Game 9: Portland vs Brooklyn 7:00pm SNW

[Dzon Dilindzer]

Some are using Whiteside as a scapegoat. He's averaging 19/18 per 36 while shooting 58%. His motor is inconsistent, but Portland would be WORSE without him.

lol scapegoat

whiteside is an empty stats guy, dont let his stats fool you

[DaVoiceMaster]

Just watched the game. Lillard is phenomenal. Like we dont already know that. Why he doesn't get even more recognition nationally is beyond me.

I liked what I saw with Little. I'd find some more minutes for him to see if he can do what he did tonight consistently. Will Simon's make CJ expendable?

At the deadline, who could the Blazers get for Whiteside, Bazemore, AND McCollum?

[d-train]

Some are using Whiteside as a scapegoat. He's averaging 19/18 per 36 while shooting 58%. His motor is inconsistent, but Portland would be WORSE without him.

I'm not scapegoating Whiteside. I believe Whiteside is an excellent player. I believe he is being used wrong. He's a great rebounder, shotblocker, and finisher. He's not a passer or playmaker. He has a great set of skills to space the floor but not as a high pick-n-roll player. An ideal offensive flow would have Whiteside not touching the ball until he dunks it or shoots it. The offense could run through Nurkic or Kanter early and late, but this is not Whiteside's game.

[Soulyss]

Some are using Whiteside as a scapegoat. He's averaging 19/18 per 36 while shooting 58%. His motor is inconsistent, but Portland would be WORSE without him.

I'm not scapegoating Whiteside. I believe Whiteside is an excellent player. I believe he is being used wrong. He's a great rebounder, shotblocker, and finisher. He's not a passer or playmaker. He has a great set of skills to space the floor but not as a high pick-n-roll player. An ideal offensive flow would have Whiteside not touching the ball until he dunks it or shoots it. The offense could run through Nurkic or Kanter early and late, but this is not Whiteside's game.

This is a good take. Whiteside is simply a poor fit with Dame and CJ. Whiteside sets lousy screens, doesnt dive hard on the P&R, and can't pop either.

He ia a rebounding vaccum, and still an intimidating shot blocker. Interestingly I think the Blazers knew this as if you watch the first 4 or 5 games ( I cant remember exactly which game zach got hurt in) they used Zach more as the screener on P&R becaue he sets solid screens.

Its not like the Blazers are getting run out of the gym either.. they have lost a bunch of close games which isnt shocking because outside of Lillard the team has been pretty cold from outside and its a bunch of new guys figuring out each other. I am not super concerned at this point.

They could easily be 6-3

[Soulyss]

I am not blaming Whiteside for the struggles, he hasn't played poorly. That said, I have zero belief that he will be a Blazer at the trade deadline if Nurk looks healthy

[Wizenheimer]

I am not blaming Whiteside for the struggles, he hasn't played poorly. That said, I have zero belief that he will be a Blazer at the trade deadline if Nurk looks healthy

problem is the trade deadline is Feb 7. Nurk might not even be playing by then

[Soulyss]

I am not blaming Whiteside for the struggles, he hasn't played poorly. That said, I have zero belief that he will be a Blazer at the trade deadline if Nurk looks healthy

problem is the trade deadline is Feb 7. Nurk might not even be playing by then

Hence the IF .

His timetable was late December to late January... they haven't said anything that changes my belief he will not be back by then.

[Norm2953]

Makes one wonder if the Blazers will do what the GSW are doing with Curry and perhaps Klay
and decide to sit Nurkic and Collins if they decide the team is not a playoff contender. It would
'be fascinating to see the teams who played in the WCF in 2018-19 in the lottery.

[JasonStern]

It would 'be fascinating to see the teams who played in the WCF in 2018-19 in the lottery.

not if you're a Blazers or Warriors fan.

[Wizenheimer]

His timetable was late December to late January... they haven't said anything that changes my belief he will not be back by then.

last time Olshey talked about he said February

Paul George came back after 8 months. That would be December for Nurkic. But George looked like he was 80 years old and played like crap while only averaging 15 minutes. Afterwards, he said he came back too soon. Nurkic is 60 pounds heavier than George, and he's had 2 of the last 3 seasons ended by a leg fracture. He also had surgery in 2015 to repair a torn patellar tendon on the same leg he broke. None of those factors suggest a shorter recovery. 10 months would be in February and considering all the factors that seems more realistic, and certainly safer for a 7' player. And whenever he does come back, he's likely to struggle with stamina and conditioning for weeks.

I think it's just unrealistic to expect to see the Nurkic we saw last season till maybe the end of this season, at the earliest

and Zach won't even be re-evaluated till mid-March

and a big reason that the Kings were willing to do the Skal for Biggie swap was that they think Skal is made of glass

and Gasol is sitting with a broken foot and hasn't even had a single practice as a Blazer

but who needs bigs when you have Tolliver!

[GEE]

WIZ, I do know that both PG and Nurkic suffered a compound fracture to the leg, but beyond that, were they similar? I was under the impression that Nurkic's injury didn't come with any collateral damage to soft tissues like tendons, muscle or nerves. Was that the case with PG? I thought PG did do significant damage in that regard, but again, not really sure.

In regards to Gasol, I never really expected him to be a big contributor on the court, but rather a player coach, much like Howard was years ago. Achilles injury at his age, leaves me to think he's mostly finished.

As for Skal, I think he is being asked to play backup C, instead of(with ZCs injury) starting PF. Tolliver should be used as the backup at C, and never should have been the option to backup Zach, but considering Tollivers history of being a good 3 point shooter, I understand why dumbass Stotts put him there vs. Skal.

[Wizenheimer]

WIZ, I do know that both PG and Nurkic suffered a compound fracture to the leg, but beyond that, were they similar? I was under the impression that Nurkic's injury didn't come with any collateral damage to soft tissues like tendons, muscle or nerves. Was that the case with PG? I thought PG did do significant damage in that regard, but again, not really sure.

neither PG or Nurk were reported to have any tendon or ligament damage. Their injuries were very similar

[GEE]

WIZ, I do know that both PG and Nurkic suffered a compound fracture to the leg, but beyond that, were they similar? I was under the impression that Nurkic's injury didn't come with any collateral damage to soft tissues like tendons, muscle or nerves. Was that the case with PG? I thought PG did do significant damage in that regard, but again, not really sure.

neither PG or Nurk were reported to have any tendon or ligament damage. Their injuries were very similar

Thanks WIZ, and here's to hoping "THE BEAST" can get well soon.

[Revived]

The Blazers backcourt reminds me of the Warriors backcourt when they had Steph and Monta both starting. Obviously the Warriors realized that won’t work and traded away Monta and started Klay.

Blazers need to find their version of Klay Thompson.

[d-train]

The Blazers backcourt reminds me of the Warriors backcourt when they had Steph and Monta both starting. Obviously the Warriors realized that won’t work and traded away Monta and started Klay.

Blazers need to find their version of Klay Thompson.

It never works trying to copy another team's success. An even worse idea is copying a team that will never win another championship.

The addition that made Warriors champions was Green. Curry and Thompson would've never won without Green. Who knows if that nucleus trio could have won again without Durant?

I wouldn't place any bets against Blazers putting together another good run this season. You can stick a fork in the Warriors, at least until next year.

[Revived]

The Blazers backcourt reminds me of the Warriors backcourt when they had Steph and Monta both starting. Obviously the Warriors realized that won’t work and traded away Monta and started Klay.

Blazers need to find their version of Klay Thompson.

It never works trying to copy another team's success. An even worse idea is copying a team that will never win another championship.

The addition that made Warriors champions was Green. Curry and Thompson would've never won without Green. Who knows if that nucleus trio could have won again without Durant?

I wouldn't place any bets against Blazers putting together another good run this season. You can stick a fork in the Warriors, at least until next year.

Green? Are you serious? He’s a complete nobody without Steph and Klay.

He wouldn’t even be good enough to be a rotational player for the Knicks if he didn’t have GOAT shooters like Steph and Klay around him.