Blake: Too Skinny...No Defense...Weakest Link

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ABM

ABM

Happily Married In Music City, USA!
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You know the routine. ;)

From: Bleacher Report

You heard the whispers. Too skinny. No defense. Weakest link. But you brushed them off.

You brushed them off back when you attended Oak Hill Academy. The same elite school that housed the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo, and Kevin Durant, among others.

You brushed them off when you became the starter as a true freshman for a Maryland squad where you were paired with Juan Dixon and dominated the ACC; back when ACC basketball meant something besides Duke versus North Carolina.

But the whispers kept surfacing. Too skinny. No defense. Weakest link.

Never mind the fact that you were fifth all-time in career assists for the NCAA. Or that you led Maryland to back-to-back Final Fours in 2001 and 2002, winning the NCAA Championship during the latter year. Never mind that, at all.

Never mind all that.......
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Some things don't translate on the NBA level, obviously. He looked great in College but he's a mediocre NBA player. He really should be a backup but that wont happen on KP's watch.
 
I don't think anyone hates 'Blakey'. Andre Miller is just a better PG than him, and Blake would make a great backup PG for us.
 
Fez W. Bush said:
Some things don't translate on the NBA level, obviously. He looked great in College but he's a mediocre NBA player. He really should be a backup but that wont happen on KP's watch.
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If he is really KP's favorite, as you (and others) seem to be implying, why did he sign Andre Miller, trade for Bayless, and draft (or trade for the rights to) Patty Mills?

Seems to me it's not KP that prefers Blake in the starting 5.
 
Blake IS too skinny. Somebody needs to feed that boy a hamburger!
 
Nope, he's 5th all-time in assists in NCAA history. We'd be really good if we had one of the 4 who beat him out: Ed Cota, Bobby Hurley, Chris Corchiani and Keith Jennings.
 
BrianFromWA said:
Nope, he's 5th all-time in assists in NCAA history. We'd be really good if we had one of the 4 who beat him out: Ed Cota, Bobby Hurley, Chris Corchiani and Keith Jennings.
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I had much higher hopes for Ed Cota. Such a disappointment.
 
I haven't really had a problem with Blake for the most part. Yes, his defenders blow past him a few times in the game, but when his 3 pt ball is falling, it takes teams several minutes to figure out that we must cover the guy. Wasn't Blake like in the top 10 in the NBA for 3 pointers made over the regular season?
 
Blake and Joel are two of the best back ups in the league.......I hope he stays here, but I agree that Andre should start.
 
Reading that article makes me think Christian Laetner and Tyler Hansbrough are massively underrated ... then again, maybe a stellar college career doesn't mean shit in the NBA? I'm so confused.
 
Nikolokolus said:
Reading that article makes me think Christian Laetner and Tyler Hansbrough are massively underrated ... then again, maybe a stellar college career doesn't mean shit in the NBA? I'm so confused.
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Apparently, assist records don't translate to the NBA, but rebounding does.
 
Nikolokolus said:
Reading that article makes me think Christian Laetner and Tyler Hansbrough are massively underrated ... then again, maybe a stellar college career doesn't mean shit in the NBA? I'm so confused.
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Laetner was overrated - but Psych-T is underrated - too many people thought he would amount to nothing in the NBA. Same as K-Love, same as Noah.

Greatness in college does not ensure greatness in the NBA - but if you are a great big in college - you will at least be a nice role player in the NBA - while many think that these guys will be busts.
 
True - it can sometimes be difficult to translate to the NBA - but I think Blake has done a good job to transform himself into a successful off-guard and 3pt sniper, giving him a niche teams can use. He proved this at Portland and Denver.
 
andalusian said:
Laetner was overrated - but Psych-T is underrated - too many people thought he would amount to nothing in the NBA. Same as K-Love, same as Noah.

Greatness in college does not ensure greatness in the NBA - but if you are a great big in college - you will at least be a nice role player in the NBA - while many think that these guys will be busts.
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Blake isn't a bust either, but I get kind of tired of people playing the Rodney Dangerfield card with him -- much as many people do with other under athletic white guys who were great college players but so-so pros ... and yes, if both of these guys were black I firmly believe we wouldn't hear one word about how "hard" they work, or how under-appreciated they are. Otherwise they'd be essentially equivalent to guys like Earl Watson or Hakim Warrick; solid but unspectacular pros.
 
How can Blake be a bust? He was taken in the 2nd round, right? Can't imagine how someone could be a 2nd round pick and considered a bust.

Say what you want about Blake - he is a hard worker and he was a starter on two decent NBA playoff teams in a 6 year career. That's not bad at all. When you realize that he was very successful at the College level and high-school level - it is clear that some people do not realize that he is better than most think of him.

Is he a star? No. Is he as awful as people think of him - not even close.

He is more than a 3pt shooter that is labeled a PG - because he can handle the ball and his AST% is decent for a PG. Not star like - but he is clearly a PG at the NBA level.

We are lucky we have him, to be honest. I wish more people would realize it.

For the record - I am guilty of the same thing - I honestly thought very little of him in his first stint in Portland and the start of his 2nd stint. He is a better player than what I thought.
 
andalusian said:
How can Blake be a bust? He was taken in the 2nd round, right? Can't imagine how someone could be a 2nd round pick and considered a bust.

Say what you want about Blake - he is a hard worker and he was a starter on two decent NBA playoff teams in a 6 year career. That's not bad at all. When you realize that he was very successful at the College level and high-school level - it is clear that some people do not realize that he is better than most think of him.

Is he a star? No. Is he as awful as people think of him - not even close.

He is more than a 3pt shooter that is labeled a PG - because he can handle the ball and his AST% is decent for a PG. Not star like - but he is clearly a PG at the NBA level.

We are lucky we have him, to be honest. I wish more people would realize it.

For the record - I am guilty of the same thing - I honestly thought very little of him in his first stint in Portland and the start of his 2nd stint. He is a better player than what I thought.
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What are you talking about? I never called him a bust.
 
Nikolokolus said:
What are you talking about? I never called him a bust.
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I was not accusing you of anything. I was agreeing with you said... you specifically said that he was not a bust - I just wanted to point that I find it absurd for anyone to even consider him a bust candidate - because he was taken in the 2nd round...

I just went on rambling because this is a thread about Blake, in general.
 
andalusian said:
I was not accusing you of anything. I was agreeing with you said... you specifically said that he was not a bust - I just wanted to point that I find it absurd for anyone to even consider him a bust candidate - because he was taken in the 2nd round...

I just went on rambling because this is a thread about Blake, in general.
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Ah ... that rant kind of made it seem more like a refute than an agreement.
 
Never mind that I have seen a ton of players be successful in the lower eschelons of basketball and not do diddly when they got to the NBA. Blake hasn't quite done "diddly", but he hasn't exactly shined either.
 
mook said:
Apparently, assist records don't translate to the NBA, but rebounding does.
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I think it's more than just not translating, it's that any record-worthy PG leaves for the pro's long before amassing those totals. A great college assister is like a collegiate gymnast ... not good enough to make the cut early.
 
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