Gone Fishing in the Bayou (0-4) - Portland (3) v. New Orleans [ADVANCE] (6) Round 1

[Ineedmoney504]

Really needed Boogie for this series to give us some flexibility. The only answer for KD is to put Mir on him if Curry is out or still hobbled from his injury. If that actually works tho. That would be crazy. I don't trust Hill or Moore to lock down or keep pace with KD. I can see us playing big a lot if Curry misses the first few game.

Hill gonna have to log some serious minutes

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

Playoff Rhondo is the reason the Pels are dominating. One of the most underrated players in the league and probably the most intelligent point guard to play the game.


He will make an excellent coach one day.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

GSW vs. HOU series is the one that the NBA really wants this year.

It's the series the fans and the association deserves.

 

[NO-BadAzz]

Game 4 will be big for us, we can't go back to Portland.

Game 5 has blow-out written all over it.

Game 6 has us in close ass game, with critical misses from us down the stretch or Lillard putting up a 50 piece


Game 7 back in Portland


We gotta close this shyt out Sat


I hope I'm wrong like a motherfugger

 

[LV Koopa]

Portland just like Washington

2 guards that ball hog the ball 18 seconds of the shot clock , while the other players stand around or set picks so they can go one on one

Toronto was the same way the last 4 years and now derozan and lowery realize movement without the ball is the key to win games

This isn't really what Portland does or why they're losing. New Orleans is trapping Dame and outside of CJ no one else can make plays. Hence it's turnover city for PDX. They aren't really a team that ball hogs.

 

[SubZeroDegrees]

The new thread title

 

[SubZeroDegrees]

Pelican fans how do y’all feel about your chances against GS? With or without curry...

I truly believe we can take GS to 6 games before bowing out.

 

[taker597]

I truly believe we can take GS to 6 games before bowing out.

Watch us be up at half time and zaza starts getting minutes and be matched up on AD..

 

[Skooby]

This article highlights some of what I've been saying all year and even in previous years. Dame and CJ have to try to do everything since no one else can make a shot. And some of it is simply getting out-coached.

Outside of those two our team is garbage. We have the worst forwards in the entire NBA and I have been saying that for years.

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Down and almost out, the Trail Blazers seem just as bewildered as you and me about the way their first-round series with New Orleans has turned out.

Just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. And there are no easy answers. Portland, a team so reluctant to use double-teaming as a defensive tactic, is just about completely befuddled by the Pelicans' double teams. A roster that rattled off a long winning streak during the second half of the regular season, is now incapable of getting the job done. The coach, once being talked about as a longshot candidate for Coach of the Year, is seemingly not making necessary adjustments. The team's best player, being talked about as a possible first-team all-NBA selection, has been virtually shut down for three games.

What in the heck is going on here?

Well, I will address the problems as best I can and as directly as I can. They are many and sometimes contradictory:

• If players are being double-teamed to the point Lillard is, other players obviously have to emerge to hit open shots. That's simple math -- two people guarding one person means another person should be open. But to take advantage of that, the ball must move quickly to the open man and the open man must be able to make an open shot.
• Very often, the Trail Blazers invite the double teams with their high pick-and-roll. It makes it easy to simply blitz the screen and get the ball out of Lillard's or CJ McCollum's hands. Often, those players themselves call for that double team by calling for the high pick. New Orleans is obviously one of the best pick-and-roll defensive teams in the league, so... why not run something else? Why keep going back to something that isn't working?
• The safety valve against double-teams in Portland's attack is almost always the big man coming to the foul line for a pass. He can then turn and face the basket, knowing he's going to be facing a three-on-two situation. The problem for the Blazers has been that it's been Nurkic in that position and he isn't a threat to make a shot from where he receives the ball. Consequently, his defender -- usually Anthony Davis -- is still free to roam the basket area. Perhaps someone else could play that spot who can make an open 20-foot shot?
• And speaking of making open shots, the Trail Blazers have needed front-court shooting for two or three seasons now. You can tell me how well Al-Farouq Aminu is shooting all you want, but he isn't reliable or consistent and opponents still leave him open because they don't think he can convert. He's not a floor stretcher. The Blazers need long-distance shooting that will help open the court for Lillard and McCollum. This is not a new problem.
• On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers continue to attempt to use Aminu to defend bigger players and it hasn't gone well. Against the Pelicans, it creates a terrible matchup for Jusuf Nurkic, who then must chase Nikola Mirotic around on the perimeter. While Aminu may do a marginally better job on Davis than Nurkic, the latter cannot come close to defending Mirotic, so it forces Nurkic to the bench in favor of a better defender. This is a defensive tactic by Portland that forces its third-best player, Nurkic, to the bench. And oh well, it may not matter because the Blazers aren't making good use of him on offense, anyway. If they don't get him out of that high pick-and-roll into one closer to the basket, he's not nearly as effective. He needs to catch close enough to the rim that he doesn't need to put the ball on the floor.
• I believe there's also been a Portland effort problem in this series. For whatever reason, the Trail Blazers have been outhustled. This happened at times during the regular season but I don't understand it. Especially in the postseason.
• The ball has to consistently move around the floor more often. When the Blazers are playing well, they move the ball and move bodies. Too often this season, things generate into the guards going one-on-one and in the playoffs, that's a hard way to win. When I talk to people around the NBA about this team, that's a criticism I hear often -- the guards are too dominant. But considering the shot-making ability of the forwards, can you blame them?
• What can be done at this point to change things for the better? The easy answer is nothing. But I'd at least like to see more effort in Game 4.

 

[Weaver31]

Another thing impressive about Pelicans this series is the other players stepping up besides AD....Rondo overall, Holiday Game 2 outstanding performance and just out playing Dame this series overall and Mirotic in Game 3. Very impressive but Cousins would help more vs Warriors matchup.

 

[god shamgod]

This gonna be a unpopular opinion but Niko a better fit with ad than cousins.Pelicans needs spacing and shooters around ad let cousins walk

The Pelicans were outscored by opponents by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when Davis and Cousins were on the court with Holiday as well as E’Twaun Moore and Rajon Rondo.

But New Orleans outscored opponents by 16.8 points per 100 when Davis was on the court with the same group but Mirotic instead of Cousins. This was the fourth-best net rating among all five-man lineups (minimum: 200 minutes) in the Western Conference.

better defense,less turnovers,ad and holiday eat and more spacing .

 

[etrofllenrod504]

I truly believe we can take GS to 6 games before bowing out.

I think your criminally underrating our chances to beat the Warriors.

 

[LV Koopa]

This gonna be a unpopular opinion but Niko a better fit with ad than cousins.Pelicans needs spacing and shooters around ad let cousins walk



better defense,less turnovers,ad and holiday eat and more spacing .

Thing is NIko is playing better on both sides of the ball way above his level. Same with Rondo. If anyone thinks that's gonna hold they're in for a ride awakening.

 

[Easy-E]

This gonna be a unpopular opinion but Niko a better fit with ad than cousins.Pelicans needs spacing and shooters around ad let cousins walk



better defense,less turnovers,ad and holiday eat and more spacing .

Again, Portland are frauds...wait til we play Warriors

Because we are not gonna be able to double anyone--especially with Steph coming back

If we beat the Warriors, I'll rethink it

But, this team isn't good enough to win the West with extra shooters

 

[Easy-E]

Very often, the Trail Blazers invite the double teams with their high pick-and-roll. It makes it easy to simply blitz the screen and get the ball out of Lillard's or CJ McCollum's hands. Often, those players themselves call for that double team by calling for the high pick. New Orleans is obviously one of the best pick-and-roll defensive teams in the league, so... why not run something else? Why keep going back to something that isn't working?

It litterally seems like this is the only way ya'll tryna get Dame space to score

Cj been bussin our ass on isos and other actiob