Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2, GAME 1: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - APRIL 29, 2019 - MONDAY, 7:30 PM, TNT

The problem with Turner running the 2nd unit is he doesn't get them into a offensive. He stand out there dribbling the ball and the other players just stand watching him. I seen that nurous of time last night. Curry has to have a good play maker because he can't get his own shot majority of the time or someone set a good screen for him. This why he having problems in the playoffs. Hood had good game but looking back he had good games in regular season too. I think Stotts needs get him more minutes because none of there guards can guard him. I would play him some small forward with that 1st unit that one adjustment I would make in the 2 game. We also protect the ball better 18 turnover way to many to win playoffs game. We also need to get back to our intense defense like we had against OKC.

 

Harkless was the big problem. We got absolutely nothing from him. 2 points. 0 rebounds. 4 assists. 2 steals. 0 blocks. 3 turnovers. 6 fouls. We're not going to win many games with our starting small forward putting up a line like that.

 

Maybe you should play him one v one. He's shorter than you and older so should be a fair match.

 

Well i agree they could use more offense from Harkless but he was working very hard on the defensive end as well as Aminu. Both those guys were taking on Jokic and Milsap. This is a tough matchup. One thing i was watching was Jokic being able to body up his defender. A couple times he was allowed to bang in the post but Harkless was called for the foul. Tough to watch a defender get hit like that and be called for the foul.
On the other side however Dame got quite few calls so it's not like the refs were not calling it on both sides.

 

I'd rather listen to McHale than Chris Webber and Reggie Miller.

 

Thanks to Rodney finally having a good game?

 

7 game series friends!
Ive watched every playoff game so far and teams are hot and cold and really unpredictable.
Toronto looks strong game 1 and lose game 2. Milwaukee was off and Boston on, but that series is going 6/7.
GS & Rockets? I think GS lays an egg in game two.

 

I don't care how tough the matchup is. You can't have your starting forwards combine for 4 points and 6 turnovers. They must be a lot better.

 

And while I'm on the subject... We have to take BETTER CARE OF THE BALL! Turnovers have been a season long issue with the team.

 

Agree. If you are gonna win they need to be much better.

 

Watching how easy it was for Lillard score inside in 4th q(?) makes me think Layman could fly there few times as well. I mean, of course I understeand Dame is just so good that it looked easy, but it wasn't the case in OKC series at any point. Could we possibly explore this in next games?

 

?

 

He’ll be gone soon he only has next year left

 

If you're going to mock Harkless by calling him harmless, go full douche and call Aminu Immune or Amoeba

 

Calm yourself. On a phone in vacation and sometimes it auto corrects. Sadly, it's auto correct wasn't exactly wrong.

 

Tough loss. Need some other guys to step up like they did last series. Not sure we can get that from Kanter again though. Also, they had 4 of the most random dudes hit big 3s in the 3rd! Keep taking it to the rack like Dame was. I liked what I saw from him.

 

They can get that from Kanter. Denver doesn’t like defense much. Jokic won’t try to guard him for fear of fouls.

 

don't need to single Mo out; Aminu had 2 points, 8 rebs, and 3 turnovers to go with atrocious defense on Millsap

if my math is right: CJ-Aminu-Mo-Zach-ET-Seth-Meyers combined for 31 points on 34 shots to go with 11 turnovers and generally bad defense. When you get that kind of inefficiency from 3 starters and 7 of 10 rotation players, you're going to lose a lot of games

Portland's starting forwards: against OKC, Aminu and Harkless combined to average 22 points, 14 rebounds, & 2.4 blocks with only 2 turnovers. Last night they combined for 4 points and 6 turnovers....ouch! They probably couldn't have played worse.

the issue is that both of them are role players in starting roles. That's a guarantee of inconsistency. And looking at the lists of NBA PF's and SF's, I can count at least 25-30 (or more) who are better offensively at each position. Mo and Aminu's defense climb them up the list a little but not as far as Portland needs. And sometimes they get burned defensively like Aminu vs Millsap tonight. Aminu and Harkless have been the starters for 4 years now and the reason they start is because over 4 off-seasons and 4 trade deadlines, Portland has failed to find any better alternatives. I sure hope for the rest of the series they can play better than last night, but expecting any offensive consistency may be unrealistic