It's been discussed quite a bit in different threads, and now that the Blazers have their roster relatively firmed up for the coming season, now is the time to discuss who starts and who plays contributing minutes. Here's my thoughts: Following up on Olshey's comments today, it looks like the starting lineup will be Dame, CJ, Jones, Covington, and Nurk. I think Trent will come off the bench and we'll play a 3 guard rotation with CJ or Dame playing point. Hood off the bench to play primarily SG. Melo off the bench playing PF. Kanter off the bench playing C. After that we have a fight for minutes. Ant playing spot minutes at SG/PG (ugh). Little playing a bit of SG/SF. Collins and Giles getting some minutes at PF/C. Elleby riding the bench. Unless Collins steps up this year, I see him as the odd man out. He'll need to beat out Kanter and Melo to earn some minutes as our backup big. Thoughts?
Zach will be a fixture in the rotation. If anyone is gonna beat him out it’ll be Giles, not Kanter. Olshey specifically mentioned the teams struggles against more mobile big men as one of the factors in signing Giles. right now I see it as Starters Dame CJ Jones Covington Nurkic Second unit CJ/Ant Trent Hood Melo Collins/Giles Fringe rotation Kanter Bench Little Ellebe Giles (Or Collins if Giles plays well while he’s out)
Think you are right, expect he'll compete and may try to make it hard for Stotts to not play him, but this is a perfect roster for him to just to red shirt and improve his game.
I’m a fan of Collins, but I think now is the time to cash in on his potential and package him with another contract on our team to get a solid vet that can contribute now during Dame’s prime.
I like pretty much everything you said. The only thing I am unsure of is the Collins part. If healthy he will play. He is a better PF for our system than Giles simply because he has shown signs of shooting the 3. I am not sure Giles has attempted any. Now Zach does have to get better, and I think he will. However who is to say Giles won't also get better, so you might be right when you say Collins is the odd man out. Let see which one improves and stays healthy.
I don't think Collins is a power forward at this point. I think even he would say he's a center. I think our PF for this season will be RoCo and Melo. So Collins would need to mostly take Kanter's minutes.
With acquiring Jones and Covington, and Hood being healthy, and the improvement in Trent's game, where will Little get the minutes? I like his energy, but he may be a few years away from contributing.
Simons and Jones Jr will make for some ridiculous highlights this year. SportsCenter will show them some love finally. They could BOTH be in the dunk contest (that wont happen due to Covid so nevermind)
I think it comes down to matchups. Again the Lakers you will need Covington / Jones on LeBron and Zach/Giles against AD. Granted against most teams you will want Covington on the other team's 4. But since Zach can stretch the floor a little bit better than Giles I think he has a role against bigger PFs. (Off the bench) Someone will get sick or injured. Zach will fill in for both spots...unless he is the one hurt or sick.
Didn't Zach and Kanter play well together a few years ago? I think certain players will need to be paired with complementary pieces. For instance, Kanter needs to be next to a good 4 (Covington, Zach), Jones needs to pay with good shooters and, preferably, passers (Nurkic, Giles), etc.
I think the way it might go like this at the 5 minute mark you see CJ Nurk either Jones or Covington will come out then you will zach and Giles and Trent come in. Start the 2nd you will CJ Trent Hood Melo Kanter/Zach. This gives everyone minutes and everyone stay fresh for end of games. Simons might be in there depends on the 3 or 4 preseason they get. But what Stotts has a chance to do is keep players fresh in the game. Majority players will take a minutes hit for the team success
If we can get Melo to accept coming off the bench (that's the coach's job), it's a win-win to start Jones. Jones doesn't need the ball to be successful/productive. He'd work best with CJ and Dame. Whereas we all know Melo needs the ball. Put him on the second unit where he can get more touches.
