Bake it! There's no other choice!

[chris_in_pdx]

Here's next year's lineup:

Blake/Bayless/Mills
Roy/Rudy
Webster/Batum
LMA/Outlaw/Pendergraph
Oden/Joel

That's how it stands right now. Not a great team, but still very good.

 

[Reep]

Here's next year's lineup:

Blake/Bayless/Mills
Roy/Rudy
Webster/Batum
LMA/Outlaw/Pendergraph
Oden/Joel

That's how it stands right now. Not a great team, but still very good.

Could be a great team. If Bayless passes up Blake (learns to run the team), Oden discovers how to stay in for 30 minutes/game, Batum improves normally, and Pendergraph or Cunningham come in tough as the backup PFs, everyone else just improves normally, then this could be a great team.

They have plenty of good pieces, just need any two of Oden/Bayless/Batum to break out and nobody would miss the unsigned free agent.

 

[B-Roy]

That looks bad. Sorry.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Here's next year's lineup:

Blake/Bayless/Mills
Roy/Rudy
Webster/Batum
LMA/Outlaw/Pendergraph
Oden/Joel

That's how it stands right now. Not a great team, but still very good.

Switch Bayless with Blake and Batum with Webster and actually, I am fine with that, contrary to the belief, team chemistry does win games

 

[julius]

Wow..a team wins 54 games, and can only get better with experience of the players and the growth of Oden, all the sudden is crap because we didn't sign Hedo.

 

[Tince]

That looks bad. Sorry.

Define bad

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Please let the Martell experiment end!

And there is a better option(s):

-Lamar Odom
-Lop-sided ($) trade

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Wow..a team wins 54 games, and can only get better with experience of the players and the growth of Oden, all the sudden is crap because we didn't sign Hedo.

Thank you. Our key guys are going to come back that much better, with a better picture of what it's all about, with that much more resolve, and suddenly we're worse off??

I wrote off B-Roy once (when we first drafted him). He's done far more than I EVER expected. I'm not going to write his abilities off now.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Lamar Odom would be worse than Hedo (for the $$ it'd take to get him)..Odom is such an enigma would be the scapegoat instantly imo

 

[craigehlo]

Please let the Martell experiment end!

And there is a better option(s):

-Lamar Odom
-Lop-sided ($) trade

I agree. I'd also add making a bid for Ramon Sessions as a better use of our FA cash.

 

[alex42083]

Jerryd better be ready this year to handle 15, maybe 20 minutes a game. We're going to need him big time to actually contribute in a positive way. Hopefully by getting regular minutes, we see why he was one of the top-rated players in last year's draft.

 

[B-Roy]

Define bad

Not good enough to seriously challenge for the WCT.

 

[Tince]

Not good enough to seriously challenge for the WCT.

Ok, so then the 80% of the NBA is bad by that standards.

I understand where you are coming from though.

 

[Mediocre Man]

That team should be good enough to win as many title next year as Milwaukee, but without the cool high draft pick that comes with it.

 

[B-Roy]

Ok, so then the 80% of the NBA is bad by that standards.

I understand where you are coming from though.

We're at the point where that isn't good enough anymore.

 

[MadeFromDust]

Wow..a team wins 54 games, and can only get better with experience of the players and the growth of Oden, all the sudden is crap because we didn't sign Hedo.

What people don't seem to understand though is, the West got better. Not just the top teams, but the bottom feeders as well. We might not sweep teams like Memphis, OKC, Minny etc again next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar record next season with the team as is. Well, unless Oden makes a big jump.

 

[craigehlo]

What people don't seem to understand though is, the West got better. Not just the top teams, but the bottom feeders as well. We might not sweep teams like Memphis, OKC, Minny etc again next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar record next season with the team as is.

I expect a few more losses next year if the roster is the same. I expect crap teams like OKC, Clipps, Grizz and Wolves to be improved as well.

 

[Tince]

What people don't seem to understand though is, the West got better. Not just the top teams, but the bottom feeders as well. We might not sweep teams like Memphis, OKC, Minny etc again next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar record next season with the team as is. Well, unless Oden makes a big jump.

Most players make their biggest jump between their rookie and sophomore year. If Oden, Batum, and Rudy all improve, we're going to be very tough to beat.

 

[julius]

What did Denver do to get better? What did Dallas do? Phoenix? New Orleans? Sacramento? Utah? Houston?

Arguably 2 teams bettered themselves enough to worry about this off season. The Lakers and Spurs. And I'm not so sure either one did anything drastic enough to alter what was already true (the Lakers were better than us, and the Spurs like to get older players).

OKC improved by 3 games last year. I doubt they'll all the sudden improve by 30 games to match us. same with Memphis and Minnesota. We'll get better because we'll have a full year of Greg post MF. The first year of post MF is always the "run in quicksand" year. Look at how much Brandon and LaMarcus improved from their 2nd to 3rd years, are they all the sudden done improving? Is Rudy done improving too? Or Batum?

A lot of the teams that "improved" HAD to, to keep up with the Jones (the Lakers). Portland really didn't HAVE to, we selfish fans just wanted them to. Oden, LaMarcus and Brandon are as good of a trio (potentially) as there is in the NBA. that hasn't changed because Hedo's wife has a bigger set of balls than he does.

 

[B-Roy]

Most players make their biggest jump between their rookie and sophomore year. If Oden, Batum, and Rudy all improve, we're going to be very tough to beat.

You're counting on our players becoming THAT much better to offset the gains SA and LAL got. Artest? Jefferson? These are players that will undoubtedly change the way those teams play and are played. Meanwhile, we're sitting here with virtually the same roster. Same strengths, same weaknesses, same everything. It's going to be like living last season all over again.

 

[Tince]

You're counting on our players becoming THAT much better to offset the gains SA and LAL got. Artest? Jefferson? These are players that will undoubtedly change the way those teams play and are played. Meanwhile, we're sitting here with virtually the same roster. Same strengths, same weaknesses, same everything. It's going to be like living last season all over again.

Well to be honest, even with Hedo, I didn't think we had the weapons to compete with Lakers this year.

If Oden, Batum, and Rudy take big jumps in their games next year, I expect us to be right there with the Spurs.

 

[B-Roy]

Well to be honest, even with Hedo, I didn't think we had the weapons to compete with Lakers this year.

If Oden, Batum, and Rudy take big jumps in their games next year, I expect us to be right there with the Spurs.

I hope you're right. I just can't envision us going through this off-season and end up solving none of the problems we had last year.

Yuck.

 

[Tince]

I hope you're right. I just can't envision us going through this off-season and end up solving none of the problems we had last year.

Yuck.

I'm not saying I think it's going to happen, I'm just saying it wouldn't be out of this world to think that Oden, Rudy, and Batum improve a lot because most players do after their rookie season.

Gun to my head, I would predict we win 52 games. I think the West got tougher and deeper.

There was no FA that was going to help us win a title next year IMO.

 

[oldmangrouch]

The hard-eyed realist's view.

Joel, Blake, and Outlaw aren't going to get better.

Webster is fool's gold. Even if he can play, he isn't going to suddenly become a stud.

Batum and Bayless need more time- and Bayless may never be more than a very good combo/3rd guard.

If Rudy has his head on straight, he should refine his game....but factoring in his age and experience, it is unlikely he is going to make a *huge* leap forward.

That leaves us with Oden as our great hope to really improve as a team.

Color me skeptical.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Nah, I think Oden could, with someone actually playing PG or point-forward, be a Bill Gates Tyson Chandler. And that's on offense.

In terms of rebounding I like what I see. He needs more lateral quickness on D, but that should come around. And not getting "rookie" fouls called on him should help.

I'm not pessimistic about Greg. The others? I can see where you're going. Not that I totally agree, but at least it is plausible.

 

[julius]

Rudy's age? So Brandon didn't improve from the time he was 23 and 24? If Rudy is done improving, due to his age, should we expect Roy to stop improving too?

 

[B-Roy]

Rudy's age? So Brandon didn't improve from the time he was 23 and 24? If Rudy is done improving, due to his age, should we expect Roy to stop improving too?

Everyone's different.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Rudy's age? So Brandon didn't improve from the time he was 23 and 24? If Rudy is done improving, due to his age, should we expect Roy to stop improving too?

"Age and experience" - the two are intertwined.

Roy spent 4 years in college. Rudy spent that time playing *professional* basketball. Hardly a fair comparison.

When comparing Rudy to Oden/Batum/Bayless, you're darn right his age is a factor. If Batum is this good at 19, then by the time he is 23, he has an excellent chance to have surpassed Rudy.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Bake it because there's no other choice? Did I miss a trade deadline or something?

 

[Ed O]

Bake it because there's no other choice? Did I miss a trade deadline or something?

Miss a trade deadline? Nah. We leave that up to Kevin Pritchard.

ZING!

Ed O.