No. 3: Which lineups generate the most / least success?
This one could be self-explanatory, but it deserves a magnified look. If there’s one thing history confirms with Terry Stotts, it’s that he isn’t always the quickest with making changes — be it halftime adjustments, rotations, or pure scheme overall. That could impact some of the on-court lineups.
Thinking back to those July scrimmages in the bubble, Stotts is unlikely to have that Lillard-McCollum-Nurkic trio on the floor in late-game situations, even if the game is close. So, that will make it difficult to gauge what the go-to fourth quarter lineup is.
The Portland Trail Blazers have given themselves so much flexibility in terms of who they can put around Lillard and McCollum specifically this season. How they manage to toggle between that they already have seen — Anthony, Trent Jr., and Hood — against what they haven’t seen on tape yet — Covington, Jones Jr., or even Nassir Little to a degree — should be something to watch for.
Derrick Jones Jr., for example, and his fit with Lillard and McCollum will be a must-watch. He doesn’t have a 3-point shot that defenses fear, nor does he have the handle to put it on the ground consistently, and make defenders pay for hard closeouts.
Is he merely a short-roll threat, or someone that cuts for buckets? What has he added to his game since the break?
There’s questions for every player, sans maybe Covington. He’s a must-start. But even if say, Carmelo Anthony doesn’t start, where does he fit in minutes wise?
He showed excellent chemistry with Lillard, McCollum, and Nurkic and for that, probably deserves at least a few minutes with those players at some point in the game.
How about what the Blazers plan to do in third quarters? As we know, these have historically been a weak link in Portland. It should be intriguing to see how Stotts combines substitution patterns with scheme changes in the first four games with these new teams.
All these questions won’t get answered in the preseason. But it will give us an excellent idea of what we can expect when the Portland Trail Blazers open regular season play in December.