Game Thread: Preseason Tues Oct 7 vs Sacramento

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Just got back from the game.

Most of my impressions can probably be found somewhere in this thread . . . so I'll just hit a couple points:

Rudy is going to be fun to watch. I'm sure posters are raving about him . .. I was behind the Blazer bench (row D baby), so I was opposite court of the 2nd half and didn't grasp all of what Rudy was doing until I watched the replays. But beyond the plays, I love the way he carries himself. Confident but humble . . . posed with that "swagger" (for lack of a better term).

Oden: admittedly I've been a little hard on Oden (stir the pot). But I take it back. If Oden stays healthy, he will be a force in the NBA. Just how soon is the question. I can tell you that during timeouts, he was huffing and puffing . . . sucking air trying to catch his breath. (Weird to see with all the other players breathing normally.)

So right now, not in game shape, he is a big, strong, presence out there and throwing his body around. When he gets in game shape, gets his timing down and his teamates learn to play with him . . . well I just hope it is sooner rather than later because I can not wait.

I know, it only one preseason game against some weak bigs, but great game and I am pumped.

Time to go watch the debate . . . peace.
 
It's easy to forget that Oden hasn't played ball for over a year. Anyone who has played ball in the past knows that basketball shape is different than being able to jog or ride a bike. It will take at least 2-3 more weeks before he'll start to feel better. Until then, he'll be tired, out of breath, and huffing/puffing down the court. It's going to take some time before he gets back into the shape that he was in.
 
I don't know how many of you actually saw the game. Late report just in case:

MVP: Rudy. Best vision on the team. The between the legs pass was amazing, but he has that kind of vision every time he touches the ball. I don't see how you can keep him off the court. He really makes Martell and Outlaw look good. Aldridge was connecting too. ESPN sucks. Show Oden, but no Rudy highlights.

Roy: see last season. He looks just as calm and good.

Oden: had a solid game. Looked tired. Had some nice dunks, but didn't elevate like in the past. I think it was just because he was so tired. Best thing about Oden: Dunks in the post and knows exactly how/when to pass out of the double team!!!!

Aldridge: had a rough start, but played well on both ends and hit some nice shots in the second half.

Sergio: not as spectacular as Rudy, but decent. Hit his shots, but I want to see more than one game before I believe. Nice connection with Rudy.

Outlaw: still creates his same shot. Looks good playing with Rudy in the second unit.

Bayless: pushes the ball like nobody else on the court. Once he gets the system down, it's like having a quicker version of Roy on the court. Nice ball handling and blowing by defenders.

Joel: what a luxury to have him off the bench. Played very well. It's like having a starting quality center for the entire game. How many teams have this?

Team: amazing the amount of talent out there. Everybody has something they do well.

The Bad:

Webster: You take Rudy out of the game and he has a hand full of defensive rebounds and nothing else. Trade alert. I was really hoping for more. Maybe next game.

Neutral:

Diogu: after he got warmed up, he did some nice things. If they want post scoring with Joel, he is a nice option.

Batum: showed more in this game than all of summer league. Solid defense, very nice handle, nice hops and driving ability. Next year he could replace Webster.

Hill, Randolph, etc.: bye.
 
Natebishop3 said:
It's easy to forget that Oden hasn't played ball for over a year. Anyone who has played ball in the past knows that basketball shape is different than being able to jog or ride a bike. It will take at least 2-3 more weeks before he'll start to feel better. Until then, he'll be tired, out of breath, and huffing/puffing down the court. It's going to take some time before he gets back into the shape that he was in.
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Right now, he probably sucks on a relative level. Of course, him sucking is still better than half the centers in the league. Wait until he gets his legs under him...he's going to be good.
 
omg omg omg omg omg. I love this team
just got back, that was the most fun I've had at a Blazer game for a few years (I've got horrible luck, I always go to the crappy efforts against Seattle or whatever)

Rudy is motherfuckin' awesome. Period.

Oden - I thought he looked slow up and down the court, but an absolute beast down low. He was 1-4 on a baby hook, with all three of the misses looking real bad. had a monster block on Hawes?

Sergio - great, but maybe that's just because his shot was falling. need to see more

Bayless - wasn't as good as Sergio on the night, but clearly has the athleticism to drive at will. He made a few nice passes, one or two more questionable ones, nothing to worry about, he'll develop fine. Looked solid defensively. If Sergio keeps it up, Bayless will probably be 3rd string, but I wouldn't bet for the whole season. T-Rex is just too athletic to be kept off the court.

Diogu - looked like a Z-bo out there, he was aggressive but out of control. Not bad for a 3rd string PF though.

Webster - nice game in the end, but I'm with Reep - without Rudy I'm not sure if he really played that well.

Batum - nice dunk, but still needs to be more aggressive. that other play, where he got a loose ball beneath the basket, he went up with a soft dunk that got blocked. His long arms help him get rebounds, he looked pretty good defensively for a 19 year old, made a nice steal. His shot doesn't look that great, from my crappy seats it looks like he releases it with his hands fairly low. An encouraging game from him though.

Nothing new from anyone else.

Of course, all this was against an atrociously crappy shitty turd of a team in Sacramento. Holy shit they suck. They blow so hard they don't even need water to make bubbles. God damn. Hawes and Moore looked so overmatched, and they had no scoring without Kevin Martin.

And it's preseason. But still, I'm really psyched about this team. All the cautious optimism has been replaced by KingSpeed style 82-0 sort of optimism. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. I've been fearing the worst from Oden, but after tonight it's looking better. Hopefully his quickness comes back, at the moment I'd compare him to the current version of Shaq.

Also, the ESPN clip from here http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=281007022 has a few Rudy highlights, not as many as he deserved though.
 
Reep said:
The Bad:

Webster: You take Rudy out of the game and he has a hand full of defensive rebounds and nothing else. Trade alert. I was really hoping for more. Maybe next game.
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Eh, I think Webster did pretty well. And for someone to have led the team in scoring, and get a 'bad' rating, that's not bad.
He played well off Rudy and Sergio when he was with that unit, and didn't force anything. I actually think Martell was one of the bright spots on the night.
 
Just got back from the game.

I see other recaps, so I'll keep this kind of brief (after typing the below, I realized it wasn't as brief as I originally anticipated)

First and foremost, Rudy will be a ROY finalist. I'm not saying he's going to win it, but he'll be in the discussion, no doubt about it. He'll have plenty of ESPN highlights to keep him in the mix.

Here's the weird thought I had about Rudy while I was watching tonight's game. The disappointment and "what ifs" we felt as Blazer fans for being robbed of Sabonis's prime years have been reconciled in Rudy Fernandez. Different position, yes. But his impact, his vision, his fearlessness and pure understanding of the game resembles Sabonis. Rudy looks NOTHING like a rookie out there. He completely "gets it" and will be as much of an impact as Oden his rookie year.

To Oden. I finally saw in him what he can be for us, and it's down right impressive. This kid, and I EMPHASIZE kid, is growing in so many ways, and none of them are physical. He's scared. He's anxious. He has doubt. He's coming off the kind of surgery that inherently will put doubt in an athletes mind. But I will say this - the difference between Oden at Fan Fest and the Oden tonight was obvious, and he only became more and more comfortable and confident as tonight's game wore on. By the end of the game, I became convinced that it will only take the course of the pre-season for Oden to regain his complete confidence. I could literally see his confidence grow as the game went on. By the first regular season game, I believe we will be watching a dominant Greg Oden. I don't mean a 20/10 player out of the gate, but a player that changes the face of the game every time he steps on the court. Every thing changes when Greg is out there. Had Aldridge hit even 40% of his shots in the first half, the Blazers would have won by 50. That's the difference Greg makes. It's just incredible. We haven't seen anything like this, as Blazer fans, since Walton. I officially have no doubt about Greg Oden. It's just going to take a little time.

As a side note, I have no idea how teams are going to develop a successful defensive scheme against the Blazers this season. That is a job I would not want. This team can hurt you in so many ways, it's almost futile to even try to figure it out. Seriously. If it's not Oden banging you, and forcing you in to foul trouble, then it's Aldridge hitting the wide open jumper. Or maybe it's Brandon slashing in to the lane, forcing the defense to collapse, and Rudy or Webster hitting a wide open three. Or what about Bayless absolutely breaking down the defense and drawing a foul our laying it in? Or Outlaw creating his own shot and dropping it in your eye? I mean really - we could go on and on.......

This team is ready now. Not to win a Championship, because so much fortune goes in to winning a Championship, so it can never be assumed. But what I will say, despite the level of competition tonight, this Blazers team is ready to compete at the highest level THIS SEASON.
 
BlazerCaravan said:
You know that youtube video where the kid gets the N64 and freaks his shit out? This team is that N64. We're seeing a present we all wanted, and it's all we could have hoped for.
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Go Blazers!

Ed O.
 
stop hating Martell

"The Bad:

Webster: You take Rudy out of the game and he has a hand full of defensive rebounds and nothing else. Trade alert. I was really hoping for more. Maybe next game."

5-8 shooting and 4-4 from the stripe. All three misses were from three range. You do realize that moving without the ball and getting open are just as much part of basketball as passing the basketball to the open man is, right? Take away Martell and Rudy's passes are flying into the stands. lol
 
i think we need to package raef travis and first rounder for a defensive 3 point vet
 
How did Roy look? I didn't start watching until late second quarter. I know he put up some points but how did he look? Did his surgery slow him down at all?
 
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Roy looked like himself with a better shot. It looked like it was an easy game for him. He did everything he usually does only effortlessly. It is clear that having Greg open the middle and Rudy to back him up makes the game very easy for Roy. He can still do all the things he wants to - but does not need to work as hard to them.
 
Re: stop hating Martell

Pontius said:
"The Bad:

Webster: You take Rudy out of the game and he has a hand full of defensive rebounds and nothing else. Trade alert. I was really hoping for more. Maybe next game."

5-8 shooting and 4-4 from the stripe. All three misses were from three range. You do realize that moving without the ball and getting open are just as much part of basketball as passing the basketball to the open man is, right? Take away Martell and Rudy's passes are flying into the stands. lol
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Maybe we have been using Webs wrong. He does just fine (exhibit last night) when you have somebody looking for him and expecting him to move without the ball. He has already learned from Rudy to move without the ball and Rudy would just as soon pass as be the one on the move. Great connection. Rudy is the Roy of the second unit and Web is the Rudy of the second unit, sort a. :crazy:

g
 
andalusian said:
Roy looked like himself with a better shot. It looked like it was an easy game for him. He did everything he usually does only effortlessly. It is clear that having Greg open the middle and Rudy to back him up makes the game very easy for Roy. He can still do all the things he wants to - but does not need to work as hard to them.
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Definitely. I remember one pick-and-roll play he ran with Oden. He sets a big, nice pick that frees up Roy at the three point line. A third defender rotated off the three point shooter in the corner and got whacked for a foul. Roy was hammered, but by then he'd already delivered it to Oden for a wide-open dunk.

Dunk didn't count, but it clearly demonstrated how teams are really going to have to pick their poison on the Roy/Oden pick and roll. You have to stop Roy or he'll finish at the rim, you have to leave a guy (or two) on Oden because he can catch and dunk anything, and you don't want to leave Webster or Fernandez or Blake open in the corner. It's like watching Nash/Amare, except Nash is 30 pounds heavier and wants to dunk.

The biggest loser in this could be Aldridge. He's a legit 20 ppg scorer, but I just don't see how you run that many plays for him when the Roy/Oden pick-and-roll is impossible to defend. (By "loser" I mean he averages 15 ppg just off jumpers and situations where Roy or Oden are out of the game.)
 
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mook said:
The biggest loser in this could be Aldridge. He's a legit 20 ppg scorer, but I just don't see how you run that many plays for him when the Roy/Oden pick-and-roll is impossible to defend. (By "loser" I mean he averages 15 ppg just off jumpers and situations where Roy or Oden are out of the game.)
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I dunno. Keep in mind with a pick and roll that dangerous teams will have to get help from somewhere. Only another big man is really going to slow Oden down, so I forsee a lot of Aldridge long jumpers resulting from that pick and roll. Plus of course the pick and pops when Oden is out of the game.
 
mook said:
The biggest loser in this could be Aldridge. He's a legit 20 ppg scorer, but I just don't see how you run that many plays for him when the Roy/Oden pick-and-roll is impossible to defend. (By "loser" I mean he averages 15 ppg just off jumpers and situations where Roy or Oden are out of the game.)
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I disagree. You saw that Aldridge had a bad shooting night and still finished with 13 points in 25 minutes... His FG% was 33% compared to 48% last year.

Extrapolate his shots to 35MPG and bring his FG% to where it was last year - and you are looking at a 22 PPG player. Oden makes like for Aldridge easier as well - he just was not connecting last night. We have seen Aldridge enough to know that this will not be the norm.
 
Here's a well-put-together Blazers highlight package from the Kings' broadcast with all of the good plays from last night's game:

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-Pop
 
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