The Blazers have won three games in a row. They are at .500 and lead their group in the in season tournament standings. They have done it all without Anfernee Simons and now Scoot Henderson. Will their success continue? If you have questions or comments you would like answered or shared on tonight's episode post them here! https://underdogpodcasts.com/category/sports/basketball/around-the-nba
A paste of my comments from another thread: To me, wins are a THRILLING bonus. I'm looking for improvement and skills from the individual players, the coach, and the net offense and defense of the whole team. Sharpe - the end of last season wasn't a fluke. He didn't try at all during the summer league, but he has put my worries to rest. Doin' it in multiple ways. Still, the highlights for the Griz looked a lot like a series of Sharpe's defense. Coach mentioned this in post game. Ant - When they key on him, he struggles a bit. When they don't, he's been elite. Our offense has sucked, can he carry us on that end? Is there room for a questionable defender on this team? Does he have value around the league? Scoot - Mistake-laden play until game 4 when he showed some definite improvement, which bled into game 5. Can he continue this trend? Turnovers are a big question. Grant - The thrill isn't gone, but the efficiency seems to have. Can he become more efficient this season? Timelord, Brogdan - Great additions to the team. Glad the GM didn't trade Brogdan. Hopefully, Scoot improves enough so that the GM can trade Brogdan at the deadline IF he gets crazy high value. Otherwise, I'm happy to keep him indefinitely. Ayton - Already found his niche - rebounding. Huge addition to the team. Defense without rebounding doesn't work, at all. His offense will likely improve the longer the guards play together, though already a ray of light with Scoot-Ayton alley-oops. It's so fucking good to see a Blazer team that defends and rebounds. Haven't seen it in years. It's not just rebounding coming from Ayton, there's also... TooMany Buckets - A revelation. Guards their best wing, game in and game out. Solid rotation player, moving ahead of Thybulle and Walker. Rebounds well. Finishing games. Walker - has shown he's a solid NBA player. Happy to have him as a 9th man. Improving every year. Coach - Calls a spade a spade. Benched Scoot and Sharpe at the end of a half, and challenged them to play better defense. Instead of yelling, he just said things like "maybe the moment's too big for you" and "you say you want to be great" and "there's two sides of the ball." Constant support without coddling is great. He also played the 52nd pick in the last draft ahead of Murray and Walker and Thybulle (2MB finishing games ahead of Thy). Team is also playing very hard, which I consider a reflection of the coach's influence. ----- Mayes - Has earned the coach's trust. Reasonable 2nd stringer, Amazing 3rd stringer. Still young and can get better. Rupes, Murray - Lots of potential, but right now Rupes can't shoot or dribble, and Murray is a 3-point shooter who can't hit the 3, and is way too passive. Have to take the long view on these players. "3 lotto picks" phrase means Joe can be hyperbolic. Team Offense - Bad, but will likely improve organically over the course of the season. Team Defense - I, and other fans, used to relish in looking at the "HustleBoard" during games. It's fun again!
Question: I'm looking for the team to finish top 15 defense, which would be a great coup for such a young team. Can we make it? We are currently 3-3 and 10th in Drtg. How high do you think we can make it in Ortg? Is top 22 realistic? I do think the team gets better with time.
Yes, i would like some discussion on if you think Billups is coaching differently this year? In what ways? What accounts for his change?
He's putting an address on missed defensive assignments and benching guys who do what Lillard does all the time now that he can ...it's paying off. No more coddling a superstar, he can mold the rookies and sophmores into real two way players. I like that he doesn't think you can only be great on one side of the ball.
