Game 78: Portland vs Minnesota 12:30PM Root+

[The Sebastian Express]

Man. Shaedon is starting to look special-special.

[PDXKnight]

Costly win. We cannot let go of sharpe imo we just can't it'll be regretful

[PDXKnight]

It's funny Blazers can land an unwanted victory here with a bunch of g-leaguers on the roster.
Didn't have any idea wolves were this bad.

That team is just mediocre as hell and inconsistent.

Man this one is costly, if we beat the spurs we could end up in 7th to finish

[DusterBuster]

It's funny Blazers can land an unwanted victory here with a bunch of g-leaguers on the roster.
Didn't have any idea wolves were this bad.

That team is just mediocre as hell and inconsistent.

Man this one is costly, if we beat the spurs we could end up in 7th to finish

Orlando currently 20 up on Pistons.

[The Sebastian Express]

Thank you, Orlando. Please. Please stay up.

[PDXKnight]

That team is just mediocre as hell and inconsistent.

Man this one is costly, if we beat the spurs we could end up in 7th to finish

Orlando currently 20 up on Pistons.

Still hurts as it gets us dangerously close to 34 wins with a winnable sa game coming up. We may need help elsewhere

[dunlop212]

Time to shut down Sharpe?

[DusterBuster]

Man this one is costly, if we beat the spurs we could end up in 7th to finish

Orlando currently 20 up on Pistons.

Still hurts as it gets us dangerously close to 34 wins with a winnable sa game coming up. We may need help elsewhere

SA just beat the Kings.

They have quite a bit of offensive firepower.

Not toooo worried about it. Plus, regardless if they’re at 5 or not, it’s still going to largely be a crapshoot if they win the lottery.

[monopoman]

I will point out in the tank race we are still in control of our destiny as far as holding onto the 5th worst record. We are a full game ahead in the tank race over both the Wizards, Pacers, and Magic.

I know losing this game helps us more to secure that 5th worst record, but at least we are still ahead in that tank race even after winning. There is no way we get into the top 4 spot even if we lose every single game and every team above us wins every remaining game.

Charlotte is locked in as the 4th worst record and they have that no matter what happens in their last 3 games or so.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Thank you, Orlando!

[Dame Lizard]

I will point out in the tank race we are still in control of our destiny as far as holding onto the 5th worst record. We are a full game ahead in the tank race over both the Wizards, Pacers, and Magic.

I know losing this game helps us more to secure that 5th worst record, but at least we are still ahead in that tank race even after winning. There is no way we get into the top 4 spot even if we lose every single game and every team above us wins every remaining game.

Charlotte is locked in as the 4th worst record and they have that no matter what happens in their last 3 games or so.

Also, when you're winning because your blue sky potential 19 year old raw prospect is playing really impressively, that's not a bad thing.

This end of season period could become really important in Shaedon's development, giving him confidence, identifying areas of improvement and really motivating him to work hard and make this recent form the new norm.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I will point out in the tank race we are still in control of our destiny as far as holding onto the 5th worst record. We are a full game ahead in the tank race over both the Wizards, Pacers, and Magic.

I know losing this game helps us more to secure that 5th worst record, but at least we are still ahead in that tank race even after winning. There is no way we get into the top 4 spot even if we lose every single game and every team above us wins every remaining game.

Charlotte is locked in as the 4th worst record and they have that no matter what happens in their last 3 games or so.

Also, when you're winning because your blue sky potential 19 year old raw prospect is playing really impressively, that's not a bad thing.

This end of season period could become really important in Shaedon's development, giving him confidence, identifying areas of improvement and really motivating him to work hard and make this recent form the new norm.

One of the recent developments that make me even more excited about him is to see his passion come out a bit now. At the beginning of the season he was a little passive, understandable as a rookie getting his feet wet but you know some young players come in and try to do everything and then some and need to be reeled back, whereas Shaedon kind of took a slow burn with it and never got over his head. Anyways so with seeming to sometimes just go through the motions and not push himself to the point of failure I was a questioning a bit his competitive spirit, but boy you can see it the last couple games when we put the responsibility on him and what a great reaction for a young man to have to that situation. Getting a few wins under his belt as "the man" will be very good for him but also pushing him in order to see where he can and needs to improve.

[DusterBuster]

Yeah, I have a hard time being too upset at this win. For one, it’s just good NBA karma to have a team that’s still trying. Last years tank job gave some bad NBA juju. This one seems a bit more organic to the extent that they’re playing at least one player who factors into the future.

Secondly, giving these minutes to Sharpe will be huge long term for his development. Really wish they would have been doing this awhile ago… but better late than never.

[The Sebastian Express]

Sharpe taking it to the cup and getting that clutch bucket to win the game was definitely worth the win.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I will point out in the tank race we are still in control of our destiny as far as holding onto the 5th worst record. We are a full game ahead in the tank race over both the Wizards, Pacers, and Magic.

I know losing this game helps us more to secure that 5th worst record, but at least we are still ahead in that tank race even after winning. There is no way we get into the top 4 spot even if we lose every single game and every team above us wins every remaining game.

Charlotte is locked in as the 4th worst record and they have that no matter what happens in their last 3 games or so.

The Blazers are actually tied with Indiana in the loss column. Both teams have one winnable game left on their schedules. The Blazers need to lose the rest of their games! I really disliked this win and how embarrassed are the T-Wolves? Wow! Good job, even if I wanted them to lose.

[monopoman]

I will point out in the tank race we are still in control of our destiny as far as holding onto the 5th worst record. We are a full game ahead in the tank race over both the Wizards, Pacers, and Magic.

I know losing this game helps us more to secure that 5th worst record, but at least we are still ahead in that tank race even after winning. There is no way we get into the top 4 spot even if we lose every single game and every team above us wins every remaining game.

Charlotte is locked in as the 4th worst record and they have that no matter what happens in their last 3 games or so.

The Blazers are actually tied with Indiana in the loss column. Both teams have one winnable game left on their schedules. The Blazers need to lose the rest of their games! I really disliked this win and how embarrassed are the T-Wolves? Wow! Good job, even if I wanted them to lose.

On the general board they posted the Wolves woes against the worst 5 teams in the league, they are 5-10 after this game against the 5 worst teams in the league. The worst record by far of any playoff team in the West or East, so this team seems to love to drop the ball against bad teams.

We are tied with them but they have one more win then we do, so we would have to win our next game to have the same exact record. I believe that still backs up what I said if we lose every remaining game and so does the Pacers/Magic/Wizards we still end up with a record they can't beat in the tank race.

[Wizenheimer]

I know it would have been 'best' if the Blazers had lost. I didn't care though when the 4th Q rolled around. I wanted to see those no-name Blazers get a win after they worked so hard
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and my god the Wolves are a mess. That Gobert trade may go down as one of the top-10 worst trades ever. KAT has to be one of the most overrated players around and has anybody taken a look at his contract (and Gobert's)....it's insane:

KAT - $33,833,400 $36,016,200 $49,245,000 $53,184,600 $57,124,200 $61,063,800
Gobert - $38,172,414 $41,000,000 $43,827,586 $46,655,172

then take a look at their outgoing draft pick obligations:

2023 first round draft pick to Utah
Minnesota's 2023 1st round pick to Utah [Minnesota-Utah, 7/6/2022]

2023 second round draft pick to Memphis
Minnesota's 2023 2nd round pick to Memphis [Memphis-Minnesota, 6/24/2022]

2024 second round draft pick to Portland or Oklahoma City
Portland will receive the more favorable of Charlotte's 2024 2nd round pick and Minnesota's 2024 2nd round pick and Oklahoma City will receive the less favorable of the two (via Charlotte to New Orleans to Oklahoma City; via Minnesota to Oklahoma City to Denver to Portland) [Charlotte-New Orleans, 11/19/2020; Minnesota-New York-Oklahoma City, 11/20/2020; Denver-Milwaukee-New Orleans-Oklahoma City, 11/23/2020; Denver-Oklahoma City, 6/23/2022; Denver-Portland, 7/6/2022]

2025 first round draft pick to Utah
Minnesota's 2025 1st round pick to Utah [Minnesota-Utah, 7/6/2022]

2025 second round draft pick to Houston
Minnesota's 2025 2nd round pick to Houston [Houston-Minnesota, 6/24/2022]

2026 first round draft pick to Utah or Cleveland (swap, Utah incoming)
Utah will receive the most favorable of its 2026 1st round pick (protected for selections 9-30 if Utah has not conveyed a 1st round pick to Oklahoma City by 2025), Minnesota's 2026 1st round pick and Cleveland's 2026 1st round pick; Minnesota will receive the less favorable of its pick and the Utah pick; Cleveland will receive the less favorable of (i) its pick and (ii) the more favorable of the Utah pick and the Minnesota pick; if the Utah pick is protected, falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyable, then Minnesota's and Cleveland's obligations to Utah will be extinguished (via Utah's swap for Minnesota; via Utah's swap of Utah or Minnesota for Cleveland) [Minnesota-Utah, 7/6/2022; Cleveland-Utah, 9/3/2022]

2026 second round draft pick to Detroit or New York
Detroit will receive the more favorable of New York's 2026 2nd round pick and Minnesota's 2026 2nd round pick and New York will receive the less favorable of the two (via New York); New York may convey this pick to Portland (see New York Outgoing) [Minnesota-New York, 11/24/2020; Detroit-New York, 7/11/2022]

2027 first round draft pick to Utah
Minnesota's 2027 1st round pick to Utah [Minnesota-Utah, 7/6/2022]

2027 second round draft pick to Houston
Minnesota's 2027 2nd round pick to Houston [Houston-Minnesota, 6/24/2022]

2029 first round draft pick to Utah
Minnesota's 2029 1st round pick to Utah protected for selections 1-5; if this picks falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then Minnesota will instead convey its 2029 2nd round pick to Utah [Minnesota-Utah, 7/6/2022]

GEEEEEEZUZZZ
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Sharpe is a keeper. He should also be a giant flashing amber light to Cronin about trading away their 1st round pick this June. The value of 1st round picks in trades has never been lower. If the Blazers have a top-6 pick I really have a hard time believing a good enough player will be available that would warrant giving away that pick

[Wizenheimer]

by the way, the Blazers win today was the biggest upset in the NBA against the point-spread in the last 30 years:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36047896/blazers-beat-timberwolves-largest-nba-upset-30-years

[DusterBuster]

Not gonna quote the whole thing, but to your point about picks value being at an all time low couldn’t be more correct. Last year at the draft when Portland was looking for move #7, the Raptors wanted that pick, another first and a player for OG Anonoby. Nice played, but Sharpe and another first rounder… plus a player for OG? He’s a nice player, but another in a long list of high quality but a clear cut non-All Star level player. That’s worth a high lottery pick where All Star level players will be available?

[red_power]

He’s a nice player, but another in a long list of high quality but a clear cut non-All Star level player. That’s worth a high lottery pick where All Star level players will be available?

It makes sense if you target a specific prospect in a deep draft but overall the value of picks outside the top-3 tends to be like..
Well, Mr. Artificial Intelligence has a word here

Is it more likely to land an all star player or a bust with the 7th pick in the NBA draft?

It is more likely to land a bust with the 7th pick in the NBA draft than an all-star player. While there have been many notable all-star players selected with the 7th pick, it is much more likely for teams to pick a bust.