It's time the Blazers bench wakes the "F" up and brings something on a consistent basis besides the excrement they have dropped on the court this season. Their effort is beyond pathetic. They let the the franchise, fans, and themselves down on a nightly basis. Dame and Nurk cannot afford a poor performance due to the fact, this version of the Blazers bench, DOES NOT HAVE THEIR BACK. It's shameful and needs to be corrected immediately. If it takes all night in a freakin' gym, get it done. I'm tired of the bench taking a lead and turning into a fiasco. Their effort has been poor, and I don't see any energy. Start making shots, steal passes, block shots in the paint and CRASH THE BOARDS, and get some second chance points. GET IT DONE!
I’ve been thinking about changes and this is what I’ve come up with. Put Aminu and Harkless on the second unit. Their defense and rebounding will help Leonard out. Harkless can also expand his game with the backups, especially in the post. Start Collins and Layman. It’ll help Collins because he’d be playing with better players. He also wouldn’t have to worry about helping Nurkic out as much as he does with Leonard. It could be like the RoLo/Aldridge. Sacrifice some of CJs looks and develop Collins properly. We didn’t trade up and draft him 10th overall with the second unit in mind. Dame CJ Layman Collins Nurkic Layman and Collins both offer more dynamic offensive games than Harkless and Aminu imo. Stauskas Turner Harkless Aminu Leonard I like the theoretical spacing here as well. Leonard would drag opposing centers away from the basket, opening up post opportunities for Moe and ET. You also have three above average defenders, so even if they’re not scoring, you’d at least get some defense, along with rebounding. Just do something for fucks sake! Stop running the same units out there over and over and over and over and over again.
I have watched their lack of defense and especially anticipated positioning on picks. Perhaps this is the personnel Neil should dump. We are better off with college players. At least they break into a sweat.
Ball dominant guards, (CJ agonizingly so) and a coach what caters to that our doesn't hold them accountable for involving the rest of the team more. That we are consistently at or near the bottom in fast break point with the' youngest team in the league' is also completely ridiculous. Young legs... use that to your advantage.
We had the most productive bench in the NBA to start the season. Then Harkless came back and Jake was given DNPs and the rotations became inconsistent and then the bench became non existent. Not sure its the benches fault as much as poor coaching and substitution decisions. For example. Why wasn't Baldwin on Harden? He proved last year he could handle him. Cant expect the bench to play well if the players on the bench aren't being utilized optimally.
Stotts is partly to blame for the low assists, but to be fair it’s not all his fault. It wasn’t that long ago that Portland was in the upper half in that category. Look at the roster. Who would you say is an average/above average playmaker? The starting unit has two, and one is the center. Aminu and Harkless can’t pass for shit. The bench has better ability and explains why they do a better job of sharing the ball. I do agree that it’s not being emphasized enough, and that lands on Terry’s shoulders. He needs to stop treating CJ like a superstar and start holding him accountable because if it was Nurkic hogging possessions he’d already be sent back to Bosnia.
I don't usually like your posts (sorry!), but I liked this one. It's a good idea. Still a bad bench though.
His minutes per game is almost average for those above him Maybe SLIGHTLY above average. I/m not saying he can/t be better but to put no assists on Dame not passing the ball is not accurate, nor is it the whole story.
Dame is literally the only player on the roster that can operate a pick and roll properly. Hes not the problem. And you don’t get assists without the guy you’re passing the ball to actually making the shot. His playmaking now is better than it was earlier in his career, but the assists are the same/lower because he’s surrounded by shittier players.
Nah... small part of it. Read below. Spot on. When I watch Dame play I rarely see him with his head down not scanning like CJ. He seems t always be looking for an open person. There are those times when he decides to take over but that is not the norm. I've seen him trying to defer more this season than any season in the past. It takes two to tango with an assist. I can pass the ball every single possession, but if the guy I passes it to misses or turns it over, it looks like I never pass the ball in the stats. You know this MM. Whats up?