Game Thread GAME# 8: PELICANS @ BLAZERS - NOVEMBER 1, 2018 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM (PDT), TNT

At the start of the season, no. But I didn't have them down as the juggernaut they were last year either. Losing Ariza and Moute was going to hurt them a ton and more than many people though. Then when it came down that Harden would be out, yes I expected a win. A lost to that sorry excuse of a team would have been worse than the Wiz loss who at least had Wall/Beal/Morris. Shenanigans dismissed.

 

The Blazers do like to make Morris look like he belongs in a “big 3”...

 

Very true....somehow Stotts just can't figure it out. He has 12 made '3's on the season in seven games....6 of those were against Portland.

 

Davis and Holiday both played 41 minutes last night in NOP's loss to GSW. Hopefully the Blazers are rested and ready, but not rusty and can take advantage of any tired NOP legs.

Elfrid Payton sat out last night with an ankle sprain, but could play tonight and is listed as a game time decision. Tim Frazier started in his place last night, but only played 20 minutes and had 8 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl and 2 TOV. For POR, Maurice Harklesss will again sit out with left knee soreness.

Julius Randle has been putting up big numbers off the bench for NOP. The Collins/Randle match up of bigs off the bench should be fun to watch tonight. Randle is an aggressive offensive player and will likely go right at Collins to try to get him into early foul trouble. It will be interesting to see how Collins responds.

Of course, this is the much anticipated rematch of last season's humiliating first round playoff sweep. Rajon Rondo is gone, replaced by Elfrid Payton, who FINALLY cut that ridiculous front porch hairstyle, and suddenly, miraculously, started shooting the ball better. POR has fortified their bench, which was terrible in that series. That, along with the greatly improved play of Zach Collins, should help, but the real key is how well POR handles NOP double teaming Damian Lillard 25 feet from the basket.

What, if anything, have the players and coaches learned in the last 6 months? What adjustments will be made that were not made in that series? Hopefully, a lot less Dame/Nurk high pick and roll. If NOP is smothering Dame, like they did in the playoffs, I suspect we will see Evan Turner playing more than usual with the starters. That gives POR a second ball handler capable of running the offense and allowing Dame to play off the ball more. I guess we'll see.

BNM

 

Oddly enough I'm more worried of the Blazers having tired legs tonight than the Pelicans first game back from a road trip, only a day off and it's early in the season though. I'm really excited to see this match up!

 

It's common for a team to relax and let up after a road trip. That first game back can often be a trap game. Hopefully, the Blazers haven't forgotten how the Pelicans embarrassed them in the playoffs the last time they met and will be focused and motivated for this rematch.

BNM

 

I'm motivated for the rematch and I'm not playing lol...

 

Two big things I will watch for is turnover and offense rebounds. We can't give the NO extra possession in this game and if we do we will be in trouble.

 

If (big if) Terry learned how to handle NOP (or anyone) doubling Dame, then I suspect Gentry will use footage from this game to come up with a new scheme to deploy against us should we meet again in the Playoffs. So if (again, big if) Terry does have a counter, would he be better served to hold onto it so as not to give Gentry material to work with?

 

Wouldn't you want to see if the counter actually works? Saving it until the playoffs, only to find out it doesn't work, would be disastrous. I think you should always be evolving and learning and trying to improve your game plan and your execution. Ultimately, you want to perfect your system, through trial and error, to get the best out of your talent and not be at the mercy of the opposing coach. This should be the goal. Repeating past failures, just so you don't tip your hand, does not meet this definition of progress.

BNM

 

Yep you need to know now if it works. It might be as simple as having and extra ball handler on the floor or an extra shooter who N.O can't leave alone to double.

 

So Terry needs to counter the counter but count on a counter counter from Gentry?

 

Something like that. You need to constantly make adjustments over the course of a game, a season and especially over the course of a playoff series. Other than Golden State, nobody else has enough of a clear cut talent advantage to sit back and rest on their laurels. Teams 2 - 10 in the West are so tightly packed, a small tweak here and there can make all the difference in terms of HCA and winning/losing a playoff series.

Terry didn't make any appropriate adjustments in the NOP series and we (predictably) saw the results. He's had six months to figure it out. Neil went out and got him some shooters for the second unit. Tonight, we get to see what, if anything, he's learned. At the very least, he's finally figured out how to get something useful out of Evan Turner.

I was actually pleased with his coaching in the HOU game. In the past (last December, for example) Terry was all too quick to react to what the other coach was doing. Last year, when HOU went small, Terry immediately yanked Nurk and countered with Ed Davis. Why the fuck would you do that. HOU WANTS to go small. It's where they have an advantage. This time, Terry didn't pull Nurk when HOU went small, he PUNISHED them for doing so. For once, he didn't just follow the opposing coach's lead. He recognized the advantage Nurk gave us and exploited it over, and over and over again. Good coaches force their opponents to react to them, not the other way around. Play to your strengths, not theirs.

BNM

 

If it wasn't clear, I was poking fun at Terry, not asking a serious question.

 

Big game tonight fellas. I believe our Blazers are ready for this one. Payback is a mother!

 

Expecting big game from CJ


lmao

 

Is Zack Collins new nickname, Payback?

 

Who did he get into it with in the playoffs? Was it Rondo?

 

That kid has some fire to him. When he was banging with Melo in Houston and they called an offense foul on Anthony, Z turned around and barked at him. Can't teach that bro.

 

Payback!