Game Thread 2022-23 Game #40 - BLAZERS VS MAGIC - JANUARY 10, 2023 - TUESDAY - 7:00 PM (PDT)

Would be nice to get a legitimate explanation, sure looked like legal guarding position.

 

I mean maybe the reason Dame, Ant and Grant seem to be slumping at the same that is that they've had to play 40 minutes a night and they're gassed...

 

That is the way i took it. I just added that it seems Billups will coach this way. He seems to know they are playing tired. He has spoke of it in post games. He has a couple injuries to Little and Winslow but this team is not dealing with injuries to the extent that they should be playing that many minutes? He has Sharp and Walker and Johnson. He just isn't playing them.

 

Who is?

 

Kind of ironic this comes from Nurk, whose performance has always been all over the place from game-to-game even since before he got to Portland. Holy lack of self-awareness, Batman.

 

Not challenging the one when I think it was Banchero actually grabbed the defender and threw him had me scratching my head, but yeah, I watched that replay and there was no doubt in my mind even after the fact that it was offensive. If you aren't going to correct that call, what's the point having replay at all?

 

Is it that or is old habits die hard a part of this, too?

It seems there are some guys on the team -- Dame in particular -- who revert to Stotts style offense at times (walk the ball up, dribble in place, go one on one, fire up ill-advised jumpers). None of us can say if that's Chauncey's offense or guys doing their own thing or Chauncey giving guys the option to do their own thing. All I know is Dame can't seem to put it all together right now, and the more I think about it and the more I watch other players in new situations and other teams with new coaches look more crisp than our all-NBA top 75 player I'm less inclined to think this is a problem with Dame adjusting. It might be more of a distrust of the gameplan and fighting the change. But he's throwing passes to know one and dribbling off his own foot multiple times every game.

 

But how about the guys who actually play signifcant minutes?

 

Vegas has lot riding on -40.

 

I thought it was refreshing to actually hear him say that.

 

Do we really have a bunch of good 3pt shooters though? I remember in the past we would swing the ball around and I would have a pretty good feeling about certain players when they put up a 3 attempt. Now, not so much. Dame and that’s about it. I’m not too confident when anybody else shoots out there.

 

He could have stuck with Walker and Sharpe in the beginning of the 4th quarter but I guess he was convinced the same lineup that cut the lead from 9 to 5 couldn't possibly keep it going against Fultz and Banchero who were put in when Orlando called a timeout to stop the Blazer run.
Lillard and Grant just had to be put back in 8:50 left in the 4th.
I was pissed at the substitution.

 

Dame?? He's shooting 26% on 3-pointers in January.
He was 2 for 12 last night.

 

Grant slid under him to be honest. Wasn’t even close to being set. If somebody had done that to Dame, we would have got that call. They tend to even themselves out.

 

He’s the best player in the history of our franchise. The best 3 point shooter to ever wear the pinwheel. When he rises up for 3, I’m VERY confident it’s going in, imagine that. Nice research though.

 

Ant has had lights out games but the consistency hasn’t always been there and it’s frustrating. I’d say that he is a good 3pt shooter. I’d say Grant is a good 3pt shooter.

Gary Trent Jr is a good 3pt shooter…

I wonder how Simons 3pt stats compare to Rudy Fernandez..

 

Doesn't matter how good a player is at shooting 3s overall if he can't make them at the end of most games. We're having long scoring droughts ...9 minutes without a bucket...7 minutes without a bucket...5 minutes without a bucket, etc.....if you're going to brick shots brick them in the first qtr please....I want a dangerous clutch team that takes over the endgame and beasts..