Failing Chemistry

[Nikolokolus]

The Oregonian's Joe Freeman has an interesting take on the team's performance tonight:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/portland_97_utah_108_blazers_g.html

Maybe this is why so many of us felt like beating our heads against a wall when KP failed to do any kind of consolidation trade -- a team chock full of young guns looking to score their first extension and 12-13 of them likely rotation quality at a minimum and are we really supposed to be surprised that a team with too many chiefs and not enough indians is having trouble finding its way when no roles (aside from Roy) are really defined for this squad?

Not trying to be alarmist, but boy oh boy does this thing feel like it's teetering on a knife's edge -- this team just has that feeling that it is either going to be a disaster or a fucking masterpiece, without a whole lot of middle ground.

drink 'em if you got 'em, it's going to be an interesting ride.

 

[rocketeer]

preseason.

 

[Nikolokolus]

preseason.

I agree ... to a point, there just doesn't seem to be much flow with this team right now and tonight's game was reportedly treated like a regular season game (at least by Nate). But this team's struggles really aren't even about tonight, there's just something about this team that makes it feel like a football team with nothing but quarterbacks, wide recievers and running backs on the roster and not enough nose tackles, centers and fullbacks.

 

[Schilly]

preseason nothing, this team is way way too deep. The problem it creates is it muddles roles too much. After watching them play tonight and having followed all the other games I have no clue how to possibly divvy up the minutes. 3 guys tonight became clear to me as guys that need to be playing, Cunningham, Bayless and Howard. The problem is where do you play them and at what expense of PT to who? In my mind Howard has to be our backup PF. He plays so smart and he absolutely is a big time leader on the floor. He literally is like a coach on the floor. Cunningham probably is #12 on the bench but man he is way too good for that, he should be getting PT every single night, same with Bayless.

This team in all honesty is far too deep. I don't know what I would trade for, but I do know we should do something, if nothing else the depth is adding to McMillans indecisiveness.

 

[rocketeer]

I agree ... to a point, there just doesn't seem to be much flow with this team right now and tonight's game was reportedly treated like a regular season game (at least by Nate). But this team's struggles really aren't even about tonight, there's just something about this team that makes it feel like a football team with nothing but quarterbacks, wide recievers and running backs on the roster and not enough nose tackles, centers and fullbacks.

nate can say that all he wants but collins, cunningham, udoka, howard, and bayless playing significant minutes says otherwise.

really, the blazers just have one too many guys in the rotation. someone is going to get left out at the small forward position. either that or all three guys will be unhappy. i'd expect that someone will initially get left out(maybe outlaw just getting the backup 4 minutes and that's it) but that over the course of the season injuries and their play will be able to sort things out.

oh and bayless won't be happy being on the bench even more than he was last season but that's what the blazers committed to by bringing in miller but at this point i'm not seeing why that matters.

 

[Schilly]

I agree ... to a point, there just doesn't seem to be much flow with this team right now and tonight's game was reportedly treated like a regular season game (at least by Nate). But this team's struggles really aren't even about tonight, there's just something about this team that makes it feel like a football team with nothing but quarterbacks, wide recievers and running backs on the roster and not enough nose tackles, centers and fullbacks.

Yeah this team is terribly out of sync. Even our starting unit from last year. I don't want to rag on the guy casue I don't want to be accused of Trolling, but Blake literally has been one of if not our worst player in preseason, the others being Outlaw and Collins.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Kind of easy for me. Bayless gets PT at the expense of Blake, Howard at the expense of Outlaw, and DC/Webster/Batum get to fight it out. Hot hand+heady play+tough D each night gets you minutes. Complacency does not.

 

[rocketeer]

preseason nothing, this team is way way too deep. The problem it creates is it muddles roles too much. After watching them play tonight and having followed all the other games I have no clue how to possibly divvy up the minutes. 3 guys tonight became clear to me as guys that need to be playing, Cunningham, Bayless and Howard. The problem is where do you play them and at what expense of PT to who? In my mind Howard has to be our backup PF. He plays so smart and he absolutely is a big time leader on the floor. He literally is like a coach on the floor. Cunningham probably is #12 on the bench but man he is way too good for that, he should be getting PT every single night, same with Bayless.

This team in all honesty is far too deep. I don't know what I would trade for, but I do know we should do something, if nothing else the depth is adding to McMillans indecisiveness.

you're crazy if you think juwan howard has earned any kind of minutes for a playoff team at this stage in his career.

cunningham is a 2nd round pick. no reason to pencil him into any minutes at all, especially not based on preseason.

with bayless, he should have been playing last year over sergio and he should be playing this year as well. but he won't be, and really i don't see how it's a huge deal.

 

[MIXUM]

blazers will be the titans of the nba. major expectaions = a major letdown.

im just hoping playoffs at this point. we suck.

nate should just go ... miller, roy, webster, la, oden with rudy, batum, howard, and pryz off bench. let miller or roy always play pg.

 

[Minstrel]

im just hoping playoffs at this point. we suck.

Different year, same tune. This line from MIXUM basically means a new season is about to start! I'm not sure an NBA season is allowed to kick off before MIXUM says this.

If and when the Blazers win a championship, MIXUM will lead off the next year with, "sure this team won a title but theyre playing preseason like a bunch of complacent losers. theyre about to lose the respect of the nba as a fluke. im just hoping playoffs at this point. we suck."

 

[Schilly]

you're crazy if you think juwan howard has earned any kind of minutes for a playoff team at this stage in his career.

cunningham is a 2nd round pick. no reason to pencil him into any minutes at all, especially not based on preseason.

with bayless, he should have been playing last year over sergio and he should be playing this year as well. but he won't be, and really i don't see how it's a huge deal.

When I say they should be playing it means that they are good enough to play on a regular basis, but they are buried on the depth chart.

How do you suppose Howard hasn't justified playing 10mpg as a backup? Becasue of his age? You can't say a guy doesn't deserve minutes because he was a 2nd round pick, that's irrelevant where he is picked and what he does are 2 different things. And it seems we agree on Bayless. If Preseason doesn't mean anything to the coaches and determining PT and who plays well together, then why have it at all? So players can not prove to you their capacity to play the game?

 

[rocketeer]

When I say they should be playing it means that they are good enough to play on a regular basis, but they are buried on the depth chart.

How do you suppose Howard hasn't justified playing 10mpg as a backup? Becasue of his age? You can't say a guy doesn't deserve minutes because he was a 2nd round pick, that's irrelevant where he is picked and what he does are 2 different things. And it seems we agree on Bayless. If Preseason doesn't mean anything to the coaches and determining PT and who plays well together, then why have it at all? So players can not prove to you their capacity to play the game?

howard doesn't deserve minutes because he hasn't been effective for years. the blazers(and every team in the league) have guys better than him so that he should ideally never see the floor.

as far as cunningham, being a 2nd round pick doesn't disqualify him from playing but nothing he could do in the preseason can prove that he needs to be on the floor.

preseason just gets you ready for the season. it gives teams an opportunity to get players familiar with playing with each other in actual game situations and gives coaches an opportunity to try a lot of things out without it counting against them(unless you have a fanbase that is going to pretend it's meaningful, i guess). there is a reason that the win loss record is completely forgotten and doesn't count towards anything. it's meaningless.

 

[Schilly]

You're crazy for believing that Coaches don't use preseason to evaluate a players ability in game time situations. Can a player hit an open shot? What are their instincts? Do they have a knack for getting rebounds? You learn more about players by watching them in games...yes even preseason games, than you do from practicing.

And your opinion on Juwan Howard... Time will tell, but he has played pretty dang well. Disregard preseason altogether...puhhhlease.

 

[Natebishop3]

howard doesn't deserve minutes because he hasn't been effective for years. the blazers(and every team in the league) have guys better than him so that he should ideally never see the floor.

as far as cunningham, being a 2nd round pick doesn't disqualify him from playing but nothing he could do in the preseason can prove that he needs to be on the floor.

preseason just gets you ready for the season. it gives teams an opportunity to get players familiar with playing with each other in actual game situations and gives coaches an opportunity to try a lot of things out without it counting against them(unless you have a fanbase that is going to pretend it's meaningful, i guess). there is a reason that the win loss record is completely forgotten and doesn't count towards anything. it's meaningless.

You're jaded about Howard because of his time with the Rockets. He has played well with the Blazers.

 

[Schilly]

You're jaded about Howard because of his time with the Rockets. He has played well with the Blazers.

Doesn't matter new players can't earn PT in preseason, it apparently doesn't count.

 

[rocketeer]

You're crazy for believing that Coaches don't use preseason to evaluate a players ability in game time situations. Can a player hit an open shot? What are their instincts? Do they have a knack for getting rebounds? You learn more about players by watching them in games...yes even preseason games, than you do from practicing.

"preseason just gets you ready for the season. it gives teams an opportunity to get players familiar with playing with each other in actual game situations and gives coaches an opportunity to try a lot of things out without it counting against them."

And your opinion on Juwan Howard... Time will tell, but he has played pretty dang well. Disregard preseason altogether...puhhhlease.

time has already told that juwan howard sucks.

 

[rocketeer]

You're jaded about Howard because of his time with the Rockets. He has played well with the Blazers.

if he was bad on the rockets 5 seasons ago, bad on the mavs 2 seasons ago, bad on denver last season, and bad on charlotte last season what leads you to believe that something will change in portland?

i mean if they were getting even the juwan howard from houston that would be fine as a 10 minute a game big(though i still wouldn't play him over outlaw) but they're getting a juwan howard even worse than that.

 

[Schilly]

I have to be honest I didn't expect anything of Howard this year. But he is playing well, and he is the guy that Nate has gone to to start when Lamarcus has taken nights off. He is still fully capable of playing the backup minutes behind Lamarcus. Is he a stud starter? No not anymore, but he is a smart player and seems to be working well in Nates system.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Ben from Blazersedge.com gives his take ...

http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/10/21/1093958/media-row-report-blazers-97-jazz

Blech.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

blazers will be the titans of the nba. major expectaions = a major letdown.

im just hoping playoffs at this point. we suck.

nate should just go ... miller, roy, webster, la, oden with rudy, batum, howard, and pryz off bench. let miller or roy always play pg.

LEAVE MY TITANS ALONE!

 

[bintim]

Lots of good ideas on here. I don't think the sky is fallingbut we do have a LOT of good players. Right now KP is like a miser hoarding the gold.,,,,,,,but if some players don't accept a diminished role, I'm starting to think there could be a problem.....Hope not.

Maybe it's like that old song......"Love the One You're With" They are all good players, so find out who REALLY wants to be here and not on some other team someday and keep them.

You can't keep everybody happy...............unless of course you drug the gatorade.

 

[jlprk]

A lot of posters think we have a lot of depth. What is your definition? Is depth when your 2nd team is about equal to your 1st team, because they're both so experienced and talented? Or is depth when your 2nd team is about equal to your 1st team, because they're both so inexperienced and bad?

There is good depth and bad depth. Just because Webster is almost as good as Batum doesn't mean we have good depth at SF. We oversestimate our subs and some of the starters. The subs are young and are all potential, nothing accomplished yet in their careers. Some of them should be combined into consolidation trades, but Pritchard either doesn't agree, or agrees, but doesn't have the trading talent to pull it off. I think it's the latter, since he has never traded for a established starter. He himself is overrated, as well as the depth.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

Nate playing Frankenstein with the lineup in all seven games and some practices probably can explain a lot about the lack of chemistry.

 

[Mediocre Man]

As some of us have said, it appears Nate is not the right coach for this team to take the next step. 7 different line-ups in 7 games is stupid. Define some damn roles.

 

[Paxil]

The most you should take away from preseason is a pop quiz... no midterm... nothing that will give you an idea of the final grade.

Biggest thing I think we needed to do is figure out who will be on the team and the rotation... and in that respect I think preseason may have been a failure... I have no idea what Nate will do. I thought I heard somewhere that last nights game was supposed to be the same starting lineup as opening night... but with the injuries that may have changed. I wouldn't be suprised to see the same lineup as last year though.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

As some of us have said, it appears Nate is not the right coach for this team to take the next step. 7 different line-ups in 7 games is stupid. Define some damn roles.

Nate's so stubborn with his lineup!

No wait! He changes it up too much!

Nevermind that players have been going in and out with small injuries. Joel, then LMA, then Oden. Rudy and Batum needed rest. Oh no. Nevermind all that.

You're sounding kinda goofy now.

 

[tlongII]

Oden and Aldridge were out. Batum went out at the start of the game. That was the problem, not a lack of chemistry.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Nate's so stubborn with his lineup!

No wait! He changes it up too much!

Nevermind that players have been going in and out with small injuries. Joel, then LMA, then Oden. Rudy and Batum needed rest. Oh no. Nevermind all that.

You're sounding kinda goofy now.

Not really. Nate should have had Oden, LA, Batum, Roy and Miller as the starers from the first preseason game. Oden has clearly showed he is better than Joel. Miller has shown he is clearly better than Blakey. Miller, Roy, Batum, and Oden would have started all but one game together, helping them build chemistry. Instead, Nate keeps changing around his line-ups trying to get Blakey in there. Blakey has started 5 games to Miller's 2. Only Aldridge would have been missing for more than one game.

 

[LittleAlex]

"preseason just gets you ready for the season. it gives teams an opportunity to get players familiar with playing with each other in actual game situations and gives coaches an opportunity to try a lot of things out without it counting against them."


time has already told that juwan howard sucks.

Maybe, but he doesn't suck as bad as Outlaw.

That is the only guy Howard has to beat out to get minutes. And he has handily done so.

I don't think Howard is all that good. It's just that Outlaw really is that terrible.

 

[alex42083]

you're crazy if you think juwan howard has earned any kind of minutes for a playoff team at this stage in his career.

I agree for the most part. The only lineup I'd use Juwan in is whenever Greg is in the game. They seem to play off each other well, more so than if you paired Travis with Greg.

But seeing Juwan last night in the starting lineup, Boozer, Fesenko and Deron had a field day inside with no resistance. Juwan has been a pleasant surprise but at this point of his career, he shouldn't be getting more than 5-7 minutes per game.