The Portland Trail Blazers and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend

What's up world it's your past first point guard and trailblazers reporter Mike

Richman you're listening to another episode of Locked On Blazers.

Part of the Locked On podcast network available wherever you get podcasts and also on YouTube.

So make it a part of your daily routine, make your first list and tell your friends

do the same Locked On Blazers your team every day and today show it was a terrible no good

very bad weekend as it's just as as gross as it can get the trailblazers get stomped out

by the horn.

It's on Saturday afternoon hop on a flight fly to Atlanta and get stomped out by the Atlanta

Hawks on Sunday evening in Atlanta cool cool cool just just a massive road trip to start

off.

It is not the end of anything, but I think it is a telling point in the season and has

been a revealing it was a revealing weekend if nothing else.

Perhaps not predictive of the future, but certainly a reality of where they are now will unpack

we'll we'll recap both those games unpack what went wrong.

I want to talk about scoot Henderson.

I want to talk about on Yaka Kongu rating threes on the trailblazers defense and Donovan

clinging specifically.

I want to talk about what this what this stretch does indeed reveal and the blazers launching

bricks all weekend and sort of where they're at stylistically talent wise skill wise all

of those things.

Let's get into it.

We'll start in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon blaze play matinee game.

Fun weekend of NBA hoops unless you're a trailblazers fan, but there are games all all

day.

But Saturday and Sunday we got a jam packed set of games.

Pretty good little basketball Friday night had an incredible nuggets, thunder game, a great

weekend for the NBA again, unless of course you root for the fighting pinwheels who got

punked 1093 in Charlotte.

Here is your fastest recap there down 17 29 17 after one that's 17 total points.

They missed so they go over 10 from three couldn't couldn't throw it in a lake, right?

And I think it's like that's the thing you're going to highlight.

But they also they also turned the ball over five times and they gave up seven offensive

rebounds to the hornets like they just did everything wrong.

They turned the ball over.

They missed a bunch of shots and then they gave the other team who wasn't shooting particularly

well a bunch of second chances.

They go in a half time only down eight though.

And all things considered considering the Blazers, you know, that's considered twice in

one sentence that tripped me up right there.

The Blazers started O of 14 from three.

They missed the first four threes start the third or the second quarter as well.

But they made some to end the half five of their final eight.

The Hornets always scored 22 points in the second quarter and it's 51 43 the break.

All things considered here and they're in a good spot.

But then the Hornets kind of start to pull away in the third lead by as many as 14.

Okay.

But again, they're only down seven entering the fourth.

It's 67 74.

They're only down seven with eight and a half minutes left.

So seven point game of eight and a half minutes left.

And then this is the stretch that kind of decided the game.

Blazers missed two threes.

First true holiday takes a pull up three in transition off the mark.

Then the Blazers give up a three to concatenable.

Scoot Anderson misses a three on the following blazer possession blazer to give up a three

to see on James.

Blazer take a time out.

Okay.

That's seven point lead swell to 13 pre-quickly, but but you know, it's they haven't pulled

away yet.

They've only, you know, they've never led by more than 15 in this game.

You're still in it.

They come out of the time out.

Turn the ball over on a lob attempt.

Scoot tries to get inside throw a lob to cling and turn over leads to a run out.

Kobe White gets a layup.

Blazers turn the ball over to money.

Tomorrow throws just a weak in bounce pass to no one.

Kind of like whoops.

Shouldn't have thrown it.

Kind of like bounces it into the paint.

Kind of can it pull grabs it misses the layup, but tips in his own miss.

And that's a ten zip run two threes and then two layups off of turnovers and from a seven

point game to a 17 point game with six and a half minutes left.

That was a two and a half minutes to lose the game.

It went from like I can't believe they're still in it.

Like you know, they played terribly, but I can't believe they're still in it and they

absolutely are down seven with eight minutes left.

That's a ball game to this thing is done unless they find a miracle and of course they

never found a miracle and never got closer than 12 in the final six minutes of 50 seconds

and they go on to lose one oh nine ninety three.

That's your fastest recap in the West and Charlotte and then they would get on an airplane.

Charles been Charles been hoopin right.

They don't play I don't think the hornets play particularly well in this game at all,

but like they've been since January 1st, the best offense in the league.

They're top ten defense.

They're pretty good and and because of guys, the addition of unfortunately Duke rookies,

guys like Cian James, guys like Con Canippell and then they they have like enough depth

to be a competitive basketball team and they've got more limelabal like they're losing

to the hornets.

Not that big of a deal.

Atlanta is, you know, they'd won three in a row, but two of those ones were against the

Wizards that were not particularly impressive performances.

And as I mentioned on in previewing this road trip, the the hocks are just like just like

epically mediocre.

They're just a mediocre team.

And if they didn't have Jalen Johnson in that game, the hocks are straight up bad, but

he's back.

He's healthy.

Okay.

Well, he's an all star and has been excellent this year and when and they put, you know,

they have gone as he has gone for most of the season and the Blazer going to play this

game without Rob.

They're for playing both of these games without Danny Avdia, who remains out.

He was listed as doubtful for both of these games, which makes me somewhat hopeful that

he could return after the Blazer get a couple days off when they play Memphis on Wednesday.

We shall see.

But second night of the back to back Rob Williams sits.

They had a couple.

Blazer clearly, there's like a flu going around the team.

They've been out.

They've been out.

They have some guys missing.

I don't know.

Flu is maybe a capital, a capital letter word.

There's an illness going around the team.

Don McClingham was was listed on the injury port with an illness city Soko.

Chris Murray starts the game in Atlanta, eventually leaves it half time with an illness.

But, you know, the the hocks are are more whole, but this is not this is not an elite

team.

And in fact, they rip off 44 points in the first quarter.

Some like the game in Charlotte where the Blazer just like couldn't score early, like

just could not make a shot.

They actually led 13-10 after the first three minutes.

They made four their first six shots.

Like this was not the way the game immediately started was not like, oh yeah, they're in trouble.

But then Atlanta ripped off a 33-2-6 run over the following eight minutes of the first

quarter.

33-6 in the first quarter, a 27 point turn.

And it's 44-25 after one.

The game's over.

It's over.

That 33-6 run in eight minutes in the first quarter ended the game.

Please don't 17 to the break.

They're down 18 after three.

The wheels fall off in garbage time and they lose one 35-101.

They were down 19 after the at the end of the first quarter.

And they were never closer than 15.

The remainder of the game.

Atlanta scored 66 points in the paid.

And yakong Kongu hit seven threes.

This was according to Brad Roland of of locked on hawk shout to Brad who does a wonderful

job.

Locked second best offensive performance of the season.

They're 44 points where they're high for any first quarter of a season and their second

highest of any quarter period this year.

This was about as good of offense as the hawks have played all year.

The blazers just said, yeah.

So they start the weekends with a brutal offensive game against the Hornets that they

just, if their offense had been even a little bit, a little bit decent, like as opposed to

just as horrendous as it was.

And in Charlotte, they just could not make a shot.

11 of 47 from three, you know, they just, they just absolutely could not, could not score

from outside.

And I'll talk about that more in a moment.

But then it's like, and then they followed that up with just an absolute stinker defensive

performance.

Second night of a back to back Atlanta's got a rest advantage and it's like, whatever.

There's some, there's some reasons of the hawks win this game.

They're at home.

You're on the road.

But to, to not be non competitive after nine minutes into the game, see a, that's your,

that's your terrible no good, very bad weekends, blazers.

I don't know if I said the final score, 135, 101.

That's your fastest recap in the West.

Um, yeah, just, just, I, a brutal weekend for scoot Henderson, who was just bad in both

of these games.

Um, you know, I mentioned heading into the weekend that I'm gaming against the, the

bulls.

It's like, you know, I didn't think it played very well in Chicago, but, um, I kind of

think like the blazers have this runway to just kind of let him play reg, for the, this

is probably the last time during his career where there's just like runway to play scoot

regardless.

Right.

It's just like, okay.

You know, he's a third overall pick.

We're, we're fairly invested in his success.

Right.

And, and, and if he is bad, like, you know, it, you know, there's not an easy out, right?

You're not going to just like magically trade scoot for a star, uh, if he stinks.

Like, so it's, you're just, you're kind of invested in scooting, not being horrendous.

Um, but I thought, you know, in that Chicago game to kick off the road trip or the blazer

didn't play particularly well, but found a way to win, um, that scooting, you know, not

playing when the game got close down the stretch was defensible just because it wasn't

very good.

But, you know, people still want to see scoot.

I think the fan base is ready to see scoot play and start and thrive.

And then he just struggled in these two games.

I want to talk about that.

I want to talk about it on Yucca Congol hitting seven threes and what the blazers didn't

did not do to stop that.

I want to talk about the blazers, um, you know, missing 96 three pointers to begin the road

trip.

Uh, we got more to talk about.

It's, uh, join me in that second segments.

Um, if you're here, you're a real one.

And if you stay with me, you're even real or join me in that second segment.

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Okay.

A little bit more on scoop here.

You know, it's Charlotte 3 of 12, 0 of 7 from 3 just can't make anything.

And I think importantly, only takes five twos in this game.

You know, got to the free throw line for three attempts, but the best version of Scoot

is going to be a five or six plus free throw attempt guy.

He's going to have to shoot to be in the league, but I think the ideal version of Scoot is

someone who gets to the rack more often.

In between game, has some more sort of two point craft around the rim.

Now, he hasn't been, he's been better finishing this year than he has in the past.

I would not say it's a strength overall, still just watching him, although I think the

early small sample size number suggests that it's certainly a major improvement.

But I think my eyeballs, when there are contested finishes, say like, yeah, he's still, he's

not still still not there.

Like he hasn't taken a big leap there yet, but maybe he, maybe he will, maybe he has.

And I'm just, I'll be slow to come around on it.

But without the shooting, it's just so tough.

Yeah, I just thought he was, I thought he was really, really, really brutal in Charlotte.

And then the Hawks game, it's like, you know, I, I worry, I don't worry.

I want to caution against saying this too firmly, but he shot the type of bricks you shoot

when you're worried about missing.

Like his first two shots barely hit the rim, like he threw them hard off the glass,

like type of like, you know, window breakers, like he just, he's just like, seems like

you're a force to him, right?

Like I don't, I'm, I'm just don't want to like psychoanalyze necessarily.

But my read on those shots is, it is a someone thinking about jump shooting, right?

I got to make these, I've missed so many.

And he's just, he's just really struggling.

And like I said, like there is, there's part of me that says like, like, you know, I said

on this podcast that, that when school is coming back and getting healthy, that I think

they should kind of force feed him minutes, even if he struggles.

But I don't know that you can, like he's playing 25 minutes of game.

I don't think you can justify right now with the way the quality that he is playing.

It's like, yeah, you got to get scoot out there for six more minutes.

What are you doing?

Like, you know, I drew holiday was pretty much the only, the only player that kept the

blade just a float for these games, even close to it.

I, you know, yeah, just, this was just was a brutal weekend for scoot.

It's two games.

I don't think it was very good in Chicago, but it wasn't, he wasn't this bad.

But there's, these were two bad games that he needs a bounce back into get right.

I thought his first three or four games out of, when he first came back from injury,

were really promising.

He's kind of, he is struggling right now with just general, general efficiency.

How, how do I, sterling scoot hunters in generate quality looks?

What is a quality look for me?

Are they shots inside the arc?

Are they, you know, pull up?

Three's are not working.

Even some catch and shoot three's, he's miss badly when he's been open.

You know, some, maybe some of that settles, right?

And it's like, those are good process shots, but whoof, whoof, he was, he's struggled.

And they need him.

They need him.

There's so much of like what's next with the blazers.

It doesn't all hinge on scoop, I mean, but there's like, you know, if it isn't scoot,

like if it's, if, if, if scoots not part of what is next, they, they are probably further

away than you want them to be that I think that's just the, the, the sort of challenging

truth of it is that if scooters like, even if scooters like a, a pretty good backup

point guard, they're further away from where you want them to be like, they need them to

be a starting, a starter if, and probably a plus starter and leak to really have a sustained

chance at this thing or the, or the answer is currently probably not on the roster, right?

Because the other two point guards are in their middle thirties.

Um, okay.

Onyaka Kangu in against the hawks, just like, right, um, he plays for the hawks against

the blazers, but in that game against the hawks.

It rained down three, seven of 12 from deep, um, and many folks, uh, shout to the, the

everydayers in the discord server or, or, or kind of, uh, bemoaning that the blazers

quote unquote stayed in drop coverage.

And that is where you guard picking roles with Donovan clinging, uh, not up at the level,

like for drops all the way back.

I went back and watched all 12 of Onyaka's attempts before I hit record in this podcast.

I don't think this was a drop coverage problem, y'all.

I don't, I, I think that's a, that's like, uh, a thing you can say because it has been

true in the past.

I'm not sure that's what happened in this game.

His first two threes that he hit, he was on the weak side.

And when he, like, just like very normal, almost every team in the league plays defense

like this, when your guys in the weak side corner, uh, Donovan clinging is like the opposite

side of the ball and, and, and, and, uh, Kangu is the opposite side of the ball in the

far corner clinging is it pulled in all the way to the paint was like, he's the rim protector.

He's the low man for parlance for, for sort of NBA natural parlance.

He's the low man there.

The low man is go, they, you, they want you touching the paint.

And then they kick out twice, want on just like, um, a nice cross court pass, another

where, uh, where you just, like, uh, you can't let Dyson Daniels get into the paint that

easy, right?

You got it.

You got to play, you got to make it, stay in front and make him, uh, shoot jumpers or

floaters, right?

But they don't.

And then clinging is kind of stuck as the low man.

He's responsibilities there.

And they kick out to the corners.

He hits two corner threes.

His first two threes he made were from the corners.

That doesn't drop defense.

That is nothing to do with drop defense.

Um, the second two he missed were in transition.

One was a pin in and one was kind of a, a derriere transition shot where clinging did

not go out and defend him.

You don't love the hat, right?

But that's not, that's not drop defense.

That's clinging playing a little bit low, but that's not like the stylistic pick and roll

stuff.

Where does a trail three in transition, uh, where the, where clinging is in the paint

back early and defending the rim and then the blazers don't recover and, and, uh, pick

up in transition.

It's, it's pretty bad defense, right?

Like I'm not defending that.

It's bad defense.

And I thought the blazers defense against the hawks was horrendous and transition defense,

not all of defense is effort, right?

A lot of defense is communication and anticipation and like, and like the skill of being able to,

um, stay connected.

You have to play hard, right?

But it's, but people say it's all effort.

It's not.

The level is too much, too much thinking going on.

Transition defense is a lot of effort because it's your first five steps, right?

It's like, it's sprinting back to getting front and then, and then connecting.

Third one is a, is trail as a trail three in transition.

That's not drop defense.

Clinging was deep in the paint, but he was deep in the paint, stopping someone else back

in transition.

He's getting, um, he's, there's a guy who, who runs wide to the corner, clinging runs

all the way back.

Notice is the guy wide to the corner and then he has to recover, but like his responsibility

first is to get back.

I don't think that's, that's not drop defense.

Clinging does probably get too low in the paint, but again, so myth.

The fourth three that, yeah, Kong Wu, it's in the first half, um, is a kick out.

Okay.

So he, he has at the top of the key.

Clinging is playing way off of him.

That is indeed.

He's playing a little bit of a drop style, right?

He's, he's way off of him and, um, they run like a handoff with, uh, with, with, with

Jalen Johnson and he kind of gets free off of Tumani and, and yet could throw a great

pass to him.

Now, Johnson is going to the rim and, uh, clinging is the defender who has to pick him up

or it's a dunk.

He plays defense.

That, this is the drop defense, right?

He, they, they corral to money and, and clinging get there.

The ball gets kicked out to the top of the key.

Scoot Henderson has to rotate over and take that shot away instead.

He does a little wave.

He does a little, he does a little wave to him and then Yaka Kong Wu, who has hit three

three already, takes a, a, absolutely, but naked wide open top of the key three for his

four three.

That is not, that is not on clinging.

That's, so what, what they would need to do there, they would need to be very connected

because Scoot immediately, uh, closed to clinging or closed it, a Kong Wu hard, probably

closed to him, um, on, on his left side is non-shooting side, but it's the left side

because he, he might try to make that pass to Gabe Vincent.

The guy in the corner, I believe, is Jeremy Grant on that play.

He's going to have to get up to Gabe Vincent and then Tumani, who's in the pain or clinging,

but probably Tumani is in the pain, it's going to have to X out to the corner, but you

have to make them pass you, you, like if, if you are caught in that situation, you have

to scramble in, in rotations, they don't, they don't, and they give up a bucket.

Um, so he's at four threes.

The fifth three he hits is on complete insanity drop defense, complete insanity, just,

just defending him like he has not made four threes in the first quarter, defending

him like he is a, like, you know, it's one thing to be like, hey, he's a pretty good shooter,

38% from three, like he could shoot it, um, but like we're gonna, we know, we want to pack

the pain and give up, we want, we were going to play the percentages that he's going to,

you know, that we can late contest and he would get him to shoot 34%, we're going to win the

game. Insane, terrible defense, terrible, just why is clinging solo, what is going on?

The fifth, that's the fifth three, that's bonkers, circle that one, um, the six three is near

criminal levels of bad transition defense. Uh, Congwool hits a wide open three as they

recover. There's three blazers in the paint, not guarding anyone, uh, scoot Henderson's back

is to the ball, uh, someone else's pointing to the corner, they have no idea, they, they have

no idea who they're picking up, the criminal levels of transition defense, but also a

Congwool's wide open, if they close out to him, you know, who's all, uh, wide open,

Nikkei logs in a walker stand in the corner, but naked, he's, he's no, but he hear him,

there's no, it near him, just horrendous team defense. Um,

so the, he missed another one in the first half, wide open, late in the half, wide open, uh,

this was strong side help though, this isn't drop defense, this is strong side help, uh,

you've got to contain the ball and I think clinging does need to be further out there,

like he needs to be further out on that corner, I don't love that one. Um, and then there was a

he hit seven threes and his seven three is a tremendously bad pick and roll defense, they run

this, the, the, the bench is on the court at the end of the game, the clings not even on the court,

it's young Hanson playing center. This is the blazers like deep bench unit, but it's,

they're on the spain action, which is like a double pick and roll, but it's like a stack pick and

roll between a guy who's gonna, one guy's gonna pop, one guy's gonna roll as the screener comes off

and you kind of back screen the screener who's going towards the rim, um, as it was a really

common action in the NBA, maybe six or eight years ago, you don't see it as much, but

it still exists. And um, Hanson is a low man there, he's low not guarding a Congo in the corner,

but if he gets out to a Congo in the corner who does splash a wide open on guard in three, he's

gonna give up a dunk. That's bad team defense. That's a bad team defense. I do think one of these,

the fifth three point of the Congo made was near criminal levels of, of, uh, not, that was,

that was the insanity, sorry, the crime was the transition defense, insanity dropped defense,

why are they still in it? What is going on? Um, but the other ones, I don't, I, I think this was

bad defense, but it wasn't bad defense in the way, um, it was, this wasn't bad pick and roll

defense. This was mostly bad transition defense and not containing the ball on the front end and,

and, and Klingon doesn't close out fast. I mean, that's a problem. Uh, let, I got more to talk about

from amazingly more to talk about from a couple of these games, including like what I think these

two losses reveal about the trailblazers. Join me on third segment. Let's talk about revelations.

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to hire. This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. Still a past first point. I'm still my

Christian is to listen to locks on blazers. While the blazers were giving up three soon,

Yaka Kong Wu in large part because of some horrendous transition defense and the hawks taking

advantage of getting to buy that first line of defense and kick into the corner for against some

low man help. The blazers were also breaking some threes. They were three. They're one and two on

this road trip. A lot a win in Chicago in the backstab class over the weekend in Charlotte and

Atlanta. They're 34 of 130 from three in these three games. That's a cool 96 missed threes.

I feel the same way about the clinging stuff as I do about the three point about blazers missing

three pointers. Clinging doesn't guard on the perimeter well. I don't think like I think it'd be

there are times when you just want him out higher, right? You want him two steps higher than he is.

He can't be below the foul line on that fifth three that Kong Wu takes. The ball is on the right

wing. He's below the foul line. What are you doing? What are you doing? Like I understand you want

to protect the paint, but you got a time's done change. This dude has four threes. He's on one.

Like make sure that he's not the person to beat you on this possession. Make it be anyone else.

The hocks are not loaded with shooters. Their wings are interesting with Jalen Johnson's awesome,

but he's not shooter. Dyson Daniels basically forgot to shoot this year. He's a nice little game,

but he basically forgot how to shoot this year. It doesn't take him anymore.

John think Camingo who kind of punk the blazers threw down a couple awesome dunks in garbage time.

Non-shoot, he's a better shooter than certainly than Daniels, but you'll live with him

taking threes, right? But a Kong Wu who's a pretty good shooter who's already hit four in the game

is he's on one go like defend him there, but I don't think like I don't think you can I don't think

Donovan Klingon right now can be a guy who defends at the level and defends a bunch on the

printer. The level meaning when someone says the screen you come up to the level of the screen.

He can come up higher out of his drop for sure, and he should and they got to get him to do that.

But I don't think he can play at the level. I don't think you can like the way you handle shooting

biggs in the league most commonly is to switch those screens. You definitely don't want just like

play Klingon in a switch like a switch scheme. He'll get toasted. They missed Rob Williams.

They miss having another center who can switch. And I just think their defense overall and I've

been on this all year long. Their defense overall under splitter has taken a big step back for reasons

that are large. I can't quite pinpoint right? Like they should be better than they are.

You know, maybe some of it is too money. Come on, I've taken a little bit of step back from being

like one of the you know 10 or 12 best fenders in the league to something like the 20 20 or so best

fenders in the league. But like that alone, the addition of Drew Holiday, you thought they'd be

better. You know, more Jeremy Granthus year, you thought they'd be better. Now they're playing,

you know, with Matisse Thiable and they got cooked on defense. You know, they've they've had Chris

Murray last couple games use good defender. Like I guess they play decent enough defense against the

Hornets. But yeah, just like they've just taken a big step back with with with splitter defensively.

I thought they were going to be one of the top 10 defense in the league. I thought being something

like the eighth best defense in the NBA was a very reasonable goal for them. And they've been a

blow average defense all year long. But I don't think that's going to change magically. Like some of

the some of their challenges is just like best just personnel as Jimmy's and Joe's not X's and

O's like clinging is not going to become more fleet of foot. They can get better at like how deep he

is on the drop and how attentive he is there. And they've talked to splitter about this Aston

about it in post game press conferences where he's he's said, you know, they're asking for them.

They're begging him to both get out and defend the rim. And they've kind of been frustrated when he

hasn't gotten out far enough. So perhaps they are talking to him and it's just not getting there.

But some of it is scheme stuff. There are nights when they want to give up those shots. And I think

you know, I think they were okay early saying we want to get take the rim away. And if Congo hits

shots, he had shots. But once he does, you you can't die that way. Like that's not that can't be

your cause of death. And it wasn't the only thing that they lost. But it was it really put the

game away early. And then they just couldn't get it going the offense. It's just no good right now.

It's just no without Danny and without Shane Sharp. The offense is just no good.

And that's brings me to the three pointers. Yes, they're probably taking too many threes. Yes.

But how many how many threes are they taking? And I want you to when you're watching the game,

ask yourself this, how many threes are they taking that they could actually generate a better shot

from two? How many dudes on the team right now you can they can take the ball with their own two

hands and dribble towards the basket and create a quality look. You thought it would be

scoop, but it just hasn't been drew all days been good at it. He was good at it this weekend.

Jeremy Grant has been good at it when he draws fouls, but he didn't he didn't draw fouls over

the weekend. You know, he he got to the free throw line a total of zero times

against the against the Charlotte Hornets. And like a Jeremy Grant who does that is no good. And

he took two free throws against the Hawks. No good. He was one of nine and had

O of three inside the arc like he's not a shot creator like that. That's not grant has like in theory,

but like he could create his own offense in practice. He can't like he's not good at it. We've

watched him enough. I watched him enough for the least two years to to to know that Jeremy

Grant is maybe better than some of the Blazers options, but he were talking about like above average

in the in the grand scheme of the league. Certainly not right.

The Denny was the guy who made it all work and without him the offense is not any good. And so some

of the taking threes and launching threes is because they just don't have a way to create other

offense. There was a play in the first half against the Hawks. I think it speaks to this kind of

what I'm talking about here. Scoot Henderson gets all the way into the paint, throws it overhead

bounce pass to V. Craigie in the corner. They close out on V. V. Swings into the top of the key.

They swear to the wing. They swing one more to the top of the key. Citi Sosoko gets it. He

he drives a closeout gets into the paint and has no move in between game to do anything with.

They end up kicking it back out and it recycles to Tumani Kamara who catches it against the clock.

Doesn't want to shoot it right away. Ends up taking a pump fake three that he misses.

That's pretty good process right like drive kick swing get the closeout that's NBA basketball

right that is the basics of the sport and it ends with in the hands of Citi Sosoko who just like

doesn't have that in his game. He goes hard to the rack but he doesn't have like in between craft

and when you kick out to Tumani late he's got to shoot it the moment it touches his hands but

even if it does it's a contested late clock three.

Like some of the reason that they're launching three pointers with at the rate that they are

is that they are just not capable of generating better offense with the group that they currently have

and that's what I want to close on and I should have done this earlier but this I guess this

episode is going to be a little bit longer but it's going to be 35 minutes or something as opposed

to 30 but I feel like what this stretch has without Denny Avdian without Sheridan Sharp has illustrated

it's just the distance this team is away from being legitimately competitive. You would have thought

that they would have been able to prop up not having their dudes with just being a rugged defensive

team that's why I thought that's why I thought in October by the time we got here this late in

the season I did not anticipate that they haven't been very good on defense. I don't think them being

bad on offense is a surprise considering their personnel but when you're thinking about what's

next it's like Damien Lowell will probably help he does things that they need him to do how much

he'll help is hard to know we'll see what it looks like but like he'll probably help when Denny Avdia

plays they can be very competitive he's had an awesome year and when he was healthy he was like

putting together one of the best seasons in the history of the Portland Treblasers no doubt about it

Sheridan Sharp for even all of his inefficiencies at least can get buckets like he gets inefficient

buckets but he can at least he can go generate some decent enough looks certainly better than a lot

of his other counterparts on the team but when you strip away say those are your three best offensive

players it's Shay Damien Denny and you're just like a defense that can't stop anyone that doesn't

get back and locate in transition and transition at all like you're a below average defense and an

awful offense that's this this weekend felt like they were further away than they've been all year maybe

because it laid bare some of their challenges and you look ahead and you say well shoot a lot of

these dudes are part of the part of the plan next year right like a lot of this is like guys that

kind of are hoping are like good parts of a good team and certainly this is maybe just a low point

and they bounce back and they play a lot better i'm not saying this is set in stone but i'm talking

more like vibes here um general vibes and i think the general vibes are like wow this the

distance they are from being good feels further away than it has been and uh i think the other

truth is like they're gonna win a bunch of games in march i had a cut this conversation after the

blazer's lost by 54 to the nuggets right out of the all-star break a game where they did we're

non competitive and i said like that was troubling he said yeah but they're gonna win like you know

eight of their final 10 games or something like that and i said yeah you're probably right he said

and everyone's gonna forget this and he wasn't saying that has a compliment that that gentleman

I was talking to is even more of a hater than me uh it's good to keep those people in your circle

but um uh but like i think they are gonna rip off a bunch of games in march and maybe it won't feel

that way when they're beating the pastures and the nets and the and the jazz or whatever you're

gonna be like they're good actually bro i can't believe mike was such a hater this dude is a hater

i am point taken point taken i accept um but like i think playing you know moderately competitive teams

the horn is pretty good they've been playing better and the the hawks are you know a moderately

competitive team the east they're not very good but they're they're not awful by any means they're

like uh how's i described them heading into the uh weekend they are just a champions of mediocrity

they're just a totally they're a totally average team um and to get punked by 34 by totally average

teams like oh so do i have a solution for the blazers i do not i think the solution is

enjoy it enjoy an evening in the land of georgia enjoy a uh a monday in in beautiful land of

georgia and enjoy a travel day to Memphis on twos day ahead of Wednesdays game and

don't when do too much basketball they're not gonna practice on monday and twos is travel day so

though but they're probably not going to do much physicality stuff but watch film get your

mind right and then you're gonna play a very bad team against uh a team that doesn't have any

interest in winning in the Memphis grizzlies on Wednesday and just win because winning makes

you feel better and then the trip closes friday against the houston rockets um that is

that's a journey um along along with trip away from home it's this trip hasn't cost them like

the plan as i mentioned it's all on on friday show like they're gonna be in the plan

it's just the the feeling about what's next i believe has changed a little bit with this trip both

in the immediate and in the medium term um that's gonna do it for this show it went it went even

longer than i intended but that's what happens when you listen to lock down blazers we deliver the

goods tell your friends about the program tell them they can get away wherever they get podcasts

and also on youtube and then come back from more shows the rest of the week i've got a bunch of

fun ones planned including a visit from a trailblazer's own Lamar herd you're not gonna want to miss it

join uh join the every day or club come back from more shows i appreciate you listening i will talk

to you soon