Everyone know I lean apologist, but watching the complete befuddlement with Stott's ability to figure out a rotation has got me to the "it's time to move on" point. Every team wants a long 3 and D guy at the SF .... Add Aminu's 3pt shooting this season (even last season) and you have exactly that mold, a long 3 and D player. But's he's playing PF? In the current starting lineup CJ and Turner both need to handle the ball to create space to score but we have a really solid Pick and Roll combo in Dame and Nurkic. Even when CJ catches the ball with time running out he has to make a move to shoot. Dame get's injured so instead of inserting our backup PG into the lineup we insert our 3rd string SF and slide our SG to PG and SF to SG.... That lasted for 8 minutes then the next 2 games Shabazz started and played really well. Then Dame came back and our Backup C who has been making good progress for a 19 year old kid goes from consistent minutes, going to before Dame was hurt, to garbage minutes. Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately. The rotations just simply have me scratching my head, to my fans eye they seem jacked up and the stats are kinda supporting my eye. Sorry if someone already had a thread about this, I've been away a couple weeks and was too lazy to search.
you make some valid points Schilly.....that and Stotts is clearly frustrated...his interviews are getting a bit shaky recently. Sort of like a coach that knows major changes are around the corner....I think roster more than anything but maybe he's on the chopping block?
His sudden refusal to play Vonleh now that he's actually earned minutes is one of the dumber developments of the season.
Vonleh is hurt so that's why he's not playing. I too was confused as fuck why Collins only got garbage minutes. I've noticed that our defense does even better with Collins he just knows where to be it seems.
Poorly built roster + average coach = predictable result. I'm definitely not opposed to firing Stotts, but he's about 35% of the problem (and probably not part of any long-term solution).
I agree some of it is roster, but for the most part he's not even using the roster he has right. I don't know I'm just a fan but it sure seems like a rotation of PG Dame - Napier SG CJ - Connaughton SF Aminu - Turner PF Vonleh - Collins C Nurkic - Davis Would be far better night in night out than the hodgepodge rotation he has been using. I will give him a little bit of a pass on Harkless since he went MIA this season, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out as every player is pretty much a capable NBA player.
Vonleh dislocated his finger on December 22 against Denver. Prior to that he had played a combined 24 minutes over the previous five games, two of which were DNP-CD. Since then, he was inactive for two games due to the injury and then cleared to play on the 30th. In those three games since his return to the active list, he has played 3 minutes in a blowout loss, had a DNP-CD, and then played garbage minutes last night against Cleveland. Clearly the finger injury isn't the reason for his benching, since he had already fallen out of the rotation prior to that and he has now been healthy for 3 games and still has yet to return to receiving regular minutes.
I'm seeing the same thing as you. I'd probably cut Pat out of the rotation as well, just to get a solid 9 players. 10 players is a bit too much IMO.
I agree with this as well. He's not the solution long term. I don't think changing coaches will magically make this team a contender, but I'd sure like to see Dame & Co play under the direction of another coach before making significant changes.
I like Aminu defending in the paint more than i like him guarding quick perimeter players. Maybe it's because his movement is kinda awkward, but his lateral movement\quickness seems rather slow. On offense he plays PF to space the floor for Nurk and find himself more open for 3 point shoots. I think that's the reasoning for playing him at the 4. I have always liked Vonleh at starting PF.
No you are correct. If anything I think the team is hiding Vonleh so that hopefully his contract isn't too bad come this summer. We're clearly showcasing our vets to maybe get a second round pick here and there at the trade deadline to get below the salary cap. If we're winning big we'll keep our vets like Aminu/Davis--but if we're still struggling I'm sure we'll trade them before just letting them walk this offseason.
I think they’re just showcasing other guys for a trade, or trying to keep trade pieces healthy. There’s really no other explanation because Vonleh was playing well. I expect this roster to look a bit different in a month.
Since were airing our grievances, I got some too, some already mentioned. 1. Aminu. I agree, he should be playing SF with Vonleh and Collins sharing time at PF. 2. CJ is not a point, and will never be one, yet we’re on what, year three of the experiment? He should never run the offense, and I mean literally never. 3. Short leashes. Stotts rotations and lineups this season have been all over the place, with no continuity at all. Guys playing two minutes, guys getting benched for no real reason, etc. I’m willing to throw him a bone here though, because of what I said in my above post. 4. Robot rotations. Probably my biggest problem. No matter how good or bad a guy is playing, when the clock hits a certain point, bye. This applies to the regulars.
Litterally every single person in the world sees that Aminu should start at SF with a PF rotation of Vonleh-Collins Except, you guessed it, our beloved coach
It’s annoying because we’ll see Aminu get overpowered by traditional fours yet Stotts makes no adjustment. I’d get if he didn’t think Collins was ready (kinda) but Vonleh is built and ready to defend every PF in the league.
Then we have the Vonleh factor.... Seriously the team is 8-3 when he plays 20 minutes or more and he can't get off the bench lately. @Schilly ...that is one of the bigger confoundments for me as well. Vonleh was the starting PF for our best stretch last year (14--6) and 8-3 this year when he gets more than 20 minutes.....not Rocket science. The Blazers play better when he is playing...period. He is the best big perimeter defender (I don't count Aminu as a big since he is only 220 lbs), he attacks the offense, gives a good outlet for Nurkic and for dump offs from the guards and finishes with emphatic dunks. His shooting was getting better as well as he got more rhythm and confidence. A real head scratcher.
