mrhockey89 wrote:Yep, Westbrook was considered a bit of a reach at 4 that year. That draft I recall like it was yesterday. There were 2.5 blue chippers according to all the experts: Michael Beasley (who was absolutely destroying college basketball on a nightly basis and looked like a better version of Carmelo), Derrick Rose (who came on like lightning after ripping up the NCAA Tourney), OJ Mayo was the .5 blue chipper (I recall Dwayne Wade was basically calling him the next superstar). I remember Jerryd Bayless being highly touted, and the big discussion on our board involved Brook Lopez, because he had a well developed skill set that we could have used. I think we all wanted Mayo (for the most part) and were probably all upset that we traded for Love (I know I was).
It's pretty amazing how Beasley dominated college once we learned about his measurements and they shaved a few inches off the top. He went from a 6'10 dominating front court force to a 6'7 wing overnight.
Let's keep the focus in this thread on the bubble play itself, rather than draft strategies or debates, which are interesting but already fill most of our other threads.
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[*] Lip, you mentioned the Lakers and Bucks losses. I wonder out of those top 3 teams, what do all of you make of their play so far? Do the Lakers still look like favorites? How decent does their bench look, and how much do you think that matters? Do you think the Clippers losses give you pause, or do you think that team is just playing halfway at this point?
[*] Lip, I also like how you draw attention to some of the teams other than those most often mentioned as contenders (LAL, LAC, MIL). I think you're right that it certainly looks so far like the playoffs could be more unpredictable than we thought earlier. You mentioned the Nuggets and Mavs. I wonder what everybody thinks of those or other possible dark horses in the playoffs.
[*] I bet since the Wolves aren't playing, a lot of us have been watching a wider range of players than normal rather than looking in-depth at our players. Maybe we've seen more of these stars like Luka and Dame play full games rather than day-after highlights, and I also bet we've been watching more obscure players too. Has there been a particular player who has stood out to you in the bubble (one way or another), whether it's a star or a role player?
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mrhockey89 wrote:Yep, Westbrook was considered a bit of a reach at 4 that year. That draft I recall like it was yesterday. There were 2.5 blue chippers according to all the experts: Michael Beasley (who was absolutely destroying college basketball on a nightly basis and looked like a better version of Carmelo), Derrick Rose (who came on like lightning after ripping up the NCAA Tourney), OJ Mayo was the .5 blue chipper (I recall Dwayne Wade was basically calling him the next superstar). I remember Jerryd Bayless being highly touted, and the big discussion on our board involved Brook Lopez, because he had a well developed skill set that we could have used. I think we all wanted Mayo (for the most part) and were probably all upset that we traded for Love (I know I was).
It's pretty amazing how Beasley dominated college once we learned about his measurements and they shaved a few inches off the top. He went from a 6'10 dominating front court force to a 6'7 wing overnight.
Yep that was something that concerned me a bit about him as a prospect but the reality was none of that was why he didn't succeed as a high end player.
Things sometimes forgotten in that Love for Mayo trade was the Wolves saved salary in that deal (including dumping Jaric) AND got back Mike Miller who was a legit asset either as a player or in a trade. It was a hell of a good trade.
I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
The other day I was looking at who the Blazers are playing. Melo at SF and the bench is a collection of guys that are like 23 and younger. It made sense that someone said their defense was so bad that's why Dame was having to put up these ridiculous numbers. I haven't seen him play but I looked up the numbers since the bubble began and...Yeah they are pretty good.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
The other day I was looking at who the Blazers are playing. Melo at SF and the bench is a collection of guys that are like 23 and younger. It made sense that someone said their defense was so bad that's why Dame was having to put up these ridiculous numbers. I haven't seen him play but I looked up the numbers since the bubble began and...Yeah they are pretty good.
Watch that guy. Forget the numbers, just watch him. He gets so hot gunning from 3 he forces other teams to pick him up at half court otherwise you can just about pencil in a deep 3 from him. Really impressive.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
The other day I was looking at who the Blazers are playing. Melo at SF and the bench is a collection of guys that are like 23 and younger. It made sense that someone said their defense was so bad that's why Dame was having to put up these ridiculous numbers. I haven't seen him play but I looked up the numbers since the bubble began and...Yeah they are pretty good.
Watch that guy. Forget the numbers, just watch him. He gets so hot gunning from 3 he forces other teams to pick him up at half court otherwise you can just about pencil in a deep 3 from him. Really impressive.
Last year watching Dame I thought if he could go from just being a good 3 point shooter to a really good one in terms of percentage he would be absolutely lethal and he was Already a heck of a good player. I see he is shooting 40% from 3 this year and I'd guess part of that is work on getting off a cleaner shot too. I heard he is playing with a chip on his shoulder and I think that's a positive as he seems to feed off that. I listened to Jon K's last podcast and she said really the bubble has provided some really good storylines and Dame is absolutely One of them.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
The other day I was looking at who the Blazers are playing. Melo at SF and the bench is a collection of guys that are like 23 and younger. It made sense that someone said their defense was so bad that's why Dame was having to put up these ridiculous numbers. I haven't seen him play but I looked up the numbers since the bubble began and...Yeah they are pretty good.
Watch that guy. Forget the numbers, just watch him. He gets so hot gunning from 3 he forces other teams to pick him up at half court otherwise you can just about pencil in a deep 3 from him. Really impressive.
Last year watching Dame I thought if he could go from just being a good 3 point shooter to a really good one in terms of percentage he would be absolutely lethal and he was Already a heck of a good player. I see he is shooting 40% from 3 this year and I'd guess part of that is work on getting off a cleaner shot too. I heard he is playing with a chip on his shoulder and I think that's a positive as he seems to feed off that. I listened to Jon K's last podcast and she said really the bubble has provided some really good storylines and Dame is absolutely One of them.
So we're calling him Dame now? Is that it? Dame time?
AbeVigodaLive wrote:I watched a decent chunk of the Blazers v. Nets game last night. It was more than I've watched Bubble basketball combined.
The Blazers played hard, like their playoff lives were on the line.
- Dame Lillard is amazing. He's a superstar. 42 points on 22 shots... 12 dimes... only 1 TO... and the game's signature defensive play.
- Gary Trent is a key cog for the Blazers. He's been very good in the bubble. He also might be the worst defensive player in the game today. I don't know if it was only because he had 5 fouls... but Caris Levert was allowed to drive within 5 feet of the hoop EVERY time he was guarded by Trent. It was atrocious, embarrassing defense. But alas... Trent is a wing. So it's expected and excused. Or something.
The other day I was looking at who the Blazers are playing. Melo at SF and the bench is a collection of guys that are like 23 and younger. It made sense that someone said their defense was so bad that's why Dame was having to put up these ridiculous numbers. I haven't seen him play but I looked up the numbers since the bubble began and...Yeah they are pretty good.
Watch that guy. Forget the numbers, just watch him. He gets so hot gunning from 3 he forces other teams to pick him up at half court otherwise you can just about pencil in a deep 3 from him. Really impressive.
Last year watching Dame I thought if he could go from just being a good 3 point shooter to a really good one in terms of percentage he would be absolutely lethal and he was Already a heck of a good player. I see he is shooting 40% from 3 this year and I'd guess part of that is work on getting off a cleaner shot too. I heard he is playing with a chip on his shoulder and I think that's a positive as he seems to feed off that. I listened to Jon K's last podcast and she said really the bubble has provided some really good storylines and Dame is absolutely One of them.
So we're calling him Dame now? Is that it? Dame time?
He has been called Dame for A number of years. I'm not sure I've seen "Dame time" used (It's not like I watch Portland games or highlights in general either) but if it hasn't it would be kinda surprising. Lol
