Game Thread Preseason Game #2: The OFFICIAL Hefe @ Blazers Game Thread -October 10, 2019 Radio:620AM No TV

Serious question here. Who in the hell, arranged for us to play this shitty ass team again??? Someone needs to push them off the edge of the Earth....

 

looks like Olshey may have found something in Brown. He’s been impressive.

 

3 players standouts

Simons 22pts 5rebs 3assists
Zach 16pts 9 rebounds 2assist 2blocks
Skals 9points 14 rebounds
These 3 players strong night.
Trent had 10 points

 

How bad was Little's sprain?

 

The two guys that have impressed me the most during these two pre-season games have been Skal and Brown.

Skal is active on every play. Scrappy. And has a smooth outside shot. Hopefully he can keep this productivity up and earn some minutes during the regular season.



Brown has some moves. He's young and raw, but that height and reach cause problems for the other team on both offense and defense. I really hope we sign him to a contract.

 

Didn’t look too bad. Looked like a typical grade one sprain.

 

Rather playing a team like this at home than playing an exhibition game in Japan, China, or Europe.

 

Skal should be in the rotation over Tolliver.

 

I don't think we have to worry about China anymore.... Lol

Seriously though, why not have the G league teams play guys like this? NBA wide rule for preseason games- you can't play any of your best 5 guys, and it's all NBA teams against each other. OH, and maybe think about televising it for a little more revenue.....

EDIT: The team you play against, gets to pick which 5 players you have to sit, and whichever team wins; the loser has to buy Chalupas or whatever for the whole crowd. Out of their pocket, and it's a cap hit.

 

I like Hezonja pushing the pace on every play. I've enjoyed watching his game so far. He seems to know his strengths and weaknesses well and plays within his game.

https://www.nba.com/blazers/video/2019/10/10/hezonja-dunk

 

That does seem to be the case. Very annoying.

 

I hope that's not the real Bazemore we'll see in the regular season.

 

Wednesday was Yom Kippur (Jewish Day of Atonement). Part of that observance is prayer and fasting all day. Probably didn't help Maccabi Haifa against the Blazers. That said, they're now 0-20 against the NBA.

 

The Contrarian: Why Maccabi Haifa was exactly the test the Trail Blazers needed

https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest...i-haifa-was-exactly-test-trail-blazers-needed

The Trail Blazers made easy work of Israeli team Maccabi Haifa on Thursday, and while social media made jokes about how "tough" they were, I'm here to tell you why Maccabi Haifa was exactly the test the Blazers needed.

Maccabi Haifa has long been a preseason opponent to teams around the league, but with Thursday's loss they are now 0-20 all-time against the NBA. However, that doesn't mean they aren't worth playing.

You say they were a pushover. I say they were just what Portland needed. Why play an overmatched opponent? Why play for the easy win in a meaningless game?

Simple: The eye test

Just by watching how your team performs, or doesn't perform, against an inferior opponent tells a coach a lot about what needs to be worked on before the season starts.
Anfernee Simons played 30 minutes. Skal Labissiere played 23. Hezonja and Collins each played 20+. This may not happen every night. But with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Hassan Whiteside getting the night off, as well as Pau Gasol and Jusuf Nurkic missing time due to injury, it was what was in the card - The reserves getting the lion's share of the minutes.

With it, you got good and bad.

The Good:
1) Anfernee Simons is legit: Ok, last season's finale against Sacramento proved this already, but he showed it again tonight. He ran the offense efficiently and was a scoring machine. Maccabi Haifa would put together runs only for Simons to go on a 6-0 run of his own to counter. He may be asked to be less of a point guard off the bench this season and more of a spark plug.
2) Hezonja starting to back-up the hype: Hezonja wasn't asked to do much on Thursday, but when he was called upon he answered. He had just six points, three rebounds, and two assists, but he spent a lot of his time on the floor vocally coaching players like Skal Labissiere and Gary Trent Jr. Stats wise, it wasn't much, but a game like tonight shows the Blazer may have found a diamond in the rough with Super Mario.

The Bad:
1) Zach Collins was good, not great: Ok, I'm being nitpicky here, but the Blazers had to have expected more from Big Z tonight. Sure, he had 16 points and nine rebounds, but against a bunch of fringe college players, it should have been far more. Collins should have tallied a 20-20 game, or something close. Instead, he showed hesitation at the rim and wasn't as overpowering as you would expect. Sure, I'm chalking a lot of this up to playing down to the competition and going through the motions in a gimme game, but that, too, is something preseason is here to knock out of the system. If Zach hopes to win that starting power forward spot, and hold onto it, he needs to show up no matter the opponent. Again, he was good. But we want great on a night like tonight.
2) Tolliver stuck in the mud: Anthony Tolliver isn't shooting often, but he isn't making often either. Through two games he is just 2-7 from the floor. A career 43% shooter, the Blazers brought in Tolliver to be their marksman off the bench. Like Collins, he should have feasted on Maccabi Haifa. Instead, he struggled to get going. Tolliver could be a big part of the Blazers' success this season, but he has got to find his shot. Otherwise, he might not find the floor.
And this is why you play Maccabi Haifa. To reinforce things you already knew about your team, and to point out some things you may have missed. Mainly, it's to highlight your weaknesses. If you can't get it going against Maccabi Haifa, don't expect to find your groove against any team in the NBA.
Now, with three preseason games remaining, Coach Stotts and his players have a really good idea of what they might need to focus on to be prepared for the regular season. Sure, it was a throwaway game. A sure victory. But it didn't lack importance when it comes to getting this team ready for a championship run.

 

Isn't it really obvious? Toliver or Gasol should not get any minutes unless there's an injury plague.

 

Ant is just too smooth. That floater at the end off the wrong foot after a hesi is pure talent-- you can't teach that. Same with Skal-- he has the best footwork of any of our big guys except for maybe Pau. Can spin left or right and finish with either hand and is always on balance. Really hope he gets some PT.

 

Gasol can help and does more than just one thing. I don’t know what makes Tolliver a better option than Skal. I’m glad he’s on the team, but his value is in the locker room.

 

Meh, it's not like we have a leadership void.

 

I think you underestimate the value of a veteran. Tolliver is one of the best locker room guys in the league. You never say no to another one.