See I feel the exact opposite. I don't like Saric as much handling the ball and I certainly don't like him guarding a center in the post. I'm not saying Collins is better than Saric or Mirotic because he isn't at this point but I like Collins with a traditional big and then sometimes as the center in small lineups. If we got Richaun Holmes that might be a better fit with Collins in my opinion. That would be some crazy length and defense. I also still like Nurk too though.
I’m going to ignore all the pseudo coach talk, but thanks for explaining basketball to me anyway. On a more serious note, I don’t know how you can honestly say “skill level is a cop out.” I’ve maintained for awhile that this is one of the least talented rosters relative to their success in the league. That’s a credit to Stotts and the coaching staff. These role players aren’t going to go elsewhere and play better. Quite the opposite actually. Players come here and play their best basketball. But a coach can only do so much. At some point the players need to take responsibility, and the GM needs to upgrade the talent pool. Collins was a start. More of that and Portland will be fine. People forget that this is still the youngest team in the playoffs. Numerous guys in the rotation are experiencing this for the first time; the same guys that New Orleans is daring to beat them.
It would potentially free up a ton of salary in the Summer of 2020 when Anthony Davis is a free agent and Dame still has a year left on his deal though. Ahhhh, I can dream right? Realistically though they could combine 24 and 26 to make sure they got Hutchinson or if he fell to 24 we could use 26 to try and dump Leonard (or any number of possibilities) and take Mikal Bridges at 10. I know that the whole deal would then hinge on what those two draft picks became but even if just one of them is really good I think it would work out. It would also put us in a better position financially. Dame, Baldwin, Bayless Bridges, Hutchinson, Harkless, Turner, TLC Collins, Aminu, Swanigan Nurk, Holmes, PapaG Davis, Napier, and PC still out there as free agents too and other trades likely as well. I don't know, just trying to get a good player via the draft because I don't think CJ is going to bring back an established star.
Pseudo coach talk? More like educated analysis. We play an awful style. Teams with less talent play a better style of basketball, even if it's less successful. A style that if we adopted, we'd be much better and would be able to achieve some postseason success. The lack of adjustments to? I'm sure that's a talent problem and Dame needs to find a way to drop 40 points on double and triple teams?
Why would Saric guard a center? In my scenario it would be Collins and Saric at forward with Nurkic at center.
There's a reason why New Orleans has focused their entire defensive strategy on ONE player. Lillard is the only guy that scares anyone. And we do have plenty of off the ball movement. Our wings are in constant motion and set down screens all the time. Nurk and Collins hit cutters form the high post all the time, but they're our bigs! When CJ misses wide open cutters is that a coaching issue, or is he just selfish? I'll go with B. When Napier misses wide open cutters, is that a coaching issue, or is he just selfish? I'll go with B. When Turner makes a bad pass every other possession is that a coaching issue? Those are three of our four primary ball handlers. Out of the four, do you trust anyone outside Dame? I don't. Won't even mention Aminu. That's not a coaching issue. That's talent. Two of our best and least selfish passers are bigs, one of them a rookie, the other a full time starter for the first time.
You're making it more and more evident that you're not paying enough attention. They're trapping Lillard off pick n rolls... So why do we have Nurkic and Aminu setting ball screens at halfcourt and then standing around while Dame gets trapped? And this is in Game 3, after we've seen this defense 2 games in a row. Where's the adjustment? Why are we bringing the trap to Dame at halfcourt where he can't escape dribble, with the only outlet to relieve pressure being our Center 30ft away from the rim? Is this not on Stotts either? The only basket-cuts we have is out of our Horns set (which Is the most well known offense that almost every team uses and one we run less and less of) and improvised backcuts when teams overplay (which we use less and less of). Do you know what Horns is? Honest question. (It's not "pseudo coach talk" if you don't know..) We don't have plenty of off ball movement. I don't know what you're watching if you think that. Theres very little. Watch whatbI post later today amd try to tell me their is offball movement. There's no wide open cutters. What set gets cutters wide open? And by cutters, I mean guys going towards the basket, not away. Anyone could V-cut to get open. Turner was a 5apg guy in Boston. Why has he regressed in that area? Are you really about to say he lost his ability to pass? Players are selfish because our coach allows them to be. Our coach allows guys to consistently play bullshit hero-ball without yanking them. Our coach obviously doesn't emphasize ball movement enough, and I still don't think your paying enough attention to the minimal sets that we DO run.
CJ and Napier miss so many open guys every game (whether they’re off pick and rolls or cutters is insignificant, point is they’re open) Id need more than my two hands to count. Shit I’ll chart it tomorrow and post it if you’d like. And yes it’s Terrys fault when Evan makes his patented unforced turnover. He’s giving him too much freedom! His assist numbers are down because in Boston he was pretty much a point guard. He had the ball in his hands a lot more. That’s one adjustment Terry could theoretically make, but I personally don’t want to see Evan handle the ball MORE. Do you? And who is Stotts gonna yank these guys for exactly?
But most of the time thwy miss open guys, ita when they drive 1v1 after pounding the ball 20 times where they dont make the right read after defenses collapse. Its very rare that they miss a rim-cutter as part of a designed set. Terry Stotts giving players too much freedom is one of the biggest problems I have with him. Aminu can dribble whenever he wants, Lillard and CJ can shoot from wherever they want, whenever they want, Nurkic can shoot whatever mid-range jumpshot he wants, Napier can pound the ball into the floor for 15 seconds whenever he feels like it, Turner can throw whatever BS pass he wants... Thing is, this is basic, correctable stuff. If Stotts is coaching these guys not to do this, and they still are, then he's lost the team. If he ISNT telling guys to knock this crap off, then he's not holding them accountable enough. Both are damning.
Did you not read the sentence after that? I thought it was pretty clear I was caught in dreamland for a moment.
Yeah since this is just a fantasy scenario. Collins is probably better suited to defend wings than centers right now.
I see Covington as a slight upgrade over Harkless but he isn't worth more than McCollum and I bet every NBA GM would agree.
Yikes, that would be a terrible idea. He does fine getting switched onto a guard in certain situations but I wouldn't purposely make him a wing player. I still think he's a PF moving forward and wouldn't force him into any other position.
I agree with you that every GM would agree that CJ is worth more than Roco. But I also think Roco is a vastly better player than Harkless.
Covington is actually a good player for Harkless to model himself after. If Harkless can be that consistent 3&D wing, it would be huge going forward. I’m actually encouraged by what I’ve seen from Moe ever since he got put back in the rotation. Covington took years to develop into what he is now. Moe still has time on his side and I think he did some maturing this season.
