Ass clown thinking of starting Matthews over Batum permanently

[Mediocre Man]

Blazers coach Nate McMillan tried to create a spark in the second half, when he started Matthews in place of Nicolas Batum at small forward. Batum was 0 for 2 from the field in the first half and had two points. McMillan said he made the move to get some "scrappiness" and "energy," and added that he would need to look at film of Sunday's game to decide whether the move would be permanent.

Matthews is a chucker who thrives on multiple shot attempts. Starting him alongside Roy and Aldridge is stupid. Batum absolutely needs to be more aggressive, but starting Matthews isn't the answer.


And LOL at scrappiness and energy. What he needs is a better offense

 

[craigehlo]

Batum was brutal in the first half and was coming off another awful game. I don't like Nate's coaching, but his benching in the 2nd half was all on himself.

 

[illmatic99]

http://sportstwo.com/threads/175075-Blazers-New-Jersey-GAME-THREAD?p=2482434&viewfull=1#post2482434

 

[Blazinaway]

I like Wes but if Batum is our SF of the now and future you don't do this. Send a message fine like Nate did yesterday, but you have to let him play through this, if over several weeks he keeps playing badly then you make a decision, but this guy has to be given the chance to be our SF and allowing him to grow or fail here has to be done. Don't be an idiot Nate.

 

[STOMP]

Nate crosses his arms, then uncrosses them... assclown!

Nic sucked last night. On offense he was tentative and ineffective with his shot. Conversely Wes got on a roll. Since it's a coach's short term job is to win a game, Nate went with the hot hand as he should. Being open to more of this and could prove motivational to both players... it's a tried and true coaching tactic called competition.

A glance at the stats for the last 10 games finds Nic averaging 32 minutes per game...

STOMP

 

[Mediocre Man]

Nate crosses his arms, then uncrosses them... assclown!

Nic sucked last night. On offense he was tentative and ineffective with his shot. Conversely Wes got on a roll. Since it's a coach's short term job is to win a game, Nate went with the hot hand as he should. Being open to more of this and could prove motivational to both players... it's a tried and true coaching tactic called competition.

A glance at the stats for the last 10 games finds Nic averaging 32 minutes per game...

STOMP

Nic being demoted does more harm to this team than good.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Matthews is a chucker who thrives on multiple shot attempts. Starting him alongside Roy and Aldridge is stupid. Batum absolutely needs to be more aggressive, but starting Matthews isn't the answer.


And LOL at scrappiness and energy. What he needs is a better offense

True, but in this "system" (if that's what you want to call it) where easy looks are hard to come by and nobody sets screens, Matthews will probably be able to put up more shots than Nicolas would, because he's a little more energetic and has some one-on-one ability.

On the up side, this could be Nate's last stand and I doubt this move puts that in danger.

 

[HailBlazers]

I have a better idea, start Wes in place of Roy. Get some tempo in the first squad, where Wes thrives, then bring B off the bench to score.

 

[hasoos]

Nic being demoted does more harm to this team than good.

I am sorry I disagree. Nic has been coasting the last several games on both ends of the court and the only way to get him to snap out of it is some tough love.

 

[Mediocre Man]

All i know is that Portland led by 8 last night at halftime. Nate changed the rotation and we lost the game. Nic had 2 blocks and a steal

 

[handiman]

All i know is that Portland led by 8 last night at halftime. Nate changed the rotation and we lost the game.

We'd have a good record this season if not for those pesky 4th quarters of the past 12 or so games.

 

[MARIS61]

Nic gets few touches playing with Roy, and Wes playing with Rudy is redundant.

I like the idea.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think Roy should be coming off the bench. The team has played worse with him back in the lineup it seems...

 

[Shooter]

I'm all for it. Matthews has shown me more this season than Batum.

 

[craigehlo]

We need more scoring in the starting unit and Batum certainly isn't bringing muchto the table right now. Still, this shows Nate's inability to tailor a game plan to the strengths of his roster.

 

[RoyToy]

Matthews has clearly played better than Batum the last 6 games and it's not like Wesley wasn't a starter last year.

No one wants to hear it but Batum is overrated. His defense is way down this year and he's always had limited offensive abilities. If he's not knocking down his 3(he's not right now) he can't do much and he's not aggressive by nature. He takes himself out of the game and just floats around out there.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I like Wes but if Batum is our SF of the now and future you don't do this. Send a message fine like Nate did yesterday, but you have to let him play through this, if over several weeks he keeps playing badly then you make a decision, but this guy has to be given the chance to be our SF and allowing him to grow or fail here has to be done. Don't be an idiot Nate.

Agreed 100%

This is a learning experience for Nic. All players have to go thru this.

 

[Natebishop3]

I just think that we should be playing Roy off the bench and go with Miller, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, and Camby. I like what that lineup brings to the table (defense, up-tempo, etc). I'd like to see Roy playing with the second unit and if we feel like he's capable, we bring him back into the starting lineup, but right now it seems like he's hurting the team more than helping.

 

[Shooter]

I'd like to see Roy playing with the second unit and if we feel like he's capable, we bring him back into the starting lineup, but right now it seems like he's hurting the team more than helping.

He made a couple of bad plays last night, but Roy was actually pretty sharp for the most part. He hit a number of big, clutch shots and was quite active offensively. I was quite encouraged by what I saw. My girlfriend kept shaking her head and saying, "Roy is so good."

 

[Natebishop3]

He made a couple of bad plays last night, but Roy was actually pretty sharp for the most part. He hit a number of big, clutch shots and was quite active offensively. I was quite encouraged by what I saw. My girlfriend kept shaking her head and saying, "Roy is so good."

I didn't get to watch the game... how would you say he was effecting our flow on offense? Lots of Royball?

 

[Reep]

I just think that we should be playing Roy off the bench and go with Miller, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, and Camby. I like what that lineup brings to the table (defense, up-tempo, etc). I'd like to see Roy playing with the second unit and if we feel like he's capable, we bring him back into the starting lineup, but right now it seems like he's hurting the team more than helping.

Agreed. I wish we could see this lineup for at least one or two games, but I cannot see Nate making such a bold move. I'm also unsure how Brandon would respond to this.

Now seems like the perfect time to try such an experiment (team losing, Roy needing rest, . . .).

 

[Natebishop3]

Agreed. I wish we could see this lineup for at least one or two games, but I cannot see Nate making such a bold move. I'm also unsure how Brandon would respond to this.

Now seems like the perfect time to try such an experiment (team losing, Roy needing rest, . . .).

It's really hard to get a feel for Brandon's attitude right now. He might welcome it, or he might throw a tantrum. It's hard to say how a three-time All-Star will react to coming off the bench, regardless of whether he's injured.

 

[MIXUM]

Oh Shit.... It has "officially happened"

pdxtrailblazers

Breaking news: Wesley Matthews will start in place of Nic Batum tomorrow night. More coming soon on www.blazers.com
6 minutes ago via Echofon

 

[MIXUM]

pdxtrailblazers
Breaking news: Wesley Matthews will start in place of Nic Batum tomorrow night. More coming soon on www.blazers.com
6 minutes ago via Echofon

 

[Ed O]

It's this sort of move that makes me think the season is going to go down in flames. It's on its way there already, but making lineup changes only encourages it.

Ed O.

 

[Natebishop3]

It's this sort of move that makes me think the season is going to go down in flames. It's on its way there already, but making lineup changes only encourages it.

Ed O.

I think I pretty much considered the season to be a smoldering pile of ashes when Oden went down for the season. I don't know why, but for some reason I just don't think this team has another gutty season in them. There's too many good teams to take their place now.

Lakers
Mavs
Spurs
Hornets
Thunder
Jazz
Nuggets

With teams like the Warriors, Suns, and Grizzlies on the bubble. If Denver trades Melo they will probably tank, but it's hard to say when that will happen. I just don't have a good feeling about this season. Is this team just waiting to click, or are they showing major weaknesses that need to be addressed via trades?

 

[Ed O]

I think I pretty much considered the season to be a smoldering pile of ashes when Oden went down for the season. I don't know why, but for some reason I just don't think this team has another gutty season in them. There's too many good teams to take their place now.

Lakers
Mavs
Spurs
Hornets
Thunder
Jazz
Nuggets

With teams like the Warriors, Suns, and Grizzlies on the bubble. If Denver trades Melo they will probably tank, but it's hard to say when that will happen. I just don't have a good feeling about this season. Is this team just waiting to click, or are they showing major weaknesses that need to be addressed via trades?

I don't have great hope, either, but if Roy is reasonably healthy then they still could make the playoffs pretty easily... unless we start messing with our starting lineup and generally upsetting the applecart.

Ed O.

 

[illmatic99]

@pdxtrailblazers:

Breaking news: Wesley Matthews will start in place of Nic Batum tomorrow night. More coming soon on www.blazers.com

Fire this idiot now. If he thinks Nic can perform better as a bench player, then he's even more clueless than I had originally thought.

Fuckin panicking. And he's making the wrong player the scapegoat again.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I have a better idea, start Wes in place of Roy. Get some tempo in the first squad, where Wes thrives, then bring B off the bench to score.

Worth a try, but Nate will never do it.

This reminds me a little of the end of the Cheeks era. Damon blows his assignment - Mo hollers at Miles.

 

[MIXUM]

this team needs a spark off the bench badly scoring wise.

to make the playoffs 5 things will need to happen....

1. beat 90% of lesser teams

2. roy play 80% of season effectively

3. stay healthy

4. trade for a scorer off the bench AND maybe a pf

5. batum career year and stays in starting lineup