Preseason game 1 Portland vs LA Clippers 7:30pm

[Brandon-Clyde]

vs



Time: 7:30pm
Place: Los Angeles
TV: None

GLB of the game Dawn Wells

Spoiler:

[Goldbum]

So excited for this game. Moved to the eastern time zone so I hope I don't fall asleep lol

[Pattycakes]

I don’t care if this is preseason, we’re back baby!!!

[GEE]

I have ROOT sports and ROOT sports +. Both are in HD, and both show the Mariners game scheduled. I sure do hope that someone at that station realizes just how stupid this would be, to not show the Blazers on the ROOT +. especially considering how Seattle has been pushing for a team, and this game is a direct promo.

How dumb is America getting? Wait, don't answer that.

[DaVoiceMaster]

No TV? That sucks!

[GEE]

Soo Pissed-Off right now. How could they let this happen. Makes no sense to me why.

Thanks Jody... Thanks for nothin'.

[GEE]

NBA LEAGUE PASS is showing the pregame right now FOR FREE!

[GEE]

Just tipped off. OMG OMG OMG!

[The Sebastian Express]

This is on channel 3046 for xfinity/comcast users.

[Case2012]

That clippers trade was soooo bad. I don't want to hear about the contracts, we could've gotten a better return. Not even getting a first was madness.

Loving Hart rebounding and pushing the ball. The offense is struggling but I'm not mad at the defense. Nurkic still sucks at layups. Grant isn't disappointing. Simons looks rusty but his defense has been impressive. Dame looks like he's got his burst back but seems pretty rusty as well.

[m0ng0]

Walker, Walker, Walker, I love what I see!!

[DaVoiceMaster]

I didnt get to watch the game. Was at work so could only check Gamecast periodically. Did anyone stand out?

[Roy The Natural]

I didnt get to watch the game. Was at work so could only check Gamecast periodically. Did anyone stand out?

Honestly, not really. Looked REALLY disjointed. But probably to be expected. There's a lot of talent on the floor though and it flashes at times. Here were my takeaways that didn't really mean anything at all because it's a single game of preseason, and the first game at that. With a team that is pretty disjointed currently.

Dame looked good. Statline might not have been great, but 90% of his misses were VERY close to going in. Rim outs mostly. I wouldn't say he looked like 28 year old Dame explosiveness-wise. But he didn't look bad either. Got around his defender when he needed or wanted to, and his shot looked good. I think he'll probably return to form this year.

Simons... CJ-esque shot hunting tonight. Looked a little jittery early on. Also missed some good looks, but I never worry about his shooting. Defense looked passable most of the night.

Nurk... Looked like mid-season Nurk. Ups and downs, but overall just sort of looked like normal average Nurk. Not a great Nurk night, not a terrible one either.

Hart... Plays with heart and can really spark some things. Though I'm just not sold he's the right fit in Portland.

Grant. Some bad passing from him tonight. But otherwise was probably the standout in most ways. Excellent defensively all night. Looked really good in a variety of situations on offense. Some amazingly positive signs to how he can fit with this team.

Keon Johnson.... looked better against scrubs. Was probably the most stick out in a bad way player tonight though. Was pretty bad at defense I thought for most of the night. Didn't do much on offense. Was disappointed a bit, but it's a single game I'm sure he'll flash more sooner rather than later.

Nassir Little... non-descript. Other than an average dunk on a breakaway I didn't see anything of note from him. I'm sure he played solid defense because I didn't notice him on that end, but he didn't do anything tonight to make you think he turned a corner or something. One game though.

Shaedon Sharpe... Otherworldly Lebron-esque athleticism displayed a couple of times. But either lost or listless much of the night. He's going to need quite a bit of seasoning on offense to fit into a team's offensive scheme I'm thinking. But he has all the tools on both sides of the ball and his defense looked legitimately good while he was in. His athleticism seems functional in-game, which is hugely important.

Jabari Walker... I don't want to get ahead of myself. But he just seems to know what he's doing out there. He's so long and tall, I wouldn't be surprised to see him crack the rotation. He just seems to sort of have "it"... not star "it" but the type where it really feels like he's an NBA rotation player. He's smart, long, and athletic enough. Really like him.

[wjun15]

I was impressed with Sharpes defense.

[BlazersBroncos]

Simons was forcing it alot. He did look like he added some muscle, that will be big on defense. I thought Grant looked like an excellent fit outside some poor passes. Nurkic is still Nurkic, he wont ever iron out the silly TOs and missed layups at this point, but he is a nice player. Dude just needs to get more lift on his J, he like refuses to jump even a bit when he shoots his J. Hart was out of control and his handle looks loose, he will come around. Winslow is going to be unplayable in the POs. I like his skillset but a forward that literally cant shoot outside 5 feet is just such a liability in today NBA.

As for the youngsters. Keon also was out of control at times, but I really like the energy he brings. Kid was playing full court press every minute on the floor basically and didnt seem to be close to gassed by the 4Q - thats some wild conditioning and energy.

Brown is just not developing. Jumper is horrid still, the same ball of clay more or less as when we drafted him. More of a pogo stick than a basketball player.

Walker is going to be a nice role player. I did notice he looked much more position locked at PF than a swing F, but wouldnt be surprised if Grant slides to SF and we give Walker burn at PF. He is just so polished for a rookie. Was making vocal defensive adjsutments, athletic enough, tough rebounder, shot is going to be passable this year and only improve. Sorta reminds me of Bobby Portis but a bit more fluid. Really think we found a gem.

Sharpe is so raw, but jesus when he got chances to show his athleticism you see that this kid is special physically. He isnt just the biggest SG the team has had in decades, he is the most fluid athlete I have seen on this team since potentially Clyde. Dame is explosive as hell, but Sharpe is on a different planet. To be that big and fluidly explosive athletically is just so rare. I really hope that he has the fire in him to max his natural talents. If he can click, he will be wildly fun to watch.

End of the day we played a team that has much more talent than us and did decently.

[Case2012]

You can see billups vision, but we still don't have the personnel for it. We should've gone hard after Miles Turner... Who's contract matches Nurks perfectly now.

As much as I think ant has potential to be a star and be an elite shooter in the league, if we could trade him for OG+ salary I would do it. I don't think Hart and Nas would be enough after watching them last night and Ant probably has equal to slightly more value given his skill set including improvements in defense. He locked up kawhi last night on a few possessions.. could've been rust on kawhi's part but Ant looked legit.

I kept thinking about seeing a line up of Dame,Hart,Og, Grant and Turner out there causing havoc on defense with their length and pushing fast break dunks with their athleticism. You got some glimpses of this with Walker, Hart, Nas and Sharpe but I want to see that in the starting line up. Even if we stick with what we have in the wings I think we'll be alright but I'm ready for Nurk to go. Walker and Nas could be those guys but plodding nurkic and his cringe shooting and baffling missed layups is not something I'll miss.

Would anyone attach a first to nurkic for an expiring Turner? He'd have to agree to an extension obviously and Nurkic would probably be routed to a third team.

[BlazersBroncos]

I think Nurkic is here to stay. For all the skills that Turner has over Nurkic, one big issue would be rebounding. We need a elite rebounder at C to compensate for Grant and Ant, Grant especially, being putrid rebounders. Turner has a career best 7.2rpg and his rebound %'s are miniscule compared to Nurk.

We would also be in a position to have to pay Grant, Turner, Nas and Hart summer 2023. Grant and Turner might be the top UFA on the market. We would not have the ability to pay all of them in a single summer. 0% chance. One of Grant / Turner likely would leave IMO.

I also think the poor FA class in 2023 could lead Myles to an absurd contract. Wouldnt be suprised at 22-25M AV.

[zzaj]

Could only watch a few minutes last night, so I can’t really speak on the game…

The BIG issue this season is going to be just that—C. I have a feeling we’re going to end up seeing a lot of Grant out of position at C:
Lillard
Ant
Hart
———
Grant

That’s going to mean teams will TRASH the Blazers on the boards. And for all the potential of that lineup to play uptempo, Lillard has never really thrived in that context—or at least that we’ve seen. 30+ footers end up looking worse in that context.

[BlazersBroncos]

Could only watch a few minutes last night, so I can’t really speak on the game…

The BIG issue this season is going to be just that—C. I have a feeling we’re going to end up seeing a lot of Grant out of position at C:
Lillard
Ant
Hart
———
Grant

That’s going to mean teams will TRASH the Blazers on the boards. And for all the potential of that lineup to play uptempo, Lillard has never really thrived in that context—or at least that we’ve seen. 30+ footers end up looking worse in that context.

I still dont get the idea that C is a huge issue. Eubanks was fine tonight, played tought, fought for boards. He isnt switchy but how many teams have a switchy backup C? We are going to heavily use the C as a pick setter and Nurkic / Eubanks both set smashing picks. The other main role will be rebounder, both are elite in that area. Finally, high post passing. Nurkic is great, Eubanks not so much. The role of the big on this team is pretty clear based on what we invested in Nurkic and prioritizing bringing back Eubanks (We didnt make any noise in FA re C's).

With the money invested elsewhere on the team your going to be in a spot where some backup positions have to be cheap.

I am most worried about consistent 3PT shooting from the bench unit than I am about having a better backup C. Winslow, Nas, GP2 - thats not reassuring. GP2 can only hit from the corner, and has only even shown that for a single season. Winslow is a complete non shooter, Reuben Patterson level. Nas has been streaky his whole career. Its one of the worst bench shooting units in the league, only made slightly better if Hart is moved to 6th man (And he isnt great either).

[GEE]

Considering that if healthy, the Clippers are my best guess for the #1 seed, I think we did just fine. Looked to me like Chauncey just tried to get everyone some burn. It's a brand new Blazers team and it's gonna take some time to gel, but it will gel and when it does, it could be something special. Lots of talent.