I'm not one to usually defend CJ, but on this specific play I don't blame CJ on this at all. Simons vacated the corner on the initial shot & was 1-2 steps slow in making it back. He wasn't there in time.
I like it. That play showed how the league used to be. National NBA TV ratings have decreased for about 4 straight years. Before the "modern" era (the last 8 years; Stotts pioneered it), McCollum or Gabriel passing up such close shots would have been considered sissy-play. The same for big men who shot from outside instead of strongly taking it inside: Rasheed Wallace and Aldridge were often criticized by Blazer fans for that.
That shot looks...repeatable? Shot 38% in 50 g league games. Also saw him isolated on Hayward defensively on one possession and locked him down. Then the drive and assist to Biggie late in the game. Dude is a player. Has flashed more in his limited time than Hezonja has all season.
And....don't forget... Not only can he make a shot, but nobody on this team is better at fouling. I got absolutely nothing against the kid, and I'm pulling for him cos he does hustle...but c'mon guys....he's a 9th or 10th guy at best, on any team.
Well in this forum it's hype the end of the bench players and dog those that are actually producing not named Lillard.
if you’ve got nothing against him then you should probably put things into perspective first. If fouls are your biggest gripe about a rookie, then his outlook is pretty good. How many fouls did Joel Embiid average his rookie year? Zach? Nurkic? I mean the list goes on but those are just three examples.
I’d love to hear the 8-9 guys that should be playing instead of wenyen, since evidently he’s a 9th and 10th guy on, and I quote, “any” team.
Why the hell can't the Blazers play like this regularly during a game? I thought it was basketball 101. Attack the hoop, make the defense react, make the right play, be it pass to a cutter, pass to a 3-point shooter or take the shot yourself. The Blazers must be one of the worst teams in the league at this. It certainly isn't a staple of Terry Stotts flow offense.
Yes. But he has potential to grow into more than that. Will he? IDK... Probably not. But IMO he's shown more than Little.
Stotts isn’t putting little in great positions to succeed imo. He’s playing way too much four. Last game against Detroit he had him matched up against Christian Wood, who’s got like five inches on him. Like come on. Stotts does it to Wenyen as well. He’s not a center (he’s barely a four,) yet most his minutes lately have come as Whitesides backup. In certain matchups it can work, but seeing him have to bang against Kanter last night was nooooot fun, and then you got people crying about his fouls. Nas is a three who can play the four in certain matchups imo. Wood isn’t one of them. Gabriel is also a three who can play the four and five in certain matchups imo. Kanter isn’t one of them.
Both wenyen and Nas should be playing at least 15 minutes every night. If they keep losing, they eventually will.
OK - he should have said any team putting a play-off run above player development. You can make a strong case for saying the kids should be playing more, but the front office (or ownership) are locked into a different priority.
