Closer?

[DUB]

So inspired by my post in the Utah game thread:

No-one to finish the game without Roy.

We're so used to handing the rock to B-Roy in the 4th, and just sitting back, and watching his wizardry.

Given his injury situation, who do we now turn to to close our games?

Dre, with his vet experience?

Wes, with his bulldog attitude?

L-Train, to encourage the face of this franchise to believe in himself?

Who should be our closer now?

 

[Nikolokolus]

He's not currently on the roster in my opinion.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

All you need is ....Courage

[/Blazer PR department]

*LaSigh*

 

[KingSpeed]

Miller closed the games vs New York and Memphis. He's the best we have. Tonight, he tried to do it as a passer, just like did against OKC when he handed the ball off to Rudy. Lesson learned, I guess. Don't pass, Andre.

 

[Public Defender]

The answer is, the Blazers don't have an answer. LaMarcus Aldridge is a very good second fiddle, but he's not going to lead the orchestra. Andre Miller is a great distributor and can score on occasion, but if he's all by himself, he just doesn't have the athleticism or whatever it is to dominate. Rudy has done great things under pressure on the international stage, but he's just never delivered like that in the NBA. Wes Matthews is too green... and other than that, there's really no one. Batum is too important as a defender, Camby isn't a scoring threat... The Blazers are missing a major piece of their foundation in Brandon Roy... asking who's going to fill the void is like contemplating what the Lakers would do without Kobe, or the Spurs without Duncan. The answer is: you're basically starting over.

 

[Nikolokolus]

The answer is, the Blazers don't have an answer. LaMarcus Aldridge is a very good second fiddle, but he's not going to lead the orchestra. Andre Miller is a great distributor and can score on occasion, but if he's all by himself, he just doesn't have the athleticism or whatever it is to dominate. Rudy has done great things under pressure on the international stage, but he's just never delivered like that in the NBA. Wes Matthews is too green... and other than that, there's really no one. Batum is too important as a defender, Camby isn't a scoring threat... The Blazers are missing a major piece of their foundation in Brandon Roy... asking who's going to fill the void is like contemplating what the Lakers would do without Kobe, or the Spurs without Duncan. The answer is: you're basically starting over.

I keep thinking of the Rockets last year, a team of role-players with no clear cut star with Yao out -- nobody to throw the ball into or hand to and expect a high percentage shot or a trip to the free throw line -- and yet they were still fairly competitive and managed a .500 record.

It's hard to know what kind of shape Roy will return in and just what he'll be able to do night and night out, I just hope that it's enough to give this team a boost. Best case seems to me that he plays 20-24 minutes per game and expends most of his energy in the last half of a game, but that's going to be a huge adjustment not only for him, but the team as a whole who is so used to deferring when he has the ball.

I think we're in for a somewhat painful adjustment period, but maybe we'll get lucky and they'll find some kind of balance ... and maybe Cho will be able to work out some kind of deal that actually fortifies the team's future prospects.

 

[craigehlo]

Time to trade Miller. Sad but true. 6-16 is straight up grarbage against a division rival.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Time to trade Miller. Sad but true. 6-16 is straight up grarbage against a division rival.

Shit, everybody aside from Armon and LMA had shitty percentages against Utah. I'm not dead-set against trading Miller for the right player, but it sure as hell isn't because of one subpar shooting night.

 

[craigehlo]

Shit, everybody aside from Armon and LMA had shitty percentages against Utah. I'm not dead-set against trading Miller for the right player, but it sure as hell isn't because of one subpar shooting night.

Reality check time. Andre is expendable.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Reality check time. Andre is expendable.

What did I just say?

 

[barfo]

Reality check time. Andre is expendable.

Everyone on the roster is expendable. The question is, for what?

barfo

 

[THE HCP]

There is nobody. Dre is the closest thing we have.

 

[BoomChakaLaka]

I know I'll be crucified for this one, but maybe we look to move Roy to Toronto for Bargs (who I think would thrive in this division) and bring him [Bargnani] off the bench as our 6th man to get some scoring depth. Scrap the "white team / black team" thing and opt for rotations that work against our given opponent.

At the trade deadline, look to move Andre for a young PG. What sort of young PG might Dre, draft picks...and Oden get us?

 

[Nikolokolus]

I know I'll be crucified for this one, but maybe we look to move Roy to Toronto for Bargs (who I think would thrive in this division) and bring him [Bargnani] off the bench as our 6th man to get some scoring depth. Scrap the "white team / black team" thing and opt for rotations that work against our given opponent.

At the trade deadline, look to move Andre for a young PG. What sort of young PG might Dre, draft picks...and Oden get us?

And people kill LMA for not rebounding enough ... speaking of crucified, holy balls, Andrea Punani would get strung up by this city for his lack of D and toughness.

 

[BoomChakaLaka]

But as a 6th man, we'd have his scoring! We simply have no bench scoring unless the second unit is running.....so bring in Bargs - and really run.

PS: I'm getting Luke warm on Nate as coach too.

 

[Nikolokolus]

But as a 6th man, we'd have his scoring! We simply have no bench scoring unless the second unit is running.....so bring in Bargs - and really run.

PS: I'm getting Luke warm on Nate as coach too.

I guess I prefer wings to be my bench scorers, because they usually have the handle to drive the lane and either draw a foul or take a high percentage shot. Bargnani doesn't strike me as a go-to scorer by any stretch.

 

[Pokemanzdood]

How about we just play Roy in the 4th quarter in close games. He can still be the closer!

 

[BoomChakaLaka]

Living in BC, I subscribe to NBATV - Toronto. I watch Bargs and while lazy on defense (not unlike LMA) he reminds me of a younger Dirk. Not Dirk, but with Nowitzki's 3-4 (big wing) player. I'd like to see LMA, Bargs and Iggy on the floor together, with Mathews and a speedster at the point. I'd start: Pryz with LMA, Batum, Iggy and a new, young PG.

Off the bench: Camby, Bargs, Rudy, Mathews and Armon.


Roy is my favorite and I have had dreams of a healthy Oden. Sadly, we better start thinking of changes sooner than later.

 

[Blazer4ever]

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2bb2k5a

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Gilbert's knee is shot as well AND on a max deal.

Come on, bruh!

 

[Kaydow]

Our problem wasn't that we don't have a closer last night. Our problem was CJ Miles had THE GAME OF HIS LIFE. And for some reason they kept letting him shoot.

How many teams DO have closers? There's only about 10 of them in the league. There are several good teams, including Utah, that don't have a "Go-To-Guy" to close out games.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Our problem wasn't that we don't have a closer last night. Our problem was CJ Miles had THE GAME OF HIS LIFE. And for some reason they kept letting him shoot.

How many teams DO have closers? There's only about 10 of them in the league. There are several good teams, including Utah, that don't have a "Go-To-Guy" to close out games.

Deron and Jefferson are both guys that I would call go-to. Jefferson in particular was double-teamed all night by the Blazers and still put up 20-14 on 8/13 shooting with only 1 turnover.

 

[Kaydow]

Deron and Jefferson are both guys that I would call go-to. Jefferson in particular was double-teamed all night by the Blazers and still put up 20-14 on 8/13 shooting with only 1 turnover.

Not buying that. Jefferson and his 16 ppg is not a closer. An effective post player? Sure. Not a closer. In the same way Lamarcus gets double-teamed quite a bit and still has nights where he puts up decent numbers - we can agree LA is no closer either. And D-Will is a fantastic PG, but not a guy you clear out and say "Get us a bucket".

I'm assuming by "Closer" we're talking about a guy who ices games by scoring the basketball.

 

[Eastoff]

We don't need a closer. We need the team to never let the opponents come back into the game.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Not buying that. Jefferson and his 16 ppg is not a closer. An effective post player? Sure. Not a closer. In the same way Lamarcus gets double-teamed quite a bit and still has nights where he puts up decent numbers - we can agree LA is no closer either. And D-Will is a fantastic PG, but not a guy you clear out and say "Get us a bucket".

I'm assuming by "Closer" we're talking about a guy who ices games by scoring the basketball.

I was replying to the notion that Utah doesn't have a 'go-to' player ... slightly different than a closer.

 

[Public Defender]

Our problem wasn't that we don't have a closer last night. Our problem was CJ Miles had THE GAME OF HIS LIFE. And for some reason they kept letting him shoot.

How many teams DO have closers? There's only about 10 of them in the league. There are several good teams, including Utah, that don't have a "Go-To-Guy" to close out games.

Utah does have a closer. Deron Williams. When a game is close, the ball is in his hands, and he's either going to run a pick-and-roll and score himself, or run a pick-and-roll and get the ball to the big, or he'll run the pick-and-roll and find the open shooter. We are talking about Utah, after all, so you know pick-and-roll is what's going to happen. And D-Will happens to be quite good at it.

 

[DUB]

I'm assuming by "Closer" we're talking about a guy who ices games by scoring the basketball.

People can define "closer" however they like, but this is more what I had in mind when starting the thread.

Utah does have a closer. Deron Williams. When a game is close, the ball is in his hands, and he's either going to run a pick-and-roll and score himself, or run a pick-and-roll and get the ball to the big, or he'll run the pick-and-roll and find the open shooter.

Really, just who we give the rock to to get the job done in the 4th.

Be that by scoring, or creating easy buckets for others; both ideally.

 

[jlprk]

I hope we can find some closure on this problem.