maybe...but his blocked shot rate has been falling: 2018-19 12.5% 2019-20 8.4% 2020-21 8.6% 2021-22 6.8% 2022-23 5.0% not sure if it's a trend or not, but it could be accumulated leg injuries reducing his extension Hassah Whiteside had an 8.4% block rate his year in Portland Marcus Camby was around 5% Przybilla's 1st three seasons in Portland was around 7% Ratliff was at 10.4% his first season in Portland but he couldn't stay healthy of maintain that pace
It could also be people challenging RW3 less at the rim, once his reputation was established. One thing I find interesting about the flurry of moves is, we ended up with two of the best lob finishers in the league in Williams and Ayton. And we acquired them by moving on from a PG who was pretty weak at throwing lobs. Here's hoping that becomes a strength for Scoot!
Malcolm Brogdon thought he would compete for starting job until Joe Mazzulla announced Derrick White would start The disconnect with Brogdon was exacerbated when Joe Mazzulla told reporters that White would be the starting point guard following Brown’s contract extension news conference on July 26. Brogdon, who has a strong relationship with White, anticipated the Smart trade would leave the door open for a competition to earn the starting point guard spot. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic This also brings an end to the Brogdon saga, centered on his frayed relationship with the organization following the Porziņģis trade talks. While Brad Stevens worked to repair it over the past few months, reintegrating a player after they were widely presumed to be traded presented a significant challenge. The Sixth Man of the Year spent the summer wanting a new start elsewhere but did not want to hold out at training camp, according to team and league sources who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, Malcolm Brogdon all thought they were in Celtics future plans Smart and Danilo Gallinari, who was sent to Washington in the three-team trade, also were under the impression after their exit meetings that they were a part of the team’s future plans, according to league sources. Following exit meeting discussions, Brogdon was under the impression he was part of the team’s long-term plans, according to team sources. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic ---------------------------------- But as the ill-fated agreement was coming together, rumors began to circulate that Brogdon required surgery on the partially torn elbow tendon that ended his season early, and reports suggested there might have been more injury concerns that could put his long-term health in jeopardy. Because he was planning to simply rehab the elbow and the other areas of concern in his lower body felt relatively fine, according to sources briefed on his recovery plan, Brogdon became increasingly frustrated. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic According to team sources, Brogdon only had communication with Brad Stevens during the offseason, with Stevens flying to Atlanta to meet with Brogdon in early August. Stevens worked throughout the offseason to mend the relationship with Brogdon and made progress. The sixth man eventually was willing to rejoin the team, even if he still preferred a fresh start elsewhere. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic
So I really like the trade for Portland.. conversely its mystifying to me Boston pulled the trigger on such a deal. THEY GAVE UP ON ROBERT WILLIAMS?!?!?!?!??!?!! AL HORFORD IS STILL ON THE CELTICS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND THEY GAVE UP ON ROBERT WILLIAMS FIRST?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!!! You gotta be kidding me!!! Boston will still be one of the best teams in the east, n their worried about the playoffs not the regular season unlike us.. but the Blazers are the big winner in this trade, this isnt a kings ransom but its a big payoff for what we gave up.. Only if Robert Williams keeps getting injured.. n anyone can get injured.. but Williams is one of those dudes whos always been injured n deserves some healthy seasons, so im hoping the blazers get em, cuz he sure was a bit cursed in that regard in Boston.. Robert Williams also made a mistake returning to school back at Texas A&M.. Somehow he fell to the bottom of the first round to the Celtics, a total gift.. so I've always been rooting for him... his mom was like a lunchlady or something, good dude that comes from humble beginnings.. his logic for returning to texas a&m (after he completely destroyed bam adebayo in their matchup vs kentucky) was shit, he musta got some bad advice... so I always rooted for him... cuz things woulda turned out different for him if he declared.. he didnt make any money going back to school the way he hoped, but it was like the NBA teams were wrong, n rob is actually easily profiles as a top-20 pick type of big, if not a lotto pick.. guys like Derrick Favors used to go top3 Willliams game is far more suited for todays NBA than Favors n Williams fell to the bottom of the first.. When I first saw Robert Williams play he was 6'7 and still had long arms like he does today like 7'5" wingspan or whatever, so he looked like a helicopter out there cuz he can also jump like 40" hes a crazy athlete, n not just the type of athlete who can jump high but he jumps fast, n has good instincts.. some things are too fancy in the nba right now... Williams is also a monstrosity on the offensive boards.. so he makes the dirty work plays look spectacular, crazy blocks n stuff... really fun player to watch play defense cuz he takes ownership of protecting that paint.. joy to watch.. this kid can ball.. n Houston Hoops is forever my favorite AAU team cuz of them squads with De'Aaron Fox n Oubre, n Justise Winslow Justin Jackson n Jarred Vanderbilt and Robert Williams.. N when I first saw those squads I had NO IDEA who Fox or Williams were but they stuck out like a sore thumb.. so i'm pleasantly surprised he's now a Trailblazer, truly.. My new favorite player on the team n ive only been a fan for a week n its the offseason! (enough ancient history tho) Ya know slowly but surely the Blazers are kind of building something similar to the Pistons in the eastern conference(Duren and Ayton r kinda similar, Their hoping that Thompson Twin is like Sharpe, n i could keep going but ill cut this off) but I think the personnel in Portland is better, though the big difference is in the guards(and Now Portland has way better options at PF too, its not even close..) of course cuz the Pistons have Cade n the Blazers will now go with this more traditional 3 combo guard look, that id associate with an east-coast style of ball like villanova (but im from new york, grew up watching the big east, n territoriality biased)..Its sort of like the old Knicks team that won the championship in 1973 with Walt Clyde Frazier and Earl the Pearl Monroe, those dudes werent pure point guards but combined they got the job done, In detroit Cade is tasked with being the maestro, here its more of a shared load which really makes a lot of sense cuz on offense u wanna get dudes like Scoota and Simons in space, to win on an island, cuz their built for that... But Brogdon is also built to thrive in this environment he's more of a second enforcer with Scoota, while Simons is sort of more like a rogue or the blade n he's just razor sharp n has that combination of a first step and shake, plus he can really shoot it off the dribble, so more like your classic lou williams style 6th man gunner. With Scoota in the Kyle Lowry Role, Simons as Allan Ray and now Brogdon in the Randy Foye capacity, they've maintained what I was hoping we'd see with Jrue around here, cuz Brogdon is extremely well suited for the Randy Foye tasks and even beyond that cuz Brogdon is really like a combo guard and a swingman rolled into one, Foye was much more of a tank of a combo guard. this is really a healthy way to keep giving these youngins opportunities to do more n rise to the call of battle, this should be a healthy environment way to foster progression --- even in the face of absurdly strong competition.. A few teams have obscenely talented young cores like Houston and OKC but they are obvious, I suspect Portland is sneaky good... Not a betting man, but I'm interested to see the Win-Total Projection for this team in an insanely difficult west, somehow I wanna believe this team will outperform in year 1.. Portland is gonna try to snuff out some of this smallball stuff, n one of the ways you do that is you put bigger n better atheletes on the floor.. n thats whats going on here.. N i mean, the coach is chauncey billups, the perimeter defense is paramount and now we have this insane combo of Ayton and Williams down low.. Them dudes, hopefully, are gonna be like the Bash Brothers from the old mighty ducks movies.. Ya know how when you watch Giannis and its like "damn he covers a lot of ground so fast!" This team hopefully should start to be more like that, with Scoota around n Robert Williams those 2 are insane.. and Ayton is a player who was once compared to David Robinson.. I'm not really superstitious but I have a funny feeling.. somehow.. Ayton is gonna so good in portland its almost gonna be like ya get a little payback for the fiasco that was taking Greg Oden over KD. N as I've said before Ayton has this sort of Energy that was like those Andrew Wiggins haters that swore up and down Josh Jackson was gonna be way better cuz he played with a 'meanstreak' n according to those fools Wiggins didnt, n as we know now Wiggins is an NBA champion n performed magnificently in that championship run, putting all those haters to rest in one felt swoop. Even though I was here vouching for keeping Jrue the other day.. I was most concerned about losing perimeter defense and Brogdon is a suitable placeholder.. I'm a newer bandwagon fan n I mentioned the other day Moses Brown is my favorite player on the Blazers ---- Not anymore, Robert Williams III is now! Robert Willams and Ayton on the same team?!?!??!?!?! I think Boston made a terrible error here.. I think the Blazers completely ripped Boston off in this trade ---- If Robert Williams can stay healthy, I like the chances on that outcome.. Also Brogdon fits well with Simons... Brogdon fits well with Scoota.. N also Brogdon fits very well as a SG next to Thybulle/Sharpe at SF. BUT ROBERT WILLIAMS III ! How bout that! I CANT BELIEVE BOSTON STILL HAS AL HORFORD AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND THEY GAVE UP ON ROBERT WILLIAMS FIRST.. .Wow... I refuse to believe this isnt a terrible error on the part of the Celtics.. This trade seems like a step in the direction of playing .500 ball for sure, to me. Which probably seemed quite a bit distant last season but somehow I detect its proabably a bit more attainable than people think.. Scoota and Simons and Brogdon are gonna have to shoulder a lot of the load though, IN THE 4TH QUARTER.. But thats why I like a team like this... The talent is there... just gotta execute the gameplan now.. n become more efficient n well practiced, stay healthy, gain experience... time to make this look easy, cuz theres no other way to win in the NBA, ya gotta make it look easy out there, or else ur gonna trampled over by some team who does..
love your take and I’m hoping Ayton can have the sort of impact we all wanted from GO. On a different note, I see you call Henderson “Scoota”. I also have a card of his that says Scoota on it. Is that what some people call him? Curious since I had only previously seen/heard it on that card.
Wait what you got a Scoot card already? Shocked we got Time Lord. Never thought he'd be getable and always thought he's what we need.
Word is Boston wasn't including him in the deal, so we moved to the Clippers for two 1sts and Boston changed their mind. Nice negotiating by Cronin.
I remember reading that we got a 8.8 mil trade exception in the first deal. Was wondering if we got another exception in the 2nd deal or maybe used some of it? Anyone has the info?
