FWIW: Hoopsworld Chat

[mook]

So what did Boston do with Rondo in end of game situations?

What did SA do with Tony Parker during end ofgame situations? Neither of those 2 can hit the 3.

Clearly they always lost.

 

[mook]

Could we do Blake/Webs for Miller since they have NO need for Outlaw?
Still have our cap space for lopsided deal or another FA....

Why would they want Webster? He may never fully recover. He's not a horrible contract, but why sign up for several years of rehabbing a guy just to see if he'll ever be any good?

If I'm Philly, I'd rather just see Miller walk.

 

[Nikolokolus]

If they sag off him, he'll shoot mid-range jumpers, not perimeter shots. If they double off him, he'll either nail mid-range jumpers or attack the hoop, forcing big men to rotate and drawing fouls or finding teammates (like the person the big man rotated away from--possibly...Oden?) with passes. It's not at all true that unless you're a good three-point shooter, defenses can ignore you. Defenses could ignore Rodriguez because he couldn't hit any sort of jumpers, nor was he a good finisher. Miller can hit mid-range jumpers and is a good finisher.

That pretty much sums up my feelings when it comes to point guard play. Miller is never going to be able to do the stand in the corner thing that Blake does, but if his presence actually made the team a little less predictable and one dimensional in the way they run the high pick and roll is that really the worst thing in the world?

Regardless, I still think it's highly unlikely he ends up in a Blazers uniform.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Why couldnt this have just been posted in the other Miller threads? I dont get the need for some people to start a new thread all the time.

 

[PapaG]

Well they obviously sagged off of Blake as well, to cover for Roy. Look how many 3s the team shot. Why? Because teams worry first about protecting the lane. There wasn't a defender assigned at all times to stick right on Blake at the 3 point line because he was a good shooter. They sagged off. It happens all the time in the NBA. Players sag. So if Blake couldn't keep them honest, why should we really worry about Miller not being able to.

Correct. And Blake made them pay by hitting 43% of his 3 point shots. Miller only made 15 3pt FGs all of last season. How can you say that "Blake couldn't keep them honest"? Blake certainly did keep them honest, and Roy had more openings to penetrate in part because of Blake's excellent perimeter shooting.

If the opposition sagged, Blake made them pay by hitting 3s. If they didn't sag, Roy had more room to penetrate. I have no idea what you are talking about regarding "sagging" and Blake.

 

[BalancedMan]

I don't agree. I think the team is trading one weakness for a different one. You talk about how they double Brandon Roy at the end of the game, just wait until they sag off of Miller and let him shoot a 3 rather than penetrate. Or they use him to double off of because he is not a threat on the perimeter. Andre Miller is getting long in the tooth too. I have to wonder how effective he will be defensivly at this point of his career. Is he any upgrade at all there? Possibly, it would be hard not to.

You know, they could just run Brandon/Rudy as the backcourt in that situation. Who says Miller has to be in the game. Roy penetrates with the ball, and they don't leave Rudy/Webster/Outlaw (or Batum) open on the outside.

 

[hasoos]

You know, they could just run Brandon/Rudy as the backcourt in that situation. Who says Miller has to be in the game. Roy penetrates with the ball, and they don't leave Rudy/Webster/Outlaw (or Batum) open on the outside.

Well you know they could just run Rudy and Roy in the back court, and go sans Miller all together too. It would just take an adjustment period where Roy and Rudy learned to play together better, how to share the load. (Maybe it might help this year if they actually played that lineup before the playoffs, so they can actually know what they are doing before it is a very meaningful series...unlike last year) Orlando showed last year what a size mismatch in the back court can do. Short, fast guards don't look so great when they have to defend a taller wing player who can put the ball on the floor. If those larger players run the floor, it is even more of a problem for the smaller guards.

This goes back to the fact that right now the Blazers have no situation where they can manipulate a PG mismatch. It doesn't matter if you have a fast PG, tall PG, strong PG, it doesn't matter. Right now Portland basically throws a body out there and gets dominated by almost who ever shows up to play on the opposition. But what if instead we threw a 6'6" guard at them. Then at least part of the time, Portland has an advantage to exploit, instead of it being a one way exploitation, it is more of a battle.

Then given the above scenario you also go into many games where the opposition has a coach that likes to "Match up". Mike Dunleavy. Avory Johnson. Even George Karl can get suckered into it. They match up with what you do. That gives you a certain amount of games where you are playing your preferred lineup, and they are playing one where they match up with you. That means you are dictating the tempo of the game, and you have a much higher chance to win.

 

[oldmangrouch]

There seems to be the widespread perception that we shot a lot of threes as an intentional tactic to benefit Roy.

I call BS.

We shot so many threes because our perimeter players largely stunk at feeding the post. That's why the team was so dependent on Trout - he and LMA were the only "big" men who could create their own shot!

 

[Pinwheel1]

Why would they want Webster? He may never fully recover. He's not a horrible contract, but why sign up for several years of rehabbing a guy just to see if he'll ever be any good?

If I'm Philly, I'd rather just see Miller walk.

Just out of curiousity, how many NBA players lately (That are not centers) have not fully recovered from a broken foot. I am sure there is someone out there but I can not think of one. Anyone know? Is this really an issue?

 

[oldmangrouch]

Just out of curiousity, how many NBA players lately (That are not centers) have not fully recovered from a broken foot. I am sure there is someone out there but I can not think of one. Anyone know? Is this really an issue?

Normal recovery time from a "stress fracture" is supposed to be 6-8 weeks. Webster is pushing what, 10 months? Something funky is going on.

 

[SodaPopinski]

Why couldnt this have just been posted in the other Miller threads? I dont get the need for some people to start a new thread all the time.

I always get a kick out of how anal you are about not creating new threads. Honestly, who cares? Let the mods decide if it is worthy of a new thread or not. Personally, I appreciate it when someone feels they are coming to the board with some new information and they don't bury it in a thread I think I've read thoroughly.

Does it really cause you that much heartburn to have to navigate an additional thread that has somewhat of a similar pattern?

No offense, I think you're a great contributor to the board , I just don't get this sticking point with you.

 

[Minstrel]

Normal recovery time from a "stress fracture" is supposed to be 6-8 weeks. Webster is pushing what, 10 months? Something funky is going on.

Perhaps his brief return and re-injury is complicating it.

 

[Wheels]

So what did Boston do with Rondo in end of game situations?

What did SA do with Tony Parker during end ofgame situations? Neither of those 2 can hit the 3.

Batum is neither the shooter that Bowen (from the corners) nor Pierce or Allen is. Roy is probably as good as PP from 3, but not Ray Allen.

 

[Minstrel]

Batum is neither the shooter that Bowen (from the corners) nor Pierce or Allen is. Roy is probably as good as PP from 3, but not Ray Allen.

The team can always go with Miller, Fernandez, Roy, Aldridge and Oden in the final minutes of a game. Roy isn't ideal at small forward all game long, but he can certainly play the position late in close games.

Fernandez ain't a bad shooter.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Batum is neither the shooter that Bowen (from the corners) nor Pierce or Allen is. Roy is probably as good as PP from 3, but not Ray Allen.

Replace Batum with Travis, and re-run your calculations. Factor in that TO usually played in late-game scenarios and is closer to Bowen from the corners (his best spot to shoot 3's from).