And Billups. this might turn out to be his best move. And even CJ. look at the haul we got for a 30 year old 10th pick in the draft.
The question is not can they play together—it’s whether they can both be maximized to the fullest extent of their abilities playing together. I want the answer to be yes. I think we all do. But at the end of the day they are both point guards that are at their best with the ball, making decisions, directing and being the primary point of attack. I’m not sure.
When Ant hit 13 3's in a row last year he was not always playing PG. He was catching and shooting. I have confidence that they can play together but it will take some time. I am not sure Dame coming off a 3-month layoff will give us the true picture. I think we need to wait until next year after a full fall camp.
Part of me would like to see an Ant/Dame pairing. But, there is the possibility it won't work for all the reasons already discussed. Of even more concern is the numbers. Dame is gonna be hella expensive for years to come. These are the years when players are slowing down, not speeding up. Dame has nearly single handily carried the load for 10 years now. He's got to start slowing down, then factor in the money. He may not be the older vet this team needs, like Juwan Howard years back. This team seems to have a new identity of running and sharing the ball with defense mixed in. Nurk is starting to be utilized again. Have our new players been game planned? Not sure if other teams are just over looking us. Thoughts?
LaVine also a poor defender, so it tracks. I'm still very apprehensive on the Dame/Ant defensive pairing. In these games, Ant is the weakest defender out there by far but surrounding him with 4 other players that can guard multiple positions and be in the right place on defense has been able to hide his deficiencies (who would have thought?). I'm not going to sit here and hope Ant/Dame can significantly improve their defense, but if we can be like a top 3 offense and a top 12-ish defense I think we can still contend. There can be no other defensive liabilities in the rotation though.
Let's not forget that Nurk is a huge part of the 4 game win streak. We are relying on his offense quite a bit right now. What if he gets hurt? Having Dame as an extra offensive weapon will be needed. We need the depth that Dame provides if Ant gets hurt as well.
Chicago mitigated any perimeter defensive issues by also bringing in Ball/Caruso and integrating them with LaVine in the rotation. They might have the best defensive guard rotation in the league when healthy. I think we have a start with Hart and maybe Nas/Winslow also being able to check guys outside. That game against BK was eye opening in how well Nas played Irving.
Dame off the ball is not working. We saw it this year. He needs the ball in his hand. So it's either Dame or Ant
So when they play together let Dame run the show. When Ant plays with Hart let Ant run the show. Not seeing the problem.
It's a made-up speculative problem. I definitely want Dame with the ball in his hands and as you said Ant can have it the rest of the game. Also, having Dame off-ball with Ant who is a willing passer is very different than Dame off-ball with other guys. We should see if it works until at least the next trade deadline if not a full season. This pairing has nearly unlimited upside. Again, Ant is starting to defend and Chauncey I believe can get Dame to buy in. Further, with Ant's emergence, I believe that Dame won't feel he has to shoulder as much of a load on offense. Dame can also rest longer with Ant on the floor. Ant is 22 and we can play him 40 mpg if need be while Dame plays like 30ish. With that kind of load reduction, Dame can absolutely put in the energy on the defensive end to be average or better. Dame has been lockdown level good in tiny spurts over the years. I'm convinced it's his Atlas-like carrying of the team on offense all these years under Stott's Iso-ball that has been the issue.
I just want to point out that over this amazing streak the Blazers have been hiding Ant on the worst perimeter defensive player or in a zone with help. If we have to do that for both Dame and Ant this defense will not work.
The next three games after the break will be a challenge. The team has been up to a challenge of late lets, let's see if we have a new found identity.
All of this Simons hype is way over blown. I'd be surprised if this 'hot-streak' lasts more than 7 or 8 more years.
He switched onto Ja a couple times last night and was able to keep Ja in front of him. Something that no one else could do. He also stripped Ja on one possession.
Yeah, actually the next six games are probably games we won't be favored in and then the spread should be pretty close for the following four. After that we should be huge favorites for eleven straight. So if we can pull off a couple of wins in the next six and then split the following four, we should be able to make a serious run at the eighth spot so we can try and win the play-in in just one game. Being at .500 at the end of the season considering where we were at a week ago would be really great.
