NBA/Blazers 2026-27 Thread

[Phalanx]

Lillard shot less than 39% from the field. The rest of the team together shot 50%. The Kings shot over 46%. That means if everyone on the Blazers shot like Lillard, they would have lost the game. Taking bad shots is a detriment to the team. They aren't going to be able to carry him like they did tonight for a whole season. He needs to take less shots and get more assists.

[pezsez1]

Jrue, Dame, Ja, and Scoot (in that order) had poor shooting nights overall. Jrue was 40%, Dame was 39%, and Ja was 37%. Scoot shot like 15%. But Dame led the team in +/- with +19 thanks to his 5-10 second half shooting, key hustle plays (including a steal and a swipe in the closeout minutes), and space creation for Deni and Toumani. Ja Morant and Jrue Holiday also found ways to facilitate and contribute despite their poor shooting.

Disappointing game by Scoot, solid outings by everyone else.

You really hate Dame haha. It's going to be a fun year.

[Phalanx]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball. We have over a decade of data to draw from to form that conclusion. We have Deni right now on an unbelievable contract, and I don't want to piss it away on more Lillard nonsense.

[pudgejeff]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball. We have over a decade of data to draw from to form that conclusion. We have Deni right now on an unbelievable contract, and I don't want to piss it away on more Lillard nonsense.

I thought the data was before was that his contract too up too much, we just moving the goal posts now?

[pezsez1]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball.

We're 2-0, and he's deferring well enough to lead the team in plus-minus. Relax.

[Boom]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball. We have over a decade of data to draw from to form that conclusion. We have Deni right now on an unbelievable contract, and I don't want to piss it away on more Lillard nonsense.

Trading for Ja Morant is losing basketball.

[Phalanx]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball. We have over a decade of data to draw from to form that conclusion. We have Deni right now on an unbelievable contract, and I don't want to piss it away on more Lillard nonsense.

Trading for Ja Morant is losing basketball.

I actually agree - I don't think he would be a good one to give the lion's share of the shots to either. Can he be a piece of a winning team? He makes too much, but the Blazers were already paying some not great players most of that money, so it wasn't much of a risk for them to take a flier for two years. The difference between him and Lillard, besides that he gets significantly more assists and doesn't shoot as well from outside, is that we haven't been watching him get his butt kicked for over a decade like we have with Lillard. That tends to wear on us non-fan-boys.

[pezsez1]

What you mean, Phalanx, is that you're tired of seeing a team with Damian Lillard and a bunch of scrubs not be able to make a run in the playoffs.

Relax. Dame isn't even our best player now! This is Deni's team, and Dame/Ja/Tou are his supporting cast. Completely different dynamic. Just relax and have some fun with this. No matter how flawed your perception of the past may be, you are safe to enjoy the present and the future.

[Phalanx]

Relax. Dame isn't even our best player now! This is Deni's team, and Dame/Ja/Tou are his supporting cast. Completely different dynamic.

He isn't the best player, but he is still taking the most shots, which is what I am talking about. That needs to get fixed. He needs to be made to accept his role before the playoffs, or the team will suffer the fate of most Lillard-led playoff teams - total failure. Again, this is not my perception, it's objective fact. Lillard's playoff record is one of the worst in NBA history. You can keep trolling until you run out of energy, but it doesn't change that reality.

This is the beginning of another season. The Blazers are now a more well-rounded team than ever they were when Lillard was drawing supermax deals. If Coach Nori wants to win, he needs to nip this Lillard thing in the bud now. Lillard can be a cancer on a team, as he was in the years leading up to his being traded - whining to the media about his timeline, making demands about who the Blazers draft, who they sign, who they hire to be the coach. The team itself fell apart in those years - they emulated Lillard and stopped playing defense and young guys like Simons and Sharpe's growth as players were stunted as a result. If the Blazers want to have any chance of re-signing Deni, they need to make it clear that the team runs through him now. Deni plays hard on both ends, and he plays a team game. Heck, he has more assists so far than Lillard, the supposed starting point guard. That's ridiculous. Hopefully Nori and the front office and ownership have the stones to manage this issue, or we can look forward to Groundhog Day for another few years.

[pezsez1]

Whatever we are doing is working so far. There will be games when Deni takes more shots and others when it's Dame, Ja or someone else. Relax, let's see what they do.

Currently, Deni has the most shots on the team. Dame is close behind. Both are shooting 46%.

[Boom]

What I hate is losing, and having Lillard take the lion's share of the shots is losing basketball. We have over a decade of data to draw from to form that conclusion. We have Deni right now on an unbelievable contract, and I don't want to piss it away on more Lillard nonsense.

Trading for Ja Morant is losing basketball.

I actually agree - I don't think he would be a good one to give the lion's share of the shots to either. Can he be a piece of a winning team? He makes too much, but the Blazers were already paying some not great players most of that money, so it wasn't much of a risk for them to take a flier for two years. The difference between him and Lillard, besides that he gets significantly more assists and doesn't shoot as well from outside, is that we haven't been watching him get his butt kicked for over a decade like we have with Lillard. That tends to wear on us non-fan-boys.

The team was already locked into Lillard. Morant was never going to replace him. Blazers would have been better off keeping Jeremy Grant for the wing depth. Cronin is worst than Olshey.

[Phalanx]

The team was already locked into Lillard. Morant was never going to replace him. Blazers would have been better off keeping Jeremy Grant for the wing depth. Cronin is worst than Olshey.

I'm not sure what this comment is in response to, but I would say the chances are decent that Ja will be a Blazer after Lillard is gone. I will be surprised if Lillard opts in after this season, and if he opts out, does anyone think Dundon will pay him more money with Ja, Jrue, and presumably Scoot still on the roster? It doesn't seem very smart to get rid of the young guard and keep the old has been. Injuries may end up deciding what happens though, so tough to predict.

[pezsez1]

I'm not sure what this comment is in response to, but I would say the chances are decent that Ja will be a Blazer after Lillard is gone. I will be surprised if Lillard opts in after this season, and if he opts out, does anyone think Dundon will pay him more money with Ja, Jrue, and presumably Scoot still on the roster?

Agree Ja will still be a Blazer. He is relatively young, appears to be healthy, and might still have his most productive years ahead of him. Also, so far, turns out he and Dame CAN play together without the world falling apart. That's probably enough for Cronin to keep him. Also I don't see Ja having as big of a market until he shows more consistency from beyond the arc.

I don't see Dame opting out of his contract, and I don't see Dundon wanting to part ways with him. The Blazers have him for just $13 mil/year which is an absolute steal for a Top 75 All-Star. At the moment he's Portland's second-best player and its starting PG. Dundon is definitely the wild car though, if he's really obsessed with minimum "subprime" offers then maybe Dame agrees to have his services rendered elsewhere. Given Dame's outstanding production so far, the size of his contract won't matter as long as Milwaukee is paying $22 mil/year of his salary.

I still don't see Jrue on this roster beyond the All-Star break. He's still a great facilitator but he's been a bit underwhelming so far this year. Have to wonder if age is really catching up with him. Scoot remains a work in progress, but I'd say he holds far more long-term value than Jrue and for much less money.

[Boom]

The team was already locked into Lillard. Morant was never going to replace him. Blazers would have been better off keeping Jeremy Grant for the wing depth. Cronin is worst than Olshey.

I'm not sure what this comment is in response to, but I would say the chances are decent that Ja will be a Blazer after Lillard is gone. I will be surprised if Lillard opts in after this season, and if he opts out, does anyone think Dundon will pay him more money with Ja, Jrue, and presumably Scoot still on the roster? It doesn't seem very smart to get rid of the young guard and keep the old has been. Injuries may end up deciding what happens though, so tough to predict.

I didn't consider that Lillard could opt out. It seems like he wants to finish his career here, but I have no idea how long he wants to play for or for how much $$$. Defensively it's going to be a rough two years if he opts in next year.

[pezsez1]

Obviously this is based on a laughably small sample size, but right now Lillard is like best in the NBA for team defense played while on the floor.