in my view, that doesn't matter. Sure, just about any player can receive the bail-out pass when Dame is doubled. CJ has been doing that. But then, those other 4 players have to run the offense successfully, and do it consistently; and they haven't been able to do so. The offense breaks down all the damn time. CJ can get his points, at times, but he can't run an offense to save his life against playoff defense and playoff intensity. Portland has not had any player close to capable of punishing a defense for a Dame-centic focus and force an adjustment by the opponent, any adjustment. Hell, they faced the Warriors for the 3rd time in 4 playoffs last year; the Warriors employed the exact same defense they had the two previous times and Portland couldn't even win 1 game as they lost their 10th straight playoff game against them. If they had solved the riddle in any fashion they should have at least won one game, but they couldn't...and Durant didn't even play I get that in a Blazer forum people want to believe the Blazers are contenders in the best of all possible worlds. You guys might be right. But what I've seen is that Portland has a massive weakness that opponents exploit in the playoffs: their best player, their best scorer, and their only player capable of consistently running the offense is all the same guy. And when an opponent can take him out of the equation, they take out the best player, scorer, and only true facilitator. Whiteside is not going to solve what CJ & friends haven't solved. Ariza & Melo aren't solving it either....IMO
Just last night guys they used to receive passes and make offensive plays off of traps vs Dame off the top of my head Biggie, Trent, Melo, CJ, Simons, Ariza and Whiteside all scored or created a scoring opportunity off of the Jazz taking the ball out of Dame's hands. Again not saying they are contenders even healthy, but I think you're missing the fact they are attacking those traps differently and getting the ball to guys who are in a position to attack or create offense rather then who are just retreating hoping to get the ball back to Dame. Cause that's been the real stupid part of all of it, a team traps Dame hard he outlets and most of the time they'd dribble it back out and try to get the ball BACK to him instead of do something. It's actually forcing teams to stay honest more because they are doing different things to attack those traps.
Anyways @wizenheimer who knows they might not be and probably arent contenders this year because even if they would be fully healthy its asking a lot of guys to come back healthy and not need time to get into a rhythm. I will crawl back into my hole, hope you’re doing well. Cheers.
I saw Little cutting last night as Dame was being trapped and during the bailout Little was hit with the pass and an easy bucket.
A fantasy and day dream with little time for the team to escape 8th seed if they achieved such a goal.
Yup well when you talk about playoffs you seem to gloss over the times they win there too. So, apparently their losses in the playoffs are all that matter. Last year they did beat two teams but we skip those and do what we can to make it sound like those meant nothing so we can skip to the losses. Which is fine, but you gotta win regular season games to even get there and you have to use the regular season to create good habits too, so the fact they’re working on beating that defense now instead of waiting til March seems like a decent way to go. Kobe always said you gotta fall in love with the process, the process includes the regular season.
I'm just about done with this discussion, and I'll tell you one reason: last year going into the playoffs (after Nurkic was out) I was having a debate with two or three posters here (and on RealGM as well) about this very thing. They kept saying that Portland was doing things that 'solved' the problem. They gave examples...just like you just did. I was saying the same thing to: that the Blazers didn't have an answer when teams attacked Dame with length and doubles OKC didn't do it at all and Dame torched them. Denver did it quite a bit but Denver doesn't have good back court length and Harris is the only good perimeter defender. Still Dame's efficiency in that series cratered after the OKC series. And the Warriors then came in and did the same thing they had done forever against Dame...and sweep. All the "solutions" that people talked about Portland finding in the regular season just vanished. Maybe this year's solutions are better, but I'm not going to believe it, for a second, until I see it I'm not even sure what you're arguing here...are you saying Portland will be a contender when the playoffs start?
The reason why I say we skip over their wins is because before the playoffs last year all the talk was how crappy they had been in the playoffs and how big that was for Russ and Dame because one of them was going to he 1st round exiters 3 years running. Then Dame won and Then they beat Denver and then in here over the summer a lot of people basically said well OKC really actually sucked, and Denver was young so they sucked, so lets not talk about those wins and lets actually talk about the last few years the series they lost in. So its like when they win we’ll find ways to say it didnt matter, when they lose we’ll talk about how important that is. Anyways I should fulfill my promise and go back to working.
That healthy this years team is better than last years playoff team, thats what Im arguing. Also arguing that Ariza is a much more well rounded wing then Moe or Aminu were who were basically good defenders and adequate stand still jump shooters. oh and, you and I both know they didnt lose to GS last year because of the trapping defense they lost because they couldnt rebound the ball or guard anyone in transition.
was that a 'yes' to being a contender? and what do you think that chances are that Nurkic will be as good as he was only 6-7 weeks after returning from 11 months off? Healthy is one thing, being at the same level is entirely different considering the situation
It will be impossible to get any of the players you mention. My target would be Karl Anthony Towns , he can't be happy in Minnesota and it's just as hard to get a player like Lillard, which is what they need, as it is to get a Kawhi Leonard. Plus they've already been burned by trading for Jimmy Butler. Portland might be able to make Minnesota a playoff team with what they could give them. Minnesota obviously is not a playoff team now.
Id probably side with no to being a contender, because even if Nurk and Zach come back Id be hard pressed to think they’ll slide right back into being what they were, not that Zach has proven much at this point anyways. Also they dug themselves into the position of not having HCA at all. Healthy all year, then its closer to a yes.
There’s no doubt that they’re a contender now. If you don’t recognize that you may need your vision checked.
Stotts isn't solving it either. A smart team should be able to quickly take advantage of a 4 on 3. Typically you would go right at the hoop. The Blazers have always seemed flummoxed, though Lillard did a great job in the last game of finding the hoop runner in the last game.
The premise is that the Blazers are healthy. Were the Blazers healthy against the Warriors? I seem to recall Kanter having a separated shoulder and Dame playing with a rib injury. The Lakers used Bradley, an excellent defender, on Dame the other night. They threw double teams at him as well. He blew up thei defense to the tune of 48 points. He’s NOT the same player who got taken out of his game by the Pelicans. He’s expanded his shooting range to give himself more options, and he’s just a more seasoned player. You can see him probing defenders and working through his options before choosing which tool in his repertoire to use to beat them. As long as he stays healthy, the Blazers have a chance against anyone. Will they be the favorites? No, but they have a solid shot if Nurk and Collins return and the rest of the guys stay healthy.
