They did get the 1st pick in 2021. But, Detroit was the worst team last season and didn't even get into the top 4. in 2022, they were the 3rd worst team, and also ended up with the 5th pick. It's not something they can count on.
San Antonio vs OKC was a fun game to watch tonight. Neither team was a playoff team last season and there's no way I would have watched that Pre-season matchup last season. More talent in 2023.
I know, but it's what I want soooooo bad. I'm so sick of the Dame hero ball shtick. I wanna see us run a lot of real plays where the goal is to have Ayton shoot. Seems like 90% of the time when Dame and Nurk had a pick and roll, the goal was to get Dame the shot. I'm silly enough to believe the hype about us trying to be a running team. With Scoot in charge it might happen. But there's gonna be a lot of teams that get fur real about fast break defense and we'll have to run a bunch of half court sets. The play I wanna see the most is an Ayton and Simons pick and roll (or pop) with the goal being to get Ayton a good shot.
What's the chance all these guys play 82 games, a fraction of 1%? Basically need to remove one or so of the starters shots to adjust for that. So the shots might be just fine as is.
It's not overlooking.....but perhaps more to the fact that we have been down this road before....many times. A smallish guard who shoots a lot, is best with the ball in his hands, and doesn't play much defense. That hasn't exactly worked out that well from a team standpoint no matter how many points that particular player puts up. A #1 option who really only plays one side of the ball is historically, not a key to team success.
I'm with most of what you're saying, but not for the goal being setting up Ayton for shots. I'm looking forward to Ant or Scoot running Pick and Rolls with Ayton with the goal being getting clean looks for any one of their shooters. They've enough shooting talent to not have to force feed anyone. I expect they'll have a much more even distribution of shots then in past years. STOMP
From that video he seems incredibly low key, borderline depressed. Doesn't exactly come across as stoked to be a NBA player. Hopefully he doesn't play that way. Don't know what he means when he said "I can't go shopping anymore". He REALLY wants to be in TOR is my HO.
I realize that but it was a key stat IMO. The rest was based on what fans think will happen and we are all guessing on that because the team is so new and they have not played one game yet together. Either way, I am confident that Sharpe will get enough shots if he proves he deserves them. The creme will rise. I assume the number of shots by each player will also vary depending on the weakness of the competition and how Chauncey decides to attack them.
I think that Shaeden will have some excellent games, but I also think he's going to have quite a few duds this year. Ya gotta think, he will typically have the other teams best defender in his face most of the season. Long wings are going to make it hard for him to get his shot off. I hope that is a skill he worked on the most this offseason. He's gonna dunk on people and get plenty of minutes. Hopefully he can hit at least one of the .50/.40/.90 categories or at least be close to them. I feel like that would be a successful season for his development.
It doesn't matter how someone finishes if he can't get to the hoop with the ball. Teams will clog the paint if Sharpe starts attacking the basket every time the game is on the line. Simons might be the best 3-level scorer on the team. He has a variety of ways to score. (including the hook shot) Shae seems to have the potential to surpass him once his handles improve and I do like his pull-up jumper potential. (hard to block) When the game is on the line and we are down by 1 or two, the ball needs to be in the hands of the players who can get a good clean look and you have to have versatility to your game. Even Dame with all his heroics, struggled at times getting a good look at the end of games. How many times did he let the clock wind down before taking a contested 3-point shot? Or attacked the basket in traffic and did not get a call. The pull-up J is a huge weapon. Both Ant and Shae have that ability. Keep in mind Sharpe shot free throws at 71%. That will need to improve.
I hope you're right. Like I said, I still think he has .50/.40/.90 potential, but don't you think he will see a higher level of defense than he did last year though?
I'm sure he'll see a higher level of defense--I'm just saying that with his mechanics, length, and elevation, I'm not worried about challengers.
I already mentioned that. The sum of individual player's FGA is always more than the FGA/average of the team, and that gap gets wider in the last third of the season; not only because of injuries but because of trades, waivers, and 10-day contracts Still, if you figure 18-19 for Ant; 15-16 each for Grant & Ayton; 11-12 each for Scoot, Brogdon, & Sharpe...well, that's already over 80 shots for 6 rotation players when the Blazers as a team will probably average less than 90 (and of those 6, Brogdon is the only one with any kind of injury history). And that doesn't include Thybulle, Williams, Walker, or any of the other forwards; or any 3rd string guard injuries can level that a bit, but young teams like Portland usually don't have a lot of injuries
