Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 3: BLAZERS @ PELICANS - APRIL 19, 2018, THURSDAY, 6PM PDT, NBATV & NBCSNW

Rooting for a sweep then?

 

Lmao. Regular season is pointless if you can't succeed in the playoffs, and if other teams were as healthy as us, we'd be the 7th or 8th seed. We're not built for the playoffs and it's mostly pur coaching staff. Our coaching staff is what's regressed.

 

For real. It's easy to look at a team, see they're not playing well, and call the roster flawed.

So someone needs to ask Haynes, is Damian Lillard part of the reason we have a "flawed roster", or is Stotts not putting him in a position to succeed? It's one or the other.

 

Jason Quick appeared visibly distressed and pained during his post game interview. Man, he's invested emotionally hard with this team. I guess it's cool in a way.

Anyway, he's trying to find explanations for their play, as are the rest of the post game dudes. Lots of good explanations, but I have yet to hear the real reason....the Pelicans are simply more talented than the Blazers. They can scheme our best two players and we can't scheme against theirs. That's usually Jaynes's job to announce, but I have yet to hear him utter anything near it. These guys look as lost as the Blazers trying to rationalize it all.

 

I kind of think a little of that has to do with the personnel around him. Dame ain't gonna make excuses. But i would love to see what he could do with a bigger stronger defensive minded SG. Like Jimmy Butler next to him.

 

This team needs to be blown up. Lillard is NOT a good leader.
His effort , body language, shot selection and ball protection has been PATHETIC!
The team takes its cues from its 'Leader' and, frankly, the whole team is just full of themselves & fake tough guys.

If the BLazers brass bring this team back next season I will refuse to support them, and not follow games for the first time in 30 years.
Will be no big loss - as this incarnation of the Blazers is not fun to watch anyway.

They have absolutely quit these playoffs with their effort, and, after this pathetic display (not even trying) do not deserve our support.

 

Well. We've all been saying this for a week now.

 

Last in the league in assists, we don't move the ball, he relies on Damian too much, and when Damians double teamed he doesn't have an answer. His playbook is rudimentary with no cuts or screens freeing up guys going TOWARDS the basket. He doesn't know when to call timely timeouts and he never switches up defenses to keep opposing offenses off balance. We never run the break or score I'm transition even though we have a roster built for it. We shoot way, way, way too many jumpers. He lets players do whatever they want, lile Nurkic shooting very long 2s and Aminu trying to go 1v1 against Anthony Davis... He sucks at making adjustments and that's why we struggle in the playoffs. Damian Lillard carries us to the 3 seed and then New Orleans double teams him and Stotts has no answer.

But it's Dames fault. It's the rosters fault... right.

 

What a crock full of shit. People quit on Dame because our system is fucking flawed and our coach is a fraud? Dame plays harder than anyone and has to do the most. The dude went vegan, and spent a ton of time improving his defense. The dude is one of the best leaders in the league. The failure in leadership is Stotts.

 

It's slightly personell and mostly coaching.

 

Not everything has to be pick n roll.... why do we go to the trap and then try to decide what to do and how to attack the trap? Why don't we try something different? Why don't we make ADJUSTMENTS?

 

IDK, I'm pretty sure the point I was making is there isn't much separation between 3-9 seed.
Therefore it comes to match ups.
That Portland is a middle of the pack playoff team who for 2 straight years has been eliminated by GSW.
Now we're against another middle of the pack playoff team and going to be eliminated again.

I can agree on the coaching staff tho.
As I'm not sure having Lillard, although a pick and roll guard.
Run 90 pick and rolls all night against the best pick and roll defense in the league...
Hoping the other teams best player gets tired in the 4th.. Is a winning strat.

Can we get some down screens? Anything to get Lillard a rhythm early?
Rather than asking him to read the defense for 40 minutes a night.

 

Dame, Ed Davis and Zach Collins are the only guys I really care about. Everyone else can be traded.

 

Bullshit. One of the reasons we are last in fastbreaks is BECAUSE we have Lillard. He just doesnt run. He also is hellbent on taking the hero shot. The guy is all about marketing. Why else would a sane person wear those stupid shirtless suits on the sideline.
He's all talk, and no walk.
If only he was as selective with his shots as he is with his effort.

 

We agree to disagree on that then. A coach has to work with the players he has. I would go more with Personnel and then changing you way he coaches for the people he was dealing with.
Look tonight if Aminu and Harkless blistered the Pels like Mirotic did the Blazers then this game is way different. The lanes open up. Dame gets more room. The passing gets easier. The doubles and triples loosen up. In my opinion it's personnel not coaching.

 

I've been plenty critical of Stotts. That doesn't give Dame free-pass.

 

Why isn't Aminu on your list? He's the only guy who shows up in big games!

 

Fool me. A lot of people seem upset to have already come to terms with that.

 

Aminu is doing his job, and always does in the Playoffs.

 

Hey guys. Not here to talk shit or anything. Just my observation of the style of play for the blazers. Again Dame and CJ do not compliment each other at all and yes Dame is part of the problem but he is still a stud and a great player but if he is going to be a score first point guard you need someone to balance it out the same way we got Rondo to take the pressure off of Jrue and let him play off the ball and take advantage of his scoring and defence. Next is that system. It's very predictable it's basically 3 plays with different sets and Rondo himself said it himself. He calls out the play that you guys are running in our terminology so we can adjust our defense accordingly. We had the exact same problem the year we got blown out the building in the playoffs against the warriors. That's why we Fired Monty Williams as soon as the playoffs we're over for us and hired Gentry from the warriors coaching staff. Now it's more motion, ball movement and curls and cutting to the basket and he wants fast pace. Most Iso teams can't keep up the pace we run for the whole game and you see the results in game two the blazers we're absolutely winded by the middle of the 3rd. Iso ball is just to easy to defend and game plan against.