maybe...but he sure doesn't perform like an all-star in the playoffs, and there is a definite narrative around here that CJ "ups his game" in the playoffs. That's not true
CJ single handedly willed us to a win over the Nuggets that led to a conf finals....he absolutely has played well in the playoffs
he didn't do anything "single-handedly", yet more CJ mythology...even Dame doesn't do things single-handedly. And if it wasn't for Dame, Hood, and Kanter, there wouldn't have been a game 7 for CJ to shine
Regular season stats (post season stats) FG % - 46% (44%) 3pt% - 40% (39%) FT% - 83% (77%) Pts/100 poss - 29.7 (28.6) Assist/100 poss - 5.1 (3.7) Not a major difference, certainly not better. Though in general, I'd expect playoff numbers to dip a bit.
I think the point about CJ's playoff numbers being underwhelming and his impact being overrated is that if he was what some in here claim he is (an all-star level player that fits with Dame) then he would clean teams' clocks in the playoffs because of the way they sell out on Dame. His shooting percentage would be through the roof, his assists would be through the roof... he would be putting up MVP type numbers because the opponent is daring him to. I just hope people can stop living in the legend created by one great game as a scorer in game 7 against the Nuggets in 2019.
I think you maybe are sensationalizing at least my appreciation for CJ helping us win games....CJ's value wasn't created by one game....let's just start there and then let's put things in perspective...nobody is "living the legend" about CJ....a person can value him without putting him in "MVP' status....when Dame has been hobbled CJ has stepped up....we don't get to the finals in the west without him helping us win more than one game 7.......fans aren't that over the top about a player who has never made an allstar or all NBA team. Most fans here have wanted to trade him for 8 years now...I always thought he's the perfect 6 man.
We're on the same page but he's not the sixth man. Olshey and Stotts have anointed him the second man and it just doesn't work. I also think he could be a good second option on a team just as competitive as ours if that team's first option was a big. The fact is we can't just use him when Dame is off the floor, we can't have him as our sixth man because we are paying him 30M per season. I've never once said I think that CJ is bad, he's just bad on this team.
Is your opinion that this roster could legitimately compete for a championship under different coaching? If so, how do we solve the conundrum that the Dame/CJ back court causes on defense? I'm just wondering because I like a lot of our roster but the fact that Nurk isn't mobile enough to get out and defend the perimeter combined with CJ being a horrendous perimeter defender and Dame being a below average perimeter defender makes me skeptical. How do we ever contend when we can't defend the perimeter where the majority of offense is set up in today's NBA? I understand that advanced analytics say that Gary isn't very good on defense but the eye test and the fact that we went from last in the league in three point defense to middle of the pack with Gary starting, says he's much better than CJ. Maybe you think a coach can fix all of that and maybe you'd be right but since you're an analyst, I just want to know how. If this has been covered in a Blazers Uprise, please just reply with the link. Thanks.
You can say a guy isn't a very good defensive player all you want. But if that guy is being asked to guard a future HOF player and or the other teams best scorer on most nights then maybe "Stats" ain't telling you what is really going on. It's why I absolutely hate trying to make a case solely on stats. The "data" says this.... The "data" says that... I say hogwash. Watch the game. Gary Trent moves and stays with his man night in and night out. Trent plays tough defense 8 out of 10 times down the court. He's human so yeah he gets beat by guys like Curry and Lebron and Booker and Chris Paul and Harden and Lavine and Murray and the list goes on and on. These are NBA All Star players that know how to score the ball.
Probably not. But saying there is an MVP and three All Stars on this roster might be a stretch no? This isn't the Warriors from 2018.
are you talking about from the first 12 games of this season till now? I don't remember the Blazers being at the bottom of opponent 3pt% this season. They were 29th last season, but Trent is only playing 10 more minutes a game this year than last year so I'd say Portland's improvement in that stat is due to RoCo and Jones, not Trent filling in for CJ
not sold...the right move is to get healthy and develop chemistry with the new guys DJJ and Roco....we're not off to a bad start at all going 8 -4 over the last 12 with the bench playing big minutes..... we're not in need of firing anybody period...that's not a problem we have. Enoy the Stolshey train ride because I think it's here to stay!
It really sucks you haven't enjoyed the Blazers for 9 years....the 7 years of making the playoffs sure were better than the 14 years before Stotts and not making the playoffs....and Dame signing a max deal beats Lamarcus moving to San Antonio.....you can dissect the stat sheets and have moneyball entertainment if you like...but it doesn't water down my Blazer experience. It's a theme but some of us aren't here for that. I'm here to cheer for a bright future....it's insulting to have that defined by someone disgruntled who thinks that's a flawed approach to the sport and support of the team is based on dominating the league year after year. Predicting 9 years of boring basketball is pretty far from what I experience as a Blazer fan....with that logic Pop should've been fired when Duncan retired.....they have been pretty boring since then to watch but I respect their loyalty to him. Kawhi demanded a trade from San Antonio and Pop didn't lose his job....just an MVP . Tell me it wasn't exciting to win all 20 games this season we won......I"m waiting....was it boring? Did you cheer or did the stat sheets not reach your standards of excellence?
