Today, we’ll deviate from the usual Preview format. I will mention the next two games on the schedule, but with the holidays around the corner, I got to thinking about what I’d like each player on the Portland Trail Blazers, and their coach Terry Stotts, to receive for Christmas this year.
The thing about gifts at this time of year is that you sometimes wish for unreasonable things, especially as a child, only to get let down when you open those presents under the tree. That same attitude is what I’m going to take into this little thought exercise.
Now, there’s a chance some of my Christmas wishes will come true for these guys; improvement and opportunity are real things. I’m not going to speculate from a realm of pure fantasy, but some of my wishes will be just that, wishes.
Without further ado:
For Damian Lillard, I wish for defense. He’s still a negative at that end, and while his counterpart CJ McCollum has shown improvement this year, Dame has not. If he can get his massive offensive responsibilities lightened by the others somewhat, Lillard could stand a chance of not turning into James Harden.
For CJ McCollum, I wish for continued health. Between broken fingers and Wes Matthews being awesome, CJ hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he could do. Now that he is a starter and playing a big role on a team for the first time as a pro, it would be very cruel if his injury issues reared their heads again.
For Meyers Leonard, I wish for confidence. His bum shoulder is doing him no favors, but Meyers is shooting just 25% on three-pointers this year. It was expected that his percentage would come down from last year’s, but not this drastically. Take your open shots, young fella, and know that we all want you to take them. The Blazers as a team benefit when you do.
For Mason Plumlee, I wish for more alley-oop dunks. Plum is an explosive leaper who competed in the Dunk Contest, yet 25 games into the season, he has just three alley-oop dunks according to NBA.com. If the Blazers are going to keep losing winnable games, they might as well let Plumlee go full Thor, and hammer down a sweet alley-oop more often.
For Al-Farouq Aminu, I wish for continued improvement with his shooting. His shot still looks awkward, but it’s gone in more often than in years past. If he can sustain that (seriously, Stotts might be a wizard. Al-Farouq Aminu is shooting close to league average from three), it would be a nice addition to his already large toolbox.
For Allen Crabbe, I also wish for defense. While he’s even more clueless than Lillard, Crabbe has been tearing it up on offense the last few games. He also leads the Blazers in three-point percentage. If only he can defend someone taller than his middle-aged coaches running drills…
For Noah Vonleh, I wish for 20 more pounds of muscle. The kid isn’t strong enough to consistently tussle in the paint, nor is his outside game refined enough to take advantage of opposing bigs. Both parts of his game should round out given time, but getting some mass on that rail-thin frame will help him the most.
For Ed Davis, I wish for an occasional start. There have been games where Davis has come in, battled like a hoss in the paint, tipped in a missed basket or two, and just elevated everybody else with his energy. I understand that he’s better suited to the bench role he’s in with that kind of game. I just feel that the big guy needs to be thrown a bone once in a while, even with the youth movement in full swing in Portland.
For Gerald Henderson, I wish for a swift ticket out of town. Nothing against Hendo, but he’s barely played this year (15 minutes per game in 16 games). The Blazers could look to dangle him and his veteran experience on the trade block, preferably to snag an Olshey Special. (A young, 20-something player misused or barely played on another team.)
For Chris Kaman, I wish for a good night’s sleep. With Baby Sasquatch still in infancy, Air Sasquatch likely isn’t getting much shuteye. Good thing he’s not asked to play this year.
For Mo Harkless, I wish for consistency. His shooting is either alright (45% FG%), below-average (31% 3PT%…which gets your ass nailed to the bench with Stotts), or downright putrid (61% free-throw percentage). If Mo can find that one thing he does really well, and stick with it, he’ll get more than 18 minutes a game.
For Pat Connaughton, I wish for a baseball career. I know it’s just 25 games in, but the only thing Pat’s done for Portland, as young and starved for talent as any rebuilding team in the NBA, is throw a pass across the court just before halftime. He can probably put that 95 MPH heater to use in A-ball come springtime instead of rotting on the bench of a rebuilding NBA team.
For Cliff Alexander, I wish for peace in his life. He made things very hard on himself while at Kansas, and ended up going undrafted…after everybody was hyping him as a lottery pick before his freshman year. Hopefully, sticking with the Blazers has helped him get some grounding and direction in his life.
For Tim Frazier, I wish for strong arms. Mostly because he’s been carrying Lillard’s bags around like a good little toady/third point guard.
For Luis Montero, I wish for a continued roster spot in the NBA. Because 15th men, as a rule, are non-descript and anonymous.
And for Coach Stotts, I wish for a contract extension. He doesn’t have a good record with young teams, and any success he’s had in the NBA has been with veteran teams (most notably serving as an assistant on the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks), but I believe Stotts deserves a chance. After being a good soldier his first season in Portland, then guiding the Blazers to their first playoff series victory in 14 years, and now having to work with a stripped-down roster, Stotts has run the gamut of NBA states of existence in just four years.
If he wants to stay, why not give him at least two more years? Lillard would be happy; Stotts is the only professional head coach Lillard’s ever known. Besides, who’s out there that would be a realistic, and better, fit?
For the love of God, please don’t say Scotty Brooks.
Those are my holiday wishes for the Trail Blazers this year. I hope they come true, and I hope I got a couple laughs out of it, or made some folks think.
As for the two games this week, the Blazers take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight at 7:00 PM. The game will be at home, and on CSNNW. Anthony Davis will wreck house, and Portland will win.
The second game will see the Blazers go to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, to play the Thunder. The game will start at 5:00 PM, and will be on KGW. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will wreck house, and the Thunder will win.
If you wondered why I didn’t preview the games like I normally would, or even do the others in the week (Monday-through-Sunday), the short answer is that Oregon Sports News will be taking our annual Holiday Break, starting December 21st.
I will be doing a Super Preview on Friday, covering the games from that Friday night to January 4th. It will be massive, rich in the kind of detail my boss expects from me, and (hopefully) accurate in all the ways. Last year, I think I ran through 10 pages on Word; I distinctly remembering my boss weeping while editing it all.
After a craptastic week for both the Blazers and myself, we both stand at 10-15 on the season. You’d think I’d pick some of the losses right, but NOOOOOOO.
My brother needs 25 more Blazer victories, or he owes me $40.
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