Game Thread GAME# 26: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - DECEMBER 12, 2019 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM, TNT

Excuses excuses, they are supposed to be an elite backcourt, but they cant beat good teams, hell they couldn't even beat a G-League Warriors team. I'm starting to think that our "Elite" backcourt isn't really that elite. I want our backcourt to dominate, not getting dominate. Thats reasonable expectations imo. If they cant we should stop to put them in the elite category

 

No doubt we’re not playing correctly, not paying attention to fundamentals and that’s a problem. I just don’t think it’s the problem. Our starting C and backcourt are great. That’s where it ends.

Melo is a volume scorer who had been horribly inefficient the last 3,000 minutes he’s played and a poor defender to boot. He wasn’t especially efficient the three seasons prior to that either. Like anyone, he will have an occasional efficient game. The stronger your team gets, the more you don’t want inefficient-scorer bad-defenders in your lineup. The sooner we lose Melo the better.

Whiteside has been fantastic but does not make up for what we lost and when Nurk returns it will eventually get messy having two legit starting centers and not enough minutes for both of them.

We need to recoup our depth. Even undoing all the injuries we are only six deep then a big drop off. Right now our hope for accomplishing that lies with Skal, Nas, Ant, Trent - that’s where I think we should be investing.

 

This is so true. Funny thing i see is CJ works so hard at getting by or around his defender that he actually sacrifices the shot to not get hit. It's almost like if he worked a little less he would get more foul calls? He is indeed a clever ball handler. But he could be a more clever player and draw more foul shots.

 

Cringe. You're so misinformed.

 

I dont see what scoring inefficiency has to do with any of the fundamentals I talked about. Our inefficient PF had 20 points on 50% shooting tonight. Instead of saying "we suck" game in and game out, ask yourself: did we defend the 3pt line well? Did we rotate well? Were we in the right position defensively. Did we move the ball? Did we box out?

None of those things take talent. Theyre fundamentals.

 

It was pretty obvious to me that the Blazers starters played well enough to keep this team in the game. Lack of depth and again just overall familiarity seems to be what is killing them. Blazers need to make a move and add some depth if at all possible. Then they will need some time to put it together.

 

They are fundamentals for sure. Seems like Melo boxes out well but Skal is still learning this. Whiteside should be better? I wonder if Gasol coming in and coaching will address this? Maybe?
Again defense is the team chemistry type part of the game. Defending the three and rotating to be in the right position is definitely a problem on multiple possessions over the course of the game. The thing is they get it right just as many times so i know they can do it. I sit there and end up thinking "What happened on that possession?" right after saying "Good Defense!" the possession before.
Blazers could sure use a solid 3 and D SF that also can handle the ball a bit right now.

 

Tired of getting embarrassed on national TV.

 

The ones that left all play decent defense and was better rebounder then the ones that brought in. Now melo grabs about as many as Aminu but Aminu better defender. We also was longer in the front court then we are this year. Our bench was better last year then this year. With all that Olshey was trying to bring in shooters for the offense but that has fail and by doing that he lost on the defense of side ball. I hate to say it we probably right where we should be in our record due to our injuries and the step down on defense.

 

Our defense would be a lot better with a healthy Zach. We will be an elite team when all our guys are healthy. I just don't know when that will be or if it will ever be.

 

If you really think about it our 2 guards is becoming very streaky on offense lately. But without a good defense front court they very subject as defender. Now Whiteside blocks shots but due is slow feet and can't defend the rim as good as Zach and Nurk. Whiteside get a lot of rebounds in the game but majority of them come right to him uncontested when he gets contested then he have little trouble holding on the ball.

 

The problem we still might make the playoffs due to that the teams in 7 and 8 position are not that good. But I don't believe in tanking but this might be the year we need take our lunch and get decent draft pick. But that why I don't get excited about the games win or loose this year.

 

Well if they was taught right you guard the next pass and usually it the corner 3. We are not doing that right now. Zach use to do a good job at by staying with his man out there majority of the time.

 

All of those things take talent and special athletes at an NBA level. Yeah coaching is important for all of those things, but talent definitely plays a role.
Do you think Pops all of a sudden forgot the fundamentals of basketball or forgot how to coach? Yet the spurs are bad defensively.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-spurs-have-never-been-this-bad-at-defense/

The Blazers aren't doing most of those things well and yeah some of it is the system, and effort but a lot of it is at this point they just aren't that good personnel-wise. It's really a case of Stott's system always has required certain kind of bigs to be good, and they don't have that, wings who can make up a lot of ground Baze is probably the only one sort of good at that. Stott's needs to alter to his personnel, but I also wonder if they just don't have the personnel to be good on defense they don't have a single good perimeter defender after hood went down. Whiteside is good at blocking shots but guys run around him like he's standing still when he gets very far away from the basket. They should be starting Little and find out if he can blossom into a legit Perimeter defender he's probably the one guy on the team with the overall athleticism and drive to do it, but he doesn't get any minutes.

 

Tank Commander starting lineup:

Ant
GTJ
Little
Mario
Skal

 

Think they could win more then 3-4 games the rest of the year?

 

This is depth.

 

But the Blazers were struggling defensively due to things like a lack of athleticism, or skill, or talent.

They are consistently in the wrong positions and dont make the right defensive rotations. A team can do those things and still be bad defensively. But were not doing those things to begin with, and good (or even average) defense starts with that.

I dont know how anyway can criticize the personel because we cant tell waht this defense would be if they actually did the fundamentals.

Fix the fundementals and go from there. Its the ONE thing the team can control. They cant control a lack of talent. But theyve shown no improvement in terms of sefensive fundamentals.

 

I'd like to see them try!

 

Bench:
Hoard
Moses

Honestly, how much worse could they do against teams over .500? One game?