Here's one written by Fentress, so the other one must be Riley. https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/...with-trail-blazers-report.html?outputType=amp
I'd care to see this rotation. Dame/Scoot Sharpe/Ant Matisse/Little/Rupert Grant/Walker/Murray Nurk/Badji/Brown
this is how I see us opening night but I put Brown ahead of Badji in the rotation...Badji is still not ready for the NBA
Sure, from a basketball sense, but from a, "let's drive the value of Dame and Ant up for a midseason trade" perspective, the Blazers have to put Ant into the starting rotation.
True, but if the goal is to simultaneously boost interest from other teams in making a strong trade offer for Dame then you have to start him and let him show he’s still prime Dame.
So if i understand this correctly, you think that hes only going to really improve his trade value if he can play along dame and still get his numbers rather than playing with scoot and either doing the same and or possibly better?
Yes--start Dame and let him show he's still prime Dame, and have Ant play high-usage minutes in the second unit alongside Scoot. All those things work together.
My thought is that if the Blazers want a star-caliber player in a trade, they need Ant to be considered a star-level starter. If he puts up big numbers playing with Scoot in the second unit, he's probably going to be considered a sixth man level talent, at best. Maybe that's what he is, but I think the Blazers are hoping for a bigger trade value for him than that.
That's a good one. I hope Rupert can move up the ranks at SF because of his defensive potential and length. A 1-2-3 of Scoot, Sharpe, and Rupert could someday be tremendous. For now, I want Sharpe to get around 35 minutes a game, and he could be able to get some of those minutes with two other guards. The way Sharpe ended last season, he could actually be the best option at SF. Matisse is good, but has a weird come-from-behind style of defense that doesn't always work. Sharpe is far better on offense.
Simons is not getting benched. He'll get plenty of run and become the Blazers primary scorer. Coach Billups has already shown his willingness to bench Shaedon at any given moment of a game. I'd see Sharpe hit 3-4 shots in a row, then Chauncey would have a pause for the cameras photo shoot, "look at Billups coaching the young guys" mini-huddle with the rookie, before telling him to go sit on the bench. the local podcasters are already promoting Sharpe benchings. I stopped listening to their reasons for benching Shaedon. This Blazers roster is a complete clusterfudge until Lillard is traded.
I hope that isn't the case. Lillard should play meaningful minutes but be used as little as possible. Sharpe should get as many minutes as possible.
I'm excited for the Dame/Scoot connection. We have watched Dame--and it's his style; I'm not being critical--walk the ball up for YEARS, but now we have Scoot. Scoot is energy personified and a willing passer. We are in for a treat. Once we start winning games, Dame is going to walk back that trade talk...
that 1-2 puts Anfernee at SF. "Hey Simons you got Jaylen Brown tonight. Oh and tomorrow, you check Scottie Barnes. Then on Thursday, we're in Milwaukee, so we need you to lay some wood on Khris Middleton, and guard Giannis on the switches. You got that Anfernee ?? I mean Simons is just soo much taller then the other guards, he should be able to "swing up" and defend Small Forwards in the NBA now... right?
Lillard was #3 in NBA scoring. Dame dropped a 71 point game in one of the most fantastic showings in NBA history. What more proof of "prime Dame" does anyone need? The Blazers will never have a more valuable outgoing trade then Damian Lillard. We can spend all day ripping Miami players. But remember, the Heat system is a winning format. Not the "omg, they fired Olshey, what do we do now?" setup in Portland. Even bench scrubs from Miami might look good in Portland. Except Lowry of course, but he's expiring, and Jody Allen loves that player named ca$h.
