Bubble game 4: Portland vs Denver 5:00pm SNW

[monopoman]

Good game, Dame is still a stud ...hope you guys take it to the Lakers in the playoffs !

That's the plan Portland will have a party in the streets nearly if we beat the Lakers in the playoffs. Blazers and Lakers may not be a great rivalry because LA doesn't really get into it as much but the Blazer fans view the team as a huge rivalry especially after that WCF in the year 2000.

I will say though whoever nabs the #1 seed better be worried about this team, they are basically the best team not in the top 4 of the West.

[Goldbum]

Since I started following the Blazers I can not remember a player more automatic when left open than GTJ. If they lose him.you can count the 3pts before it leaves his hand. Dame and CJ are incredible shooters who.make some ridiculous tough shots... but both often miss the open ones like they're too easy... Tren just Rifles them down...

[Brandon-Clyde]

Victory GLB pic

Spoiler:

[Dzon Dilindzer]

ill take the win

dame & trent jr were great, nurk was great defensively, offensively not so much, missed to many shots... i dont know whey hes missing those easy shots regularly, i think that will remain as long as he plays basketball

neil man, these team needs perimeter defense, were not going anywhere without it

and that pnr with dame & collins and then interior pass to nurk from collins is a thing of beauty, we should run that a lot

[d-train]

Who else gets worried whenever Nurk is knocked to the ground?

You are going to have a heart attack if you are worried by one of the league's biggest floppers falling.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

Every time Nurk gets tripped up I hold my breath, I won't lie.

if hes doing it more often that not, you shouldnt be worried

[DaVoiceMaster]

Thanks Denver for not wanting to win that game.

[monopoman]

Thanks Denver for not wanting to win that game.

They sure were trying to win, I have never seen Plumlee have even half as good of a game against us as he did tonight.

[Moonbeam]

Thanks Denver for not wanting to win that game.

It felt a bit like that with their rotations. I think these bubble games are very hard to predict given not only the 4-month break, but also the different strategies for how to play these seeding games.

Although Portland's D was not there, it was still good to see them light it up like they did. 538 now gives the Blazers a 68% chance at making the playoffs.

[skywalker33]

Thanks Denver for not wanting to win that game.

They sure were trying to win, I have never seen Plumlee have even half as good of a game against us as he did tonight.

We WERE down 4 starters and only played Joker 23 mins...more a game of getting our young guys experience, to be ready if called upon and see what we have with guys like Bol, KBD and Dozier.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Thanks Denver for not wanting to win that game.

They sure were trying to win, I have never seen Plumlee have even half as good of a game against us as he did tonight.

We WERE down 4 starters and only played Joker 23 mins...more a game of getting our young guys experience, to be ready if called upon and see what we have with guys like Bol, KBD and Dozier.

Denver is at least 2 deep at every position. Very dangerous team come playoff time. I might make them my 2nd favorite team with all of the Portland connections. The Bucks have a lot of Portland connections, as well.

[monopoman]

They sure were trying to win, I have never seen Plumlee have even half as good of a game against us as he did tonight.

We WERE down 4 starters and only played Joker 23 mins...more a game of getting our young guys experience, to be ready if called upon and see what we have with guys like Bol, KBD and Dozier.

Denver is at least 2 deep at every position. Very dangerous team come playoff time. I might make them my 2nd favorite team with all of the Portland connections. The Bucks have a lot of Portland connections, as well.

I agree they might be the deepest team in the league, down starters sucks we all know that. They are pretty much one of the few teams in the NBA that has a legitimate shot at winning even down 4 starters.

[GEE]

I just finished the game and read the last couple pages. Denver fan makes a solid point, plus we had really hot shooting from 3 and we still barely sqeeked out the W.

But we get that W... thanks to Dame having easily one of his best games ever. He's controlling the game like Steve Nash or CP3 out there, but also has the ability to dunk on people......BREAKING NEWS!

Just in: Nurkic gets #3 on Sports Center's top plays!

[GEE]

NURKIC GOT ROBBED!!!

#2 was a HR robbed by some outfielder over a 5 foot fence, and #1 was a freakin mens field hockey goal. WEAK!

[GEE]

Couple more tid-bits about the game:

CJ struggled bad, but Stotts never controlled his chucking or thought to pull him. Why?

GTJ did not struggle. I was so wrong about this kid a year ago. Shouldn't play the SF though. Could ruin him. I'm very concerned with this overall. Stotts needs to manage this wisely or we will lose. PERIOD. Fortunately, I think the answer is simple: Rotate Dame, CJ and Trent at the 1 & 2. Simple math, 48x2=96, 96/3=32. Whoever has the hottest hands, or if someone is broke like CJ was tonight, adjust accordingly, and don't play small ball unless it's against the Rockets. GTJ at SF in special situations is fine, but don't have this on any kind of regular basis. This will greatly improve our perimeter D, and keep all 3 guards fresh for this battle in the bubble. Load management is a real thing, and there is no reason to play Dame and CJ 40 every night.

Play Melo at the SF for as many minutes as he wants, as long as he plays like Olympic Melo and not NYK Melo, and let him know the difference. Back him up with Gabriel as needed, but have a quick hook and use RIO as needed.

Stay Big! It's our best set of assets against the best teams. Same math as above Terry. Nurkic, Collins and Whiteside split the 4 & 5. Give Whiteside some love, and a hug cause we need him.

That lineup we had out there for a short while, with Whiteside/Melo/GTJ/CJ/Simons really made me dream of what our bench will look like next year. Whiteside/Melo/Gabriel/(one of CJ or GTJ)/Simons is going to be really, really good IMO. Hell, we should be doing that NOW!