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Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers

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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#141 » by monopoman » Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:26 am

Blazer2334 wrote:
Epicurus wrote:I am sure that Stotts would have loved to play Simons more. Indeed I think at the start of the season that was the plan. Yet Simons in nearly all of his stints proved unplayable. Maybe next season.


He is a young player who skipped college, he needs to go through some growing pains. But I’m talking more specifically this Lakers series.

Nobody really is playing well, nobody is really producing. Several aren’t trying, and several are playing for themselves only. Simons will at least provide energy, effort, and try to work within the offense.

What we have tried isn’t working. Take a risk, it can’t get much worse.


Well if Lillard sits out game 5 we might actually see Simons given the starting spot.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#142 » by Sinobas » Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:41 am

Game 5 Lakers 132 Blazer 45.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#143 » by Epicurus » Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:21 am

Trent is the only Blazer bench player in the playoffs which would be allowed on the Lakers bench.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#144 » by JasonStern » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:03 am

JasonStern wrote:Key to the game: Gary Trent Jr. grows 4" and puts on 40lbs of muscle.


Missed the game to attend my daughter's fifth birthday party, but based on the score notifications, I am guessing that Gary Trent Jr. failed to live up to these unrealistic expectations.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#145 » by pinman42 » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:14 am

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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#146 » by The Sebastian Express » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:15 am

pinman42 wrote:
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I've got a bad feeling about this.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#147 » by Pattycakes » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:37 am

I almost put money on this series, so there’s some good news. For me.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#148 » by PDXKnight » Tue Aug 25, 2020 11:46 am

With the track record of our medical staff the fact that they are worried and following up with Dame’s mri is worrisome
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#149 » by Blazinaway » Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:51 pm

Moonbeam wrote:I’m proud of Portland’s effort to get into the postseason. But they’re completely overmatched here. I imagine there will be some significant changes to the team next year.


Agree, and if they do not make significant changes then this team, as it was for me a lot of this season becomes unwatchable for me. I have seen this movie enough times that I am very, very tired of it.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#150 » by PDXKnight » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:02 pm

Blazinaway wrote:
Moonbeam wrote:I’m proud of Portland’s effort to get into the postseason. But they’re completely overmatched here. I imagine there will be some significant changes to the team next year.


Agree, and if they do not make significant changes then this team, as it was for me a lot of this season becomes unwatchable for me. I have seen this movie enough times that I am very, very tired of it.


We had zero bench, I think if we at least add depth and bring back ariza it’s a start. But the same question remains, what moves are out there? Who knows what the market bears but if Dame is out long it might be a good chance to showcase cj as the go to man as I think he’d really raise his trade value in that capacity

I’d like to keep nurk but from a value standpoint his may be low given his injury history. Same thing for zco. That leaves us with pretty much just cj to trade. In the ideal scenario I’d keep Trent and deal cj but it’d have to be the right fit and cj for the right fit has been pondered many a times now with few answers
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#151 » by Sinobas » Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:50 pm

We had a nice bench until it needed to be dismantled due to the summer 2016 fiasco...the chickens came home to roost.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#152 » by BlazersBroncos » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:12 pm

We had a nice bench until it needed to be dismantled due to the summer 2016 fiasco...the chickens came home to roost.


Exactly. We lost nearly every role player on the team that made us a WCF finalist. Aminu, Harkless, Seth, Kanter. Those guys were the glue that held this deck of cards together, specifically the defense of Aminu and Mo. Then we lose the automatic shooting of Seth and the elite screening of Enes. It was just a mess.

It will take this team years to build a squad as deep with quality role players as last seasons team. Getting minimal contributions from our recent FRP's makes that all the harder.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#153 » by Epicurus » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:51 pm

Last night each team took 7 very tightly contested shots (nba stats). The Lakers made 71.4% (efg%) of theirs. The Blazers 42.9% of theirs.
The Lakers took 31 tight contested shot, making 59.7%; while the Blazers took 32, making 43.8%.
The Lakers took 23 open shots,making 58.7%; Blazers took 36 open shots, making 58.3%.
The Lakers took 26 wide open shots, making 78.8%; the Blazers took 14 wide open shots, making 57.1%.

Though the team took almost equal amounts of contested shots ( very tight or tight), the Lakers were coniderably better at making them.
Too many wide open shots for the Lakers and they were making them.
Though the Blazers didn't get as many wide open looks, they did get open looks, more than the Lakers, but though shot well could not differentiate even there from the Lakers effectiveness.

Last night, probably due to adjustments about getting back on misses, the Blazers actually won slightly the rebounding percentages. Yet that make have led to the Lakers amount of wide open shots. Pick your poison, I guess.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#154 » by Epicurus » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:55 pm

If Nurk had a game 3 like his game 4, I think the series would now be tied. He made his shots last night and was excellent on the boards. Given his circumstances, his inconsistency in this series is understandable and not defining.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#155 » by Norm2953 » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:55 pm

It will be interesting to see how NO operates this summer if the luxury tax line is closer to $120 Million.

Team seems to be in decent shape financially in 2020 for they can let Hassan and Ariza walk and has
some long term decisions to be made with GTJ and Nurk. The MLE will likely yield a critically needed
front court player in a very tight market but we likely need 2-3 front court players (backup center
and PF, SF) if the team cannot count on Zach staying healthy.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#156 » by JasonStern » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:06 pm

Sinobas wrote:We had a nice bench until it needed to be dismantled due to the summer 2016 fiasco...the chickens came home to roost.


That's not completely accurate. Roster turnover is cyclical. In the Lillard era, you have had two peaks. First, in 2013-14:

Lillard/Williams/Watson
Matthews/McCollum/Barton/Crabbe
Batum/Wright/Claver
Aldridge/Robinson
Lopez/Freeland/Leonard

That and the 2014-15 teams were darkhorse contenders. 2014-15 saw the Blazers acquiring a 6th man scoring option in Afflalo, signing Kaman, and bringing back Blake.

But then you had Matthews tear his ACL and the team basically fall apart. So now it's the offseason and you're looking at massive luxury taxes to keep a team that underperformed together. You have UFAs in Aldridge that bails, Matthews that gets a max contract from Dallas despite torn ACL, etc. So the Blazers blew it up. Traded Batum, let Lopez walk, etc.

In 2015-16, they overachieved. This lead to a drunken spending spree by Allen and Olshey, which is great if you come away with value for the money you spent. But the cap went up dramatically, and so the Blazers decided to try to outbid nobody on players like Turner and Leonard, and outbid equally desperate teams on players like Crabbe.

So now Olshey has his hands tied a bit spending wise and actually acts responsible, landing Aminu and Davis on reasonable contract cap-friendly deals. Just imagine if he did this the whole time. Not expensive serviceable depth that could be used as trade pieces without other teams balking.

But hindsight. Instead, Olshey threaded the needle, avoiding luxury taxes until this year. Lucking out occasionally (the Nurkic trade), and acting desperately other times (Crabbe for Nicholson). But this year is the year that the 2016 spending spree hit the fan.

Unlike in 2015, the CBA prevented the Blazers from keeping last year's team together - presuming new management would even consider it given the cost ramifications. Cohesion is underrated when it comes to NBA teams. Gone are the nuances learned over years that players like Aminu and Harkless spent playing with the Dame/CJ core. Also, journeymen like Kanter and Curry couldn't be retained, and available replacements with what the Blazers had to offer were downgrades. These cycles happen.

So now here the Blazers are. Hood is a decent starter or solid bench player pre-injury. Ariza is a crafty veteran. Labissière was an average productive player prior to his injury. None of these players were available for the bubble. For most teams, even making the playoffs would be a fantasy at that point. Plus you had Trent Jr. stepping up, your choice of either Collins showing promise or Whiteside being free to be aggressive on defense, Simons (despite not living up to the hype) and Little at least showing flashes that they can become rotation players in the league. The idea that we have no bench is a bit unfounded. In been here, done that before fashion. it was just overly injury prone and incapable of developing the chemistry needed to win at a high level. Dame masked a lot of this, but could only do it for so long.

Depending on the results of Dame's MRI this afternoon, we might be looking at a couple of rough rebuilding years.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#157 » by The Sebastian Express » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:22 pm

Wesley ruptured his Achilles, diidn't ear his ACL. If he had torn his ACL, we would've kept him, I think.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#158 » by JasonStern » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:43 pm

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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#159 » by The Sebastian Express » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:50 pm

JasonStern wrote:
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Legit breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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Re: Playoff game 4 rd 1 Portland vs Lakers 

Post#160 » by Blazinaway » Tue Aug 25, 2020 10:46 pm

The Sebastian Express wrote:
JasonStern wrote:
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Legit breathed a huge sigh of relief.


Yeah, that's probably about the best news we could have hoped for

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