BLAZER BOOSTER CLUB NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2018 ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS: If you are planning on working any games and have not had your picture taken for the new ID badges, you MUST be at the general meeting on December 3 rd to get your picture taken, and you MUST be a paid member. UPCOMING DATES: Board meetings are held at 7:00 at Applebee s on Halsey, Portland, OR. General Meetings: Begin at 7:00 in the Harry Glickman Room unless otherwise noted: ****THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE MONDAY, December 3 rd be prepared for fun, games and holiday cheer. ***** Bring your favorite cookies. Tentative meeting dates for 2018-2019 GENERAL MEETINGS BOARD MEETINGS Monday Dec. 3 rd (Nov/Dec meeting) Wednesday, Jan 2 nd Monday, Jan 28 th Monday, Feb. 4 th Thursday, Feb. 14 (Pot luck) Wednesday, March 6 th ****Tuesday, March 19th (CHANGE) Tuesday, April 2 nd Monday, April 15 th May TBD during our playoffs Picnic: Saturday August 10 h 12:00-2:00 **** To enter the Moda Center for the general meetings, knock on the window of security to the left of the door, and they will let you in. BLAZER BIRTHDAYS: NOVEMBER 19 ZACH COLLINS NOV 25 DEC 8 Coach TERRY STOTTS LAMAR HURD
PRESIDENT S MESSAGE: The season is going strong and our team is doing great, once again giving us so many exciting ( and nail biting ) moments. And our own CJ is the Western Conference player of the week. We are so lucky to be there and experience it all. This is possible in a large part because of an owner who had such a love of basketball and our team. I will miss his presence at the games and his support for all that is Blazer! He gave us so much including a Rose Garden to play in and enjoy!! Thank You Mr. Allen!! The Boosters are also doing their thing, greeting the fans and helping them to have a great Blazer game experience. To be a part of it all is such fun! I do have a sad note: we lost one of our own on Sunday morning when Linda Gilbert passed away. She loved working for her Blazers and was a favorite at her door ( A-21 ) for many years. Her big smile and spirit will be missed. A special one!! Don t forget our Holiday Celebration on December 3rd! Cheryl BOOSTER CLUB 1 st COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT CENTRAL CITY CONCERN BRING ITEMS: December 3 rd Booster meeting. Central City Concern is a nonprofit agency serving single adults and families in the Portland metro area who are impacted by homelessness, poverty, mental illness and addictions. WHAT THEY NEED: men s jeans, warm clothing, socks, gloves, coats, blankets, hand towels, wash cloths, hats, scarves, etc. If you would like someone else to purchase items for you, give money/check to Debbie or Marja. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of people! Go Blazers!! MAURICE HARKLESS WHERE DOES HE FIT IN? By Garrett Thornton Where Does Maurice Harkless fit for the Blazer When he Returns? The Portland Trail Blazers are the second-best team in the vaunted Western Conference with a 10-3 record and a league-leading 4 game win streak. Everything is clicking for a team that brought back the core of their team from last year, while a lot of the rest of the league made major changes that have caused chemistry problems early in the season. Even more evidence that the Blazers rely on chemistry; Portland has started all 13 games with the same starting lineup. PG Damian Lillard SG C.J. McCollum SF Jake Layman PF Al-Farouq Aminu C Jusuf Nurkic
You read that right Layman has started all 13 games for the Blazers, averaging 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 14.5 minutes, all while shooting 46% from beyond the 3-point line. The small forward depth chart below Layman includes Evan Turner and Nik Stauskas. Turner is a ball handler off the bench who has averaged 25.5 minutes per game and has looked far more comfortable in his role with the Blazers this year. Stauskas comes in and plays the small forward in small ball sets and has been a welcome addition to the team. While listed as a shooting guard, Basketball Reference estimates Stauskas at small forward at a career high 96% of the time this year with the Blazers. With all of this said Where does Maurice Harkless fit in this rotation when he returns from his knee injury? Harkless has come off the bench during his 5 played games this season, averaging 3.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game played. All of those numbers are below what he has done in his Blazer career, 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23 minutes per game over 219 games. Harkless has started 119 of those 219 games and has played a major role for the Blazers over the past 3 seasons. Late last season Harkless underwent orthoscopic surgery on his left knee. He then played in two of Portland s four playoff games. There have been a lot of questions about Harkless recently as there have been report after report of when Harkless would be back. Each of those soft deadlines have come and gone, still no Harkless. Without knowing the severity or timeframe for return for Harkless it is hard to project a role for him when he returns but I lay out three possible scenarios below 1 Harkless replaces Layman in the starting lineup. This would be the most realistic scenario. Coach Terry Stotts is a big fan of cohesion and keeping his rotation similar from night to night. Adding Harkless to the starting lineup would help keep the successful bench unit intact. Layman would slide back to the bench and would likely be reserved for garbage time minutes. 2 - Harkless comes off the bench as a small ball power forward. This role would likely eat into Meyers Leonard s minutes off of the bench as Harkless would be playing in the frontcourt alongside breakout sophomore Zach Collins. Harkless has shown the ability to play power forward for stretches and has the ability to stretch the floor, shooting 35% from beyond the arc in his Blazer career. 3 Harkless is moved before the February 8 th trade deadline. The 25-year old is in his 3 rd season of a 4 year contract, worth approximately $42 million. If his knee is not going to be a continual concern, Harkless could be a huge asset for a contender that needs a 3-and- D wing player.
THANK YOU TO COOKIE MONSTERS, headed by Shanna White. Debbie Herr, Marja Yingling, Gladys Azeh-Phillips, Gloria Feiring,Terry Rameriz, Cheryl Proett. Brooke came to talk. Coach at Wild Wings
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