Lillard expects Melo, Nurk, and Collins to start

We cannot afford every defensive possession to result in a straight line drive at our bigs. If other teams have a stretch big we'll be screwed because the other big left will have to choose between stopping the drive and stopping the dump off option all game (its extremely hard to stop both). It'll put all our bigs at a very high risk for foul trouble, and our transition defense will be terrible with 3 players out there other than Dame and CJ having the footspeed of a C.

Melo at the starting 3 is a terrible idea. He was statistically proven to be much better at the 4 over the past few seasons, while being historically bad at the 3. I'm very frustrated with this.

 

Back when Jokic and Nurkic were on the same team Denvers bigs switched. Jokic was so bad in space they had to change their entire scheme to hide him. Nurkic is also in much better shape than he was in Denver. Portland already doesn’t switch and Whiteside is also more mobile than Jokic. And if you’re matched up against the Lakers in the playoffs, you’re gonna have to play big anyway. Whiteside did well last time he matched up against AD.

 

Here’s Whiteside in space/against guards/wings/fours.....for the doubters. Enjoy!











https://streamable.com/l1evi9

https://streamable.com/b49egb

https://streamable.com/l6y5kr

https://streamable.com/1muf6l

https://streamable.com/74ytym

 

So who do you start at the 3 Trent, Rio, or Nas? Oh and for the record, I think that Melo will be alright, we're definitely not going to give up 140 a game if Dame, CJ, Melo, Zach and Nurk get a ton of time together. Our defense will be much better than you are saying and our offense will be very dangerous for any team.

 

He can be good at perimeter defense when he try I will give you that. Here is my idea of what our rotation might look like
Dame (40)/ CJ (8)
CJ (30)/Trent (18)
Melo (16)/ Trent (16)/ Little or Hezonja (16)
Collins (30)/ Melo (18)
Nurk (26)/ Whiteside (22)
I think we all know the backcourt will be 3 guys in Dame, CJ, and Trent. We should be fine there. I think it will be best if we went with a committee approach with the SF, have melo/Trent/little or Hezonja all splitting time there. Each of them will give us something different which will be nice. And the front court will be loaded. While I would like to play Nurk at 28 min I can’t ignore Whiteside and his impact on the team. It will be nice to keep Nurk fresh throughout the game while having Whiteside as his back up. I can see us winning a lot of the games from us posting up to wear down the other team early on then go to our backcourt for their prolific scoring later to win games. Our defense won’t be the best but it will do just enough for our offense to outscore the other team

 

Whiteside got destroyed every time he had to go up against a stretch big (Remember Aron Baynes?) And Nurk is far better defensively when he can protect the paint instead of having to defend on the perimeter and chase around PFs. The only team it could be effective against is LA, but the spacing would still be a problem, and it doesnt make sense to not roll with Zach+Nurk and have Hassan play all the backup 5 minutes.

 

Trent, easily.

Melo was terrible defending PFs for the majority of the season because he was too slow. Now we want him at SF next to Dame and CJ? I don't see any way it's not a defensive nightmare.

 

Outliers exist. I bet you could find many more times where he struggled in that situation if you tried.

 

Ill stand and clap in my living room!

 

If they do that; they cannot also start Melo, can they? That would be a defensive disaster.

 

Maybe we should play Hassan at SF then?

 

what are you willing to gamble on the under?

 

I mean the alternative is worse: Melo at PF and an undersized Trent at SF. We’d get killed on the boards as neither is a good rebounder for those two positions. When every possession counts in a playoff setting, winning that battle is pretty important.

The other alternative would be Zach at the four and Trent at the three but I just can’t see Stotts bringing Melo off the bench, even though he should.

 

I would go for that, even if Stotts won't. Maybe he will surprise us.

 

Its hyperbole but not as hyperbolic as it should be.

 

Lived in Denver when Nurk was there. Watched the majority of their games when the Blazers weren't on at the same time. The only reason Nurk and Jokic didn't work is because Coach Malone never gave it time. He was very impatient. Nurk is twice the player now with further development. My best friend is a Nuggets freak, and he knew Nurk was gonna be a special player. Malone is a very good coach, but sometimes coaches make bad decisions. The worst trait a coach can have is impatience, and indifference.

 

All good in theory but Terry has never been known for his creativity on the fly. Doubt he strays much from the ordinary.