I like the Blazers offseason moves as much as the next guy. They did address some needs. Seems a bit early to dub them contenders just yet. Maybe we should temper our expectations before we even see a preseason game?
Don't want to start a new thread for this, but David Aldridge says we had the second best offseason, although he doesn't exactly add great insight: https://theathletic.com/2219637/202...ba-rankings-of-nba-offseason-accomplishments/ 2. Portland Trail Blazers 2019-20 record: 35-39; lost in first round Added:F Robert Covington (acquired from Houston); C Enes Kanter (acquired from Boston); F Derrick Jones, Jr. (two years, $19M); F/C Harry Giles (one year, $1.6M); F C.J. Elleby (second round, 46th pick overall) Lost:C Hassan Whiteside (signed with Sacramento); F Trevor Ariza (traded to Houston); G Mario Hezonja (traded to Memphis); protected 2021 first-round pick (traded to Houston); F Isaiah Stewart (draft rights traded to Detroit) Retained: F Carmelo Anthony (one year); F Rodney Hood (two years, $21M) The Skinny:Efficient work by the Blazers in adding quality players for not much money. Covington brings his versatile D and floor-stretching abilities; Kanter is a bucket off the bench and can start in a pinch if injuries again hit Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins; Jones is insanely athletic, and while he fell out of Miami’s rotation by the time the playoffs came around, he was in it most of the season, so you know he can defend well enough. Taking a flier on Giles and betting on your medical staff to get him right after years of injuries is a low-risk gamble with a big potential upside. Whether ‘Melo plays in 60 games or six, his value on the bench and in the locker room is immeasurable. And he showed last season he can still make some big shots if you need them.
I thought the Lakers were actually worse... until they got Gasol. Now, Gasol looked pretty washed up for the Raptors, but he was still supposed to be a big cog. All he has to do now is play D and move the ball in about 10-15 mpg, and he's very good at that. Harrell: I think he's a bozo. He's a very Kyle Kuzma-style-over-substance type player. Doc Rivers drove his analytics guys nuts playing him over the much better Zubac (who, ironically, used to be a Laker) Schröder: he looked great last year, but he was playing with Chris Paul, who improved everyone. He's bounced around the league precisely because he's bad in the locker room. Supposedly he has already demanded to start. He'll be fine for the regular season, but they really benefited from Playoff Rondo and he ain't that. Wesley: He's solid, but Danny Green was a +/- STUD for the Lakers and is a LOT younger, and hasn't had a devastating injury. In general, the Lakers' offseason was full of "name" additions. It looks like a casual fan's idea of a great offseason.
Yes, exactly. Also it seems like the first addition, Covington, swept all the others along in a spirit of goodwill. Really Covington is the only significant one and the others are iffy at best. And much as I moaned and bitched about Whiteside, we might miss his shotblocking, something we're be relying on Jones Jr for?
Granted there are very few shot-blockers as good as Whiteside, (Stats-wise) but Zach can help out defensively as well. So I think if you are looking at who we have that we did not have last year.......he and Hood and Kanter are three other additions. Can Trent keep up his production from the bubble? If he does that would be an improvement from last year's regular season. Can either Giles or Simons improve enough to help out? Not sure but if one of them can that would give us yet another upgrade. So I agree there is a lot of "if's" but it sure seems like we are much improved.
So many teams are in the hunt, I do expect some load management for the Clips, Lakers & Warriors. Im looking forward to watching DJJ guards the opponents best player. If CJ is getting burnt guarding his guy you can expect DJJ to say something.
• The Blazers the most efficient offense (112.4 points scored per 100 possessions in 24 games) against the league's top 10 defenses. • The Blazers saw the league's biggest jump in points allowed per 100 possessions, from 109.5 (16th) in 2018-19 to 114.3 (27th) in '19-20. https://www.nba.com/news/offseason-power-rankings-western-conference Pretty simple formula. Get that defense to even average and you’re looking at a contender.
I think we right there with the Lakers this year and Lakers going miss rondo because of his basketball IQ and knows how to get the ball to guys where they want it. I don't think schoeder can do that he more of scoring type point guard even though everything will be run through lebron but with rondo that took some of that of lebron. Wes love the guy but he is just spot shooter and not had good defender before his Achilles tear. Gasol really look old in the bubble. There going miss Howard and McGee at center especially on defense.
LeBron will be playing his 18th season. He has never played a season with such a quick turnaround. Yes it is possible he is just as dominant next season. But its certainly possible he declines. Father time is undefeated and will get him eventually. Might be next season or 5 years from now but it will happen.
if they stay relatively healthy and aren’t in the top 15 somewhere, there should be serious questions about Stotts’ job.
I think you miss that from Whiteside as a starter. Coming off the bench, not so much, because he generally seemed unmotivated and also his desire to get blocks in his short amount of time on the court resulted in being out of position and creating more defensive problems than he solved. He's a guy whose value as a starter and as a reserve are about as different as any player currently in the NBA. And Jones is more a guy we're looking to contest and defend on the perimeter. His insane hops make him a guy who can erase someone at the rim from behind if Kanter/Giles/etc. holds position on the block and forces anything other than a dunk, but Jones' value is recovering and contesting 3s.
For those of you who are really irritated by the notion that someone considers the Blazers to be a "true contender", this might brighten your day. John Schuhmann at nba.com only has the Blazers at 5th in the West in his Offseason Power Ranking piece: https://www.nba.com/news/offseason-power-rankings-western-conference
I think it's realistic to put lakers-clippers-nuggets 1-2-3 after that, between Portland, Utah, & Dallas, I'd probably rate the Blazers at least 4th, assuming good health. but there are several 'spoiler' teams that will make life tough for wannabe contenders: Warriors, Suns, & Rockets. Memphis and New Orleans won't be pushovers either. West is a gauntlet
