"If the Blazers don't make it out of the first round..."

Yes. It's an odd time in the season for a local journalist to stir shit up with that kind of talk.

Funny, I've never known Quick to be a shit stirrer.

(Yes, that was sarcasm.)

 

lol exactly what did he stir up? He's been saying this since the start of the season, and it's fairly obvious to anyone following the team that this year is make or break. I get that it's fun to bash Quick, but what he mentioned in the podcast is what EVERYONE here has been saying.

Even Zach Lowe said as much in his big feature on the team a few months back when he mentioned that Dame and crew vouched for the coach and team to have one more crack at it when PA wanted to tear things down last summer.

 

Please use green font next time, I am still not sure if you are being sarcastic.

 

Sometimes I feel like Dame has too much control over changes to the team.

 

It kind of depends on why we lose the playoff series. Simply replacing CJ with Hood does not make for a deeper run in the playoffs nor does any other SG just because he might be bigger. And for the 1000th time we do not start two small guards, we just have one smallish shooting guard. Dame is not an undersized PG. If the opposing team actually has a SG who can dominate a smaller SG like CJ, then sure you need to give more minutes to Hood when that player is on the floor. I doubt very much a team has two dominating SG's on their roster so CJ will still get enough minutes where he can help.

I am not saying CJ is untouchable in a trade for the right player, I am saying the 2 small guard theory that so many people use as the excuse as the major reason for the lack of success in this playoffs is way off base. There are so many other reasons that need to be addressed. Can trading CJ be used to address those issues? Maybe but I think it is just as reasonable to get a 3rd guard to complement CJ and Dame.

I do like the addition of Kanter, but I would not say he adds a lot of length. Collins is pretty long and even Aminu has a 2 inch advantage over Kanter in the wing span department. But no question his offensive skills will be a plus. I am anxious to see how Terry utilizes him.

 

I think the two small guards theory has merit, is it their only problem? No.
Two small guards create challenges other teams may not have, the easy one that everyone points to is on the defensive end, and they lack the ability to switch that really common in today's NBA, but I think it affects them on offense too. Height effects passing lanes, and their ability to see the court like taller players, they tend to have to work really hard to get their shots and can't as easily just shoot over smaller defenders, because it's rare they are being guarded by a smaller guy. It's part of why I love the idea of using Nurkic as a facilitator.

 

Yeah, this forum should be the deciding factor right?

 

Again Dame is not a short PG in today's NBA so lets take him out of the discussion. Now I will agree that CJ's height can effects his passing but comparatively speaking to other SG's he has very little problem getting his shot off against longer players. He actually excels at it.

 

If the PTown gets a major league baseball team, its going to be really tough on some blazer fans if it takes them 10 years to make the playoffs.
Look at the Mariners, it appears they had something going and to build on, then they change things up an are back to square one again.

 

Sounds like the team will be sold so the poll very well could be a moot situation.

 

CJ excels at getting his shot off yes, but he also usually needs to dribble a lot to create space to do it. The Space CJ needs to shoot is much more then say Klay, James Harden, Derozan, his dribble moves are amazing, but it is still a challenge.

 

I'm not sure the size has much to do with it. A couple seasons ago I think Dame actually graded out as one of the top post defenders in the league (weird variance I'm sure) but you can also look at shooting guards like DeRozan and Harden who do have the size and aren't good defenders either. Despite the small back court the Blazers had a top-10 defense last year.

I'm more interested in why Stotts hardly ever subs out CJ in particular (but probably Dame too) on critical defensive possessions at the end of games or when they know they are going to use a timeout after a particular opponents possession.

 

Length is one of the most sought after physical attributes when looking for good defenders. Their top 10 defense got pretty shredder at times, especially the playoffs. I'm not saying they can't win with Dame and CJ but playing two guys who are basically PG height does create interesting challenges for them to overcome. DeRozan and Harden can be good defenders when they want to be, they just don't want to be very often. I think both of them are ok 1 on 1 defenders, but where you see the trouble is that they don't have the length to recover and challenges shooters like other taller rangier wings do.

 

I still would not consider his height an issue on offense. Is he a great defensive player? no but his height is not the reason. For the most part the guards who easily score on Dame and CJ are also scoring easily on every other guard duo as well, regardless of their height. Two extra inches inches (in this particular scenario) do not make much difference. Replacing him with a taller guard will not necessarily make a difference in the playoffs, especially if that player is offensively challenged.

 

I think the reason traps work so well against them is partially their height. No one traps 6’8 dudes because theres an open guy they’ll pass over the top too.
I mean i sort of agree with you, but I think height is a challenge for them.

 

CJ offense is alright when play within the team concept but I don't like when he out there doing his fancy dribble just to get a shot off and he forgets there 4 other guys out there. His passing is not good especially trying pass over guys that's leads to turnover and at times Dame has the same problem. CJ when playing against bigger 2 they can shoot over him. Now Dame have the same problem due we switched so much. Your right about Dame at PG s size. I am not real big on 2 guards shorter then 6'5 inches tall Ijust feel like they have trouble on the defense side of the ball.

 

I would rethink that. For the last 4 years, the guards on the All NBA Defensive First Team are all under 6'5".

2017-18
First Team

Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans

2016-17
First Team

Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Patrick Beverly, Houston Rockets


2015-16
First Team

Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers


2014-15
First Team

Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

 

Bot algorithm?