Bench Armon

[Chuck Taylor]

I hate to say it, because I like the kid and I'm really rooting for him. But assuming our goal is still to win games (as it should be), as opposed to developing young talent, Armon shouldn't be playing unless it's garbage time. I think it's easy to say "give the kid 10 minutes a night to see what he can do", but I believe that is a mistake. The Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, etc would never let a kid this raw have a spot in the regular rotation. He is making far too many mistakes, both offensively and defensively. Shuffle things a bit to make sure either Miller or Roy are in at all times playing PG, or give Rudy the 10 minutes of bringing the ball up the court. I know this is a small reason for why we are struggling, but it is easily fixable.

 

[MickZagger]

We aren't the Lakers, Spurs or even the Nuggets.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

We aren't the Lakers, Spurs or even the Nuggets.

OK sure, but just because we're not the Lakers doesn't mean we shouldn't put our best foot forward. We can improve our chances of being a good team if we give Armon's minutes to someone else.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

OK sure, but just because we're not the Lakers doesn't mean we shouldn't put our best foot forward. We can improve our chances of being a good team if we give Armon's minutes to someone else.

I disagree. Neither Roy nor Rudy have shown they can be good as a PG and it would absolutely kill our defense.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

I disagree. Neither Roy nor Rudy have shown they can be good as a PG and it would absolutely kill our defense.

Let me get this straight - you feel better with Armon bringing the ball up the court than Roy?

 

[RoyToy]

Simple, play Bayless more.

Oh, wait....Cho traded him for basically nothing. Brilliant. At least when New Orleans traded him they got a good backup in Jarrett Jack. The Blazers....hopefully nothing lower than the 18th pick.

In the end we're stuck with Armon who has a near 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, can't shoot and he dribbles too much. Career backup is his ceiling. Awesome.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Let me get this straight - you feel better with Armon bringing the ball up the court than Roy?

Roy makes the offense disjointed just playing SG right now.

 

[Chuck Taylor]

Roy makes the offense disjointed just playing SG right now.

Well, you're entitled to your own opinion, but I think you're being a little too harsh on him. By no means does he look like an all-star right now, but he looks a heck of a lot better, even at PG, than Armon Johnson, in my opinion. I have a hard time believing any NBA executive would choose Armon Johnson over Brandon Roy as their backup PG, even if they were fully aware of Roy's recent limitations.

 

[MickZagger]

Simple, play Bayless more.

Oh, wait....Cho traded him for basically nothing. Brilliant. At least when New Orleans traded him they got a good backup in Jarrett Jack. The Blazers....hopefully nothing lower than the 18th pick.

In the end we're stuck with Armon who has a near 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, can't shoot and he dribbles too much. Career backup is his ceiling. Awesome.

Bayless has been just as bad this year. This is his 3rd year in the league.

 

[RoyToy]

Bayless has been just as bad this year. This is his 3rd year in the league.

Playing for two different teams trying his best to be what he's not, sure. That said, he averaged 14pts/4asts in the playoffs last year. I think he'd be playing better if he was still here.

Interesting quote from Roy after the game

"I just think we have to be realistic with how we continue to approach these games. We've almost stepped back into a developing phase. We're developing guys again. I think we're developing our bench. I think that's some of the frustrations we're having."

The bench is pathetic right now and Armon is a reason why. Dante and Rudy suck as well.

 

[MickZagger]

Playing for two different teams trying his best to be what he's not, sure. That said, he averaged 14pts/4asts in the playoffs last year. I think he'd be playing better if he was still here.

Interesting quote from Roy after the game



The bench is pathetic right now and Armon is a reason why. Dante and Rudy suck as well.

Roy really has no room to talk. The loss has to do with the 4 combined 2nd half points out of our top 2 scorers than anything else.

 

[Natebishop3]

Our bench really does suck, especially now that Wes is starting.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Our bench really does suck, especially now that Wes is starting.

So Wes is better than Batum?

 

[Blazinaway]

So Wes is better than Batum?

right now I think there is no doubt Wes is better than Nic, the main reason i think is his aggressiveness and mindset, he gets after it and plays hard while Nic often appears very passive and just cruising or loafing out there. Nic has the talent, but he has to "want" to use it.

Note that some of the blame goes to Nate's awful offense and how it sticks Nic in the corner so much of the time. Nic had some very good games earlier, I have no doubt he can get back there, but he's got to want it and work harder

 

[craigehlo]

So Wes is better than Batum?

Yes. Wes makes use of his lesser physical tool/talents than Batum right now because he's 10x more aggressive.

 

[hasoos]

The Blazers fucked up when they traded Bayless. He played hard every night. He attacked the rim. He got to the free throw line even when he was having a bad night shooting. He defended with effort.

And I do agree. Hell I think they should even give Mills a shot. A lot of folks seem to forget the one thing that Mills can do, is score, and that he poses a huge speed mismatch issue when he is on the floor because he is very fast.

Beware of the Blazer PR machine. They will try to sell you on a player being shinola, when they are shit. (From the movie the Jerk if you have no reference point.)

 

[MIXUM]

agree... mills can at least score. and its really crazy babbit isnt playing consIdering how bad we need scoring. babbitt must be beyond horrible if he cant crack this bench

 

[craigehlo]

The Blazers fucked up when they traded Bayless.

They didn't IMHO. The Blazer scouting the last few years has been pretty awful. Bayless was passed on by a lot of teams for a reason after being a solid top 10 draft prospect for the entire NCAA season. He's another tweener with so-so talent that the Blazers love to draft but unsurprisingly never pan out.

 

[LittleAlex]

He played well until the scouts got ahold of him.

Now he is exposed as very, very limited.

He will either adapt or fail.
Either way, Portland should at least look at Mills.
I am pretty sure Mills could throw up a 1 point/4 turnover performance.

 

[gatorpops]

I havn't seen any games lately due to ..... anyway,

It would seem to me that because Nate is a "defensive" coach he is quite poor at offense. If he plays Mills he loses Armon's defense.

Probably Nate needs to play more spot defense and more spot offense. Good luck with that though.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I like Armon from a long term perspective, but what he really needs is a better defined offensive system where he can actually use pick and rolls (the operative word being pick) and has some players around him who can shoot worth a damn. As it is nobody is respecting Dante, Rudy or even Batum now, so defenses collapse on him or pressure him at the top of the key ... and really the bottom line is that he's forcing things that aren't there, he's just too green and hasn't been able to adjust to the adjustments that opponents have made on him now that he's in the scouting report.

 

[hasoos]

I havn't seen any games lately due to ..... anyway,

It would seem to me that because Nate is a "defensive" coach he is quite poor at offense. If he plays Mills he loses Armon's defense.

Probably Nate needs to play more spot defense and more spot offense. Good luck with that though.

You know I keep hearing about this awesome defense Armon plays. Last I looked the bench was outscored 41-10 last night. Is that defense making up for the lack of offense that comes with it?

 

[Ed O]

My initial response to "bench Armon" was... in favor of whom?

But... presumably Patty Mills is on the team for a reason, right? Maybe it's time to give him some minutes and see if he can bring an offensive spark to a team that so badly needs one.

Ed O.

 

[HailBlazers]

From hearing him speak since training camp, IMO he is a quick learner and student of the game. IF were gonna be loosing all these games I'm all for him garnering experience, I think his handles and composure are worth developing.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Simple, play Bayless more.
Oh, wait....Cho traded him for basically nothing. Brilliant. At least when New Orleans traded him they got a good backup in Jarrett Jack.

You do know that the main point of that trade was the Peja contract, right?

In the end we're stuck with Armon who has a near 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, can't shoot and he dribbles too much. Career backup is his ceiling. Awesome.

So - he's Bayless with longer arms, who fouls a bit less and plays solid defense?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

But... presumably Patty Mills is on the team for a reason, right?

This:
[video=youtube;D16gZ8DHQaE]

 

[DUB]

This:
[video=youtube;D16gZ8DHQaE]

 

[craigehlo]

Sounds like Mills will get Armon's minutes tonight according to the pregame show.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Sounds like Mills will get Armon's minutes tonight according to the pregame show.

We're saved!!

 

[Eastoff]

Now that it's been a few games with Mills over Armon, any thoughts?