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Zion Williamson

Portland Trail Blazers

Terry Stotts proves himself to be a defensive mastermind in Blazers win over the Pelicans, 101-93

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Tuesday night was one of those games where you will always remember where you were when you watched the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard come back from 17 points in the final five minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans.

After the game Tuesday night this game could have gone in one of two ways; either a 140-119 butt-kicking or a defensive struggle throughout the night. In the modern NBA, the latter option seemed unlikely and that is what we ended up getting.

The Blazers led by Derrick Jones Jr. on the defensive end put the Pelicans away, 101-93, and swept the season series 3-0.

First Quarter Thoughts

The Pelicans are not messing around at all tonight. They are definitely the more active team to start. They have some great motion out top to free up Brandon Ingram for two open threes to start the game and giving NoLA a quick 8-2 lead. Lots of offensive rebounds, hands-on lots of loose balls. They were everywhere.

It had the feel that the Pels might just pull the rug out from under the Blazers and run away with this.

Damian Lillard had other ideas though.

Dame had 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from three. He is still in that groove from Tuesday night. The Pelicans are laying off of him for some reason and then rushing at him off the switches. They even allowed Steven Adams to switch out on him a few times.

Lillard just hit a couple of threes over him like he wasn’t there.

Pretty sure the only thing Dame is seeing out there on the floor is the bottom of the basket.

The case for MVP is growing.

Second Quarter Thoughts

This is the second straight game that CJ McCollum comes out playing point guard to start the second quarter. This is so stupid on many different levels. The big one is that CJ has not had much game time and the Pelicans actually do a solid job of playing defense on point guards (not named Dame Lillard) physically without fouling. CJ is not ready for that.

The other point is that Anfernee Simons had been playing really well as of late. He had a ton of confidence coming out of the All-Star break. Simons didn’t see the court on Tuesday night and he should be seeing it tonight in some form.

You can’t let a young player down like that. There are other minutes that CJ can take, let’s not take the minutes away from Simons. He needs the time and the development still.

As I type this, 3J has shown back up and has led the Blazers to a 42-33 lead with a hair under nine minutes in the second quarter. McCollum had been 0-5 up until this point and his shots did not look close.

Enjoying the energy that we are seeing from Nassir Little tonight too. I love when he rebounds and runs. He has the skill to play point forward and does have an eye to be a playmaker, plus we all know that he might be the best finisher at the rim for the Blazers.

The Pelicans run some high hand-offs with Zion Williamson and the Blazers switch to a 2-3 zone off the hand-off. Zion Williamson scored 19 points on Tuesday night when the Blazers switched to a 2-3 — so why would defensive mastermind Terry Stotts do it again?

I’m not quite sure because I’m not defensive mastermind Terry Stotts.

🤷

Damian Lillard once again sits too long into the second quarter. When Damian Lillard is hot there is only one man who can slow him down and that is the defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts. There are a lot of coaches in the league that are terrible with their rotations, but if it wasn’t for guys like Luke Walton and Mike Budenholzer (plus a few others), Stotts would be right there.

Poor Derrick Jones Jr. got hit twice in the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Once got a flagrant foul called on Eric Bledsoe and the other was not called.

Lillard only had five points in the second quarter, but the Blazers took a 57-48 lead into the half.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Here come the Pelicans cutting into the Blazer lead to start the quarter. The typical start of the third quarter for the Blazers. They once again have come out like Stotts spent the half handing out Ambien, warm milk, and doing some ASMR therapy.

It might have happened to both teams as the Pelicans quickly leveled off after some really clutch defense from Derrick Jones Jr, Rodney Covington, and Gary Trent Jr. The momentum changed when DJJ blocked a dunk on the same possession by both Ingram and Williamson.

Jones has been really feeling his role with the Blazers lately. I thought it was a mistake early on in the season, but he’s been winning me over. Not sure if he holds the starting spot next year. That should be going to Little.

And Zion Williamson has decided to take over the game in the third. He began to attack the rim and get to the line. The Blazers did not have an answer for him. At the end of the quarter, Zion Williamson had one of the top five all-time explosive first steps I have ever seen. He was four feet past Covington before RoCo even reacted. If the Blazers were not collapsing the paint that would have been a highlight dunk for Williamson.

The Pelicans somehow turned that possession into a turnover. Speaking of which, the Blazers end the quarter with a 1:2 assist to turnover ratio. That does not bode well for how the game usually ends.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Zion Williamson is continuing his strong attacking play to start the fourth. He seems to be the only Pelican player trying at the moment. CJ McCollum took a charge from Zion and he follows that up with a three and then Carmelo Anthony knocks down a three and Portland is off on a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter here.

Blazers are up by 14 and the Pelicans look all out of sorts at the moment. The Blazers defense is looking really strong against a bunch of guys waiting for a bunch of other guys to shoot the ball. Brandon Ingram has really disappeared in this second half.

The Pels are taking up a lot of clock to get a miss and the Blazers are taking up a lot of clock to get a make. That’s some smart play by the Blazers in the fourth quarter. We often don’t get to type those words about the Blazers in the second half of most games.

Gary Trent Jr. is in his own head right now. He reminds me of Arnold in that really crappy Batman movie. He’s ice cold and not very good. I’m a big fan of Trent Jr., but his play lately is going to make that contract extension a lot more palatable for the Blazers this summer.

And I might want to delete the above, Blazers have gone ice cold and have cut the Portland lead down to five. A combo of Lonzo Ball and Zion chipping away at that lead. This forces the Blazers into a timeout.

Out of the break the Blazers get back to back threes by Covington and Jones. Pushing the Blazer lead back up to nine points with just under two minutes to go.

Damian Lillard knocked down two free throws to seal the game up.

BOX SCORE

Next Up

Quick turn around with the Blazers taking on the Dallas Mavericks tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Pelicans soar past Dame-less Blazers 128-115

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
blazerspels2019.jpg

The All-Star break is over! Hooray!

I don’t care if this makes me a misanthrope: I absolutely hate the All-Star break. It’s a popularity contest and unless a Blazer is in one of the events, I’m not gonna watch it. If something cool happens, I’ll see it later on Twitter. It also always falls on my birthday weekend, so I always have other stuff going on.

Thank you for attending my TED talk.

The Blazers are BACK, baby! This is the time of year where Terry Stotts turns up the heat. We’re without Dame for a bit, and we still won’t have Nurk for a while, and Rodney’s still done for the year, and Zach is out, and we’re six games under .500 but…….Basketball!

Entering tonight, the Blazers are 25-31, good for 9th in the Western Conference and 3.5 games back from the Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the Blazers before the break but lost a close one to Sacramento last night. The Spurs are a game back of us and the Pelicans half a game back of them, so this one’s really important.

The Blazers have a much easier schedule the rest of the way, though, especially when compared to Memphis. The Pelicans are the ones we have to really worry about, though, as Kevin pointed out in his prescient article earlier this week. FiveThirtyEight.com agrees, giving the Pels a 63% chance to make the playoffs, with the Blazers at 22%, Grizz at 9%, and Spurs at 4%.

Injury Report

Starting Lineups

First Quarter

Well, the Jazz just lost at home to the Spurs, so the importance of this one has just been amplified.

ESPN’s broadcast began with one shot of Portland and about 25 mentions of some dude named Zion. He’s had a great 10-game start, and you can tell the national media is begging for another big game.

Off the tip, Holiday controlled and gave the ball to Zion, who gave it right back for an easy open three. Yuck. Zion will be guarded by Whiteside, and Williamson bodied him for a hefty lay-up on the third possession. Both teams combined to start 7-for-9 from the field.

With a whole lot of Duke production on the court, Gary Trent was the one who hit a smooth three and followed it with a high-arcing floater. Neat.

Melo started checking Zion, and that started working. Then Whiteside was back on him out of the timeout. Go figure. Zion still finished the quarter 4/4 with 10 points.

I hate playing the Pelicans. They play so fast (T-3rd in pace). Zion got his dunk and Ariza committed an inbounds violation by flicking the ball to CJ with his foot. Still only a single-digit deficit, though.

Portland ended the quarter with Trent, Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, Wenyen Gabriel, and Caleb Swanigan on the court. They didn’t play exceptionally well or poorly, I just felt like that was a noteworthy moment in time. Pels 40, Blazers 35.

Second Quarter

Less than a minute into the quarter, referee Mitchell Irvin orchestrated what Mike Breen called “One of the worst drink spills in NBA history.” Once it was cleaned up, Whiteside rattled the rim between two defenders.

https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1231071809468010497?s=20

I love Ant’s energy and I want him to succeed but the accuracy just isn’t there yet.

Portland stayed within around 10 for a while, but it was clear that even that wasn’t sustainable. New Orleans were attacking clinically and relentlessly. After the Pelicans’ second rebound in a row off one of their own missed free throws, Zion put them up 15.

This game feels an awful lot like the last one. The scoreboard says Portland’s still in it, but Whiteside’s 4 fouls and Dame’s strained groin say otherwise.

If I have to hear this Cricket commercial one more time I think I’m gonna lose it. This quarter has gone on way too long. Pels 73, Zers 63. How it’s that close is beyond me.

Here’s a much clearer explanation for my displeasure with this game:

https://twitter.com/BlazersBySagar/status/1231080089057542144?s=20

Third Quarter

The Lonzo-to-Zion connection is one we might be seeing in countless highlight posts and nightmares down the stretch this season.

There’s that run I was hoping for…nice little 7-0 burst led by Melo brings us within 5!

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1231085975960342529?s=20

You know what? Josh Hart is a good shooter. So is Redick. Holiday and Ball are good facilitators. Why isn’t this team better? Yeah, they were missing Zion for a while, but they should still be winning a little more than this.

Stotts angrily called timeout at the 2:47 mark—the Blazers were on the verge of a run, but the Pelicans turned it on from deep. As I type this, they are 55.4% from the field and 65% (13/20) from behind the arc. That actually gives me a strange sense of hope, because I don’t feel like they can keep that up for the rest of the game…right?

Welp, the Blazers just fumbled the ball out of bounds for absolutely no reason and let Nicolo Melli score 4 points in the paint. The deficit is 16. Aaaaaaaaaand Hart just hit a buzzer-beater to end the quarter. Make it 19 points. 102-83.

Fourth Quarter

Stotts calling a timeout less than 2 minutes into the quarter tells you everything you need to know. Whiteside lost a jump ball to Holiday but the Blazers still got the crowd back into it with a couple hustle plays. Then Whiteside had two blocks in two seconds, but Holiday still scored.

The Blazers have resorted to leaving guys wide open on the perimeter. The deficit was 12 with just under 6 minutes left when CJ hit a wild shot from the corner…and, of course, Holiday hit an equally absurd one of his own from the wing.

The rest of the game slowly churned itself out, relying on tidbits from Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson for entertainment. The final score was Blazers 115, Pelicans 128.

Takeaways

This was a soul-suckingly bad defensive showing. One hundred twenty-eight is a large number.

I don’t even want to look at the box score. It’s gonna make me sick. The Blazers had a lot of excuses to lose this one. That doesn’t mean they needed to lose it, though. If they miss the playoffs, point to these All-Star bookends to see why.

I told you I hated the All-Star jazz.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Looking at the Blazers’ schedule

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
Damian-Lillard-scores-61-against-the-Warriors-scaled.jpeg

The All-Star break is almost at an end and the Blazers have 26 games left the rest of the way and some ground to make up to make the playoffs. Portland is 25-31 and five games back of the Memphis Grizzlies in the loss column and only a couple of games up on both the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans.

A quick couple of highlights:
Back-To-Backs: 3x
Home Games: 15x
Road Games: 11x
Home Games vs. .500+ teams: 8x
Home Games vs. sub .500 teams: 7x
Road Games vs. .500+ teams: 3x
Road Games vs. sub .500 teams: 8x

Portland will spend more time at home than they will on the road the rest of the way. This works out to their advantage obviously because jet lag sucks. They are used to it, but they do have a few tough road games against both Boston and Philadelphia on the horizon and the Pacers are a tough team as well.

Looking at the back-to-backs the Blazers managed to somehow draw the Sacramento Kings (at home), Detroit Pistons (road), and the Brooklyn Nets (road). The Kings have played the Blazers tough once this year, but they’re at the point of the season where they are about to quit and who knows what you are going to get with the Pistons or the Nets. There’s a good chance Kyrie Irving and Blake Griffin don’t play in those games.

And speaking of playing, we don’t exactly don’t know when Damian Lillard is going to return. Terry Stotts is holding him out of practice on Wednesday. Will he play against the Pelicans on Friday night or is he going to miss a few games? Dame is tough and he knows what’s on the line. Sadly, we probably won’t know until a couple of hours before game time on Friday.

And will the Blazers get Jusuf Nurkic or Zach Collins back before the end of the year?

Let’s take a look at the schedule the rest of the way:

vs. Pelicans – 2/21

The Pelicans always play the Blazers tough, especially Jrue Holiday, and if there isn’t a Lillard to carry the scoring load then this game could get ugly again. There also isn’t anyone to stop Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will be back.

Prediction: Blazers lose (25-32)

vs. Pistons – 2/23

The Pistons are a mess and even without Dame, this should be a win.

Prediction: Blazers win (26-32)

vs. Celtics – 2/25

Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown are going to hold no mercy.

Prediction: Blazers lose (26-33)

at Pacers – 2/27

The Pacers are well coached, Victor Oladipo is starting to get his legs back under him, and they are a tough team.

Prediction: Blazers lose (26-34)

at Hawks – 2/29

Thankfully this isn’t a back-to-back. Trae Young will score a lot of points and try to outshoot Dame, but the Hawks are terrible.

Prediction: Blazers win (27-34)

at Magic – 3/2

The Magic are trying, they aren’t very good and seem to be perennially stuck in this position. They have beaten a few good teams and they won’t be a pushover.

Prediction: Blazers win (28-34)

vs. Wizards -3/4

Bradley Beal is pissed off for a lot of reasons, but he’s not leaving Portland with a W.

Prediction: Blazers win (29-34)

at Suns – 3/6

The Blazers owe the Suns and Kelly Oubre a beating.

Prediction: Blazers win (30-34)

vs. Kings – 3/7

The first back-to-back, but it’s a Kings team that isn’t very good and they seem to be getting worse as the year is going along.

Prediction: Blazers win (31-34)

vs. Suns – 3/10

The Blazers get a few days off before they get another shot at the Suns. Devin Booker will have a good game, but not good enough.

Prediction: Blazers win (32-34)

vs. Grizzlies – 3/12

Ja Morant is a video game and he hasn’t hit his rookie wall yet. Does he now or is he a freak of nature? I think Blazers eek this one out.

Prediction: Blazers win (33-34)

vs. Rockets – 3/15

Russell Westbrook always tries to beat Damian Lillard on his own and this usually leads to his team going off the rails and losing. Blazers back to .500.

Prediction: Blazers win (34-34)

I have the Blazers going on an eight-game win streak to get back to an even record. This will have them right on the verge of a playoff spot. Things, however, are about to get a little bit tougher after the next game.

vs. Timberwolves – 3/17

The Blazers are one of the few wins the Wolves have this year. I don’t think Karl-Anthony Towns gets another.

Prediction: Blazers win (35-34)

vs. Mavericks – 3/19

Luka Doncic has been a bit snakebit this year and he tends to miss stretches of games. I think he’s back and he hurts Portland. Can’t keep winning forever.

Prediction: Blazers lose (35-35)

at Timberwolves – 3/22

This will be a good night.

Prediction: Blazers win (36-35)

at Hornets – 3/24

The Hornets are not a good basketball team and they have very few good players.

Prediction: Blazers win (37-35)

at Pistons – 3/25

I think the Pistons will be in full tank mode and not even Derrick Rose can save them even as the Blazers flew a quarter way across the country the morning of.

Prediction: Blazers win (38-35)

at Celtics – 3/27

I don’t think the Blazers get this one either.

Prediction: Blazers lose (39-36)

at 76ers – 3/29

The Blazers and Sixers played a classic early in the season, but the Sixers are terrible on the road and almost unbeatable at home. Joel Embiid will be a beast.

Prediction: Blazers lose (38-37)

at Nets – 3/30

I think the Nets are going to put Kyrie on the shelf with some sort of injury to prep for Kevin Durant‘s return the next season and work on getting a higher pick.

Prediction: Blazers win (39-36)

vs. Jazz – 4/2

We enter the final month of the season against Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. This is going to feel like a playoff game, one that Portland is not ready for.

Prediction: Blazers lose (39-38)

vs. Grizzlies – 4/5

Morant and company are back and this time the teams are going to be within a game or two of one another. I think once again Portland pulls it out.

Prediction: Blazers win (40-38)

vs. Cavaliers – 4/7

The Cavs are a mess and will be in full tank mode and will help the Blazers clinch another winning season.

Prediction: Blazers win (41-38)

vs Nuggets – 4/9

Another tough playoff-type game for the Blazers and this is turning into a great rivalry. Sadly…

Prediction: Blazers lose (41-39)

at Warriors – 4/13

There is a chance that Stephen Curry is back for this game, but I don’t think he’ll log many minutes and the Warriors really want that first overall pick.

Prediction: Blazers win (42-39)

vs. Clippers – 4/15

My guess is the Clippers have secured their seed in the playoffs and we’ll see more Reggie Jackson over Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Prediction: Blazers win (43-39)

Looking at other schedules. I think 43-45 wins are going to be what is needed to get into the playoffs. The Blazers are obviously on the low end of this, the Pelicans I have going to 45 wins and Memphis being right around there. I think the Blazers are on the outside looking in this year.

Though do not count this team out and if you feel like trying to make a lot of money in a hurry, in some outlets, Portland is at +21000 to win the Championship. We’ve seen the Blazers overcome bigger odds and getting a little healthier toward the end of the year could be big. The Blazers have zero reliable depth, yes, Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. are stepping up, but it won’t be enough.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Zion Williamson and New Orleans Pelicans blow out the Blazers

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
Damian-Lillard.jpg

The Portland Trail Blazers are on the road for their final two games before All-Star festivities start up this weekend. They are in New Orleans tonight to take on Zion Williamson and tomorrow night in Memphis to take on Ja Morant. The Blazers are battling both teams for the final playoff spot in the West.

Jrue Holiday is also on the Pelicans and he’s been a notorious Blazer killer over the years.

Portland is opening up by attacking the Pelicans inside with Hassan Whiteside. He has scored on both Derrick Favors and Williamson early, add a Trevor Ariza three and the Blazers are off and running quickly in the first few minutes of the first quarter.

Carmelo Anthony hits a couple of mid-range jumpers and his shot might be coming back around. He’s been pretty cold the last few games. It’s good to see him get flowing in the offense early, that’s a good sign for the rest of the game.

Whiteside is on pace to get a double-double here in the first period. He’s eating Williamson and Favors like a King Cake after a hard night on Bourbon Street. It looks like an intentional move to get Whiteside the ball early to take some pressure off both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum on the perimeter.

Out of nowhere, the Blazers go on a 17-0 as soon as Gary Trent Jr. checks into the game. Dame only has three points so far, but he does have four assists, CJ hit a couple of threes, a few more points by Anthony. And you win the cash prize for the night if you guessed that Wenyen Gabriel would be the first Blazer to score off the bench.

Anfernee Simons is out of the concussion protocol and into the game tonight. He picks up a foul against J.J. Redick. He’s showing some good hustle out there tonight. He’s in passing lanes and making great passes on the offensive end. Caleb Swanigan is everywhere too. He’s getting big tip outs, rebounds, he’s making excellent switches and closeouts.

The amount of contact Lillard takes on drives is really starting to get to him. He’s getting beat up like Shaquille O’Neal in his prime on the way to the basket and the refs are swallowing the whistle. There is no reason that Damian Lillard shouldn’t be going to the line more than he does. Lillard draws more fouls shots on jumpers than he does from contact in the paint. That’s not how it works.

Despite that, the Blazers are up nine, 36-27 at the end of the first period. That was once again another strong first quarter by the Blazers.

Zion Williamson is the only member of the Pelicans that is doing much of anything in the second quarter. He has ten points in the first five minutes of the period, but the Blazers are using a combo of Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum, and Hassan Whiteside to keep the lead above ten points for the Blazers. Whiteside is in the middle of four Pelicans, including Zion, and somehow getting the ball.

With the Blazers doing so well with their bench in it allowed Dame to get about seven and a half minutes of game time rest before he checked into the game. He might have gotten more rest had the Pels not going on a 7-0 run.

The Blazers bench is not outscoring the Pelicans bench, but it feels like they are outplaying them.

And at the end of the second turned into a track meet. Lillard had four points, CJ with a three and the Pelicans were knocking down threes and have cut the Blazers down to two at the half, 65-63. The Blazers’ defense fell apart at the end of the half. They had zero answers for Zion Williamson and Jrue Holiday.

I missed why Holiday started the third quarter shooting a technical foul shot. The Pelicans are out and running hard to start the third. Zion Williamson is doing things only he can do, Josh Hart knocks down a three and Terry Stotts is forced to call a timeout in the first four and a half minutes of the quarter.

The Pelicans picked up right where they left off in the second quarter. The Blazers are on their heels defensively and over-rotating. That is if they can even get into a defensive set. The Pelicans have eight fast-break points already in the quarter.

Damian Lillard does not have a three tonight. He has really been close. They have been hard bricks. He’s been attacking the basket more and getting more points in the paint tonight, but he’s not getting the calls that he should be getting.

Zion Williamson is abusing the entire Blazers’ front line in the quarter. He’s sealing off Hassan Whiteside, Trevor Ariza, and Carmelo Anthony and getting easy dunks. He’s got 20 points in the last 10 minutes he’s been on the court. This is the first time I’ve really had a chance to watch him this season, I’ve seen highlights and the dude is just a highlight. He’s as advertised.

And the wheels are coming off. Favors and Holiday both hit Dame in the head on a drive, of course there wasn’t a call. This leads to Lonzo Ball running over CJ and then Redick hitting a three. Pels push the lead up to up over 20 and outscore the Blazers 41-21 in the third and trail by 18 heading into the fourth quarter.

I wish I wasn’t sick so I could drink some wine.

The fourth quarter was played by the Blazers’ backups. Moses Brown and Jaylen Hoard got some extended minutes after being called up from the G-League earlier in the day.

Lillard and CJ each had 20 points, Anthony had 18, Whiteside had 17 and 14.

The Blazers take on the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow at 5 PM.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers look for a fresh start

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
melo-scaled.jpeg

Carmelo Anthony will make his much-anticipated debut for the Portland Trail Blazers tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The future Hall-of-Famer was signed by the Blazers to a non-guaranteed deal over the weekend.

Portland (5-9, 12th West) visits the Pelicans (4-9, 14th West) after coming off a brutal 24-point loss in Houston. Tip-off from the Smoothie King Center is at 5:00 p.m. on NBA TV/NBC Sports NW.

The Blazers will be without Damian Lillard, who is dealing with back spasms from carrying the team. Lillard’s 536 minutes played (38.3 per game) leads the league so far. Interestingly enough, Portland’s C.J. McCollum is second on the list with 526 (37.6/game).

Without Lillard, Anthony will be expected to have an immediate scoring role, but the Blazers really need help on the glass. They were out-rebounded 58-44 last night by the Rockets. He will start tonight, per Marc J. Spears at ESPN.

https://twitter.com/MarcJSpearsESPN/status/1196925077826097152?s=20

The Pelicans present a great opportunity for Melo to shine, as New Orleans is surrendering 120 points per game to their opponents, second only to the Washington Wizards. New Orleans is coming off a 108-100 victory against NBA bottom-feeders Golden State, and have plenty of injury woes themselves.

Expected Starting Lineups

Portland: Anfernee Simons, CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood, Carmelo Anthony, Hassan Whiteside

Head Coach: Terry Stotts

New Orleans: Jrue Holiday, J.J. Redick, Jaxson Hayes, E’Twaun Moore, Kenrich Williams

Head Coach: Alvin Gentry

Injuries

Portland

New Orleans

Odds and Prediction

  • Spread: New Orleans -2.5
  • Total: 231.5
  • Prediction: Blazers cover. I think this will be a close one. It will be tough to close out a game without Dame, but C.J. and Carmelo aren’t exactly the worst players to have down the stretch.

Vibe Check

I’m starting a new segment in my previews where I recommend a song based on how I’m feeling about the game at hand. Tonight’s song is one that’s been in my head for about two days now: “What’s the Move (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) by Young Thug. In all honesty, we probably won’t learn much about the Blazers strategically from this match-up. More than anything, I want to see our guys having fun. And what’s more fun than Thugger?

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Uncategorized

Ranking the 2019-20 NBA Power Forwards

by Kevin Nesgoda
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

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Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers shunned on Christmas

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
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Damian Lillard and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers are going to have Christmas Day off this year. The NBA has leaked their Christmas Day game slate this year and the Blazers are not on it.

This is a little surprising as Portland figures to be one of the more prominent teams in the Western Conference this season.

Instead, the only team from the Norwest Division is the Denver Nuggets and they’ll get a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The marquee game of the day is going to be the Battle of Los Angeles as the Lakers take on the Clippers. The rest of the slate features the Boston Celtics against the defending champion Toronto Raptors, the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the Philadelphia 76ers, the Houston Rockets traveling to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors.

After the seven-game classic this past May I thought the Blazers and Nuggets would have made the most sense, but NBA is going all-in on Zion Williamson it appears. Lillard and the Blazers definitely don’t need another chip on their shoulder or anything.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Get to know Nassir Little

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
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The NBA draft is a crapshoot. You honestly do not know what you are going to get from year to year. The current best player in the NBA (Kawhi Leonard) wasn’t drafted in the lottery and was traded on draft day for a player on the backside of their prime. So when a player ranked higher than Zion Williamson entering college falls to you at the 25th pick a few questions might be raised. Why and how did Nassir Little fall to the Blazers at 25?

Nassir Little was a McDonald’s All-American and the second ranked recruit of the 2018 class. He was the All-American game and Jordan Brand Classic MVP, the only other person to do this was LeBron James. Little appeared to be ready to take North Carolina by storm.

That didn’t necessarily happen.

A lot of people wrote Little’s name into the North Carolina starting lineup with a Sharpie, after all this was North Carolina’s highest recruit since Harrison Barnes. Coach Roy Williams said that Little was the most explosive athlete he’s ever coached in his 31 years on the bench.

That did not translate to minutes for the Tar Heels. Little had only been playing basketball since the age of 12 and had yet to pick up on all the natural instincts a player of his caliber would have picked up with a few extra years of seasoning and coaching. It’s evident on the defensive end where Little gets lost during switches and loses his man as he watches the ball at the top of the key. On offense he seems to second guess himself a bit when taking wide open shots. The only time he never second guessed himself is when he was dunking over everyone.

What the film doesn’t show on Little is how much of a gym rat he is. How he was in the gym almost everyday at 5 am with his AAU coach getting up shot after shot or how he’d hound UNC coaches to watch tape with him after games to help him identify areas he slipped up and could improve.

Williams commented he couldn’t recall another player who was more of a student of the game than Little.

What are the Blazers getting in a blue chip prospect that didn’t see more than 20 minutes a night for one of the most elite programs in history?

They are getting an athlete that is fast and long. He might already be the best pure athlete now on the Blazers roster. He’s got an amazing first step, can dunk easily over players that stand over seven feet tall, has the speed to chase about anyone down, and finishes around the rim at all.

Little is also extremely raw. He gets lost on defense quite easily and drops assignments more than a coach would like.

He wants to learn though and he wants to get better. Being in a Portland locker room with someone like Damian Lillard and a hands on coach like Terry Stotts is going to push Little up the ladder faster than a lot of other places he could have landed. He ends up in Phoenix and he’s playing in Germany in a few years, but here in Portland there is a good chance that he realizes his full potential.

WIth Portland’s current roster there is a chance that Little will not see a whole lot of minutes during his rookie year and he might see some G-League time to get him reps. But if the Blazers do not bring back Rodney Hood (which they should) then he might get some minutes as the back up SF behind Harkless.

We won’t know how he fits into the rotation until after free agency is complete, but the Blazers landed themselves an absolute stud.

You won’t have to wait too long to get a look at Little in a Blazers uniform. He takes the floor for the Blazers on July 6th in Vegas Summer League against Utah.

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Seattle SuperSonics

Did the NBA Draft Lottery affect Seattle?

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
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The Pelicans and Grizzlies finished 1-2 in the draft lottery, how does this affect Seattle?

Kevin Nesgoda: It doesn’t really at all. I think this gets both the Pelicans and Grizzlies new leases for their arenas and that basically has all the teams in the league locked up for the foreseeable future. I still think that expansion is and always has been our way back. Adam Silver spoke yesterday about adding a team to Vancouver. We all know Seattle is #1 on the block to get a team back and Vancouver (or Louisville) would be a great expansion partner.

Ryan Shea: Did it affect Oklahoma City when the Sonics got the 2nd pick?

Chris Meirose:  I don’t think that it does at this point.

Taylor Bartle: Honestly, I think anything that happens with Seattle will happen independently of on-court performance. I don’t think this moves the needle.

Matt Tucker: As someone who has viewed relocation as the likely method to get the Sonics back, I think this puts a crimp in things. But that all depends on how the draft translates to the court and then to the ticket office. Season ticket searches for the Pels spiked big following the draft lottery, so I think there will be some impact. It’s not clear yet.

Jeff Brown: Kevin Durant didn’t save things in Seattle.  If a team relocates to Seattle, it’ll because the NBA decided that the current market is no longer good enough and the league would be better off in Seattle.  I’m sure Zion could help the New Orleans market draw more, but if he doesn’t, they could be in trouble. And recent reports state Anthony Davis still wants to be traded away.  If that happens, then it’s asking a lot for Zion to carry the franchise. Ultimately, Seattle should come back into play after 2021 when the new arena is fully constructed at Seattle Center.

What do you now think happens with the Pelicans?

Kevin: I think AD stays. I’ve heard some rumblings that with AD and Zion New Orleans could be a free agent hot spot. And David Griffin knows how to build a team. I think if AD stays we see New Orleans as a top-five seed.

Ryan: They have two options: build around Zion and trade Anthony Davis or try to find a workable solution with AD and possibly trade Zion for a second star.

Chris:  Send AD to LALA for their pick and other pieces if he’s willing.  Take Zion and your #3 along with Randal, Wood, and Holiday and build from there.  

Taylor: I think AD is gone. Two post dominant players won’t work, especially in today’s game. And Davis has said he hasn’t backtracked on his request. I think LA sends the 4th and a big haul of young players to the Pels and they start a quick rebuild.

Matt: I don’t think AD stays, and league rumors seems to back that up. Now, what are they gonna get in a trade to build around Zion? They have good leverage.

Jeff: It sounds like Anthony Davis still wants out.  If that’s true, New Orleans will look to make the best trade possible to help build around a youthful core.  Whether that’s a trade with the Lakers, Boston, or another team, I’m not sure.

What do you now think happens with the Grizzlies?

Kevin: I think they are still one more good draft pick away from being a playoff contender in a couple of years. Maybe they swing Conley to the Suns and get the 6th pick and start to build around a core of Jackson, Morant, and whoever they get at six.

Ryan: The Grizzlies will have a good foundation of young players to build around. Ja Morant can be the new Mike Conley.

Chris:  If they keep this pick, Ja Morant is the right guy.  I’m not convinced they keep this pick.

Taylor: The Grizzlies are such a weird team. They could win 50 games one season and 30 the next with the same roster. Moving on from Gasol was the right decision in my opinion, and Conley should probably be next. Morant would be a good piece to build around. The only constant seems to be attendance in the bottom third of the league…

Matt: Agree with Taylor. I can’t get a read on this team.

Jeff: If you can get good value by trading Mike Conley Jr. then I would do that.  I would draft Ja Morant and try to build around him. There have been rumors about Memphis as a relocation option, but the NBA seems pretty adamant about keeping all teams in their current cities.

With pretty much all arena issues solved in the NBA, where does Seattle get a team now?

Kevin: As I said above it’s going to be expansion.

Ryan: We get Portland. In Portland.

Chris:  Can we get the Sonics back from OKC and dump Westbrook in the middle of it?  No? Sigh. Then I’m going with Memphis or expansion.

Taylor: I hate this question because people want an answer and there just isn’t one right now.

Matt: I’m still curious to see if the rest of the league is interested in keeping teams in some markets where the team value isn’t growing because of the market. With Memphis and New Orleans, it’s possible that they may never get over the hump. Sure, they’re worth over $1B each, but that’s relative to the whole league.  I have a feeling owners would be more concerned with making sure they can maximize each team in a market before expansion. Is what Memphis and New Orleans are bringing enough?

Jeff: This is extremely frustrating because unlike the NHL, NFL, MLB, the NBA has been fully against both relocation and expansion for the past decade.  Ever since Seattle was relocated, the NBA has done everything possible to keep teams in struggling markets like Sacramento, Milwaukee, Memphis, Phoenix, and New Orleans.  I want to believe a team is coming to Seattle soon (3-5 years), but it’s hard because everything the NBA has done is to keep all current teams in their current city and shoot down expansion every chance they get.  Ideally, I hope Seattle gets an expansion franchise, just like we did with the NHL.

Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Kevin: Yes, it absolutely does. One of the best pizza combinations out there is a tangy BBQ sauce, shredded chicken, onions, bacon, and pineapple. Fight me.

Ryan: Have you tried pepperoni, jalapeno, and pineapple? Find me a better combo I’ll wait.

Chris:  Without question no. First, screw sweet, the tomato sauce has all the sweetness you want and need. Second, why introduce something that is upping the moisture content?  That’s the opposite of what you’re wanting. Third, pineapple gets slim and stringy more often than not on pizza. Fourth, pineapple sucks. Yes. That’s my official position.

Nick Meyers: Pineapple belongs on pizza and I will absolutely die on this hill.

Taylor: Forget that, can we talk about THIS crime against nature?

Matt: I don’t have a no fruit rule on pizza because olives are amazing. But hell no to pineapple.

Jeff: As a kid, I absolutely hated pineapple on pizza.  If my parents would order it, I would throw a little fit (as kids do) and refuse to eat those versions.  As I got a little older (teens), I realized I was being an idiot and that pineapple absolutely belongs on pizza because it’s delicious!

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