Failing Chemistry

[Schilly]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that Juwan start. But honestly I'd much rather give Juwan 10mpg backing up LMA than give those minutes to Travis.

 

[noknobs]

I don't know, I'm actually less worried now than I was a few games ago. I think it'll all work itself out and I do think KP will finally have to (and will) do a consolidation trade this year which will help.

In the meantime, it may take a few weeks into the regular season for the team to find it's groove and its rotation, but it's a long season. New faces and key guys sitting out all while Nate continues to tinker on a half-by-half basis will do that. But two of the three first games, including the season opener at home, are against the Houston Rockets, so I have no worries that the team will be up for those. The other is against division rival Denver at home on national television. Not saying they'll be poetry in motion or even win these games but I think we'll see an effort that has been lacking in the preseason. The rest will follow.

I think it could be somewhat of a blessing in disguise for this team to have a rough preseason as opposed to a great one. It's almost like they're expecting to be great this year and don't have the same us-against-the-world chip on their shoulder they did last year. By getting stomped on several occasions, hopefully they'll realize they're going to have to apply themselves when the games start to count.

At the moment we're 0-0 and so is everyone else.

Miller/Blake
Roy/Rudy
Batum/Webster
Aldridge/Howard
Oden/Joel

Seems like there's a lot to be optimistic about. But I warn you, we will lose games this year, so for all you bi-polar folks out there, stock up on your meds and remain calm. This isn't an insult, it's just good advice.

 

[PapaG]

If the PG position is going to be the leading shooter and not a passer, I'd rather see Bayless play over Miller.

 

[PapaG]

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

You've been around here long enough to know that new things are shiny and old things are junk.

 

[hasoos]

To the people that keep saying this team is too deep, I call bullshit. The problem is there isn't a level of talent difference between the guys that have playing time, and the guys that do not. This team is not as talented. as any of the teams from 88 to 92 and none of the teams Pippen was on. This is a 3 horse team. If those 3 aren't playing, it gets FUGLY. The reason that the teams I mentioned above were happy and good with chemistry is that the rotation was short, and all the guys who played got good minutes. The other important factor being, the coach did not put players out on the floor who would jeapardize the win unless they were forced to by foul trouble. They pretty much ran 8 players. several of those players were versatile enough to play multiple positions and get their minutes that way. The reason being, you keep your best 5 out of on the floor to give you your best chance to win. You mix in and out a few other guys and keep their minutes up so they are used to playing with each other. You keep several starters in at all times to keep the team stable, and to keep the playing time at an non issue. The rest of the players just shut the fuck up and sit their time on the bench, and be ready to be called if fouls become an issue.

You will also note, that Roys game has suffered when he doesn't have the ball. He has not been successful with off the ball play. Perhaps it is time to give in, and finally just make Roy the PG. That would allow Rudy to move into the starting lineup and get minutes to make him happy. Rudy could share duties of getting the ball up the court, which is really what takes a heavy toll on PG types. We know he can do it. It would make the Blazers really big to start the game, which would dictate a size mismatch on the opposition. Similar to when LA ran Ron Harper and Kobe in the back court. It worked pretty fucking good.

 

[ironcrotch]

Watching you guys meltdown over a preseason game in which half the team wasn't playing is funny.

 

[rocketeer]

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.

look at their numbers. look at their numbers at the power forward position. watch them play. all of those things show outlaw is a vastly better player than howard.

 

[Wheels]

Watching you guys meltdown over a preseason game in which half the team wasn't playing is funny.

isnt it though.

 

[blue32]

Watching you guys meltdown over a preseason game in which half the team wasn't playing is funny.

Although it does move along discussions on the board right? If nobody was talking, it'd be quite a boring place to browse....

 

[rocketeer]

You've been around here long enough to know that new things are shiny and old things are junk.

that's true. i'm not sure why i even bothered with this argument. i guess i was too quick to forget people calling for guys like josh mcroberts or shavlik randolph to get minutes.

 

[hasoos]

look at their numbers. look at their numbers at the power forward position. watch them play. all of those things show outlaw is a vastly better player than howard.

Bullshit. Howards basketball IQ makes him a vastly superior player to Outlaw. Outlaw can only thrive when given a mismatch at the PF position which allows him to take advantage of a slower power forward from the perimiter, and then, only on the offensive end. Travis cannot defend, nor rebound, and gets hammered on the defensive end when playing a physical power forward type. In this pre season alone I have seen 3 times where Howard got a rebound, noticed Greg Oden with a mismatch, directed him to get deep post position, and got him the ball for an easy score. Travis Outlaw will never ever be able to do that. The difference being, Howard recognizes which horse will get him to the finals, where with Travis "I'm Open" Outlaw, its just a matter of getting his next contested pull up jumper when a better shot is available.

 

[MARIS61]

The team needs a pass-first PG who enjoys setting up players without regard to his personal stats.

With Miller we have drifted further from that than we were last year.

Consolidate all you want but as long as Miller has the rock this team is going nowhere.

 

[Nikolokolus]

The team needs a pass-first PG who enjoys setting up players without regard to his personal stats.

With Miller we have drifted further from that than we were last year.

Consolidate all you want but as long as Miller has the rock this team is going nowhere.

Personally I hope KP trades for the worst point guard in the league, I'm sure that guy won't care at all about his stats as he'll be happy just to be on a team and collecting a paycheck. Sounds like a foolproof blueprint for success.

 

[MARIS61]

Bullshit. Howards basketball IQ makes him a vastly superior player to Outlaw.

If that's all it takes to be a "vastly superior player to Outlaw" then we should forget Howard and play Luke, or sign Bill Walton or Jack Ramsey to play in Travis's stead.

Howard will never scratch the surface of TO's physical talent, no matter how many books he reads while riding the pines.

 

[MARIS61]

that's true. i'm not sure why i even bothered with this argument. i guess i was too quick to forget people calling for guys like josh mcroberts or shavlik randolph to get minutes.

Shavlik's day in the sun (starts about 5:00):



And Josh's

 

[MARIS61]

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.

What do you base any of this on?

Webster has played better than Nic but you don't mention that.

Overall, Bayless has played better than Roy this preseason but you don't want him to start.

Ime has been our best guard overall hands down, but you're not screaming for him to start.

Playing favorites?

 

[MARIS61]

To the people that keep saying this team is too deep, I call bullshit.

You can never be too deep.

But this team has far too much depth for Old Man Miller's liking.

For some bizarre reason, he does not seem to welcome the chance to be the league's assist leader this year.

Most PG's would be licking their chops and practicing their behind-the-back passes.

 

[MrSelfDestruct]

Personally I hope KP trades for the worst point guard in the league, I'm sure that guy won't care at all about his stats as he'll be happy just to be on a team and collecting a paycheck. Sounds like a foolproof blueprint for success.

You think Sac will trade him back?

 

[LittleAlex]

look at their numbers. look at their numbers at the power forward position. watch them play. all of those things show outlaw is a vastly better player than howard.

I have watched Outlaw play for 6 years, 3 of them live.

Outlaw is clueless on the basketball court.

Outlaw isn't vastly better then Howard. They are both not all that great. It's just Howard does some of the little things that make other guys better while Outlaw just throws the ball in the air.

How many games have you watched Outlaw play in? His stats definitely don't tell the whole story.

 

[Ed O]

I don't see how the "chemistry" could be good with seven different starting lineups. It's pretty silly to ascribe a bumpy preseason where we have had several nagging injuries and over half of the starting lineup up for grab a failure based on "chemistry".

Players need to get used to one another and Nate needs to settle on a rotation. I don't blame him for trying new things because it's important for him to make decisions based on as much information as possible. A sub-.500 record and an article about "failing at chemistry" is a very small price to pay for a more educated decision.

Ed O.

 

[rocketeer]

I have watched Outlaw play for 6 years, 3 of them live.

Outlaw is clueless on the basketball court.

Outlaw isn't vastly better then Howard. They are both not all that great. It's just Howard does some of the little things that make other guys better while Outlaw just throws the ball in the air.

How many games have you watched Outlaw play in? His stats definitely don't tell the whole story.

i've watched outlaw play in a lot of games. juwan howard as well(though most of the games i've seen of howard were when he was definitely better than he currently is). outlaw is the far superior player right now even at the pf position.

 

[KingSpeed]

I don't understand the idea behind a "consolidation trade." We have 15 roster spots. Do people want us to have less players? Or less good players? I'm confused.

As for Outlaw, you all have written him off but he is going to get playing time and he is going to help us win games.

I love Juwan. Go Blue! I'm glad he's on our team but look at the numbers, the guy grabbed 1.8 rebounds per game in 11 minutes per game last season. He's had a nice preseason but he's not the answer at backup PF. Millsap is. Or was. In the meantime, we have Outlaw who can cause matchup problems and give us scoring when things are going badly. He can also hit big game pressure shots.

 

[KingSpeed]

i've watched outlaw play in a lot of games. juwan howard as well(though most of the games i've seen of howard were when he was definitely better than he currently is). outlaw is the far superior player right now even at the pf position.

Exactly! And he's only... what? 24? 25? You don't throw away Outlaw for Juwan Howard.

 

[PHXBlazer1]

You can never be too deep.

But this team has far too much depth for Old Man Miller's liking.

For some bizarre reason, he does not seem to welcome the chance to be the league's assist leader this year.

Most PG's would be licking their chops and practicing their behind-the-back passes.

Miller led the NBA in assists one year. Sergio will never have a season that even rivals Miller's worst season in any statistcal category, averaging at least 17 min per game. If Sergio never averages 17 min per game, well, he isn't good enough. He's on the worst team in the NBA now, so here's his chance. It is still preaseason and we haven't put our starting lineup (Miller, Roy, Batum, Aldridge, Oden) out there once for starter's minutes in a meaningful game.

In another thread, Maris, you mentioned you had been a Blazer fan for 4 decades. That means you are at least 40 years old. I rarely post before the season, but you're just too much. Good luck to you, sir. Please keep up the comic routine, its free entertainment in these rough economic times.

 

[Ed O]

I don't understand the idea behind a "consolidation trade." We have 15 roster spots. Do people want us to have less players? Or less good players? I'm confused.

Better players at the top of the rotation. Strengthen our 4th through 9th guy or guys, rather than have 11 or 12 players who are all pretty good... since 11 or 12 man rotations aren't very realistic in the regular season and almost impossible in the playoffs.

I think a consolidation trade would have made sense for the past year or two, but at this point this year it's probably better to just see how this is gonna work out than shake things up again.

Ed O.

 

[LittleAlex]

Exactly! And he's only... what? 24? 25? You don't throw away Outlaw for Juwan Howard.

I would throw Outlaw away for a box of popcorn. Howard is just gravy.

 

[LittleAlex]

i've watched outlaw play in a lot of games. juwan howard as well(though most of the games i've seen of howard were when he was definitely better than he currently is). outlaw is the far superior player right now even at the pf position.

We will have to agree to disagree then.

It appears we value different things in a player.

I want a guy at that position that knows what he is doing and helps make the other players better.

I am positive that Outlaw doesn't make anyone on the floor better and it is clear that when he doesn't have the ball Outlaw hasn't the slightest idea what to do with himself on the court.

Hopefully, neither guy plays much since I would like LMA to get around 36 minutes a night.

 

[STOMP]

Hopefully, neither guy plays much since I would like LMA to get around 36 minutes a night.

hopefully scores are regularly lopsided and LA only plays 32 MPG or so. I'm also hopeful that you will drop the "have you ever seen him play" BS that you've been trotting out when someone disagrees with you.

STOMP

 

[PapaG]

Exactly! And he's only... what? 24? 25? You don't throw away Outlaw for Juwan Howard.

I'm wondering if Karl Malone is available at the back-up PF. He's a heady player.

How about Bob Pettit?

 

[oldmangrouch]

I'm wondering if Karl Malone is available at the back-up PF. He's a heady player.

How about Bob Pettit?

The Outlaw bashing does get rather old. A reserve making around $3.5 mil is not going to play like an all-star making $10 mil. Do people just not pay attention to the quality of players other teams have sitting on their benches? Some fans need to have more realistic expectations.