By DY_nasty Go To PostDame offball been a joke for years. That's the issue. Dude don't believe in his own gravity.Isn't it an all the above problem?
Olshey for having trash wings and extremely limited Bigs. Sorry, but Nurk is limited. He's good at what he does, but drops off a cliff outside that. And teams will exploit that.
Dame (and to a lesser extent McCullum) for never stepping up and learning how to go off ball properly. How to create for others without the ball. Aka Klay or Steph. Shit even Kyrie was getting better at it this year.
For Stotts, to some extent, for not creating better release valves for the traps. Though it's dubious if Lillard would have been able to use them.
By blackace Go To Postif you can't come up with a game plan to exploit two triple teams to at least take a game then…I don't buy that 100%
If you can make a bum like harkless look like a real NBA player for years then you know what you're doing. Dame just plateaued and if he's the guy then your problems ain't gonna change.
Their perimeter players couldn't hit wide open shots and their bigs couldn't finish over Davis or Mirotic. No driving lanes due to the above and a very reactive help and recover scheme even off-ball on Dame and CJ is hard to fix via scheme.
Portland just has very poor offensive players outside their big two, and the defensive scheme used to compensate for their guard's and Nurkic's limitations just doesn't work against Davis and Jrue.
Basically, the supporting cast outside the two guards is a bigger reason they failed than any coaching or limitations on those two guards. Jrue is better than CJ and Davis is better than Lillard.
The rest of the roster is a bunch of Rondo's and worse.
Portland just has very poor offensive players outside their big two, and the defensive scheme used to compensate for their guard's and Nurkic's limitations just doesn't work against Davis and Jrue.
Basically, the supporting cast outside the two guards is a bigger reason they failed than any coaching or limitations on those two guards. Jrue is better than CJ and Davis is better than Lillard.
The rest of the roster is a bunch of Rondo's and worse.
By giririsss Go To PostIsn't it an all the above problem?The problem with Lillard and CJ with the traps is that they were too small. They were often trapped by Jrue/Moore and Davis/Mirotic who are all bigger than them. The other guys they had to pass to can't make open perimeter shots and have limited ball-handling skills. Nurkic is also a terrible pick and roll finisher, has no range, and isn't good in post-ups.
Olshey for having trash wings and extremely limited Bigs. Sorry, but Nurk is limited. He's good at what he does, but drops off a cliff outside that. And teams will exploit that.
Dame (and to a lesser extent McCullum) for never stepping up and learning how to go off ball properly. How to create for others without the ball. Aka Klay or Steph. Shit even Kyrie was getting better at it this year.
For Stotts, to some extent, for not creating better release valves for the traps. Though it's dubious if Lillard would have been able to use them.
I mean, I guess they could have played more of Aminu at center but, uhhh...
By giririsss Go To PostIsn't it an all the above problem?I said it some years back, but dame isn't a guy who can run point without scoring himself
Olshey for having trash wings and extremely limited Bigs. Sorry, but Nurk is limited. He's good at what he does, but drops off a cliff outside that. And teams will exploit that.
Dame (and to a lesser extent McCullum) for never stepping up and learning how to go off ball properly. How to create for others without the ball. Aka Klay or Steph. Shit even Kyrie was getting better at it this year.
For Stotts, to some extent, for not creating better release valves for the traps. Though it's dubious if Lillard would have been able to use them.
Sometimes coaches can get the most out of a guy but he's always had that issue individually. It's why I thought CJ was the guy to keep. Scoring isn't that hard to come by but running a proactive offense? That's the only time you should really feel comfortable with scoring pg unless they're legit superhuman - and that's not a lillard specific thing either. Kyrie got the same issue (he's just a way better scorer with better schemes/players to cover his faults)
I get those wings are bad but that's got nothing to do with getting shutdown and styled on the way Portland just saw. That was craaaaaaazy disrespectful. From a gentry team too? Fuck
Notice how like none of this applies to the Pels-Warriors matchup and why, even without Curry, I don't like the Pels chances of doing much.
Oh, I forgot to mention that POR was running CJ off a hella amount of screens. Especially when Moore was guarding him since he doesn't have the length and athleticism to stop CJ shooting over him off a hard screen. Which is why the player guarding the screener would always step up to take the shot away. And the Blazer screeners are terrible finishers and creators so there was no downside for NOLA being so aggressive on that kind of coverage.
Oh, I forgot to mention that POR was running CJ off a hella amount of screens. Especially when Moore was guarding him since he doesn't have the length and athleticism to stop CJ shooting over him off a hard screen. Which is why the player guarding the screener would always step up to take the shot away. And the Blazer screeners are terrible finishers and creators so there was no downside for NOLA being so aggressive on that kind of coverage.
By DY_nasty Go To PostI don't buy that 100%You gotta adjust if you are getting you do-do packed... Not saying he isn't a decent/good coach... but he made zero adjustments to his little people getting tripled teamed
If you can make a bum like harkless look like a real NBA player for years then you know what you're doing. Dame just plateaued and if he's the guy then your problems ain't gonna change.
By blackace Go To PostYou gotta adjust if you are getting you do-do packed… Not saying he isn't a decent/good coach… but he made zero adjustments to his little people getting tripled teamedNah. He made adjustments and they worked for a little while but they just didn't have the personnel to punish.
By Kibner Go To PostNah. He made adjustments and they worked for a little while but they just didn't have the personnel to punish.They went right back to those triple double teams. He had the horses to not get swept... this wasn't a below .500 team in the playoffs...
By Random Ass Username Go To PostWhat adjustments would Stotts really make? Evan Turner sucks.Jake. Layman.
But honestly you think the Blazers, 3rd in the west, didn't have the horses to not get swept?
By Random Ass Username Go To PostWhat adjustments would Stotts really make? Evan Turner sucks.evan turner is just barely good enough to hold the ball at the top of the key - worse players do this all the time. turner's shown he can diaw the shit too. lillard has got to understand that he can actually help his team win (or at least stay in a game) by moving off ball and forcing a defense to move away from the ball a bit. cj can do it. but again, lillard's pretty much just only capable of running offense when he's being guarded like he's accustomed to.
it'd also help a ton if he could maintain his dribble under the 3 pt line long enough to force AD up, but he couldn't even get past people let alone do any of that real pg stuff lol
By Kibner Go To PostTheir perimeter players couldn't hit wide open shots and their bigs couldn't finish over Davis or Mirotic. No driving lanes due to the above and a very reactive help and recover scheme even off-ball on Dame and CJ is hard to fix via scheme.i'm not arguing why they lost - i'm just focusing on how they got completely embarrassed. i don't think anyone would've seen Nola winning as too much of an upset. getting clowned all over the court? people get swept all the time and what nola did doesn't happen.
Portland just has very poor offensive players outside their big two, and the defensive scheme used to compensate for their guard's and Nurkic's limitations just doesn't work against Davis and Jrue.
Basically, the supporting cast outside the two guards is a bigger reason they failed than any coaching or limitations on those two guards. Jrue is better than CJ and Davis is better than Lillard.
The rest of the roster is a bunch of Rondo's and worse.
any real adjustments or even backbone would've kept some respect intact
By Random Ass Username Go To PostWhat adjustments would Stotts really make? Evan Turner sucks.He tried giving Aminu more responsibility and playing Ed Davis more and Nurkic less. There's just so little you can do with only two reliable threats. Harkless was injured and Turner got injured, too. There was just no one wou could do anything on a consistent basis.
By blackace Go To PostThey went right back to those triple double teams. He had the horses to not get swept… this wasn't a below .500 team in the playoffs…The traps actually happened less and less as the series went on.
They were a .500 or worse team except for a single month of play. Just like the last several years.
I just continue to think Portland is an overperforming regular season team the last several years due to a good coach and a couple good-to-great players whose fatal flaws get exposed in the post-season by teams with the time to properly drill in a scheme just for them as well as the talent to execute and exploit.
By DY_nasty Go To PostI From a gentry team too? Fuck
Eh, Gentry is a good coach. I stand by that.
But I feel like we've seen this particular iteration of LIllard for a few years now. There's been no evolution.
By Kibner Go To PostThe problem with Lillard and CJ with the traps is that they were too small. They were often trapped by Jrue/Moore and Davis/Mirotic who are all bigger than them. The other guys they had to pass to can't make open perimeter shots and have limited ball-handling skills. Nurkic is also a terrible pick and roll finisher, has no range, and isn't good in post-ups.If your guy is getting doubled of trippled, you don't need to be a good shooter. Just run to the rim. Everyone will be dragged in trying to help, or you'll draw a foul.
I mean, I guess they could have played more of Aminu at center but, uhhh…
The problems I saw were guys not knowing how to use a release valve. Break that double / triple before it ruined your offensive possession. Mind you, i only watched 2 of the games. But it looked more like the players freaking out than a scheme failure. But they could be freaking out because there was no scheme in place.
It doesn't help when you have Davis or a surprisingly competent-against-poor-finishers Mirotic waiting for you at the rim.
Because lol at POR being able to pull both of them out the paint.
Because lol at POR being able to pull both of them out the paint.
By giririsss Go To PostEh, Gentry is a good coach. I stand by that.my maths isn't great but two guys getting tripled team and someone open
But I feel like we've seen this particular iteration of LIllard for a few years now. There's been no evolution.
If your guy is getting doubled of trippled, you don't need to be a good shooter. Just run to the rim. Everyone will be dragged in trying to help, or you'll draw a foul.
The problems I saw were guys not knowing how to use a release valve. Break that double / triple before it ruined your offensive possession. Mind you, i only watched 2 of the games. But it looked more like the players freaking out than a scheme failure. But they could be freaking out because there was no scheme in place.
By blackace Go To Postmy maths isn't great but two guys getting tripled team and someone openAnd those open guys continued to miss wide open shot after wide open shot. And none were great finishers at the rim, either.
By Kibner Go To PostAnd those open guys continued to miss wide open shot after wide open shot. And none were great finishers at the rim, either.only Turner got way more shots up than his season average...
iirc, the Blazers had the highest percentage of uncontested shots attempted of any team through the first three or four games in the playoffs this season. I think only Boston shot worse off those kinds of shots.
By blackace Go To Postonly Turner got way more shots up than his season average…They turned the ball over a lot.
By giririsss Go To PostEh, Gentry is a good coach. I stand by that.i don't mean as a coach
But I feel like we've seen this particular iteration of LIllard for a few years now. There's been no evolution.
If your guy is getting doubled of trippled, you don't need to be a good shooter. Just run to the rim. Everyone will be dragged in trying to help, or you'll draw a foul.
The problems I saw were guys not knowing how to use a release valve. Break that double / triple before it ruined your offensive possession. Mind you, i only watched 2 of the games. But it looked more like the players freaking out than a scheme failure. But they could be freaking out because there was no scheme in place.
i mean as in a coach you'd almost never expect to let his team run wild with in-game showboating like the pels were doing from game 2 and on lol
By Kibner Go To PostAnd those open guys continued to miss wide open shot after wide open shot. And none were great finishers at the rim, either.we had this discussion before, but not all open shots are the same lol
if you ain't getting guys looks in some kind of rhythm then you're just detroit
If you don't think Dame's been playing off the ball then you haven't been watching the Blazers play. At all.
By reilo Go To PostIf you don't think Dame's been playing off the ball then you haven't been watching the Blazers play. At all.he sucks at it and has no intention of getting better or believing that it has any purpose other than getting himself points
he's been this way for like 3 years lol
By reilo Go To Postlol aight ;)the fuck is this, reset? ";)" im literally disgusted with you for typing that. even forever wouldn't post that smiley as a response.
like yal ain't just get swept on homecourt with your best player throwing the towel in on himself
at least lowry would ask for help from opposing coaches in the middle of series
dude really might be the softest allstar pg in the league with how he went out
By DY_nasty Go To Postthe fuck is this, reset? ";)" im literally disgusted with you for typing that. even forever wouldn't post that smiley as a response.I'm just done with your bullshit argument because Dame plays a ton off the ball. You're just not considering the fact that it'd be next to Shabazz playing PG or CJ playing SF. What does that solve against the Pelicans? Nothing because the wing/front court issues still persists and do nothing, and Bazz is even tinier which excasbarates the issues.
like yal ain't just get swept on homecourt with your best player throwing the towel in on himself
at least lowry would ask for help from opposing coaches in the middle of series
dude really might be the softest allstar pg in the league with how he went out
But whatever, you laughed when I said Pelicans double/triple teamed Lillard and now you are shifting your argument after Kibner confirmed the same thing. Your hate is just so myopic.
By diehard Go To Posta smiley response is something i might do right now tbf😒
Also, for the record, CJ is like Kyrie. I love CJ but once he has the ball it isn't leaving his hands. He's a pure ISO-scorer with second option spot-up capabilities. You won't ever see him run an offense.
By DY_nasty Go To Posti don't mean as a coachOh, I know. It's just those Blazer players they were asking to make shots are just awful at putting the ball in the basket from range when uncontested or at the rim when contested. Their best hope was Evan Turner doing work in the mid-range. And he couldn even abuse a much smaller Moore.
i mean as in a coach you'd almost never expect to let his team run wild with in-game showboating like the pels were doing from game 2 and on lol
we had this discussion before, but not all open shots are the same lol
if you ain't getting guys looks in some kind of rhythm then you're just detroit
By Fenderputty Go To PostKibner must not be used to the playoff. It’s almost like he thinks he’s currently a loser broIt's vindication for how bad of a team I've felt the Blazers have been the last several years despite their coach and best two players.
By reilo Go To PostI'm just done with your bullshit argument because Dame plays a ton off the ball. You're just not considering the fact that it'd be next to Shabazz playing PG or CJ playing SF. What does that solve against the Pelicans? Nothing because the wing/front court issues still persists and do nothing, and Bazz is even tinier which excasbarates the issues.When did you get dumb
But whatever, you laughed when I said Pelicans double/triple teamed Lillard and now you are shifting your argument after Kibner confirmed the same thing. Your hate is just so myopic.
A high trap is a double team LMAO you really bothered like that after all these sweeps?
Dude is straight up ineffective offball and legitimately gave up trying halfway through the series. Again.
I think me and Dy will disagree on the reasons for Dame's lackluster performance at times but I honestly blame LMA for a lot of shit not working well. If you're dealing with that kind of passive aggressive nonsense while you're the up and comer you end up having your own issues even when his punk ass gone.
By Random Ass Username Go To PostI think me and Dy will disagree on the reasons for Dame's lackluster performance at times but I honestly blame LMA for a lot of shit not working well. If you're dealing with that kind of passive aggressive nonsense while you're the up and comer you end up having your own issues even when his punk ass gone.Wait, 2 years after LMA left it's LMA"s fault Portland can't break a basic double / trap?
By giririsss Go To PostWait, 2 years after LMA left it's LMA"s fault Portland can't break a basic double / trap?I'm still laughing at how reilo taking this "pelicans were just the better team ;)" from Kibner with a happy pep in his step after kib spent the last week playing nonstop big tymers mixtapes and throwing the shades/chain combo on the avatar 😂
By DY_nasty Go To PostI'm still laughing at how reilo taking this "pelicans were just the better team ;)" from Kibner with a happy pep in his step after kib spent the last week playing nonstop big tymers mixtapes and throwing the shades/chain combo on the avatar 😂I don't even know what I would do if the Pels sweep the Warriors, too.
By reilo Go To PostI'm still not mad. Apollo knows.going to apollo for validation is like going to vire for relationship advice
tfw you think you're at acceptance but you're actually still comfortably in shock
add dame to the list of soft af blazers ppl reilo has stanned over the years
the convenience of gaf getting nuked and all these new members
they don't remember you going hard in the paint saying oden > yao
they don't remember you going hard in the paint saying oden > yao