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We start with Game of Thrones speculation (not spoilers) and realize how many parallels there are between a series against the Warriors and the winding down of the Song of Ice and Fire. But it is not all doom and gloom as we look at just how tough the competition is for the Trail Blazers, why we can’t say enough good things about Damian Lillard and just how much he and the rest of the Blazers have accomplished.
We talk about Meyers Leonard’s big night, Zach Collins’ ceiling in the coming years, and Maurice Harkless shooting well. Finally we address complaints we’ve heard that Terry Stotts is being outcoached.
Unlike Westeros, we have next season to look forward to! Tune in to all of this and more on the latest Blazer’s Edge podcast.
Highlights
0:00 Game of Thrones speculation
3:45 Season coming to an end and so is Game of Thrones. Why do they feel similar?
4:25 Besides Lilllard and McCollum, Collins, Simons and Trent we don’t really know who will be back next season.
7:00 The Blazers’ season was totally rewritten after they got out of the first round. Expectations skyrocketed.
8:15 Emotions were running high during game 3, they took over in the arena.
9:35 Lillard is a huge part of the reason we’re still watching basketball in late May. We need to avoid the “Kevin Duranting” of Damian Lillard--making him feel unwelcome.
13:15 Lets be real about the competition Lillard and McCollum are up against. Blazers simply do not have the same level of talent. Right now, Golden State coasts through the regular season and we forget how good they are.
18:00 There are just too may options on the Warriors. The Blazers are not not talented. They just don’t have the All Star/Hall of Fame power that the Warriors have. What do you do?
20:30 Things that are not going well. Why so many turnovers? Why poor shooting?
22:15 The type of defense the Warriors are bringing is unlike any they have every faced. If you don’t get a turnover, you get a bad shot. There really isn’t an easy way to win or get shots. It seems like Lillard is playing poorly but considering the shots he is getting he’s actually shooting better than expected according to Kirk Goldsbery of ESPN. Dan thinks one of the things Lillard will work on next year is keeping his dribble underneath the basket.
25:00 Maurice Harkless has been effective offensively. Role players have stepped up which is something we can be happy about.
29:15 Lillard has been facing more traps than ever—by a lot.
30:00 Meyers Leonard is providing some different options for creating offense, similar to Nurkic.
34:45 Dan thinks Leonard and Evan Turner are setting the best screens right now.
37:00 What are people complaining about when they say Stotts is bein outcoached?
40:30 The way the series is going is frustrating, but we should relax.
41:00 Leonard has done a better job than the rest at defending the pick and roll. In Dan’s opinion he did not foul Steph Curry on that three point shot. Why did Meyers start over Kanter? Meyers was able to stretch the floor a bit and is more effective right now at the short roll.
45:05 Is it extra hard to rebound against the Warriors because they make so many shots? Can you give up that effort when you have to spend energy in so many other places?
46:00 Zach Collins has shown some good stuff and improvement, especially rebounding. Best care scenario for Zach Collins is someone with the skill set of Serge Ibaka: effective weak side shot blocker, maybe elite at blocking, a help defender who cleans up at the rim.
Thanks for listening!