Count me as being a huge Chauncey skeptic, particularly after the abysmal pre-season, but I think it was just that he wasn't suited to our personnel. Now he's got a bunch of young scrappers, he's a much more suitable coach. Ball movement, running, constant effort on defense - fun!
I just assumed his coaching style would match his playing style. Everyone could see our personnel was ill-suited to that style.
yeah he mentioned I think yesterday that you can’t really win these days with the playing style of the pistons back in the day, but at the same time he still believes in similar type of players; dogs. He mentioned Milwaukee and Phoenix as examples but I think Memphis is another team like that.
Now we just need a Ben Wallace on this team. Maybe a Tayshaun Prince out ball hawking the perimeter. I think Chauncey probably learned a lot from Larry Brown who was one of the best defensive guru’s.
Chauncey is gonna be a better, more player friendly version of Thibs, I think. I'm not saying the success will be the same. Just style.
Chauncey is a cool headed dude. He is amazingly confident in himself, and once he gets his type of guys (which he now is!) I think that confidence will be justified. It seems we aren't too far away from iso ball and bad defense being in the rear view mirror. And replaced with some barking dawgs who just wanna hoop. Right, Dame????
Very fun to watch the team playing so well (though I wish we were losing close games!). Not surprising to see the style of play improve with the roster change, but it has been surprising to see the results. Curious if Billups is more of a McMillan type who is better with young improving rosters or if he can grow with a talented vet roster.
Hope not because Thibs rides his dudes into the ground. “Dame? Oh you’re playing 42 minutes every night. Have fun!”
I basically took a week off from everything basketball because I was so upset about the first trade. Now that I have a cooler head… If this is how we’re building the team, I’m fine with it. Build a defensive team around Dame and Simons and develop everyone around them into shooters. So far… Dame Simons/Hart/Johnson Those are your guards. If you’re in a position to get Ivey, he would be perfect to round out our guard rotation. Ivey and Hart are both scrappy defenders. Hopefully we get to see Johnson in a string of games to see where he’s at before he rides the bench next season. Nassir worries me as a starting forward. Right now, I see him being a souped up version of Iggy in GS. We need to address the two starting forward spots. I’m INCREDIBLY disappointed we weren’t able to get Murphy from NOP. Eason is a real scrappy forward that I’d like if we didn’t can’t get one of the big 3 PFs. Nurkic at C doesn’t bother me if he can stay healthy. Ultimately, I’m liking the direction of the team. I can always applaud effort.
Yeah. Waaaay too many in here had the wrong reaction to what Joe is doing. I saw immediately that he was replacing prima donnas with dawgs. This will improve this team. Hell, already has.
there is some hope but it's not like Billups invented the concept of combining offensive motion with aggressive man defense. That's how the Spurs won 5 championships, the Warriors 3, and Suns have the best record this season after making the finals last season. There is a big gulf between the Blazers copying that style and having the talent to optimize that style like those other teams. Baby steps I guess
Yep, that thought keeps popping up in my mind. and perhaps our best team to trade Dame to for nice pieces has now traded those pieces to the Nets for Harden
Dame will play the way Dame does. He will slow it down and he will pick n roll. He will ISO when he needs to because he can. Every team needs that player. Second unit will run. The one thing i am not worried about is Damian Lillard. This team will again have the chance to make shots when teams try to shut Dame down. That will be what happen if this team ever makes the playoffs. Right now people are watching middle of the season games being played by players with absolutely no pressure on them whatsoever. As soon as the lights get a little brighter and the speed of the game becomes playoff tempo we will see if this team can compete. That might happen sooner than we realize if they are trying to get into the playin.
