Game Thread GAME #48 - BLAZERS VS MAVERICKS - JANUARY 26, 2022 - WEDNESDAY - 7:00 PM (PDT) ROOT SPORTS

Well, again, he put up good numbers, but did he do it in big situations or did he pile them up in easy wins or lopsided losses?

I'll say this. He's good. He's above-average. He's not great. He might not even be very good. He's also not a good fit for what the Blazers need and I think Ant's emergence makes him even more of a liability.

 

If he's not very good, he can go back to coming off the bench when Lillard is healthy. The liabilities are McCollum and Norman Powell. Normal Powell shouldn't be a starting small forward, and McCollum shouldn't be a starting shooting guard paired with Damian Lillard.

 

Are we talking about the same player? I'm talking about Norman Powell, who I think only came off the bench once since coming to Portland and that was last game. That's not really "going back." He's never done it.

 

he’ll be on another team soon anyway if Cronin isn’t an idiot. He’s too good to be a backup.

 

That's kind of my assessment of Powell, too. He's good enough to start at the 2 for someone, but he's the fourth-best guard on this team and his strengths don't fit what the Blazers need. He could bring something useful back, though. I don't see him as the type of player, though, that is the centerpiece of a contender; again, he's the Blazers' fourth-best guard.

 

My bad. I thought you were talking about Simons. If Powell needs to be a starter at small forward he's a liability.

 

Looks like a star player takes 20 shots per game.
Lillard is a star.
CJ wants to be and he takes 20 without hesitation.
Nurk wants to be a star, that's obviously why he was unhappy last season and was happy w/o Lillard and CJ...
And Powell. I didn't notice that last season, but he is not shy anymore. He wants a star's shooting.
Thank god Melo is not here anymore.
Ant is not on that level. Yet.

There was never "great chemistry" in this team. It was "fake chemistry".

I would just trade unhappy players to bring chemistry.
The problem is half of the league wants to be a first option.

Looks like Ben Simmons is perfect addition here. He needs 0 shots.

 

its not a coincidence that the team played better and with much better chemistry when dame, cj mccollum & powell were out, those are the three biggest chuckers on the team who look to get theirs and while playmaker, dame is still a shoot first point guard, so naturally team shared the ball, everyone got touches and gave their best effort... now, two of the three chuckers are back and if powell keeps on playing in the starting unit, it wont be pretty just like it wasnt pretty before

give up on the three guard line-up, move powell to the bench, try to get cj mccollum under cotrol in order to have more balanced team and while you do that, try to get them both traded by the deadline

there is not a single reason to keep four undersized guards on this team (and pay them a lot of money), none, ideally two of them need to be gone or at least one

 

two selfish pricks have no chemistry on the court

 

You cant take Stotts DNA out of MeJ and Dame, maybe Dame a little bit, but zero chance on MeJ