Game 11: Portland @ Charlotte 2:00PM

[The Sebastian Express]

next 4 games:

@ San Antonio
@ Houston
vs Los Angeles Clippers
@ Los Angeles Lakers

will Blazers be on an 8 game losing streak when the visit the Lakers?

The only one I see as possible is Houston simply because they seem in total disarray 75% of the time now.

[GreenRiddler]

Oh man, we faced a really hot shooting Hornets team tonight. Hendo looks really lost on D and offense. Looks like someone who hasn't practiced with these players...so 7 mins.

Turning into a tank season real quick.

[The Sebastian Express]

Oh man, we faced a really hot shooting Hornets team tonight. Hendo looks really lost on D and offense. Looks like someone who hasn't practiced with these players...so 7 mins.

Turning into a tank season real quick.

Simmons!

[GreenRiddler]

It's interesting seeing Batum so aggressive and into a game. And for him to have 20 1st half points. I haven't seen Nic score within that type of rate since Lillard's rookie year.

Batum has a 22.1% usage rate and a FT Rate of .284. Last year in Portland, he had a 14.6% usage rate and a .163 FT Rate. If what you claim is true about Aldridge's sensitivity and the way the staff was catering to it, maybe a major reason why Batum deferred his offense in Portland wasn't because of his nature but rather because of the team dynamic with Aldridge and Lillard

Or cause he was struggling and dealing with confidence issues, when Wes went down there were plenty of shots available for him, he continued to take under 10.

[GreenRiddler]

Right when Dame gets his 3 point shot back, he gets a digit injured again and loses his shot. fml.

[Wizenheimer]

It's interesting seeing Batum so aggressive and into a game. And for him to have 20 1st half points. I haven't seen Nic score within that type of rate since Lillard's rookie year.

Batum has a 22.1% usage rate and a FT Rate of .284. Last year in Portland, he had a 14.6% usage rate and a .163 FT Rate. If what you claim is true about Aldridge's sensitivity and the way the staff was catering to it, maybe a major reason why Batum deferred his offense in Portland wasn't because of his nature but rather because of the team dynamic with Aldridge and Lillard

Or cause he was struggling and dealing with confidence issues, when Wes went down there were plenty of shots available for him, he continued to take under 10.

he was also injured last season most of the time

I was just advancing a theory that some of Batum's passiveness on offense wasn't on him....that the dynamic of Aldridge, Lillard and the Stotts offense kept him as a more of a facilitator than a scoring option.

by the way, I noticed you seemed real happy earlier in the season to post updates on Aldridge and Batum when they had bad games. You should be willing to at least give credit to them when they play well. It's pretty certain right now Charlotte feels they got the best end of that trade, but of course, they want to make the playoffs.

[Case2012]

The blazers suck lol

[GreenRiddler]

Lamb just shows that Presti is not a genius. They fell in love with Waiters yet relegated Lamb is beyond me. He was struggling for so long last year yet he got mins while Lamb racked up DNPs CDs.

Waiters already looks like he can't fit with Durant and Westbrook. Meanwhile Lamb is having a better season with the same role.

[GreenRiddler]

Batum has a 22.1% usage rate and a FT Rate of .284. Last year in Portland, he had a 14.6% usage rate and a .163 FT Rate. If what you claim is true about Aldridge's sensitivity and the way the staff was catering to it, maybe a major reason why Batum deferred his offense in Portland wasn't because of his nature but rather because of the team dynamic with Aldridge and Lillard

Or cause he was struggling and dealing with confidence issues, when Wes went down there were plenty of shots available for him, he continued to take under 10.

he was also injured last season most of the time

I was just advancing a theory that some of Batum's passiveness on offense wasn't on him....that the dynamic of Aldridge, Lillard and the Stotts offense kept him as a more of a facilitator than a scoring option.

by the way, I noticed you seemed real happy earlier in the season to post updates on Aldridge and Batum when they had bad games. You should be willing to at least give credit to them when they play well. It's pretty certain right now Charlotte feels they got the best end of that trade, but of course, they want to make the playoffs.

Yeah no for sure, Batum had a great game and a great last 5 games even, but I still have my grievances with him, he still only scores high and consistently when he is shooting an unbelievable percentage from 3, like he has recently. While he has up ticked his FTAs he wasn't all that bad in Stotts' 2nd year.

I just think he will average his same scoring numbers when his shooting cools down, like it usually does.

He may have been injured last season but that would be 2 out of 3 seasons with Stotts where he was injured and playing. At some point that is on him to stay healthy throughout the season. That starts with taking more than 1 summer off every half a decade. Something he has yet to do in his career.

They may have in the meantime. But what about when Batum asks for Middleton money this summer and has a couple of seasons like he had last year? Enough to make you go mad.

And no I won't be giving LMA credit I hope he struggles and never looks the same TBH. Its his fault I gotta watch this hot garbage for a year. Wes and Rolo are alright though.

[Fitz303]

I didn't get to see this game. How did Vonleh look? For his first start, and 24 minutes, the box score doesnt look too too bad.

[Masterfully]

I didn't get to see this game. How did Vonleh look? For his first start, and 24 minutes, the box score doesnt look too too bad.

Good at time, not good at times. Frankly, I hope they keep him starting while Meyers is down. Maybe by the time Meyers is healthy he'll look ready.

[Norm2953]

It'd be interesting to speculate the makeup of this team if we had not made the Batum
deal.

Assuming we still allowed Rolo and Wes to walk after losing Aldridge, we'd likely still have
Aminu and likely would have done the Plumlee deal.

SF Batum,
PF Aminu,
C Plumlee,
SG CJ
PG Dame

The team would be light on boards but against teams with scoring wings, Batum and Aminu
might be stronger defensively than Batum and Matthews.

[Wizenheimer]

I didn't get to see this game. How did Vonleh look? For his first start, and 24 minutes, the box score doesnt look too too bad.

Good at time, not good at times. Frankly, I hope they keep him starting while Meyers is down. Maybe by the time Meyers is healthy he'll look ready.

yeah, that's about how I'd put it. He did some good things but he didn't have a big impact. He did have that nice drive to the hoop and finger-roll that was waved off by a questionable charging call.

he's not nearly as far along as you'd hope a top-10 pick would be nearly 18 months after being drafted. Still quite raw and looks awkward at times. Blazers will have to be patient with him but they can't bury him on the bench with inconsistent minutes if they expect a payoff on the Batum trade

speaking of that trade, Henderson played like he was in a coma today

[PDXKnight]

It'd be interesting to speculate the makeup of this team if we had not made the Batum
deal.

Assuming we still allowed Rolo and Wes to walk after losing Aldridge, we'd likely still have
Aminu and likely would have done the Plumlee deal.

SF Batum,
PF Aminu,
C Plumlee,
SG CJ
PG Dame

The team would be light on boards but against teams with scoring wings, Batum and Aminu
might be stronger defensively than Batum and Matthews.

This team might be a bit better but not playoff level good. Keeping Nic would have merely made our pick that much worse and he would have been a 1 year rental just like he will be for the hornets so adding a prospect in Vonleh and tanking for a better pick was a no brainer

[Effigy]

It'd be interesting to speculate the makeup of this team if we had not made the Batum
deal.

Assuming we still allowed Rolo and Wes to walk after losing Aldridge, we'd likely still have
Aminu and likely would have done the Plumlee deal.

SF Batum,
PF Aminu,
C Plumlee,
SG CJ
PG Dame

The team would be light on boards but against teams with scoring wings, Batum and Aminu
might be stronger defensively than Batum and Matthews.

This team might be a bit better but not playoff level good. Keeping Nic would have merely made our pick that much worse and he would have been a 1 year rental just like he will be for the hornets so adding a prospect in Vonleh and tanking for a better pick was a no brainer

I think the Hornets can keep Nic if they come with a strong offer.

[Dame Lizard]

It'd be interesting to speculate the makeup of this team if we had not made the Batum
deal.

Assuming we still allowed Rolo and Wes to walk after losing Aldridge, we'd likely still have
Aminu and likely would have done the Plumlee deal.

SF Batum,
PF Aminu,
C Plumlee,
SG CJ
PG Dame

The team would be light on boards but against teams with scoring wings, Batum and Aminu
might be stronger defensively than Batum and Matthews.

This team might be a bit better but not playoff level good. Keeping Nic would have merely made our pick that much worse and he would have been a 1 year rental just like he will be for the hornets so adding a prospect in Vonleh and tanking for a better pick was a no brainer

I think the Hornets can keep Nic if they come with a strong offer.

Yep I don't see why Charlotte don't have a good chance to resign Batum if they give him a strong offer. Batum's the key player for Charlotte at the moment and they really do value him highly. That's valued highly as a player.

If the Spurs had capspace, it may be a different story (although I'm not sure if he'd enjoy coming off the bench and I think Danny Green better suits the starting SG position).

[Epicurus]

Vonleh, about whom I got ridiculed for saying that if he came out this season he would be a top pick, will get minutes congruent with his performance when on court. Someone above alluded to his minutes being inconsistent. HUH? He gets a consistent minutes stint about the same time in about every day. He certainly should not be confused about when he will enter the game. I think that he also understands that if he gets time in the second half, he needs to positively contribute in his first half stint. I really don't see why anyone is confused by Vonleh's court time and its conditioners.

I will be surprised that he starts tonight on the basis of matchups. He is not ready yet to start against very seasoned and talent big men. Failure does not produce confidence, contra to "sink or swim" advocates.

[PDXKnight]

It'd be interesting to speculate the makeup of this team if we had not made the Batum
deal.

Assuming we still allowed Rolo and Wes to walk after losing Aldridge, we'd likely still have
Aminu and likely would have done the Plumlee deal.

SF Batum,
PF Aminu,
C Plumlee,
SG CJ
PG Dame

The team would be light on boards but against teams with scoring wings, Batum and Aminu
might be stronger defensively than Batum and Matthews.

This team might be a bit better but not playoff level good. Keeping Nic would have merely made our pick that much worse and he would have been a 1 year rental just like he will be for the hornets so adding a prospect in Vonleh and tanking for a better pick was a no brainer

I think the Hornets can keep Nic if they come with a strong offer.

It's possible I suppose. All I know is I'd rather the hornets take the risk of him not resigning and the huge contract risk as opposed to the Blazers. The trade will be a win-win if Charlotte retains him but if they don't it advantages Portland a bit

[Wizenheimer]

It's possible I suppose. All I know is I'd rather the hornets take the risk of him not resigning and the huge contract risk as opposed to the Blazers. The trade will be a win-win if Charlotte retains him but if they don't it advantages Portland a bit

a lot needs to happen before we can accurately judge the trade

the trade deadline will determine some of it. For starters, the Blazers gained about 3.5 million in cap-space. Will they use that margin at the deadline? And will Portland trade Henderson for a pick?...or will they just let him expire next summer?...or even re-sign him?

the big payoff would be if Vonleh pans out. Right now, there's such a huge gap between his potential floor and potential ceiling it's impossible to judge. He could be a long term starter, or it could be Portland doesn't even use all the advantages of his rookie deal and just lets him walk. Or he could even be traded before either outcome

[PDXKnight]

It's possible I suppose. All I know is I'd rather the hornets take the risk of him not resigning and the huge contract risk as opposed to the Blazers. The trade will be a win-win if Charlotte retains him but if they don't it advantages Portland a bit

a lot needs to happen before we can accurately judge the trade

the trade deadline will determine some of it. For starters, the Blazers gained about 3.5 million in cap-space. Will they use that margin at the deadline? And will Portland trade Henderson for a pick?...or will they just let him expire next summer?...or even re-sign him?

the big payoff would be if Vonleh pans out. Right now, there's such a huge gap between his potential floor and potential ceiling it's impossible to judge. He could be a long term starter, or it could be Portland doesn't even use all the advantages of his rookie deal and just lets him walk. Or he could even be traded before either outcome

True there's a lot of unsettled business before we can fairly assess the deal. In terms of the direction we were going as a team it made sense especially if Nic was planning to leave but if he would have been willing to stay a Blazer that might make the trade far worse for us. As you said Vonleh is the key in this all, if he wins up being a star then Charlotte gets burned here and if he ends up not being all that good then it might be a wash or advantage Charlotte (if Batum resigns long term there). It's hard to tell how Vonleh pans out, he looks talented but raw so only time will tell