Pre-Training Camp: Predict the Starting Line Up?

[Butter]

What is the Blazers starting line up on opening night? I

am making the assumption that Tou, Deni and Clingan are locks to start. That leaves the starting PG and SG open for discussion. However, there are options to slide Tou, Deni, and Grant into the starting line up together.

I think a common assumption is that Jrue will start, but what if they choose to start Sharp and Grant to focus on Shaes development, and trying to improve Grant's future trade value? Is there a scenario where Jrue comes off the bench? Would he accept leading the second team, to keep his legs fresh?

[ebott]

I think that for the first time Chauncey has the ability to start 5 guys that are good on defense and he's gonna do it.

[zzaj]

It’s impossible to say, but my hope is that both Scoot and Sharpe take their respective positions.

Right now I assume they’ll go Vets.

For all of their “win now” bluster, the Blazers are 1 injury away from Yang or Reath being their starting Center. That’s great for me because I want to see Yang play…but that’s not going to win basketball games.

If Deni and Clingan go down this season for any long stretches, the Blazers are going to feel it.

[Butter]

If the Blazers start Grant over Sharp, it seems like a really bad move. Maybe they would be trying to get his value back up for a trade, but Sharpe is probably the closest thing they have to a potential offensive superstar on this team. Deni is amazing, but he seems more Robin then Batman on a really good team.

[soobias]

i dont see a scenario where a player who's paid $30+ sits the bench if healthy or is not coming back off an injury . jrue and grant make too much money for them to justify not starting them. sharpe and scoot are lotto picks but have had their bench moments so unless they take starter spots away from jrue and grant FO will want to see them play even if its to boost up their trade value imo.

[Village Idiot]

Jrue, Toumani, Deni, Grant and Clingan seems like the most likely starting five.

Scoot and Sharpe lead a really entertaining second unit along with Thybulle, RobWill and Hansen.

[Dame Lizard]

i dont see a scenario where a player who's paid $30+ sits the bench if healthy or is not coming back off an injury . jrue and grant make too much money for them to justify not starting them. sharpe and scoot are lotto picks but have had their bench moments so unless they take starter spots away from jrue and grant FO will want to see them play even if its to boost up their trade value imo.

I hate this mindset.

Grant's contract is what it is. We aren't going to be competing in the short-term, so I'm happy if we bought him out if he became toxic. In the mean time, we should play our best rotation based on merit.

If Grant wants to actually earn his spot, I suggest he rediscovers his shooting form and actually learns to rebound.

[Butter]

i dont see a scenario where a player who's paid $30+ sits the bench if healthy or is not coming back off an injury . jrue and grant make too much money for them to justify not starting them. sharpe and scoot are lotto picks but have had their bench moments so unless they take starter spots away from jrue and grant FO will want to see them play even if its to boost up their trade value imo.

I hate this mindset.

Grant's contract is what it is. We aren't going to be competing in the short-term, so I'm happy if we bought him out if he became toxic. In the mean time, we should play our best rotation based on merit.

If Grant wants to actually earn his spot, I suggest he rediscovers his shooting form and actually learns to rebound.

Agree 100%

I get the comments that Billups wants to play the vets. I also get it that Sharp got benched for poor defense. However, if the Blazers intended to bench Sharp, I would have hoped they would have just traded him this off season.

The Blazers are still straddling thr fence between youth/development and veteran experience. Hopefully Billups can find a good balance that maximizes wins AND develops the young talent.

[m0ng0]

I went Jrue, Sharpe, Camara, Avidja, and Cling.

I believe at this point Jrue deserves to start hopefully the minutes are about equal and Scoot has the opportunity to prove he deserves more time.

[oldfishermen]

The voting narrows it down to Grant or Sharpe starting. I agree.

Based on the Jrue trade, and what it implies.

Scoot is not ready to start. The trade bought him time to develop, we hope. But..
.
The Jrue trade also opened up more touches for Sharpe. So my hope is, Sharpe starts over Grant. Sharpe, not Grant, is the future, we hope.

I like the Jrue trade more each day. Simons had to go, for so many reasons.

[soobias]

i dont see a scenario where a player who's paid $30+ sits the bench if healthy or is not coming back off an injury . jrue and grant make too much money for them to justify not starting them. sharpe and scoot are lotto picks but have had their bench moments so unless they take starter spots away from jrue and grant FO will want to see them play even if its to boost up their trade value imo.

I hate this mindset.

Grant's contract is what it is. We aren't going to be competing in the short-term, so I'm happy if we bought him out if he became toxic. In the mean time, we should play our best rotation based on merit.

If Grant wants to actually earn his spot, I suggest he rediscovers his shooting form and actually learns to rebound.

while i agree with you i dont see high priced healthy players not getting the starts and mins even if it's just to showcase them. i think ownership/FO makes those decisions to justify why they are paying out all that money, im not saying its right. i just cant remember in bball when a healthy high priced player sat the bench( specially in recent history). if someone can enlighten me on such players/teams that did that.

[DusterBuster]

What I want... Jrue, Sharp, Tou, Deni, Clingan

What I really want... Scoot, Sharp, Tou, Deni, Clingan

What I realistically think it'll be... Jrue, Tou, Deni, Grant, Clingan

[Butter]

What I want... Jrue, Sharp, Tou, Deni, Clingan

What I really want... Scoot, Sharp, Tou, Deni, Clingan

What I realistically think it'll be... Jrue, Tou, Deni, Grant, Clingan

My heart says no, but my head agrees... Uggg

[BlazersBroncos]

I just cant accept the idea of Grant starting. I think even Billups will figure that out. I think it will be -

Holiday / Sharpe / Camara / Deni / Clingan

Overall rotation looking something like -

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Matisse Thybulle
F - Toumani Camara / Jerami Grant / Matisse Thybulle
F - Deni Avdija / Jerami Grant
C - Donovan Clingan / Robert Williams III

w/ Yang getting minutes when RWIII goes down / rests + when DC gets in foul trouble.

Dont think Rayan, Kris or Wesley getting minutes until injuries start to happen.

[Braggins]

Scoot ~ Jrue ~ Avdija ~ Camara ~ Clingan

[dckingsfan]

I just cant accept the idea of Grant starting. I think even Billups will figure that out. I think it will be -

Holiday / Sharpe / Camara / Deni / Clingan

Overall rotation looking something like -

G - Jrue Holiday / Scoot Henderson
G - Shadeon Sharpe / Jrue Holiday / Matisse Thybulle
F - Toumani Camara / Jerami Grant / Matisse Thybulle
F - Deni Avdija / Jerami Grant
C - Donovan Clingan / Robert Williams III

w/ Yang getting minutes when RWIII goes down / rests + when DC gets in foul trouble.

Dont think Rayan, Kris or Wesley getting minutes until injuries start to happen.

If you break it down by minutes and games played it becomes even more interesting.

Jrue is a ~30 minute per game guy
Scoot is a ~30 minute per game guy
Sharpe is a ~30 minute per game guy
Camara is a ~30 minute per game guy
Deni is a ~30 minute per game guy
Grant is a ~30 minute per game guy
Clingan is a 25 minute per game guy

Thybulle can be a 25 minute per game guy
RWIII will break down with anything over 15 minutes per game

Then you have

Jrue plays ~65 games
Scoot plays ~64 games
Sharpe plays ~62 games
Camara plays ~74 games
Deni plays ~74 games
Grant plays ~55 games
Clingan plays ~67 games

Thybulle plays ~55 games
RWIII plays about 30 games

So, we better see Rayan and Yang be ready to play some minutes by the middle of the season. And I don't think it will be material who starts (sans the pouting).

[Butter]

Poster from Blazers Edge citing Highkin

Highkin says Grant is expected to come off the bench

https://www.blazersedge.com/post/q_IOeJD-WZ6a

[BlazersBroncos]

Poster from Blazers Edge citing Highkin

Highkin says Grant is expected to come off the bench

https://www.blazersedge.com/post/q_IOeJD-WZ6a

Thank god.

Think adding Dame and Jrue to the locker room will help Grant be a good soldier. And looking at the roster - Grant as 6th man is getting more shots than Grant as a starter. He would be lower usage IMO if he was part of the main lineup. As 6th man he can be our bench gunner - and really we need a guy like that (Scoot or Holiday, Thybulle, all the bigs - good players but none have consistent creation skills or the 3PT volume Grant can bring).

Give him 24-28mpg off the bench and let him get up 10-12 shots (Ideally retaining his near 50% 3PTr).

G - Jrue Holiday (18) / Scoot Henderson (30)
G - Shadeon Sharpe (30) / Jrue Holiday (8) / Matisse Thybulle (10)
F - Toumani Camara (30) / Jerami Grant (10) / Matisse Thybulle (8)
F - Deni Avdija (32) / Jerami Grant (16)
C - Donovan Clingan (26) / Robert Williams (16) / Yang or Reath (6)

[Walton1one]

That report from Highkin is erroneous.

I guess I was overdue to have this happen again.

I published the first part of this very mailbag on Monday, and it included a question about Jerami Grant's role for the upcoming season. What I wrote—and it was clearly my own opinion, as opposed to reporting about what the team would do—is that Grant, or any other player, should not be assumed to be guaranteed a starting role based on tenure and salary.

Apparently, a prominent aggregation slop website posted it and said I wrote that it was "likely" that Grant would come off the bench next season (which I did not write), and based on that, another account on "X, The Everything App" with 2 million followers posted this:

After I called it out, they deleted the tweet with no acknowledgement, retraction or clarification and kept it moving, as they do. They got what they wanted out of it—more engagement, which leads to money if you pay for a blue check. Whether or not they accurately represented what I wrote is a secondary concern. They know that most people who see the tweet will react to it without seeking out the original source (which they didn't link, for what it's worth).

This stuff is an occupational hazard in the current media climate, and it's only getting worse. But that's a bigger conversation for a different day. Just be smart about what you read and what you believe.

I don't know why anyone would expect Billups to change his ways now, especially when they added Jrue?

It is going to be...Jrue\Toumani\Grant\Deni\Clingan...though I would not rule out Rob Williams starting instead if he is healthy at the start of the season...

I wonder how many losing seasons\mediocre seasons Billups (and Cronin for that matter) can endure under new ownership before they are turfed, will be a good day when they are...

[Butter]

That report from Highkin is erroneous.

I guess I was overdue to have this happen again.

I published the first part of this very mailbag on Monday, and it included a question about Jerami Grant's role for the upcoming season. What I wrote—and it was clearly my own opinion, as opposed to reporting about what the team would do—is that Grant, or any other player, should not be assumed to be guaranteed a starting role based on tenure and salary.

Apparently, a prominent aggregation slop website posted it and said I wrote that it was "likely" that Grant would come off the bench next season (which I did not write), and based on that, another account on "X, The Everything App" with 2 million followers posted this:

After I called it out, they deleted the tweet with no acknowledgement, retraction or clarification and kept it moving, as they do. They got what they wanted out of it—more engagement, which leads to money if you pay for a blue check. Whether or not they accurately represented what I wrote is a secondary concern. They know that most people who see the tweet will react to it without seeking out the original source (which they didn't link, for what it's worth).

This stuff is an occupational hazard in the current media climate, and it's only getting worse. But that's a bigger conversation for a different day. Just be smart about what you read and what you believe.

I don't know why anyone would expect Billups to change his ways now, especially when they added Jrue?

It is going to be...Jrue\Toumani\Grant\Deni\Clingan...though I would not rule out Rob Williams starting instead if he is healthy at the start of the season...

I wonder how many losing seasons\mediocre seasons Billups (and Cronin for that matter) can endure under new ownership before they are turfed, will be a good day when they are...

Uggg, here we go.

On one hand I guess I'm glad they are not going in with pre-determined ideas. They haven't even been to training camp.