Griz should have won the game. Of all the bad turnovers and knucklehead plays, the biggest Shaqtin the Fool moment of the night came with I think around 2:45 minutes to go. AD badly missed an ill-advised 3. Morant darted out with the dribble, got to halfcourt and saw Steven Adams under the basket all by himself. No Lakers even on his side of the floor. Morant threw it ahead for the dunk ... and missed Adams completely. Out of bounds to LA.
I think Morant was so alone that he was expecting to dribble in for the dunk himself and was surprised to see Adams ahead of him by himself under the basket. Split decision to pass it and just inexplicably missed him.
Kings on a 2 game home losing streak after beating the Blazers; Barnes averaging 31 points while shooting 59% from three Warriors 3-0
When you change the rule so "non basketball" plays aren't rewarded he can't score. What the hell was the NBA doing the last 5+ years allowing him to score on "non basketball" plays? So glad this is being addressed and Harden is being exposed
After the first week of the 21-22 regular season, the Utah Jazz lead the NBA in Net Rating differential at +15.1 points per 100 possessions. The Jazz also led the NBA in the statistic last season. NBA Net Rating Differential (Week 1) 1. Utah Jazz: 15.1 2. Miami Heat: 14.6 3. Portland Trail Blazers: 12.6 4. Chicago Bulls: 12.2 5. Minnesota Timberwolves: 11.9 6. Atlanta Hawks: 10.1 7. Philadelphia 76ers: 9.2 8. Denver Nuggets: 9.0 9. Charlotte Hornets: 9.0 10. Washington Wizards: 7.6 https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264532/NBA-Net-Rating-Week-1-Jazz-Heat-Blazers-In-Top-3
Speaking of way too small sample size; Blazers are #1 in offense and #19 in defense per 100 possessions. To be a contender I'd say the Blazers need to be around top10 in defense while staying top5 in offense. Rk Team PTS▼ 1 Portland Trail Blazers 123.7 2 Memphis Grizzlies 123.7 3 Philadelphia 76ers 116.4 4 Los Angeles Clippers 114.6 5 Charlotte Hornets 114.2 6 Golden State Warriors 113.2 7 Indiana Pacers 111.3 8 Washington Wizards 110.9 9 New York Knicks 110.8 10 Cleveland Cavaliers 110.7 11 Utah Jazz 109.4 12 Milwaukee Bucks 109.4 13 San Antonio Spurs 109.3 14 Sacramento Kings 108.4 15 Los Angeles Lakers 107.9 16 Miami Heat 107.1 17 Houston Rockets 105.6 18 Denver Nuggets 105.5 19 Phoenix Suns 105.4 20 Chicago Bulls 105.4 21 Minnesota Timberwolves 105 22 Atlanta Hawks 104.8 23 Brooklyn Nets 103.9 24 Orlando Magic 101.8 25 Boston Celtics 100.2 26 Toronto Raptors 99.1 27 New Orleans Pelicans 97.6 28 Dallas Mavericks 96.9 29 Oklahoma City Thunder 94.4 30 Detroit Pistons 84.3 Defense; Rk Team PTS▲ 1 Miami Heat 92.5 2 Minnesota Timberwolves 93.1 3 Chicago Bulls 93.2 4 Utah Jazz 94.3 5 Detroit Pistons 94.7 6 Atlanta Hawks 94.7 7 Toronto Raptors 96 8 Denver Nuggets 96.5 9 Washington Wizards 103.3 10 New York Knicks 103.7 11 Houston Rockets 103.9 12 Charlotte Hornets 105.2 13 San Antonio Spurs 106 14 Dallas Mavericks 106.1 15 Golden State Warriors 106.5 16 Philadelphia 76ers 107.2 17 Boston Celtics 108.2 18 Indiana Pacers 108.5 19 Portland Trail Blazers 111.1 20 New Orleans Pelicans 111.7 21 Milwaukee Bucks 112.3 22 Los Angeles Lakers 112.3 23 Sacramento Kings 114.2 24 Brooklyn Nets 115.2 25 Phoenix Suns 115.7 26 Cleveland Cavaliers 116 27 Oklahoma City Thunder 116.7 28 Orlando Magic 116.9 29 Los Angeles Clippers 118.6 30 Memphis Grizzlies 119
It will be interesting to see what the 6ers do getting zero from Simmons.... this year vs last year; 3rd offense 16th defense 13th offense 2nd defense (prior year)
#1 in offense while Dame is hitting 12% threes and 19ppg.... Impressive! Now yes CJ won't stay at the % he is at, nor will Simons keep up his 70% twos, 50% threes, nor Nance 67% 3's... But as the team gets more used to the defensive rotations and transition D they could get much more crisp there. I also expect to see Billups add more schemes and variations. Maybe after 20ish games we even see exploring drop coverage or other alternatives strategies for brief periods. The team should be prepared to play multiple styles in the playoffs depending on matchups. So far I'm enjoying what Billups is saying and more so, what I'm seeing on the court. I really see the success of the season being a result of 3 primary areas; #1 Solid Bench rotational player performance - Nance was expected to be a great 6th man. Zeller has been a very nice backup center in 2 games. But the key may be what season we see from Simons and Little. If they can continue to provide ~20 minutes of useful play all the sudden we go from one of the weakest benches in the league the last few years to being in the discussion for the best bench. #2 Team offense without Dame/CJ - We are seeing a combo of the team pushing pace to get easy buckets, as well as Ant Nurk Little others creating more offense. When the shot clock is low we can always give the ball to Dame/CJ for a hero ball respectable shot. However getting other players comfortable initiating offense, getting the team easy buckets, having Dame/CJ available to expend energy on defense, less susceptibility to defensive traps could be a huge benefit over 82 games, and even more so into the playoffs. #3 Defense - New scheme, new accountability, having Dame/CJ carrying less offensive load, and hopefully less minutes for all the starters have looked great the first 2 games. How will this work over 82 and into the playoffs? Haven't been as excited for the Blazers since either the WCF, or the hot start of the first Rolo season.
