Game Thread: Sacramento CSN 7pm (Pac) Dtv 755

[MARIS61]

He's the number one overall pick ... I don't think he should be expected to be dominant, but saying that he shouldn't start is ludicrous. If he's not good enough to start then KP miscalculated badly and should have taken a different player.

He was picked for what he will become in the future, not what he is now.

Right now he's our 4th best center, and we only have 2 centers so that tells you where he is.

Right now, he's playing for a coach who doesn't have a clue about the Big Man's game, or how to utilize his talents.

Right now he's out of shape, playing with guys who are new to him, and refs who are cruel to him.

I expected he'd have a hard time, but he was the right pick for the future.

I doubt he'll EARN the spot over Joel on his play this year. Joel's just too good.

Like LaMarcus, Greg will be handed the position, if he can ever stay out of foul trouble.

And we'll lose games this year beecause of it.

 

[Rodolfo]

At this point if I were Nate I'd start Channing over LA...It's not like they have much to lose. Maybe LA could excel in the second unit? thoughts?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I think that would be a good idea, just until LMA gets out of this slump.

Maybe the demotion will make him play with determination.

 

[Rodolfo]

I think that would be a good idea, just until LMA gets out of this slump.

Maybe the demotion will make him play with determination.

Take away the starting job and make him EARN a starting role on this team.

 

[C_note]

Oden's +/- was -22 in 19 min or w/e....Joel was +23.

Just about everyone else on our team was +/- 5 or so.

Oden is looking pretty lost out there most of the time...especially on defense, ironically.

 

[Darkwebs]

At this point if I were Nate I'd start Channing over LA...It's not like they have much to lose. Maybe LA could excel in the second unit? thoughts?

Channing has sucked all year though. He is in a shooting slump and the problem is that's all he is good for- his shooting. If he doesn't hit his shots, then he's useless. He's not a particularly good rebounder. His defense is below mediocre and he's slower, less athletic than Aldridge. I don't see how he could help us, unless he's on a hot streak.

 

[MARIS61]

Oden's +/- was -22 in 19 min or w/e....Joel was +23.

Just about everyone else on our team was +/- 5 or so.

Oden is looking pretty lost out there most of the time...especially on defense, ironically.

Outlaw was +17.

 

[B-Roy]

At this point if I were Nate I'd start Channing over LA...It's not like they have much to lose. Maybe LA could excel in the second unit? thoughts?

Why would you demote a key player just because he's playing in a slump? Did Boston demote Ray Allen when he fell into a slump in the playoffs?

 

[C_note]

Outlaw was +17.

Ya I saw that...I said just about everyone else. Batum was -10, FWIW.

 

[Rodolfo]

Why would you demote a key player just because he's playing in a slump? Did Boston demote Ray Allen when he fell into a slump in the playoffs?

I wouldn't consider LA a key player at this point.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

It may take a while for Lamarcus to get out of this slump. Last season, the first two weeks LaMarcus played great. He was mediocre at best until the last few months of the season. The guy just isn't as good as people want to believe.

He's not Rasheed Wallace. He's not Chris Bosh. He's closer to Joe Smith than anybody. He doesn't have a killer instinct/drive to be more than a 3rd/4th option on a playoff team. If he continues to be our second option it's going to be a LONG season.

 

[tlongII]

We got the W. That's all I care about.

 

[yenniedn]

We got the W. That's all I care about.

Amen . . . and who's booty is that in your avatar? It looks like Jessica Alba but pic is too small to tell for sure.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Nate McMillan is not a good NBA coach. He is a good PR swing, but damn can he learn to coach an offense outside of here Brandon, take the ball, everyone else get the fudge out of the way.
We need to start playing Bayless. I am tired of seeing Rose and DJ putting up great stats while we let our guy rot on the bench. We need another slasher and he can provide that. One of Sergio or Bayless has to go, just too inconsistent.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Also, can we please freaking utilize Rudy better than the occasional 3?

 

[MAS RipCity]

I agree LMA has played terrible lately but I do think he will turn it around soon. I think the whole team outside of Roy and Joel have played bad the last 3 games.

Exactly, no scapegoats please.
Players go into slumps, LMA just is in one right now. He is only 21!!!!! He has been posting up lately but he just can't get them to drop. He really reminds me of Sheed. I can recall Sheed trying to "aim" his shots at times and he would struggle, it appears LMA just isn't letting it fly but thinking about it too much.
I don't blame Rudy for his struggles, the team is not feeding him the fucking ball and when he tries to make a play happen the team isn't aware..see Channing tonight when Rudy spoon fed him an easy lay in.
I am really starting to believe Nate is not the long term coach..Batum plays well and only gets run at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd quarters.

 

[oldmangrouch]

That win was baboon-ass-ugly....but it was still a win. Our record right now is better than anybody had any right to expect. Personally, I'm frustrated with Oden - but I'm trying to keep it in perspective. Bashing everybody in sight is over-the-top.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Btw, Beno torched Blake and Sergio.

 

[Tince]

I'm surprised how much some of you value the +/- stat.

Defending centers who shoot 3's is never going to be good for Greg on the defensive end. People are saying that him having zero blocks in the last three games is a sign he's lost on defense, but since 2 of them were against the Kings and the other against Shaq, it's not too terribly surprising. I'll go out on a limb and guess he won't get any blocks on Okur either.

He's not polished, but he'll be ok. People overreact and now the expectations are way too high if we're upset about wins. 9-6 with a brutal opening schedule is pretty good for the 2nd youngest team in the league. At least it is in my book.

 

[KingSpeed]

I'm surprised how much some of you value the +/- stat.

Defending centers who shoot 3's is never going to be good for Greg on the defensive end. People are saying that him having zero blocks in the last three games is a sign he's lost on defense, but since 2 of them were against the Kings and the other against Shaq, it's not too terribly surprising. I'll go out on a limb and guess he won't get any blocks on Okur either.

He's not polished, but he'll be ok. People overreact and now the expectations are way too high if we're upset about wins. 9-6 with a brutal opening schedule is pretty good for the 2nd youngest team in the league. At least it is in my book.

Must all of his blocks be against opposing centers? Can't he block the little guys that venture into the paint?

 

[B-Roy]

I wouldn't consider LA a key player at this point.

Well, then you're part of the "what have you done for me lately?" bandwagon.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Tough game, we came out with the win. We GOTTA win games like this.

Oden was extremely disappointing.

Roy was freakin' amazing. LMA didn't play too bad and got a double double... once his shots fall he will be gettin 20+ppg and 9rpg. Travis did play well and is gettin' better on the off. boards and the defensive end. Joel was awesome. Sergio and Rudy were fine, I really want us to use Rudy better like we were earlier in the year.

Another nerve racking game... in a couple years if i'm still a hardcore Blazer fan my heart will def. not be in good shape. Does anyone else feel their heart can't keep going through with this? I know this is what sports are about though, high highs and low lows.

We will only get better from here guys, and with an extremely tough schedule we are 9-6 and it looks like we will get to 50 wins... Calm down, sooo much complaining after a win, Jesus.

Go Blazers!

Channing Frye: "They got a bunch of good players and we got Brandon Roy."

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Channing Frye: "They got a bunch of good players and we got Brandon Roy."

Love Channing. Brandon had similar comments about not being happy with this victory.

I think that's great that they're hold themselves to such a high standard. They EXPECT better. This is why they will make A LOT of noise in April and May!

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Better fuckin blow the team up. This just isn't working.

I mean he had 20 points and 9 rebound in the last game and then the next two he had 6 and 5 and the 0 and 2. He's clearly not a very good player.

He should sit and just miss the rest of the season.

Fast forward. Next season. 6 points and 1 point to start the season! 15 and 4; 5 and 5; 2 and 1. What the hell is happening?

We need to trade this Marcia Stoudemire now!

She sucks!

 

[crowTrobot]

We will only get better from here guys, and with an extremely tough schedule we are 9-6 and it looks like we will get to 50 wins...

9-6 is nice, but we're 1 miracle shot and 2 opponent easy misses at the buzzer away from being 6-9. also we've looked impotent against full-strength west contenders (suns, lakers), and we've been winning with hot outside shooting that will be better defended as the season goes on. i'd be surprised if we're really a 50 win team.

 

[MrJayremmie]

9-6 is nice, but we're 1 miracle shot and 2 opponent easy misses at the buzzer away from being 6-9. also we've looked impotent against full-strength west contenders (suns, lakers), and we've been winning with hot outside shooting that will be better defended as the season goes on. i'd be surprised if we're really a 50 win team.

LOL! you can say that about soo many teams. fact is that good playoff teams can win close games, and games where they play poorly like vs. Sacramento and Minnesota. We also could have won that Jazz game but didn't play well down the stretch, and we could have won the GS game, but lots of things happened at the end... why don't you count those and say we could be an 11 win team also? It goes both ways.

 

[THE HCP]

We won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[crowTrobot]

LOL! you can say that about soo many teams. fact is that good playoff teams can win close games, and games where they play poorly like vs. Sacramento and Minnesota. We also could have won that Jazz game but didn't play well down the stretch, and we could have won the GS game, but lots of things happened at the end... why don't you count those and say we could be an 11 win team also? It goes both ways.

yes it can go both ways. my point was our 9-6 record doesn't necessarily mean we are likely to be a 50 win team. more things have gone right than have gone wrong for us to get to this point.

 

[MrJayremmie]

yes it can go both ways. my point was our 9-6 record doesn't necessarily mean we are likely to be a 50 win team. more things have gone right than have gone wrong for us to get to this point.

Err... so our 9-6 record is because we have gotten lucky? We only have the toughest opening schedule in the NBA and were the first team in the NBA to 10 road games... we only had Oden out for a couple games and Webster out and still out for a little bit longer... We only blew 2 winnable games ON THE ROAD. We have only lost games to playoff teams (LA, Phoenix twice, Utah, New Orleans) and the Golden State on the road in a kinda crazy game, and all those losses were on the OTHER TEAMS HOME COURT!

We are well ahead of expectations, and we are only going to get better, and our schedule is only getting easier. I predicted 47-48 wins, but I am extremely surprised with how our team has responded recently, and I think they will do better than I predicted, because they already are.

Of course a 9-6 record doesn't mean we are going to win 50 games, but I think it puts us in a great situation/position to get there. And I don't think we are in this good position because the ball bounced our way a couple times... we took the Houston game, and we are showing what those veteran playoff teams like the Spurs (the past couple of years) do and that is find a way to win games without playing good ball.

If anything, if we were more lucky with our schedule (not just teams played but home/away ratio), injuries, chemistry, I think we could have a better record by at least 2-3 more wins. If LMA wasn't in a slump, if we utilized Rudy better the last couple of games, if Greg hasn't disappeared the last 3, etc... We are already among the top echelon teams in the West record wise, and even if those 3 games were losses, 6-9 would still be a pretty nice position considered our schedule and that its going to get sooo much easier starting game 25.

I guess I just look at it as a glass half-full.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Must all of his blocks be against opposing centers? Can't he block the little guys that venture into the paint?

He does need to work on rotating back to penetrating guards, but that's no small feat when you are 20+ feet away from the hoop trying to keep Brad Miller and Spencer Fucking Hawes from draining 5/9 from beyond the arc.

the bottom line is we need guards who can cut off dribble penetration more consistently and right now that aint happening.