They have added more sets to the offense these days for sure.
But they do tend to revert back to bad habits when things get tough.
I have to agree with the people who wonder why Portland kept trying to isolate B-Roy against the Denver defense all night long. Those plays didn't pan out, but they kept it up more and more as the game went along. That contributed to the team playing worse and worse in the second half.
I have come to realize it isn't Nate, since you can hear him pleading with his team to pass the ball and move.
I just wonder at what point the coach takes the blame for his team not implementing his game plan? Or how you can actually resolve the issue without a coaching change?
I think you bring up some very good points. I'm sure you know this, but assistant coaches often make the game plans, and in Portland's case, they usually rotate the responsibility. However, ultimately it's up to Nate to approve the game plan so he has to take ownership of it.
Early in last night game you saw Batum was flustered, could barely dribble the ball and then turn it over. I noticed he wasn't the only one that seemed to play a little scared. I'm not sure if that was a game plan issue or not.
Overall, I think this team buys into the game plans the coaching staff provides, but there certainly are games where they either don't buy into them or they don't execute it very well. There is no doubt every team goes to their bread and butter down the stretch, and in the NBA, that is offen isolation or pick and roll.
When you see guys like Batum, Bayless and Roy fail to reverse the ball in our motion offense, and LMA make poor reads out of the double team, I think dumbing down the offense may have saved us turnovers. However, it certainly didn't help us score. At that point we were taking a lower percentage shot to reduce the turnover and easy fast break points we had been giving them all night.
Portland has had way too much success lately for me to think it's time to ship out one or two of the players who aren't following the game plan. Likewise, I don't think you move a coach who has taken one of the most injury depleted teams and put them in a position to win 50 games. Portland isn't the first time to lose at Denver this season, they are the 3rd best home team in the league. Coming off a back to back, Denver needing to get back on stride, I think most of us saw this coming.
