Yeah since Trent can play either the 2 or the 3 he will need to be the first one off of the bench so that CJ or Melo can rest early on. And Whiteside can only play center so he will literally have to wait until Nurk come out which will probably be around the 4 mins mark
Actually, Coach said on the radio this morning that Nurk is going to start, but it's a toss-up between Collins and Whiteside as to who will start with him. Whiteside can only play center, true, but the talk seems to be that Nurk can slide down to the 4 alongside him.
Whether Hassan starts or not I'm betting after a long layoff that Zach picks up quick fouls early...hope not but it's one of his weaknesses
Doesn't make sense starting Whiteside and Nurk at the same time. If that's so Melo comes out early and then goes in with Zach and that's means Zach playing center and Melo the 4. All I got to say Stotts trying to please veterans if he does that and it probably will back fire. They need to bring Whiteside off the bench one reason for rebounding due to the 2nd unit was terrible on the boards. I love Zach as a player but one area he been weak is the boards.
I agreee 100% I want to see the starting five be: Dame CJ Trent/Little(not sure, but Little has size {oxymmoron?}) Collins Nurk I want Melo and Whiteside coming off the bench together and somewhat early unless Zach and Nurk are killing it.
The thing is, a lot of the guys you listed are guards that Portland would normally have the SF mat hed up against, and Trents "lack of size" wouldnt be an issue there.
You knew what I was saying. We'll see, I think its obviously the wrong call. If/when Melo at the 3 leads to disaster, it'll be be frustrating to have seen it coming
Very true. And believe me i do like Trent. A bunch! I really want them to play well and make it into the actual playoffs. But boy it sure seems like a long shot at this point to me. I really wish Ariza was playing. I feel they would be a stronger team all around if he was.
Bottom line is the bench needs to step it up...hold a lead or build on one...they can't get outscored night in and night out...Trent can shoot more with the bench mob and he can get on a roll..Hassan and Gary playing with CJ and the bench will be a much stronger rotation than we had all regular season
I think Trents offensive game fits with the starters more and Melo fits with the bench more. Trent is primarily a catch and shoot guy, and he could get rolling due to the looks that he'd get with the starting lineup. Melo is more of a "ball-in-my-hands" isolation scorer, and that fits better on the bench lineup where he could get more direct touches, while also playing more PF than SF. A Blazer bench of Simons/CJ/Nas/Melo/Whiteside would be very solid. I really like the combination of Nas with Melo too, and with the starters I like the combination of Trent/Collins due to the fact that Collins can make up for Trent's slight lack of size at that position.
All of that makes a lot of sense, not to mention that Melo and Hassan have spent a lot of court time together this season, so keeping them together on the 2nd unit makes sense as well.
Yeah, I just don't see Nurk and Whiteside playing together more than about 90 seconds. Teams would be daring Nurk to shoot from the outside or put the ball on the floor away from the basket. And watching Nurk chase a spread 4 around the perimeter would be painful to watch on D. We now have 2 centers. Keep them there with no worries about foul trouble. Ariza would have made all the difference in the world at SF but either way, this team is not beating the Lakers in the first round. Get Trent and Little some experience for next year.
If the main purpose is to try player combinations, then Olshey will want Whiteside and Nurkic to play together, to decide how much to offer Whiteside.
Yea that killed it for me to. I just want to see how Nurk and Collins look. Not really getting my hopes past that up
The monetary amount spent on Whiteside will be based off his market, not his obvious inability to play PF.
I wish Melo would come off the bench but I'm not holding my breath. In the starting 5 he'll be taking the ball out of the hands of better players, while hurting our defense.
This is true. Of course it doesn't mean anything, because there's no way in hell that Melo will come off the bench.