Maybe he is the super-sub off the bench that provides the spark the bench has been missing and then closes the game even if he doesn't start. Kudos where they are due, Stotts played Layman a deserved 25 minutes and he played the entire 4th quarter. (was gassed!)
Yeah I guess I don’t really care who starts as long as he’s in the closing lineup. I especially love the chemistry between him and Nurk. Doesn’t quite have that guy to feed him on the second unit except maybe Turner.
Jake shooting .585 from the field and .419 from '3' since his last DNP on January 1. If he can keep up a rate even close to this, he is going to be HUGE for the Blazers down the stretch.
Jake MUST get more playing time. I never understood the signing of Stauskas. Jake needs to get more of the CJ shots too. He is the better shooter. CJ is tiring ...
I already see teams defending the Blazers differently when Jake is in. They are so cognizant of the backdoor cut they over hedge and that leaves Jake open for a '3' or it opens up the screener for an open roll to the hoop. Even if Jake doesn't get a shot out of the set, the offense is more effective just because of what he does. That can make a bit impact.
Yeah the Aminu/Harkless pairing is cool for defensive purposes but neither is an all nba caliber defender or anything so I don’t think we’re really missing that much when Jake is in there instead. Offensively it isn’t even close.
Something else I really liked from the Jazz game.....Layman playing SG. When CJ got 2 quick fouls, instead of going lilliputian, Stotts inserted the 6'9" Layman in at the '2'......and things were just fine. It was nice having some size out there at the SG position for once an then he could seamlessly switch onto SF/PF's without it being such a huge mismatch. More of that please.
1) Not that most of you want to give Olshey any credit, but he did trade for a 2nd rounder to get Jake from State Farm specifically. He also called his "3rd year jump," which many scoffed at. 2) Layman has actually shown a lot of these skills his 2nd year. However, there were just way too many 1-8 or 2-10 games. If he shoots consistently, he's a rotation player. If not, he's out of the league. He's shot a lot better this year. If he keeps it up, he's a valuable part of the team.
Props to Olshey for possibly finally getting a solid contributor from the Draft outside of CJ. Arriving the week before the drafting of Dame doesn't count as it is pretty well documented that is who the front office and scouting had identified.
Yeah Jake is a mismatch on both ends at the two. There aren’t many legit 6’9 guys that move the way he does. I believe he had a top 5 shuttle time at his combine. If his ballhandling ever caught up to his athleticism.....
Listen, I shit on Olshey all the time but he also deserves credit when it’s due. No reason to hate on everything he does. His draft record going back to his clipper days is well above average compared to other GMs, even if you took out Lillard. His list of misses is very small, relatively speaking.
Sadly, he may see the example of Aminu and figure it is not a requirement for being a continual starter.
I gave him his props for Jake....and CJ. Outside of that, there seem like a whole LOT of misses. That may change down the road but since CJ, what has been an actual 'hit'?