Game Thread 2023-24 PRESEASON - BLAZERS @ SUNS - OCTOBER 16, 2023 - MONDAY - 7:00 PM NBA TV, KPTV

Yes, Knox is great as a cutter and can get hot from 3-point range.
He's kind of like Ben McLemore from a couple seasons ago. You can't rely on him to be consistent, but as a bench player he can contribute.

 

I think Chauncey is holding his cards close to the vest so the Blazers have a chance to surprise some teams when the season starts.
They sure did do that last season in the first 20 games.
Which this season has been described as a "gauntlet." (The first 20 games.)

 

Let's just hope Chauncey has cards and is not going to throw a rook, 2 pawns, a bishop and a D&D icosahedron (a little something something for the nerds in the audience).

 

Yes, he has cards named Ayton, Grant, Simons, Brogdon, Williams, and a lesser card named Thybulle. That's a whole starting lineup with one reserve center, none of whom played in the last preseason game.

Other than Sharpe, those are the best 6 players on the roster at this point.

 

Sucked so bad he went to the Finals and also won a league MVP.

 

I also think people mentioned his change of speed, which is a hell of a lot more important than just one really fast one. Especially as he gets older and loses that top-end speed due to age and injuries. He had a bad game for sure last night. I expect to see a lot of inconsistencies while he is learning. But so far I like that he is not forcing things.

 

Scoot is obviously a team player. That part is known.

 

His teammates need to understand how to move to a correct passing angle.
Last night's pass to no-one was exactly where a player should have been (can't remember who it was that didn't move down the 3-point line.)

 

Well, then 90% of this forum will be ECSTATIC about this news. We would never want a player to average a triple double, remember.

 

It was HIS fault they didn’t win a championship that season? Kinda like how potato heads on here claim how, “Dame was on our team the last three seasons and we didn’t even make the playoffs. Cmon FAMS!

 

I wish we had more future HOF players that “sucked”.

 

Reminds me of the QB who throws an interception because he expected the receiver to cut the other way. This will absolutely get better over time and once the rotation shrinks. For now, though expect it to happen more often than we would like with all these young players.

 

Russ definitely deserves every penny he is making this year.

 

I can see a tension between Chauncey and Joe brewing: if I were Chauncey, my starters would be Brogdon, Ant, Grant, Ayton and maybe Camara. Bring Scoot along against bench players. Coaches always want to win, and that's by far our best shot at winning just because vets know how to win more than all but the most talented of rookies. But if Chauncey tried to do that for any length of time, I can see Cronin just trading the vets one by one to force his hand.

 

Although that might be the best lineup, I doubt there would be much difference in Scoot's minutes whether he starts or comes off the bench. (Thus no tension)
But honestly, I would start Scoot because IMO we need Brogdon's scoring with the 2nd unit. ..and Chauncey knows that. I do see Brogdon finishing games at the point though at the beginning of the season.

 

After watching this Blazers offense in the preseason I believe Simons will have an even more critical role this year than most Blazers fans have assumed or discussed, and even more than I previously believed.

We really saw the offense struggle at times when Simons was out of this Phoenix game or in the prior games. It looked like the tanking periods at the end of the last two years with wasted possessions and quick double digit deficits. Role players that should be only getting garbage buckets were out of their roles trying to create.

Scoot and Sharpe really struggle with their shot creation for stretches. They make jaw dropping plays one moment but then will have a dozen possessions where they can't create anything. Makes sense, they are 19 and 20. Grant and Ayton are fine secondary offensive options but they can't lead plays effectively in the half court.

Simons is a talented efficient effective 3 level scorer and can create good looks for himself or others against many types of defenses. If he is removed from the Blazers we'd be at the bottom of the league as possibly the worst NBA offense.

Yeah there's a lot of Blazer fans here that want Simons traded, however I'd caution that it should not be in any consideration this season. It's critical for the development of Scoot/Sharpe/others that they are part of a respectable NBA offense and not some 6ers process level tanking joke.

Maybe eventually the Blazers will break up the Scoot Sharpe Ant trio. Maybe eventually a SG with more defense will be needed in the playoffs. Eventually the Warriors moved on from the Ellis Curry backcourt, but that was when Curry was 24 years old - not 19.

Ant is critical for this 2023-24 Blazers season, and especially the development of our youth.

 

Maybe Nurk changed the spelling of his name and it wasn’t a mistake. Olajuwon changed his name from Akeem to Hakeem during his career.