Plus they had to let Schroder and Caruso go because of Russ luxury tax. So basically the trade was KCP, Kuzma, Harrell, Schroder and Caruso all for Russ. Lakers would be so much better if they ran the same team back. Its a great season to be a Lakers hater.
Yeah, Memphis getting that win after we schooled them shows just how much parity there is in the West early this season. I think teams will figure out the new officiating and any changes they've had and we'll see less parity in the second half of the season but right now it's anyone's guess who beats who any given game.
Steph did work early but needed to shoot 29 shots and 20 3s to get his 36. Ja 30 on 22 shots but dominated in the 4Q and OT. On the 2nd night of a back-to-back. Think that speaks well for what the Blazers were able to do on Wednesday, particularly in the second half and should be taken with optimism. There's parity and depth in the West, maybe more than usual, and the Blazers if they figure it out can play with any of these teams.
Yeah Steph went with the nuclear option tonight and it was a bust. A mortal after all. Lebron is wishing he went with Hield now. And why would the Lakers bother with Jordan and Howard? Isn't one of them sufficient? Two old guys that just rebound and take a lob here and there?? I know they came cheaply, but really don't get this current roster at all. Since Lebron has to approve all roster changes, he is partly at fault. No way anyone in that front office lifts a finger without his go-ahead. Vogel is probably sweating bullets and Stotts is in the wings with his bags packed and Blublockers at the ready!
Probably will be one or two teams in the west with an injury to a star too.... If Steph, Jokic, LeBron or AD, PG13, Ja, Towns, Luka, Fox, etc misses major games those teams could be in danger of missing the playoffs/playin.
Wizards are the deepest team in the league. I could see them in ECF, no joke. They're this year's Hawks. As long as Dinwiddie is healthy.
Dame doesn't make a non-basketball move though. If he pulls straight up and they foul him, Dame's going to the line. The rule change is for guys who lean into defenders.
I didn't list Mitchell in Utah or CP3/Booker in Phx because those teams can stay in the hunt with a significant absence from their star. Maybe the Blazers can't without Lillard; although with CJ, Norm, Ant we might have a better ability to hang in the playin spot than the teams I listed. For example the Warriors without Curry or Mavs without Luka look much worse than our roster without Dame.
Reminds me of when the Lakers traded a bunch of players (Eddie Jones is the only one I remember) for Glen Rice, and then he was basically a non-entity for them. But Phil Jackson still pulled out Glen Rice and ran a couple of non-triangle plays for him to turn a crucial game against the Blazers, and the Lakers still won the title...
Trae Young bitching about not getting foul calls now, drags Dame into it: Gotta go with Kuz on this one.
Whats funny is, the rule changes isn't why Damian is averaging 17 ppg. I think Trae just looked at the stats and went "see!?"
I know it wouldn't work exactly like winshares, but it might be close enough to make for a discussion: * 2021: Dame 10.4 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 32....10th place in West * 2020: Dame 11.6 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 24....14th place in West * 2019: Dame 12.1 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 41....8th place in West (instead of 3rd then a 1st round matchup with the Warriors instead of OKC) * 2018: Dame 10.4 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 36....10th place in West * 2017: Dame 10.4 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 31....12th place in West * 2016: Dame 9.2 winshares....Portland wins without Dame 35....10th place in West obviously, if Dame is missing games, other players would take his minutes and generate at least some winshares. But it wouldn't be CJ for instance because CJ has had a full plate of minutes all along. Those minutes wold have gone to players like Crabbe, Henderson, Connaughton, Napier, Curry, Simons and Trent. And they would have gone to those players when they were rookies or 2nd year, mostly there's also the other side of that being that Dame has been the only PG on the roster in the Dame/CJ era. A team ran by CJ and Evan turner and Mario Hezonja is going to be much more poorly run. Dame has also been Portland's best clutch player and that has been worth 3 or 4 wins a year it's true that with the play-in expansion to 10 teams, Portland could very well squeak into the playoff mix. But it would also be unlikely that Dame would be the only top-5 rotation player on the Blazers to miss games, especially with the injury history of Nurkic, Zeller, Nance, & Little
Dame's problem is not just FTs. Yes his FT rate is a bit down per 100 possessions like it is throughout the league-- but this is more because he's driving less. He used to average 13.6 drives per game last year, while this year so far, he's at 10.8. Dame's scoring drought is more due to him missing wide open threes and a slightly different offensive attack. Dude is 6 for 35 from three. Trae needs to stay in his lane.
going by your numbers, and adjusting for minutes, last season Dame averaged .38 drives/minute; this season, it's .35 drives/minute. Reversing that, last season he averaged a drive every 2.6 minutes and this season it's every 2.9 minutes; about a 18 second gap that's really not a substantial difference. He may have forced some outside shots just trying to find range. But he's also moved closer trying to find range. Last season his average shot distance was 17.9'; this season it's 16.0'. And the rate of his total shots being at the rim is 33.3%, the highest of his career I think a problem for Dame might be the new offense. Last season, 37% of his three's were assisted; this season, only 17% have been assisted. But that number can be skewed because he's hit so few three's
