Powell's one big advantage is that he gets to the FT line that can't be discounted....getting to the FT line is very important
I spent a winter in LA in 1982. The only advantage I felt there is when I was on I-5 heading north leaving the damn place. Nice winter weather though
I would even like to see a lineup without Lillard or Simons, with Hart as the point guard and Sharpe as the other guard. Fill in the rest as you like. I would have Little, Grant and Nurkic. I think Billups has it in his head that those two are always indispensable.
He also gets 50% more rebounds (offensive and defensive) and 50% more steals and almost three times as many blocks per 100 minutes. He's also shooting over 42% from three point line (which is actually where I intuitively gave Ant the edge, not looking at the numbers, probably because of the games where he's been SO GOOD sticking in my mind). I'd say Powell is definitely a better player than Ant right now, although I suspect and hope Simons will surpass him by the time he gets to age 29.
the Blazers have wholesale given up on defending the paint. Too small, to many guards, no weakside defense. Outscoring opponents is the strategy. OK. This only works when the Blazers can connect from distance, and get the ball down low to Nurkic and Grant. When the Blazers face opposition that plays physical defense, spray and pray from beyond the arc has gotten the Blazers where? Below the .500 ball threshold.
if they cant fix defense with current roster or add more defensive players, they should add more scorers
I just watched Sexton drive uncontested down the lane, and Eubanks didn't even BOTHER to jump and contest the lay-in. What a joke. Nurkic is no better. Been posting it multiple times in various threads - the 5 position is our glaring weakness.
Eubanks played well over all i think. Problem is he is too undersized. If we could put his athleticism inside of Nurks body, thats closer to the center we need. Drew is quickly rising the list on my Blazer fandom list. He gives it his all every second on the court(barring barking at a ref for obvious blown calls), has good bbiq and he is home grown. As a second/third stringer I hope he plays his whole career here.
Drew also seems tough-minded which Nurk isn't, and is often an irritant to the other team, unlike Nurk who is just an irritant to us.
We have the 7th toughest schedule remaining this season: https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength