Coming off a WCF appearance, the Blazers are all in on the Dame/CJ back-court, as for the first half of the season or so, the dynamic duo will be the only starters back from the team that won a 2nd round series for the first time since 2000. While 60% of that starting lineup missing, there is cause for optimism as the game by game guess of whether Mo will show up is now a thing of the past and the catapult '3's that may or may not hit the side of the backboard are also gone the way of the dodo bird. But in the place of Harkless/Aminu that often left the Blazers playing 4-on-5 or worse on the offensive end, the SF position will likely be manned by Rodney Hood who assumed more and more of those minutes in the Playoffs. He will be supported by newly acquired Kent Bazemore, perhaps Mario Hezonja or even Jake Layman. All four of those options bring varying skills in place of Harkless but particularly in the case of Hood/Bazemore, the effort should be more consistent with higher production. At center, Portland would have been hard pressed to get a better fill in for Nurkic until he returns in Whiteside. While there are questions about his motivation, stat-chasing and defense outside of the lower circle, he still brings a legit starter to man the position that gives Blazer fans a respectable level of comfort. That leaves the last spot that needs a new starter....PF. It's assumed that will go to Zach Collins who continually prefers to play Center. However, that isn't an option for now unless it's on the 2nd unit. But what the Blazers desperately need from him is a solid increase from the 6/4 he averaged last season in 17 mpg and the ability to stay out of foul trouble and stay on the floor. Collins averages just under 5 fouls/36 and that just has to go down for him to be allowed to be effective. He is going to need to be on the floor for 25-30 minutes, and hopefully up his 3-pt percentage from .331 to something closer to 36% or so and finish stronger at the rim. Just as important is going to be his ability to play defense on a variety of '4's while cutting out the silly fouls that have plagued him starting at Gonzaga. He has to be strong enough to bang with Draymond, Millsap, LeBron, etc, while being nimble enough to stay with the likes of Giannis, Tobias Harris and Jason Tatum. He has the skills, lacks the experience bu has a bit of a nasty streak in him that tells you he won't back down from anyone or any challenge. It's a lot to ask of the not yet 22 year old Collins but regardless, is what needs to happen to keep Portland in the Finals conversation. Some players experience a significant step-up in production in their 3rd year and that is exactly what Portland will need from Zach. Is he up to the task?
Dude look, Neil changed this year, last year after the sweep he said the sample size of the regular season is more important that 4 games in the Playoffs and i was like wtf bro? This time he let everybody walk who did not play good in the Playoffs: Aminu, Turner and Harkless (Moe had okay numbers but he was never a threat offensively and at his age never will be, so it was okay to let him walk). He understands now that regular season means shit and you need players who can play in the Playoffs, Hood obviously won us the Denver series, Bazemore is a much better fit than Harkless or Aminu because he can defend at the same Level or maybe better but more important he can hit open 3s, and he will see many of them with Dame and CJ, Anfernee has huge upside, we will see how that works out, Hezonja is talent wise better than all 3 of Aminu, Harkless or Turner, he has shown flashes of being very good, again, Aminu, Harkless or Turner can never do what Hezonja could, let's hope he breaks out and has a breakout Season in Portland, and last but not least Whiteside is a big upgrade over Meyers, the only thing Meyers is better than Hassan is shooting wide wide wide open 3s, and thats it, Hassan is a much better Defender, he scares opponent teams to shot in the paint because they know he is gonna block the shot anyway, Meyers is a joke on Defense, and he's a better rebounder, a much better shot blocker, he is better at everything than Meyers except shooting but i can live with that because we have a good shooting Team now. His defense is so good And we will see if Whiteside plays a Playoff game for the Blazers at all, if Nurk comes back and he is the old Nurk than we can Trade Whiteside. I'm glad i dont have to watch Aminu; Harkless and Turner anymore, as good as they were on Defense, They were big liabilitys on offense and didn't know how to play the game of basketball, especially in the Playoffs, when they were standing in the corner like idiots while Dame got trapped like crazy, i will not miss these guys
I'm really not convinced that Hood/Collins or Bazemore/Collins is worse defensively than Harkless/Aminu. And even if it is, it's probably close enough that the jump we make in offensive ability largely compensate for it. Yes, Collins will be thrown into the fire and asked to elevate his contribution, but after years of training and acclimating himself to the NBA, it's time for him to show what he's really capable of. And I believe he have the tools to be a solid starter
Zach's skills are a perfect fit between Nurk/Whiteside and the wings. I really like this new roster. And Zach's chance to make a positive impact. Make it happen Zach, it's your time to shine.
If that were to happen, Portland might find themselves in a similar place as the Raptors did. Siakim...2018....2019 Points.....7.3.......16.9 (131% increase) Rebs.......4.5........6.9 (53% increase) FG%...... .508..... .549 3-pt%.... .220..... .369 FT%...... .621...... .785 eFG%.... .537...... .591 TS%...... .549...... .628 FGA....... 6.1........ 11.8 Some of those are some dramatic increases. If Zach were to do that.....hold on!
Really nice breakdown. I like the way you have positive reinforcing for not only the moves but filling the gaps left by the players leaving as well as improving on their deficiencies. I only question this? I have not read anyone that i feel is in a position to make this assessment say this. These are statements from other fan forum boards. The same kind of statements that are made about players on this board. Even worse is the problem with these statements making it onto this board and now there is this notion that they might be true? (If it's said enough then people believe it) So now every time Hassan Whiteside gets tired and needs a blow but the game is not in a position to call a time or make that substitution yet, and he gets caught out of position? Posters on this board are going to pull up video clips and act like player analysis coaches condemning his every move. This is a traveling stigma that will be tough to shake. I can only imagine where the coach bashing will go when this happens?
Fair enough...although that is why it says "Whiteside. While there are questions about his motivation, stat-chasing and defense outside of the lower circle."...rather than it being a statement that those are definitive problems. Enough people have raised those points that it seems fair to at least question it. Also, some people around the NBA I really trust have raised those issues as well but at the same time, think he could be a good fit in Portland and that Dame can help direct some of those issues in a more positive direction.
There are plenty of NBA analysts--both local (Miami) and national--who have made many of the same comments.
Yeah we need a PF to take a huge step forward and yes Zach seems to be the best candidate. He is so close, he just needs to make jump on the offensive end. I am not worried about the fouls, that seems to work itself out as young players learn what they can get away with and also the officials start giving them a little more respect. He just needs to find a go to move down low, and hit more wide open jumpers. But I am still not sure he will play PF the first 3 months. Where is Skal better suited to play? Center or PF? I think Zach is the better center of the two defensively so is that where he gets most of his minutes?
Zach was best on the defensive side in the playoffs. It more combine Whiteside and Collins Bazemore or Hood. Harkless and Aminu defense in the last two series wasn't that good. Both of them had good series against OKC but there defense rating went south after that.
I have no idea what criteria you would require of someone to classify them as being in position to make that statement.
Take Whiteside out the equation for right now..........your statement in general is so true and so annoying....no matter who the player is. Fans will focus on it and will bring it up every time, even though there will be examples throughout the same game..... that are the exact opposite. We fans wear a lot of blinders.
