I'm far too young to be DB Cooper but the next time I see him I'll tell him that you think I'm him. He'll get a good laugh out of it.
Both top-out as role players. But Crabbe could actually be a starting role player, a la Shane Battier or James Posey. CJ is Mr. Glass who's too short to be a SG and not good enough to be a PG. I'd love it if he could be a true 6th man, but I'm just not sold.
CJ to me is a tweener. He's trying so hard to play NBA defense that he loses his legs on offense. He's injured pretty often for a young guy. He could get better. I just have a feeling he'd have to quit trying to play defense to get his offense going. Crabbe is more balanced, longer, not rushing things and letting the game come to him. From a small sample size, Crabbe is my pick. CJ is still a project. The Blazers will keep them both. Crabbe just seems more NBA ready
Decent analysis from BEdge: http://www.blazersedge.com/2014/11/...rell-wright-allen-crabbe-backup-small-forward
CJ for me easily but Crabbe is also great to have and I look forward to both contributing for us. For young guys I want to keep I order them as: CJ > Crabbe > TRob > Leonard > Barton I don't consider Freeland young (although fine with keeping him) and while I actually would probably rate Claver above Barton for keeping I think that has next to no chance of happening. P.S. I don't mean to bash Barton (I know he has major fans). I actually like him and would keep all these guys but tough decisions will have to be made at some point.
Agreed. CJ as a scoring-focused 1/2, and Crabbe as a heady, defensive 2/3. Rule players, which is fine by me.
Yeah, I don't think of it as one or the other. Crabbe can be used more as a SF and showed he can be successful with the starters and win. I see CJ more as an undersized SG at this point of his career.
Ceilings: Crabbe: Devean George/Ime Udoka. McCollum: Goran Dragic/Cattino Mobley Will health allow CJ to reach his potential?
Of course CJ will never be a 20+ PPG game but yes I'd be pleased with a Ben Gordon type off the bench.
Crabbe just plays smart. Dude knows his limitations and doesn't try to do too much. And his shot release might be the quickest on the team behind Nic, while playing solid D. He's a lot like Nic in many aspects actually. Put him on a team without scorers or stars, and he's gonna look like shit like he did in summer league. Put him instead on a team with stars and turn him into a complementary piece, and he does all the intangibles to make the team better. Definitely a pleasant surprise and a rotation player. Did not see this coming.
Cracks me up reading post from one year to the next. Last year at this time people where extremely frustrated with Crabbe, same thing with Leonard. For most NBA players it just takes playing time to get comfortable at the NBA level. More time for some then others. Also a big factor is the system and coach they play for. Sorry not trying to be rude just think we are so quick to judge players before they really get an opportunity to prove themselves. Can only imagine the amount of pressure they feel when they finally get their first opportunity in the pro's. I'm sure most of them press and make mistakes they normally don't make. I personally think both Crabbe and CJ will be good role players for years to come.
Link? I don't remember many being frustrated with Crabbe. CJ and Leonard got a shit ton of madness though, but rightfully deserved at the time. Barton is a complete lost cause, imo
As another poster said, both. I think Barton is the loser in this debate. It amazes me that people want to give Biebs a lot more time, but not CJ. CJ has shown that he can get his own shot, and can really shoot the 3. He's making a lot of mistakes, but that is correctable. His defense is also very good for a young player.
Does anyone else think dame plays better without Nic in the lineup? Since Nic came back it has been two ho-hum games for lillard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Dame plays better when he takes personal responsibility for the game. Why he doesn't do this with Batum in the game is a personality defect in Dame. He's worried too much about other player's feelings... Here's the way I look at it and wished Dame would do the same: when he passes, is it a pass where the other team is like "whew, glad he passed it", or "damn, him keeping the offense going is busting our chops" I think most times it's the second, but I think he's literally passing up to many of the first.
I like that he's concentrating on defense and distribution in the first half and stepping up on offense in the 2nd. Tire out your opponent and run over them to the finish line.
