Game 18: Portland vs Cleveland 4:00pm Root+

[PDXKnight]

BB would probably trade Ant for Jonathan Isaac who hasn't played since the 2020 season

Its too bad Isaac had injuries, his size was solid and that trade probably would be a steal for the Blazers had Isaac reached his full potential.

[BlazersBroncos]

BB would probably trade Ant for Jonathan Isaac who hasn't played since the 2020 season

No. I would need to see JI play at least 10 games in a row while staying healthy to make that move.

Half joking.

Just fully not a Simons believer. Volume 3PT shooting is great but you have to bring more to the court than that, and at 37% he is only 2% off from the league average of 35%. He gets hot and is unstoppable in like 1 of every 8 quarters but otherwise brings nothing. Not a good defender, not efficient getting to the rim, doesnt draw fouls, not a guy that sets his teammates up, not really a standout as a hustle guy, totally lacking in physicality on both sides of the ball.

I know he is a great kid but he 100% is a 6th man and we wont relegate him to that spot b/c of his contract and the fact the FO sees him as our #2 option. And with the talent level on this team being arguably poor in regards to high level talent I dont think we are in a spot to have the luxury of a 25M AV 6th man.

[JasonStern]

Rough 4 game streak, the one upside at least these games are mostly against quality teams its far more annoying going on a 4 game losing streak when facing off against mostly the worst teams in the NBA.

Blazers sink or swim based on Dame. A new supporting cast doesn't change that. Team just needs to make the playoffs and then be healthy at that point. Not confident that they will, but it isn't unrealistic.

[Norm2953]

It's not the end of the world if Portland ends up in the play in round and does not make it out of the
round. The upcoming 2023 draft is a very solid draft.

Team really has to monitor Dame's body for he's at an age where guys begin to take longer to recover
from injuries. Likely a candidate for load management which means he'll be a healthy scratch much like
those elite MLB pitchers in their 30's who simply can't throw 200 innings anymore. Better to preserve his
legs for the playoffs.

[zzaj]

It's not the end of the world if Portland ends up in the play in round and does not make it out of the
round. The upcoming 2023 draft is a very solid draft.

Team really has to monitor Dame's body for he's at an age where guys begin to take longer to recover
from injuries. Likely a candidate for load management which means he'll be a healthy scratch much like
those elite MLB pitchers in their 30's who simply can't throw 200 innings anymore. Better to preserve his
legs for the playoffs.

This is one of the hidden but HUGE issues with Olshey's tenure in Portland. He never put energy into getting a PG that could really relieve Lillard. That forced Stotts to push Lillard into A LOT of minutes, the effects of which we may be now seeing.