[Post Game Thread] The Portland Trail Blazers (17-44) fall to The OKC Thunder (43-19) 120-128
March 7, 2024
[Post Game Thread] The Portland Trail Blazers (17-44) fall to The OKC Thunder (43-19) 120-128
13 comments
We got obliterated the first two matchups and were right in there for the last two. Good improvement and the tank rolls on.
It’s hard not to be bitter about this game, but at least there’s a lot to be proud of, learn from, highlights generated, and draft prospects to scout before bed
Great game
Tisse was great tonight.
Here are my thoughts on today’s game:
Overall a pretty good showing the last two games against two top teams in the West. There’s a lot to like, and much better vibes than….another game against OKC I can remember.
Positives:
* I thought our offense looked pretty good, especially considering the Thunder are a pretty solid defensive team. Reath’s shooting and ball handling ability really unlocks a new dimension to our offense, and he was great attacking close outs and in the short roll all night.
* Without Toumani and Ayton, we did a pretty good job defensively, especially in the second half.
* I really liked what Kris brought, even though he got into foul trouble and didn’t play a lot of minutes. Specifically defensively, there were multiple plays in the first quarter where he sensed his teammate getting beat and rotated into position or stunted at the ball giving his teammates time to recover – this is common in the league. But what impressed me was how anticipatory and early Murray was on his rotations. Also, he made a three and had several good drives to the basket, which are nice.
* Thybulle played solid defense and also hit a few threes. Also he crossed up Giddey in a straight up isolation and got an and-one: don’t think I’ve ever seen that from him before in his career, lol.
* Ant had Dort glued to him most of the night (and was getting doubled at half court for parts of the game while just trying to bring the ball up), but instead of forcing up a bunch of bad shots like he’s done at some other points this season, he got rid of the ball, trusted his teammates, and let the game come to him in the second half/fourth quarter.
* Grant only had a few “WTF man, pass the ball” possessions which is an improvement. So I guess this is a positive, because he played solid defense and was reasonably efficient. But still, he always has a few possessions a game that make me think “dude, what were you thinking?”
Negatives:
* The Thunder get…let’s just say an extremely generous whistle. I understand the FT differential because they space the floor super well and SGA is very crafty, but he’s impossible to guard when even the slightest contact results in a foul. The only way to guard him 1v1 is basically to back up and concede space, letting him get to his spot and shoot the ball over length. But if you pressure him just a little bit, it’s an auto foul. Super frustrating to watch (and I’m not blaming SGA at all for this, because he’s taking advantage of rules that already exist). Just annoying to watch.
* Missing Ayton and Toumani (Ayton in particular) really hurt our paint defense tonight. Hagans’ decision making leaves a lot to be desired. I love his energy and defense but some of those turnovers are really ugly.
* Rupert had a stinker with his shot. Unfortunate although his defense looked OK for stretches.
* I like Banton and definitely think he should be around next year. That being said, I wonder how well his game will translate to being off the ball – whenever he’s on the floor, he’s basically the primary ball handler at all times (out of necessity and lack of talent more than anything else) He seems to play a lot better with the ball in his hands than he does without it.
I only tuned in 4th quarter, how was Rupert?
Good loss. That’s how they should be
At least we don’t have to play these hoes again this season.
I had a dream last night that Thybulle scored 75 points. Only 59 points off from my dream prediction, not bad.
Competitive tanking. Sucks that Scoot and Shaedon are injured.
Just keep tanking just keep tanking. Fuck the season ticket holders
Oof, Warriors win by 35 over the Bucks. Not great
Another fun game against an elite team!! I am so proud of this group for competing so hard with SO many players out. I mean if you told me we would be competing with the #1 and #2 teams in the West without Brog/Sharpe/Scoot/Ayton/RobWill/Camara, I would have not believed it. Everyone stepped up big time and I thought Billups was even making some solid adjustments.
Big shout out to Simons! That is 3 straight really impressive performances in a row. There was that long stretch after his great December where he just wasn’t able to make anything happen vs specific physical matchups. I know he was getting trapped a ton and was the primary focus for defenses, but there was just way too many games where he wasn’t able to knock down even open shots. He would let long physical defenders get to him and take him out of games completely. His body language was awful and he was missing everything and turning the ball over a ton. I didn’t really buy into the injuries, sickness, personal stuff because I had high expectations for him as a leader and the way he started off his season so well. But, he has responded very well lately. I am so happy that he is out there playing in this end of season stretch where we have usually just sat all vets. I think these games have been very beneficial to his development. I am just ecstatic that he can put up performances like this vs teams that I thought just had his number. Simons last 3 games: 31/5/9 on 49/44/93 splits
13 comments
We got obliterated the first two matchups and were right in there for the last two. Good improvement and the tank rolls on.
It’s hard not to be bitter about this game, but at least there’s a lot to be proud of, learn from, highlights generated, and draft prospects to scout before bed
Great game
Tisse was great tonight.
Here are my thoughts on today’s game:
Overall a pretty good showing the last two games against two top teams in the West. There’s a lot to like, and much better vibes than….another game against OKC I can remember.
Positives:
* I thought our offense looked pretty good, especially considering the Thunder are a pretty solid defensive team. Reath’s shooting and ball handling ability really unlocks a new dimension to our offense, and he was great attacking close outs and in the short roll all night.
* Without Toumani and Ayton, we did a pretty good job defensively, especially in the second half.
* I really liked what Kris brought, even though he got into foul trouble and didn’t play a lot of minutes. Specifically defensively, there were multiple plays in the first quarter where he sensed his teammate getting beat and rotated into position or stunted at the ball giving his teammates time to recover – this is common in the league. But what impressed me was how anticipatory and early Murray was on his rotations. Also, he made a three and had several good drives to the basket, which are nice.
* Thybulle played solid defense and also hit a few threes. Also he crossed up Giddey in a straight up isolation and got an and-one: don’t think I’ve ever seen that from him before in his career, lol.
* Ant had Dort glued to him most of the night (and was getting doubled at half court for parts of the game while just trying to bring the ball up), but instead of forcing up a bunch of bad shots like he’s done at some other points this season, he got rid of the ball, trusted his teammates, and let the game come to him in the second half/fourth quarter.
* Grant only had a few “WTF man, pass the ball” possessions which is an improvement. So I guess this is a positive, because he played solid defense and was reasonably efficient. But still, he always has a few possessions a game that make me think “dude, what were you thinking?”
Negatives:
* The Thunder get…let’s just say an extremely generous whistle. I understand the FT differential because they space the floor super well and SGA is very crafty, but he’s impossible to guard when even the slightest contact results in a foul. The only way to guard him 1v1 is basically to back up and concede space, letting him get to his spot and shoot the ball over length. But if you pressure him just a little bit, it’s an auto foul. Super frustrating to watch (and I’m not blaming SGA at all for this, because he’s taking advantage of rules that already exist). Just annoying to watch.
* Missing Ayton and Toumani (Ayton in particular) really hurt our paint defense tonight.
Hagans’ decision making leaves a lot to be desired. I love his energy and defense but some of those turnovers are really ugly.
* Rupert had a stinker with his shot. Unfortunate although his defense looked OK for stretches.
* I like Banton and definitely think he should be around next year. That being said, I wonder how well his game will translate to being off the ball – whenever he’s on the floor, he’s basically the primary ball handler at all times (out of necessity and lack of talent more than anything else) He seems to play a lot better with the ball in his hands than he does without it.
I only tuned in 4th quarter, how was Rupert?
Good loss. That’s how they should be
At least we don’t have to play these hoes again this season.
I had a dream last night that Thybulle scored 75 points. Only 59 points off from my dream prediction, not bad.
Competitive tanking. Sucks that Scoot and Shaedon are injured.
Just keep tanking just keep tanking. Fuck the season ticket holders
Oof, Warriors win by 35 over the Bucks. Not great
Another fun game against an elite team!! I am so proud of this group for competing so hard with SO many players out. I mean if you told me we would be competing with the #1 and #2 teams in the West without Brog/Sharpe/Scoot/Ayton/RobWill/Camara, I would have not believed it. Everyone stepped up big time and I thought Billups was even making some solid adjustments.
Big shout out to Simons! That is 3 straight really impressive performances in a row. There was that long stretch after his great December where he just wasn’t able to make anything happen vs specific physical matchups. I know he was getting trapped a ton and was the primary focus for defenses, but there was just way too many games where he wasn’t able to knock down even open shots. He would let long physical defenders get to him and take him out of games completely. His body language was awful and he was missing everything and turning the ball over a ton. I didn’t really buy into the injuries, sickness, personal stuff because I had high expectations for him as a leader and the way he started off his season so well.
But, he has responded very well lately. I am so happy that he is out there playing in this end of season stretch where we have usually just sat all vets. I think these games have been very beneficial to his development. I am just ecstatic that he can put up performances like this vs teams that I thought just had his number. Simons last 3 games: 31/5/9 on 49/44/93 splits