A Jazz fan nails it!

[Fez Hammersticks]

via Jazzfanz.com

Portland runs about the most creative offense I've ever seen.

Guards, run around with the ball while big men come out and set picks. Guards either chuck up a jumper or dribble out the shot clock while trying to get their shots. sigh.....

It just makes me so much more appreciative of teams that actually have some offensive structure.

Until Portland actually installs an offense to take advantage of some of their players, they'll always be second fiddle to us in the division. There's no reason why Aldrich shouldn't be a 25/10 guy.

Ugh....

 

[MickZagger]

Aldridge can very easily be a 25 guy. Its the 10 that will never happen.

 

[RoyToy]

I can think of many reasons why Aldridge shouldn't be a 25/10 guy. Main reason?

He's not talented enough

 

[jlprk]

Bernie Bickerstaff knows what's up. He said that he would mute himself because it's a winning team. I hope he assertively sneaks in some corrections when Nate isn't looking.

 

[Blazer4ever]

I haven't seen the game but if it's true, I think it's excellent news.
I'm a big believer in believing in your players, I think we have players such as Miller, Rudy, Roy, Batum, Bayless, Aldridge, Mathewss, Dante and even the centers, who are talented enough and understand the game well enough to flourish in an offense that allows them as much freedom as possible.
Yes, it could take time to get used to, and sometimes not having a trademark move (someone said Utah's Stockton and Malone pick and roll?) will hurt you but if you give players such as the ones listed above the ability to "just play", they'll eventualy find the best ways themselves.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Also, according to the +/- section of one preseason game's box-score, there is a + lineup and a - lineup.
+(in order)
Rudy Fernandez 17
Nicolas Batum 15
Andre Miller 7
Marcus Camby 4
Dante Cunningham 2
6th man: Armon Jonson 2

-
Lamarcus Aldridge -24
Brandon Roy -20
Jerryd Bayless -13
Wesley Mathewss -8
Jeff Pendergraph -2

Maybe the two teams should go head-to-head in the next practice...

 

[Entity]

Portland runs about the most creative offense I've ever seen.

Guards, run around with the ball while big men come out and set picks. Guards either chuck up a jumper or dribble out the shot clock while trying to get their shots. sigh.....

It just makes me so much more appreciative of teams that actually have some offensive structure.

Until Portland actually installs an offense to take advantage of some of their players, they'll always be second fiddle to us in the division. There's no reason why Aldrich shouldn't be a 25/10 guy.

I hate to agree with his assessment of the offense, but it sure feels like that a lot of the time. Second fiddle in the division? Maybe. Second fiddle to the Jazz? No.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

The jizz fan was partially correct. We do set picks to free players for easy, wide open jump shots. I have no problem with that. But we need to continue to develop a low post game- which is difficult without Oden. But, guys, this is just one pre season game with mostly scrubs. Let's not go jumping off the fire escape just yet, OK?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Our offense is, has been, and will continue to be terrible with Nate as our coach.


We are efficient because Brandon Roy makes really hard shots and Aldridge, Oden, Joel and Camby are all very good offensive rebounders. It has almost nothing to do our coach.

 

[Sug]

Yes we suck and the Jazz are awesome

 

[Nikolokolus]

The jizz fan was partially correct. We do set picks to free players for easy, wide open jump shots. I have no problem with that. But we need to continue to develop a low post game- which is difficult without Oden. But, guys, this is just one pre season game with mostly scrubs. Let's not go jumping off the fire escape just yet, OK?

Good lord, the Blazers set some of the sloppiest, laziest picks I've ever seen which almost never result in an "easy, wide open" jump shot, they take a ton of contested jumpers off of swing passes and the occasional drive and kick.

 

[Kaydow]

I can think of many reasons why Aldridge shouldn't be a 25/10 guy. Main reason?

He's not talented enough

In fairness to the poster, he did say "Aldrich", not "Aldridge". Possibly he was referring to Oklahoma City 1st Round Pick Cole Aldrich, and inadvertently plugged "Portland".

 

[Kaydow]

Has anybody ever asked Nate about implementing a motion offense? I wonder what his response would be. Watching Utah get lay-up after lay-up in the 4 games they spanked us last year, didn't a bell go off that easy baskets are a good thing?

Another season of Roy Iso plays - he won't make it through. The defense is always set, and there is never a clear path to the basket unless he flat out beats EVERYONE off the dribble. He just takes a physical beating in this offense.

 

[craigehlo]

Aldridge can very easily be a 25 guy. Its the 10 that will never happen.

LeMarcus needs to either:

1) Develop a handle so he's a threat to drive around opposing 4's

2) Develop a back to the basket game

Being a jumpshooter that gets occasional put backs isn't going to cut it if he wants to average 25.

 

[Pinwheel1]

"always second fiddle"?? So why did the Jazz finish behind the Blazers two years ago?

Having lived in Utah (Way too many years) I can tell you that there were thousands of discussions on the sports talk radio shows over the last 10 years about how the Jazz offense was too predictable. That Sloan did not allow players with creativity to thrive in his system. That only a certain type of players could fit in. And that in the playoffs good teams shut his offense down.

Now I never agreed with the Nay- Sayers about Sloan, but my point is most fans everywhere are pretty stupid when it comes to x/o's (At least compared to the coaches) The Jazz fans are no different. His offense is proven over the years. (although some say "proven" never to have won a championship)

 

[illmatic99]

LeMarcus needs to either:

1) Develop a handle so he's a threat to drive around opposing 4's

2) Develop a back to the basket game

Being a jumpshooter that gets occasional put backs isn't going to cut it if he wants to average 25.

and 3) absorb contact instead of fading away, and get to the FT line. It's baffling that a guy with his skills can't even get 4 FTAs per game for his career.

 

[Shooter]

If you give players such as the ones listed above the ability to "just play", they'll eventually find the best ways themselves.

Nonsense. The Blazers beat the 76ers in the '77 title series because they had a more disciplined offense. Philly had more talent, but Portland played smarter. Likewise, the Bulls and the Lakers under Phil Jackson used the Triangle Offense, which is very structered--and obviously very successful. And the Jazz have always played smart, disciplined basketball, which allows them to often beat more talented teams.

I personally hate our offense, and always have. It relies on one-on-one moves to a fault, and that lack of discipline shows up in lots of ways, including on defense.

 

[STOMP]

"always second fiddle"?? So why did the Jazz finish behind the Blazers two years ago?

Having lived in Utah (Way too many years) I can tell you that there were thousands of discussions on the sports talk radio shows over the last 10 years about how the Jazz offense was too predictable. That Sloan did not allow players with creativity to thrive in his system. That only a certain type of players could fit in. And that in the playoffs good teams shut his offense down.

Now I never agreed with the Nay- Sayers about Sloan, but my point is most fans everywhere are pretty stupid when it comes to x/o's (At least compared to the coaches) The Jazz fans are no different. His offense is proven over the years. (although some say "proven" never to have won a championship)

exactly. As a Blazer fan living in the Bay Area it's interesting to read/hear fans of the local teams "nailing" their coaches GMs and players with parallel critiques to the ones I read on S2 about the Blazers. I've read Jazz fans just lambasting Sloan many times on various Jazz sites. Regardless of what view you hold you can read the comments section following a game article in the on-line version of the local rag and find someone who agrees with your take... thats not a confirmation that you're correct in holding that view, just that someone feels the same way you do

STOMP

 

[Draco]

I have a lot of the same concerns as other posters here with our offense.

But then I think of what it looked like with Maurice Cheeks, which makes the stuff Nate runs now seem pretty damn smart.

I believe the most critical part of being a successful coach is having the interest and focus of your players. They need to be motivated and believe what you are telling them is the correct strategy. I think the players as a whole respect Nate and listen to what he wants so while I don't think he is a great coach he is not bad either and I am apprehensive of replacing him with an unknown potentially bad coach.

 

[BGrantFan]

I'm going to start copying posts that I agree with from this board and others, and then I'm going to start threads about that post, thereby implying that my opinion has merit and is correct.

 

[maxiep]

I applaud this forum. We've obviously worked hard this offseason. The team is still in pre-season, but we're in mid-season form when it comes to bitching.

Well done, mates.

 

[THE HCP]

Bitch bitch bitch, I'll take our squad over Utah's anyday

 

[BrianFromWA]

I was hoping it would change this year (and still might), but I have to agree with the assessment that we don't set "picks" as much as we set up to look like we're going to pick and then slip. Doesn't have the same effect.

 

[e_blazer]

I applaud this forum. We've obviously worked hard this offseason. The team is still in pre-season, but we're in mid-season form when it comes to bitching.

Well done, mates.

Seriously. I think some of you wait in anticipation of each game where the Blazers don't play well just so that you can unload on them.

 

[BrianFromWA]

i'm withholding judgement until I can see a game, and not have to read through a summary by a blogger or Olive writer--no offense to bloggers for mixing them up with that.

But it seems as if the complaints are the same as from the last couple of years. I'm not saying I agree--without seeing the games--but if it's true that LMA still won't set an NBA-quality pick, that we're still isolating Roy and taking a lot of shots with 3 seconds on the clock, there will be many who feel justified that they can see how the team could improve, while the team plays the same way that got them 2 first-round playoff exits.

 

[STOMP]

i'm withholding judgement until I can see a game, and not have to read through a summary by a blogger or Olive writer--no offense to bloggers for mixing them up with that.

But it seems as if the complaints are the same as from the last couple of years. I'm not saying I agree--without seeing the games--but if it's true that LMA still won't set an NBA-quality pick, that we're still isolating Roy and taking a lot of shots with 3 seconds on the clock, there will be many who feel justified that they can see how the team could improve, while the team plays the same way that got them 2 first-round playoff exits.

decimated by injury? I hope not, but if so I won't be blaming the coach for it regardless of who that is

STOMP

 

[OddEnormous]

Our offense is, has been, and will continue to be terrible with Nate as our coach.


We are efficient because Brandon Roy makes really hard shots and Aldridge, Oden, Joel and Camby are all very good offensive rebounders. It has almost nothing to do our coach.

Some of us have been saying this going on 3 years now.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I applaud this forum. We've obviously worked hard this offseason. The team is still in pre-season, but we're in mid-season form when it comes to bitching.

Well done, mates.

Repped. I can tell it's "one of those threads" when the first seven posts are all from users on my ignore list.

 

[Shooter]

Seriously. I think some of you wait in anticipation of each game where the Blazers don't play well just so that you can unload on them.

Actually, most of us don't say anything about the style of play when we win because we're just so happy we won. But the style of play is consistently one-on-one, with very few pick and rolls, and it really becomes an issue when we lose.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Some of us have been saying this going on 3 years now.

And will continue until it's not a problem any longer