Covid is really gonna fuck up our cohesion/chemistry to start the season. Our guys especially always got together well in advance of training camp to build that chemistry. Think that vaulted us to finish with better records than our collective talent would have indicated in the past.
There is an enormous difference between an 8 mpg token 12th man starter and a key rotational playing starter who is not in for offensive end of game possessions.
Yeah, I am not saying he will play 30 minutes a game, just that he will play more than Vonleh did. If they don't then why pay him 3x as much as what they gave Melo? Plus it would be nice to sub offense for defensive at the closing seconds of games.
Jones is best fit with the starters imo. His offensive game is reliant on the playmaking of others, so ideally you would want him to play with Dame and Nurkic. His defensive ability only solidifies his spot in the lineup. He just compliments the other starters better. We’ll probably see him subbed out for Melo late in games when we need buckets, but other than that I expect him to see a pretty significant role.
That's if Jones' three pointer doesn't start to show up. I've been saying since before he got here that if this guy had the opportunity to get shots up they would start falling. The fact is that his shot mechanics are smooth and he's a high BBIQ guy. There will be a lot of guys on this roster fighting for minutes and I really think that will drive guys' games to new levels, especially Jones'.
I couldn't disagree more. Those get togethers weren't the cause of our chemistry or cohesion, they were a symptom of the cause. The cause is Dame. Dame is the guy that reaches out to every teammate, he's the guy that set up those trips and other things. He will make sure that everyone gets connected, especially if he's talking to guys about not going out while on the road and staying in because then they'll likely stay in and kick it together. I really think like Dame said in his interview that COVID makes it so these guys (if they're doing it right) have less distraction and more focus on basketball. IMO that also translates to being connected as a team.
People in another thread were wondering if that was only Olshey's idea that Melo would be coming off the bench. Stotts confirmed that he talked to Melo before he signed and let him know he w2ould be coming off the bench. One thing I wish somebody had asked Stotts or even Lillard; Do you have ideas on how you might integrate the athletic abilities of Jones and Covington into your offense?
I do wish they would have asked Stotts that specifically but Lillard volunteered that the team would have a new element to the offense they've never had before with Jones' world class athleticism and slashing. That tells me that they've talked about getting some off the ball movement even if it is as simple as if Jones' defender isn't paying attention to him having Jones cut back door.
Somewhat interesting that the team still hasn’t released their training camp roster. Haven’t even announced Blevins officially. I doubt they’re gonna invite anyone to camp, but they definitely will add another two way guy, it’s just a matter of when and who. I’m sure there are plenty of other teams interested in taking a flier, but Zhaire Smith would be a nice project, especially since Olshey doesn’t seem to give a fuck about point guards. Smiths waiver status gets resolved today.
Terry mentioned Blevins in his interview. No announcement in an official capacity, but at least acknowledgment.
Zach is the x factor of this team imo, if he can take the next step (and finally stay healthy) that will be huge for the Blazers.
Wow, Hoodie's interview was very very real. Talking about the injury but also a lot of death in his family and all of the perspective it's given him. He sounds ready to go. No one asked him how his shot is falling which was unfortunate. This was the most interesting training camp interview I've seen, maybe because it was so existentially significant along with how he will impact our team on the court.
A couple days into Training Camp and 35 posts? This is the most talent we've had since LA, Nic and Wes left..... This is the most hyped I've been preseason in YEARS!
Well theres not a lot happening at training camp... No media present... No players allowed to have contact yet... Just videos of the players talking with masks on, or some one on one stuff same as in the summer. 8% of the league tested positive for Covid so that would average 1-2 Blazers having it which we haven't heard about either.
I also like his ability to guard the best player on the other team, even if it's a point guard. Allows RoCo to do what he does best on defense as that disruptive team defender. Also can more easily hide Dame on the weakest offensive player.
