Game Thread 2023 SUMMER LEAGUE GAME 1: BLAZERS VS ROCKETS - JULY 7TH 2023 - FRIDAY - 4PM ESPN

I always remember he and Kupchak as the young guys on a team of oldsters like Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and Dave Bing. I hate to say that because I got to be friends with Elvin's son in college.

 

Good to see all you miserable sods sharing your insights.

Saw everything I hoped to see...Scoot, Sharpe, Murray and Walker will all be quality players this season. Beautiful!

 

No, I don't mean to say Scoot is "Just a small point guard that can score". Obviously, Scoot is a talented point guard with superstar potential. Rather, I mean to say that his role can be fulfilled quickly and adequately enough by a Jalen Brunson tier player while an Amen Thompson is incredibly rare to find.

Regarding that last sentence, I don't see Amen as the number one option, either. But with Dame and Sharpe, he doesn't need to be. He is Scottie Pippen to them. And you need a Scottie Pippen, who isn't a pure outlet on offense, to compliment the player who will be an outlet on offense (which is what Dame currently is and what I believe Sharpe can be). The fact that he's getting steals (I watched him pick the pocket of a good point guard in Sexton and tonight, he had some good steals) only makes him stand out more as someone who would've complimented Portland's defensively weak backcourt.

It's why, say, Chris Paul and Harden worked better than Westbrook and Harden, despite the latter looking better on paper.

Also, your username brings up a point I really like about Amen Thompson. People here praise Brandon Roy's game but would they recognize a player who has his skills?

When it comes to driving and passing, he is quite similar in the way he utilizes a strong first step, tucks the ball close to his body, has elite body control while in motion, raises the ball above his head and angles it at the rim or around an opposing defender for a pass. That's Roy-esque. He's just faster and more explosive, with a longer wingspan.

Furthermore, with Amen, I never thought about just this draft. I think ahead, as well. I think Portland is in a difficult spot with the next two drafts being weak ones. 2024 is looking a lot like 2000 and 2013. 2025 might be better in the way 2014 was but not top heavy. If Portland wants to secure its versatility on offense and defensive capabilities to compliment their back court, they will need to find the next Jokic/Giannis in these drafts or they need to get a Top 2 pick in 2026 so they can get Boozer or Flagg.

Otherwise, you risk a Dame-CJ scenario where they start to become too good to tank. Maybe more talented but limited in their impact due to the roster/starting five not being fully complimentary to their talents.

 

Amen is going to be very good. I hope we made the right decision.

 

Or not

 

I can say that Scoot would have been the best backcourt mate Lillard had in Portland, even as a rookie.

 

Too late for that.

 

I'm suffering from Mandela Effect. Bing left the previous offseason. They still had Bobby Dandridge, though.

 

We did. You can't draft everyone. There are going to be other good players in this draft that were picked after Scoot. I still am confident Scoot will be in the top two after we reattach his arm.

 

Respect the well thought out response. I agree with a lot of what you said, but I disagree on your evaluation of Scoot. In the NBA I think it's more important to have "THE" guy. ie. top 10-ish player, regardless of position. I think Scoot and Amen both have that upside, but I'm way more confident Scoot gets there than Amen.

I get that part of your calculus is that we already have that guy, in Dame, but in my mind Dame is gone whether we have Scoot or Amen. And even if he wasn't, by the time Scoot/Amen are approaching stardom Dame will be fading out of his, so threading that needle (haha) is not a path I'd like to go down anyhow.

 

Just finished the game, haven't taken the time to read through the thread.

Nothing today was overly surprising to me:

• Scoot looked real solid in a handful of areas. I'd like him to be better on the defensive end, but Amen is a tough cover.
• Sharpe should've looked better, but given he only really excelled last year when we were trying to tank (like Ant in 2021), my expectations aren't as high as others.
• Walker is such a solid summer league player. I'm not sure his game will ever really translate as a starter in the NBA, but could be a real solid 8th or 9th man.
• Murray was fine, but didn't show a major NBA skillset
• Didn't see anyone else ready to contribute on a winning NBA team

On the Houston side, Amen and Smith looked real nice. No surprise from two top 4 picks.

Nice to watch Blazer basketball.

 

I agree that Amen was highly highly unlikely to change out Dame felt. Putting a guy who can't space the floor next to Dame would've made little sense in a win-now mode.

 

Scoot looks like a linebacker compared to the average summer league player.

 

were we ready for any kind of basketball distraction or what?

I typed in page 33 to see what kind of participation a game thread had. Game 61 vs the Pelicans, 14 pages. This summer league game thread, 37 pages and counting

 

And insult your crappy podcast too!

 

Jabari Walker had a very nice game.

6-8 shooting, (2-2 three-pointers) for 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Also had 3 assists.

 

I prefer summer league to post-January NBA to be honest!

From the perspective of a European who loves football (soccer), there are far too many regular season NBA games.

Like all sport, basketball is best when there is jeopardy and intensity which the NBA lacks outside of the playoffs.

As for summer league, I just love watching the new guys, and given recent Dame developments, this campaign is a particularly intriguing one.

 

Agreed. I caught some of the minny game & I really wish we had drafted Leonard Miller instead

 

Amen was very impressive. We'll see how or if it translates.