Game 14: Portland vs LA Lakers 7:30pm ESPN

[JasonStern]

Jake Layman is the red shirted ensign from a star trek episode.

[Roy The Natural]

I'm just over CJ, his shooting this year is starting to piss me off man.

[monopoman]

What is rather amusing is so far in this LA vs. Portland thing since LBJ joined. Every game has come down to 3 point shooting in the first game Blazers shoot 35.1% from 3 the Lakers shoot 23.3% and the Blazers win. Game 2 the one where the Lakers win in Portland, the Lakers shoot 38.1% from 3 and the Blazers shoot an abysmal 17.1% from 3 point and the Blazers lose. Now that game was a lot closer but it was a home game and the Blazers were hitting other shots to keep themselves in that game with a very good 4th quarter to make it a 4 point loss.

[The Sebastian Express]

Lonzo has such..

Boy. That is a.. that is a Shawn Marion-esque shot. But whatever works for him.

[Brandon-Clyde]

Our bench was bad shooting the ball(7-20 combined). Only Leonard shot 50% (next best were Collins and Turner 33.3%) Turner at least added 6 rebounds and 7 assists

[monopoman]

The refs aren't helping us calling every tick tack **** foul. Hilarious seeing Laker fans cheer for LBJ when they were defacing his murals in LA last summer.

[The Sebastian Express]

The loud sigh I just took at CJ missing a wide open layup.

[Roy The Natural]

The loud sigh I just took at CJ missing a wide open layup.

I'm really closer and closer to straight up done with him every game if feels like. I mean, I know it's early in the season, but why does it feel like we're winning in spite of him on most nights. He's not hitting open 3's, bricking most layops, and just generally playing really bad basketball most of the time. I want him to break out of it, but jesus, he kills the team way too often.

It would be one thing if he was still young, or on a reasonable contract. But hes' supposed to be a borderline all-star, he looks like mediocre year Jamal Crawford.

[Matt800]

Why do defenders run and jump past offensive players who are about to shoot a 3? I don't see how that is ever the best strategy defensively.

[monopoman]

I have no clue why LBJ was out there in that last 2 minutes or so. Seems like a very odd thing to do, imagine if LBJ gets injured in a freak accident at the end of this game Laker fans would want Waltons head on a **** platter.

[zzaj]

Blazers didn't look like they had the energy or commitment to win this one in that 2nd quarter. I guess now we know why we got throw-back Lebron's best game of the year. No doubt in my mind that he had a target on Wilt to begin this game.

Another team where length seems to really bother the Blazers on both ends of the court. Portland needs to just try and forget about this one and move on like they still have the momentum from the 4 game win streak.

[zzaj]

I have no clue why LBJ was out there in that last 2 minutes or so. Seems like a very odd thing to do, imagine if LBJ gets injured in a freak accident at the end of this game Laker fans would want Waltons head on a **** platter.

Fans were cheering for him to try and get the triple double. Who knows, Lebron may have told Walton that he wanted to stay in.

[Wizenheimer]

damn...that was an irritating loss

mainly because it was the lakers and ESPN was doing their usual lebron-is-god BS. Yeah, he's an all-time great but you'd think we could go just a few minutes without the lebron-this-lebron-that idolatry. And of course, TV networks are wet-dreaming about the Lakers being relevant again. gag me

by the way, Nurkic is playing pretty well this season. He's grown as a player; in fact, so far he's clearly been Portland's 2nd best player. Sure hasn't been CJ

[monopoman]

Pretty sure the announcers during the game were the home announcers for LA, so that is why they were just heaping praise on the Lakers. I mean they haven't had much to cheer about in roughly a decade, so yeah I can understand it a bit. This is the best Laker team we have seen since Kobe got that major injury that turned his career from that point on into nothing overnight.

[zzaj]

The loud sigh I just took at CJ missing a wide open layup.

I'm really closer and closer to straight up done with him every game if feels like. I mean, I know it's early in the season, but why does it feel like we're winning in spite of him on most nights. He's not hitting open 3's, bricking most layops, and just generally playing really bad basketball most of the time. I want him to break out of it, but jesus, he kills the team way too often.

It would be one thing if he was still young, or on a reasonable contract. But hes' supposed to be a borderline all-star, he looks like mediocre year Jamal Crawford.

CJ is definitely adjusting...his time of possession and # of dribbles are way down so far this season, although watching this game you'd never know it. He did have 21/1/4 with 2 steals tonight, which isn't terrible for him but I think he's out of his comfort zone, and it's affecting his play overall.

The past two games Stotts has started overlapping in Turner with the starters and the bench and it's kinda killed both units. He's not allowed to do that anymore...

[d-train]

I feel the GLB did her job and it just didn't work out. **** happens

[Wizenheimer]

The past two games Stotts has started overlapping in Turner with the starters and the bench and it's kinda killed both units. He's not allowed to do that anymore...

that's been happening all season (he's averaging 26 minutes), but it has been heavier doses of it lately

when Dame is on the floor, I'd rather see Layman or Stauskas at SF rather than Turner. Actually, I'd rather see Harkless but that knee has become as big an Oregon mystery as DB Cooper

[d-train]

1st quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

I like this pic the most. It's sorta girl next door, only I never lived next door to a girl that looked that good.

[Roy The Natural]

The loud sigh I just took at CJ missing a wide open layup.

I'm really closer and closer to straight up done with him every game if feels like. I mean, I know it's early in the season, but why does it feel like we're winning in spite of him on most nights. He's not hitting open 3's, bricking most layops, and just generally playing really bad basketball most of the time. I want him to break out of it, but jesus, he kills the team way too often.

It would be one thing if he was still young, or on a reasonable contract. But hes' supposed to be a borderline all-star, he looks like mediocre year Jamal Crawford.

CJ is definitely adjusting...his time of possession and # of dribbles are way down so far this season, although watching this game you'd never know it. He did have 21/1/4 with 2 steals tonight, which isn't terrible for him but I think he's out of his comfort zone, and it's affecting his play overall.

The past two games Stotts has started overlapping in Turner with the starters and the bench and it's kinda killed both units. He's not allowed to do that anymore...

I'm just having a tough time with CJ out there. I mean, I acknowledge that he's getting "his" out there, and he's not really all that far off his career averages, but he's just utterly inconsistent within a single game in pretty much every game. He's also not a guy who I see making things easier for those around him.

I also don't really want to undersell how much Harkless missing is hurting us IMO. There's a legitimate argument that he was the 4th best player on the team down the stretch last year. If that Harkless can return, we'll be a lot better team for it IMO.

On a positive note, I like what I see out of Layman overall. He's not completely "there" yet, but his release is lightning fast and if he can build on his shooting right now and continue to gain confidence in it, he has a real possibility of being a Trevor Ariza type player at some point.

[monopoman]

1st quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

I like this pic the most. It's sorta girl next door, only I never lived next door to a girl that looked that good.

I think most people don't live next door to a girl this hot .