Game Thread 2024-25 GAME #69 - BLAZERS VS WIZARDS - MAR 17, 2025 - MON - 7:00 PM - CHARGE - BLAZERVISION

I'm stressed about it. We're 11th in the lotto right now because of those two wins. If we make the playoffs and open up all of our future picks to add to what we have then cool but I don't think that's happening. What I think will happen is that we'll lose our next six, then we'll win four the following five and end the season with two losses. That will put us at 34 wins. What is also likely is that both play-in teams in the East that don't make the playoffs will have worse records than we will.

That will put us at 12th in the lotto and likely 12th in the draft. That is an absolutely useless place to be in. It, in my opinion, is the type of end to a season that should get a GM fired. So yeah, the last two wins are a big deal, the three or four wins the rest of the season will be a big deal because they will effectively take us out of the lotto and leave us with a middling pick when we still need a lot more than that.

 

I’m just glad Clingan only plays 18 MPG thank god they are being gentle

 

Miami looks in full tank mode and Spoelstra doesn't need to worry about his job, in fact Riley has probably told him to lose them all.
Phoenix even tougher schedule than us. they might pass us. Chicago somewhat weak schedule and for some reason they are trying to win. I think we are stuck at 11 with a chance at 10.

 

The one time we’ve won the lottery (2007), our record was 32-50, I believe.

 

POR is not serious about building a contender. It is what it is, I guess. I would still trade anybody not named Deni or Toumani. Losing any of the rest won’t make any difference. All readily replaceable.

 

They were serious enough to tank three straight years and now they’re doing a good job developing that talent.

 

Serious question: can you explain why you think Scoot is a keeper but Sharpe is a g league scrub? Sharpe’s much further along in his development and has improved his scoring each year. He’ll likely average 20-25 ppg next year once the new roster is sorted out (bye Ant & Grant) and he’s shown the ability to make clutch plays on defense. He’s the most athletic player we’ve had since Drexler and he’s 21. Why do you want to give up on that? Especially since we threw away a season and tanked to get him.

 

People writing off Shaedon as "replaceable" and a " g league scrub" are ridiculous. Shaedon has the nicest shot on the team outside of Ant, numbers don't tell the whole story. He is by far the most athletically gifted player on the team... eyes, the numbers and common sense don't lie.

Giving up on Shaedon at this point would likely be the worst mistake our front office could make. I love what Deni does (other players do it better) I love what Tou does (he probably couldn't be replaced by one guy but easily could by two). Shaedon isn't just the most athletically gifted player on our team, he's the best jumper in the NBA and his shot is perfect... his mindset is his only problem and while I think maturity will change that, I still think a 6'5" TMac or PG13 is about the best we have right now. Scoot is someone I would want to hold onto as well but I'd give up all three of Scoot, Deni and Tou before Shaedon. The good thing is that we don't have to give up any of them.

 

Says who? This dude won’t be hitting his stride for another year at least. He’ll be Dames rookie age in two seasons. Stay realistic FAMS, you’ll enjoy the ride that much more.

 

Exactly. Why give up on any of them? They’re all on the way up in their careers. Not saying they’ll all reach it but they all have All Star potential. How can you be in favor of tanking for young talent but also in favor of giving up on the young talent we have?

 

I got here about a month ago. Until we get new ownership it's just going to be a treadmill.

I hope these guys are diamonds in the rough. Because that's the only chance we have.

 

If you come to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
And prepare for earthquakes

 

His shot diet needs to change.

Once he realizes mid-range is the way to go rather than shooting 2/8 from 3, he'll become a star. The reason for this is simple. He's shooting 47% from mid-range this season, which is on par with the great mid-range shooters - Dirk, SGA, MJ, KD. Might be less sustainable with greater volume but it'll be more effective than pretending his game resembles Devin Booker or Bradley Beal (comparisons he keeps stating he draws influence from). Even if that 47% falls to 40-42%, that's closer to Kobe/Wade/Derozan territory which is much closer to his playstyle.

Mid-range would also open up the floor for him to drive to the rim since he's much closer. Those drives where he runs from the three point line to the rim are easy to telegraph and counter but from mid-range territory? It's far more effective for a player like him to utilize his length and vertical from a shorter distance. That draws more fouls. Then, it also allows him to kick out to teammates in the corner as defenses collapse on him.

Then, if he wants to gun 3s, he should limit it if he's 1/5 or 2/7 and settle for the mid-range shot.

Otherwise, I'd really be surprised if the front office felt the same about Shaedon similar to how certain vocal Portland fans do. It wouldn't be the first time a promising young player got traded and developed elsewhere but this seemed to have been Schmitz's guy so I don't think it's happening.

 

I'd much rather the Blazers give up Chauncey and try another coach than give up on Sharpe

 

I’ll be honest, the last quake I remember here was the Spring Break quake back in the mid 90s? Before that I remember a big one right before Mt. St. Helens blew in 1980.
But she was born in 2005.

 

revealing my age again....in 1976, a buddy of mine and myself were traveling thru Central America. We decided to stay for a few weeks in Panajachel Guatemala. In the middle of a night, an earthquake hit. IIRC it was around a magnitude 7.5-7.6. It was insane. The roar of the quake was overwhelming and trying to get out side (staying in an adobe house) was a real challenge because it was dark and the ground was actually moving...a lot. I think the initial quake lasted for 40-50 seconds and there were days of aftershocks

having gone thru that, I can't imagine a quake in the 8.0-9.0 range

 

I'll piggy-back two things onto this.

1. He has to clean up his dribble to be most effective in the midrange. It's actually amazing he shoots what he does from 12-18 feet when defenders so often are getting hands on his dribble. And, BTW, I, too, think SGA should be who he strives to be, but once he gets there, then focus on adding the 3-point shot to his arsenal.

2. I'm sure (i.e. hoping) the Blazers have a good idea right now how bad Shaedon wants to be special. I see too many plays where he takes the easy way out or gives up if there's a mistake. Being good in the midrange requires a lot of hard work and patience. If Shaedon wants to be great, it's there for him. If he's giving up on plays because he's frustrated that it's not translating as fast as he wants, that's forgivable. If, however, he coasts because being good is good enough for him, that's the difference between him being a star and a frustrating complementary player that makes us wonder what could have been if he had a fifth the dawg in him that Toumani has.

Shaedon needs to work on his handle in the offseason. The Blazers need to find out about his heart. Next year will be the one where we know what Sharpe is going to become.

 

He's young and it's two games. Honestly, for me, at least, he showed me enough with about a month straight of excellent play while still ascending that he's everything we expected and maybe more. Plus-minus might be a misleading stat, but the fact that he's ALWAYS got one of the best on the team even when his individual stats aren't good on a pretty average team tells me he's doing positive things even if he's not hitting the 3 or making the pass that leads directly to the bucket.