This. Reading the OP you'd think the Blazers were the only team with "one-way" players. The truth is most players on all teams are "one-way" players. I coached with a guy. He always was focused on trying to adjust what we did to stop what the other team did, always underselling what we did well. We coached an all-star game once and we had two practices and he was teaching kids Euro-step and complaining that we didn't have a chance because he didn't know how we were going to defend the other team having three 2,000-point scorers. It was then that I pointed out to him that our team had three 2,000-point scorers. I told him let's work on what we do well and make them adjust to us instead of focusing our preparation on changing what we do in reaction to our opponent. I think some fans do the same thing. They get so immersed in what their own team has or doesn't have and take it to hyperbolic levels, not realizing most teams are dealing with similar issues. I read these posts and think we must be one of the worse franchises in the NBA instead of one that makes the playoffs every year.
someone had their snark coffee this morning!!! Lol. With that said, I agree. Ridiculous to think about not starting Dame.
This feels more like whining than any insight. Our bench, and at times our starting lineup, has been full of chumps. When this is finally not the case, you start complaining? Ridiculous. The 2-way players you cite are top 20 players. Yes, it would be nice if we had more of those...
show me one team that has mostly above average two way players. Hell, show me a roster that has five guys who are better than average on both offense and defense? i have no clue. But i seriously doubt there is one. They would be perennial champs. yes some of the best players out there are two way. Doesn't mean they are abundant. we have an extremely versatile roster compared to years past. gotta see the glass half full man.
Except i remember a number of people posting that the Blazers had "plenty of talent" but it was other issues that were holding them back. Talent matters.
Certainly talent matters - but it wasn't our only problem. Consider our very talented center who managed to put up glowing stats while somehow doing almost nada to help the team win. Consider Baze who was a useful player before and after his time in Portland, but blew chunks while he was here. How about Simons, who our GM claims is an incandescent talent while playing like a steaming pile. Yes you need talent, but you also need the pieces to fit together.
No way, one-way or two-way, there still is this issue of what to do when Dame gets trapped in the Playoffs. CJ has proven he is not the answer, and Nurk the same. That leaves: RoCo - never seen playmaking out of him Melo - decent passer at times but not a playmaker DJJ - uh, no Collins - no Trent - no Kanter - no ......the most apt might be Giles, the 3rd string center. It looks like he has the decision making ability and vision to be an option, but how much will he be on the floor? His inability to shoot limits his effectiveness and in so many of his passing highlights, his team is down double-digits and you wonder how much the defensive intensity or lack thereof plays into a guy cutting WIDE OPEN to the basket. RoCo/DJJ have been compared to Aminu/Harkless defensively, but from a playmaking standpoint, I don't see much difference. And 'playoff' Aminu actually had some playoff series where he shot really well....and that still didn't make a difference. I live the changes, and I hope they have the impact we all hope they do. Just still don't see the answer for what has caused the Blazers so much of an issue for years.
Dame needs to improve lob passing for Jones, if there is one area who Dame is really bad it's lob passing. Nurk is our best lob passer right now
it takes two-to-tango in terms of lob passes. Its not just the passer; a team needs some high-flyers with good hands. That wasn't Aldridge and Batum; or Robin Lopez. It wasn't Aminu or Harkless either; or Evan Turner. Blazers haven't had enough targets to conclude Dame is bad at lob passing. He made some lobs to Whiteside last year. And in his first couple of seasons he found TRob for some lobs. A team also needs an offensive scheme that utilizes back door cuts and off ball screens. That's not the Stotts offense; at least it hasn't been in the first 8 seasons of Stotts it could be that if lob passes have to be a major component of offense for Jones, he's a bad fit
The condescension is annoying considering your total intellectual dishonesty here. You failed to note that within that statement he mentioned that both Dame and C.J. accounted for 97% percent of ballhandling responsibility last year. So intellectually dishonest of you to consider that the implied continuation of 3% means "part of the rotation".
Wow you seem to really take personal offense? The strategy isn't to confuse an opponent, its to maximize effective units on the court. The idea would be pair your best player with weakest (7 8 9 men), with early substitutions. This group can outperform pure bench units. If you have good enough 2nd through 6th men starting they can stay even or slightly outperform opponents. It would increase each groups advantage over other teams. Your best player still plays big minutes and finishes games. The idea is that Dames strengths have more value with the shitty teammates then the best. The 2nd to 6th best teammates can perform good on their own but the 7th to 9th men have a greater need for Dames skills. The main reason we never see this strategy is superstars egos. It would be cool some season if we do see a star that doesn't give a fuck about ego and does it.