What is crazy is the Blazer coaches failure to rely on the most efficient swish3 scoring in the NBA by using available talent. Meyers and Seth are above 40%, with Meyers 46.6% leading the NBA if he had more shots, and yet the Blazers are 18th in scoring 3P and in 3PA (11.1 of 30.7) when they should be 15 of 42 or less. Swish3s are becoming progressively more important, and are not in danger of disappearing. The Blazers have offensive weapons that can win the NBA Championship if we will just rely on them.
We lost Nurk to a lower left leg fracture in the BKN Nets home game Mar 25 and that catastrophe dominates Blazer posts. In a game in which Nurk was having a best game 32 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, Nurk landed injuriously in the 2nd OT of this 148-144 win that captured a Playoff slot. We fans are shocked, saddened, and deeply supportive of Nurk. The swish3 analysis is a Blazer loss scoring 14 of 45 vs the Nets 15 of 42 in a game in which Blazer defense was sporadic, allowing a number of uncontested layups and the Nets to win rebounding 59-55. Refereeing was unacceptable allowing a lot of contact that should have been kept under control. If obvious fouls of Dame, Nurk, Mo, Chief, Rod, Zach, Enes, and Seth had been called, the 10 point FT Nets advantage in the 1st half would not have kept them even at 62-62 at the half. And calling the fouls by consistent criteria at both ends would have resulted in a Blazer win without OT and probably the awful injury to Nurk. Dame led scoring 4 of 16, Seth scored 3 of 7, Enes scored 2 of 3, Zach scored 2 of 4, Mo scored 2 of 5, and Rod scored 1 of 5. Jake was 0 of 1 and Chief was 0 of 4. High efficiency swish3 shooting by the Nets was important in getting to the ties at the end of regulation and OT1. The Blazers need to increase swish3 scoring to 15+, even more so now that Nurk will be missing. Our prayers are with you, Nurk!
The Blazers without Nurk or CJ won scoring just the team average 11 (of 32) at the CHI Bulls (5 of 23) Mar 27 in the 118-98 win. This was a good team effort as the bench scored a season high 70 points with 30 assists and only 8 turnovers with all Blazers who played scoring. We led the entire game after the first few min with a lead maximum of 28. Seth led scoring 4 of 7, Zach scored 2 of 3, Rod scored 2 of 4, Simons scored 1 of 1, Gary scored 1 of 3, and Dame scored 1 of 6. Jake was 0 of 1, Chief and Mo were each 0 of 2, and Meyers was 0 of 3. It is good to see distributed swish3 scoring. The Blazer average will need to increase it for wins in the coming games.
The Blazers scored 9 of 32 (poor 28.1%) vs ATL Hawks 9 of 38 in the 118-98 win Mar 29 at Atlanta. This was a game that the Blazers led consistently after the first few min led by Dame who had 36 points and 7 assists with strong games by Chief who scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and Enes who scored 14 points with 8 rebounds. Dame led scoring 4 of 10, Seth scored 2 of 4, Chief and Zach each scored 1 of 2, and Rod scored 1 of 5. Meyers, Jake, Evan, Gary, and Simons were each 0 of 1, and Mo was 0 of 4. Evan is now 7 of 47 (below 15%) and should not waste another swish3 attempt! The Blazers swish3 attempts should be concentrated in the 6 men who lead the swish3% shooting to get the 15+ swish3s that may be needed to beat the Pistons, TWolves, Grizzlies, and Nuggets in games ahead.
Why...? Swish3 said nothing about ML is gonna replace Nurk, or anything crazy. I mean it absolutely sucks what happened to Nurk, More for Nurk then and of us even though a lot of us are taking it hard. Just dont think anything said was bad. Even considering the timing, was a decent post.
The Blazers lost pathetically scoring only 4 of 21 (19%!) at DET Pistons who were 5 of 25 in this loss 99-90. This game was a major Blazer coaches failure to adjust to the cold 1st Q shooting by Dame, Chief, Mo, Jake, and Rod when swish3 shots should have been mandated for Blazers shooting 35%+ to get scoring going. The Blazers were 0 of 7 swish3s in the 1st Q and scored an unprofessional 14 points, 15 less than the recent average, and failing to take advantage of the cold DET who missed their first 14 FGA and shot only 14% (11 points) in the 1st Q. The Blazer coach paralysis to put swish3 scoring talent in play in the 1st Q is a problem going forward, especially for the Playoffs. Let's find the hot hand and insist on at least 6 swish3s per half and get back on track! Dame led scoring 3 of 8 and Seth scored 1 of 4. That is all the swish3 scoring! Mo, Meyers, and Rod were each 0 of 1, and Chief and Jake were each 0 of 3. Jake has dropped below 32% and should stop attempting swish3s. Seth and Meyers are the top 2 swish3 % shooters who should be featured (i.e., get 6+ swish3 attempts each/game) based on efficiency and should have plays to assist them with catch and shoots. Meyers should be in at the 1st Q 4 min mark, especially when the swish3 scored are needed, relieving Enes, to keep Center scoring at 30+ points, and Zach should be playing Forward. Meyers has best % swish3 scoring when shooting early in the game. To win against stronger opponents, Blazers need to be planning to shoot at least our 31 3PA/game average, and working to get our average up to 38%+. Despite early effective defense, the Blazers let down in the 2nd half allowing 35 points in the 3rd Q and 31 points in the 4th Q that included several uncontested shots. Along with the 10 FT point deficit, this was enough to allow the Pistons to win the game. Blazer coaching must respond to blown defensive assignments and signs of tired legs with more substitutions. This was a winnable game! All of the next 4 games, TWolves, Grizzles, and Nuggests twice should be wins if the Blazer coaches will put Blazers on the court who are scoring and defending. Let's go Blazers!
The Blazers won scoring 15 of 30 at MIN who scored 11 of 29 in the road win 132-122 Apr 1. This was a perfect game for Evan (5 of 5 FG) who had a triple double with 13 points in 25 min and for Meyers (4 of 4 FG) with 9 points in 13 min, and a notable game for Rod (21 pts in 29 min), Enes (20 pts in 26 min), and Seth (19 pts in 22 min). Dame had 15 points and 12 assists in 34 min. Seth led scoring 5 of 9, Rod scored 3 of 4, Dame scored 3 of 6, Meyers and Evan each scored 1 of 1, Chief scored 1 of 2, and Jake scored 1 of 3. Mo and Enes were each 0 of 1 and Zach was 0 of 2. The distributed swish3 and FG shooting and passing (31 assists!) contributed to a multiple threat offense as FG% shooting was good at 54.9% and enough to hold off the 4th Q run by the TWolves. The 15 scored swish3s and the total 132 points are the kind of scoring that we will need to get wins in remaining games (to go 54-28) and get wins in the Playoffs.
The Blazers lost scoring 10 of 31 (32.3% and 1 less than average) at home vs MEM Grizzlies 11 of 33 Apr 3 in the 116-89 win. Evan had his 2nd consecutive triple double (13 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists in 28 min), a new Blazer record, and Enes led Blazer scoring with 21 points and 15 rebounds in 26 min. Dame scored 20 points with 10 assists in 29 min. Zach scored a season high 18 points with 6 rebounds in 22 min. Swish3 scoring was distributed. Dame was 2 of 7, Zach was 2 of 2, Seth was 2 of 6, Evan was 1 of 1, and Chief, Rod, and Simons were each 1 of 3. Enes and Jake were each 0 of 1, and Mo and Gary were each 0 of 2. The Blazers neglected to execute effective defense in the 1st Q and the 2nd Q allowing 30 and 29 MEM points, but adjusted after the half, allowing only 10 points in the 3rd Q and 20 points in the 4th Q to get a lead as large as 32 on the way to the 27 point victory against an injury depleted MEM team. The Blazers were only 4 of 13 swish3s at the half, and struggling against hot MEM swish3 shooting that should be used as a lesson of what not to do (sleeping in the 1st half) for the 2 upcoming games against the much more competitive DEN Nuggets. The Blazers now have 50 wins, and with a sweep of the next 4 that is well within reach, can finish at 54-28, which was the record that I favored. Let's keep up the swish3 shooting disciplined to be by our most efficient scorers and aim for 15+ and total scoring of 130+ on the way to that record, Home Court Advantage, and the Championship!
The Blazers won scoring 10 of 29 (34.5%) at DEN Nuggets 7 of 27 Apr 5 in the loss 119-110 in Denver. After the Blazers gained an early 11 point lead, the refs took the lead away by greatly uneven foul calling that gave DEN 16 FT vs our 2 FT to go to halftime down 56-52. Although we recovered to gain the lead by the end of 3rd Q, the refs again failed to call fouls of Dame, Enes, Rod, Chief, Evan, and Jake, and called phantom fouls on the same players that decided the game in favor of the Nuggets. Jake led scoring 3 of 5, Evan scored 2 of 3, Chief scored 2 of 6, Mo and Zach each scored 1 of 2, and Rod scored 1 of 4. Simons was 0 of 1 (and is now 2 of 15 for 13.3% for the season). Simons is the worst swish3 shooter on the team. Dame was 0 of 6. The Blazers played hard in this game, Paul Milsap had an excellent game, and Jokic and Murray also had good games, and the Blazers could have won if the game plan of the 1st Q could have been carried out again in the 4th Q. For the return match on Apr 7, let's get the home court advantage and the win!
The Blazers lost scoring 9 of 28 (32%) vs DEN 13 of 33 in the Apr 7 home win 115-108. This was a crucial win that required a 4th Q comeback from an 8 point deficit when DEN used superior 3P shooting (in both 3rd and 4th Q) to mount a serious threat. Chief had an outstanding game with 23 points and 11 rebounds in 27 min. Dame had 30 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds in 38 min. We should commend CJ and Evan for passing as each had 6 assists and contributing to our 56-46 win of points in the paint. Dame led scoring 5 of 11, Rod scored 1 of 2, Chief and Seth each scored 1 of 4, and CJ scored 1 of 5. Jake and Zach were each 0 of 1. The 12 point deficit in swish3 scoring kept DEN in the game and should have been countered with swish3 shooting by Meyers who was a DNP. Game planing for 6+ swish3 attempts by Meyers will allow the Blazer 3P% average to move back above 38% where it should be for wins in the Playoffs, the season average 11 should now be considered the minimum, and 15+ should be the target. The Rockets scored 27 swish3s tonight against the Suns, posing the kind of challenge that we will face in the Playoffs. Let's optimize our swish3 scoring to enable winning the Championship that lies ahead!
The Blazers won scoring 11 of 37 (but only 29.7%) vs LAL 10 of 29 in the Apr 9 LA win 104-101. This was a close game win against a depleted (no Lebron) LAL team in which there was a lot of aggressive LAL play with the reffing quite inconsistent and at times badly flawed. Many obvious fouls of Dame were not called, and the charging foul that took the swish3 away from CJ was an outrageous bad call. While inconsistent defense, especially in the 4th Q, allowed too many poorly defended LAL scores, and an anemic 20 point 3rd Q (with 0 swish3s) squandered the 10 point lead, there was just enough scoring to win. Mo was the star of this game, scoring 26 points with 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, and remarkable timely plays including the swish3 with 0.7 sec left at the end! Seth led scoring 5 of 8, Dame scored 3 of 10, Enes scored 1 of 1, Mo scored 1 of 4, and CJ scored 1 of 6 (although the refs stole 1 of his which they mistakenly ruled a charging foul!). Zach was 0 of 1, Rod and Jake were each 0 of 2, and Chief was 0 of 3. This was a good game for Enes who scored 22 points with 16 rebounds, Dame had 20 points, and Seth had 19 points. Swish3 scoring by Meyers should have added 9+ points and made this an easier victory. The Blazers now have Home Court Advantage, and are ready to win in the Playoffs if we optimize our talents!
The Blazers lost scoring 14 of 24 (58.3%) vs SAC Kings 18 of 43 in the Apr 10 game 82 win 136-131. This was an unusual game in which only 6 Blazers played, resting the starting team, and showed the lack of cohesiveness and defense in the 1st half, in which SAC scored 87 (vs 62) points, that had peaked by as much as a 28 point lead. But the Blazers played better defense and found hot hands for scoring in the 2nd half that were sufficient to win the game. This was a breakthrough game for Anfernee Simons and Skal Labissiere, both of whom showed there is talent that has been untapped in regular season games. Anf led all scoring with 37 points including 7 of 11 swish3 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. Skal scored 29 points with 15 rebounds. Meyers scored 19 points with 11 rebounds (to add another double-double), and had a team high +11. Gary and Jake each scored 19 as well, and Zach scored 13 points with 6 rebounds in 13 min. Anf led scoring 7 of 11, Skal scored 2 of 2, Jake scored 2 of 3, Zach scored 1 of 1, Meyers scored 1 of 2, and Gary scored 1 of 5. No Blazers were without swish3 scoring! This is excellent shot discipline that is an explanation of the welcome turnaround that caught up with early game hot SAC swish3 shooting and allowed the win! By aiming for 15+ swish3s per game and keeping the % up, we can expect the wins necessary for the Championship!
Thanks for the link, Yuyusa1! Reading through the dialog after the event, I find that most of the comments were superficial but mostly pleasant. There are a lot of friends and admirers. Meyers seems to be informed of the hatred voiced against him in the RipCity2 game threads that are understandably damaging to Blazer confidence, and thus chances to win. If the disrespectful members of this forum would look to the positives, giving optimism for what is possible and offer fan talk for him, as many are now doing for Anf, Skal, and Zach, there can be greater success. Meyers is a conscientious man who works hard to improve and cares what fans think, and thus can have his confidence influenced. For Blazer success, it would be great if comments on this forum would avoid the bashing and instead stay with being constructive comments of fans who look for paths to winning--and can imagine the Blazer NBA Championship.
