Good ole Dwight J rips Blazers

[Brock]

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingd...ginning-to-look-=1&blockID=661178&feedID=8351

all i wonder is... who besides jamal/felton want out? my guess wes wallace and thomas


This thing has the feel of a rudderless ship, from top to bottom, just drifting aimlessly toward the end of an irritating season. So many players seem to want out of here and many of them appear to have checked out already. It's a mess.

-- Yes, the fans deserve better. So do all the hard-working people in the Trail Blazer organization who toil so diligently at trying to put a happy face on everything that happens with this unpredictable team.

-- You can say I'm overreacting if you want, but I've seen this stuff before. I've seen teams take the easy way out and just back off from the challenge of doing what it takes to win. And I've seen coaches who couldn't reach those players. And trust me, it never ends well. Not for the coach, those players or the organization.

 

[magnifier661]

This jumps out at me.

-- Once more McMillan comes out after the game and scorches his players for lack of effort and for being outhustled and outworked. That seems to happen constantly. But the thing is, the coach is responsible for motivating his players. You can go ahead and blame the players and to a degree, you'd be right, of course. Problem is, you can't fire 12 players. But you can fire a coach and if he can't get these guys to play he's going to be history.

I don't like James much, but he is true on this point.

 

[Brock]

nate might step down imo after tonights loss

 

[The_Lillard_King]

And if the Blazers don't win tonight, it really is time to panic . . .

 

[BBert]

All I continue to hear about is Brandon Roy. Nobody here can "close" the game. Well, get over it. He's not here. This is a good team that can win close games if it moves the ball, moves bodies, set screens, works to get open shots for each other and plays hard. But that would require creative offense, players willing to sacrifice and guys capable of playing with passion and courage. I'm not seeing much of any of that.

Seriously. The larger point here is that Nate can't coach a team without a Brandon Roy to 'close' the game. Ergo, he can't coach a 'team'.

 

[illmatic99]

nate might step down imo after tonights loss

Nate has quite a few flaws, but he is not a quitter.

 

[Brock]

when u lose the team... which he has.... he may have no options left

 

[PapaG]

Originally Posted by dwight
All I continue to hear about is Brandon Roy. Nobody here can "close" the game. Well, get over it. He's not here. This is a good team that can win close games if it moves the ball, moves bodies, set screens, works to get open shots for each other and plays hard. But that would require creative offense, players willing to sacrifice and guys capable of playing with passion and courage. I'm not seeing much of any of that.

This sounds nice and all, but how many elite teams don't have at least one closer who consistently is asked to produce at the end of game?

OKC- Durant/Westbrook
Miami - Wade (James haha)
SAS - Parker/Duncan
Chicago - Rose
Dallas - Dirk

I mean, talking about consistently winning close games by setting screens, using the 3-man weave, and letting the open guy shoot sounds great on paper, but in the NBA, it just is not reality.

 

[PapaG]

Seriously. The larger point here is that Nate can't coach a team without a Brandon Roy to 'close' the game. Ergo, he can't coach a team.

What coach in the NBA has had any sustained success without an MVP-level closer?

Really, it's a serious question.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

It's hard to argue with what he says in this article.

 

[MARIS61]

-- Once more McMillan comes out after the game and scorches his players for lack of effort and for being outhustled and outworked. That seems to happen constantly. But the thing is, the coach is responsible for motivating his players. You can go ahead and blame the players and to a degree, you'd be right, of course. Problem is, you can't fire 12 players. But you can fire a coach and if he can't get these guys to play he's going to be history.

Nonsense.

Anyone who won't do the job they were hired to do, and are getting paid insane money to do it, can and should be fired. No coach can motivate someone who has no desire, which appears to be the case for 2/3 of the team.

If there are 12 of them then you fire all 12 of them.

The idea that a coach is responsible for them fulfilling their job description is absurd, and it's management's (Miller) job to rectify the situation by trading, suspending, or publicly calling them out.

I'd have no problem with Nate starting our 5 least talented players and losing games the rest of the season, then trading away anyone who didn't change their lackadaisical attitude.

Were these guys playing for the Spurs, well, they WOULDN'T be playing for the Spurs.

 

[MARIS61]

What coach in the NBA has had any sustained success without an MVP-level closer?

Really, it's a serious question.

None that I can recall in the last 40 years.

 

[oldmangrouch]

-- Once more McMillan comes out after the game and scorches his players for lack of effort and for being outhustled and outworked. That seems to happen constantly. But the thing is, the coach is responsible for motivating his players. You can go ahead and blame the players and to a degree, you'd be right, of course. Problem is, you can't fire 12 players. But you can fire a coach and if he can't get these guys to play he's going to be history.

Nonsense.

Anyone who won't do the job they were hired to do, and are getting paid insane money to do it, can and should be fired. No coach can motivate someone who has no desire, which appears to be the case for 2/3 of the team.

If there are 12 of them then you fire all 12 of them.

The idea that a coach is responsible for them fulfilling their job description is absurd, and it's management's (Miller) job to rectify the situation by trading, suspending, or publicly calling them out.

I'd have no problem with Nate starting our 5 least talented players and losing games the rest of the season, then trading away anyone who didn't change their lackadaisical attitude.

Were these guys playing for the Spurs, well, they WOULDN'T be playing for the Spurs.

I am sick to death of people trying to tell me that the Blazers have put together a team of "good character" guys. If this bunch of spoiled brats represent "good character", I want nothing to do with it!

That said, it is silly to suggest that the coach has no responsibility here. If the coach has no influence over how the players play - what is he getting paid for? The idea of Nate passing that responsibility off on Larry "Al Bundy" Miller is just horrifying.

 

[PapaG]

None that I can recall in the last 40 years.

Detroit had a good run without a legitimate MVP-level player, but Billups was seen as one of the best closers in the NBA during those years. Plus, Larry Brown failed in two stops after that without an elite closer.