Hey, Don't Be Such A Blake Hater

[ABM]

He may be no stat-man, but he's good for this team......at least for now. (trade deadline notwithstanding)

He's sort of a glue and a nice buffer between Roy and Miller. They both really like Steve, and like playing with him. Shoot, last game, I saw Roy pass open a wide open three and pass to Blake for the same.....which he nailed.

Again, Blake isn't gonna dazzle, but he's a solid "role" player and will continue to be the same when the time comes to bring him off the bench, which will probably come sooner than later due to the 3-Guard-lineup match-up issues. At that point, I have no doubt that Blake will work hard to blend with the second unit. From what I've seen throughout the years with this guy is that he is a team player and won't complain about whatever role he's been given. He just brings his lunch pail.

 

[hasoos]

I don't hate Blanky. I just don't see him being part of the solution.

 

[ABM]

I don't hate Blanky. I just don't see him being part of the solution.

I still have a sneaky suspicion that KP will pull the consolidation trigger prior to this seasons trade deadline. That deal may very well include Blake, whose value keeps increasing as the season rolls along.

 

[Nikolokolus]

However you want to sugar coat this, a spot up shooter who can only hit 35% from the floor is not a "good", nor "solid" player nor filling a "role"

It's called an anchor, as in, "We tied an anchor to Vinnie's feet and threw him in the Hudson, because he was as dirty rat." This is not acceptable NBA starting guard play.

 

[Natebishop3]

Blake shouldn't be starting.

 

[ABM]

Blake shouldn't be starting.

I said as much in my OP.

 

[hasoos]

I still have a sneaky suspicion that KP will pull the consolidation trigger prior to this seasons trade deadline. That deal may very well include Blake, whose value keeps increasing as the season rolls along.

You can have your suspicions all you want, but history tells us KP doesn't like mid season trades. He does somehow find a way to be mentioned in every trade conversation somehow, but that is far from pulling the trigger. Maybe some injuries force it to happen this year. Maybe they just open the door for some hungry players who have been quietly waiting their turn.

 

[magnifier661]

He may be no stat-man, but he's good for this team......at least for now. (trade deadline notwithstanding)

He's sort of a glue and a nice buffer between Roy and Miller. They both really like Steve, and like playing with him. Shoot, last game, I saw Roy pass open a wide open three and pass to Blake for the same.....which he nailed.

Again, Blake isn't gonna dazzle, but he's a solid "role" player and will continue to be the same when the time comes to bring him off the bench, which will probably come sooner than later due to the 3-Guard-lineup match-up issues. At that point, I have no doubt that Blake will work hard to blend with the second unit. From what I've seen throughout the years with this guy is that he is a team player and won't complain about whatever role he's been given. He just brings his lunch pail.

The amazing thing is Blake just isn't hitting the "wide-open" shots he's normally accustomed to hitting. When that falls, our offense will really open up. I've seen teams really collapse on us defensively, which is giving Blake some wide-open looks. Hell they are giving Roy some wide-open looks as well. If we could hit about 40% of those shots, we would be smoking hot. Normally we are 45% on those shots alone last season.

 

[Natebishop3]

I said as much in my OP.

Well, I'm just sayin, that's the extent of my "blake hating"

 

[SlyPokerDog]

He's sort of a glue and a nice buffer between Roy and Miller.

That sounds like the worst flavor over an Oreo cookie ever.

"What's the white stuff between the Oreo cookies? Elmer's Glue! "

 

[ABM]

You can have your suspicions all you want, but history tells us KP doesn't like mid season trades..

My suspicion is based upon the maturity/skill levels this team has attained. Prior to this season, the team was a bit young to engage in consolidation activity. They were still in an evaluative state. Plus, there are expirings (i.e. Pryz, Blake, Travis) which enter into this entire equation.

 

[hasoos]

My suspicion is based upon the maturity/skill levels this team has attained. Prior to this season, the team was a bit young to engage in consolidation activity. They were still in an evaluative state. Plus, there are expirings (i.e. Pryz, Blake, Travis) which enter into this entire equation.

At the same time, by waiting for a guys value to be known better, you may actually decrease their value due to upside value no longer being there, and the fact that a lot of our tradeable assettes are hurt.

 

[Natebishop3]

I want to see how the team responds to losing Outlaw. He is Roy's best friend, and a bit of a safety net for McMillan. If we keep going and don't skip a beat, I think it will make trading him that much easier.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I love Blakey the person, and the 10 minute a game 3 point shooting specialist.

I hate Blakey the starter who plays 28.5 minutes per game.

 

[ABM]

However you want to sugar coat this, a spot up shooter who can only hit 35% from the floor is not a "good", nor "solid" player nor filling a "role"

It's called an anchor, as in, "We tied an anchor to Vinnie's feet and threw him in the Hudson, because he was as dirty rat." This is not acceptable NBA starting guard play.

So, he's suddenly lost skill level? I doubt it. Again, in my OP, I never stated that he should be starting. In fact, I more or less stated the opposite. What I AM saying is that he's a team player with some skills and will play whatever role is assigned to him. I've just been seeing a lot of negative posts slung his way.

 

[hasoos]

I want to see how the team responds to losing Outlaw. He is Roy's best friend, and a bit of a safety net for McMillan. If we keep going and don't skip a beat, I think it will make trading him that much easier.

I am very interested as well. Because I actually think the team will be better without him. The ball movement on the 2nd unit should improve, the shot selection on the 2nd unit should improve. The rebounding on the 2nd unit should improve. The basektball IQ on the 2nd unit should improve.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I want to see how the team responds to losing Outlaw. He is Roy's best friend, and a bit of a safety net for McMillan. If we keep going and don't skip a beat, I think it will make trading him that much easier.

Trade him for who? I like Outlaw as a person but even before his injury I don't think he has as much trade value as some in here thinks he does. I bet if we heard what some of the other teams were offering us for him the majority of us would rather keep him and let him walk away at the end of the season.

Outlaw is a backup. I don't think he's going to develop much more. What you see is all you're ever going to get.

 

[hasoos]

So, he's suddenly lost skill level? I doubt it. Again, in my OP, I never stated that he should be starting. In fact, I more or less stated the opposite. What I AM saying is that he's a team player with some skills and will play whatever role is assigned to him. I've just been seeing a lot of negative posts slung his way.

Basketball is tricky as to get a good situation where players feel comfortable. The elephant in the room is that Blanky is starting at SG when we have Rudy and Bayless. That situation and the downside of it might be all it takes for several players on the team to not play their best. It doesn't matter if they are "looking over their shoulder", or just feeling the pressure of trying to fill the void of Brandon Roy, who is now playing SF. Whatever it is, the facts are, Blanky is not handling it well.

 

[Natebishop3]

I am very interested as well. Because I actually think the team will be better without him. The ball movement on the 2nd unit should improve, the shot selection on the 2nd unit should improve. The rebounding on the 2nd unit should improve. The basektball IQ on the 2nd unit should improve.

The only real downside is that Outlaw could carry the team on his back when he was on. I know that wasn't every often, but when Travis went in the zone, he could keep us afloat when nobody else was scoring. That's a nice weapon to have in the arsenal. If only Nate was smart enough to use him correctly.

 

[Nikolokolus]

So, he's suddenly lost skill level? I doubt it. Again, in my OP, I never stated that he should be starting. In fact, I more or less stated the opposite. What I AM saying is that he's a team player with some skills and will play whatever role is assigned to him. I've just been seeing a lot of negative posts slung his way.

In short? Yes. He performed well above his personal average for a season and now he's regressed a little below his personal career average. Now he's thirty, and on the back side of his prime and he's had seasons like this before (3 times in fact).

Why does everyone act so shocked when a player's production spikes for a year late in their career and then settles back to earth (or below) the next season? John Hollinger even has a term for this phenomena and has been able to identify a consistent statistical trend in players' careers. Here's his excerpt from Joel's profile at ESPN.com:

To review, a Fluke Rule season is one in which a player(A) posts a PER of at least 14, (B) improves his PER by at least 3.00 from the previous season and (C) was at least 28 years old in the season in question. Przybilla, for example, was 29 last year and saw his PER jump from 12.10 to 15.46.

Fluke Rule seasons are important to distinguish because they are often followed by a dramatic decline. Most Fluke Rule players fall right back to their previous norms, with 90 percent finishing with a worse PER than the season before. Last season, for instance, we had three players on the downside of the Fluke Rule: Bonzi Wells, Brendan Haywood and Brad Miller. Wells didn't play and Haywood hardly did because of injuries. But Miller's PER did indeed drop, though only from 17.09 to 16.75.

To review Blake jumped from a 12.0 PER the season before to 14.4 last year and has now come back down to earth. That doesn't quite qualify him because his PER only jumped 2.4 points, but it's pretty close to applying here.

 

[hasoos]

The only real downside is that Outlaw could carry the team on his back when he was on. I know that wasn't every often, but when Travis went in the zone, he could keep us afloat when nobody else was scoring. That's a nice weapon to have in the arsenal. If only Nate was smart enough to use him correctly.

Yea part of the problem was though, when he would start going, the rest of the team would stop, literally. Lots of standing around and bad Ju-Ju.

I think there are 2 guys that have been chomping at the bit for this to happen, both of them happen to be guards who would love to score. The other being Dante Cunningham, who I believe will endear himself to Nate once he gets time, because he does all the things that Travis does not. I expect him to take some lumps, but IMO Dante already is defensivly sound, he doesn't shoot 3's, he plays within himself. He rebounds. He isn't afraid to rotate over to a bigger player and challenge on the boards them when Greg/Pryz have to go block shots. I know he hasn't played much, but he showed all that in pre season, and he showed it when he was at school in Villenova, which had one of the highest quality defenses in college ball.

 

[magnifier661]

To review Blake jumped from a 12.0 PER the season before to 14.4 last year and has now come back down to earth. That doesn't quite qualify him because his PER only jumped 2.4 points, but it's pretty close to applying here.

Season is far from over to come at us with that. Let him develop into the system and work through it. If he's even worse, you got a point, if he gets better than you don't. I think using those "ratings" like you post in here a lot shouldn't apply until the season ends. So much happens in between "Good or Bad".

 

[Nikolokolus]

Season is far from over to come at us with that. Let him develop into the system and work through it. If he's even worse, you got a point, if he gets better than you don't. I think using those "ratings" like you post in here a lot shouldn't apply until the season ends. So much happens in between "Good or Bad".

It is a small sample and I'm not saying he can't or won't turn things around (at least a little) but expecting him to and riding his cold hand in the meantime seems kind of detrimental to the success of the team; there's no way he should be logging the 28 minutes a game he's getting.

 

[Natebishop3]

Blake is so one dimensional. I feel the team would be better off if they just went with a Miller/Bayless point guard rotation and called it a day.

 

[magnifier661]

It is a small sample and I'm not saying he can't or won't turn things around (at least a little) but expecting him to and riding his cold hand in the meantime seems kind of detrimental to the success of the team; there's no way he should be logging the 28 minutes a game he's getting.

Yeah it seriously floors me how much Nate allows Blake to get away with. He will yank players like Bayless for a turn-over or bad shot, yet he will allow Blake to stay in after bad turn over, after bad turn over.

Reminds me a lot of Jack when he was a Blazer. Nate had a serious crush on him.

 

[illmatic99]

Holy shit. He's shooting 36% from the field and is averaging 7.6 points only.

And he's playing 29 minutes? I didn't think it was this bad.

Sorry, ABM. But this guy needs to either hit the pine or find his shot, because he brings no tangible facet to the team other than bringing the ball up the floor and handing it off to BRoy.

 

[hasoos]

Holy shit. He's shooting 36% from the field and is averaging 7.6 points only.

And he's playing 29 minutes? I didn't think it was this bad.

Sorry, ABM. But this guy needs to either hit the pine or find his shot, because he brings no tangible facet to the team other than bringing the ball up the floor and handing it off to BRoy.

Hence my new name for him. "Blanky".

 

[Nikolokolus]

Hence my new name for him. "Blanky".

That name works on so many levels: he's a security blanket, he's shooting blanks ... he's got a blank expression on his face most of the time. Absolutely love it

 

[oldmangrouch]

Hence my new name for him. "Blanky".

Well done!

 

[magnifier661]

Hence my new name for him. "Blanky".

Very well played. Best way to ween a child from their blanky is to gradually hide it from him until he becomes disinterested in it.