Game 5 Portland vs LA Clippers 7:30 pm

[Brandon-Clyde]

Vs

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Time: 7:30pm
Place: Los Angeles
TV: Chargetv

GLB of the Game Tyler

Spoiler:

[dckingsfan]

Kind of feel like this could be a game that goes Portland's direction if:

1) Avdija guards Harden and doesn't get in foul trouble.
2) Portland's length on D bothers the smaller Clippers (and there is defensive efforts).
3) Portland shoots over 30% from 3 opening up the court.

[mighty_duck]

Kind of feel like this could be a game that goes Portland's direction if:

1) Avdija guards Harden and doesn't get in foul trouble.

If there's one thing going for us, it's that we have a lot of fairly interchangeable pieces on the wing. You can plug Avdija, Camara or Grant as Harden defenders. We're at the mercy of the refs though - if they start blowing it every time Harden drives, we'll be in trouble.

2) Portland's length on D bothers the smaller Clippers (and there is defensive efforts).

The Clips tend to run a lot of smart moving sets, which our young team has problems with. We have the length and athleticism to be a top defensive squad, but the mental aspect is what worries me.

3) Portland shoots over 30% from 3 opening up the court.

How low have our expectations sunk?

[zzaj]

Kind of feel like this could be a game that goes Portland's direction if:

1) Avdija guards Harden and doesn't get in foul trouble.
2) Portland's length on D bothers the smaller Clippers (and there is defensive efforts).
3) Portland shoots over 30% from 3 opening up the court.

I would lay odds they put Camara on Harden, and that's probably a better matchup. Shut down Powell on the perimeter and play good defense vs. Zubac, and yeah...Blazers HAVE to hit open 3pters if they want a chance to win.

As a fan, I'll be pretty pissed if Clingan only gets 13 minutes in a blowout again.

[dckingsfan]

Kind of feel like this could be a game that goes Portland's direction if:

1) Avdija guards Harden and doesn't get in foul trouble.
2) Portland's length on D bothers the smaller Clippers (and there is defensive efforts).
3) Portland shoots over 30% from 3 opening up the court.

I would lay odds they put Camara on Harden, and that's probably a better matchup. Shut down Powell on the perimeter and play good defense vs. Zubac, and yeah...Blazers HAVE to hit open 3pters if they want a chance to win.

As a fan, I'll be pretty pissed if Clingan only gets 13 minutes in a blowout again.

Harden will eat Camara up for breakfast with his pump fakes - Camara isn't at that level yet.

Watch on YouTube

So this! Unless Clingan gets in foul trouble, he should never see the court less than 18 minutes per game.

[zzaj]

Kind of feel like this could be a game that goes Portland's direction if:

1) Avdija guards Harden and doesn't get in foul trouble.
2) Portland's length on D bothers the smaller Clippers (and there is defensive efforts).
3) Portland shoots over 30% from 3 opening up the court.

I would lay odds they put Camara on Harden, and that's probably a better matchup. Shut down Powell on the perimeter and play good defense vs. Zubac, and yeah...Blazers HAVE to hit open 3pters if they want a chance to win.

As a fan, I'll be pretty pissed if Clingan only gets 13 minutes in a blowout again.

Harden will eat Camara up for breakfast with his pump fakes - Camara isn't at that level yet.

Watch on YouTube

So this! Unless Clingan gets in foul trouble, he should never see the court less than 18 minutes per game.

Nice find! It's true that Deni has the strength/weight to deal with Harden if he gets into his chest. I haven't seen that much of Deni guarding in space, so I'll take your word for it! Camara, at least from what I've seen, moves better laterally. But ageed, it's a tall task for a young player, and basically is asking for foul trouble.

[Walton1one]

Watching Avdija struggle while playing with the starters has been one of the most disappointing aspects this season so far. I just cannot see what Cronin expected to happen?

Did they never watch Avdija play? How he plays? What he is best at? Asking him to stand around on the perimeter and either A) act as a stationary 3pt shooter or B) wait for a pass from another player (often a bailout) then try to go 1v1 via bull rushing into the lane, is not what he excels at.

I hope he can find some way to fit\excel with this team, but I don't see it with the way this current roster is comprised. I think this could be a frustrating year for him and expect many to be down on him, after his stats do not match what he did LY in WAS. How could they with Simons\Grant\Ayton putting up a majority of the shot attempts and taking the lion's share of USG? It is like Cronin has set him up for failure (same goes for Scoot). Just baffling roster management.

[Walton1one]

Wasn't LAC the team that blasted POR in the pre-season? I don't expect POR to win this game. LAC or "Teams with Harden on them" excel at playing well during the season but become paper tigers once they hit the playoffs (meaningful games). I don't see their current roster (with or w\o Leonard playing a lot of games) as any different.

[zzaj]

Watching Avdija struggle while playing with the starters has been one of the most disappointing aspects this season so far. I just cannot see what Cronin expected to happen?

Did they never watch Avdija play? How he plays? What he is best at? Asking him to stand around on the perimeter and either A) act as a stationary 3pt shooter or B) wait for a pass from another player (often a bailout) then try to go 1v1 via bull rushing into the lane, is not what he excels at.

I hope he can find some way to fit\excel with this team, but I don't see it with the way this current roster is comprised. I think this could be a frustrating year for him and expect many to be down on him, after his stats do not match what he did LY in WAS. How could they with Simons\Grant putting up a majority of the shot attempts and taking the Lion's share of USG? It is like Cronin has set him up for failure (same goes for Scoot). Just baffling roster management.

The path IMO is to separate Deni and Scoot in lineups as much as possible, and use Deni in the primary role with Ant much more often. Basically, with the starters Deni should be primary about 60-70% of the time and with Scoot about 30%.

[Walton1one]

Maybe. but they have not been doing that so far as I have seen.

[Brandon-Clyde]

1st quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

[Brandon-Clyde]

2nd quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

[Walton1one]

Scoot nice move vs DJJ, showing that ability to get to the rim against very good defenders

Also, like the way he is using his drive, to draw defenders, and then kick out to open shooters, they can’t hit the shots for the most part, but it is still a good play. Good initial run by him

3 fouls by Clingan, first time I’ve seen him look like a rookie, Kai Jones quickness, and athleticism caused him a few problems

[Walton1one]

2Q
Nice move by Scoot vs Zubac for the score, a minute or so later, TO. Adventures of a 20yr old PG, but the good is starting to consistently outweigh the bad.

Dare I say Murray’s 3pt shot is getting marginally better? Good defense as well

Nice drive by Camara with a good finish in the paint

Ayton is a better\more impactful player when he plays inside the paint, Really good 1st half by him

[Brandon-Clyde]

3rd quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

[mighty_duck]

Why does DA not roll after a pick??
He pops to the 24 foot range. He's not a reliable enough shooter from there. He's a bad passer and driver, so no one respects him.
The result is that after a pick, the driver is facing a double team with Zubac threatening to block.

[Walton1one]

Yeah, when he’s in the paint, he is a different player, but playing at the top of the key. He is not as nearly effective, yet he seems to want to do it over and over again.

[Walton1one]

3Q
For every time Simons goes on a scoring run, he then follows it up with some bad/forced shot attempts

Camara just makes a lot of plays, on both sides of the ball, defense, rebounding and an evolving offensive game

Avdija with a solid Qtr, very active, even hit a 3

Missed putback by DC. He needs to dunk that!! Then later he does, nice dish by Scoot & roll by Clingan, need to see more of that

Clips ending the 3Q strong

Simons\Grant can look good when the game isn’t being decided, but once it starts to matter\get to crunch time they disappear. This is why they are not the kind of players that should be leading your team or dominating POR possessions\shots

Scoot hitting 3’s and dropping dimes, pretty sure they’ll remove him near the end of the 4Q to ensure this loss

That mega screen in Intuit center looks amazing

[Brandon-Clyde]

4th quarter GLB pic

Spoiler:

[Walton1one]

4Q
How was that not a foul on that drive by Scoot?

Rupert active on defense and showing up on offense with some nice drives to the hoop and a 3!

Young guys on the floor and POR is making a run, DC with a 3! Maybe he can hit those?