Game Day: Blazers (0-0) @ Suns (0-0), Wed 10/18/17

[Superbone]

Shooting, passing, and defense are areas where we've got nothing.

In particular, our 3 pt shooting is crap. Booker and Warren are horrible defenders. Bender and Chriss are dreadful at both ends.

Knight is dead contract weight. Chandler and Bled need a change of scenery. Warren's contract is likely to be an albatross.

Just tank, stockpile picks, and only pony up for stars.

I disagree with you regarding Bender being dreadful on the defensive side of the ball.

Anybody who watched the game would.

[Superbone]

Looking forward to seeing more of James once Bledsoe is traded.

Agreed. They are actually very similar players, but James attacks and plays like his career is on the line. Which it is.

And he can make threes pretty consistantly. Bledoe was killing us since he couldn't make a shot last night that wasn't at the rim.

Bled scares me this season. He looks like his feet don't even leave the floor when he jumps.

Are you kidding? What about that tip-in he had? It doesn't look like he's lost athleticism, I think Bledsoe looked pretty decent last night.

He had a dreadful shooting night.

[Superbone]

And he can make threes pretty consistantly. Bledoe was killing us since he couldn't make a shot last night that wasn't at the rim.

Bled scares me this season. He looks like his feet don't even leave the floor when he jumps.

Are you kidding? What about that tip-in he had? It doesn't look like he's lost athleticism, I think Bledsoe looked pretty decent last night.

When he got that hoop and foul, flexed and patted his bicep... :facepalm:

I don't want to see any more gloating from this team until they prove they can be competitive in the NBA. It's embarrassing.

To be fair I don't think the team was getting steam-rolled yet.

Correct, they were still in it at the time. (Must have happened in the first 10 minutes.)

[O_Gardino]

Looking forward to seeing more of James once Bledsoe is traded.

Agreed. They are actually very similar players, but James attacks and plays like his career is on the line. Which it is.

And he can make threes pretty consistantly. Bledoe was killing us since he couldn't make a shot last night that wasn't at the rim.

Bled scares me this season. He looks like his feet don't even leave the floor when he jumps.

Are you kidding? What about that tip-in he had? It doesn't look like he's lost athleticism, I think Bledsoe looked pretty decent last night.

I was talking about his jump shots. Yeah, he can still be quick and get up in spots, but he barely hops when he takes a jumper.

And he only looked decent because he got some minutes while Lilard was resting.

[EDC]

It still amazes me how scared Bledsoe is of taking a catch and shoot three pointer. He would rather catch it wait for his defender to get up on him then dribble and pull back for a contested three. Even a good offense won't make a difference there. Bledsoe just won't take those shots most of the time unless he is forced to by being wide open.

On the other hand it would be really nice if we could get Booker open shots. So he can get in rhythm before he starts forcing things.

[EDC]

And yea I'm being emotional right now, but D McDonaugh and his Timeline bullshit too. He put this roster together, he and Watson should be shown the door at the same time.

I don't disagree, but who do you hire for either one? We only hire brand new people with nearly no experience (because they are cheap). Would that give you better results?

We are going to be wasting any talent we have on this roster by letting these guys learn how to lose over and over and over again.

I actually think McD is probably a decent GM, and that he does draft pretty well and bring in undrafted talent pretty well. Back in the day, I thought he got back pretty good return for the players he traded away. I don't want to drop him before this very important draft, becasue I think he is better than whoever else we will get.

It's easy to say that it's his job to build the roster, etc, and it certainly is. But he does not do that in isolation. He has to keep Sarver happy, and Sarver is very involved in the high profile decision on the roster. The coach also has a say, and Sarver has hired a bad coach. That's why I evaluate McD more by how the 2nd rounders turn out than moves like the Chriss pick.

I just don't see it. I realize he has to make his owner happy, but building a team is his key job (and having a winning team does make your owner happy). For every good move you can find, you can find two bad ones.

I just don't want to start over completely. Watching another new GM struggle through learning on the job. I think a head coach with experience would be a great benefit to McD.

[Split T]

Agreed. They are actually very similar players, but James attacks and plays like his career is on the line. Which it is.

And he can make threes pretty consistantly. Bledoe was killing us since he couldn't make a shot last night that wasn't at the rim.

Bled scares me this season. He looks like his feet don't even leave the floor when he jumps.

Are you kidding? What about that tip-in he had? It doesn't look like he's lost athleticism, I think Bledsoe looked pretty decent last night.

I was talking about his jump shots. Yeah, he can still be quick and get up in spots, but he barely hops when he takes a jumper.

And he only looked decent because he got some minutes while Lilard was resting.

He's never jumped on his jump shots

[djy2j]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

[Indy]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

Exactly. Who wouldn't kill for a team where Bender was your worst defender?

[Indy]

And yea I'm being emotional right now, but D McDonaugh and his Timeline bullshit too. He put this roster together, he and Watson should be shown the door at the same time.

I don't disagree, but who do you hire for either one? We only hire brand new people with nearly no experience (because they are cheap). Would that give you better results?

We are going to be wasting any talent we have on this roster by letting these guys learn how to lose over and over and over again.

I actually think McD is probably a decent GM, and that he does draft pretty well and bring in undrafted talent pretty well. Back in the day, I thought he got back pretty good return for the players he traded away. I don't want to drop him before this very important draft, becasue I think he is better than whoever else we will get.

It's easy to say that it's his job to build the roster, etc, and it certainly is. But he does not do that in isolation. He has to keep Sarver happy, and Sarver is very involved in the high profile decision on the roster. The coach also has a say, and Sarver has hired a bad coach. That's why I evaluate McD more by how the 2nd rounders turn out than moves like the Chriss pick.

I just don't see it. I realize he has to make his owner happy, but building a team is his key job (and having a winning team does make your owner happy). For every good move you can find, you can find two bad ones.

I just don't want to start over completely. Watching another new GM struggle through learning on the job. I think a head coach with experience would be a great benefit to McD.

I get the sentiment of not wanting to blow up the front office, but sometimes you have to blow it up. There is no way you can point to more good moves than bad when it comes to McD assembling a good team. At some point, you have to stop hoping for the best and make it happen. We have spent way too much time hoping someone will get better at a job that only 30 people have on the planet. At that level, you shouldn't have to learn on the job.

[O_Gardino]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

Exactly. Who wouldn't kill for a team where Bender was your worst defender?

[ShelC]

Bender needs to be a factor on offense tho. A few nice defensive plays, blocks and rebounds won't justify him being a core piece playing 30mpg. He's gotta do more all around.

[Indy]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

Exactly. Who wouldn't kill for a team where Bender was your worst defender?

You're the one brandishing a knife. My whip and pistol are tucked away, out of sight.

[O_Gardino]

I don't disagree, but who do you hire for either one? We only hire brand new people with nearly no experience (because they are cheap). Would that give you better results?

We are going to be wasting any talent we have on this roster by letting these guys learn how to lose over and over and over again.

I actually think McD is probably a decent GM, and that he does draft pretty well and bring in undrafted talent pretty well. Back in the day, I thought he got back pretty good return for the players he traded away. I don't want to drop him before this very important draft, becasue I think he is better than whoever else we will get.

It's easy to say that it's his job to build the roster, etc, and it certainly is. But he does not do that in isolation. He has to keep Sarver happy, and Sarver is very involved in the high profile decision on the roster. The coach also has a say, and Sarver has hired a bad coach. That's why I evaluate McD more by how the 2nd rounders turn out than moves like the Chriss pick.

I just don't see it. I realize he has to make his owner happy, but building a team is his key job (and having a winning team does make your owner happy). For every good move you can find, you can find two bad ones.

I just don't want to start over completely. Watching another new GM struggle through learning on the job. I think a head coach with experience would be a great benefit to McD.

I get the sentiment of not wanting to blow up the front office, but sometimes you have to blow it up. There is no way you can point to more good moves than bad when it comes to McD assembling a good team. At some point, you have to stop hoping for the best and make it happen. We have spent way too much time hoping someone will get better at a job that only 30 people have on the planet. At that level, you shouldn't have to learn on the job.

In my opinion, Sarver is very involved in the roster decisions. I'm not hoping McD grows (I do think anyone in that job has to be always growing); my hope is that Sarver will learn to trust McD and let him make the roster decisions. If we get a new GM, we are just going to get more Sarver influence.

[O_Gardino]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

Exactly. Who wouldn't kill for a team where Bender was your worst defender?

You're the one brandishing a knife. My whip and pistol are tucked away, out of sight.

If I have to kill a chicken, SO BE IT.

[O_Gardino]

Bender needs to be a factor on offense tho. A few nice defensive plays, blocks and rebounds won't justify him being a core piece playing 30mpg. He's gotta do more all around.

I think everyone agrees with that. A good thing here and a good thing there has to turn into a good game.

To be honest, my expectations for Bender are so low that I'll be happy if he can earn 18 minutes a game on this bad team and slowly get better.

[In2ition]

I think Bender is a decent defender for his age and experience. They eluded to that several times last night and he had several defensive stops. He just lacks consistency. When the rest of your team plays D like a saloon door it's going to take away from guys who defend well. Even if the Suns would have trotted out Kawhi Leonard the rest of the team waould have made him look like Gerald Green. It's a team effort, or lack there of.

Exactly. Who wouldn't kill for a team where Bender was your worst defender?

You're the one brandishing a knife. My whip and pistol are tucked away, out of sight.

If I have to kill a chicken, SO BE IT.

[wpmiller42]

Bender needs to be a factor on offense tho. A few nice defensive plays, blocks and rebounds won't justify him being a core piece playing 30mpg. He's gotta do more all around.

I wasn't that upset with Bender's play on either end of the floor last night. On offense he had some good looks that were mostly on target, but they just didn't fall. I think if he can just get one night where the shots fall, it's going to do a lot for his confidence. I do wish he was more aggressive. He does tend to settle for longer jumpers when I think he could put the ball on the floor and attack the rim.

[Cap]

On offense he had some good looks that were mostly on target, but they just didn't fall.

You say that like it's an aberration. It's been that way since he came into the league. His form looks good and his shots are mostly on target, but they just don't fall.

[Superbone]

On offense he had some good looks that were mostly on target, but they just didn't fall.

You say that like it's an aberration. It's been that way since he came into the league. His form looks good and his shots are mostly on target, but they just don't fall.

He still needs more arc on his shot. Look at JJ's. He has beautiful arc. Much better chance of the ball going through the hoop.