Game 43: Portland vs Orlando 4:00 pm Chargetv and KUNP

[Norm2953]

Yes, but apparently they can’t shoot/score to save their lives

Hopefully this will entice the Magic to finally trade for Simons

[Brandon-Clyde]

Victory GLB pic

Spoiler:

[DusterBuster]

Yes, but apparently they can’t shoot/score to save their lives

Hopefully this will entice the Magic to finally trade for Simons

Yeah, that team is in desperate need of a scorer like him on nights Paolo doesn't have it going. Such a perfect fit for that team.

I'm sure this isn't helping Cronin be more willing to just move Simons for cheap tho... I could see him still pushing for 2 FRPs for him.

[Walton1one]

RW3 starting off 3Q by blocking Banchero

Avdija picks up 3rd, 2 more to go before Billups considers pulling him out

lol, watching our $35mil starting center, on the sidelines in street clothes, dancing like he could give a crap, just sums up this team doesn’t it?

It really feels like if this team plays well, Cronin doesn’t see a reason to trade anybody, and if this team plays really bad, Cronin doesn’t see a reason to trade for anybody, pretty good reason to just do nothing?

Yeah ORL, you good on offense, you don’t need any help

Man, RW3 is just wrecking dudes on the defensive interior, then he hits the J on the other end

Yeah, time to put RW3 away for the night

Banchero 1-9, RW3 with help from Camara/Walker, have really locked him up

lol, Banton checks into the game, the first thing he does is try to go 1v3, predictably he misses

Walker picks up his 5th

I thought Orlando was good? They look awful.

Banchero, probably having one of his worst nights?

So, with this win, POR now moves ahead of PHI into #8, I mean, if it wasn’t so pathetic it would be funny

Avdija to RW3 for a nasty left handed dunk. for once I agree with Colabro, that was nasty.

KCP without the benefit of playing with Jokić is just an unimpressive player

POR is up by 20, and Billups still has the starters in, like what are you doing?

ORL lowest scoring game of the season, lol

ORL suffers a 25pt loss to POR, that speaks pretty poorly of their chances in the playoffs IMO

[DusterBuster]

We now take you to a live look at the Blazers Cooper Flagg dream....

[Walton1one]

Sharpe with 7 & Scoot with 4,
glad to see Billuos prioritize the future of this team, maybe they’d both be better off if they were with other teams? I heard Phoenix needs somebody to trade for Nurkic.

[PDXKnight]

Sharpe with 7 & Scoot with 4,
glad to see Billuos prioritize the future of this team, maybe they’d both be better off if they were with other teams? I heard Phoenix needs somebody to trade for Nurkic.

Scoot fouled out so I'll give billups a pass on that. But I agree with the concept

[PDXKnight]

On a slightly different note I'm actually somewhat OK with jerami grant lately. He's taking less shots and trying more on defense.

Of course if a deal came along I'd have to consider but if we are stuck with Grant and he's not gonna be a volume shooter i suppose I can live with him 2-3 more years

[DusterBuster]

On a slightly different note I'm actually somewhat OK with jerami grant lately. He's taking less shots and trying more on defense.

Of course if a deal came along I'd have to consider but if we are stuck with Grant and he's not gonna be a volume shooter i suppose I can live with him 2-3 more years

I’ve always been take it or leave it with Grant too.

I’m mostly only eager to move Simons for Scoot to develop.

[Shem]

Sharpe with 7 & Scoot with 4,
glad to see Billuos prioritize the future of this team, maybe they’d both be better off if they were with other teams? I heard Phoenix needs somebody to trade for Nurkic.

What are you smoking? Scoot fouled out in 13 minutes. Sharpe shot 3-11 from the field.

[zzaj]

Win the battle lose the war...again.

It's really hard for me to stomach the fact that the Blazers are so dysfunctional that they can't even tank correctly...

On Mike Richmond's podcast he brought up a good point that some of us have been talking about. That the real danger here is the Blazers will treat these games of "better" play as "proof of concept"--A..."see this is what we can accomplish if we all grow things together with the vets and young players. This is what we've been trying to get all along!" mentality.

Meanwhile, if everything breaks EXACTLY right this team tops out at maybe winning a playoff series in the first round...that's with Scoot, Sharpe, Simons, Avdija, Camara, Grant, Clingan, Ayton and the role players playing at the highest realistic level they can possibly play, consistently.

That is in NO WAY worth sacrificing the next decade+ of the franchise.

[Norm2953]

It'll be fine if Orlando ends up trading for Simons. Tonight was just his audition for the Magic

[Village Idiot]

Sharpe with 7 & Scoot with 4,
glad to see Billuos prioritize the future of this team, maybe they’d both be better off if they were with other teams? I heard Phoenix needs somebody to trade for Nurkic.

What are you smoking? Scoot fouled out in 13 minutes. Sharpe shot 3-11 from the field.

and Billups knows his job is on the line too. He has no future.

[Shem]

Sharpe with 7 & Scoot with 4,
glad to see Billuos prioritize the future of this team, maybe they’d both be better off if they were with other teams? I heard Phoenix needs somebody to trade for Nurkic.

What are you smoking? Scoot fouled out in 13 minutes. Sharpe shot 3-11 from the field.

and Billups knows his job is on the line too. He has no future.

So making up reasons to hate on him that are illogical is the way to go?

[Shem]

This makes the night even sweeter watching Miami fall apart and Dame doing this to them.

Watch on YouTube

[Village Idiot]

What are you smoking? Scoot fouled out in 13 minutes. Sharpe shot 3-11 from the field.

and Billups knows his job is on the line too. He has no future.

So making up reasons to hate on him that are illogical is the way to go?

I was actually supporting your statement with additional arguments

[Wizenheimer]

Win the battle lose the war...again.

It's really hard for me to stomach the fact that the Blazers are so dysfunctional that they can't even tank correctly...

On Mike Richmond's podcast he brought up a good point that some of us have been talking about. That the real danger here is the Blazers will treat these games of "better" play as "proof of concept"--A..."see this is what we can accomplish if we all grow things together with the vets and young players. This is what we've been trying to get all along!" mentality.

Meanwhile, if everything breaks EXACTLY right this team tops out at maybe winning a playoff series in the first round...that's with Scoot, Sharpe, Simons, Avdija, Camara, Grant, Clingan, Ayton and the role players playing at the highest realistic level they can possibly play, consistently.

That is in NO WAY worth sacrificing the next decade+ of the franchise.

I've suggested this stuff before:

* 5-6 years ago, Jason Quick said that it was Cronin who convinced Olshey to look closely at Simons leading into the 2018 draft. And it was Cronin who gave Simons a 25M/year deal when Simons couldn't have got 15M from any other team

* Securing the TPE and future 1st round pick used to land Grant was Cronin's 1st big success as GM. He then signed Grant to a 32M/year deal that was absurdly higher than the market for Grant, and made no sense with Dame being traded

* it was pretty widely reported that Cronin had coveted Ayton for 2 seasons and he finally had the opportunity to land Ayton in the Dame trade; and he did

in other words, Simons-Grant-Ayton are Cronin's guys and we've seen countless time that GM's quite often over-value their 'guys' and are loathe to admit the mistakes by trading them unless the return is really really good....as in, laughably, Cronin demanding two 1st's for Grant

people seem to be assuming that the trio of vets the Blazers start and have featured repeatedly on Blazer Broadcasting is all part of a show-casing plan to try and drive up their value. But it's just as possible that those guys are Cronin's idea of a core, and he has no intention of trading them, especially Simons and Ayton.

Apparently,, Jake Fischer claims that Cronin isn't even shopping Simons in any trade discussions (can't find that particular blog online)

keep in mind that Cronin actually compared what he's trying to do to the 'Houston model'. In his mind, that may mean he thinks he already has his core and supporting cast; they just need a little seasoning and time together. Last trade deadline was only Banton incoming. This one might just be Reath outgoing

[zzaj]

Win the battle lose the war...again.

It's really hard for me to stomach the fact that the Blazers are so dysfunctional that they can't even tank correctly...

On Mike Richmond's podcast he brought up a good point that some of us have been talking about. That the real danger here is the Blazers will treat these games of "better" play as "proof of concept"--A..."see this is what we can accomplish if we all grow things together with the vets and young players. This is what we've been trying to get all along!" mentality.

Meanwhile, if everything breaks EXACTLY right this team tops out at maybe winning a playoff series in the first round...that's with Scoot, Sharpe, Simons, Avdija, Camara, Grant, Clingan, Ayton and the role players playing at the highest realistic level they can possibly play, consistently.

That is in NO WAY worth sacrificing the next decade+ of the franchise.

I've suggested this stuff before:

* 5-6 years ago, Jason Quick said that it was Cronin who convinced Olshey to look closely at Simons leading into the 2018 draft. And it was Cronin who gave Simons a 25M/year deal when Simons couldn't have got 15M from any other team

* Securing the TPE and future 1st round pick used to land Grant was Cronin's 1st big success as GM. He then signed Grant to a 32M/year deal that was absurdly higher than the market for Grant, and made no sense with Dame being traded

* it was pretty widely reported that Cronin had coveted Ayton for 2 seasons and he finally had the opportunity to land Ayton in the Dame trade; and he did

in other words, Simons-Grant-Ayton are Cronin's guys and we've seen countless time that GM's quite often over-value their 'guys' and are loathe to admit the mistakes by trading them unless the return is really really good....as in, laughably, Cronin demanding two 1st's for Grant

people seem to be assuming that the trio of vets the Blazers start and have featured repeatedly on Blazer Broadcasting is all part of a show-casing plan to try and drive up their value. But it's just as possible that those guys are Cronin's idea of a core, and he has no intention of trading them, especially Simons and Ayton.

Apparently,, Jake Fischer claims that Cronin isn't even shopping Simons in any trade discussions (can't find that particular blog online)

keep in mind that Cronin actually compared what he's trying to do to the 'Houston model'. In his mind, that may mean he thinks he already has his core and supporting cast; they just need a little seasoning and time together. Last trade deadline was only Banton incoming. This one might just be Reath outgoing

Yeah, and I'll point out that TRULY bottoming out in a tank may be a lot more attractive to us then it would be to a GM or owner...but who knows on that end.

I pay less attention to media pundits and reporting than a lot of people on this forum, but it's abundantly clear in his actions and words that Cronin prioritizes useful players under contract than draft capital and future. That to me signals someone who is interested in building via what he has rather than what he could have.

A lot of other teams have already started an apparent tank...again, hard for me to stomach an org that can't even lose correctly.

[Walton1one]

What are you smoking? Scoot fouled out in 13 minutes. Sharpe shot 3-11 from the field.

and Billups knows his job is on the line too. He has no future.

So making up reasons to hate on him that are illogical is the way to go?

Whose decision was it to bench both players, even though they had been playing well (Scoot in particular)?

Whose decision was it to bench Sharpe for lackluster defense, yet no repercussions for a worse defender in Simons?

Whose decision was it to play Scoot with 3 fouls in the first half, which led to him picking up his 4th before halftime?

Whose decision was it play, yet again, heavy minutes to Grant (34) & Simons (32), while Sharpe played 24?

and you bring up Sharpe shooting 3-11 as reason for fewer minutes, yet Simons goes 0-9 and plays 30min, 3-12 & plays 32min. etc...

If you like Billups and Simons so much, then just admit it, but don't go saying I am "making up reasons", especially when the evidence is there for all to see, if you just bothered to open your eyes

[Shem]

and Billups knows his job is on the line too. He has no future.

So making up reasons to hate on him that are illogical is the way to go?

Whose decision was it to bench both players, even though they had been playing well (Scoot in particular)?

It's called rotations.

Whose decision was it to bench Sharpe for lackluster defense, yet no repercussions for a worse defender in Simons?

I'll give that one. However, just note that just about every head coach in the league plays politics when it comes to rotations when it comes to star players. When you get that huge contract after you graduate from your rookie contract, the rules change for those types of players. It takes a lot more to get yourself out of the rotation. Changing coaches won't solve that league wide issue.

Whose decision was it to play Scoot with 3 fouls in the first half, which led to him picking up his 4th before halftime?

But you were the one complaining about his 4 points. Scoot still fouled in in 13 minutes no matter how much you want to spin this.

Whose decision was it play, yet again, heavy minutes to Grant (34) & Simons (32), while Sharpe played 24?
and you bring up Sharpe shooting 3-11 as reason for fewer minutes, yet Simons goes 0-9 and plays 30min, 3-12 & plays 32min. etc...

Again, you blamed Billips for Sharpe only scoring 7 points. I pointed out he shot poorly is why. Now you're expanding the argument to the amount of minutes even though Sharpe didn't play that well. Had Sharpe played better, he would have gotten more minutes. That's how it goes. Like how he got 33 minutes against the Bulls even though he came off the bench. And it's because he played well.

If you like Billups and Simons so much, then just admit it, but don't go saying I am "making up reasons", especially when the evidence is there for all to see, if you just bothered to open your eyes

I like how he connects with the players. In a rebuilding era, tensions are high when there is a lot of losing. Angry and frustrated players come with the territory. Many will start tuning out the coach and eventually lose the locker room. That hasn't happened in the case. The players love him. That's hard to replace and why he hasn't been fired yet. Meanwhile, it's going to take another year or so before the winning happens if the Blazers draft well. In the meantime, you want a coach that the players listen to.

As someone who has played basketball at the college level, I can tell you I've seen so many of the good and the bad when it comes to locker rooms. This is why I can appreciate someone like Billips in the situation the Blazers are in.

The problem with a lot of people is they overvalue the roster of their team. When the team doesn't perform to the expectations of the fan, they think you just change the coach and all of a sudden the team will be the winners they believe they should be.

Let's just put it this way, Phil Jackson couldn't make this roster a playoff team. Look at Popovich. The Spurs have missed the playoffs the last 5 straight years. Before that, the Spurs only missed the playoffs 4 times in 43 seasons. Let's not forget that the Spurs blew the most 10 point leads in the NBA last year (sound familiar)? Do you blame Pop for that? Think about how far back this team would be set had they not landed the Wemby pick? Just a reminder that some of the the rebuilding success has luck behind it.

I can guarantee if Popovich's started coaching in 2020 with the Spurs, people like you in the fan base would have been calling for his head. The only reason Pop gets a pass is because of his past success with very talented teams. Did you know that the year the Spurs won the title in '99, Pop almost got fired that year. They started out slow and there was a game where if the Spurs had lost again, he would have been fired. Fans were calling for his head. Instead they won and he kept his job and rest is history.