[Post Game Thread] The Portland Trail Blazers (6-8) defeat The Atlanta Hawks (6-8) 114-110

45 comments

  1. 3rd year Sharpe realizing that “You know what? I am that guy” and playing like it has been a revelation

  8. here are my thoughts on this game:

    The positives:

    * RW3 looked fantastic as usual. It’s insane how he’s still so athletic even after all of the knee injuries – he’s truly special on both ends of the floor with how hard and smart he played.

    * I thought our pressuring team defense worked SUPER well with a real rim protector (Clingan and RW3) at the rim cleaning things up. No shade to Ayton because there are definitely things he does well defensively, but he’s not a very good shot blocker, so when we get beat playing aggressive defense it’s hard for him sometimes to clean up messes at the rim. But we really bothered Atlanta especially in that third quarter and it looked fantastic. I’ve been super critical about how much ball pressure we apply on defense at all times, but you can’t argue that it looks REALLY pretty when it works (and having a real shot blocker in the paint really helps make it work).

    * Sharpe started off a little bit passive but he really took over during that third quarter. He was awesome in transition and cutting for lobs, but I thought he did a pretty good job making reads out of the PnR – even if he’s not really ready to be a primary ballhandler yet, I thought his PnR reads were pretty smart and it’s definitely the next evolution of Sharpe as a scorer. Love to see it. And that sequence at the end of the game to take over the game on both ends was absolutely electric. This is two games in a row now that Sharpe has closed the game for us.

    * When we first acquired Banton, I said I’d eat my hat if he ever turned into any kind of shooter at the NBA level. Well, it’s looking like I’m going to have to eat my hat at some point, lol. I think the jury is still out regarding whether or not he can be a truly knockdown shooter, but his shot (and overall scoring game) has surpassed all of my expectations so far – and the fact that he’s pulling up off the dribble and sometimes shooting off movement is insane. Good for him for putting in the work after being a complete non shooter throughout his career so far.

    * I thought Toumani really bothered Trae at times even if the stat sheet doesn’t necessarily show it. For a bigger wing like Toumani to be able to stay with Trae through an entire game and be able to fight through screens is truly special.

    * Deni continues to do so many good things on the court. It’s becoming clear that he’s not a very good creator in the halfcourt offense, but he’s big, physical, long, and quick on defense, and on offense he makes smart cuts and is a great secondary playmaker. He’s lowkey starting to shoot a little better after his awful shooting start to the season too.

    Negatives:

    * Scoot really struggled with the length of Risacher (and Daniels a couple times). He visibly struggled to get separation, got stranded in the mid range, and picked up his dribble prematurely leading to the offense stalling. I think in general, his inability to put the ball in the basket really hurts the offense a whole compared to someone like Banton – not that Banton is a super great scorer but he’s at least a threat out there, which keeps defenses honest and makes the passes a lot easier. It feels like a lot of times with Scoot it’s just 4v5 on offense especially when he doesn’t have the ball, which we kinda saw during the Hawks’ big run in the beginning of the fourth quarter.

    * However, it wasn’t all bad – I thought Scoot had an awesome stretch late in the second quarter, where he looked super in command of the offense (throwing lobs, kickouts, etc. and just looked like he was in control at all times). He also had a nice looking eurostep to finish around Capela. He also looked pretty active on defense and had a few good hustle plays in rotation.

    * We looked really bad on transition defense as we kept sending guys from the top to crash the offensive glass and kept getting beaten off leakouts in transition. We also got beat back in transition a few times after made baskets, which is just kind of unacceptable.

  10. How did we go from capture the Flagg to capture the Larry O’brien in the matter of 3 games

  12. I can’t handle the level of optimism that I’ve felt over these past few games. It’s too much all at once.

  18. How unbelievably hard is this team going to tank post-All Star break if this keeps up?

  24. Shaedon Sharpe tonight:

    32 PTS
    5 REB
    3 STL
    61 TS%

    Only injuries can prevent Sharpe from reaching stardom.

  27. Shaedon is the first Blazer I’ve watched in 21 years as a fan that I felt had MVP potential. Wrap this kid in bubble wrap, as long as he stays healthy he’s got superstar written all over him.

  29. Man, this team is genuinely fun to watch. I have really enjoyed so many of the games this season so far.

  32. I know blazers won but excuse me where tf is the clear path foul on young? Refs? Didn’t think so much when you rewarded a flop and 3 free throws

  33. Wolves fan. So impressed with this team! Do yall think you will be buyers at the deadline for a playoff push or you still rebuilding?

  34. 3 wins in a row. How are the vibes?

    “Vibes are good. So so so yeah…” someone clip that lol

  35. The time has come for the team to hand the keys to the young guys and move the old guard out for more assets. Putting anyone but our young core on the floor is just wasting development time at this point

  37. Shae with the deep, side-step three off the dribble to take the lead in the closing mins. Looks like he learned a thing or two from Dame. Give this man the keys

  39. I said in the preseason BARRING unforeseen injuries this teams a play in team and got downvoted….. I think we still have a good shot

  43. Lemme get a little unhinged here: is it possible Shaedon could still be the best player in his draft class?

  45. Timberwolves beating the Kings and the Suns after we beat them in a back to back and the Hawks coming off two straight wins (one being vs Boston) makes these 3 straight wins feel truly like quality wins 👀

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