Even after just one preseason game, you can tell Portland is going to have a different identity this year. Starters: Two Smalls, Two Bigs Dame and CJ chuck. We've seen this act before, and it's a rerun I'm always happy to watch. The difference is inside. Zach & Whiteside rebound and defend the rim. It might be harder to get a dunk against these guys than any tandem in the league this side of Philly. And they will punish on the boards with vastly superior length. If your team's bigs hit lots of threes, you stand a good chance of beating us. If not, well, good luck. Because they aren't scoring or rebounding inside. Our small forward will have to be Mr Fixit, adding defense or shooting depending on matchup. But he'll be the afterthought on the scouting report no matter who we go with. Key question: Can anybody throw a lob? Bench: Run like hell. It seems clear to me Hezonja has a real knack for pushing the ball, and the second unit is going to move. A lot. Bazemore presses a lot more than I expected on both ends of the court. (I forgot that a 3 & D guy could also have a handle after so many years of Aminu and Hark.) Simons may not be a distributor but jesus the guy has a quick release and an aggressive mindset. Key question: I like the addition of Gasol, but can he fit at all with this identity? Will he be mostly health/foul insurance for Zach and Whiteside?
My new nickname for Hezonja: Magneto Man! mag·ne·to /maɡˈnēdō/ noun a small electric generator containing a permanent magnet and used to provide high-voltage pulses, especially (formerly) in the ignition systems of internal combustion engines.
I really hope Terry doesn't muzzle Mario and Baze too much. Both of em will make mistakes but it comes with a faster pace, which we desperately need. We need easier baskets and if the bench can do that for 20 mpg, we'll be much better for it.
Gasol might not be the athlete he once was, but he's still our best ball handler, passer of all our true bigs. Good outlet passer and can trail the play and hit a 3 or be that swing passer out top. Think he's going to mesh really well with our bench units.
Im not sure about ball handling with Gasol, he takes very safe dribbles which is good, but I agree with the rest. I think Skal probably has the best handles.
Whiteside and Collins work great defensively against a team starting Plumlee and Milsap, but I wonder how they will do against more agile and quicker guys?
Stotts has never really been one to be a control freak as players often praise him for the freedom he allows.
I like Baze's energy, but I have a feeling he's going to a guy that ends up wasting a lot of possessions calling his own number. It's gonna be a mixed bag.
I think Baze will be a fan favorite. He's scrappy. Anyone notice that he got 6 steals in that Denver game?
I did. I know he not as big but he reminds me some of Mercy Kersey with his energy and knack for the passing lanes. I remember when Jerome was a rookie and when he came in, its was his energy, defense and wing play that flashed the field.
I was impressed with the potential Naz showed. And it may not be long. Better handles than I thought he had.
I don't take much from the first rust game of preseason with all the new guys.....chemistry...Stotts will tinker up until the all-star break and this will be addition by subtraction for rotation spots. From last night I think Mario, Nas and Skal opened some eyes...they know Baze, Hood, Simons, Collins and Hassan will round into form...Hassan was favoring his foot from the start.
I was going to start a thread with this title and of course it told me that one already existed. Knowing that this forum is full of members of the Thread Police, who regard unnecessary thread proliferation as a mortal sin, I figured I'd recycle. Anyway: I fell in love with the Blazers initially because the team had a real clear identity. This was the Drexler-Porter Blazers, and the identity was: lead the league in rebounding (despite having no double-digit rebounders) and Run Like Bejeezus. It was fun. That's why I found the Dame years particularly taxing - walk it up and play slow halfcourt basketball? Not my thing. Or, if you're going to do that, at least be the 90s Knicks and strike fear into everyone's hearts because of your tenacious defense. Anyway, the one positive I've seen with Chauncey is that he has seemed to preach ball movement and offense-from-defense from day one (which is why CJ and Dame Had To Go). If we can play that game then I can get behind the team and enjoy watching them even while we miss the playoffs. And this preseason it really looked like we'd perfected it, and had the roster (everybody 6'8" or taller with long arms and willing to hustle) to carry it out. But. Apparently Anfernee and Shaedon didn't get the memo. They want to be New School Dame and CJ. Defense is for other people. Don't rush me. They're seriously harshing my vibe, man. Now this is on the coach. To be fair, Anfernee has given signs that he's actually trying on defense. And Shaedon may not be a natural passer, but he's not a natural ballhog either. He's just... too laid back. So. I was enjoying the team a lot more before we got those two back and it fucked up what I thought was going to be the team identity.
Great post, but I look at it more like some asshat gets a random thought in his head and feels it needs its own thread. Clogs things up. Props to you for not continuing this unnecessary behavior that will lead to the downfall of this site.
I was curious, so I looked it up: * in 2018-19, the Blazer team that won 53 games and played in the WCF had a pace of 99.1 possessions/48-minutes (18th) * in 1990 - 91, the Blazer team that won 63 games and played in the WCF had a pace of 100.5 possessions/48-minutes (7th) in other words, that Drexler led team had only 1.4 more possessions/48-minutes than the Dame led team. Now, I know that Drexler led team ran more, and they were good at it. If I had to guess is that the insignificant difference in pace is the 3-point era. In half court sets the Drexler team was searching for penetration and shots in the paint. The Dame led team was gunning up a lot of three's and more often, those shots come available earlier in the shot clock. Just a theory by comparison, the Walton led team that won a championship had a pace of 108.0 (4th). That team was deadly in the break with Walton and Lucas firing outlet passes and Ramsey coaching
