"Trail Blazers players say the words that could change season: ‘Enough is enough’"

Im sure Dame words were, if we don't turn it around and start winning coach is gone!

 

If I am ever in a position to buy you a beer, it will only be half full…………

 

We've seen this Blazers team do this in short bursts this season (@lakers, New Year's in the Bay vs. Golden State, Philly X2), so they know they are capable of playing this way for a full 48 minutes. Unfortunately, knowing they can play this way also leads to sub-par effort, inconsistency, and thinking they're better than they really are.

What has stood out to me these past two games are:
- A sense of being humbled this month. Dame referenced not being ashamed to play desperate, and the team is finally scrapping and grinding.

- LEADERSHIP! Dame leading by example and setting the tone defensively against Brogdon. CJ not only playing physical with Grayson Allen to start the Memphis game but also holding Nurk accountable for his sloppy turnover that almost led to a Morant highlight dunk. It's a shame the coach is not the one holding the player's accountable, but a team that can hold each other accountable is crucial to long-term success.

- Getting everyone involved. Look at the shot distribution from the Memphis game: Lillard 15, McCollum 15, Powell 14, Nurkic 10, Anthony 11, Simons 8, Covington 6, Kanter 4

- Along with spreading the wealth, Portland actually started to value the possession! Gone were the quick, contested jumpers. We ran sets, got to the line, and started utilizing Nurk and Powell more effectively.

- Lastly, plain, old, simple effort. Portland finally played like they wanted it more. This roster may be imbalanced, but it's talented as hell. Sometimes you just need to play hard and the results will come.

Now we've seen this from the Blazers before. With 10 games left the question remains, can they sustain it? Or will they fall back into their bad habits that have led them to fighting for the play-in rather than home-court advantage?

 

im not sure this is sustainable, in fact, im pretty sure it isnt, cause sooner or later, were gonna revert to dame & cj mccollum iso ball

but like i said, this team can play much more enjoyable bball, its up to the coach and the players to make it happen

involve everyone and the players will buy in, dont involve everyone and no-one will bust his ass on defense just to see dame & cj mccollum & carmelo iso chucking

 

My question is, why did they have to wait so long and for the situation to get so bad that they HAD to say "enough is enough" and turn the switch on? This is what we saw during the bubble last season as well. Suddenly the Blazers were motivated and energized and not at all the same team that was floundering before the COVID shutdown. Are all the players and the coaching staff so complacent and comfortable that it takes the kind of month like April was to "wake them up" into playing to their potential? I really hesitate to go down the "millionaires just cash checks and don't really care about the game, the team, and the fans", but that's sure what it looks like, especially when the fan base was calling for heads after the Memphis back-to-back debacles.

 

Yeah, if other players know they can get theirs it helps their confidence. All the contenders have the iso and P&R going with their stars but defense is what makes them contenders.

 

This team is hilarious. They beat two scrubs and now “enough is enough” lmao

 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/201...-decipher-cow-mysterious-explosion-deep-space

 

I saw a couple times in the past couple games where Powell pushed the ball and scored on like a one man fast break. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Hadn’t seen someone do that in years in a Blazers uni

You have to attack defenses. Put pressure on them. Make them work. Tire them out

 

We miraculously win a playoff series and Stotts is re-signed to a multi year deal

 

Could happen! I think whoever is healthy, and hot could get on a roll. I could see (not inluding us) 4-7 teams that could win it all. Utah, Lakers, Nets, Sixers, Cippers, Suns & Bucks.
Utah & nets finals with Utah winning their first Championship.

 

The easiest thing a b-ball team can do to improve is to cut down on what I call bone-headed pkays. Easy because it requires zero basketball skill or practice.

1. Don’t foul jump shooters. We are pretty good at this but still do it. Get a hand up to contest but quit trying to block a jump shot. You’ll foul way more often than you will block the shot. You’ll also take yourself out of the play for boxing out and rebounding.

2. Value the ball. Don’t throw or give the ball to the other team. Nurk did it yesterday carelessly dribbling up the floor as if he’s a point guard. CJ apparently had words with him immediately. Good. Don’t throw high risk passes that even when completed leave the guy one on three... compounded by him feeling obligated to go one on three. We do this a lot in the name of “pushing the ball”. Quit it.

3. Shot selection. Don’t settle for shittty mid range contested two pointers early in the shot clock. Or if you’re Nurk don’t settle for wide open long twos (and probably threes unless he’s vastly improved). Dame, Nurk, Melo, CJ are all guilty of this. Powell isn’t. We score about 1.2 ppp on threes and at the rims... and about 0.9 on mid range twos. Over the course of 100 possessions that’s 120 to 90.

4. Stay in front of your guy. This does require skill of course, but some of it goes hand in hand with #1 - overcontesting or trying to block jump shots leads to getting pump faked and torched off the dribble. For example when guarding Ja Morant... do you really need to hyper contest a 3 point shot when he’s 30% from there? No priority is stay in front of him and contest as best you can without sacrificing dribble penetration. Not staying in front of your guy leads to wide open threes any way. Saying in front takes precedence over contesting shots imo. We do this way too much.

These are all decisions and poor decisions in these areas by my observation & reckoning probably costs teams at least 5 points per game.

 

What a loser Team. Sorry i dont buy anything of this "enough is enough" bullshit. They beat Indiana without half their roster and a young Memphis team on a off-night, who cares? Why did it take so long? They may play better for couple of games but we all know who this Blazers Team is, we saw it the whole season that they can beat garbage teams but don't have a chance against good teams, let alone contenders. I won't fall again for this bs

 

Thanks Damian, for playing defense. Very nice of you.

 

Pretty sure he has another year left on his contract. No reason for a new contract this offseason if they went that route. Although it would be pretty funny watching a large portion of this forum explode.