Seldom do we ever keep players long-term. 5 years is about all we can plan for unless we draft them. Can his career last until he is 30?
Minutes before* FanFest, I declare my predictions, so that I can be proven wrong soon, and get it over with. Hyphen means, a lot of time on the new D-League team. * Oops. Hours after. I missed it online. Caveats: At SF, the weakest position, Knox > Camara > Rupert. At Center, Reath > Conditt > Badji, but Mike Schmitz likes Badji. When Williams has his annual season-ending injury, Center will become the usual chaos. Little Scooter's wasted manic energy will produce injuries from him, too, as in Summer League. C Deandre Ayton Robert Williams Duop Reath -Ibou Badji -George Conditt IV PF Jerami Grant Jabari Walker Kris Murray SF Matisse Thybulle Kevin Knox Toumani Camara -Rayan Rupert -Justin Minaya SG Malcolm Brogdon Shaedon Sharpe Malachi Smith PG Anfernee Simons Scoot Henderson Antoine Davis 2-WAY -Skylar Mays -John Butler
That starting lineup looks fine to me. I am curious to see who starts the 2nd quarter. I like the idea of Simons playing next to Brogdon or Scoot at all times.
I don't give a single fuck what the depth chart is as long as we aren't playing two small guards at the same time for any stretch of any game. Scoot, Shae is OK with me as our starting or second line back court, Ant, Brogdon is cool with me too, Scoot, Brogdon would be alright as would Brogdon, Shae. Please oh fucking please spare me any lineup that has Scoot and Ant sharing the back court. If they do, the question begs asking, per Einstein's definition, has this team's front office and coaching staff gone completely fucking mad?
I'd love to see this team RUN like never before. Yes its been talked about in training camp for 20 something years with zero results - but we actually have the youth, athleticism, guard depth, and low expectations to go do it for once. Cap everyone's minutes at 30, substitute early and often, give 100% on defense, gamble for steals, and relentlessly push the pace. We'd definitely win a number of games where opponents are tired, unprepared, or overlook the Blazers. Even the games we lose would be super fun to watch. Ayton 30 Williams 18 Grant 30 Williams 6 Walker 12 Thybulle 24 Sharpe 20 Walker 4 Ant 30 Sharpe 10 Brogdon 8 Scoot 30 Brogdon 18
Minutes by player Ayton 30 Grant 30 Sharpe 30 Ant 30 Scoot 30 Brogdon 26 Williams 24 Thybulle 24 Walker 16 (open competition for whoever wins this of Walker/Murray/Camara)
Lets say we don't make a trade, how many games will all of Scoot, Ant, Sharpe, Brogdon play together this season? Not sure how best to look at the historical average of this - but I would think statistically its a huge number such as 30-40 games we'd expect one of the four to miss over a season. Yes the backcourt is a bit crowded with all four of these guys healthy - but a huge underrated benefit of the depth is how great it will be we don't to rely on a Skylar Mays or Brandon Williams or even Keon Johnson to play significant minutes once somebody eventually misses game(s).
There will be minutes when Scoot and Ant are on the floor together, but with so many guards I doubt it will be big minutes. Offensively I think it will work. Defensively it comes down to whether or not Scoot with his strength quickness and reach, can guard SGs. That will be interesting to see.
I think that top 9 are pretty solid. It's always exciting to try and project where the young guys will end up. Hopefully someone from the 'spot minutes' category challenge for an increase in playing time.
Wow crazy that Walker is 2 years younger than both rookies Murray or Camara. Wouldn't be surprised if any one of these three beat out the others for the backup forward minutes.
It was really the post prior I explained that - it would be awesome to see us push the pace super hard so everyone was under 30 mpgs. One of Giannis first MVP level years he led the Bucks in minutes around that 30mpg mark because they were crazy deep and just kept everyone fresh. Would love to see us do that along with an uptempo style, trapping and guys flying around on defense. Us having legit starting quality backup guards/centers with a minutes crunch - and equally irrelevant forwards make this a possibility that has much less downside than for a typical NBA lineup. Your probably right we won't see it though.
A healthy team typically plays 9 players. My guess is Sharpe, Walker, or Grant will pick up the majority of the backup minutes behind Thybulle. I'd love it though if Murray and/or Camara show enough talent to challenge for more than garbage minutes. Unless the Blazers get a great return, I like the fit of Brogdon. He's exactly what the Blazers need for that veteran stability.
Brogdon can fit with any rotation. He's a very versatile player with playoff experience. Which is why he's on the top of the list of tradable Blazer players. Is Malcom this year's rent-a-Blazer like Josh Hart? With trade master Cronin at the helm, I'm not going to get attached to players that might be worth a future mid-late 1st round draft pick.
G: Brogdon is our best guard. At worst, he's tied with Simons. Little Scooter knows nothing except rookie energy and smiles, which is more than Sharpe knows. Brogdon > Simons > Scooter > Sharpe. SF: Knox is used to garbage time, but he has a couple of years of it. Camara had top rebound stats in college. Rupert plays like he's just out of high school. Guard minutes will be few for Sharpe, but SF is there for the taking if Knox doesn't morph tough/instantly gel like an Aminu or Harkless. PF: The key question to the season is Robert Williams. He's a star per minute, but goes down every season with injury, like Nurkic. He's the best starting PF. But my lineup predicts that Billups will stretch his endurance by minimizing his minutes, as substitute Center. Grant came from Detroit as a good defender. But when he saw Billups' non-system, Grant's crocodile smile emerged during games. He could do anything, so he did nothing. He has always gotten no rebounds, but now he also missed all his shots, after dribbling half the 24 seconds. So my lineup above is the predicted one, not my ideal one. Ideal and bigger, would have Williams as starting PF, and SF shared by Grant and Sharpe. The coach would have a more structured system than Billups, and the starter at PGI (Post-Game Interview) would be Little Scooter, with that Dennis the Menace smile, a perfect flyweight fit with the insubstantial Brooke Olzendam. Edit: Speaking of toothy crocodile smiles, I'd like to congratulate the sheepdog in charge for herding all these cats and covering for me while I've been busy for lo these many years.
Scoot 28/ Ant 20 Sharpe 28/ Ant 14 /Brogdon 6 Grant 16 / Thybulle 24 / Brogdon 8 Williams 14 / Grant 20 Ayton 32 / Williams 12 This starting lineup is the opposite of what we have had unless you go back to the Oden LMA days. I mean look at all that length, size and athleticism! Mein GOT! The rest of the minutes unaccounted for are spot minutes for: Murray, Rupert, Camara, and if we need more at the 5, Brown I'm almost more interested in FGA's to be honest. Also, mind you this is my depth chart, not saying it's what will happen. Chauncey will certainly play Brogdon more, likely a lot more. Le sigh.
