Game Thread 2022-23 Game #61 - TRAIL BLAZERS @ WARRIORS - FEBRUARY 28th, 2023 - TUESDAY - 7:00 PM (PDT) ROOT

amazing just how bad he looked; he has regressed from a level that wasn't very good to start with, hard to believe

 

Unfortunately he's what the Blazers have. Gotta admit it was very tough watching him last night.

 

It's a work in progress and it's a work in progress in the right direction.

Sure, it's a very young team, the only real vets on the team are Dame, Grant, Nurk and Justise and two of those are injured. So, this team basically plays a bunch of young guys. It's such a young team that Mattise and Cam seem seasoned compared to other members and these guys are going to be RFA. (Basically, they are at the end of their rookie contract). Add a "young" coach - and the results are what you expect. It's wildly inconsistent - and not just game to game, sometimes it's half to half as we have just seen last night.

 

You're just doing mental gymnastics to try to avoid admitting the roster has been getting less talented. I mean we cut salary while gaining a first and some 2nds... that isn't because other teams were paying us to send us their younger better players.

 

The more I watch him I think he should be playing in Venezuela

 

I'm just gonna drop this here for perspective......and because the negativity in the game threads gets so toxic. I choose to count Portland's blessing.......
https://apple.news/A9C64shuuSL2nHExD5ohyUw

 

Ugly loss…

 

I think Kerr is just too much for Billups.

 

Oh, the roster is certainly more talented. It is just green as hell. There is no denying that there is a lot of natural talent in Sharpe, for example, the Blazers did not have anyone like him since maybe Brandon Roy? He is not ready to consistently contribute to winning basketball yet because he is a young, inexperienced 19 y/o rookie, and maybe he never will be, but the talent is certainly there.

Matisse Thybulle is the most talented wing defender the Blazers had since...? (Someone help me here) - he is just a young, one way player at the moment. His 3 is starting to fall a little, so a bit of improvement, and the Blazers will have a very valuable role player on the roster that could be in the discussion for best perimeter defender in the league.

Ant is a super talented offensive player. He is a bad defender and a sub-par distributor, but the talent is clearly there.

There is no mental gymnastics here. There is talent, and there is maturity and honed skill. The Blazers have talent. They do not have a lot of experience and most of the talent they have is raw and not honed. The risk they are taking is that they might not be able to develop that talent (which is why the coaching staff probably needs some upgrade as well) - but the talent and the roster construction is a lot better than what the Blazers had in a long time. 2018-2019 was maybe the last year the Blazers had that kind of roster balance, but it was mostly with veterans that had a pretty good health year. The Blazers this year are young and unfortunately, also mostly unhealthy.

 

Sharpe is the only actual addition. Your argument for Thybulle is that he might become a very valuable role player someday. We traded a valuable role player for him. How do you not see that as a step down in talent?

Ant was already on the team and has been on the team for years. I have no clue why you trot him out as how the Blazers gained talent.

 

Greg Anthony? The hope would be that Thybulle similarly develops his shooting as his career progresses.

 

Thybulle is more athletic and has a much higher defensive ceiling than Hart, talent wise he is one of the most unique players in the NBA. Hart's value is in his motor and how hard he plays, but talent wise, they are about the same, only difference is that one of them is older, more experienced and played more in the NBA. Absolutely not a talent drop off, it is just a different talent that was brought in for fit.

Fine, get him out of the comparison.

I am still saying that MT + Cam, talent wise, is not different from Hart + GP2, maybe a small upgrade. The difference is that they are younger, less experienced where GP2 and Hart are veterans with a lot more experience.

 

Greg Anthony was much smaller. Defensively, I think MT has a higher upside than anyone the Blazers had in a long, long time. Maybe Wes Matthews? MT has a much bigger wingspan and he seems to have a very unique defensive awareness - so I still think he has a higher upside than even Wes did before his injury, on the defensive side.

 

yes, but thats not the problem

billups is simply out of his depth, a complete mess

hes not the only problem, but hes a pretty big one, along with the roster

 

We should have gotten Wiseman and not this Bum Knox and those useless 2nd round picks. Stupid idiot Cronin

 

You are probably correct. This team is run as a satellite operation from an owner that imo is treating the blazers as a Corporate junior training ground.

 

Both Chauncey and Cronin have repeatedly acknowledged the lack of size. Yet they preferred an expiring contract and meaningless seconds instead of a guy in Wiseman. Whats the difference? Wiseman is owed 12 mil next season guaranteed.

What does that tell you?

 

It tells me that Cronin was willing to throw this season in the trash. We're not tanking and we definitely aren't contending. I hate that because it's a waste of the best season we've seen Dame have. That being said, I'm not willing to say that Cronin is bad at his job because he is frustrating me right now. If we had to go through this to become a contender for the next three seasons and we end up with a championship then I'll be thrilled.

I'm not giving Cronin an endless leash and if it's more of the same after this off season then I'll be calling for his job but I'm willing to see what he can do this off season before I judge him as good or bad at running this team. I'm actually at a very similar place with Chauncey. The guy hasn't been given a complete roster yet. Last season he was supposed to lose and that's no way for someone to learn how to win as a head coach and this season again his GM isn't giving him a winning roster.

I don't know that either of them are bad or good at their jobs but I'm really looking forward to this off season and next season to make that assessment.

 

My question was a rhetorical jab at our cheap ownership. I have my doubts about Cronins vision and Chaunceys competences. I don't have a doubt about the only motivations of our owner: $.

 

Thybulle is a better zone defender and a better help defender than Wes was, IMO. Which I think is a good fit with the current defensive philosophy.