Alvin Gentry: Blazers 'Have More Weapons' Since Last Season's Playoffs

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Boob-No-More

Boob-No-More

Why you no hire big man coach?
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Alvin Gentry said that the additions of Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood make the Portland Trail Blazers a different team than the one that the New Orleans Pelicans swept in the first-round of the playoffs last season.

Gentry added that trapping Damian Lillard with double-teams won't be as effective as it was last year due to their new playmakers.

“I still think you have to try and get the ball out of Dame and CJ’s (McCollum) hands, but it’s a little bit different now that they have added Rodney Hood to the mix, and even (Enes) Kanter. With those two guys, they have really improved their team...They have more weapons," said Gentry.

Lillard, who said he was surprised with how aggressive the Pelicans trapped him in the series, said he worked on speeding up his decision-making on the ball.

“First time I played them this year, I was like, ‘That is not happening this time. When I got the ball, I was coming off fast — and now they were the ones shocked. Instead of me being the one off balance, now they were off balance,” added Lillard.

To me, the best thing about this article is the quote from Dame. Unlike this forum's nattering nabobs of negativity, he didn't scream fire Olshey, fire Stotts and trade C.J. He identified the problem and figured out what he could do to keep it from happening again.
 
Boob-No-More said:
Alvin Gentry said that the additions of Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood make the Portland Trail Blazers a different team than the one that the New Orleans Pelicans swept in the first-round of the playoffs last season.

Gentry added that trapping Damian Lillard with double-teams won't be as effective as it was last year due to their new playmakers.

“I still think you have to try and get the ball out of Dame and CJ’s (McCollum) hands, but it’s a little bit different now that they have added Rodney Hood to the mix, and even (Enes) Kanter. With those two guys, they have really improved their team...They have more weapons," said Gentry.

Lillard, who said he was surprised with how aggressive the Pelicans trapped him in the series, said he worked on speeding up his decision-making on the ball.

“First time I played them this year, I was like, ‘That is not happening this time. When I got the ball, I was coming off fast — and now they were the ones shocked. Instead of me being the one off balance, now they were off balance,” added Lillard.

To me, the best thing about this article is the quote from Dame. Unlike this forum's nattering nabobs of negativity, he didn't scream fire Olshey, fire Stotts and trade C.J. He identified the problem and figured out what he could do to keep it from happening again.
Click to expand...
That's why I love Dame.

It's also why I don't respect Aldridge anymore or want him back because it was seemingly always someone else's fault.
 
hoopsjock said:
That's why I love Dame.

It's also why I don't respect Aldridge anymore or want him back because it was seemingly always someone else's fault.
Click to expand...
Id want Lebron though, and its always someone elses fault there too. I know Lebron != LMA but still funny. :)
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
Id want Lebron though, and its always someone elses fault there too. I know Lebron != LMA but still funny. :)
Click to expand...

What I find funny is that it seems many of the Olshey bashers who claim he is afraid to take risks are constantly putting down ideas that include some risk. It's a no win situation in this forum.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
Well to be fair not all risks are equal.
Click to expand...

Oh for sure, but it seems pretty much someone will always say no way. There is risk with a lot of players and guys like Love and Griffin come with risks as they are often injured and in BG's case it would likely cost a lot more than a deal for Aldridge. The way I view Aldridge is that he only has 2 years left on his contract so the risk is much smaller as compared to BG who has 3 more years at 32, 34.5 and 39 mil. That's a ton of cap space for a guy that has averaged about 39 games a season over the last 4 full seasons. I see many of the same posters that say no way to Aldridge touting Blake Griffin.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
Well to be fair not all risks are equal.
Click to expand...

There is also the fact that not everyone has the same priorities where risks are involved. Some people consider health issues to be a deal breaker. Others are unwilling to take on bad contracts. You are never going to find a player where there is 100% agreement.
 
CupWizier said:
What I find funny is that it seems many of the Olshey bashers who claim he is afraid to take risks are constantly putting down ideas that include some risk. It's a no win situation in this forum.
Click to expand...
I think I'm pretty balanced when it comes to Olshey. I defended him for years and now have recently criticized what I believe are mistakes. Even Olshey himself admitted he made a mistake by not being more aggressive last season.

I don't really see a correlation between taking risks and my feelings on Olshey. Nor do the standings necessarily reflect taking risks to lead to a better record. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't really get how people who don't want Aldridge has anything to do with hating Olshey. My thoughts would be the same about Aldridge if there was a different GM too.
 
Lets see playoff time of Gentry is correct. We can’t even beat Denver and OKC and he said the team has improved... lol
 
wizenheimer said:
I don't think the playoffs are about players 5-10 in rotations, it's about players 1-3 or 1-4. Curry + Hood + Kanter may be better than Napier + Connaughton + Davis, but I don't think those changes, by themselves, can turn 0-4 into 4-2
Click to expand...
What will dictate if they win or not is there best players have to be playing their best. Dame, CJ and Nurk. The question is are thise new additions enough to unlock those guys. Nurk and Dame didnt do much in the playoffs last year. Hood, Kanter, Layman, Even Seth could all be good additions in terms of helping take pressure off their best players. That may take them to 4-2.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
What will dictate if they win or not is there best players have to be playing their best. Dame, CJ and Nurk. The question is are thise new additions enough to unlock those guys. Nurk and Dame didnt do much in the playoffs last year. Hood, Kanter, Layman, Even Seth could all be good additions in terms of helping take pressure off their best players. That may take them to 4-2.
Click to expand...

Plus, who's to say that the opponent won't be the one to be able to counter this time. Playoffs takes skill and some lucky breaks along the way. I doubt Lillard would have that performance again if giving the opportunity.
 
Boob-No-More said:
Alvin Gentry said that the additions of Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood make the Portland Trail Blazers a different team than the one that the New Orleans Pelicans swept in the first-round of the playoffs last season.

Gentry added that trapping Damian Lillard with double-teams won't be as effective as it was last year due to their new playmakers.

“I still think you have to try and get the ball out of Dame and CJ’s (McCollum) hands, but it’s a little bit different now that they have added Rodney Hood to the mix, and even (Enes) Kanter. With those two guys, they have really improved their team...They have more weapons," said Gentry.

Lillard, who said he was surprised with how aggressive the Pelicans trapped him in the series, said he worked on speeding up his decision-making on the ball.

“First time I played them this year, I was like, ‘That is not happening this time. When I got the ball, I was coming off fast — and now they were the ones shocked. Instead of me being the one off balance, now they were off balance,” added Lillard.

To me, the best thing about this article is the quote from Dame. Unlike this forum's nattering nabobs of negativity, he didn't scream fire Olshey, fire Stotts and trade C.J. He identified the problem and figured out what he could do to keep it from happening again.
Click to expand...
Now let's see it in the postseasonx when teams trap harder and are allowed to be more physical. For those reasons I still don't believe hes conquered trapping defenses yet. Hopefully he has because we know they'll still run pick n roll to death no matter how hard it's trapped.
 
Last edited:
hoopsjock said:
I think I'm pretty balanced when it comes to Olshey. I defended him for years and now have recently criticized what I believe are mistakes. Even Olshey himself admitted he made a mistake by not being more aggressive last season.

I don't really see a correlation between taking risks and my feelings on Olshey. Nor do the standings necessarily reflect taking risks to lead to a better record. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't really get how people who don't want Aldridge has anything to do with hating Olshey. My thoughts would be the same about Aldridge if there was a different GM too.
Click to expand...
Some people want to take the opinions of others that they don't like and completely pigeon-hole posters into a group that they'll then complain about. I'm an "Olshey basher", yet I get on people for creating false or completely speculated narratives to bash him. Strange. I also havent bashed him once since the Kanter signing because he finally did his job in upgrading the roster.

Apparently those who want Olshey to take risks have to be okay with any risks possible. Nah, we want him to take the right risks (ex. Blake Griffin, not LaMarcus Aldridge).
 
BonesJones said:
Some people want to take the opinions of others that they don't like and completely pigeon-hole posters into a group that they'll then complain about. I'm an "Olshey basher", yet I get on people for creating false or completely speculated narratives to bash him. Strange. I also havent bashed him once since the Kanter signing because he finally did his job in upgrading the roster.

Apparently those who want Olshey to take risks have to be okay with any risks possible. Nah, we want him to take the right risks (ex. Blake Griffin, not LaMarcus Aldridge).
Click to expand...

Probably wasn't easy, but you totally mischaracterized what was said.

Also, without knowing what sort of deal can be had for Griffin or Aldrdige it's really not wise to determine what you prefer. What if BG cost us McCollum, Simons, Collins, filler and a couple firsts and Aldridge can be had for Leonard, Collins, Gary Trent jr. filler and a 2nd round pick? BG is also owed 32, 34 and 37 mil over the next 3 seasons while LMA has 2 seasons at 26 and 24 mil. BG has only averaged around 38 games the past 4 seasons.
 
wizenheimer said:
I don't think the playoffs are about players 5-10 in rotations, it's about players 1-3 or 1-4. Curry + Hood + Kanter may be better than Napier + Connaughton + Davis, but I don't think those changes, by themselves, can turn 0-4 into 4-2
Click to expand...
BonesJones said:
Some people want to take the opinions of others that they don't like and completely pigeon-hole posters into a group that they'll then complain about. I'm an "Olshey basher", yet I get on people for creating false or completely speculated narratives to bash him. Strange. I also havent bashed him once since the Kanter signing because he finally did his job in upgrading the roster.

Apparently those who want Olshey to take risks have to be okay with any risks possible. Nah, we want him to take the right risks (ex. Blake Griffin, not LaMarcus Aldridge).
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this. I like the effort Olshey has put forth.

But my interpretation of the LA thing isn't that we trade for him, but rather wait until his contract is up and sign him to a team-friendly deal. LA says he wants to finish his career here, and I'm assuming that's not going to happen if he asks for market value. Seems implicit, but who knows.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
What will dictate if they win or not is there best players have to be playing their best. Dame, CJ and Nurk. The question is are thise new additions enough to unlock those guys. Nurk and Dame didnt do much in the playoffs last year. Hood, Kanter, Layman, Even Seth could all be good additions in terms of helping take pressure off their best players. That may take them to 4-2.
Click to expand...

sure, that's the hope...that Hood and Kanter and Curry can somehow have a big enough impact it offsets a poor performance by Dame, CJ or Nurkic....but mostly Dame. I mean, CJ-Aminu-Nurkic averaged 45 points in the regular season last year, but averaged 54 in the playoffs; and they did so on great shooting, but it didn't matter. New Orleans obviously made a calculation that shutting down Dame was the way to beat Portland, and to not worry about the other players, just play them straight up. Worked like a charm.

now, not every team will have a Holiday & Rondo to attack Dame, or an AD to jump the PnR. I'd be more inclined to think that may be as big a factor as anything Kanter and Hood do. At the same time, I worry that the vulnerability the Pelicans exposed hasn't really been addressed in either personnel or scheme
 
CupWizier said:
Probably wasn't easy, but you totally mischaracterized what was said.

Also, without knowing what sort of deal can be had for Griffin or Aldrdige it's really not wise to determine what you prefer. What if BG cost us McCollum, Simons, Collins, filler and a couple firsts and Aldridge can be had for Leonard, Collins, Gary Trent jr. filler and a 2nd round pick? BG is also owed 32, 34 and 37 mil over the next 3 seasons while LMA has 2 seasons at 26 and 24 mil. BG has only averaged around 38 games the past 4 seasons.
Click to expand...
I'd rather pay an extra $10M for someone who's a good fit, who's younger, and who's better.

Also, that 38 games over the past 4 years isnt even close to being right. Im wondering where you got that from, because even adding partial rows on accident gives a result of 45.5 games...
 
wizenheimer said:
sure, that's the hope...that Hood and Kanter and Curry can somehow have a big enough impact it offsets a poor performance by Dame, CJ or Nurkic....but mostly Dame. I mean, CJ-Aminu-Nurkic averaged 45 points in the regular season last year, but averaged 54 in the playoffs; and they did so on great shooting, but it didn't matter. New Orleans obviously made a calculation that shutting down Dame was the way to beat Portland, and to not worry about the other players, just play them straight up. Worked like a charm.

now, not every team will have a Holiday & Rondo to attack Dame, or an AD to jump the PnR. I'd be more inclined to think that may be as big a factor as anything Kanter and Hood do. At the same time, I worry that the vulnerability the Pelicans exposed hasn't really been addressed in either personnel or scheme
Click to expand...
I dont think its so much about offsetting a bad performance as those guys play well enough that teams cant just throw everything at Dame. If they have enough weapons to keep the defense honest I think that’ll help a lot.

Im really not sure if they have figured out that problem or not. In fact, I still feel like at times when Traps come it gets Dame on his heels where he cant attack it well.
 
BonesJones said:
I'd rather pay an extra $10M for someone who's a good fit, who's younger, and who's better.

Also, that 38 games over the past 4 years isnt even close to being right. Im wondering where you got that from, because even adding partial rows on accident gives a result of 45.5 games...
Click to expand...
Id rather have BG I think he’s overall better then LMA, though yeah I think health is a concern.
 
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