LeBron can bully almost any starting SF. Kawhi couldn't even bully Ant on opening night. Those guys have to keep up with Sharpe's off-ball movement on the other side of the floor. It's hard to find the perfect fit at PG/SG/SF, but offensively I think Scoot, Ant, and Sharpe has the potential to be the greatest offensive PG/SG/SF combo in the league someday, and I like the fit of those three together. If Ant and Scoot and can defend their position decently and Sharpe can hang with most SFs, then I'll take the potential issues of the rare "bully" SF. Blazers having a guy like Toumani who can slot in at the 3 with a ton of size allows them to mix up lineups depending on matchup. In the end, the Blazers have all the time in the world to figure it out and try these three together. Selling low on Ant this season doesn't make sense to me. See what they look like over a decent sample and then make a decision when someone like Ant has maybe played himself into a higher trade value.
He was so perfect. Played with Scoot last year too. Instead we drafted an NBA ready 4th string PF on a rebuilding team!
Grant is a PF to me for two reasons: - His offensive game is more unique at that position than the SF position, and he has an easier time beating bigger, slower forwards (more often PFs) off the dribble than SFs. - He's better defensively as a secondary rim protector instead of a perimeter defender. PF is more of a rim/bottom rotator guy than a SF is. From people who pay more attention to stats than me, they've said his historical production is better as a designated PF than SF.
I generally agree, especially since Ant has a very high ability to space the floor given his great shooting. This is especially important if Scoot does not improve his 3P shooting a lot. Of course, you would want someone that is much better defensively than him, but someone like that will likely be a super max player... so the question really is, is he (Ant) worth his cost, especially at this time of the rebuild. IMHO, it seems like he easily is.
Matching him was such a mistake. $11M a year for a guy who doesn't provide much defensive versatility and gambles off ball too much while providing next to nothing on offense. He was giving Cade way too much space one-pass away last night in the first quarter and Cade caught a rhythm after hitting a couple threes because of it. Toumani guarded him better, especially in the 4th quarter. Sixers gave him up for basically nothing and we already found a SF who's a better fit in the rotation than him as a cheap rookie. I feel like he'll be another Allen Crabbe where we trade him for nothing to Dallas in a year.
Definitely. I also feel like Ant has another gear in him defensively. I was impressed with his defense in the first game of the year especially on Kawhi. He improved his screen navigation last season but the biggest problem for him was opening the door too much when guys try and drive and letting them get downhill. An opening night, he was doing a much better job of sliding laterally and absorbing contact with his chest. I think he'll end up being better defensively than Dame and CJ ever were and he seemed ready to take a jump on defense this season.
I hope you are right. Like everything else, it will take more than one game to get to this conclusion. I do believe his athletic ability probably makes him more likely to be a better defender than CJ and Dame ever were, but if he will be or not, only time will tell.
A freaking chair is a better defender than Dame or CJ. Too low of a bar. Sharpe is the best shooting guard on the team. Plus, he has great size. And, he rebounds, and, he assists. Oh, and he makes his teammates better with his all around game. Ant can shoot some, but he no world beater. Sharpe can shoot threes also. Both are equally streaky. I seriously do not want a repeat of Dame/CJ small ball. If Ant has to start then start him at SF where Portland is only giving up size at one position instead of two with Sharpe playing as a small SF. Now I know that sounds ridiculous, but when we drafted Bowie instead of Jordan, because we had Clyde, the smart NBA minds said draft Jordan and play him at center. It will shake out. Same here. If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG.
Yeah for sure, and that's why I just want to see it for an extended period before making any final decisions on the future. One game means nothing but seeing a noticeable difference in footwork is promising to me.
Okay, how about an average to above-average defender? Keeping guys from getting a step on you from the 3pt line isn't a size issue, it's a footwork/lateral quickness/effort/strength issue. If Marcus Smart was our starting SG, nobody would worry about the defense. He's no taller than Ant. It's too easy to chalk everything up to whatever the listed height of the SG is... There's so much more to it than that. Ant assists at a higher rate than Sharpe has so far this year. That's not to discount Sharpe, more-so to not discount Ant's ability to make a play for someone else... Historically, Ant as the lead guard makes plays for others at an even higher rate. Sharpe right now has that privilege. Both dudes can play. Sharpe is very capable of playing SG and SF. "If Ant is too good or too important, play as a small SF and let Sharpe be a proper size SG"... The thing is, positions are situational. So if you're playing Ant and Sharpe together at the wing spots, you don't need to designate them as one or the other because it's about their fit and what the combination of those two guys produces in terms of matchups on both sides of the floor. On defense, it'd make no sense to put Ant on the SF just to say "Yay, we have a big SG because Sharpe is guarding the SG!". When the Blazers are on offense, opposing teams will decide how to guard those two guys based on whatever matchups they want, not what Portland designates those guys as positionally.
But it is not Marcus Smart, or Lou Dort. They are proven stoppers and on the small side. Ant is a chair compared to them defensively. You are good with the NeO game plan of playing a starting backcourt that plays no defense and are both 6'2, 6'3. Most Blazers fans are disgusted with it. Now if one of those guys played defense at a Smart or Dort level then we could probably be swayed. But Ant is far from that. All this talk of position less basketball. A team can do that when everyone is 6'6 plus. That is not the case with Scoot and Ant. This team needs rebounding wherever they can get it, especially with Grant getting one per game. Now some says he does a great job boxing out allowing his teammates to snag the board. Ant came up with two in his game, Sharpe is averaging just under six RPG. Along with his playmaking, help defense and far superior athletic ability, Sharpe is a no brainer. And in true Portland fashion, some were saying start Ant, build up his trade value and then execute a trade. But he comes up injured one game in. Ant's value is set around the league already. Trade him or make him the sixth man.
I was so glad we took a swing on him in the draft and am even more happy now. He's the best thing that's happened to the Blazers in a long time. It seems he's putting in the work and seeing him grow as a player is amazing.
Watching Sharpe videos, I realized how much contact he makes and takes, and why it's not a problem for him: dude is literally a hockey player. NBA is nothing compared to that.
Ha, that's an interesting point about the way he moves. Hockey players are always swimming through and around contact to get position.
And going by his shooting so far, Dallas got a better version of Thybulle at 1/10the the cost, who seems to actually be able to spread the floor.
I am not too concerned that we matched his salary. 11m is not that much anymore. His salary could come in handy in a future trade. If not he can be a valuable bench player for us...... just not a starter.
Portland is going to get at least one of their 2 seconds back when they move him along. He's a great locker room guy in an environment with tons of young players. He's fine sitting. I'm not sure why there's this urgency to dump every older player immediately—Tisse surely won't be the difference between Portland missing out on the high lottery, and he's not blocking anyone's minutes. I doubt they'd have a problem playing Kris Murray over him when the time comes... And there are zero negative cap outcomes here. What am I missing? lol
