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Dario Saric

Portland Trail Blazers

Suns melt the snowbird Blazers

by Kevin Nesgoda February 23, 2021
written by Kevin Nesgoda

February had been red hot for the Blazers, but then they forgot they have to play a full game and what defense in a loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. There was hope that the Blazers would rise to the competition as they took on the Phoenix Suns in a potential first-round playoff matchup.

After the butt-kicking they took tonight against the Suns tonight, they probably might want to drop down to the 8th and play the Jazz. It might be a much closer series.

Let’s get to the thoughts.

First Quarter Thoughts

Terry Stotts has decided to let Damian Lillard guard Devin Booker to start the game and Booker got a quick four points on three shots to start the game. Not sure of this defensive assignment to start the game. I’m not an NBA head coach, but what do I know. Gary Trent Jr. got a couple of cracks at Booker and caused him to miss two shots. In the next possession and Lillard is back on Booker and Booker gets scored on again.

The Suns aren’t forcing the Blazers to switch either. Lillard is picking up Booker at half-court. I am not really sure what you can do about the Blazers’ defensive issues, Dame and CJ are not great defenders and don’t appear that they’ll ever even be decent.

You can’t score 30 and give up 50. The math does not work that way.

We’ve seen Derrick Jones Jr. on Chris Paul to start the game. Paul is still an effective player, but your best and longest defender does not need to be on Chris Paul. Booker is the biggest threat that Phoenix has. Have Jones on Booker, Trent on Paul, and Lillard on Bridges. It does not seem like rocket science to me.

Okay, it might not be anything that the Blazers can do against Booker tonight. He has 17 of the Suns first 24 points in the first quarter and five different Blazers have guarded him tonight and he’s has scored on all of them at this point. He’s not letting Portland set the defense on him. If he gets picked up high he dives to the basket and if they pick him up, he posts up quick and gets an easy basket.

This has honestly been a masterclass in how to work your superstar in a game. Seriously, just rewatch Booker on every possession in the first quarter and everything he did was just about right.

Portland was lucky to only be down six, 32-26, after the first quarter.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Rodney Hood started the second quarter with his own personal 7-0 run to put the Blazers up 33-32. The Suns were forced to call a timeout after Hood picked Chris Paul’s pocket and raced down the court for a nice two-hand dunk.

🌪️ Hoodie 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/GQ0EYgSoji

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 23, 2021

Hood has not played that great over the last week or so, so it’s really good to see him playing well to start his minutes tonight. Even if he caps out at these seven points and adds a few more rebounds then I’ll call this a win for him tonight. Have to start small and get the confidence going again.

We have to remember that he had a bad achilles tear and that he is not Kevin Durant.

The Suns are killing Portland in the paint. They have 26 points in the area that is differently colored from the rest of the floor at the half. Portland had 24. A huge chunk of those points came in four straight possessions where Lillard found Jones and Kanter doing wide-open back cuts on those plays.

Phoenix did not make any adjustments to stop those cuts either. The last few baskets came against a zone with Chris Paul playing in the center of the paint. Dame kept finding a cutting Derrick Jones Jr. for easy baskets.

Really don’t know what the hell Phoenix was trying to accomplish with that defensive set. The defense was something that Taylor and I would run, poorly, in 2k21 as were are getting our brains bashed in by the Timberwolves. Trying something different, you know? But to allow ten straight points on that set and not switch it up? That is some Stotts level coaching there.

The thing though is that Phoenix somehow extended their lead during all this. Booker with three-point plays or Dario Saric hitting corner threes.

Portland also outshot Phoenix by percentage, 56-47 in the first half, but took a 54-63 deficit into the half.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Phoenix picked Portland up in a full-court press to start the second half. The Blazers were really confused and had a really off first possession that led to no points. Devin Booker immediately capitalized on two straight possessions. Bridges scored on Dame the next trip down and I’m really starting to think that I could get some points on Dame right now. He gave up 90 to Bradley Beal the other night, I really think that my out-of-shape ass could at least get 10 in an NBA game against him and I only play three-point line to three-point line.

I’ve seen better defense of a drunk and elderly snowbird at the YMCA in Scottsdale. I’m not joking either. There was this 91-year-old dude that was locking down 18-year-olds without a problem. I got ask if I wanted to have a run, but I did not want that smoke.

This gif represents this Blazer third quarter. pic.twitter.com/OHyuOn3wvS

— Cascadia Sports Network (@CascadiaSN) February 23, 2021

There isn’t much at all to say about this third quarter. The Blazers played like they usually do coming out of halftime, flat, not focused, and with no urgency. They got outscored by 20, 37-17 in the quarter, and have a 29 point margin to make up in the fourth.

With the game against the Nuggets tomorrow night we’re going to probably see a lot of bench guys in the fourth.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

The Phoenix third unit is killing the Blazers second unit. Not much else to say about this game other than the Suns’ third-string outplayed the Blazer second string.

Next Up

Tomorrow night against the Denver Nuggets.

Hey Nikola Jokic, what’s your reaction on playing the Blazers tomorrow night on the second half a back to back? pic.twitter.com/c0wupVFvOw

— Cascadia Sports Network (@CascadiaSN) February 23, 2021

February 23, 2021 0 comment
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Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers blow game to Phoenix Suns, 122-116

by Kevin Nesgoda December 30, 2019
written by Kevin Nesgoda
Carmelo-Anthony-posting-up-against-the-Phoenix-Suns.jpeg

It’s been a little while since I’ve had a chance to write about the Blazers. A lot of time traveling about for the holidays and living in SoCal it’s hard to cover the games against the Lakers when the games are blacked out on League Pass and I don’t get the channel the Lakers are on.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and hope you all have a great New Year as well.

So here we are tonight against the Phoenix Suns.

The Blazers are not messing around tonight. CJ McCollum and Kent Bazemore get the Blazers off to a hot start, racking up a quick seven points for the Blazers and then Damian Lillard carried the team the rest of the way in the first quarter going 5-6 from three.

Gary Trent Jr. had eight points off the bench for the Blazers in the quarter too. Oh, and hey, Hassan Whiteside had 10 rebounds in the quarter too. Great defense on Devin Booker as well. This is the best I’ve seen the Blazers look in a first-quarter all year. They definitely earned that 19 point lead to end the quarter.

Blazers are very active in the passing lanes tonight. They have three steals in the first 15 minutes and have forced four turnovers. This is something the Blazers have been missing all season. They have been playing on their heels and letting Whiteside deal with everything on the back end. Whiteside is going to block a lot of shots, but he’s not going to block every shot. He’s going to force cutters to bail and kick the ball out, the Blazers have been shadowing the cutters well tonight and have been there to catch the outbound passes.

Monty Williams had the Suns switch to a zone defense to start the second quarter and the Blazers are not getting the looks they were in the first quarter. They also do not have Dame out there on the court either. There is a lot of one-on-one offense going on to start the quarter.

Then Anfernee Simons knocks down a couple of threes, but the Suns are attacking the paint and have gotten a couple of threes from Cameron Johnson and Kelly Oubre, cutting the Blazers lead down to 11 halfway through the second quarter.

Lillard checks back into the game and the lead goes from nine to 17 in a blink of the of an eye. Oubre then shoves Lillard in the back right into the elbow of Aron Baynes. Dame picks up a T and from there makes the Suns pay.

The Suns should know better than to make Lillard bleed his own blood.

Dame had been very business-like up until that point and then he got mad.

The rest of the Blazers got sloppy. The Suns knocked down three threes in the final 24 seconds to cut the lead back down to nine, 64-55 at the half. Kelly Oubre has really found himself in Phoenix. He looked like another bust coming out of Kansas, but he definitely has a fit in Phoenix.

Oubre starts out the third quarter by knocking down a few more jumpers and cut the Blazer lead down to 71-66. He’s 5-7 from three tonight.

Have to say that Dario Saric is playing really great defense against Carmelo Anthony tonight. He’s held Melo to 1-10 shooting so far tonight. He’s giving him no room to breathe and cutting off all driving lanes. You can see Melo is frustrated and starting to force the issue.

Baynes and Oubre carrying the Suns through the third quarter and the Suns are now only down by four points. The Blazers offense is flat. The Suns’ defense is shading both Dame and CJ, while their man is playing them tightly. It isn’t giving the guys any sort of opening to rise up or drive. Then they are playing hard man when the ball goes to Melo, Whiteside, or Bazemore.

I’ve counted at least 97 times the Blazers have had a pass deflected in the first eight minutes of the third quarter. Suns are just active everywhere on the defensive end at the moment.

And speaking of defense Hassan Whiteside has decided he’s going to attempt to block every shot the Suns take here for the rest of the quarter. This man should be playing 30 plus minutes a night. The Blazers are a different defensive team with him on the floor.

You have to wonder what happens when Jusef Nurkic is ready to return. Both of those guys are going to need minutes and I’d love to see Nurk start at the four and have Melo come off the bench maybe. I don’t think the Blazers are going to do any major trades to shore up the bench. And they shouldn’t. This is going to be an LA vs. Milwaukee June.

I mean unless the Bucks want to do a Melo and Toliver trade for Giannis for some dumb reason.

Phoenix starts the fourth quarter fast. They are really pushing to get shots before the Blazers defense can get set. They are taking shots within seven or eight seconds into the shot clock. The Blazers have been a pain when allowed to set tonight and Williams has the Suns rightfully pushing the tempo. Even in sets, everyone is moving and it’s allowed for some wide-open back cuts for open baskets.

Boy, this fourth quarter has turned into an old ABA game. Threes, alley-oops, and lots of running.

Kelly Oubre looks like a freaking All-Star out there tonight. He hits his sixth three tonight and the Suns are down one point with just a skosh over three minutes left in the game. The Suns have outscored the Blazers 30-21 so far in the fourth quarter.

Oubre hits his seventh three tonight and then blows kisses to the crowd. The Blazers could not get a stop when it mattered the most. Phoenix scored in some form in their last nine possessions.

The Blazers had a 19 point lead at the end of the first, had it around 17 with about three minutes to go in the first half and Phoenix kept chipping away. They kept the Blazers on their heels for most of the second half. Terry Stotts did not have Hassan Whiteside on the floor during crucial moments when Phoenix was getting to the rim and crucial rebounds late. Whiteside was on the bench.

Blazers lose a heartbreaker by six.

Lillard had 33, CJ had 25, Whiteside with 16 and 22, Trent and Simons had 11 and 12 off the bench respectively.

The Blazers head to the Garden to take on the Knicks on Wednesday. The tip is at 4:30.

December 30, 2019 0 comment
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Portland Trail Blazers

Dame, Blazers scrape past Booker-less Suns, 111-110

by Kevin Nesgoda December 16, 2019
written by Kevin Nesgoda
mccollum-vs-suns.jpg

Damian Lillard saved the day for Portland in a desert thriller against the Suns on Monday night. Devin Booker was out for Phoenix, but they still made do with Kelly Oubre Jr. and Aron Baynes leading the charge. The Blazers got off to an embarrassingly slow start but made it interesting throughout the game, ultimately pulling away in the final minutes.

Lineups

Portland: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony, Hassan Whiteside

Phoenix: Ricky Rubio, Mikal Bridges, Kelly Oubre Jr., Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky

Game Summary

Phoenix jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the opening five minutes, with Carmelo Anthony’s 3-pointer being the only bright spot early. Phoenix held a 16-point lead before the Blazers regained consciousness within the first period, but Damian Lillard picked up his third foul with 3:12 left, having gone 0-for-5 from the field up until that point. At the end of the first, Portland trailed by 8 with CJ leading the way at 12 points. The real highlight of the first quarter was the fouling, though: Portland committed 12 fouls in the first quarter alone. 

https://twitter.com/GeraldBourguet/status/1206765019515351040?s=20

Dame finally hit his first 3 with a few minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Blazers cut the deficit to single digits (67-59) before the half thanks to a beautiful alley-oop from Dame to Melo.

https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1206774647527575552?s=20

Lillard opened the second half with a pair of 3s before picking up his 4th personal foul a few possessions later. Momentum started to shift Portland’s way after a tough and-one by Melo. CJ buried a 3 to give the Blazers the lead late in the 3rd. Kent Bazemore became the first Blazer not named Lillard, McCollum, or Anthony to score in the 3rd when he took back the lead with a 3 of his own. The Suns

Kelly Oubre couldn’t stop throwing it down, smashing three massive dunks in the first three quarters. He led the way for Phoenix with 24 points on 10-for-21 shooting.

Down the Stretch

Damian Lillard’s driving layup was blocked off the backboard by Aron Baynes but called as a goal tend on the floor. The call was reviewed and overturned despite minimal evidence against the original call.

On the ensuing possession, Oubre drained a corner 3 as he was fouled by Bazemore and completed the 4-point play.

With 32 seconds left, Dame received the inbound pass, drove past Rubio on an iso and jumped through Baynes for the foul and the bucket.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1206795283289362432?s=20

Another lengthy review and one free throw later, the Blazers had a one-point lead with 26 seconds remaining.

The Suns held for the last shot and found an open look with Rubio, but the Spaniard couldn’t get the shot to go and Lillard’s rebound secured the victory.

Final Lines

  • CJ – 30pts, 7reb, 7ast, 5TO on 11-20 FG, 3-7 3pt
  • Dame – 27pts, 5ast, 4TO, 9-21 FG, 3-8 3pt
  • Melo – 23pts, 8reb, 2stl, 3blk, 8-16 FG, 4-6 3pt
  • Whiteside – 10pts, 14reb, 3blk, 4TO, 5-7 FG
  • Baze – 11pts, 3stl, 4-10 FG

This was a more important win for Portland than it seemed early on. I personally was ready to give up this game when we were down 16 in the first quarter. Melo gets my game ball for playing through a painful corner 3 airball and giving the Blazers some much-needed energy throughout the night.

December 16, 2019 0 comment
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Ranking the 2019-20 NBA Power Forwards

by Kevin Nesgoda October 21, 2019
written by Kevin Nesgoda
Giannis-Antetokounmpo.jpg

This is no longer your daddy’s power forward position. Gone are the Shawn Kemp‘s, Charles Barkley‘s, and Karl Malone‘s of yesteryear. Thanks to the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki we now have a strong need for a stretch four as we move into the era of positionless basketball.

The forward position is probably the most loaded it has ever been in the NBA (this also includes small forwards).

30. Davis Bertans – Washington Wizards

By default, he might be the Wizards’ second option in scoring this season. The cupboard is pretty bare until John Wall returns — if he does.

29. Rodions Kurucs – Brooklyn Nets

Kurucs is a solid forward option, he’ll do a lot of clean-up as a fourth of the fifth option on the court.

28. Kelly Olynyk – Miami Heat

Again, another solid forward who is projected to put up 17-8 this year.

27. Zach Collins – Portland Trail Blazers

Okay, hear me out on this one. There’s a chance he becomes a solid third option for the Blazers this season. In the preseason he looked a lot more active and had a better connection with CJ and Dame in the pick and roll game over Whiteside. I think he’s going to capitalize on the opportunities and have a big year. With that said, there is a chance he’s traded before the year is over.

26. Lauri Markkanen – Chicago Bulls

There is a good chance that Markkanen ends up being a 20-10 guy this coming season. He needs to stay healthy and he’ll be a great compliment to LaVine.

25. Rudy Gay – San Antonio Spurs

The world has been trying to write off Gay for a long time. He is a solid third option behand DeRozan and Aldridge.

24. Miles Bridges – Charlotte Hornets

I have him ranked high because I like his potential on a Hornets roster that doesn’t feature a whole lot of scoring options outside of Rozier. I look for Bridges to take a big leap this year.

23. Aaron Gordon – Orlando Magic

Gordon is an athletic freak, but he’s yet to put a full season together to match those athletic gifts really pay off.

22. Dario Saric – Phoenix Suns

He’s probably a distant third option for the Suns this coming season. Booker is going to take roughly 70% of the shots for the Suns this year.

21. Robert Covington – Minnesota Timberwolves

He’s not going to get a lot of looks offensively – especially since he’ll take up a lot of the same real estate as Towns. His value is his ability to switch and guard all five positions on the floor really well. He ends up taking away more points than he scores, have to love a guy like that.

20. Julius Randle – New York Knicks

Randle might be the Knicks’ best offensive weapon this year. Granted that’s not a big call out. There’s a great shot Randle is a 25-12 guy this season.

19. John Collins – Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are going to score a lot of points this year and Collins should see quite a few balls drop through the hoop. He regressed defensively last season and he needs to get that tightened up.

18. P.J. Tucker – Houston Rockets

Tucker is by far the best three-and-D guy in the league. He’s undersized for the position but has no problem switching to guard any of the five positions on the floor.

17. Jaren Jackson Jr. – Memphis Grizzlies

Jackson is probably the second scoring option for the Grizzlies this season. He’s a decent defender and could jump up offensively this year. I would love to see him improve those rebounding numbers. They are light for his position.

16. Bojan Bogdanovic – Utah Jazz

He’s a natural big-bodied three, so that makes him a great stretch four, something that the Jazz have needed. While they are going to miss the rebounding of Favors, the Jazz are going to enjoy the space that Bojan provides. Look for the Jazz to be a much more potent offensive unit this year because of this man.

15. Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans

When he played in preseason he looked like a runaway MVP candidate, but that knee injury is troublesome. I thought Zion would come into the league a little bit lighter, but I’m not sure if his frame allows it. If he’s healthy he could be a top-five player in the league. But I worry about his health.

14. Danilo Gallinari – Oklahoma City Thunder

There is about a 0.25% chance he ends the season on the Thunder. While he’s on the roster he’s going to be the Thunder’s best scoring option. As always this comes down to his health. Gallinari has only played in 70+ games twice in his now ten-year career.

13. Marvin Bagley Jr. – Sacramento Kings

I’m not sure why he didn’t start last year, he was the Kings best power forward. I’m predicting a 22-11 type season for him as the Kings flirt with the playoffs.

12. Domantas Sabonis – Indiana Pacers

There are rumors he’s not signing a long term extension in Indiana and therefore could be moved. While in Indiana he could be one of the main scoring options for the Nate McMillan and team. We’re not sure when Oladipo will be back, but the Pacers are going to be hard up for some scoring until then.

11. Paul Millsap – Denver Nuggets

The man is ageless. For most of his career, he was considered a number one option and on the Nuggets he is probably the fourth option. He brings the team a tough-nosed interior presence for the Nuggets who play a bit more finesse style.

10. Kristaps Porzingis – Dallas Mavericks

The Unicorn is back! It’s been a long time since Porzingis has played meaningful minutes in a meaningful NBA game. We shouldn’t expect too much, but after some of his preseason performances, maybe we should.

9. Kevin Love – Cleveland Cavaliers

He’s regressed a little, he’s been a bit more injury-prone, but he’s still one of the better guys in the whole league. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and get moved to a contender.

8. Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics

Now that Kyrie isn’t slowing things down and clogging up his space look for Tatum to have a big bounce-back season. He has a chance to be the team’s leading scorer this year, but we’ll have to see how the chemistry with Kemba shakes out.

7. Al Horford – Philadelphia 76ers

Horford isn’t going to have to anchor the defense for the first time in what seems like a decade with Embiid playing next to him on the backline. I’m not sure how he’s going to fit into the offensive flow with the Sixers just yet. I think he’ll be the third option off motion sets.

6. Draymond Green – Golden State Warriors

Green is going to need to pick up his scoring a little bit with KD gone and Klay probably not going back until the All-Star Break at the earliest. We know his defense is going to be top-notch, we know he’ll make plays as a point forward, and we know he is going to annoy the crap out of the other team.

5. Blake Griffin – Detroit Pistons

Now that he’s in Detroit you almost think he’s retired even though he made the All-Star team last year. With Griffin, you’re going to get some nice looking jumpers and some vicious dunks.

4. Pascal Siakam – Toronto Raptors

Our man just got paid. Now with Kawhi gone, it might be safe to say he is the Raptors’ best player. There’s a good chance that he flirts with 22-10 season.

3. Paul George – Los Angeles Clippers

We probably won’t see George until November, but when he gets back he’s going to be asked to probably rotate the forward position with Kawhi. One he returns he’ll probably get about 24 points a game, almost ten boards, a few steals and be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.

2. Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron is the bigger name, but Anthony Davis is going to have bigger stats across the board. I think Davis is going to be in the MVP conversation all year, but end up losing to the person ranked ahead of him.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis made it look way too easy in the preseason. Yes, no one plays defense in the preseason, but Jesus, Giannis looked like a man playing a bunch of newborns on some possessions.

Other posts in this series:
Ranking the 2019-20 Coaches
Ranking the starting centers in the NBA
Ranking the starting shooting guards
Ranking the starting small forwards
Ranking the starting point guards

October 21, 2019 1 comment
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