Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 1: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - MAY 22, 2021 - SATURDAY, 7:30, ESPN

There is a weird world that is "Auto Correct" and it ain't very correct.

 

Hmmmm....how does a team go from last in the NBA in defense for nearly an entire season to nearly the top during the last month? Players 'fraid of losing their coach? I've heard somewhere that defense is around 75% attitude/hustle and 25% ability/technique/coaching. If so, perhaps that's true in this case.

 

Have CJ and Powell bring the ball up the court at least 65% of all possessions and there will be 65% fewer traps on Dame!

 

Dame is not just trapped when he brings the ball up the court. It occurs whenever he gets the ball 30 feet from the basket. Terry will need a couple of different strategies. I imagine whoever is guarding Nurk and RoCo will be the 2nd defender in the trap. They will need to make smart decisions.

 

Nice Job!

 

That's just a reminder that LAL doesn't have an easy path. If Curry is really on, they could lose that first game and have to play a young energetic Memphis team or a well-coached and improving Spurs team. It could easily have been us who would have been on that path.

 

Saw this on Twitter earlier today, sort of applies to what you're talking about.

 

I agree that Porter can shoot right over Powell, but if Roco guards him, you want Powell to guard Gordon? Tough decision.

 

Nurk cannot let Joki drive right by him to the basket like he did several times in the game Sunday. It almost seemed like he was trying to help out too much or anticipating where Jokic might pass. Let the rest of the team worry about that. If Nurk can handle Jokic one on one, we will win the series. Another thing I found interesting is that Jokic drove around Nurk but tried to just bully Kanter towards the basket. I wonder if he feels they are different defenders or if he just picked up on Nurk's lack of attention to him?

 

Which one spends the most time on the perimeter? That is who NP should be guarding. As I recall Porter has a 1 inch longer wingspan than Powell. So when Porter is holding the ball up high he might have a very slight advantage, but he still needs to get the ball from the floor to that position. Unless he is only catching and shooting with a very high release.

My point is out on the perimeter, shooting over someone is a little overrated. There are exceptions (i.e Dirk back in the day) but is Porter at that level? Look at all the times we thought LMA could shooter over a smaller defender only to have a tougher time than he did against bigger players. Does Dame have an easy time shooting over CP3? I think Powell can defend Porter on the perimeter.

 

Porter went 3 for 6 on threes in our Sunday game, but I agree with you Powell would be the best choice. Jump up and make him drive I guess.

 

sure, but Portland also didn’t have Nurk. I also think Porter is easier to gameplan against than a Jamal Murray since Murray is more dynamic with the ball. (Covington is also a better matchup vs Porter than any of our guards against Murray.) Of course that requires good coaching, so not sure it’ll matter.

 

I’m picking Denver just because I don’t have/want any expectations. Let’s just start this shit already.

 

Ι don't think Gordon is skilled enough to take advantage of shorter opponents that canstay in front of him.

Porter is not really dribbling, he shoots when he gets the ball and he has one of the highest if not the highest release point and he is incredibly efficient. This is what i m afraid of.

 

there are certain players that cant be stopped and jokic is one of them, but if you can slow him down, that can make difference

jokic will get his (25 ppg to 30 ppg), but how easy or hard he gets it, thats what matters

nurk needs to play smart and not allow jokic to get him in foul trouble

 

I think you need to make sure Jokic is having to work on the defensive end, don't let him relax and wear him down.

 

We should make Jokic more of a scorer than passer, I don't think he can carry scoring over 40ppg as guys such as Dame/Steph/Murray can. MPJ is the one guy the defense really needs to focus on limiting scoring. Maybe DJJ/Little/RHJ get some time if MPJ is hot. Our defense has really improved the last quarter of the season, with our offense it doesn't have to be elite defense it just needs to be mediocre.

We need to destroy them at the guard matchup, it should be Dame/CJ/Powell initiating quality offense relentlessly and getting Kanter/Nurk/Melo involved when Denver starts to rotate.

Aaron Gordon is a waste playing against us, he can defend the big forwards or wings excellent but we don't use them that way in our offense. He can't defend our guards.

I feel like 6 of the best 8 players are on our squad, our starters plus Kanter against Jokic/MPJ. This should be an easy series victory in 4 or 5 games.

Go Blazers!

 

Hopefully, his 3 pt shooting percentage at the end of games will dip if he is extra tired. Make him work but don't leave his teammates open, because Jokic will always find them. I don't care if he gets 40 if we shut the others down....and he is tired at the end.