Game 45: Portland vs Charlotte 4: 00pm Chargetv and KUNP

[Shem]

Scoot and Sharpe off the bench when the season is already over? Every day Chauncey makes me dislike him more

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

[Shem]

Scoot and Sharpe off the bench when the season is already over? Every day Chauncey makes me dislike him more

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

lol, keep trying to spin it

This coming from a guy who blamed the coach for point production from players as if he controls them like a video game.

[Shem]

Watch on YouTube

[PDXKnight]

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

I get that. I'm more frustrated Cronin hasn't done jack to ensure our younger players get more experience in terms of trades. It feels like he hung out too long on guys and maybe missed a shot to move them for another season now



Deni has been solid and he's young, i really like that addition and think we potentially added a fringe all star sort of player which is pretty good for what we gave up. But it'd be nice to see us developing Scoot and Sharpe more than we are currently doing

[Shem]

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

I get that. I'm more frustrated Cronin hasn't done jack to ensure our younger players get more experience in terms of trades. It feels like he hung out too long on guys and maybe missed a shot to move them for another season now

If anything, he may have put a price tag that is too high. Though Danny Ainge does it and it seems to work when he does it.

Deni has been solid and he's young, i really like that addition and think we potentially added a fringe all star sort of player which is pretty good for what we gave up. But it'd be nice to see us developing Scoot and Sharpe more than we are currently doing

It's almost as if you could argue that getting Deni right now was too soon because he's making the team better than they were last year.

Scoot goes up and down on his development. He just seems like a poor man's Westbrook.

Sharpe has all the tools be a Kobe Bryant. He's a rare gift of natural talent and athleticism. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have the mentality. I've seen him float out there like Batum would do when he was in Portland. Chauncey has even told Sharpe on occasions to be more aggressive, but also be more selfish. A lot of coaches would never tell a player that, so bravo to Billips for that. It's up to Sharpe to follow through. Because it's hard to change your personality. Right now, I don't see him with the ability be a leader.

[PDXKnight]

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

I get that. I'm more frustrated Cronin hasn't done jack to ensure our younger players get more experience in terms of trades. It feels like he hung out too long on guys and maybe missed a shot to move them for another season now

If anything, he may have put a price tag that is too high. Though Danny Ainge does it and it seems to work when he does it.

Deni has been solid and he's young, i really like that addition and think we potentially added a fringe all star sort of player which is pretty good for what we gave up. But it'd be nice to see us developing Scoot and Sharpe more than we are currently doing

It's almost as if you could argue that getting Deni right now was too soon because he's making the team better than they were last year.

Scoot goes up and down on his development. He just seems like a poor man's Westbrook.

Sharpe has all the tools be a Kobe Bryant. He's a rare gift of natural talent and athleticism. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have the mentality. I've seen him float out there like Batum would do when he was in Portland. Chauncey has even told Sharpe on occasions to be more aggressive, but also be more selfish. A lot of coaches would never tell a player that, so bravo to Billips for that. It's up to Sharpe to follow through. Because it's hard to change your personality. Right now, I don't see him with the ability be a leader.

Danny is a salesman, Cronin is what he is but at the surface he's more of a "nice guy." I can't picture joe selling a bottle of ketchup to a lady in a white dress whereas Danny could probably sell that same lady a whole pallet of ketchup and convince her she's better off for it.

Sharpe is a valuable piece moving forward but we will see how valuable. It seems as if deni is more of a natural leader which could work as the leading scorer doesn't always need to be the top dog in the locker room

[Shem]

Sharpe is a valuable piece moving forward but we will see how valuable. It seems as if deni is more of a natural leader which could work as the leading scorer doesn't always need to be the top dog in the locker room

Of course. Look at Durant. That man is no leader either.

But the thing is Durant is aggressive consistently and Sharpe isn't. I really hope something can light a fire under his ass. Because if Sharpe had an alpha personality like Kobe, that man would be a superstar. Remember, Kobe came into the league on a team with Shaq, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, etc; and still found a way to get his because of his alpha personality instead of deferring to them.

[PDXKnight]

Sharpe is a valuable piece moving forward but we will see how valuable. It seems as if deni is more of a natural leader which could work as the leading scorer doesn't always need to be the top dog in the locker room

Of course. Look at Durant. That man is no leader either.

But the thing is Durant is aggressive consistently and Sharpe isn't. I really hope something can light a fire under his ass. Because if Sharpe had an alpha personality like Kobe, that man would be a superstar.

He's young, I think he should be alright as long as he's not a complete bone head

[DusterBuster]

Sharpe is a valuable piece moving forward but we will see how valuable. It seems as if deni is more of a natural leader which could work as the leading scorer doesn't always need to be the top dog in the locker room

Of course. Look at Durant. That man is no leader either.

But the thing is Durant is aggressive consistently and Sharpe isn't. I really hope something can light a fire under his ass. Because if Sharpe had an alpha personality like Kobe, that man would be a superstar.

He's young, I think he should be alright as long as he's not a complete bone head

Sharpe is on a Wiggins path, not saying that negatively, but just that he’s a simply never going to be a top 2 or maybe even 3 guy, but he can be a good starter.

[Dame Lizard]

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

There's no fault on Chauncey or the players for winning games - that's literally their job.

It's on Cronin for rolling into the season with a treadmill team.

[Shem]

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

There's no fault on Chauncey or the players for winning games - that's literally their job.

It's on Cronin for rolling into the season with a treadmill team.

I'm sure that's coming. I remember when they shut down Brogdon after the all star break because when he played, the Blazers were a lot better. They shut down Simons and Grant in March. I expect the same for Ayton, Grant and Simons again if they don't get dealt by the trade deadline.

[Shem]

Of course. Look at Durant. That man is no leader either.

But the thing is Durant is aggressive consistently and Sharpe isn't. I really hope something can light a fire under his ass. Because if Sharpe had an alpha personality like Kobe, that man would be a superstar.

He's young, I think he should be alright as long as he's not a complete bone head

Sharpe is on a Wiggins path, not saying that negatively, but just that he’s a simply never going to be a top 2 or maybe even 3 guy, but he can be a good starter.

I've already thought about that with Wiggins. He had the potential to be so much more than he was, but he just didn't have the drive.

[DusterBuster]

He's young, I think he should be alright as long as he's not a complete bone head

Sharpe is on a Wiggins path, not saying that negatively, but just that he’s a simply never going to be a top 2 or maybe even 3 guy, but he can be a good starter.

I've already thought about that with Wiggins. He had the potential to be so much more than he was, but he just didn't have the drive.

Sharpe has that same issue. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand.

[Walton1one]

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

lol, keep trying to spin it

This coming from a guy who blamed the coach for point production from players as if he controls them like a video game.

Never said that, maybe you ought to read what I wrote again?

I said he is responsible for their minutes, for yanking them in\out of lineups on a whim, for his hypocrisy of holding certain players to standards but not others, for prioritizing his own motives over what is best for the team, but I am sure that you, being a bball player would know all about how corrosive that can be coming from your coach, right?

Keep defending the indefensible, by all means. All that Billups and Cronin are doing is cursing this franchise to years more of mediocrity, unless of course, the bball gods decide to favor him with a top pick, which is rapidly becoming more unlikely.

Simons\Grant\Ayton will never take this franchise anywhere of significance, Sharpe\Scoot are young enough that they still could, unlikely as it may be. Prioritizing their development achieves both goals, improving\evaluating their skillsets\fit and keeping POR in the mix for the franchise player they desperately need. Prioritizing Ant\Grant does neither, in fact it is 100% a pointless endeavor.

[Moonbeam]

I’m not frustrated with the wins as much as I am the rotations. Benching Scoot when he was playing the best ball of his career feels very shortsighted to me, and these past 2 games have been completely nondescript from him. Not sure if it’s causal, but I can imagine it would be frustrating to play so well and then have your role curtailed like that. It’s a little similar for Sharpe but he’s still logging a lot of minutes.

Those two players and Clingan should be given a lot more leeway to make mistakes and get their minutes, IMO, so long as the effort is there.

I don’t see Ant, Ayton, and Grant being in Portland’s long term plans, so hopefully Cronin is able to make some deals that create more secure roles for the remaining players.

[Wizenheimer]

another pointless win; just another stupid stumbling step down the path of the worst outcome for this season

Cronin may not be as big an idiot as Olshey (jury hasn't reached a verdict yet). But he sure looks like a 2-steps-forward-2-steps-back type of GM who is steadily advancing the Blazers into another decade of purgatory

[Shem]

Sharpe is on a Wiggins path, not saying that negatively, but just that he’s a simply never going to be a top 2 or maybe even 3 guy, but he can be a good starter.

I've already thought about that with Wiggins. He had the potential to be so much more than he was, but he just didn't have the drive.

Sharpe has that same issue. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand.

It's funny how this happens. Anyone remember Isaiah "JR" Rider? He had all the talent in the world to be an all-time great and become a fraction of his potential because of his mental issues.

[DusterBuster]

I've already thought about that with Wiggins. He had the potential to be so much more than he was, but he just didn't have the drive.

Sharpe has that same issue. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand.

It's funny how this happens. Anyone remember Isaiah "JR" Rider? He had all the talent in the world to be an all-time great and become a fraction of his potential because of his mental issues.

Sure… but I don’t liken Sharpe to JR in that aspect of having a mental illness. Some guys just aren’t wired to be killers on the court or dominate games like a Kobe or Dame or LeBron.

[dckingsfan]

The Blazers are 4-0 since Sharpe became the 6th man.

Yeah but what's the long term gain in this? Ant and Grant don't factor into long term plans at all

Coaches try to win no matter what. So do players. If they're improving, what do you do?

This. The coaches and players should always try to win. You don't want the opposite culture.

This is on the FO. They are trying to build around Simons, Grant and Ayton. That trio should get you to the high 20s year over year.

We shouldn't lay the current winning streak on the coach or players.

[Shem]

Sharpe has that same issue. Anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand.

It's funny how this happens. Anyone remember Isaiah "JR" Rider? He had all the talent in the world to be an all-time great and become a fraction of his potential because of his mental issues.

Sure… but I don’t liken Sharpe to JR in that aspect of having a mental illness. Some guys just aren’t wired to be killers on the court or dominate games like a Kobe or Dame or LeBron.

Well, obviously. Sharpe is a model citizen. My point is there are different reasons how players can have all the natural talent in the world, but their mentality for various reasons holds them back.