NBA/Blazers 2026-27 Thread

[pezsez1]

Deni and Dame are such good players, it doesn't matter if they struggle for three quarters, they're money when it counts. Nori credited Deni for becoming a more skilled closer, too. Having two elite closers would be lit!

[Boom]

Lillard missed several shots down the stretch, and he almost turned the ball over after that steal (which was caused by the Toumani double team) because he made a bad pass to Deni. His defining skill late in games is getting to the free throw line and thankfully he is making them more often now after shooting badly from the line earlier in the season. It's good for the Blazers to have a free throw merchant to answer SGA, but it isn't very fun basketball to watch. He had a terrible night shooting, especially from outside where he was 2 of 10. Thankfully, while Lillard was trying and failing to hit the broad side of a barn, Jrue came in and saved the day in that 3rd quarter, and Deni closed the deal in the 4th.

He literally converted on 3 possessions (in a row?) within the final minutes of the game.

Lillard doesn't have a prayer of making the All-Star game with that shooting percentage, so I hope he makes it because it would mean cleaning up his game and shooting more consistently. From what we have seen so far though, it looks like he will have career lows in most categories.

No one is talking about Lillard being an All Star.

[Boom]

I guess with the amount of injuries there has been this season Lillard has an outside shot of the All Star team. Assuming he doesn't get injured himself.

[Phalanx]

No one is talking about Lillard being an All Star.

Well, no one except Pez, but then Pez wanted him to be an All Star last year too.

I don't know what 'converted on three possessions in a row' means, the guy was 5 of 14 all night. You guys are ridiculous the way you grasp on to anything Lillard does that might be positive. There are hard numbers that you can't spin. He's shooting .333 for 3-pointers on the season, which ties him for 10th on the team with Micah Potter. Meanwhile, Jrue is at .444. I know, I know, somehow Lillard's aura from the bench is the thing making Jrue shoot so well. Oh yeah, it's apples and oranges. After all, Lillard has made 31 3-pointers so far and Jrue has only made 28. HUGE difference in volume.

[pezsez1]

If Dame is the second-leading scorer on a top team in the West then he absolutely has a shot at adding another All-Star game to his Hall-of-Fame career.

Phalanx, no need to be so defensive about Jrue Holiday. He's taking advantage of his opportunities and having a great year.

[Phalanx]

I have to amend something I said earlier. With his tremendous shooting performance tonight, Sidy actually passed Lillard in 3-point accuracy. Lillard is now tied for 11th on the team. The good news is that I think one of the centers on the team is worse. Robert Williams doesn't have a three-point attempt yet this season, so Lillard has bragging rights over him.

[Boom]

FT shooting was insane over these two nights. 50-52.
Camara with a strong night.
Dame and Deni didn't play particularly well, but did it when it mattered Coach Nori had to work a little bit tonight.
Surprised with Sidy shooting so well that he was -11 on the game.

I think that's largely due to Blazers best lineups have been when Dame & Jrue play together. I don't think Sidy has many minutes with those two together. Conversely lineups with Scoot have had really poor results.

[Boom]

I don't know what 'converted on three possessions in a row' means,

It means

Lillard missed several shots down the stretch

is nonsense.

[pezsez1]

I think that's largely due to Blazers best lineups have been when Dame & Jrue play together. I don't think Sidy has many minutes with those two together. Conversely lineups with Scoot have had really poor results.

Sidy seems to be playing the Jrue role by starting alongside Dame. I still wish we could see more of Dame and Jrue together, but I understand Nori's logic in trying to preserve both of them. I actually didn't start watching until part way through the second quarter, and when I looked at the box score I wondered if Dame was injured. He barely had any stats at that point and had only played for 8 mins, which seemed a bit low. By the end of the game, though, he'd logged his usual 30. Masterful coaching job by Nori to wait until just the right moment to put him back into the game & then he hits that huge 3 to ignite the Blazers' game-winning run.

[Phalanx]

I don't know what 'converted on three possessions in a row' means,

It means

Lillard missed several shots down the stretch

is nonsense.

So he didn't go 5/14 tonight? He isn't shooting an anemic .333 from three for the season while almost everyone else on the team is shooting better?

[pezsez1]

But what was his shooting down the stretch? Can we all agree that "down the stretch" means the crucial portion of the fourth quarter when the Blazers rallied, took the lead and won?

EDIT: Also gotta point out that people all over social media are talking about how much Dame has improved on the defensive end. It showed tonight! Again, props to Nori for playing a big rotation and limiting minutes for Dame and Jrue. It's paying off.

It's so funny that we're 8-3, just beat OKC twice, and here we are nitpicking our Top 76 All-Time List star point guard!

[Phalanx]

Masterful coaching job by Nori to wait until just the right moment to put him back into the game & then he hits that huge 3 to ignite the Blazers' game-winning run.

Sidy had 4 three-pointers tonight.
Deni also had 4.
Jrue had 5.

But somehow, one of Lillard's 2 out of the 10 that he attempted is the thing that ignited everyone. I guess I should just leave you alone and let you gaze at the Lillard poster in your room in peace.

"I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing.....Lillard"

[Boom]

I don't know what 'converted on three possessions in a row' means,

It means

Lillard missed several shots down the stretch

is nonsense.

So he didn't go 5/14 tonight? He isn't shooting an anemic .333 from three for the season while almost everyone else on the team is shooting better?

That's such a weird statement. Who do you think should be taking his minutes or shots? Why do you think Nori has Lillard on the court? There's not a lot of talent on this team... and you're crying over a 36 year old who's the 7th highest paid player on this roster.

How was the offense last year with Jrue as the lead guard?

[pezsez1]

Here is KATU's recap. It sums up all the confusion here pretty nicely.



PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Portland Trail Blazers came up big down the stretch to score a 118-108 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, marking two wins in two nights over the same club.

On a night that saw 11 lead changes, the teams found themselves deadlocked down the stretch before Portland put on a 13-3 spurt to claim the win.

Portland turned the tide down the stretch, sparked on the defensive end when Toumani Camara played lockdown defense on OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander forcing a pass and a shot clock violation. The Trail Blazers converted the turnover into points when Damian Lillard beat his defender on the perimeter and scored with a high-arcing floater in the lane for a 108-100 lead with two minutes to play.

“The finishes that Dame had down the stretch were huge,” Blazers coach Micah Nori said.

[Phalanx]

[

That's such a weird statement. Who do you think should be taking his minutes or shots? Why do you think Nori has Lillard on the court? There's not a lot of talent on this team... and you're crying over a 36 year old who's the 7th highest paid player on this roster.

How was the offense last year with Jrue as the lead guard?

I am here dealing in hard numbers, and you think that is weird, because after all, it's Lillard we are talking about. He doesn't have to shoot well consistently. He just has to get paid well consistently.

And speaking of pay, did you forget that Lillard got paid half his salary last year while he was recuperating? He is the third-highest paid player on the Blazers this year and the highest-paid when you include what he still makes from Milwaukee. I know, you thought he came here from a sense of altruism because he loves Portland so much, his demand for a trade only a couple of years ago notwithstanding. You mention the difference between last year and this: last year the Blazers decided to forgo signing a free agent who could have helped the offense in favor of signing injured Lillard who got $14 million to sit on the bench all year. If they had used that money last year on another shooter, for instance, the offense would have been better and the Blazers would have won more games, and they wouldn't have had to play San Antonio in the first round and maybe they would have been able to advance deeper into the playoffs. See how that works? Of course, we are all used to giving Lillard a contract in Portland and then watching the team lose in the first round. One goes with the other like bread and cheese.

I am not saying adding Lillard is not a help to the team over no Lillard. He better be of some benefit for $28 million, although one could wish for better than a guy who only makes a third of his three-pointers. He is currently 121st in the NBA in 3-point fg%, so not exactly lighting the league on fire.

Sidy is also a positive development from last year to this, and Clingan has had a glow-up offensively as well between an improved 3-point shot and an increase in lob plays. I can even credit Ja with at least helping to beat the Lakers, which they were unable to do a second time without him. So there have been a few improvements over last year. We'll see if it translates into better playoff seeding than the 7-seed they earned last year. You might be getting excited about the Blazers beating some teams so far, until you check the standings and realize so is everyone else in the Western Conference.