Thanks Homer for the question. I can only speculate. It seems that we do not run enough catch and shoot plays that have off-ball motion to the predetermined sweet swish3 scoring spots for those players. Tony is a good case study because he has averaged >40% success in the past and is now at only 27.3%, a significant underperformance. Teamwork and talking on the court should give us a much better outcome than what we have seen. Tony has been good from the corners and has favorite swish3 shooting spots, and others should too. Let's imagine a Blazer offense that aims for driving into the paint, as Norm and Dennis do well with kick outs to Tony, Norm, CJ, and Dame. And couple that with Warrior style off-ball movement to get the team average back to >38% (it is now 34.6%). I like swish3.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest at last reaching 18, scoring 18 of 48 vs the TWolves 14 of 36 in the Dec 12 loss 111-116, without CJ or Cody. This was Dame's first game after missing 5 games, and Larry got the start in place of Roco. The officiating was terrible, putting both Nurk and Larry in foul trouble early with calls of fouls that were shown to be phantom while fouls by TWolves on Blazers were not called. The refs determined this loss, aided by missed Blazer FT, inconsistent defense (especially in the 4th Q), and questionable 4th Q player choice. Why do the Blazers take out the player scoring 5 of 6 swish3s? The Blazers went from a lead with Ben in the game to losing the lead and the game as soon as he left! Simons led scoring 6 of 12, Ben scored 5 of 6, Dame scored 3 of 14, Norm scored 2 of 4, Nas scored 1 of 4, and Roco scored 1 of 5. Tony was 0 of 1 and Larry was 0 of 2. Clearly Ben had the hot hand and should have been in during those last 7 min. Simons took more shots (20) than any other Blazer including early shot clock and fail to pass shots. Watford provided good play, including defense and rebounds as an off the bench center. For a fair chance to win, the Blazers need to insist on consistent foul calls against both teams, to stop the layups, and to feed the hot hand, in addition to playing consistent, determined defense. The TWolves should not have been allowed more than 110 pts. Let's bring more energy and focus for a better chance to win over upcoming challenging opponents!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 13 of 41 (31.7%) vs the Phoenix Suns 11 of 31 in the Dec 14 OT loss 107-111, in a game decided by errant officiating that was again home court hostile. Failure to correctly judge fouls of Dame, botched jump ball judging, and a phantom foul put the finishing touches on the biased against Blazer reffing job that started early and held the Blazers back. This intensely interesting OT game was NOT covered by Fubo. Boooo Fubo! Dame led scoring 5 of 16, Norm scored 3 of 7, Tony scored 2 of 2, Roco scored 2 of 5, and Simons scored 1 of 6. Nurk and Ben were 0 of 1, and Nas was 0 of 3. The Blazers started weakly making only 3 of the first 18 swish3 attempts, and made 0 of 3 in OT. Missed FT in OT hurt. Although this is a tough loss that resulted from flawed officiating, there were flashes of improvement in this game. Dame had 31 pts with 10 assts and a block, Norm had 23 pts with 5 reb and 2 stls, Nurk had 17 pts with 13 reb, Larry had 9 pts with 8 reb, and Roco had 8 pts with 7 reb and 1 blk. If the Front Office can manage to enforce officiating that is at least consistent and non-hostile, the Blazers can end this 6 game losing streak and bring us back to at least the 50% win trajectory. Let's see that start with a win over the Grizzlies tomorrow!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 15 of 38 (39.5%) vs the Memphis Grizzlies 11 of 32 (34.4%) in the Dec 15 loss 103-113. CJ, Cody, Tony, and Dennis were out as was the Grizzlies Morant. This was an up and down game for the Blazers, who played well in the 3rd Q, but let down in defense and scoring in the 4th Q. The Blazers were badly outrebounded 38-53, showing the lack of energy and focus. Dame led scoring 5 of 11, Simons scored 4 of 6, Norm scored 4 of 10, Nas scored 1 of 2, and Larry scored 1 of 3. Nurk and Ben were 0 of 1 and Roco was 0 of 4. The Grizzlies are not a swish3 scoring team, but scored 86% of them in the 4th Q. Bane scored 5 of 8! For a win against Charlotte Fri the Blazers need to bring energy and focus from the start, and to score 18+ swish3s! End the losing streak Fri!
The Blazers strongly won the swish3 contest scoring 21 of 47 vs the Charlotte Hornets 13 of 37 in the Dec 17 win 125-116. Wow! What a game for Dame who scored 43 pts 8 assts and 4 reb in 37 min. In the 1st half Dame scored 17 pts making 3 of 4 swish3s that helped propel the early lead. Ben had a great game scoring 28 pts, and Roco had 7 pts with 10 rebs 3 assts and 2 blks. Nas had 3 notable blocks. The refs were again inconsistent and made errors, such as Nurk's 6th foul called when Bridges kicked his foot. Ben led scoring 8 of 13, Dame scored 6 of 11, Norm scored 4 of 10, Simons scored 2 of 4, and Roco scored 1 of 6. Nurk was 0 of 1 and Nas was 0 of 2. The Blazers win games when scoring 18+ swish3s, and had a great 81 pt 1st half helped by 75% 1st Q and 67% 2nd Q shooting. For the game, the Blazers finished with 48% vs the Hornets 35%. For a revenge win against the Grizzlies Sun, let's continue the excellent and early swish3 scoring!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 11 of 32 vs the Grizzlies 9 of 34 in the Dec 19 win 105-100 in Memphis. This was a good game for Dame, Norm, Nas, and Roco. The early good shooting of Dame scoring 17 pts in Q1 led to Blazers to a strong start, and good shooting by Norm late were enough to beat the Grizzlies who had won 10 of their last 11 games. Dame's leadership is showing Norm led scored 5 of 8, Roco scored 3 of 5, and Dame scored 3 of 9. Nurk and Larry were 0 of 1, Nas and Ben were 0 of 2, and Simons was 0 of 4. The 11 swish3s were sufficient to beat the Grizzlies due to improved defensive play, but 18+ would sure be nice to defeat the Pelicans Tues! At the 31 game mark, Chauncey's offensive and defensive strategies are progressing, and we can expect to get some wins.
Here is the swish3 status as of 31 games with swish3s scored (3P), swish3 attempts (3PA), and swish3 fraction of 1 (3P%): Rk 3P 3PA 3P% 1 Keljin Blevins 2 3 .667 2 Ben McLemore 29 66 .439 3 Norman Powell 59 142 .415 4 CJ McCollum 77 196 .393 5 Anfernee Simons 58 150 .387 6 Robert Covington 48 143 .336 7 CJ Elleby 4 12 .333 8 Damian Lillard 77 243 .317 9 Tony Snell 11 36 .306 10 Nassir Little 24 80 .300 11 Dennis Smith Jr. 5 18 .278 12 Larry Nance Jr. 13 48 .271 13 Jusuf Nurkic 5 25 .200 14 Cody Zeller 0 4 .000 15 Greg Brown III 0 4 .000 16 Trendon Watford 0 0 412 1170 .352 Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 12/21/2021.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 13 of 34 vs the Pelicans 12 of 33 in the Dec 21 loss 97-111 in New Orleans. This was a decidedly unprofessionally refereed game with physical pounding of the Blazers, especially Dame and Nurk who were playing injured, by the Pelicans. After the Blazers pulled up to a 1 pt deficit at 91-92, the non-calls exaggerated Pelican scoring to decide the game. Valanciunas got 3 early fouls and should have been called for at least 5 more if the officiating had been consistent. Dame questioned non-calls and was penalized with 2 technical fouls and thus thrown out of the game. This is the only game in which Dame was thrown out in his 10 year career! Nas was out for this game. Dame led scoring 6 of 11, Larry scored 2 of 3, Norm scored 2 of 5, Ben scored 2 of 7, and Roco scored 1 of 5. Simons was 0 of 3 (and only 1 of 9 for FG). Blazers were outrebounded badly 31-44 and did not play adequate defense at times, such as the last 8 min. To win against the Nets on Thursday, the Blazers need to bring consistent determined defense, to get more scoring off the bench, to have a professionally refereed game, and to have Ben or Norm or Roco add to Dame's swish3 scoring to reach 18+ scored.
The Blazers tied the swish3 contest scoring 12 of 40 vs the Dallas Mavericks 12 of 33 in the Dec 27 loss 117-132. This was a defensive debacle in which the Blazers allowed the Mavs 38 pts in Q2 outscoring them by 14 pts, and allowed Porzingas a career high 34 pts on mostly layups or dunks, while being outrebounded 33-41. The Blazers did not compete and had hostile refs again on the home court. Dame led scoring 3 of 8, Tony scored 2 of 3, Nas scored 2 of 7, McGriff scored 1 of 2, Larry scored 1 of 3, Simons scored 1 of 4, Elleby scored 1 of 5, and Norm scored 1 of 7. Gregg Brown was 0 of 1. By Q, Blazers shot 41, 9, 44, and 38%, for a game ave 31% (vs Mavs 36%). Mavs dominated FG shooting with 57% vs 43%, and scored 70 pts in the paint. This was a beating that saw deficits as large as 29 pts, and a lack of defense shown by everyone except Nas. This has to improve! It is not just that Chauncey, Roy, and 7 Blazers were in Covid protocols (although Mavs were also missing), the determination to defend the home court needs to be generated and amplified. Let's imagine the upcoming home games to have enough energy and focus to return to winning!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 14 of 40 vs the Utah Jazz 8 of 29 in the Dec 29 loss 105-120, a game in which the Blazers trailed from start to finish, with coaches Chauncey and Roy out along with 7 Blazers as the Covid curse continues. The Blazers allowed 74 pts in the paint, being outsized by a mostly taller team that outmatched them. The Blazers need another man at least 7 ft tall. Dame led scoring 5 of 14, Norm scored 4 of 9, Elleby scored 2 of 4, Tony scored 1 of 2, Larry scored 1 of 3, and Simons scored 1 of 4. McGriff and Perry each were 0 of 1, and Nas was 0 of 2. Without the swish3 scoring, the Blazers would have been far out of this game. With an additional 4 (the goal 18 scores), the Blazers might have come close. The Blazers need more swish3 scoring. Against the Lakers Fri, the Blazers will need more swish3 scoring. Maybe someone will clear the Covid health protocols and contribute another 4-6 swish3s to allow getting an additional road win against the inconsistent Lakers. Let's imagine a win!
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest scoring 12 of 42 vs the LA Lakers 19 of 41 in the Dec 31 loss 106-139. The 33 pt blowout loss was a downer from the start, as the Blazers came out flat and could not stop Lebron who had a record game scoring 43 pts. The Lakers scored 43 pts in Q1. The one early positive was Ben who scored 4 of 4 early swish3s, but coach Brooks took him out of the game and the Blazers scoring dropped. Ben led scoring 6 of 14, Tony scored 2 of 3, Larry and Perry each scored 1 of 1, McGriff scored 1 of 3, and Dame scored 1 of 8. Elleby and Cumberland were each 0 of 1, Smith was 0 of 2, Nas was 0 of 3, and Norm was 0 of 5. This was a poor shooting game for the Blazers, with far less than the target 18+ swish3 scores. Why the coach would remove the main swish3 scoring force from the game is a puzzle to me. With 3 days until the Hawks game on Monday, let's imagine that the Blazers get Nurk, Cody, Roco, and maybe CJ back, along with Chauncey and Roy, and we can return to a more energetic and focused defense and offense, and a win over the Hawks!
For the Laker game, the Blazers averaged only 29% vs the Lakers 46% for swish3 scoring. The numbers by Q and cumulatively from Popcorn Machine Game Flows are: Period stats with running totals in the middle - [Points, (Advantage), FG%, 3FG%, Rebounds, Assists, Turnovers] POR 28 .41 .33 9 8 2 26 .32 .20 18 3 1 23 .35 .12 12 3 3 29 .33 .50 15 5 3 Cumulatively 54 .37 .28 27 11 3 77 .36 .24 39 14 6 106 .35 .29 54 19 9 For LA Lakers cumulatively 69 +15 .52 .48 27 15 5 101 +24 .55 .46 38 22 7 139 +33 .55 .46 47 27 7 LAL by Q 43 +15 .62 .64 14 11 3 26 .41 .36 13 4 2 32 +9 .63 .33 11 7 2 38 +9 .55 .46 9 5 0 In the 3rd Q, the 12% (vs Laker 33%) swish3 shooting was a major factor, as was the whole game cumulative 35% vs Lakers 55% for FG.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 18 of 41 vs the Atlanta Hawks 14 of 41 in the Jan 3 win 136-131. This was a good game for Simons, Nurk, Nas, Norm, and Larry, with energy and focus, and a boost with the return of Chauncey, despite still missing Dame and CJ. Simons led scoring 9 of 16, Nas scored 4 of 5, Norm scored 2 of 5, Ben scored 2 of 7, and Dennis scored 1 of 2. Nurk, Roco, and Larry were each 0 of 2. It was enjoyable to see the ball movement, assists, and 4 Blazers with 20+ pts. The goal of 18 swish3 scores again was a key. For a win over the Heat on Wed, and for following games, let's imagine the Blazers scoring 18+ swish3s and continuing with strong team effort!
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest scoring 15 of 38 vs the Miami Heat 18 of 41 in the Jan 5 loss 109-115. Both Dame and CJ were missing in a game with stretches of energy, but with inconsistency in making swish3s, layups, and weak defense. The Blazers were outrebounded 36-50. Simons led scoring 5 of 10, Norm scored 3 of 7, Roco scored 2 of 6, Nas scored 2 of 8, Elleby scored 1 of 1, and Larry and Ben each scored 1 of 2. Nurk was 0 of 2. There was not enough swish3 shooting and there were some puzzling missed open shots. Scoring 18 swish3s seems to be a winner. For the next game against the Cavs, again without Dame, let's imagine better energy, focus, ball movement, defense, communication, and the attempt to score the 18 swish3s that correlate with winning.
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest scoring 16 of 35 vs the Cleveland Cavs 17 of 39 in the Jan 7 loss 101-114 in another game without Dame, CJ, and Larry. This was an unacceptably officiated game that was decidedly hostile to the Blazers on our home court. Ed Malloy has repeatedly been hostile to the Blazers in many games over the last 5 years and should be taken off of the list of refs to consider for Blazer home games! Roco led scoring 5 of 8, Norm scored 4 of 8, Nurk scored 2 of 2, Nas scored 2 of 4, Simons scored 2 of 8, and Ben scored 1 of 5. The Blazers again fell short of the target 18, and were held back by the refs calling questionable fouls on Roco at critical points to limit his hot hand scoring. Something needs to be done by the Front Office to get consistent reffing done on both ends of the home court to make Blazer games much more enjoyable! The deficit at the half was 10 points, which was explained by the Blazers 4 vs the Cavs 14 pts via FT. Even at the end of the game with a lot of 2nd half Cav fouls called, the Cavs had 29 vs the Blazers 19 FTA. Let's imagine a Sac Kings game Sun and Nets game Mon in which fouls are more even, consistent, and the officiating up to professional standards!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 17 of 40 vs the Sacramento Kings 7 of 31 in the Jan 9 win 103-88. This was a game without Dame, CJ, Larry, or Norm that showed improving Blazer defense and communication. Simons led scoring 7 of 11, Ben and Nas each scored 3 of 8, Nurk, Tony, and Elleby each scored 1 of 2, and Roco scored 1 of 4. Dennis was 0 for 3. Due to poor 23% swish3 shooting by the Kings, this was enough. But for the Nets let's imagine scoring 18+ swish3s and continued advances in team defense and offense that comes from ever improving communication.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest scoring 15 of 38 vs the Nets 12 of 32 in the Jan 10 win 114-108 in a game without Dame, CJ, Norm, or Larry, but with Durant and Kyrie in but Harden and Aldridge out. This was a good game in which all starters scored 13+ pts and Simons got 11 assts. Roco led scoring 5 of 7, Ben scored 5 of 8, Nas scored 2 of 6, Simons scored 2 of 11, and Elleby scored 1 of 4. Nurk was 0 of 2. There is improving communication that helps both offense and defense, and the energy level and focus were better as home court play should be. For the upcoming game in Denver Thurs, the Blazers need to learn how to take energy and focus on the road, and score 18+ swish3s.
Here are the Blazer swish3 statistics after 40 games. It is good to have a number of Blazers who are above 37%. Rk 3P 3PA 3P% 1 Keljin Blevins 2 3 .667 2 Reggie Perry 1 2 .500 3 Ben McLemore 49 117 .419 4 Norman Powell 75 188 .399 5 CJ McCollum 77 196 .393 6 Anfernee Simons 85 217 .392 7 Tony Snell 17 46 .370 8 Robert Covington 62 175 .354 9 CJ Elleby 10 29 .345 10 Cameron McGriff 2 6 .333 11 Damian Lillard 92 284 .324 12 Nassir Little 39 123 .317 13 Larry Nance Jr. 19 62 .306 14 Dennis Smith Jr. 6 25 .240 15 Jusuf Nurkic 8 35 .229 16 Cody Zeller 0 4 .000 17 Greg Brown III 0 5 .000 18 Jarron Cumberland 0 1 .000 19 Trendon Watford 0 0 20 Brandon Williams 0 0 544 1518 .358 Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 1/12/2022.
The Blazers decisively lost the swish3 contest scoring 13 of 40 vs Denver Nuggets 21 of 42 in the Jan 13 loss 108-140 in Denver. This game was without Dame (surgery today), CJ, Norm, Simons, Larry, and Cody, and was without much energy or focus. The Nuggets out rebounded the Blazers 40-34, and the Blazers allowed a lot of layups and open shots. Ben led scoring 4 of 9, Nas scored 3 of 10, Blevins scored 2 of 3, and Roco and Elleby each scored 2 of 5, Dennis, Watford, and Brown were each 0 of 1, Tony was 0 of 2, and Nurk was 0 of 3. The 24 pt swish3 deficit shows that both % and attempts were too weak. For the Sat game against Washington, CJ, Norm, Simons, Larry, and Cody may be back, and the team defense and offense should allow 18+ swish3 scores and a chance for a win. Even with the energy and focus to win a few on the road, the Blazers still will have a likely road to getting high lottery picks and top new talent for next year. At least a few road wins can be tolerated in this year's record.
