Who is to blame?

[Downtown]

Hi. Blazers fan here. Just wanted to give an example from the Portland perspective. Back before the all-star break when the Blazers weren't playing like they are now and were just fighting to stay in the playoff race there was an article that said ownership had started an investigation to look into whether it was management or the coach to blame for the teams lack of success. It wasn't long after that that the team started to play better and have success and go on the run they currently have.

Now whether it was management or coaching the message obviously got through and everyone is working harder and it's paying off. The point I'm trying to make is that regardless of where to point the finger it's a team effort and everyone has to look in the mirror, fully buy in and pull up their socks when things aren't going well. The only ones the players can rely on is themselves and they have to get tighter as a team. That's where leadership comes into it. We have Lillard to hold everyone accountable and he works as hard if not harder than anyone else on the team. We've also seen the same thing in Minnesota with Butler.

I believe in continuity and if you have a good young core you should keep them together and grow as a unit. I remember Nurkic saying after a few games in an interview during this streak that they're finally trusting each other which makes their team game better. So I would be cautious of trading players for the sake of it. Your team has some really good young talent but you need a real tough team leader to hold everyone accountable and everyone has to figure out how to trust each other and play as a team and not try to do everything by themselves.

I really think your team is right on the edge of some good things but needs to find that ingredient that gets them over the hump. I'm not saying it's not the coach or management that's to blame for the underachieving but I just think that it's perhaps one roster move for a bonafide leader, which I suppose everyone thought Milsap was, or a coaching philosophy that gets the players more engaged and confident in what they're doing.

Sorry for coming into your forum as an outsider but even though this season hasn't been as expected I would still be optimistic for the future given the talent of your young players.

[The Rebel]

A interesting article from stiffs.
https://www.denverstiffs.com/2018/3/20/17142050/denver-nuggets-defensive-issues-nikola-jokic-will-barton-michael-malone-nba

Going back and watching the film though? Jokic wasn’t the problem defensively in my opinion. Just 12 of the 40 or so points Kelly Olynyk created through his scoring and passing were directly related to Jokic. There were a couple of perimeter jumpers Jokic was late to contest, as well as some erratic defense that left Olynyk or the receiver of his pass free to score. By my count, Olynyk’s points created were allowed by the following:

Mason Plumlee - 15 points
Nikola Jokic - 12 points
Torrey Craig - 4 points
Paul Millsap - 4 points
Wilson Chandler - 3 points
Jamal Murray - 2 points
The same can be said for James Johnson. Jokic didn’t exactly do an elite job covering Johnson, but he certainly was better than Millsap last night. By my count, Johnson’s 38 or so points created were allowed by the following:

Paul Millsap - 19 points
Nikola Jokic - 8 points
Will Barton - 6 points
Mason Plumlee - 3 points
Wilson Chandler - 2 points
Now, this isn’t meant to be a writer playing defense for the team’s biggest star. This is simply what happened last night. Millsap rotated off of Johnson a fair amount last night, and it cost the Nuggets points. Even when Millsap was defending Johnson though, the Miami forward powered around, above, and through Millsap. It wasn’t pretty, and it was the primary reason the Heat kept pace with the Nuggets throughout tonight’s game.

Continues on to saying that the biggest issue on defense is actually Barton, and it is hard to disagree.

[The Rebel]

Sitting here feeling sick as Klee and Julie make excuse after excuse for Malone on Altitude. I really hope our front office and ownership aren't doing that. The guy makes the same mistakes over and over, year after year, it is not about him being a nice guy. He is not a good coach and does not seem to be improving at all.

[Mac1958]

<Sigh> Still wishing I could find it in my heart to change allegiance, but I'm still holding out hope that Jokic, Harris, Murray might just become a winning team in spite of all of this.

Seems to me there are two major issues here: First, there's no excuse for a team with needs to be this unbalanced. And second, this team still has enough talent to make the playoffs, and if it doesn't, then you have to look at the coach.

Maybe it's time for some management/coaching changes. The core can't be expected to stay if the top end continues to under-perform.