A year and a half ago I was still firmly in the Keep Stotts camp. My memory of all the shitty coaches we had from after Dunleavy through McScribbles was just so painful. A year ago I kind of came around to the idea and was ok with changing, but ok with staying. Everything was so stale and it was probably time for fresh eyes. I'm firmly in the Fire Stotts camp as of today. The team looks terrible, the passing is terrible, and the two most promising looking guys (Trent and Giles) aren't getting enough minutes while Kanter and Melo are defensive disasters.
Btw we need to stop to think that Nurkic is a good defender, he absolutely isn't. He like Kanter get's killed night after night by Pick and Rolls. Nurk legit looks like a Statue on defense just standing there in the middle
Also, Nurk is as slow as Marc Gasol getting up and down the floor. That's not ideal when the Blazers are bricking early shot clock 3's and giving up tons of fast breaks and he's always trailing badly.
He would probably be the best established guy available right now. But I think he would demand a big salary and long contract, so it would be risky. I just don't know which of the young guys would be good. I would definitely interview Vanterpool,
If I were Neil I would give him until game 20. If no adjustments or noticeable improvements are made, Fire his ass. And just because they’re his assistants, doesn’t necessarily mean they have the same philosophies, so I wouldn’t care about promoting a Tibbetts, or any other assistant, although my preference would be Moran, I liked what I saw from his summer league squads. Then at the end of the year you can make a decision. What’s crazy is the adjustments that need to be made aren’t even that difficult to figure out. Shit, most people had it figured out before a game was even played. - Stop playing Kanter and Melo together. Our last two losses could be blamed almost exclusively on the second unit, and specifically these two. Whatever Kanter gives you offensively he just gives up on the other end. He should only be playing if Nurk is in foul trouble, unavailable, or if the other team has a big, plodding center on the court. Why did Stotts wait until late in the fourth quarter yesterday to pull the plug?? - Stop giving Melo more minutes than Trent, especially in a game you have a 20 point lead in. At that point you don’t need him out there. - Prioritize ball movement and getting others involved. Play through Nurk more. Even when he struggles he’s good, just purely because of his playmaking ability. We’re completely wasting Jones, and one way to get him involved would be to let him backdoor cut off Nurk. Or use him as the main screener like Miami did. I don’t think I’ve seen that once yet.
If Stotts hasn't made noticeable adjustments/improvements to his coaching philosophy over the last 8-years - I highly doubt he will in the next 12 games. The issues with this team are not unique to this season. They've been issues for many years... it's just more people are now noticing the issues.
caught your postgame w/ @hoopsjock last night. i needed a similar vent session after that loss. well done
I am very firmly in the fire stotts camp. I’ve actually decided to quit watching the blazers because I know exactly how the game will end up. It is a waste of my time to watch stotts literally do nothing on the sideline.
Reporter: “what did you do to slow Steph down?” Ty Lue: “we blitzed him to get the ball out of his hands” what a concept
Appreciate it! That's what we hope to be for people. If they want things sugar-coated (which is completely fine) theres Blazers Outsiders for that. I definitely feel a lot better 2 hours after a loss than I used to!
Chris Broussard joining the dump Stotts bandwagon: https://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/c...ts-time-for-the-blazers-to-dump-terry-stotts/
Hollinger and Duncan making fun of Melo and Kanter and also about Terry Stotts. Starts around 41 minutes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-it-time-for-teams-to-panic/id1483267868?i=1000504556742
'If you sign better defensive players, but then those players aren't on the court, surprisingly your defense isn't better.' 'They keep playing Carmelo even though he isn't good on either end.' 'Trents minutes keep getting squeezed because Melo is on the court.' 'Why do they keep posting Melo up?' They make some good fun of playing Kanter and Melo together when trying to make a comeback. Don't think the Blazers have what it takes to get Harden. Takes some little shots at Olshey loving his players. 'Even if Dame goes off, if their defense is that sh!tty, it won't make a difference.'
Chris Broussard: “I’m not saying this will lead to a championship, and Terry Stotts has done a very good job in Portland – that’s undeniable, but I do think they have run their course with him. You’re only going so far with two small, ball-dominant jump shooting guards who do most of your scoring. You would have said that about Golden State in 2014, but what did they incorporate? More movement, and Steph and Klay didn’t dominate the ball and they didn't over-dribble. They need to find a coach who can get some sort of motion offense because they really got talent.” The only thing he leaves out is that GS does not have two SMALL guards.
