Game Thread 2023-24 Game #23 - BLAZERS VS JAZZ - DECEMBER 14, 2023 - THURSDAY - 7:00 PM PST - ROOT

Your description that a box-and-1 as "basically ball denial" does a very poor job of explaining what the defense is actually doing.

The Blazers have been the 3rd worst team in the West without Ant and are still the 3rd worst team in the West with Ant, so I'm not sure I'd say the Blazers play "way better" without Simons. Simons certainly wasn't the main problem tonight.

Simons is a flawed player. I think we both agree he's not a true PG (nor is Brogdon or Sharpe), but he might be Portland's best option at the moment. I think Ant is a good, not great player. Same thing I say about Sharpe. Neither are worthy of getting a big chunk of the blame for the team being 6-17 as they're being asked to do more for the team than they're probably ready to do.

 

This isn't totally crazy to me.

Portland had opportunities for Sharpe or Ayton to make plays against it, but they failed to do so. Ultimately, Utah, like a lot of teams seemed comfortable with the idea of packing the paint and allowing guys like Camara, Thybulle, and Scoot to beat them from outside.

 

No no no... our defense sucks because of Dame, CJ, and Stotts' drop scheme. This has already been established!

 

Box in 1 is a junk defense that basically has players playing zone except for a player is always accounting for the other teams best shooter. On them like a wet blanket.

A little disingenuous of people questioning my basketball knowledge that I’m sure I’ve played way more organized hoops then.

but we’ll carry on I suppose.

 

Scoot looks more comfortable with each game. My worries about him have waned some. He’s not forcing passes, he’s varying his pace and is finishing better.

 

No having extremely undersized 2 guards has been the achilles heal of the Blazers for over a decade now.

You can’t win in today’s NBA when you’re a constant mismatch defensively. It will get exploited constantly

 

I think the sprained ankle might have been the best thing that happened for him

gave him a chance to catch his breath and re-evaluate. Then he came back without the pressure of being the starting PG, which looked like it overwhelmed him in those first 5 games

 

Well at least i saw scoots first 20/ 10 game live.

Rough game

 

Without having seen your game film and resume, I can only go off your words. Please feel free to share your resume if you think that's of value.

So far, your original description of the box-and-1 and your assessment of the impact it had on Ant was pretty poor in my opinion.

 

Should i go on Saturday?

I was laid off unexpectedly last week. Prolly shouldn't go throwing cash around for these shitty games but when else can i get the shot to go to 3 blazer games in a week?

 

I agree. Though I'm not sure a 6-3" PG and a 6'6" SG would be considered undersized in todays NBA.

 

Oh man, I'm sorry about work... hopefully you can land something soon!

I think you should go Saturday. Odds are, the Blazers will play better. Just wait until right before tip to get cheaper tickets.

 

I never got to see the first 3 quarters of the game. But the Raptors basically won a championship against the Warriors on box and 1 on Curry after Thompson got hurt. My description originally was vague. Didn’t feel the need to dive into it until people started questioning my IQ on it.

I played freshman squad in high school before I quit to focus on baseball. But that’s still more than 90% of the people in here

 

I was given 2 weeks severance. But it'll prolly take a month or two to land my next gig. Desperately need some distractions. Will most likely go.

 

First step is getting an actual PG. Scoot is looking like he can be that guy

 

Yes, treat yourself to a distraction; they might even surprise us and pull off a win.

This will just be a blimp on the radar!

 

I hope so! Scoot is shorter than Ant, for whatever that is worth to you.

 

In person, Scoot looks noticeably taller and wider than Ant

 

I got section 205 tickets for 7 bucks tonight. Thought, why not go and see a win in person for such a good deal?

Yeah....