Revisiting Preseason Predictions: What We Got Right and Wrong about the 2023-24 Trail Blazers

Revisiting Preseason Predictions: What We Got Right and Wrong about the 2023-24 Trail Blazers

in today’s show revisiting my predictions from the pre-season what’ I get right what did I get super duper wrong welcome to lock on Blazers let’s get into it you are locked on Trailblazers your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what up world it’s your past first point guard and Trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond you’re listening to another episode of lockon blazers part of the locked on podcast network available wherever you get Podcast and also on YouTube thanks for making this show your first listen coming at you each and every weekday Monday through Friday so make it a part of your daily routine make your first listen tell your friends to do the same it’s locked on Blazers your team every day in today’s show we are talking pre-season predictions uh back in October friend of the program who’s been sending me these for a couple years listener Ben um I think we actually use Ben’s full government name often uh Ben shout out to listener Ben sprous um sends over unders and and myself and and friend of the program my friend Chuck uh we do our preseason over under predictions kind of re to kind of make our preseason predictions as a way to do like a big two-part episode two-part preview for heading into the season I think um they’re useful to look back on not because um I want to like toot my own horn that’s not not what that’s typically not what this show is I do a little horn tuning from time to time for the most part I think it’s actually more interesting to be wrong about these things so in today’s show we’re going to revisit what what we thought back what I thought back in October what I got right from the over underlines for a bunch of players on the roster and kind of what it tells us about where the Blazers are now and where they might and should be headed let’s let us let us get into this one first DeAndre Aiden the first over under we got DeAndre Aon 1.2 three-point attempts per game uh was the was the line I took the under he took 0.2 he averaged less less than half a three-point attempts a game this was infuriating for me honestly this this year um it DeAndre Aon took you know he played almost 60 games before attempting a three um they didn’t run creative stuff where they would space him to the corner and run like tumani as the as the rle man which is something I’ve been screaming for since the fall screaming is maybe not the right word asking for since the fall deand drton is a great jump shooter like he’s a he lives at 20 feet and he’s a great jump shooter the idea that he couldn’t shoot Corner three-pointers with regularity in the NBA is wild I blame him most of the blame secondly I blame chony Bops um I think they share about the same of it bips needed to draw up plays where where where Aon was spaced to the corner with more regularity he needed to have sets where Aon faded to the corner off of off of screens and and ended up parked there because his man is going to naturally want to protect the rim particularly when he’s in the weak side corner you’re going to get someone pulled all the way into the rim he’s going to get wide open practice level threes every everyone in the NBA can basically shoot stand still threes if you ever watch anyone practice um like I used to watch Robin Lopez practice three-pointers he a him from the corner everybody can make St still threes in the league um DeAndre not shooting one a night was really frustrating not shooting he doesn’t need a bomb away but like like one turn one of those 20 Footers that he loves to take and is very good at into a a 22 and a half footer from the corner um yeah a frustrating one I was right though under yay yay it’s so good to be right um it’s terrible uh the next one over under 22 and a half minutes from Malcolm brogon I took the under on this one and I was wrong he played 28.7 minutes this really speaks to how injured the Blazers were this was back in October right everybody’s healthy um or at least like presumably healthy uh is it you you’re kind of doing the math right and it’s like okay well amrey time is going to play a lot 35 minutes they’re probably going to play scoot 30 minutes a night they’re going to try to find 28 minutes for for Shaden sharp um and they’re also going to still play matis thible at the three and they’re going to like and it’s like where does where does Brogden fit in so I I went under but I um I think this was a good line he ended up playing 28 28.7 minutes per game because he just ended up having to play a bunch when the team got beat up I mean one of the one of the sort of the the main sort of reason why this season that has just passed us by was a failure was because they didn’t they don’t know they just didn’t play enough they didn’t play enough minutes with all of their guys to figure out what they have um and that’s not really Malcolm brogen thing I’m I’m more talking about Amy Simons Shaden sharp scoot Henderson like not having that Trio kind of interchangeably and trying all the parts together and particularly the two youngsters together a bunch it’s just like it’s a Lost season um in in terms of like finding out what you you just you just really don’t have any answers to your questions you have some guesses on what the answers might be but you don’t have any answers um and Malcolm Brogden yeah Malcolm brogen playing those six extra minutes a night actually is is a is a telling number uh next one is from Moses Brown 43 and a half games played for the Blazers um was the over under I took the under just because like how was he going to play more than half the season he he appeared in 21 games he just got leap frogged by du breath like he he ended up 10 games into the season or whatever it was was like okay do reath ready to go and he’s going to play Forever um I believe it was game it was right around there it’s like he he’s just he’s ready and he’s going to he’s going to play for the rest of the time and I I mentioned this a bunch duop um he only got one DN PCD every time he was active once he he graduated from the from being inactive to the active list and they’re like okay we need to play him because we need we need a little bit more help he only got one dncd that’s one did not play coach’s decision the entire season every night that D oppr was was available he played a 27-year-old rookie on a two-way contract earned his his way to a permanent deal and the person who felt it was the youngster on on a permanent NBA contract 24y old Moses Brown I don’t think Mo Brown is is an NBA player I think that that was pretty clear this year um he’s really big and so I think he might get another shot because just not that many dudes his size um in the world but um I I think it was clear on on this particular Blazer team him not being able to earn minutes and be even like like effective on either end he could rebound a little bit but effective on either end um with any consistency that that kind of was a telling telling Year from Mo Brown uh the next one tumani Kamara over under 33.5% from three I took the over and and folks and folks I got it right I got it right he ended up shooting 33.7% from three um this was right on the money from Ben what a freaking prediction I I think this like Tani shooting is a really interesting one right because at the beginning there he couldn’t shoot at all couldn’t shoot all under 30% from three and he was a big negative on defense or excuse me on offense and it’s like even as good as he as as sort of intriguing as he looked on defense early in his career the inability to shoot um and and the way defenses guarded him and then he would drive into like he he getting they’d be daring him to shoot and instead of sometimes shooting he would either take threes that he shouldn’t take or drive into the teeth of the defense um and and it he was just a negative on offense he lost his starting job briefly in January came back and played more at the end of the year year like he he want he ended up getting back in the starting lineup and I thought he was really really good in the second half of the Season shot above League average from three right around 38% um he showed the sort of three and D potential that makes him a really intriguing player um I think he’s one of the the the the biggest victories of the Blazers season is is Tani Kamar tanii kamaro’s development he’s a he’s already a plus defender in the NBA as a 23y old rookie like he’s already a like a straightup just like good defender in the NBA he has he can still grow there cuz I think sometimes he’s a little overly aggressive can make mistakes because of because of how hard you know how aggressive he is defending his own man but you add like his defensive chops I think he can guard a lot of different positions I think he could be really overwhelming particularly against point guards um just because of his length and his strength and and if he ends up shooting you know on the year you take the whole sample right below average three three-point shooter on the year but if that second half of the season is more like what next season looks like he’s a very good player like Toney is like all of a sudden just like a really really intriguing part um let’s do more over unders so you know I got three out of those first four correct I would say um frustrating to be right about DeAndre Aiden and not that it like doesn’t speak to brogen but frustrating part of the season is to be wrong about um his overall contributions to the lineup how much he played um but but we’ve got more including Jeremy Grant scoot Henderson Chris Murray and doop wath in the second segment let’s talk about those now heading into the off seon join me in that second segment won’t you first though I want to tell you that Today’s Show is brought to you by fan duel it’s America’s number one sports book and right now it’s winner take all season in the NBA and the NHL as we get down to the championship rounds in both Sports and right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet make a $5 bet on FanDuel once you get that Victory they will they will give you 150 bucks in bonus bets then you can add to any bet that’s 150 bucks to bet tobet on spreads money lines player props and more visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports [Music] book all right shout out to Ben for the over unders back in the preseason Mike Michael from the past with those o October predictions here’s our next one what did I think back in October about Jeremy Grant’s threo attempts per game the over under was set at six attempts per game and I um I end I I went with the over on this one I thought he was going to shoot him I thought he was going to I thought he was going to put them up um I went with the over and I was wrong he took 5.1 not that Jeremy Grant didn’t shoot a lot he just shot differently than I thought he was he kind of reverted back with this with this offense to taking a bunch of like crappy mid post isolation jump shots Again part of that I blame Jeremy Grant that’s his comfort zone right like he wants to do what he wants to do and players are going to revert to what they want to do but some the this is just like the offensive system it it it both like gave players maybe like it probably it probably tended to give players not like too much freedom to kind of do to work in their comfort zones so much of coaching is finding out what your players do well and letting them do it all of the time but you kind of got to reain in some of their bad instincts and like letting Jeremy Grant like kind of take like very difficult mid-range jump shots as opposed to having him shoot more three-pointers this year it just it’s kind of like a lot of just dump in to Jeremy Grant it’s just like not good it’s not good process um I went with the over I thought he was going to take you know six and a half he ended up taking 5.1 I was I was just straight up I I was straight up wrong on that one um I I’m curious what it all might look like when Grant is maybe put back in a spacer role um you know I don’t think you can like totally he’s still going to want to do what he does right he’s still if he’s on the team next year and and he’s he’s obviously GNA if he’s on the team it’s you know whatever 99.9% chance he are starting power forward on night one um like so he’s still going to take some bad mid-rangers right like that’s what he wants to do and players are going to do what they want to do like some of that is just like the nature of it but but I wonder if if they could get him back in that spacer role like some of the reason the Blazer struggled this year is they didn’t have enough Shooters what if there’s a situation where like even if they even if they largely run it back um which I hope they don’t do right but if they were to largely run it back just like off ball Anthony Simons off ball Jeremy Grant spaced more DeAndre in the corner and having a screener be the tumani Kamar um as as your small forward with scoot operating like obviously like scoot’s like a has some of his own challenges as an offensive player and like a little bit turnover prone but like if you prioritize the Like A system that would maximize some of scoots what you kind of think the best version of a scoot ecosystem would look like could they just have a pretty similar roster with just a like just a a better feel to it um part of me thinks yes part of me thinks like absolutely not um but I do think like a more a more intentional offensive plan um with guys who are really bought into the intentionality of the plan because like does Jeremy Grant want to just have scoot run pick and rolls while he spaces to the wing he’s probably comfortable doing that with with with Damen lard but not necessarily with scoot Henderson right like you can see um there’s more to coaching than just like telling guys where to stand there’s like a there’s an ego management portion of it um and but I I I do Wonder like I do wonder if it’s like if you could get a system that prioritized more spacing more shooting like in in a more aggressive mve way um could you kind of could you m could you could you have a very similar looking roster but get different and more positive results speaking of scoot at Henderson the over under was 35.5 single game scoring high this season I took the over I took the over and I was wrong his his uh scoring high in the season and ended up being 33 um scoot just wasn’t nearly as good on offense if I thought he was going to be I thought he was going to be a much much much much much much much much much much much better offensive player I thought he was going to potentially lead off rookies in scoring cuz I thought he was going to have the ball in his hands um I didn’t anticipate him shooting like you know under 45% at The Rim I knew he was going to be a bad shooter like from distance but I the the layups thing kind of surprised me and just his lack of General explosiveness in the half court uh that is that was really eye openening to me again maybe maybe there’s a world where that shows up better in a in a sort of different ecos system but um I was I was straight up wrong on scoots offensive impact I this one this one I was legit legitimately wrong on um the next one this is a good one for you but but like I was saying with Jeremy Grant like it ties back into the same point I was making there it’s like what if you know you don’t not every single time you park DeAndre in the corner right like I’m not I’m not saying that but what if like your good shooting um Center did a little bit more spacing what if when you play him uh scoot next to anrey Simons ant is like a spacer on on you know one pass away so you can’t help as much and Jeremy Grant is is is in the strong side corner so even though you’re not going to help you you’ve still got that outlet there and then you’re you’re running those screens with Jabari Walker or with tamat Kamar or even playing in smaller lineups and running that like little little screens with with Shaden sharp and like just a little more offens in general little more offensive creativity I think could open stuff up this is a really good one uh over under Kevin Knox nine and a half steals I took the over I was wrong Kevin Knox didn’t make the team but they did bring him out at media day and this was like right around media day when we recorded this and so I was like well I guess he’s going to be on the team if they brought him out IM media day how a weird thing um just something to learn and know about the Blazers PR team is maybe that last media day interview doesn’t mean as much as I once thought that it had to because why the hell else would it be out there doing media day if he wasn’t already guaranteed a roster spot um Kevin Knox did did not record a steal for the Blazers never never appeared in a game I was wrong on that one I took the over I thought he was going to get a 10th steal um Chris Murray uh is the next one 35.5% from the field over under of 35 a half overall field goal percentage this was hateration and I even emailed Ben when he sent me the list I was like hey is this a typo typo you got this wrong is this a typo I took the over and I got it right uh Chris Murray shot 40 and a half% from three I was pushing here’s here’s the funny part about this I was pushing Ben I was like you should probably push up to 45 and some change but he doesn’t change the lines for me the lines are set he’s he’s great as you’ll see in some of these he incredible um he gets them really right and that’s why we love we love doing them each each fall um Chris Murray struggled struggled on offense um I think he has some real defensive chops but I don’t think it’s going to be like he has to figure out how he’s going to be effective on offense he’s okay as a cutter he’s okay on the Move moving to his left but he really can’t shoot and they don’t treat him like that like you shootting below 30% from three and and defenses really ignore you in a kind of an aggressive way that’s a problem like that’s that’s a problem um he’s got to figure out how he can be a how he can be a positive on offense it’s you know it’s not like um make it’s not do or die or whatever for him right like a make or break uh is probably what I should have said there but like this year year two he’s got to figure out how to be a positive offensive player either as you know improving his dribbling and and passing a little bit like so he can be effective there or and and really just like he needs to make standstill threes I I I mentioned at one point this year on a show it’s like he doesn’t even need to make like a bunch of Threes he just needs to make the open ones so they guard him a little bit differently like what if he just what if he just made 40% of the butt naked threes he gets like when they just don’t they straight up do not stand near him and say hey shoot it he’s missing those right he’s missing 70% of the unguarded ones um if he makes more of those he’s a much better offensive player but I don’t think he can be an NBA player if he’s if he’s if he’s as if he doesn’t improve fairly significantly from what he was in year one was very bad on offense I don’t think he be an NBA player and that said a ton of defensive potential a ton of defensive potential guards a bunch of different spots um totally understands team defense competitive strong on ball Defender it’s just like the offense was far enough away to make you think like he’s got to get there year one you can you can erase it all with with both better years two and three and he’s like a he’s a first round pick he’s probably going to get four full seasons to figure it out um no reason to Panic or anything like that no no panic button with with Chris Murray but like he’s got to get there got to get there on offense um the next one doop reath the over was 35.5% from three I took the under and it was over I took the under and I was wrong hater and I took the over um my my reasoning on this was I didn’t think he was going to get the volume and then like you know if you don’t get the volume you end up having a tough you you can have like a bad shooting week right and then you’re like oh he only shot 31% from three it’s like well he only took 43s right like he just didn’t take that many instead du breath played every night one of the great stories him and toan Kamar the best two stories of the season for the Blazers the ual three-point percentage 35.8 Ben is a genius there’s nobody better at this um I mean there are there are like the people who make professional batting lines like say FanDuel who who’s a sponsor of this podcast they’re pretty darn good at it too but Ben is great Ben’s just like an amateur who was a basketball fan incredible at it um duop wath came out shooting threes every time he touched the ball he cooled off a little bit he was shooting well above uh League average is like a little little in between 36 and 37 37% and some change um or 36% some change uh like he was he was above that for a lot of the Season cool off a little bit when he played played more um and and kind of just had had more on his plate what didn’t didn’t keep the efficiency up but he’s an really intriguing offensive player right um he’s fun he’s fun like I don’t think he’s going to morph into this like high level starter or anything like that like he’s a career backup and he’s going to find his way I think he’s probably best suited as like a third Center who plays in situational um like you know he’s not your every night backup center but when you need that shooting center duop can be there and he can be a backup like he’s good enough to be a backup in the NBA I think he’s I think he’s like a find right uh the offensive numbers or the excuse me the advanced number suggest that he was like really really um positive for the Blazers I think that overstates it a little bit I think particularly um his defensive EPM is probably a little overstated um the way that the way that that particular Advanced metric has it I don’t think he’s that good on defense I I like him though like I have I he’s really easy to root for and I I find myself rooting for him like that that’s that is I am pulling for doop right um if he is shoots next year right at this again like 30 if he he bumps it up to 36 and some change like he’s a League average three-point shooter with his um ability to leverage shooting to to attack off the bounce a little bit um and his and his and he’s pretty solid as as a rle man in as a rle man in the pick and roll like that’s that’s a fun backup center that’s a fun useful backup center and a really nice find for the Blazers doth earned himself a guaranteed season next year and he was darn good um he was I it’s hard for me to figure out where he fits in sort of the grand scheme of the blaz the next good Blazer team chances are he won’t be a part of it but he’s going to be he’s probably going to be a part of next year’s roster unless he gets traded and I and I I enjoyed the duo experience okay let’s talk let’s close the show with more over unders talk about what we thought back in October and what that means now that we made it to May uh we got Shaden sharp Anthony Simons and more coming up join me in that final segment won’t you [Music] still a pass first point guard I’m still Mike Richmond you are still listening to the locked on Blazers next over under courtesy of listener Ben 19 and a half games started for Shaden sharp I hit the over and I was correct he started 25 games this year um that’s 25 of 35 right like he he because of the injuries because of the timing of his injury and and the timing of amrey Simon’s early injury and Scoot Henderson’s injuries um when Shaden was available his teammates weren’t and he played um I think I think 19 and a half maybe was a little low considering maybe what the Blazers wanted to do with with Shay but like um if the team had been healthy that that number would have been really intriguing right but you don’t you don’t get 82 games but say you get 75 games a good health that number would have been really intriguing because he probably you know was it was scoot Henderson and anrey Simons to be beginning of the year um and then it was going to be you know Malcolm brogen was going to play probably ahead of of Shaden sharp because he was just more effective but like sharp was going to play he’s a big part of their future they’re they’re invested in him all of those things a year two of Shaden sharp such a Lost season right like he was he was a little bit worse in a different role um there were moments there was there was a stretch five-game stretch when he was playing too many minutes but he was incredibly effective um during that stretch stretches early in the year when you kind of saw the versatility that he can he can have on offense as an off ball guy coming off pin downs and getting getting into you know being a being a threat to curl into the paint being a threat to shoot from three being a c threat to catch and then attack off the bounce you saw him a little bit of of of pick and roll stuff although he didn’t get to do a ton of it this year just because of the nature of the of the roster like very very brief glimp glimpses of him being special he’s got the talent um the challenge for him is going to be putting it together with consistency and like this was a great year for him to see how consistent he could be and instead he just he couldn’t get right um the you know he he probably was um you know probably played too many minutes and that might have cost him the rest of the season because he just he just couldn’t his body couldn’t hold up um but also like that’s speculation he might have just had a sometimes you had a growing injury and you can’t never get right and he tried to come back and it just didn’t work um ended up having surgery she’ll be back and ready to go in the summertime um we’ll see if he if he plays for or even makes Team Canada they’re pretty loaded at guard I don’t know if he’s going to play but you could she could see Olympic Shay although I would probably bet against it at this exact moment but I certainly hope that he’s playing um such a bummer year to for Shaden sharp I’m really excited for year three I’m really excited for year three for him because um the the dude is obviously talented the dude is so obviously talented what can he do with that Talent is the question next one is over under four and a half 4.1 assist per game for Anthony Simons I took the over and he got it five and a half was what he averaged 4.1 was what he average last the previous season um you know different role he kind of he was still playing off the ball to begin the season with um with scooter at least like he was sharing sharing a little bit of of the responsibility with scoot I think ant um I think ant definitely improved as a as a playmaker this year I think this is his best year as a playmaker in terms of making reads still not something that he’s great at he doesn’t see it super quickly he struggles against double teams but I think unquestionably this was the best year he’s had in the in year six was his best year as a play maker in terms of um you know accepting the gravity of of of double teams gravity like leveraging his own Gravity by accepting the double teams and and getting the ball out still struggles a little bit against it still struggles a little bit against really physical Defenders um those guys can those guys can make it tough on him but he he’s improved as a playmaker no doubt about it he’s improved he’s the thing he’s best at is scoring um I think a role for him where he didn’t have to be a primary playmaker he could be like he could play off guys who are better playmakers that blazes just don’t have that would be and then a little bit of on ball stuff a little bit of on ball stuff kind of mix it in when you need him to when you maximize what an could do which is score and particularly shoot off the dribble um getting him in his right role I think you could even see more of him as a playmaker when you put him as like a primary point guard at all times uh it’s probably a little probably more than he can handle with like what his actual skill set is um that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t like functionally be point guard but like what I mean and by that I mean he needs to be the smallest guy on the floor I think that’s pretty obvious uh but like it’s uh he needs the best version of ant would split duties of on ball creation stuff and versus like being an offb shooter he’s great catch and shoot guy this year like play he um that variety and the ability to have multiple strengths on and off the ball is like actually what makes him good and then Blazers sometimes put him in positions where it’s like hey his his weaknesses sure are showing up a lot um and and there was times you know he had he had a bad January and February just wasn’t very good that that’s on ants that isn’t on the system necessarily uh over under four three-point attempts per game I hit the under on that that was for matis thy four attempts per game from three I has the under and was correct he took three and a half 3.6 attempts per game from three um T just he really struggled the second half of the season when the calter flipped to 2024 he stopped shooting he stopped making threes and then he stopped shooting threes started passing up looks because he was shooting bricks for a long time um it kind of came back to him you know his first half season in Portland he was really good from three his second half season in Portland he was pretty darn good from three and then that that third half um the second half of this year the the the he wasn’t good um and he kind of he kind of ended up back right around where he’s been which is a below average three-point shooter he had stretches where he was way worse than that but it’s kind of just like the nature of it um going to have Peaks and valleys uh if he can shoot matis Thal is a really useful part on a on on on good team if he can’t shoot he becomes kind of the reason why it didn’t work out in Philly because it’s like he’s good enough on defense but the what he can’t do shows up a lot particularly in high leverage games um can he be effective during the regular season I think for any team absolutely it’s like what what is matis what is mati’s overall appeal in the league if he’s a non-shooter it’s it’s significantly lower um and and some of the reason that his volume was lower because his I think he got his confidence got a little bit shaken he just he stopped putting him up U over under five and a half rebounds per game for Jabari Walker I took the over and got it correct he average he averaged 7.1 boards per game some of that was just volume started playing a lot started starting games in January as well Jabari Walker can really rebound he can really rebound um I think he’s a competitive Defender and I think he has potential to be a pretty good one in terms of because he plays hard he’s physical um and I think he has the sort of the right size and physical attributes to uh be a multi-position Defender and he has some want to and want to is an important factor in there as well um but he’s not quite there he doesn’t have much on offense that for him right now other than that he’s a really good offensive rebounder he’s just a he’s right now he’s a smaller for he’s like a he’s not quite big enough to be like this big Burly power forward but he could totally play minutes of power forward no problem um his best role because is is probably small ball five because he’s like pretty good decision maker coming out of pick and rolls um he just can’t defend the rim so I don’t think you can consistently do that and he doesn’t shoot um in a small ball five that doesn’t really defend the rim and doesn’t really shoot it’s just like a small it’s just playing small for no reason you don’t you’re not getting the real benefits of it um I think his future is being a 34 right like he’s he’s mostly playing Power Forward about being able to guard both forward spots being competitive enough um to to you know battle with fives on switches when he plays Five he also doesn’t rebound as well because guys are bigger than him and like his his he’s got great hands and great positioning but if you just are giving up six inches or whatever it is not six but like four and some change like you’re going to it’s going to be tough on him he’s has that is a a real skill like he’s a high level rebounder in the NBA um he’s probably going to have to shoot or become a much better passer to be um like as a dribble handoff guy to be to be more effective on offense shooting is always going to be the separator for off ball guys like the way the league Works um if you don’t have the ball in your hands and you’re a non-shooter that’s a problem if you do have the ball in your hands and you’re a non-shooter you got to be creative um see what happens with with scoot Henderson if he can get there but like shooting is this is is is going to be so crucial for guys who who are who are who are off ball spacer types in the league because if you can’t space you got to do it some other way and Jabari Walker plays below the rim so at putting him in the dunker spot is not ideal either um he has tools to be pretty good um he does he’s got to put it together I think that’s what the the like the truth with a lot of the young guys particularly Chris and Jabari walker uh Chris Murray and Jabari Walker if they can figure out how they can be positives on offense or even neutrals on offense and not like negatives but neutrals on offense they have other skills Chris with his defense Jabari with his physicality and his rebounding to be positives like net positives but they got to climb up from like bad offensive players to neutral offensive players and that’s that’s their path in in this Following Season the last over under for you Rob Williams six and a half points per game I took the over and I got it right he averaged 6.8 points per game he played six games here’s the thing though um in preparing for my Robert Williams like season end um season end episode my my like sort of exit interview season recap uh little player caps on on Rob Williams watch some of his his highlights like I watch his buckets and his assists he’s good like he’s if Robert Williams is healthy he’s a good basketball player it’s just a big if it’s just a big if um I don’t know that he’ll be you know um he was pretty he was pretty non-committal in his ex interview whether he he he was going to be able to play he he was um I would say very cautious and putting a yes I’ll be ready for training camp stamp on it very very cautious to do that um so you know I obvious for obvious reasons right he has he’s not he hasn’t he’s played 41 games in two years so like he wants to get back healthy so he’s not going to he’s not going to stamp it right but um I don’t know if he’s a Blazer next year or if he ends up getting traded but like if Robert Williams is healthy regardless of what Jersey he’s wearing he’s he can help he can help um just a bummer that he didn’t do much for the Blazers this year and wasn’t a wasn’t able to and just like it stinks when anybody’s body breaks down it’s so what a what a terrible part of of sports is that guys just like their body is you know that they it doesn’t do what they what they want it to do and what they’re and what at its peak it’s capable of making them such special athletes uh yeah I’m bum for Robert Williams that that’s I I hope he’s back and healthy in playing because he can hoop like he he can pass he’s a great defensive playmaker with with blocking shots and and and getting steals um and he’s just like a like a fun functional defensive player with um with with some sort of intriguing offensive parts that going to do for today’s show uh come back for tomorrow show we’re going to talk Blazers pre-draft workout they they’re hosting another one uh you’re listening to Thursday May 30th show and this this afternoon this morning they’re hosting their third pre-draft workout of the circuit so we’ll talk about that we’ll talk draft stuff that is what we’ll do to close the show or or close the week rather it’s what we do five days a week wherever you get Podcast and also on YouTube free on all platforms tell your friends about the program a five day a week an every weekday Trailblazers podcast all of may all of June all of July 10 months out of the stinking year you’re not getting this anywhere else so don’t go look for it anywhere else tell your friends about lock on Blazers and then come back for tomorrow’s show I appreciate you listening I’ll talk to you soon [Music] n

Revisiting our preseason predictions from October to see what we got right and what we got wrong about the 2023-24 Trail Blazers. Let’s look back to look ahead.

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