Top 10 roster players and best depth chart to start the season

soobias · Post #21 » by **soobias** » Mon Jul 25, 2022 8:08 am

outside injury i cant see the blazers drafting someone 7th and not giving him little to no pt.

Village Idiot · Post #22 » by **Village Idiot** » Fri Jul 29, 2022 9:18 am

Here's what I came up with.

By position:

PG: Lillard 32, Simons 16
SG: Hart 24, Payton 12, Simons 12
SF: Little 20, Payton 10, Sharpe 8, Walker 6, Hart 4
PF: Grant 28, Winslow 16, Watford 4
C: Nurkic 28, Eubanks 12, Watford 8

By player:

Lillard 32
Simons 28
Hart 28
Nurkic 28
Grant 28
Payton 22
Little 20
Winslow 16
Watford 12
Eubanks 12
Sharpe 8
Walker 6

I definitely think Simons should come off the bench and aim for both MIP and 6MOY

GEE · Post #23 » by **GEE** » Sat Jul 30, 2022 7:18 pm

Norm2953 wrote:It''d be interesting to see if Portland is still looking for a SF upgrade.

Preferably they'd like this player to be able to switch up with Grant defensively, allowing
Portland to bring young players like Sharpe and Walker more slowly. They could offer young
players like Little/Johnson or perhaps Hart if this player could lineup up next to Grant as
a bookend pair of forwards, much like Aminu/Harkless seemed to be a matched pair.

Bored, and re-reading...

IMO, you are correct to be thinking this. When one looks at the current roster, which I'm really starting to like, does show that the biggest need now for a talent-upgrade would be at the forwards, but I believe it wouldn't be a SF, but rather a PF/C. I say this because it's been debated whether Grant would be better as a starting 3.

But I have a sneaky feeling, there's a slight chance Walker could be the solution... he looked soo silky-smooth in SL: uber-confident, smart and highly skilled. His minutes, if earned will come from Watford IMO. We'll see, but it looks like we may be OK with the platoon of guys we have recently acquired.

Though I'm not a fan of it, I do believe the plan will be to: Go SMALL. Smart move, because you want your best players on the floor, and with Chauncey's old-school style, we may have some unexpected success, even without adding any names bigger than Grant and GP2. I can easily see the below 11-man rotation on a regular basis, that should be faster, smarter, and better than most teams in the league... as long as we play the right way.

This should also lend to the keeping guys from getting injured, which is the biggest key for any hope for playoff success. LOAD MANAGEMENT. I'm also very confident Chauncey will have our guys, especially Nurkic, looking as good physically, as we've ever seen them. Old-school coach preaching Defense and Hustle... Gotta love it!

Dame / Simons
Simons / GP2
Hart / Little
Grant / Winslow / Watford
Nurkic / Eubanks / Watford

Deep bench (that I love):
Sharp / Keon / GB3 / Walker

I'll say it again, this team could be really, really good if we play the right way. This hinges largely on Dame and we'll just have to wait and see if it works. It very well could and I hope it does, but unfortunately I do still have my doubts Chauncey can make it work... going small.

Goldbum · Post #24 » by **Goldbum** » Mon Aug 1, 2022 4:31 pm

I really hope Walker can claim that starting Forward spot next to Grant. I think they compliment each other and Walker's size/strength and rebounding could make life easier on the starters. Maybe 8 minutes to start the 1st and 3rd quarters...IDK I want him to get the Batum/Vonleh treatment.

m0ng0 · Post #25 » by **m0ng0** » Mon Aug 1, 2022 7:57 pm

Goldbum wrote:I really hope Walker can claim that starting Forward spot next to Grant. I think they compliment each other and Walker's size/strength and rebounding could make life easier on the starters. Maybe 8 minutes to start the 1st and 3rd quarters...IDK I want him to get the Batum/Vonleh treatment.

Yes Walker is the wildcard in all this, I don't think many saw him balling out like he did, and yes it's summer league so we should dial back expectations but kid is looking legit so far!

GEE · Post #26 » by **GEE** » Sat Aug 6, 2022 5:26 pm

The decision made by Cronin (I would assume) to make the move for the big-time scout we hired, may prove to be a really smart move by our new GM. And of course it's just SL, but Walker looked fairly dominant when he was given any time on the court. Seems to be able to make an impact on the game, in many good ways. Comparisons are tough, but he's definitely a glue guy. Utility player like Nic for sure, but I'd say Aminu at a minimum, with a ceiling of who knows what.

Possible pick of the draft IMO, when we look back a couple years from now.

mighty_duck · Post #27 » by **mighty_duck** » Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:39 am

Do we still have room on the roster to sign a vet minimum 3rd point guard?
Well, technically speaking they would be the 2nd point guard, since Ant and GP2 don't quite fit the role. But we need a good ballhandler/distributer for the second unit, in case Dame misses any time.

ebott · Post #28 » by **ebott** » Wed Aug 10, 2022 5:58 am

I feel like the pecking order of the team is gonna pretty closely follow the money. That's not always the way it works, but I feel like that's how it's gonna work on this team this year. Your starters are gonna be Dame, Simons, Hart, Grant and Nurkic. GP2 is gonna be the first player off the bench and play the most minutes of any bench player. Wouldn't surprise me if he plays nearly 30 minutes a game. I think we're gonna see at least 5 minutes a game where Dame, Simons and GP2 are on the court at the same time. Little and Winslow are the next two guys and probably take the bulk of the rest of the bench minutes. Eubanks will probably play 10 minutes or so just cause he's tall. But there will probably be games where the other team goes small and Watford plays those minutes.

Village Idiot · Post #29 » by **Village Idiot** » Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:36 am

mighty_duck wrote:Do we still have room on the roster to sign a vet minimum 3rd point guard?
Well, technically speaking they would be the 2nd point guard, since Ant and GP2 don't quite fit the role. But we need a good ballhandler/distributer for the second unit, in case Dame misses any time.

I really hope Simons is that 2nd unit PG and that he comes off the bench.

Don't forget Justise Winslow. He started at PG for Miami before injuries derailed his career. He's not a traditional PG but he is a good distributor who can get downhill and kick-out. He's also an outstanding defender. To me Winslow is the x-factor for this team. If he can have a healthy season and play like he did in 2018/19 for the Heat (12.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.3 APG on 37.5 3pt%) this team could surprise.

ebott · Post #30 » by **ebott** » Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:26 am

The problem with Justice Winslow is he can't shoot from distance. That's just not allowed in today's NBA. I hope we can make it work cause our front court depth chart looks super sad without him in it. But I think the most likely thing is like you said, Ant and Dame are gonna play all the point guard minutes. So we don't really need another point guard as long as they're healthy. But it wouldn't surprise me if they gave Hart or Winslow or Watford a bit of ball handling duty when only one of Dame/Ant is on the floor.

Village Idiot · Post #31 » by **Village Idiot** » Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:17 pm

ebott wrote:The problem with Justice Winslow is he can't shoot from distance. That's just not allowed in today's NBA. I hope we can make it work cause our front court depth chart looks super sad without him in it. But I think the most likely thing is like you said, Ant and Dame are gonna play all the point guard minutes. So we don't really need another point guard as long as they're healthy. But it wouldn't surprise me if they gave Hart or Winslow or Watford a bit of ball handling duty when only one of Dame/Ant is on the floor.

Agreed. Winslow has had some periods of his career when he has shot well but they have been few and far between. With his skillset he's basically a poor mans Ben Simmons who isn't afraid to shoot. He's also paid a lot less than Simmons.

Case2012 · Post #32 » by **Case2012** » Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:37 pm

Dame/Simons
Hart/GP
Winslow/Nas
Grant/Watford
Nurkic/Eubanks

Dame and Simons should barely share the court together and they need to be surrounded by the best defensive players we have at all times. I think that’s the best starting and bench line up we can roll out. I especially like the defensive starting line up, while we would having a lot of scoring off the bench to take advantage of second units.

HoopsFanAZ · Post #33 » by **HoopsFanAZ** » Sun Aug 14, 2022 7:14 pm

Lillard
Simons
Little
Grant
Nurkic

Hart, Payton get 26-28 (pretty close to Little minutes) with Sharpe (where they can), Johnson (prior to a trade)
Winslow and Walker as combo forwards
Watford and Eubanks as back-up bigs

Most likely to be traded in FEBRUARY? Hart, Winslow, Johnson … with a darkhorse candidate in Nurkic.

ebott · Post #34 » by **ebott** » Sun Aug 14, 2022 8:30 pm

Case2012 wrote:Dame/Simons
Hart/GP
Winslow/Nas
Grant/Watford
Nurkic/Eubanks

Dame and Simons should barely share the court together and they need to be surrounded by the best defensive players we have at all times. I think that’s the best starting and bench line up we can roll out. I especially like the defensive starting line up, while we would having a lot of scoring off the bench to take advantage of second units.

This just isn't realistic. Dame and Ant are gonna see A LOT of time on the court together. Has anyone ever been in the first year of a hundred million dollar contract and come off the bench? Dame and Ant are gonna start and finish every game together. They will definitely stagger to make sure one of them is on the court at all times, but that's still gonna be a lot of time together. This team is gonna have a lot of interesting combinations to try and put out units that are good on defense. They just won't do it at the beginning or end of the game cause Dame and Ant are gonna be out there together and there's just no way that those units are not bad defensively.

Ps. There's no way Justice Winslow starts.

BNM · Post #35 » by **BNM** » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:03 pm

ebott wrote:This just isn't realistic. Dame and Ant are gonna see A LOT of time on the court together. Has anyone ever been in the first year of a hundred million dollar contract and come off the bench?

If you adjust for inflation and salary cap increases, both Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner came close. There may be other members of the Summer of Monopoly Money in 2016 that come even closer, but those two each got $75 million and $70 million and neither started - on the same team!

Post #36 » by **DaVoiceMaster** » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:32 pm

I'm anxious to see a unit on the court in the closing seconds that does not include Lillard or Simon's. I think we only saw it one time during Lillards era where the Blazers needed a stop and took Lillard out of the game for a defensive player.

Payton / Hart / Winslow / Grant / Nurkic
- or -
Payton / Hart / Little / Grant / Winslow

I'm excited to watch some defense.

Case2012 · Post #37 » by **Case2012** » Mon Aug 15, 2022 12:05 am

ebott wrote:
Case2012 wrote:Dame/Simons
Hart/GP
Winslow/Nas
Grant/Watford
Nurkic/Eubanks

Dame and Simons should barely share the court together and they need to be surrounded by the best defensive players we have at all times. I think that’s the best starting and bench line up we can roll out. I especially like the defensive starting line up, while we would having a lot of scoring off the bench to take advantage of second units.

This just isn't realistic. Dame and Ant are gonna see A LOT of time on the court together. Has anyone ever been in the first year of a hundred million dollar contract and come off the bench? Dame and Ant are gonna start and finish every game together. They will definitely stagger to make sure one of them is on the court at all times, but that's still gonna be a lot of time together. This team is gonna have a lot of interesting combinations to try and put out units that are good on defense. They just won't do it at the beginning or end of the game cause Dame and Ant are gonna be out there together and there's just no way that those units are not bad defensively.

Ps. There's no way Justice Winslow starts.

No one said it was realistic. The team would be better if the rotation was like that though. Also, the thread is about how we would handle the line up, so personally I would start Winslow buddy. :-?

ebott · Post #38 » by **ebott** » Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:02 pm

Case2012 wrote:No one said it was realistic. The team would be better if the rotation was like that though. Also, the thread is about how we would handle the line up, so personally I would start Winslow buddy.

True Dat. When the team changes as much as ours did I suppose it's good to have dreams that we might actually play basketball differently. I would be THRILLED if Ant came off the bench and Winslow played meaningful minutes. That would really signal a significant change. If nothing else I'm real curious to see if we try out different lineups or if we're just gonna have the same starters and rotation all year long regardless of performance.

I'm just too busy predicting doom and gloom to have such dreams. In my mind the lineup that's gonna get the most play is Dame and another high scoring guard that doesn't play defense and three other guys that don't matter just like the last 8 years.

Post #39 » by **floppymoose** » Wed Sep 7, 2022 11:03 pm

GP2 is great but he doesn't play PG. He can defend PG very well, but to me PG role is defined by what you do on offense (and C role is defined by what you do on defense).

Soulyss · Post #40 » by **Soulyss** » Fri Sep 9, 2022 2:03 am

I think it will break down something like this:

G - Damian Lillard (32) / Anfernee Simons (14)
G - Anfernee Simons (18) / GP2 (20) / Josh Hart (10)
F - Nas Little (24) / Josh Hart (16) / GP2 (8)
F - Jerami Grant (30) / Justice Winslow (18)
C - Jusuf Nurkic (28) / Watford (10) / Eubanks (10)

I do not believe Sharpe will see any minutes this season except for blowouts. This also doesn't concern me, he was never a pick for "This Year".