[Storyteller]

Well, we've got trouble my friends

Trouble with a capital T

and that rhymes with D

and that stands for

Darius and Damon

1-10? 5-19? Talk about trying to shoot the Blazers out of the game....

The magic number for Damon is now down to 6.

 

[e_blazer1]

To be fair to the Mouse, he was playing hurt tonight (hey, there's a concept you might want to consider, DA) and those 8-8 freethrows did seal the win.

 

[Trader Ed]

Here is a thought...

just consider ho wbad our team FT% may be next year if either/both of Damon and Rahim leave the team...

they are both very high in the league for FT%

:jawdrop:

 

[#10]

Telfair and Zach are both pretty good free throw shooters themselves, so it shouldn't be too much of a dropoff.

 

[MAS RipCity]

outlaw...too

 

[Target]

They won more games when their ft% was in the dumps. :whoknows:

 

[hasoos]

While having a few players who can put down free throws to close out a game is nice, it is more important that they actually hit the shots throughout the course of the game, as they will get many more shots during the game then at the line. Hence now you see why Damon is not that important to the offense, because he does not shoot a high percentage, and he does not play the style of ball that gets him to the line a lot, making his free throw shooting percentage a lot less important then it could be.

 

[Schilly]

Hey if his hurt shoulder was affecting his shot....He shouldn't have been shooting!

 

[e_blazer1]

Hey if his hurt shoulder was affecting his shot....He shouldn't have been shooting!

Ordinarily, I'd agree with you. In fact, he probably shouldn't have been playing. But given that our other guys who can actually make an outside shot are either sitting the season out due to lack of interest (NVE) or because of continuing boo-boos (DA), who else was going to take the outside shots?

Damon shoots too much given his relatively low shooting percentage. Damon's too short to be a PG, let alone a SG. No, I don't really want to see him in a Blazer uniform next season. But at least the guy has heart and plays hard every night. He could just be mailing in the rest of the season or using minor injuries as an excuse to show off his wardrobe on the sidelines. IMO, he deserves better than the constant sniping that he gets around here.

 

[dkap]

But at least the guy has heart and plays hard every night.

Not every night. He goes through lengthy stretches with less than stellar effort, then comes back strong after getting reprimanded and/or benched. Right now, I figure he's playing for a new contract as much as anything.

Dan

 

[e_blazer1]

Not every night. He goes through lengthy stretches with less than stellar effort, then comes back strong after getting reprimanded and/or benched. Right now, I figure he's playing for a new contract as much as anything.

Dan

I agree that there have been many nights, especially as the starting PG, that Damon has not played the right way (i.e. jacking up too many shots or pounding the ball through 20 of the 24 seconds on the shot clock), but I don't think I've ever seen him not putting out effort.

 

[dkap]

I would say the bulk of the early part of this season saw very low effort from Damon. As soon as Mo moved him to the bench, Damon's motivation shot up several notches (in his words, to win back his starting spot), and he's played at a much higher level ever since. As I recall, he didn't have his first 50% shooting game of the season until getting benched, and he instantly had several well above that mark after that turning point.

What else changed if not effort level?

How was his effort in the playoffs a few years back when the marijuana/legal issue was swirling? He looked like a wet noodle on the court.

Dan