Game Thread GAME# 46: MAVERICKS @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 23, 2020 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM, TNT

Depends on matchups. They had two perimeter bigs at C. Guys who played on the 3pt line.

Id much rather have Little or Gabriel defending the 3pt line than Swanigan, and thats not getting into the fact that they play at a fast pace, or how Stotts subbed Swanigan in at PF in the first half and immediately sent him to trap at halfcourt...

 

Without Dame, we'd be favorites to win the lottery.

 

Id rather play an unknown than someone who is known to suck.

 

EXACTLY

 

Damn, really HC? I expect better analysis out of you!

It wasn't even close to the same thing. Stotts put Swanigan at PF with Whiteside at C against a team that only played 4 G/SF and Kleber or Porzinigis. The trap against Luka was Caleb leaving his guy who wasn't involved in the play at the time to set a completely transparent double team in which Luka had several seconds to see it developing in front of him and easily pass out of it before it even had a chance to be effective.

With Harden we blitzed screens and the doubles/traps came when the "doublers" man was involved in the play. Against Luka we either switched or dropped the big. I don't recall one time blitzing or hard trapping a screen.

 

Sorry man, this is false. A decent amount of those 23 minutes were at the PF with Whiteside on the floor too. I'm fine with Swanigan being the backup big since we're so shorthanded but there is absolutely no excuse for playing him at PF in both halves.

 

Little actually started at PF earlier in the season. He completely shut down East All-Star Starter Pascal Siakam for 3 quarters until Stotts inexplicably kept him on the bench the entire 4th quarter as Siakam went on to go 7/8 in the 4th and win a game for Toronto in Portland. Would Little have shut him down in the 4th? Who knows, probably not, but I guarantee he'd do better than Hezonja did in that game.

This same coach puts Swanigan in the game at fucking PF alongside Whiteside to guard who? Justin Jackson, Hardaway, Curry, Brunson, Finney-Smith, Luka, Delon Wright? What in the actual fuck? The Mavs never played a lineup with Kleber and Porzingis together so either Whiteside or Swanigan had to be guarding one of those guards and small forwards when they played together. So someone please explain to me how you can defend that decision to play Swanigan with Whiteside against this team?

We give up 78 points in a half and this same coach decides you know what, lets try that again in the 2nd half! NOPE, didn't work then either. Then the kicker came in the 4th quarter when we needed stops and our front court was actually Melo, Hezonja, and Swanigan for half of the quarter. You can't make this up.

I don't care who it was between Gabriel and Little but either one would've played at worse the same crappy defense. There is no rational argument against that because the defense literally couldn't have been any worse than it was.

 

So much this @hoopsjock . And it's that type of decision making or strategy that rightfully has fans questioning Stotts as the head coach. Just like his decision to leave Curry wide open in Game 1......who anywhere every thought any of these types of ideas was good coaching? That they were actually game plans is even worse.

 

Pretty interesting view of the game? I'm assuming you are talking about the November 13th game here in Portland.

Yes Little started. He played the first 9 mins of the game. Missed three shots and left the game 0-2 from 3 point and he missed a pull up jumper. He did get a couple defensive rebounds.
Siakam shot the ball eight times. he missed a couple wide open looks from three and Bazemore blocked one of his layups. He ended the quarter with 7 points a couple offensive rebounds and a three defensive rebounds.

Little left the game for Mario who did very little to help the team also on his first shift.
Little returned to the game 4:32 left in the second quarter.

Little immediately turns the ball over for a Pascal dunk!
Little then proceeds to get lost on defense and allows a 3 pointer by Davis after an assist by Pascal. He does get a good look on a jumper and Hassan finds him for a layup.
At the end of the first half Pascal has 14 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Little still 2-5 for 4 points and 3 rebounds

On to the Third quarter. Stotts decides to stick with Little. But it doesn't go real well. Little gets blocked on a layup and misses a three pointer again but even worse he tries an acrobatic dunk and misses the dunk???? One bright spot he does finally hit a three.
After missing the dunk Stotts has had enough! Little is out. Brings in Mario who immediately starts drawing fouls from Boucher and Van Fleet. Mario goes to the line twice and makes 3 of 4. Then Mario makes a three and brings the score to within 6. The Rose garden is rockin!

At this point of the game Stotts goes for a win. Plays Lillard, CJ, Bazemore, Hood and Whiteside. He also brings in 1M for periods and Simons does make some shots but gets torched on defense.
It should be noted that Skal put in some really good minutes. Much needed because Little had racked up 4 fouls. Also Whiteside was still nursing a sore ankle.

Blazers go on to lose this game 114-106 and Pascal Siakam puts up 11 points in the third quarter for a total 25 and eventually 11 more in the fourth for a grand total of 36 points 7 rebounds 3 assists a block and a steal.

Sorry @hoopsjock Little absolutely never "Shut Down Pascal Siakam for 3 Quarters"
Bottom line- The Raptors were a much better deeper team But here is the best quote of all-

Mario ended up with 10 points in half the minutes was +3 and brought in 6 rebounds with a steal. He smoked Little.


Facts Matter.

Here is the game play by play. Tell me i'm wrong here?
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/pbp/201911130POR.html

Again WRONG! Siakam went 5-6 in the 4th quarter. He came in at the 9 min mark. Stotts was using Hood/Bazemore on Pascal. IMO this would be the correct move. Little could not provide the defense Hood/Baze were giving.

So you sum up your entire argument acknowledging that you don't even know if it would have been better?
WOW! How does this kind of delusion start?

 

You better think twice before you join the delusion.

 

I heard Casey and Joe Freeman talk about it on their podcast

 

I think you nailed it: These guys abilities are unknown to most on here, but are known to the franchise because they see them every day in practice.

 

What i have heard and always thought was Seth wanted a starting role. Now in Dallas he is not going to take Luka's spot. Hardaway seems to be pretty set also. Seth has been primarily the first off the bench. Unless Carlisle goes small with three guards like he did this last game against the Blazers.
Pretty sure that would be his role here as well. Seems to me he is pretty happy where he is at this point. More money and a team that is growing. But i doubt he will get that elusive starting role there either.

 

He’s probably happier because he is on a team that shares the ball compared to the ISO ball the Blazers play.

 

Well I'llll Beee. What do you know? You mean the coach might actually know more than the posters on S2? Take it a step further? You mean to tell me posters on S2 might just want something different?

 

Luka does seem to pass well. And i would agree he is getting two more shots a game this year over last.
Something tells me though that he would have got those attempts this year here also. Just because of the lack of any other player that can make a shot it seems?
Here though is the biggest thing. If Seth stayed here 1M would not get the minutes. 1M is getting more attempts than Curry is this year in Dallas. So what is it? Is it Dallas shares the ball more? Or is it that Portland decided to try to develop a young player?

 

Yeah. I do have that tendency. Sorry. I'll try harder next time.