Game 39: Portland vs New Orleans 7:00pm TNT/SNW

[Epicurus]

Could we just fire Stotts please there is no **** way this team is this bad defensively. It's pretty much time for him to go, he either has no **** clue how to fix this team, or the team doesn't listen to him anymore.

In either case Stotts is basically done at this point, the Blazers strategy of trying to shoot better than every team and letting them do almost anything they want on the offensive end doesn't work.

Or the current rotation lacks rim and lane protection, what with about 21 ft of bigs on the injured list.

[Brandon-Clyde]

Victory GLB pic

Spoiler:

[monopoman]

Could we just fire Stotts please there is no **** way this team is this bad defensively. It's pretty much time for him to go, he either has no **** clue how to fix this team, or the team doesn't listen to him anymore.

In either case Stotts is basically done at this point, the Blazers strategy of trying to shoot better than every team and letting them do almost anything they want on the offensive end doesn't work.

Or the current rotation lacks rim and lane protection, what with about 21 ft of bigs on the injured list.

Sounds like a decent excuse except when you see that only one team in the entirety of the NBA has a worse defense. Now I am not asking for a top 6 defense, I just want them in the top half of the league. Even with the injuries this should not be a big ask, in fact Stotts also thought it was achievelable.

https://theathletic.com/2450471/2021/03/15/blazers-are-failing-to-meet-terry-stotts-defensive-challenge-so-far/

I don't think expecting this team to be in the top 15 teams on D is a huge ask, even without Nurkic and Z Collins.

[Epicurus]

I won't say that no other coach would not produce a better defense with this current rotation, but with certainty I can say that no coach, even God, would make this current rotation into an average defense, certainly not above average. No rim protection--I don't understand what is difficult to understand. Not an excuse, but a reality.

[Matt800]

I won't say that no other coach would not produce a better defense with this current rotation, but with certainty I can say that no coach, even God, would make this current rotation into an average defense, certainly not above average. No rim protection--I don't understand what is difficult to understand. Not an excuse, but a reality.

also there have been less practices this year so even with the best coach in the world, if they don't get to practice it doesn't really matter. I think if Stotts was a bad coach Lillard and/or Olshey would be looking for a change, but who knows.

[monopoman]

I won't say that no other coach would not produce a better defense with this current rotation, but with certainty I can say that no coach, even God, would make this current rotation into an average defense, certainly not above average. No rim protection--I don't understand what is difficult to understand. Not an excuse, but a reality.

also there have been less practices this year so even with the best coach in the world, if they don't get to practice it doesn't really matter. I think if Stotts was a bad coach Lillard and/or Olshey would be looking for a change, but who knows.

I wouldn't take Lillard's word for that he has an extremely close bond with Stotts, and has talked about how much they like each other. Lillard has also never had another head coach at the NBA level, so his only experience with an NBA coach is Stotts. Now I don't claim that Stotts is a horrible coach, but I just think we could be seeing better defense this team should not be 29th out of 30 on that end.

[Epicurus]

Ok,maybe they should be 26th, but any higher with the current rotation is delusional.

[monopoman]

Ok,maybe they should be 26th, but any higher with the current rotation is delusional.

Well Stotts is delusional then according to you, because he made a challenge to this team to be a top 15 NBA defense in the second half of the season. I guess he is on some major drugs to believe that this is possible according to you.

Keep in mind this is what Stotts thinks is possible, and has nothing to do with what I think of what this teams defense could be.

I also think this game is a prime example of what I am talking about, Blazers play god awful defense throughout three quarters and then in the second half of the 4th quarter we see far more effort in making big plays to stop the Pel's. It's a night and day difference in defense in that last 7ish minutes of the 4th then it was for the entirety of the game until that point.

[monopoman]

https://youtu.be/4RQ7ebf6ZVc?t=570

Lillard also is referencing exactly what I am talking about.

[Epicurus]

Ok,maybe they should be 26th, but any higher with the current rotation is delusional.

Well Stotts is delusional then according to you, because he made a challenge to this team to be a top 15 NBA defense in the second half of the season. I guess he is on some major drugs to believe that this is possible according to you.

Keep in mind this is what Stotts thinks is possible, and has nothing to do with what I think of what this teams defense could be.

I also think this game is a prime example of what I am talking about, Blazers play god awful defense throughout three quarters and then in the second half of the 4th quarter we see far more effort in making big plays to stop the Pel's. It's a night and day difference in defense in that last 7ish minutes of the 4th then it was for the entirety of the game until that point.

Is the 2nd half of the season over? I am referencing the CURRENT rotation and not the return of Nurk and Giles.

[mojomarc]

Watch on YouTube

[JasonStern]

I don't think expecting this team to be in the top 15 teams on D is a huge ask, even without Nurkic and Z Collins.

A 36-year old Carmelo Anthony played minutes at center last night. Let that sink in.

[DeBlazerRiddem]

I won't say that no other coach would not produce a better defense with this current rotation, but with certainty I can say that no coach, even God, would make this current rotation into an average defense, certainly not above average. No rim protection--I don't understand what is difficult to understand. Not an excuse, but a reality.

also there have been less practices this year so even with the best coach in the world, if they don't get to practice it doesn't really matter. I think if Stotts was a bad coach Lillard and/or Olshey would be looking for a change, but who knows.

I wouldn't take Lillard's word for that he has an extremely close bond with Stotts, and has talked about how much they like each other. Lillard has also never had another head coach at the NBA level, so his only experience with an NBA coach is Stotts. Now I don't claim that Stotts is a horrible coach, but I just think we could be seeing better defense this team should not be 29th out of 30 on that end.

Part of being a good coach is... having a close bond with your star and best player. You want those two on the same page. I really don't understand this criticism. It's actually a good sign that after so many years their relationship is as strong as it is.

As for defense, Carmelo and Kanter playing major minutes puts a hard cap on how good you can be defensively, though to be fair Stotts has proven through the years that he cant get a Lillard/CJ team to be very good defensively either. On the flip side, and maybe more importantly, he has proven himself able to play to Lillard's strengths offensively. Every coach is going to have their strengths and weaknesses.

Personally, I think coaches are a little overrated to think changing one out will make some huge difference. They aren't some magic solution to a teams problem, even if you could guarantee getting the best coach of all time (which wont happen, you either get a retread but proven coach who failed elsewhere or you take a shot on an upstart who would need time to come into their own anyways) in the short term the players on the court are still the damn players on the court, YKWIM. A coach can influence this and that and help a team develop but that's in the long term and he still cant squeeze blood from a stone (like a team that has to play Kanter and Melo as our centers because of injuries is never going to be good at protecting the rim or dealing with switches on the perimeter.) Changing a coach is always the go to move because it is easy and it is easy because it has a lesser impact on the team, so thinking it is going to save the day is a little overly optimistic IMO.

That's not to say we should never change the coach, change is good IMO, but its saying a change of coach wont solve our immediate problems. Unless things are entirely broken - and our record with our injury issues means things are not totally broken - its a move I would make more along the lines of "I like this guy to be our coach" rather than a "I'm tired of this guy as our coach" and not in the middle of the season but as part of a more comprehensive roster overhaul in the off-season. Basically, act with purpose rather than from a reaction.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Kamen, Moses Brown, Pau Gasol, I don't care. Get someone with height and bulk on the court. 15-0 on second chance points. It would be nice if the refs didn't allow opponents to grab Kanter's hands on rebounds and putbacks.

Adams is a monster. I'd love to see him go to a team that has a chance at winning sometihng. He's not great offensively, but he also doesn't get much opportunity. He's incredibly strong defensively though.

[DaVoiceMaster]

The Comeback GLB pic

Spoiler:

She worked!!!

[DaVoiceMaster]

I watched the first half last night, then stopped. I had to work early today so I just finished the 2nd half. WOW!!!!!!!!! I kept silently hoping they would pull it out and never lost all hope (although it was tested pretty hard), but kind of thought it was over when the lead ballooned back out to 17 I think in the 4th quarter. The stars aligned last night because a number of things had to happen for Portland to pull out the win... Ingram choked hard at the free throw line after previously shooting 7/8 and Alexander-Walker (who???) knocked the ball out of bounds. That last shot by Zion was wayyyyyyyyyy tooooooo close for me. Melo was bonehead Melo last night, too and not shooting too well.

[Epicurus]

I watched the first half last night, then stopped. I had to work early today so I just finished the 2nd half. WOW!!!!!!!!! I kept silently hoping they would pull it out and never lost all hope (although it was tested pretty hard), but kind of thought it was over when the lead ballooned back out to 17 I think in the 4th quarter. The stars aligned last night because a number of things had to happen for Portland to pull out the win... Ingram choked hard at the free throw line after previously shooting 7/8 and Alexander-Walker (who???) knocked the ball out of bounds. That last shot by Zion was wayyyyyyyyyy tooooooo close for me. Melo was bonehead Melo last night, too and not shooting too well.

Folks, including players and coaches, don't like to acknowledge the existence of a Basketball God, let's call it Hoopla, and its role in every basketball game. Hoopla intervened divinely last night in the last 6 minutes. Praise be to Hoopla!

[GEE]

I watched the first half last night, then stopped. I had to work early today so I just finished the 2nd half. WOW!!!!!!!!! I kept silently hoping they would pull it out and never lost all hope (although it was tested pretty hard), but kind of thought it was over when the lead ballooned back out to 17 I think in the 4th quarter. The stars aligned last night because a number of things had to happen for Portland to pull out the win... Ingram choked hard at the free throw line after previously shooting 7/8 and Alexander-Walker (who???) knocked the ball out of bounds. That last shot by Zion was wayyyyyyyyyy tooooooo close for me. Melo was bonehead Melo last night, too and not shooting too well.

Folks, including players and coaches, don't like to acknowledge the existence of a Basketball God, let's call it Hoopla, and its role in every basketball game. Hoopla intervened divinely last night in the last 6 minutes. Praise be to Hoopla!

Hoopla? That may be the single craziest post I've ever seen on here... and I just read the isht about Meyers Lemon coming back to Portland. Just..... wow. Combining these posts with having watched last nights game has me so confused right now.

[Epicurus]

Let me help you--sometimes good fortune occurs in a ball game. Is that also too deep?