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ValvPiti wrote:Whats up with Sharpe? I kinda expected him to be quite a lot better than he has been.
m0ng0 wrote:ValvPiti wrote:Whats up with Sharpe? I kinda expected him to be quite a lot better than he has been.
He has no fire in his belly, and that's not something you can teach sadly.
Devilzsidewalk wrote:DB is like the ultimate Wolves troll
DusterBuster wrote:m0ng0 wrote:ValvPiti wrote:Whats up with Sharpe? I kinda expected him to be quite a lot better than he has been.
He has no fire in his belly, and that's not something you can teach sadly.
Yeah, he's very similar to Wiggins in that regard. Amazing talent, but the drive of a Kobe/Steph/Dame to just be the absolute best is totally not there. Doesn't mean he's not a useful player and high level, but he's more of a complementary piece than a cornerstone.
Preseason projected wins: 21.5
Midseason projected wins: 31.1
Why this grade: The development of young perimeter players Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe has been a positive, and Portland should surpass last season's 21 wins. Yet the Blazers still get dominated on a regular basis, producing a minus-8.4 point differential that ranks 29th in the league, and the poor play of Portland's veterans might impact their trade value.
How they can improve: The Blazers want to see Henderson continue a strong January in which he's shooting 43% from 3-point range, as well as have rookie center Donovan Clingan finish the season strong. But without a clear centerpiece to their rebuild, lottery positioning will be critical, too.
Walton1one wrote:Pelton\ESPN released midseason grades:
POR got a C+Preseason projected wins: 21.5
Midseason projected wins: 31.1
Why this grade: The development of young perimeter players Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe has been a positive, and Portland should surpass last season's 21 wins. Yet the Blazers still get dominated on a regular basis, producing a minus-8.4 point differential that ranks 29th in the league, and the poor play of Portland's veterans might impact their trade value.
How they can improve: The Blazers want to see Henderson continue a strong January in which he's shooting 43% from 3-point range, as well as have rookie center Donovan Clingan finish the season strong. But without a clear centerpiece to their rebuild, lottery positioning will be critical, too.
Devilzsidewalk wrote:DB is like the ultimate Wolves troll
DusterBuster wrote:Walton1one wrote:Pelton\ESPN released midseason grades:
POR got a C+Preseason projected wins: 21.5
Midseason projected wins: 31.1
Why this grade: The development of young perimeter players Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe has been a positive, and Portland should surpass last season's 21 wins. Yet the Blazers still get dominated on a regular basis, producing a minus-8.4 point differential that ranks 29th in the league, and the poor play of Portland's veterans might impact their trade value.
How they can improve: The Blazers want to see Henderson continue a strong January in which he's shooting 43% from 3-point range, as well as have rookie center Donovan Clingan finish the season strong. But without a clear centerpiece to their rebuild, lottery positioning will be critical, too.
Pretty much spot on. Goal should be to dump vets and lose as much as possible from here on out.
Just firesale the vets if at all possible, genuinely don’t care what comes back as long as it’s not a longer/worse contract than what’s going out. Any vet who can’t get moved should get free tickets to Cancun until the season is over.
Walton1one wrote:Pelton\ESPN released midseason grades:
POR got a C+Preseason projected wins: 21.5
Midseason projected wins: 31.1
Why this grade: The development of young perimeter players Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe has been a positive, and Portland should surpass last season's 21 wins. Yet the Blazers still get dominated on a regular basis, producing a minus-8.4 point differential that ranks 29th in the league, and the poor play of Portland's veterans might impact their trade value.
How they can improve: The Blazers want to see Henderson continue a strong January in which he's shooting 43% from 3-point range, as well as have rookie center Donovan Clingan finish the season strong. But without a clear centerpiece to their rebuild, lottery positioning will be critical, too.
Walton1one wrote:POR signed Sidy Cissiko to a 2-way contract today, 20 years old, drafted same year as Scoot, played in the G-league with Scoot, POR waived Taze Moore
6’7, athletic wing player, not a real shooter, more info here:
https://www.blazersedge.com/2025/2/8/24361877/portland-trail-blazers-sidy-cissoko-contract
Better to take a chance on a young guy like this then keep a 25/26 year-old on a two-way contract
4. Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers
I debated long and hard about ranking another Portland Trail Blazers player in this spot, but Toumani Camara is far too under-discussed to be ignored by me at this point.
Flip on national sports television coverage of the NBA, and you’ll hear about the same set of guys constantly. That’s for good reason, as the NBA is a star-driven league. But players like Camara are also deserving of coverage and some time in the spotlight, because he’s one of the best value contracts in basketball.
There’s generally an argument that players who haven’t extended off their initial rookie deals are almost always going to exceed the pay scale of their contract if they are legitimate rotational assets. That line of logic is fair, so I understand any pushback on my claim. But Camara wasn’t even drafted in the first round! He was taken later in the second, and was included in a trade on top of it. How many evaluators expected Camara’s game to take shape like it has so early in his career?
I’ve written about Camara’s career arc before and how it’s incredibly fascinating for a number of reasons, but he fits a mold of player I’m leaning into as we get closer to the next iteration of the NBA Draft.
Camara wasn’t just a role player in college for the University of Dayton. Camara commanded higher usage as a scorer because he was a top-tier option at the forward position. Granted, he was knocked for his lack of efficiency and, at times, questionable decision-making when double teamed or pressured on drives. But Camara gained valuable experience handling the ball and learning how to play aggressively downhill with plenty of defensive attention.
Look around the NBA, and a lot of the “role players” you’ll find on teams that are vying for a play-in spot or comfortably seeded in the playoff race were once top options on their college or international teams. The NBA is a league for the best of the best, so finding players who can scale their game back while also knowing how to handle pressure in moments when the ball is skipped to them in higher leverage moments is paramount to overall roster construction and deep postseason success.
Camara doesn’t handle the ball a ton in pick-and-roll situations, but per Synergy Sports, he’s doubled his volume in said play types and grades out favorably in pick-and-rolls, including passes. Camara has the touch to hit a rolling big on a lob or kick the ball out to an open shooter. And he’s been pretty good at relocating once he’s given up the ball to find an open spot-up opportunity.
The area I’m most concerned about with regards to Camara’s game is his finishing around the basket. He rates poorly as an at-rim scorer, and it shows at times when he misses some bunnies and easy shots inside. There’s still time for him to learn how to take better angles and use his off hand a little more, but rounding out that part of his scoring attack would really give him a nice foundation as an offensive player.
And I haven’t even mentioned the real reason why I value him so highly amongst others in the sophomore class: his UNBELIEVABLE defense.
Camara is right there with Deni Avdija for the Blazers in terms of taking the other team’s toughest perimeter assignment, be it a point guard or bigger wing. Camara is great at forcing opponents into tough shots, cutting off driving lanes, and putting players in position to make mistakes. He moves his feet well, uses his length to his advantage, and is a solid help defender around the basket due to his ability to leap off two feet and contest layups.
Wings who can defend multiple positions while also providing enough shot making and passing on offense are one of the most valuable player types in the NBA for a reason. It’s difficult to acquire those guys via trade or free agency. These are players teams would rather draft and develop in cost-controlled situations. Getting a player like Camara back in the Deandre Ayton trade was a nice feather in the cap of Joe Cronin and Portland’s front office.
5. Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers
Admittedly, things weren’t looking the greatest for Scoot Henderson to start his second year coming off a rough rookie campaign.
Sure, all point guards go through growing pains adjusting to the NBA. It’s a significant reason why I’m prone to be more patient with the development of both point guards and centers, because those positions require much more leadership, communication, and awareness due to the responsibilities associated with each. Still, the league and its fans are almost always quick to pass judgement on young players, especially those not exceeding expectations out of the gate as high lottery picks.
So, seeing Henderson come into his own for the Portland Trail Blazers—a team that’s been highly competitive in the Western Conference as of late—has put quite the smile on my face.
I wrote about Henderson’s growth as a guard already this year for No Ceilings, and everything I put into words has continued to progress as the season has gone on. Henderson has maintained his efficient shooting splits while also keeping an assist-to-turnover ratio north of 2:1 in the months of January and February. His decision making as a whole has continued to evolve as he’s gotten more experience operating both with and without the ball.
Henderson wasn’t heralded as a spectacular shooter coming into the league, especially on catch-and-shoot looks. But as I wrote before, becoming a better shooter requires in-game reps. Henderson’s been a ball-dominant guard his entire playing career, so naturally it was only fitting he struggled to adapt as a floor spacer when the ball was in the hands of Anfernee Simons or Shaedon Sharpe.
Now, Scoot has become a very capable off-ball shooter, which has added an element to his game as a guard who can make defenses pay for closing out and rotating to deter him as a driver. Henderson has the type of vision to make a live-dribble read off a displaced defense, and when defenders give him space (especially in drop coverage on pick-and-rolls) Henderson has the pull-up game to nail shots off the bounce.
There’s still room for Henderson to grow defensively, but his offensive game taking meaningful steps forward should give Blazers fans hope for the future. A pairing of Henderson with Donovan Clingan could become one of the better pick-and-roll combos across the league in time, not to mention the presence of multiple wings and forwards who can take pressure off Henderson offensively in Sharpe and Avdija.
Consider me a fan of what Portland is building—it all starts with that three-man foundation of Scoot, Clingan, and Sharpe.
Edrees wrote:JRoy wrote:Monta Ellis have it all
I was hoping and expecting this to be one of the first replies. You did not disappoint. Jroy have it all.
Devilzsidewalk wrote:DB is like the ultimate Wolves troll
Watson averaged 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range over 21 games played with Boston's G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. The Gonzaga product did not appear in any games for the NBA squad.
Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to address inflammation in his left knee.
He is expected to make a full recovery and will miss 4-6 weeks.
Walton1one wrote:Williams out the rest of the year to undergo knee surgery...
POR statement:Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to address inflammation in his left knee.
He is expected to make a full recovery and will miss 4-6 weeks.
https://www.blazersedge.com/2025/3/20/24390587/robert-williams-iii-knee-injury-surgery-recovery-time
What a stupid franchise, should have dealt him at the deadline, even a couple of 2nd's would have been better than this...
Walton1one wrote:Williams out the rest of the year to undergo knee surgery...
POR statement:Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to address inflammation in his left knee.
He is expected to make a full recovery and will miss 4-6 weeks.
https://www.blazersedge.com/2025/3/20/24390587/robert-williams-iii-knee-injury-surgery-recovery-time
What a stupid franchise, should have dealt him at the deadline, even a couple of 2nd's would have been better than this...
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