Game 35: Portland vs New York 4:30pm SNW/NBATV

[JasonStern]

neil olshey be like

Neil Olshey be like "I still get paid."

[Myth]

fml

[Roy The Natural]

neil olshey be like

Neil Olshey be like "I still get paid."

IMO Olshey is being really smart right now actually. No need to panic. Eat the bad year, but don't give away assets for bandaids. This team would need a Lebron caliber player to fix this season enough to be a truly competitive team.

The smartest things for Portland to do are:
- Rest players when opportunities arrive. Don't run the team's better players into the ground.
- Stay patient on the trade market until. Don't rush any moves to fix the season.
- Focus on player development.

Olshey took some calculated risks and they all fell apart. It happens. The only move I didn't like at the time was letting Layman walk. Having a playable Jake Layman right now would be really nice.
- Whiteside trade was fine in a vacuum. Whiteside is still a better all around player than Leonard. It stinks to lose Harkless, as we could really use him right now. But I understood the move. Can't not make moves based around the expectation that Collins is basically going to be out for the year by game 3 of the season.
- Bazemore trade I thought was good at the time. I was sick of Turner, and I thought that Bazemore would prove to be a better fit. I was wrong. I didn't realize how dumb Bazemore was. Bazemore is more flashy than Turner, but he has no fundamentals and is awful at making decisions on both sides of the ball.
- I was fine letting Aminu walk. He was awful in Orlando, and is now out long-term anyways. No real loss here.

Portland has a really great chance this offseason to change the trajectory of the team. They looks like they're headed for a top 10 pick that could either be used to draft a cost controlled asset, or moved for a really good established player.

[Norm2953]

Now is not the time to kick the team when its down. Just win the games you can win and do your
best against the teams that are simply better. It's got to suck for Dame/CJ who are used to winning
but it will all be over in April.

[monopoman]

I think the only potential player I could see us trading for in a big move that may be available is KAT. I agree Olshey shouldn't blow this team up for a bunch of random band-aid players that will not help us long term. **** getting a nice top 5 pick this year would be a great asset to help the future or pursue a trade.

[PDXKnight]

We are a bottom 5 worst team in the nba right now possibly

[Epicurus]

The Blazers' starters were on the court together 20 minutes and had a +4 advantage. That is simply not enough, given the laughable quality of the bench. The Knick's 6-10 bench players were on the court together a little over 8 minutes and had a + 11.

As somewhat anemic as the starters can be, maybe they need to be kept together longer each game--say 8 minutes each quarter, with the subs doing 4 minutes a quarter. Having a starter or two with the subs doesn't appear to help. Maybe the four sub minutes a quarter can be used by specialization--pressing defenses, full and half. Hell,i I know; but without more actual NBA contributors, expect tonight many more times.

[Norm2953]

I seem to remember Antonio Harvey mentioning on air that there are Millionaire players on each team in the league and on a given night each team can win.

I do think the team is in a rut with two players (Bazemore and Whiteside) on expiring contracts along with Melo thinking about putting up numbers to get their new deals. We all knew the team lacked depth but perhaps the mistakes of 2016 have led to this season for the consummate pros like Ed Davis, Aminu aren’t here to get them out of their rut

[Roy The Natural]

The Blazers' starters were on the court together 20 minutes and had a +4 advantage. That is simply not enough, given the laughable quality of the bench. The Knick's 6-10 bench players were on the court together a little over 8 minutes and had a + 11.

As somewhat anemic as the starters can be, maybe they need to be kept together longer each game--say 8 minutes each quarter, with the subs doing 4 minutes a quarter. Having a starter or two with the subs doesn't appear to help. Maybe the four sub minutes a quarter can be used by specialization--pressing defenses, full and half. Hell,i I know; but without more actual NBA contributors, expect tonight many more times.

I just simply don't think it's worth playing all the starters 32-36 minutes a night at this point. If they need all the starts to play somewhere around 34 minutes a night to beat teams like the Knicks, than they're better off doing the opposite and piling up losses. Team should be waving the white flag at this point anyways. Playing huge minutes and running the starters into the ground to get wins against scrub teams is just wasting away players for nothing. Portland is going nowhere this year. That much is clear.

[Sinobas]

Dame and Simons were a combined 6-28, that's brutal, and Dame didn't even get to the line once. So much hoisting of contested long range shots out of iso-ball...a topic that has already been pounded to death.

[Epicurus]

Metaphors are nice. But they provide little analytically. When is a professional athlete run into the ground? 32 minutes rather than 28? True, more time on court, the higher the risk of injury. Yet running into the ground is an overused metaphor when applied to non aged NBA players. Perhaps Anthony and Tolliver can be ran into the ground, but the others? Plus top players want to stay on the court. I grew up watching Oscar Robertson through is college and pro career. Prior to the Bucks stint, he would have decked any coach taking him out unless he had four (college), five (pros),fouls or was injured badly on court. That is part of the DNA of true pros.

[red_power]

Glad I didn't watch this game

[Blazinaway]

Glad I didn't watch this game

same here, I taped it and checked the score this morning, will not waste my time

[BlazersBroncos]

Simply put, we are a bad team. Even with the injuries, we should be measurably better than this. Kent is a bonehead who doesn't have a future in Portland, his minutes should go to Gary Trent Jr and Little. Hassan is a paper tiger, he puts up amazing raw stats and even advanced stats, but his play doesn't translate to wins in any way. He is like a defensive version of Zach Randolph.

I hope we cash in on both those contracts but am unsure how to do so. Personally, I would have no issue moving Bazemore for Batum and a protected FRP. That would be a great move in securing future assets. We could use that pick, and out own, to move up in the draft for a difference maker. Kick the tires on Batum and hope he wakes up in a familiar environment, theoretically even last years Batum is a near ideal fit at SF for this team. I just really don't want to waste these expiring's. We should look to move Hassan as well if it brings long term value back, even if the end result is Skal starting at Center. We need to think about fits for a healthy 2020/21 team, if that means moving Hassan and having to start scraps at Center, than so be it.

[d-train]

The GLB was good.

[red_power]

Batum so far this season

3+4+3 in 22 MPG with 37% FG

Dude has just washed up.
I think it's safe to say that Nic used to be a near ideal SF for this team

[d-train]

I would rather the Blazers win, but I see potential long range benefit to our current struggles. Outside shooting doesn't win NBA games. Everyone loves the game winning 30' jumper, but you don't get an opportunity for a game winning shot without a balanced attack that includes a reliable inside game. A good example is our success with Kanter vs Whiteside. Kanter's weaker defense and superior inside offensive game trumps Whiteside's superior defense and weak low post offense. Assisted inside points does not replace a player that can go inside and get his own.

We need Zach to shore up our defense and Nurkic to shore up our offense. We need Whiteside and Bazemore to shore up our bench with size and energy. Melo's passing and shooting is a great addition but his ability to help at the rim is not what it was in his Denver days.

[d-train]

Batum so far this season

3+4+3 in 22 MPG with 37% FG

Dude has just washed up.
I think it's safe to say that Nic used to be a near ideal SF for this team

Batum was done in Portland before the team was broken up by LA's departure.