Game Thread GAME# 71: MAVERICKS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 20, 2019 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM, NBCSNW

Well at least you are naming players who would actually make us better. (Although LMA will be 34 before next season)

 

and your response was an assholish one....your norm

my statement was just some game thread rhetoric....some minor blahblah hyperbole that I doubt anybody would take serious...with an exception or two

and mostly it was a semi-sarcastic response to CJ fanboys who are always quick to post CJ's stats in games when Dame doesn't play as if that proves something significant or means CJ would be an all-star without Dame. Well, in the 3 games CJ hasn't played this year, Dame is averaging 29 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, & 2 steals in only 32 minutes while shooting 53% on FG's and 50% on three's. Those are MVP numbers. And yes, of course it's a ridiculously small sample size without meaningful context, but so are the CJ-without-Dame stats

Scalma is right, they probably both would perform statistically better without the other. They are just too redundant in style and usage.

 

True, but the thing with Aldridge is he’s only under contract through his age 34 and 35 seasons. I don’t think there will be much of a drop in his play in those two seasons. Coincidentally, CJ also has two years left on his contract. I can’t see the Spurs being interested in him though, not while Derozan is around. We might be able to get Aldridge without CJ. But I do think both the Pistons and Pelicans would be interested in CJ.

 

Height is overrated on defense.

Length, effort, & processing speed are what matter.

Smith has about 3" on CJ with his wingspan & has shown (in college) that he can be good defensively. I really like that idea

 

Letting teams back in the game happen to every team no matter the players.
So that's a pretty silly thing to imply when someone points out the offense struggled against a playoff team in the East who also was missing their best player....

Seriously? I said they complement one another offensively...
CJ is a 45%/40% shooter(46/38 after an abysmal start from deep this year).
P&R dominate guards like lillard need floor spacing. No question CJ provides that.

Your post honestly says Lillard/Aldridge or Griffin/Nurk is a better 3 than Lillard/CJ/Nurk.
That's hilarious.
I thank your post for the laugh.
If your post thinks Aldridge should start over Nurk as Aldridge plays the 5 now... Then your post is insane.
Nurk > Aldridge.
If your post believes Aldridge would come off the bench with his documented Carmemelol ego then your post is even more insane.
Nurk/Griffin would be slightly better than Nurk/Aldridge. But that's slightly. Slightly. Still more than likely unplayable against 14 of the current 16 playoff teams.

At the end of the day if CJ is to be traded for a 3 & D type player. That player MUST be able to take pressure off by getting his own shot on the reverse...
As the playoff series against NO showed.. Take Lillard away and the offense struggles.
As the game against Indiana showed when they started running two at Lillard on every P&R. A casual 3&D player who needs someone to create a shot for him. Isn't going to cut it.
Wesley Matthews is the exact mold that wouldn't work because Matthews if it's not a direct post up. Then Matthews isn't getting a shot off because he needs others to get him shots.(Screen or Pass)
Unfortunately guys like PG13, Leonard, Butler, etc are unavailable to take your call at this time. Please try again next decade.
A simple 3 & D player isn't going to get it done. If your post believes it will, trade CJ for picks to a team with capspace and start Rodney Hood.

Edit - I left AD out for a reason. Top 5 player in the league. Clearly better than Nurk.

TL;DR
Lillard dominating the ball like CP3/Westbrick/Har_en isn't going to work.
It doesn't work for those players. Why would it work for Lillard?
Curry didn't dominate the ball before KD arrived. He certainly doesn't now.

 

Thanks for the novel. Too many false assumptions and general inaccuracies packed in there but I just don’t care enough to respond to them. Good day.

 

You're right. Hard to talk basketball with a post who doesn't understand it.

 

Fine. I’m on break, I guess I got a second.

P&R dominate guards like lillard need floor spacing. No question CJ provides that.

A lot of players provide that. And they don’t cost $25M per season. But that’s not how CJ has been used. He functions primarily with the ball in his hands. That’s not a compliment. That’s a redundancy. A complimentary player is someone that masks the weaknesses of someone else, and vice versa. For example, keeping it internal, Kanter and Collins. Kanter does the lifting offensively while Collins protects him on defense.


At the end of the day if CJ is to be traded for a 3 & D type player. That player MUST be able to take pressure off by getting his own shot on the reverse...
As the playoff series against NO showed.. Take Lillard away and the offense struggles

So you admit that CJ doesn’t take the pressure off Lillard?


Your post honestly says Lillard/Aldridge or Griffin/Nurk is a better 3 than Lillard/CJ/Nurk.
That's hilarious.

It is hilarious, since I never said it. What does Nurk have anything to do with Aldridge or Griffin? Oh wait...


If your post thinks Aldridge should start over Nurk as Aldridge plays the 5 now... Then your post is insane.

Aldridge plays center now? Jakob Poeltl is San Antonio’s starting center. And as a Blazers fan you should know his preference has always been to play power forward. Playing center in certain lineups doesn’t change those facts.


Wesley Matthews is the exact mold that wouldn't work because Matthews if it's not a direct post up. Then Matthews isn't getting a shot off because he needs others to get him shots.(Screen or Pass)

Matthews is the exact type of compliment Lillard needs because he doesn’t demand the ball in his hands, but still provides the same spacing CJ does. He’s also a massive upgrade defensively over CJ and doesn’t give teams another player to attack.



Lillard dominating the ball like CP3/Westbrick/Har_en isn't going to work.
It doesn't work for those players. Why would it work for Lillard?
Curry didn't dominate the ball before KD arrived. He certainly doesn't now.

Lillard usage the last two games has been 29.5% (and it would obviously be lower with Aldridge/Griffin.)

Curry’s usage this season is 29.2%



Goodbye.

 

Will Barton

 

Barton is a 3 and D SG? That's news to me. I appreciate that you've wanted CJ traded for 4 years now but Barton is a pretty big downgrade.

 

the chances are poor that Portland could trade CJ for an immediate upgrade at SG. Same position NBA trades rarely work that way.

I agree that Barton is a significant downgrade and probably a poor example if that was all it was. On the other hand, CJ for Barton, a 1st round pick, and 15M in cap-space is a different deal. Still not good enough because a Denver 1st won't be worth much and all the cap-space would do for Portland is get them into the full-MLE realm.

CJ + Meyers + 1st for Blake Griffin is a different matter. CJ + Zach + 1st for Kawhi could have been a different matter. Or CJ + three 1st's for PG13 could have been a different matter. All would have been risky deals but all would have been major upgrades to the roster, just not to the SG position

 

Denver doesn't likely have the cap space, nor their 1st round pick.

He said we should trade CJ for an upgrade at SG, not me. I asked him who and responded to his response.

 

The thing is, I think we could downgrade at SG and still be ok, what we need is a really big upgrade at forward whether its the 3 or 4 or a guy who can kind of do both. Now we probably dont want a massive down grade but say we went from a guy like CJ who’s a subjectively a B or so SG to a C+ SG, I think that would more then make up for it if we could upgrade at forward.

 

I know, I was just trying to expand the discussion a little. Too often, it seems people will reject a CJ trade idea because it isn't an immediate upgrade at SG/SF. That's too limiting IMO. Sometimes, when a team takes a step backwards they end up with a better path forward

 

I agree, which is why I said that this morning:

 

Personally don't really want to lose Jake anyway.

 

Spoiler

I'm reminded why I don't talk to you.

You keep responding which is hilarious in itself as you keep saying Goodbye like you're trying to tell me to stfu.
Yeah not going to happen.
I'll prolly stop responding, but it won't be because you say goodbye. It will be because I grow tired of nonsensical hate against CJ.
I'm for a trade of him, but for the right piece.
You seem to just want to make a move just to make a move so you have something to talk about.

On to it.

Rofl.... Peotl averages 16 minutes per game.
Aldridge never plays Center. Nope Rudy plays it when he comes in for his 27mpg.
Yep. That's what happens. Man how did I miss that..........................

Post brings up usage.
LOL.
29 is lower than two of the three I listed.
AND STILL THEY'VE GONE NO WHERE. NO RINGS NOTHING.


Again if your post think all that's needed is a 3&D player and CJ off the roster.
Trade CJ for picks. Resign Hood and start him.
I'm sure teams won't do what Indiana did in the 4th quarter to Lillard.
Easy money, in fact you know what? It's Stotts' fault. Oh Oshley too can't forget him.

Matthews is and always will be a volume 3 point shooter. He's also barely a + defender anymore.
He can't create his own shot and if the ball is reversed to him he has the option to shoot or pass.
More often than not one pass away is pre-rotated in the situation Portland struggled with against Indiana and in the playoffs against NO.
Matthews is not the type of player Portland needs.

Middleton is though. He is also a completely different player than Matthews.

 

Poeltl has averaged over 20 minutes a game the past two months, and over 23 in March, which coincides with San Antonio’s recent success. You want to be aggressively ignorant, fine, just keep it away from me.

 

In basketball terms I love Matthews, I will always have a fondness for him. He's not who he used to be though and if I had to chose between them bringing him in or going with Hood or Trent Jr, it would be the latter two.

 

I wouldn't make that trade strait up. CJ's worth is great, as a trade piece. And yeah I have been beating the CJ and Dame don't compliment each other drum for a while now.