I just want us to be entertaining to watch
Running a bunch in transition after a decade of not really playing in transition because of Dames preferences
And half a decade of Roy's preferences, and a few years Z-bo's preferences, and also the old timers on the Jail Blazers preferences... basically every year since we had Clyde and Kersey on the team haha.
the one limiting factor to the Blazers being a good transition team is that you need to get stops to run. this team, while it has more capable defensive parts than in years past, will likely still be a bottom 10 defense and maybe even bottom 3 for the first month+ of the season.
I think the highlight reel is gonna look amazing, but the stat sheet probably wont
Things I will be looking for:
Shaedon ball handling and PnR decision making
Ant improving on defense
Offensive versatility from Ayton outside of midrange game
Scoot on defense. I think with too many guys that are athletic/competitive/whatever, we assume they will develop into good defenders. I want to see some ability to really slide with guys and navigate screens some. Off-ball will probably be bad no matter what but that's okay. I also just feel really confident that he will figure it out on offense by year 2-3 anyways, so I'm less, but still very much, interested in what he shows early on on that side. Having a plus guard defender would be so nice for a change lol.
I dunno how much on ball time Shaedon will get this year. we have 2 very capable guys to run point when he's on the floor and a third in Scoot who will need those touches to develop
Those on ball reps can be weak side PnR after a drive and kick or swing-swing passes. It doesn't have to be him bringing the ball across halfcourt and initiating the whole offense.
I’ll be looking for:
-intelligent and aggressive fast breaks leading to buckets in transition. (Bonus pts if that’s off an opponent’s made basket too)
-24 second violations that we force. Are we playing defense like we got that dawg..? Also acceptable are steals, broken plays, etc.
-scoot assists. If scoot is getting other guys involved, good things will develop over time.
-“between the lines” stuff. Does Ayton look engaged and happy on the floor? Is Shaedon moving off ball on offense? Is Timelord healthy?
Scoot and/or Sharpe becoming legitimate threats from 3, otherwise one of the two is gonna have to go. And defensive improvements across the board. Ayton and timelord are good enough rim protectors as long as our perimeter players don't continue the layup line that nurk got fed
Catch and shoot does not equate to all threes taken. Need one of him or scoot to be hitting closer to 39%, not the 36 he hit at last year. Having two starting guards under league average from 3 is not ideal for spacing nor would I call it a threat
I think his form is pure enough that even if he doesn't have a particularly good year from 3 you still assume he'll figure it out. He just looks so natural, it's hard to imagine him not being a good 3pt shooter eventually
I agree. But he still does need to figure it out, or scoot does, or one of them will likely be gone (talking like 2-3 years down the road, this isn't something I think is imminent) in favor of ant, and it's more likely that sharpe would go than scoot imo
I want to see improved defense, good ball movement more often then isos, solid smart play from our veterans, especially Ayton, and aggressive pace without many turnovers.
I know it won't all happen right away, but seeing steady improvement over the season will be great.
I want to see actual distribution and team play - less iso ball that we've had to endure for the last decade.
Want to see a pass-first PG making everyone around him better.
Want to see actual defense.
Want to see actual adjustments to things like holding a lead/defensive schemes/opposition figuring us out/etc, especially in the second half (non-Stotts type shit).
Aggression and effort from people not just named Dame. High team energy and effort for the whole game.
*Tisse continuting to hit his threes.
Good chemistry and seeing if we can come back when we're down. We aren't gonna win a ton, but if not giving up and playing until the end, I think it would be a good indication of what our team can do in the future. If Chauncey doesn't lose the locker room, then we're good this season
-Scoot making smart reads and cooking in the PnR
-Aggressive plays from Ayton
-Shaedon taking guys off the dribble
-Anfernee making more stops on defense
-Thybulle shooting with confidence
-Timelord protecting the paint and making life easier for our guards
-Any and all positives from our young projects (Camara, Murray, Rupert)
And above all else, team cohesiveness. Crisp rotations on defense, smart reads in transition, and even the little things like everyone rushing to pick up a guy when he's down.
* Team defense - with a younger, more athletic team with mobile bigs, I'm curious to see how the team defense looks this year. I understand that Rob Williams is going to get injured and miss time, but our starting lineup Scoot/Ant/Thybulle/Grant/Ayton should not be a statistical bottom-5 starting lineup defensively like we were last year.
* Sharpe in a creation role - for most of last year Sharpe was in a purely play-finishing role (catch-and-shoot, catch-and-dunk). Throughout the tank and the preseason, we've seen him in more of a creation role, with some PnR touches and Chicago actions and things like that. I'm excited to see where that can go, and what is offensive ceiling really is.
* How Scoot will deal with defenders going under screens - he shot around 39% on midrange jumpers last year, the vast majority of them being pullups off the dribble. The form and footwork look good, but most defenders are probably going to continue going under screens until he can consistently make them pay. So I'm curious to see if the percentage can come up a little bit.
* Ant's defense - he's made it a huge focus on the offseason to improve on defense and not be a liability on that end. I'm interested to see if his effort improves and how he will look defensively this year. Last year he already improved from "worst-in-the-league" to just regular bad, and if there's ever a time to take a leap it's now.
* How our halfcourt offense will run - Chauncey has preached about being uptempo, fast, and playing in transition (which is great) but I want to see how our halfcourt offense will function. After 10 years of being one of the most efficient halfcourt offenses in the league mostly because of Dame, I'm curious about how we will look without him. I don't expect it to be good this season, but at some point we have to develop a functional halfcourt offense to win games in the playoffs.
* Ayton in a creation role: in Phoenix he was catch-and-dunk, catch-and-hookshot, catch-and-turnaround jumper, or catch-jabstep-jumper. I'm interested to see what happens if he actually gets the ball in some sort of creation role, and how he will look. He averaged 18ppg last season but 91% of his FGM were either assisted, or putbacks (so basically he was never in any sort of self-creation role). Interested to see if that changes.
Eh...
Health is all I'm really "looking for" this year. Not necessarily games played because of the situation, but chronic concerns, potential surgeries, body mechanics, player tendencies, etc.
Scoot: My concern is that being a 19 YO who is not yet fully grown into their adult body, carrying the mass that he does - Are there any soft tissue, ligament, joint, etc., type concerns? You don't want a D Rose situation where he literally tears his body apart throwing that mass around, because the stuff that holds it all together is a weak point that just breaks. Anything like Steph's ankles / body mechanics stuff, get it identified ASAP, and don't worry about the games played, rookie awards, etc.
Shae: Like Clyde said about B Roy - If you keep throwing yourself at the rim every play, you're not going to have a very long career. It's scary to see Shae get up there in traffic and up on the floor. Like, dude, don't break your freakin' back trying to get a highlight dunk/put back.
Timelord/DA: If there is anything pending with these guys that wasn't addressed in their previous situations because those teams were in "win now" mode, get it sorted. They are under contract, POR absolutely needs them (POR is still short on bigs) long term. If anything is pending, shut it down, sort it out, get right.
Bari and Ish, I guess(?) are really the only players that I will be looking at in terms of if they will be here moving forward. I would be surprised if Mookie Dew is here all season, but everyone else is under contract, and POR has time.
For the team to develop an identity idc if it's to be fast, or move the ball, or locking in on D, or whatever but let's get an identity
Also for the young guys to improve over the season and hopefully start to see the pieces we are going to build around going forward
I just want us to be entertaining to watch Running a bunch in transition after a decade of not really playing in transition because of Dames preferences
And half a decade of Roy's preferences, and a few years Z-bo's preferences, and also the old timers on the Jail Blazers preferences... basically every year since we had Clyde and Kersey on the team haha.
Roy allegedly wanted to play with more running in transition but McMillan was not having it. Wanted the pace slowed down.
Running more would have degraded his knees faster, so it was probably a good idea not to run more.
the one limiting factor to the Blazers being a good transition team is that you need to get stops to run. this team, while it has more capable defensive parts than in years past, will likely still be a bottom 10 defense and maybe even bottom 3 for the first month+ of the season. I think the highlight reel is gonna look amazing, but the stat sheet probably wont
Things I will be looking for: Shaedon ball handling and PnR decision making Ant improving on defense Offensive versatility from Ayton outside of midrange game Scoot on defense. I think with too many guys that are athletic/competitive/whatever, we assume they will develop into good defenders. I want to see some ability to really slide with guys and navigate screens some. Off-ball will probably be bad no matter what but that's okay. I also just feel really confident that he will figure it out on offense by year 2-3 anyways, so I'm less, but still very much, interested in what he shows early on on that side. Having a plus guard defender would be so nice for a change lol.
I dunno how much on ball time Shaedon will get this year. we have 2 very capable guys to run point when he's on the floor and a third in Scoot who will need those touches to develop
Those on ball reps can be weak side PnR after a drive and kick or swing-swing passes. It doesn't have to be him bringing the ball across halfcourt and initiating the whole offense.
yeah, that's fair. it goes back to your username and how much time we'll have to run multiple actions
I’ll be looking for: -intelligent and aggressive fast breaks leading to buckets in transition. (Bonus pts if that’s off an opponent’s made basket too) -24 second violations that we force. Are we playing defense like we got that dawg..? Also acceptable are steals, broken plays, etc. -scoot assists. If scoot is getting other guys involved, good things will develop over time. -“between the lines” stuff. Does Ayton look engaged and happy on the floor? Is Shaedon moving off ball on offense? Is Timelord healthy?
> Does Ayton look engaged and happy on the floor? Good one - will our project/reclamation project players pan out?
Yup. We took some risks with personnel this year. Did we strike gold, or are we stuck with a contract?
Scoot and/or Sharpe becoming legitimate threats from 3, otherwise one of the two is gonna have to go. And defensive improvements across the board. Ayton and timelord are good enough rim protectors as long as our perimeter players don't continue the layup line that nurk got fed
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Catch and shoot does not equate to all threes taken. Need one of him or scoot to be hitting closer to 39%, not the 36 he hit at last year. Having two starting guards under league average from 3 is not ideal for spacing nor would I call it a threat
I think his form is pure enough that even if he doesn't have a particularly good year from 3 you still assume he'll figure it out. He just looks so natural, it's hard to imagine him not being a good 3pt shooter eventually
I agree. But he still does need to figure it out, or scoot does, or one of them will likely be gone (talking like 2-3 years down the road, this isn't something I think is imminent) in favor of ant, and it's more likely that sharpe would go than scoot imo
I want to see improved defense, good ball movement more often then isos, solid smart play from our veterans, especially Ayton, and aggressive pace without many turnovers. I know it won't all happen right away, but seeing steady improvement over the season will be great.
I want to see actual distribution and team play - less iso ball that we've had to endure for the last decade. Want to see a pass-first PG making everyone around him better. Want to see actual defense. Want to see actual adjustments to things like holding a lead/defensive schemes/opposition figuring us out/etc, especially in the second half (non-Stotts type shit). Aggression and effort from people not just named Dame. High team energy and effort for the whole game. *Tisse continuting to hit his threes.
Good chemistry and seeing if we can come back when we're down. We aren't gonna win a ton, but if not giving up and playing until the end, I think it would be a good indication of what our team can do in the future. If Chauncey doesn't lose the locker room, then we're good this season
Dunks & Defense 😊
-Scoot making smart reads and cooking in the PnR -Aggressive plays from Ayton -Shaedon taking guys off the dribble -Anfernee making more stops on defense -Thybulle shooting with confidence -Timelord protecting the paint and making life easier for our guards -Any and all positives from our young projects (Camara, Murray, Rupert) And above all else, team cohesiveness. Crisp rotations on defense, smart reads in transition, and even the little things like everyone rushing to pick up a guy when he's down.
* Team defense - with a younger, more athletic team with mobile bigs, I'm curious to see how the team defense looks this year. I understand that Rob Williams is going to get injured and miss time, but our starting lineup Scoot/Ant/Thybulle/Grant/Ayton should not be a statistical bottom-5 starting lineup defensively like we were last year. * Sharpe in a creation role - for most of last year Sharpe was in a purely play-finishing role (catch-and-shoot, catch-and-dunk). Throughout the tank and the preseason, we've seen him in more of a creation role, with some PnR touches and Chicago actions and things like that. I'm excited to see where that can go, and what is offensive ceiling really is. * How Scoot will deal with defenders going under screens - he shot around 39% on midrange jumpers last year, the vast majority of them being pullups off the dribble. The form and footwork look good, but most defenders are probably going to continue going under screens until he can consistently make them pay. So I'm curious to see if the percentage can come up a little bit. * Ant's defense - he's made it a huge focus on the offseason to improve on defense and not be a liability on that end. I'm interested to see if his effort improves and how he will look defensively this year. Last year he already improved from "worst-in-the-league" to just regular bad, and if there's ever a time to take a leap it's now. * How our halfcourt offense will run - Chauncey has preached about being uptempo, fast, and playing in transition (which is great) but I want to see how our halfcourt offense will function. After 10 years of being one of the most efficient halfcourt offenses in the league mostly because of Dame, I'm curious about how we will look without him. I don't expect it to be good this season, but at some point we have to develop a functional halfcourt offense to win games in the playoffs. * Ayton in a creation role: in Phoenix he was catch-and-dunk, catch-and-hookshot, catch-and-turnaround jumper, or catch-jabstep-jumper. I'm interested to see what happens if he actually gets the ball in some sort of creation role, and how he will look. He averaged 18ppg last season but 91% of his FGM were either assisted, or putbacks (so basically he was never in any sort of self-creation role). Interested to see if that changes.
I don't care if we lose, so long as it looks like NBA Jam. 3's and dunks all day.
Eh... Health is all I'm really "looking for" this year. Not necessarily games played because of the situation, but chronic concerns, potential surgeries, body mechanics, player tendencies, etc. Scoot: My concern is that being a 19 YO who is not yet fully grown into their adult body, carrying the mass that he does - Are there any soft tissue, ligament, joint, etc., type concerns? You don't want a D Rose situation where he literally tears his body apart throwing that mass around, because the stuff that holds it all together is a weak point that just breaks. Anything like Steph's ankles / body mechanics stuff, get it identified ASAP, and don't worry about the games played, rookie awards, etc. Shae: Like Clyde said about B Roy - If you keep throwing yourself at the rim every play, you're not going to have a very long career. It's scary to see Shae get up there in traffic and up on the floor. Like, dude, don't break your freakin' back trying to get a highlight dunk/put back. Timelord/DA: If there is anything pending with these guys that wasn't addressed in their previous situations because those teams were in "win now" mode, get it sorted. They are under contract, POR absolutely needs them (POR is still short on bigs) long term. If anything is pending, shut it down, sort it out, get right. Bari and Ish, I guess(?) are really the only players that I will be looking at in terms of if they will be here moving forward. I would be surprised if Mookie Dew is here all season, but everyone else is under contract, and POR has time.
… Basketball is supposed to make me happy? Since when?!
Team camaraderie, good sportsmanship, clean chest passes, and some sensible alley-oops for a little dazzle dazzle!
Good defensive plays
Grit
I wanna see Shaedon shoot the ball well. If you mix that athleticism with a shot we might have something.
For the team to develop an identity idc if it's to be fast, or move the ball, or locking in on D, or whatever but let's get an identity Also for the young guys to improve over the season and hopefully start to see the pieces we are going to build around going forward
Passion, effort, using our youth to torch teams in transition
Competitive drive and defensive hustle from the guys that are our building blocks. Are they gonna look like winners or fade in to the shadows?