Game Thread GAME# 46: BLAZERS @ CAVALIERS - JANUARY 28, 2015 - WEDNESDAY, 4:00 PM (PST), KGW

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Darkwebs, Jan 27, 2015.

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Who will have more rebounds for the game?

Poll closed Jan 28, 2015.
  1. Kevin Love

    20.0%
  2. LaMarcus Aldridge

    66.7%
  3. Tied

    13.3%
  1. MAS RipCity

    MAS RipCity Mercy, Mercy

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    I was thinking the same thing last night right after the game. Obviously, we couldn't run and trap when they spread the floor, but we allowed them to get into their offensive set and really didn't push back or make it difficult for the Cavs to set up shop at all.

    Irving was the only Cavalier shooting worth a damn last night and we should have trapped him from the moment he touched the ball and tried to disrupt their offense. We've got enough athletes on this team who are smart enough to know when to trap and when to rotate on defense. If JR or Love got a better look, so be it. You take that risk when the opposing point guard had 52 prior to the final play.

    It's hard to complain about our non-first quarter defense, but this is one area that has always irked me. I'm not saying we should double team every time down, but Stotts' stubbornness to incorporate some form of trap or double throughout games is a little bothersome. While it was solid defense from Nico, Irving was able to walk the ball up the court, size up his man, and pull up for a jumper without being under any real duress.
     
  2. Duvalier

    Duvalier Active Member

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    What exactly do you want him to try? The team is made up of mostly jump shooters and Aldridge. Lopez isn't an offensive threat when he is playing. What kind of offense do you think they should be running, that will get them all kinds of opportunities in the paint?
     
  3. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    Picks, cuts, ball and player movement. He's supposedly an offensive genius, in which case he should be able to come up with some good offensive shots resulting in high-percentage shots. I've detailed several ideas in other threads and don't feel like typing them all out again.
    Not that this would have resulted in points in the paint, but one very simple change he could have made last night would have been to switch the floor positions of Nic and Wes. On the few occasions we actually kicked the ball out of the post and swung it around to the weak-side we had Nic in the corner as the end-recipient. Why on earth would you have the guy with an injured wrist and huge brace be the end-recipient? On two occasions the ball stuck because the players (Wes and Dame) were about to pass to Nic then thought better of it which allowed their defender to close on them as they took a contested 3.
     
  4. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    Oh, and another simple thing he could do is have LMA PASS THE FUCK OUT OF THE DOUBLE-TEAMS! Last year when we were bombing 3s it was because LMA actually kicked the ball out of the post. He doesn't seem to be doing that much anymore. I know it was already brought up, but twice in a row he had Meyers WIDE OPEN for three but instead shot contested fade-away jumpers over a double-team.
     
  5. Kaydow

    Kaydow Well-Known Member

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    And you would be right. Lillard draining 28'ers to finish games is fantastic, but not sustainable. Since last season I've been saying we need a playmaking SG/SF who can handle the ball. We're taking too many well contested 3s down the stretch of close games. When Dame has it going teams are trapping him. When LA is hot he gets doubled or forced out to deep perimeter. Take away those 2 and all you have to do is run our shooters off the 3pt line/force them to dribble drive. Love Wes, but he's no threat off the bounce, neither is Nic (anymore). There is a blueprint on how to defend the Blazers. If we want to be a championship team we're going to need to find a way to get easier looks down the stretch of close games. Olshey even admitted recently that even at full strength we lack a dynamic perimeter playmaker who can break down a defense. We hoped CJ would be that guy but he's not. We need another guy on the roster or we'll continue to have to try and win games draining deep/contested 3s or with LA fade aways from 20'.
     
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  6. Duvalier

    Duvalier Active Member

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    But you were lamenting points in the paint earlier, but with this example and the Nic one above you're still talking about jump shots being the end result. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, that's just how this team is built right now so that's the offense Stotts utilizes right now.
     
  7. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    This, I agree with. Our shot selection is a function of personnel. Terry's offense is catered to our strengths, which are LA's post play and midrange, and the rest of the players' outside shooting. Nic needs to get healthy because he is capable of beating guys off the dribble, but he just can't finish right now. Adding a slasher would put us in contention.
     
  8. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    I said I didn't feel like detailing ways to get better shots again - maybe I'll dig up the thread where I detailed some ideas a few weeks ago. To just say "the roster is made of jump-shooters" is not a good excuse for being so reliant on jump shots. These guys are basketball players - they can do a hell of a lot more than shoot jumpers. But it's on the coach to give them a system that generates higher-percentage shots. Stotts doesn't do a good job at that. He's very much like Nate "Gotta Scrap" McMillan...Terry "Gotta Hit Shots" Stotts. That's not good coaching (though he is much better than Nate).
    And then, yes, I gave some examples of how Stotts could have made the jump shot selection better because there were examples from last night's game to illustrate that Stotts isn't even making simple changes to his simplistic offense.
     
  9. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    It's weird that you brought up 2 times that Aldridge didn't kick out from a double out of how many touches? He almost had the ball in his hands in every possession, so the 2 times it wasn't passed is just silly to bring up, especially when he and Kaman were the only starters that showed up to play.
     
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  10. Duvalier

    Duvalier Active Member

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    So it was Stotts' fault that LA didn't pass the ball to Meyers? yuyuza details it perfectly above..."Our shot selection is a function of personnel. Terry's offense is catered to our strengths, which are LA's post play and midrange, and the rest of the players' outside shooting. Nic needs to get healthy because he is capable of beating guys off the dribble, but he just can't finish right now."
     
  11. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    Far too simplistic of an approach for a team that hopes to win a championship. Using picks, cuts, and passes minimize the ball-handling weakness of many of our players. But other than the LMA kick-out and swing-around Terry doesn't do much with ball movement, and even less with player movement.
     
  12. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    I don't think that is the only "Stotts's game plan" here. Teams are starting to figure out ways to stop Dame, usually by throwing that quick trap off the "pick and roll". Take out Dame, then you can take away the fluidness of our offense.

    We need another player, other than Aldridge, that has the ability to ISO score and get to the line. Someone that can draw attention, other than being a 3 point shooter. I think that is really our missing piece and I only see Martin as being the guy that can solve this problem immediately. When teams must focus on 2 scoring ball handlers and a low post threat "Aldridge", then the 3's would be wide open all the time.

    Batum should be this guy, but he's been complete shit on the offensive end. If we had "last year's Batum" with this current team, we couldn't be stopped. Nor would we even need another player. It's a shame that all of our players aren't syncing at the same time. Hopefully that happens closer to the end of the season, because when it does, look out Western Conference!
     
  13. KingSpeed

    KingSpeed Veteran

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    Irving never had 52. He had 50 and then hit the game winning 3. His last 2 points came from freethrows.

    He passes out of double teams all the time. A couple times he was so hot that he scored anyway. But he is always looking for the pass first.

    While we were ahead by 3, we got two completely wide open looks for Wes Matthews, the most prolific three point shooter in the league. He just didn't knock the, down. Can't win them all.
     
  14. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Yep, he had 2 assists, but that could have easily been 5 if the players that normally hit made their shots.


    Yep, Matthews could have put the game away twice with those "WIDE OPEN THREES". Those are the shots he normally makes... It was tough misses. And even then, we still could have won, but Irving played out of his mind. You replay that game 100 times, and I doubt you will ever see the same type of performance from Irving again.
     
  15. Boise Blazer

    Boise Blazer Thread Lightly

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    Nor do I think we would see Wes miss 2 wide open threes very often
     
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  16. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    Coach Newell reminded me several times that, assists are awarded when you get a teammate a shot he can make. There is no credit in getting him a shot he doesn't make.
    He firmly held to the position that the shot selection was up to the coach or the Guard running the play, especially when the shots are missed. I still tend to agree.
     
  17. H.C.

    H.C. Well-Known Member

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    it's not even just that though mags. Aldridge doesn't get an assist off of kicking the ball out normally because the defense rotates and the ball is passed again. and normally again for
    2 or 3 passes.
    It's not like people are cutting to the rim often. Batum goes to the rim. but outside of him.. how often do blazers run at the rim right after Aldridge passes them the ball? not too often. So his assist numbers are lower than what they could be just be the design of the blazers offense. Not a bad thing as typically off of a double team the defense is trying to rotate and recover.
    I'd argue that a good portion of the time a wide open 3 in the corner happened because Aldridge drew a double team.
     
  18. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    That use to be the case, but hardly seems to happen anymore. For one, teams sniffed that play out last season. But also LMA doesn't seem to pass out of the post nearly as much as he use to.
     
  19. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Hmmm I'm gonna have to disagree with that one. But let's start now and until the end of season and count each game. We are talking 15ft and in right?
     
  20. H.C.

    H.C. Well-Known Member

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    hmm wonder what team I'm watching then. It's also pretty convenient that you took just that portion of the post I made. I stated that the double team and when Aldridge passes out of it. it forces the defense to rotate. Which even if the defense "sniffs it out".... That it's still getting the defense on it's heels. Is it Aldridge's fault his teammates are struggling from 3 and refuse to take it to the rim?

    Any good defensive philosophy wants to keep the ball on one side of the court and not force themselves to rotate.
     

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