested game, even when behind by 6 points in the 4th Q. Prioritizing swish3 shooting and selecting who should shoot, running the floor spacing and arc shooting dominant floor rotations, and keeping up intensity will allow achieving >60% wins.
     
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  4. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers won the swish3 Dec 11 HOU contest scoring 10 of 25 versus 9 of 29 for HOU, and the 1st half 54-51 in which 7 of the swish3s were scored. The Blazers had a 15 point lead early based on excellent defensive and offensive intensity, but the Blazer bench scored only 13 points in comparison to the HOU bench 37 points. There was a falloff in scoring not only in the 2nd Q but also in the 4th Q. In both instances of HOU runs, there were tough fouls not called that should have allowed FT by Dame, Nurk, Chief, Mo, Zach, and Seth that limited Blazer (and boosted HOU) scoring.

    Dame had 34 points and was 4 of 7, Seth was 2 of 2, Chief was 2 of 4 (and had 15 rebounds!), Zach was 1 of 2, and Mo was 1 of 3. CJ was 0 of 5, and Evan and Meyers were each 0 of 1. Evan should not be attempting swish3s because of his low % and CJ should have stopped after 3 consecutive misses. The Blazers fell 5 below the goal of scoring 15. Meyers, the leading Blazer swish3 % shooter should have been assigned to take at least 4 shots, especially when needed in the 2nd half when the Blazers scored only 3 swish3s, but was in the game for only 5 min. At the Blazer swish3 shooting pace, that is time for only 2 swish3s at max. Nurk was in for 32 min and looked tired in the 4th Q.

    If Meyers were in for 18+ min to allow time to score 3 swish3s and keep up defensive intensity, especially during the HOU scoring runs, the 9 additional points would be enough to secure the win. The upcoming @MEM game will be a challenge for which the Blazers will need the criterion 45 swish3 points and >112 points total and will need bench points. Along with limiting Turnovers and playing with consistent energetic defense, the better optimized scoring can result in a win.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2018
  5. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers lost the nightmarish Dec 12 MEM swish3 game scoring 6 of 22 versus 8 of 24 by MEM with a loss score of 92 to 83. The missing 30 points that the Blazers should have scored to match our own average were missing from the Center position and a bad shooting night for Dame who was only 4 of 18 for FG. After taking an early lead of 26 to 15 after 1 Q, the Blazers scored only 14 points in the 2nd Q and stayed behind all night. The game was unbelievably bad for Nurk who was 1 of 15 FG. Nurk and Evan should not attempt swish3s based on their poor shooting %.

    The anemic 6 swish3 scoring was led by CJ (who scored 40 points total) and Chief who were each 2 of 5, Dame was 1 of 5, and Nik was 1 of 2. Blazers missing were Nurk, Zach, Evan, and Meyers (2). The Blazers shot only 27.3% of swish3s (and only 36.8% of FG) which was inferior to MEM 33.3% (and 41.5% of FG). Blazers were outrebounded 51 to 44 and had 14 (versus MEM 12) turnovers. The better shooting by Dame in the 2nd half to bring the Blazers within 1 point was an opportunity lost with missed shots, turnovers, defensive lapses, and rebounds lost.

    The major deficit that I noticed was the lack of points from the Center position and swish3 scoring. Nurk was having a bad game, and despite playing 34 min last night at HOU again played 30 min, well over his 24 min optimal time (even when rested). Caleb had a terrible game as well fumbling and losing 3 passes to him right under the basket, not rebounding (only 1), and ineffective defense. Meyers scored at the rim, got a rebound, provided screens for open shots and had 3 assists, but missed 2 swish3s and was called for 3 fouls, the first 2 of which were phantoms. Although Meyers was in only in the first half, I would have played him in the 4th Q and run plays for his catch and shoot swish3s based on his demonstrated scoring. To gain the advantage of his proficiency, Meyers should be shooting at least 6 per game. The 9 points that will probably result would have been enough to tie the game.

    If Blazer coaches would choose to use Meyers as the backup Center with the game plan of enhanced swish3 scoring when he is in, the deficit in points from the Center position can be solved, Blazer offense can be strengthened, and games like MEM and HOU can be wins.
     
  6. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers win over NBA leading TOR Raptors (23-7) Dec 14 despite TOR shooting 58.1% of their swish3s and 5 consecutive in the 4th Q to stage a comeback to within 2 points was a remarkable manifestation of good maintained intensity throughout the game that benefited from 58 points and defensive intensity contributed by the bench. Despite losing the swish3 contest (Blazers were 13 of 27 versus TOR 18 of 31), the Blazers won 128 to 122. This game illustrates why I believe that the Blazer target is 15 swish3s and 130 total points to beat the best teams.

    Dame led swish3 scoring with a perfect 3 of 3, Chief and Seth each scored 3 of 5, CJ scored 2 of 5, Zach scored 1 of 2, and Nik scored 1 of 5. Mo was 0 of 2. This was a strong game for the entire bench who were each awarded game balls. Zach had 16 points with 4 rebounds, an assist, steal, and block in 21 min. Seth scored 13 points with 2 assists and 2 steals in 19 min. Evan scored 12 points and had a highly effective 6 assists in 19 min. The 19-21 min played by the 5 bench Blazers seemed to provide the continued intensity needed to win the game (thus the game balls).

    Dame and CJ both had 4 assists, Nurk had a team leading 7 assists, Mo, Nik, and Seth each had 2 assists, and Meyers and Zach each had 1 assist to total the 29 that, along with limiting Turnovers to only 8 (versus TOR 16) provided a winning edge for the game. Nurk played 27 min, which is nearer his 24 min optimum for maintaining high intensity. Key steals by Dame, Seth, Zach, and Mo, and key swish3 shots by Dame, CJ, Chief, and Seth in the 4th Q provided momentum that held off the TOR comeback and that string of 5 swish3s that threatened the lead. This was a demonstration that getting value from the bench like early this season makes the Blazers winners over anyone and how to make it to the WCF and NBA Championship.
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2018
  7. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers and the Clippers each scored 30 swish3 points in this 131 to 127 at LA win Dec 17. Blazers were 10 of 20 and Clippers were 10 of 27, with the Blazers having a lead of up to 18 points in the 4th Q greatly aided by good swish3 shooting in the 2nd half.

    Dame led the way with 6 of 7 (5 of 5 stretch in the 3rd Q), CJ scored 2 of 4, Mo scored 1 of 2, and Chief scored 1 of 3. Seth and Nick were each 0 of 1 and Meyers was 0 of 2. This was a great game for Dame who scored 39 points (11 of 20 FG and 11 of 13 FT) with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in 36 min. CJ had 27 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. Nurk had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and a block. And Mo had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and a block. Chief scored 8 points with 10 rebounds and 3 assists. The Blazers had 26 assists for the game.

    Although the Blazers were out rebounded 33 to 37, had 1 less assist and 1 more turnover, and were outscored by the bench 24 to 42, the Blazers played with defensive intensity that sufficiently contained the Clippers. The officiating significantly biased the game, especially in the 4th Q draining the Blazer lead and repeatedly interrupting the game to give Gallinari and others the chance to score with the clock stopped. There were 5 fouls each called on Nurk, Mo, and CJ, and 4 on Dame and Zach. The Clippers strategy in the 2nd half was to play quite aggressively, with many fouls of Dame, Nurk, CJ, Mo, Chief, Zach, and Evan by Bradley, Gallinari, Harrell, Wallace, Harris, Alexander, Scott and others that were not called, but should have been for consistency. Harrell was thrown out for a flagrant 2 foul on Nurk. Even though Beverly fouled out, he had been slapping, grabbing, and pushing Dame for what should have been 10+ fouls. A total of 32 fouls were called on the Blazers versus 23 on the Clippers. This was a win over Doc Rivers refs and the Clippers, which is a satisfying road win!

    The Clipper run at the end of the game was aided by taking Nurk out and not replacing him with Meyers, who had a good game as a screener, rebounder, floor spacer, and defender. I would have preferred to have him in. The need for the Blazers to aim for scoring 130 points was evident in this game, and the 131 points scored were enough to win. Scoring will be a key in the upcoming MEM, Jazz, DAL homestand that can form a winning streak getting us to 20 wins.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2018
  8. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers won the 3 point contest over MEM Dec 19 scoring 11 of 26 versus MEM 9 of 27 in a game in which the bench outscored the MEM bench 44 to 14, a 30 point advantage! The game was saved after an early hot start by MEM when the bench came in, providing defense, rebounding, floor spacing, energy, and scoring. Meyers and Zach were particularly notable with some excellent hustle and momentum changing plays that turned the game around. Seth, Nik, and Evan also contributed important defense and offense, especially in the 3rd Q, and Terry wisely left Meyers, Zach, and Evan on the floor in the 4th Q to finish the game with Dame and CJ.

    Dame again led swish3 scoring with 5 of 8. Notably, Dame is now 14 of 18 for swish3s over the last 3 games (LAC and TOR) which were all Blazer wins! Seth was 2 of 2, Meyers was 2 of 5, and Mo and Zach were each 1 of 2. Chief and Evan were 0 of 1, Nik was 0 of 2, and CJ was 0 of 3. This is great shooting for Dame and Seth, and at last a game with more than 4 attempts for Meyers. I expect that because Meyers earlier showed that he is a 50%+ swish3 shooter who performs best when he gets in the flow of the game, we will see a return to >50% swish3 shooting when he gets the mandate to shoot at least 6 per game. Meyers scored 12 points with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block, and Zach scored 10 points with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. This MEM game demonstrated the powerful combination of defense and scoring that the combination of Meyers and Zach bring the Blazers, and why the Blazers can this season win the Western Conference Final.

    The Blazers won in spite of some inconsistent and highly flawed officiating. There were fouls called on Nurk and Meyers that were sufficient in my view for challenges by the coaches. And the no calls when Dame, CJ, Nurk, Mo, and Chief were grabbed, pushed, held, or slapped by MEM were clearly not giving the Blazers even a fair shake on the home court. When Dame and CJ did not go the the foul line in the 1st half, despite fouls clearly occurring, there are problems. And that foul called on Meyers on offense when Gasol grabbed him was absurd. These events can be game momentum changers, and must be countered. Blazer coaches need to take steps to bring the officiating bias to to worse than fair and consistent, whatever the process is with the NBA. Let's look to the UTA and DAL and all future games as being called consistently as should be required in the NBA.

    This game showed that by recognizing those Blazers who can give the most defensive and offensive intensity, even challenging games against strong opponents can be won. That is why this season can be the winning one all the way to the NBA Finals.
     
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  9. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    On Dec 19 the HOU Rockets set the new swish3 scoring record of 26 (in 55 attempts against the Washington Wizards). These 78 points propelled HOU to 136 points with Harden scoring 6 and Paul scoring 5. The increasing importance of 3 point scoring is growing as the season progresses, and will favor teams prepared to score at least 15, which tends to correlate with winning.

    The Blazers will benefit by aiming to score 15+ swish3s in coming games and have an eye on scoring 130+ to maximize the number of wins. A 52 win season is within view, as the present record already projects to 48 wins as of the MEM game finish.
     
  10. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    Utah Jazz won the swish3 contest by 18 points. The Blazers scored 10 of 32 versus the Jazz 16 of 31. The Blazer bench scored 40 while the Jazz bench scored 57. Besides getting a demonstration of the power of 51.6% swish3 (and 55.3% FG) shooting, the Blazers shot a poor 40.2% FG and saw 35 Jazz assists and good passing that was dominant over only 17 Blazer assists.

    Dame led the Blazers with 4 of 8, Meyers scored 3 of 5, Mo scored 1 of 2, Seth scored 1 of 3, and Chief scored 1 of 6. Nik and Wade were each 0 of 1, and CJ and Zach were each 0 of 3. For the Jazz, Rubio was 4 of 4, Niang was 2 of 2, and Crowder was 4 of 7. Rubio had 24 and Kyle Korver (with 3 of 7) had 18 points. The Blazers again permitted swish3 shooting above the opponent's (33.5% for the Jazz) average.

    The Blazers needed swish3 scoring to win this game, and I believe repeated a mistake in stopping the swish3 shooting by Meyers when he made 2 consecutive swish3s within 1 min in the 3rd Q and started the momentum for a comeback. In this and previous seasons, we have seen Meyers get a hot hand going and the possibility for swish3 scoring to continue in a stream, only to have the coaches discontinue that scoring just for the sake of the platoon rotation. I am not alone in observing that although it may take a few shots to get him started, when Meyers gets into the zone he is on and can produce a scoring run from the arc. When he is scoring 2 swish3s in 1 min, I would keep feeding him the catch and shoots. The nice feed from Zach is a great example. This missing strategy, which I believe has not been tried, can be the difference that allows games like this Jazz disappointing home loss to be turned into wins.

    The idea is a corollary to the idea of stopping the swish3 attempts by a Blazer after 3 consecutive missed attempts, or by Blazers with swish3 % below 25%. In games like this one, the 3 consecutive swish3s should lead to added min and the mandate to keep scoring as long as >50% shooting continues. Adding this and consistent defense that prevents open layups and swish3 shots can be enough to turn these losses into wins!

     
  11. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers lost the Dec 23 swish3 contest with the MAVs. Blazers scored 11 of 38 (under 29%!) versus MAVs 12 of 34. The Blazers trailed in the 1st Q, but got scoring going in Q2 getting to a 10 point lead for most of the 2nd and 3rd Q, but the MAVs made it back to even at the end of Q4 on a circus swish3 shot from the corner by Doncic. The MAVs shot the Blazers swish3 average of 35.3% that included 5 of 8 scoring by Barnes. The Blazers won in overtime 121 to 118.

    Blazer swish3 scoring was led by Seth who scored 4 of 8, Dame scored 2 of 7, Mo and Zach each scored 1 of 2, Meyers scored 1 of 4, Chief scored 1 of 5, and CJ scored 1 of 8. Nik was 0 of 2. The MAVs had an advantage of 8 in FT (Blazers were 12 of 17 versus MAVs 20 of 28. There were obvious inconsistencies in the officiating that included fouls called on Nurk and Meyers for illegal screens that were incorrect and a lack of fouls of Dame, Nurk, and others that were not called giving a foul discrepancy (26 against Blazers versus 20 against MAVs). Nurk fouled out, and Meyers had an early block foul called which was clearly a charge. The Blazers should demand a fair shake on our home court.

    The Blazers showed good defensive energy contributed by substitutions that included a balance of starters and bench. The bench contributed 34 points and there were 6 players with 10+ points. Dame scored 33 with 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and a block. CJ scored 22 with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Nurk scored 10 with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. Mo scored 14 with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal. Meyers scored 13 with 6 rebounds. Seth scored 12 with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Chief scored 9 with 9 rebounds and 2 steals.

    This was an important win as the Blazers held off a determined late attach by the MAVs and should be an element in learning to hang on even in tough games. Let's try to get our best scorers shooting more of the shots, limit the shots when shooting 3 consecutive missed swish3s, improve the team swish3 %, continue with good passing and assists (29 in this game), hold down turnovers (only 9 in this game), keep up defensive relentless intensity, and win the Jazz and GSW pair of games coming up. It is good to have 19 wins!
     
  12. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Jazz again won the swish3 contest Christmas game scoring 13 of 29 versus the Blazers 9 of 23 in a game in which the FG% was Blazers 39% versus Jazz 55%. The Blazer intensity was not maintained after a brief lead at the start of the 2nd quarter, and the poor Blazer scoring weakness led to a deficit of 12 points at the half that got even worse in Q4.

    The Blazers did not find and feed the hot hand in the game, did not move the ball well, were out-rebounded 49 to 42, and again allowed high (44.8%) swish3 shooting by the Jazz that average 34%! Ingles was 3 of 5, Rubio and Korver were each 2 of 4, and Exum and Neto each made 1 of 1. Gobert had 7 blocks, some of which appeared to be fouls. Dame was awarded 0 FT despite being clobbered in layups.

    Chief and Seth led Blazer swish3 scoring each with 2 of 3, Dame scored 2 of 5, Wade scored 1 of 1, and CJ and Meyers each scored 1 of 3. Nik was 0 of 2, and Mo,, Zach, and Jake were each 0 of 1. When the Blazers needed scoring, there was not an effort to feed the hot hands. Instead, some weak shots and highly contested attempts wasted chances to score. If the Blazers ran plays for catch and shoot like the Jazz ran for Korver, Blazer scoring efficiency would be increased. And with more ball movement and better off ball rotation that brings the best shooters to sweet spots to score points on those catch and shoots, the Blazers could keep up with the scoring intensity and bring our FG% back up to >50%. This is what I suggest is needed to win.
     
  13. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers beat the Warriors Dec 27 in Oakland in OT 110 to 109! The Blazers scored 13 of 40 versus the Warriors 13 of 44, with a swish3 by Dame winning the game. This was a great game for Nurk who scored 27 points with 12 rebounds and 4 assists, for Seth who scored 11 points at the start of the 4th Q, and for Mo who scored 11 points with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Chief scored 7 points with 12 rebounds and 3 assists, the last one of which was a miraculous save of Dame's off target pass to precision pass it to Dame at the arc for the winning swish3.

    This was an unusual game in which low shooting % by both teams limited scoring. The Blazers made 32.5% swish3s and 36.2% FG versus the Warriors 29.5% swish3s and 42.5% FG, and shot only 40% of FT (despite being NBA leading 83% for FT for the season. Blazer defense was strong and determined except for certain lapses, with good plays being made by all 10 players. There were only 2 Blazer turnovers in the 1st half, and that helped give the 52-46 lead at the break. Mo played exceptionally good defense against Kevin Durant.

    Seth scored 3 of 5, Dame scored 3 of 8, CJ scored 3 of 9, Nik scored 2 of 4, Mo scored 1 of 3, and Chief scored 1 of 6. Meyers and Evan were each 0 of 1, and Zach was 0 of 3. The Blazers 91.3% FT shooting gave a decisive 15 point differential that was welcome in getting this 20th win (but we can't count on for the next game). The winning edge is due to distributed swish3 shooting that included Seth, Dame, and Nik. CJ, Chief, and Zach attempted too many, and Evan should not attempt them. Let's stay with the high % swish3 shooters.

    The game should have ended with the strong foul by Klay of Dame as 48 min expired, but the obvious foul and probable winning FT by Dame did not happen. The 3 TO in OT were scary, and the Blazers deserve kudos for fighting on after falling behind to get the hard fought win. This win should bring a lot of confidence and build the foundation for the drive to winning the WCF.
     
  14. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Warriors won the Dec 29 home game 115 to 105 with the Blazers trailing throughout the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Q. Blazers scored 9 of 31 (29%!) versus the Warriors 12 of 25 (48%), and this 9 point difference was nearly enough to give us the win. If you remove the technical fouls imposed by the anti-home bias refs, it is enough for the win.

    Dame led Blazer scoring with 6 of 13, Seth was 1 of 2, and Chief and Nik were each 1 of 3. Meyers and Jake were each 0 of 1, Mo was 0 of 3, and CJ was 0 of 5. Dame again scored 40 points with 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal in 39 min. Nurk scored 21 points with 10 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal, and a block in 32 min. CJ scored 14 points with 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 35 min.

    The 61 points scored by the Dame Nurk combo was a foundation, but needed support from other high percentage shooting Blazers. Meyers and Seth were not prioritized for shooting and thus their combined scoring was only 7 points. Although the 2 dunk2s by Meyers were momentum boosters, the coaches did not include enough high % shooting that could win games like this one.

    The Warriors also shot FG% of 50 versus the Blazers 42.9, and Klay had a great game scoring 32 points with 4 of 5 swish3s. Off the bench, Jerebko and Cook each shot 2 of 3 swish3s. Even Looney was 1 of 1. Steph had 25 points with 2 of 8 swish3s. As expected, the Warriors shot a lot better in this game than 2 days ago.

    However, the Blazers could have won this game if the coaches had pulled Evan when it was clear that he was in shoot, miss, and turnover mode, had CJ stop after 3 consecutive misses, and directed swish3 shooting to the high % Blazers (Meyers and Seth). With each of them shooting 6 swish3s, the additional 12-18 points would win the game. Let's do this with the 76ers.
     
  15. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers Dec 30 home win 129-95 over the PHI 76ers shows the power of swish3 scoring and the value of high % shooting. Blazers scored 12 of 22 (54.5%!) versus 76ers 8 of 43. Blazers outrebounded them 59 to 36 and had a superb 28 assists (versus PHI 18 assists). For the game, the Blazers FG% was 59!

    CJ led with 4 of 7, Dame scored 3 of 6, Nik scored 2 of 2, and Chief, Seth, and Jake were each 1 of 2. Simons was 0 of 1, and is now 0 of 6 for the season; he should not be attempting swish3s. This was efficient swish3 scoring that contributed 36 points to the 129 total that raise the probability of wins.

    The Blazers played good defense, particularly in the 1st half, allowing PHI only 41 points while the Blazers scored 70, a new high this season for the 1st half. The Blazers held the 76ers to only 18.6% swish3 shooting.
     
  16. GDiama

    GDiama Well-Known Member

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    good bot
     
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  17. UKRAINEFAN

    UKRAINEFAN Well-Known Member

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    I actually think Blazers should try to feature Leonard more on offense. Actually have plays that set him up for open threes. He seems to have great hands lately; use him in pick and rolls. Look to throw a lob to him from drives to the basket. He is obviously a great dunker.
     
  18. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The SAC Kings won the swish3 contest Jan 1, 2019 scoring 11 of 33 versus the Blazers 9 of 32 (only 28%!), but the Blazers won in overtime as the Kings scored only 1 of 6 swish3 attempts in OT. This was a record making game for Nurk who had 24 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks. Dame scored 25, Seth 18, CJ 16, Chief 13, and Mo 11.

    Seth led swish3 scoring with 4 of 6, Chief scored 3 of 5, Mo scored 1 of 2, and Dame scored 1 of 9. Nik was 0 of 2, Zach was 0 of 3, and CJ was 0 of 5. Dame, who reported not feeling well, missed 2 and Chief missed 1 swish3 in OT. But Dame made 3 of 3 FT and a jump shot in OT. CJ and Mo had FG and Nurk a FT to compete the 10 pt OT scoring.

    The Blazers led at half time 64 to 50, but lost the lead in the 4th Q, and battled back to a tie at the end of 48 min. Dame was in 42 min and Nurk 38, so the rest until Fri is welcome. The Blazers shot 43.3% FG and will need to return to at least the 45.6% season average to increase the probability of a win over the Thunder Fri.
     
  19. swish3

    swish3 Well-Known Member

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    The Blazers lost the swish3 scoring and the game Jan 4 to the OKC Thunder with poor 29% (again) shooting. Blazers were 9 of 31 versus OKC 10 of 27. Although the Blazers won the first half 62-57, with 52% FG shooting, the second half offense fell off as the Blazers lost the 3rd Q 36-25 and won the 4th Q 22-18.

    In my view, the referees stole this game from the Blazers with inconsistent calls in both halves of the game. Dame was fouled at least 12 times by Ferguson and Westbrook. Nurk was fouled at least 6 times by Adams and Noel. On the momentum changing play at the end of the 3rd Q, Dame was strongly fouled when Westbrook stole the ball and instead of the foul being called, the refs allow the pass to Noel and they call a clear path foul on Meyers giving OKC a 4 point advantage over the correct call. Other incorrect calls like the Westbrook charge into CJ for which they called the foul on CJ and the 2 phantom fouls on Meyers which replays showed he didn't even touch him gave the game to OKC. OKC ended up with 23 FT versus the Blazers 18.

    Chief led swish3 scoring with 2 of 5, CJ scored 2 of 6, Meyers and Jake each scored 1 of 2, Mo scored 1 of 3, Seth scored 1 of 5, and Dame scored 1 of 8. This game would probably have been won if Meyers would have attempted at least 2 (or better 4) more attempts. The Blazers are wasting Meyers talent by feeding him for mid range jump shots instead of having him rotate to points along the arc to score swish3s needed to win the game. His scoring was especially needed in the 3rd Q.

    In the HOU Rockets game tomorrow, I imagine that the Dame and Nurk PNR plays that worked in the 1st half, using more screens to open shots from the arc, and professional level officiating that gives Dame, Nurk, CJ, Chief, Mo, and the bench the FTA the Blazer coaches should demand on our home court bring the win. HOU coaches will predictably demand at least a fair shake on their court. The Blazers deserve credit for fighting hard and nearly reaching a tie at the end of the OKC game. With a level playing field at home, we can get the 23rd win over HOU Sat.
     
  20. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    unfortunately we've had a long stretch of clank3's
     

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