Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Duck24
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Duck24 »

Paying salary cap tax on a team that won’t even make the playoffs next year. How does GM Bro keep his job? Naked pics of Paul Allen? Typical of a Portland team to get a transcendent talent like Dame and ruin any chances of being remotely competitive during his prime with one “drunk driver at the wheel” summer of free agent spending.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Deckard does some math and concludes that Olshey can wiggle out of the tax by trading away Aminu, whose contract expires at the end of the year. Who knows, maybe he already has a deal in place, to be triggered before the end of the year. If so, this is a neat bit of cap management. Apparently, that is without signing the 15th guy, which means not keeping Baldwin or Papagiannis. We'll see if either of those guys ends up making the team. My vote would be Papagiannis for depth, since they already have a ton of guards anyway.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Based on SL so far:
1) Swanigan looks to be somewhat improved in all facets and does a bunch of the dirty work for the team (rebounding, defending, getting defense set)
2) Collins' shot isn't falling but he's locking up his man on defense and looking physically stronger
3) Baldwin is real smooth running the team and knows when to pick his spots.
4) Trent can shoot but his defense still remains suspect and he sort of bogs down the offense hunting for his own shots
5) Simons looks like a little kid out there but has shown some good aggression on defense and his athleticism is as advertised
6) Layman and Papagiannis still suck
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Blazers win their first SL game 93-77. Baldwin led the team with 20 points before being ejected after a confrontation with Utah's Grayson Allen (which I suspect will the first of many scraps he's in while in the NBA.) Trent had 16 on 3-7 FG shooting while both Swanigan and Simons had 11 points. Collins struggled to find his shot but had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks while playing some tough defense in the post.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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greenyellow wrote:Blazers win their first SL game 93-77. Baldwin led the team with 20 points before being ejected after a confrontation with Utah's Grayson Allen (which I suspect will the first of many scraps he's in while in the NBA.) Trent had 16 on 3-7 FG shooting while both Swanigan and Simons had 11 points. Collins struggled to find his shot but had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks while playing some tough defense in the post.
Thanks for the report. Sounds like maybe Baldwin is the one earning the last roster spot.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Phalanx wrote:
greenyellow wrote:Blazers win their first SL game 93-77. Baldwin led the team with 20 points before being ejected after a confrontation with Utah's Grayson Allen (which I suspect will the first of many scraps he's in while in the NBA.) Trent had 16 on 3-7 FG shooting while both Swanigan and Simons had 11 points. Collins struggled to find his shot but had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks while playing some tough defense in the post.
Thanks for the report. Sounds like maybe Baldwin is the one earning the last roster spot.
I'd be fine with that. He'd likely be making $1.7-$2 million so would end up costing the team around $3 million due to the luxury tax, but that seems fine for someone who looks to be turning into a decent backup PG.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Duck24 »

greenyellow wrote:Based on SL so far:
1) Swanigan looks to be somewhat improved in all facets and does a bunch of the dirty work for the team (rebounding, defending, getting defense set)
2) Collins' shot isn't falling but he's locking up his man on defense and looking physically stronger
3) Baldwin is real smooth running the team and knows when to pick his spots.
4) Trent can shoot but his defense still remains suspect and he sort of bogs down the offense hunting for his own shots
5) Simons looks like a little kid out there but has shown some good aggression on defense and his athleticism is as advertised
6) Layman and Papagiannis still suck
Imagine that. A guy that the Kings cut a year after drafting him in the lottery isn’t any good?
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by oregontrack »

simons has a quick release on that jumper.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Blazers now 2-0 in SL. Layman led them with 23 points on 9-14 FG shooting. Simons had 12 points while Trent had 8. Baldwin flirted with a triple-double after registering 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Collins was having a good game (8 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks) before leaving with an ankle injury in the 2nd half. Another positive sign was Trae Young getting absolutely locked up by Baldwin and Simons.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Merganzer »

So, since he has been a Trail Blazer, Damian Lillard has been all a fan could ask for, on and off the court. But, I really don't know what to make of it when he says, https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/inde ... ncart_2box

"I'm not unhappy," Lillard said Sunday. "I love where I live. I love the organization. I love our coaching staff. I love where I am."

To me that sounds like a fan seeing things through the Rosiest colored glasses possible. What other First Team All NBA player would "love" the situation Lillard has in Portland? I understand that it's better for him, in every way, to have a positive outlook. But he loves it? At the end of the article we get this, "As far as where we fit in (the playoff picture), y'all know how I bring (it)," Lillard said. "I'm going to get us in there and that's how it's going to go." Being swept in the first round. Not exactly, "Braveheart".
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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Merganzer wrote:So, since he has been a Trail Blazer, Damian Lillard has been all a fan could ask for, on and off the court. But, I really don't know what to make of it when he says, https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/inde ... ncart_2box

"I'm not unhappy," Lillard said Sunday. "I love where I live. I love the organization. I love our coaching staff. I love where I am."

To me that sounds like a fan seeing things through the Rosiest colored glasses possible. What other First Team All NBA player would "love" the situation Lillard has in Portland? I understand that it's better for him, in every way, to have a positive outlook. But he loves it? At the end of the article we get this, "As far as where we fit in (the playoff picture), y'all know how I bring (it)," Lillard said. "I'm going to get us in there and that's how it's going to go." Being swept in the first round. Not exactly, "Braveheart".
I agree with Lillard that the team around him is not great. The fact that Aldridge and the old team left, and then the contracts to awful players like Turner, Leonard, Crabbe, and Harkless have more or less forced Lillard into his role as a do-everything (except play defense) point guard. I'm sure that gets tiring, even while he racks up stats he would never get on a more evenly-distributed team. On the other hand, I think the attention he gets and the stats and awards are partly due to the fact that he is the only star on the team. If he played with LeBron, for instance, I suspect he would start looking a lot more like Terry Porter in terms of stats - higher fg% and lower scoring. His lifetime 40% shooting in the playoffs is a testament to the fact that he is forced to be a scorer more than is natural for his game. Clyde was 44.7% lifetime, and Terry was 47%.

It will be interesting to see if the influx of shooters on the team helps Lillard's efficiency more. I'm not sure how hopeful we can be for improvement as a team, but at least there are some unknowns to keep us interested for awhile.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by Merganzer »

Phalanx wrote:
Merganzer wrote:So, since he has been a Trail Blazer, Damian Lillard has been all a fan could ask for, on and off the court. But, I really don't know what to make of it when he says, https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/inde ... ncart_2box

"I'm not unhappy," Lillard said Sunday. "I love where I live. I love the organization. I love our coaching staff. I love where I am."

To me that sounds like a fan seeing things through the Rosiest colored glasses possible. What other First Team All NBA player would "love" the situation Lillard has in Portland? I understand that it's better for him, in every way, to have a positive outlook. But he loves it? At the end of the article we get this, "As far as where we fit in (the playoff picture), y'all know how I bring (it)," Lillard said. "I'm going to get us in there and that's how it's going to go." Being swept in the first round. Not exactly, "Braveheart".
I agree with Lillard that the team around him is not great. The fact that Aldridge and the old team left, and then the contracts to awful players like Turner, Leonard, Crabbe, and Harkless have more or less forced Lillard into his role as a do-everything (except play defense) point guard. I'm sure that gets tiring, even while he racks up stats he would never get on a more evenly-distributed team. On the other hand, I think the attention he gets and the stats and awards are partly due to the fact that he is the only star on the team. If he played with LeBron, for instance, I suspect he would start looking a lot more like Terry Porter in terms of stats - higher fg% and lower scoring. His lifetime 40% shooting in the playoffs is a testament to the fact that he is forced to be a scorer more than is natural for his game. Clyde was 44.7% lifetime, and Terry was 47%.

It will be interesting to see if the influx of shooters on the team helps Lillard's efficiency more. I'm not sure how hopeful we can be for improvement as a team, but at least there are some unknowns to keep us interested for awhile.
Yes, I have nothing but respect for Lillard, so much that I still maintain that both he and the team would be best served by trading him to a team where he could contend and flourish in his peak years, and the Blazers could receive players, draft picks back, that would allow them to build a new team; Since, as you closed with, we can hope for improvement. But really, we are left with watching on a game to game basis, hoping for a SportsCenter highlight once in a while.
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by greenyellow »

Blazer finish preliminary SL play 3-0 after notching a 95-89 win over the Spurs, even with Collins sitting out to an ankle sprain. Trent is looking to be a steal in the 2nd round as he scored 25 points today. Baldwin added 16 points, 9 assists, and 5 steals. Layman added 15, Swanigan had 12, and Simons had a quiet game with 8 points.

Also, Olshey discussing what's left to do this off-season:
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

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greenyellow wrote:Blazers now 2-0 in SL. Layman led them with 23 points on 9-14 FG shooting. Simons had 12 points while Trent had 8. Baldwin flirted with a triple-double after registering 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Collins was having a good game (8 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks) before leaving with an ankle injury in the 2nd half. Another positive sign was Trae Young getting absolutely locked up by Baldwin and Simons.
What??? We were told by “experts” Layman “sucks”?
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Re: Portland Trail Blazers 2017-18 Thread

Post by greenyellow »

He's really inconsistent. He was clanging a lot of his shots in the first SL game but the last couple games, SL Jake Layman has reappeared and been one of the top players in Las Vegas.
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