越野开拓者可能正在发生旋转的变化

In the minutes after the波特兰开拓者’ recent devastating loss to theDenver Nuggets,coach Chauncey Billups revealed he was considering rotation changes in a bid to turn the tide.

That depressing新闻发布会at Ball Arena, in Billups’ hometown, highlighted the rookie coaches’ first real frustrations with this Portland roster — the roster we were all told was not the reason for the team’s shortcomings against Denver last season.

“即将到来，这一点即将到来。If we continue to play like that because you know, if you think about it, if you keep playing that way, at some point I have to look at it and say dang, something’s not quite working and then maybe think about shifting some things around.”

“我看到一些一致的事情，几乎每天晚上都不会对我不满意。”

But what changes is Billups talking about? We’ve actually seen a sneak peak of one of those moves over the past two games against theToronto Raptors和Chicago Bulls。这些较小的举动可能是开拓者坐在.500而不是在西部会议地下室苦苦挣扎的原因吗？

小拉里·南斯（Larry Nance Jr.）

The crowd was screaming for more Larry Nance Jr. during the Blazers’ inspiring second half comeback against Chicago. And for good reason, the multi-talented bench big man spearheaded the team’s resurgence against the hot-shooting Bulls — on both ends of the floor.

That’s right people, the Blazers had a big man who was working at both ends, shutting down go-to Chicago scorers while feasting on the other end, tallying 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Interestingly, he played 25 minutes, one more than his starting power forward counterpart Robert Covington who notched up 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

在周一对猛龙队的胜利中，他们每个人都打了23分钟，小南斯（Nance Jr.）得到15分，5个篮板和2次助攻，而卡温顿（Covington）则获得11分，3个篮板和2次助攻。

But beyond the box score, let’s look at Billups’ decisions that are particular telling. Namely, crunch time minutes. During both games Nance Jr. was trusted with closing out games ahead of both Covington and Jusuf Nurkic.

卡温顿（Covington）根据他最近一直在做的三分能力而被交易到波特兰（Trevor Ariza）和两轮选秀权，但更重要的是，他的防守似乎在本赛季初几周就减少了。可能是因为他距离他的31岁生日三周，而腿不在那儿。或对他在比利布斯政权下的角色感到不满，影响了急需的努力在防守端。

Billups有两条前进的方向，如果他对小Nance Jr.的偏爱继续，他可以继续开始Covington，但减少了他的会议记录 - Keith Bogans的治疗。在这种情况下，卡温顿也很少在近距离比赛中看到闭幕式阵容。第二，更有可能的道路是做出决定性的举动，将小南斯（Nance Jr.

Before the season startedI asked whether Nance Jr. could supplant Covington在单位开始,最终决定不给Covington’s shooting and defensive prowess. But now, it’s almost impossible to deny that Nance Jr. is the more impactful player. We wait to see how Billups navigates this situation.

Jusuf Nurkic较少的时间

Ok, so just to be clear, this is going to be a very pro-Larry Nance Jr. column this week. Similarly to the Covington situation, Nurkic has not livedup to his preseason hype。

With Nance Jr.’s clutch play at both the power forward and small-ball center positions over the past week, he’s also taken many of Nurkic’s fourth-quarter minutes through his ability to defend bigger players while offering versatility via athleticism and basketball smarts.

To clarify, Jusuf Nurkic is not losing his starting center mantle with this team ... until he’s traded.

是的，我们还讨论了贸易deadline Nurkic deal因此，我们实际上不需要重新固定这一点。我只想说，努尔基奇并没有真正向我们展示为什么他应该被延续到截止日期，然后进入一个自由球员，他将要正确或错误地要求大笔钱。

他倾向于懒惰，肢体语言差，缺乏信念，最终导致缺乏努力和参与 - Billups在该新闻发布会上所说的事情。

As a result, I expect to see Nance Jr. further eat into Nurkic’s closing minutes as the Blazers’ small-ball five. Nurkic’s claim to retain said minutes isn’t helped by a body not built to play big NBA minutes.

最终，努尔基克（Nurkic）将因为缺乏足以扮演这个角色的另一个大身体而开始，但是看到小球队在近距离比赛结束时就锚定了防守。

More Time for Nassir Little

Ok, so Nance Jr. is good. But he can’t replace both Covington and Nurkic. If those two guys are sitting on the bench, someone else is needed on the floor. Enter Nassir Little. Nance Jr. might start at the four but, as discussed, will be moved to the five in late game situations.

Little has finally found fitness and ferocity on the court, hustling for loose balls, attacking the basket without hesitation and taking on important game-changing defensive assignments — see his coverage on DeMar DeRozan in the closing seconds of Wednesday’s win against the Bulls.

虽然他可能是这个名单上最真实的小前锋，但Little具有扮演四场比赛的力量和运动能力。他的射门在那里，但像许多年轻球员一样，它往往会一次逃脱他和比赛。至关重要的是，他带领这支球队在一个无法量化的地区 - 努力，在过去的一周中，他与Nance Jr一起参加了闭幕式。

If Nance Jr. wasn’t in line for Covington’s starting minutes he might have had a chance at that starting power forward mantle, but that’s not happening. Norman Powell, while small for his position, is not losing his starting spot, but watch for Little to continue building his minutes at both position in crucial stretches.

CJ McCollum and Anfernee Simons

Just hear me out. Whether we like it or not, McCollum is the starting shooting guard on this team and it’s not going to change.

But for anyone watching, we’ve seen Billups pull up and correct McCollum on the floor multiple times this season. Lack of defense and ball-stopping are potential issues.

虽然我认为这不一定发生，但如果Billup稍微略微将McCollum的上场时间从Damian Lillard的35分钟到Norman Powell型数字，那可能会很有趣，假设30分钟。

这将为更多的Anfernee Simons提供更多的空间，他在所有季前承诺方面都兑现了。在利拉德（Lillard）和麦考勒姆（McCollum）衰退期间，他在进攻端协助这支球队，并在防守端可以通过。他还拥有麦考勒姆（McCollum）上的商品，能够进入篮筐，这是老兵尚未或拒绝掌握的技能。

关于这一点的最后一点，如果开拓者在截止日期之前要做的交易很大，它涉及麦考勒姆，因此您不想做任何太大的事情并降低他的价值。但是，如果McCollum继续经历夜间，那么看到更多的Simons和鲨鱼少一点就会感到惊讶。

结论

This team is sitting at a crossroads, .500 in a competitive Western Conference, standing as the poster boy for mediocre, up-and-down play. For this team to succeed this season, it needs to separate itself from that mediocre pack.

Rotation and lineup changes could be the answer but they need to be executed delicately ensuring egos aren’t too severely dented. Or at least until some trades are executed, removing potentially unhappy parties from the roster.

Larry Nance Jr. is the clear beneficiary of increased and more consequential playing time along with more opportunity for Nassir Little and Anfernee Simons. But it’s a tightrope to walk for a rookie head coach trying to inspire his team to perform and not plunge back into the internal disarray we saw in Denver.