Hmm what has the Brain Trust learned?

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I don't think the Brain Trust is going to come to any kind of conclusion until the first round series is over. The whole team is adjusting to playing in the post-season. After game one, they largely learned the kind of defense they have to play, and they've pretty much kept the pressure up. Give the Rockets credit - they are a very good defensive team - but the Blazers are still learning what kind of offensive execution they need to manage to win games in the playoffs.

I agree that Outlaw has been pretty bad during these playoffs - but I'd wait until the series is over to declare him a poor playoff player. He took years to turn into a consistent regular season player. I'll give him an entire series to become a playoff threat.

Oh and Bayless? McMillan's just scared to play a rookie at PG in the playoffs. I think he's worth giving a shot (the only PT he's gotten, as far as I recall, was in garbage time in Game One, wasn't it?).
 
HurraKane212 said:
Wait, you think Bayless fits the team? Sonofabitch... We've all been had, the Sergio thing is just Maris fucking with us...:hairout:
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I have maintained from day 1 that he is an excellent 3rd or 4th SG off the bench behind Roy, Rudy, and maybe Martell at that position.

I have also maintained he will never be useful as a PG on this team.

He has done nothing to change either opinion.

I believe in carrying 15 useful players on a team, and he certainly falls in the top dozen we have.
 
MARIS61 said:
I have maintained from day 1 that he is an excellent 3rd or 4th SG off the bench behind Roy, Rudy, and maybe Martell at that position.

I have also maintained he will never be useful as a PG on this team.

He has done nothing to change either opinion.

I believe in carrying 15 useful players on a team, and he certainly falls in the top dozen we have.
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If true, then KP fucked up royally with his last lottery pick for the next decade.
 
Public Defender said:
I don't think the Brain Trust is going to come to any kind of conclusion until the first round series is over. The whole team is adjusting to playing in the post-season. After game one, they largely learned the kind of defense they have to play, and they've pretty much kept the pressure up. Give the Rockets credit - they are a very good defensive team - but the Blazers are still learning what kind of offensive execution they need to manage to win games in the playoffs.

I agree that Outlaw has been pretty bad during these playoffs - but I'd wait until the series is over to declare him a poor playoff player. He took years to turn into a consistent regular season player. I'll give him an entire series to become a playoff threat.

Oh and Bayless? McMillan's just scared to play a rookie at PG in the playoffs. I think he's worth giving a shot (the only PT he's gotten, as far as I recall, was in garbage time in Game One, wasn't it?).
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series is over....big enough sample size yet.....
 
I've learned that I'm waaayyyyy too emotionally invested in a team of great character guys making (deservedly)millions of dollars a year but with which I have no connection with other than they happen to play for a city I live in.

I think that I've elevated my fandom to a rabid fanaticism and based on my mood this evening it can't be good for my health. :)
 
I might find someone's supposed inside view of the "Brain Trust" if he/she could write a semi-literate post.

Fortunately the Blazers "Brain Trust" is pretty brainy.

And they don't jump to conclusions like a mountain goat on methamphetamines.

The biggest conclusion I am drawing, and I have zero official standing, is that yes, playoff experience does count. Look how many booboos the Blazers made in the final 3 minutes last night; each time they had a chance to tie/win. I omit the "offensive foul" on Roy, which was a pretty close call that (surprise!) went against Portland. I think that management, after a cooling off period, needs to meet and talk seriously with Nate and the coaching staff and evaluate whose problems were the result of inexperience and whose problems are more fundamental. Then make personnel changes accordingly. I still say that Roy, Aldridge, Oden are untouchable and probably Rudy as well.
 
What I have seen\learned so far in this series?

1) Scola is outplaying LA IMO...plain and simple....Even the most optimistic...but realistic fan could surely see that he is at least nuetralizing him (playing him equal)....

1a) LA is playing too soft...like him or not....Doug Collins (and the TNT gang) made some points that were spot on tonight....Who else besides Roy was putting ANY pressure on the Rocket defenders? LA is the 2nd wheel to this team currently, and he has settled for FAR TOO MANY jumpshots and seems hesitant to force the ball inside...and that is hurting this team's chances to win, you cannot expect Roy to be the only player to put pressure on HOU defensively....

2) Travis Outlaw has been horrible this series....and quite honestly Nate does deserve criticism for why he insists on playing Outlaw more minutes than Rudy.....32 minutes tonight to for Outlaw and 24 (31 to 24 on Friday night) for Rudy...and Travis gets\takes the last 3pt shot over Roy or Rudy...that is unforgiveable IMO.....Travis at least showed up tonight, but his play in the 1st 3 games came nowhere NEAR to justifying the near 30min per he saw in those 3 games....Even tonight Travis yet again made some really poor decisions down the stretch.....I don't think Outlaw is the answer at SF nor do I see this team having playoff success with him being counted on to be a "key" scorer off the bench.....His play has been way to inconistent, and that is being generous...

3) Blake is showing that he is not a starting caliber PG for a team that aspires to be an NBA champion....I give Blake credit for his moxie, but in both of these games in HOU he made some BIG mistakes down the stretch....getting the ball stipped from behind tonight, that 3pt shot with 10 seconds to go on Friday...We have to play him b\c Sergio and Bayless (at least not yet) are not better options, but if POR wants to push farther in the playoffs in years to come then Blake needs to be the guy coming off the bench not starting\finishing the game....

4) No one else can consistently be counted on to score besides Roy....this is a real problem...LA is supposed to be that 2nd guy, but he has struggled with consistency, in part IMO b\c he has settled for too many jumpshots and allowed himself at times to be flustered (and passified) by HOU defenders...We need another few players to step up if POR wants to be a successful playoff team...Rudy could be that guy but he is not getting enough shot attempts (just 5 shot attempts tonight), nor is he getting enough minutes....Oden could be that guy down the road, but again his shot attempts are really limited....quite frankly now is not the time to try and feed the ball into Oden and let him learn on the job anyway,...that should have been done in the season but for whatever reason wasn't...and it is costing us a little now....

5) A veteran would have been very helpful right about now....How would having Vince Carter have helped this team right about now? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have dealt Rudy or Batum for a vet, but the failure of Prithcard to land a vet for LaFrentz's contract is costing us in this series....this team needs a veteran presence and another scorer to relieve some of the immense pressure on Roy right now and down the road....If this series has revealed anything it is that the "let it bake" mentality is not the answer...all the right pieces are NOT on this team yet.....

6) This team needs some inside toughness...a low post rebound\banger b\u PF could have really helped this series....

7) Yao and the Rockets are getting away with thier physical play and POR bigs (Oden & Pryzbilla) are getting called for fouls on Yao for breathing on him....at least 2 of Oden's fouls were literally Yao banging into ODen and Oden getting called for the foul...very ticky tack fouls and ridiculous given the physicality of the playoffs and this series in general...and any HOU fan who says they weren't is a serious homer....I do think HOU is getting away with thier physical play and when POR tries to play physical back they are getting hit with fouls...part of this though, IMO is that this is the way HOU plays throughout the year, whereas POR has been a much more finesse team throughout the year...HOU more physical nature is allowing them to get away with some calls and POR seems out of character when they try and imitiate that sort of physical style of play...Well that and the "Don't touch Yao" memo that the refs this series apparently have been given......sarcasm aside, Yao is being called VERY inconsistently.....and Artest (and Battier) have gotten away with over physical play on Roy...but this is the time of year where a player's reputation has an effect....
 
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Blaze01 said:
What I have seen\learned so far in this series?

1) Scola is outplaying LA IMO...plain and simple....Even the most optimistic...but realistic fan could surely see that he is at least nuetralizing him (playing him equal)....

1a) LA is playing too soft...like him or not....Doug Collins (and the TNT gang) made some points that were spot on tonight....Who else besides Roy was putting ANY pressure on the Rocket defenders? LA is the 2nd wheel to this team currently, and he has settled for FAR TOO MANY jumpshots and seems hesitant to force the ball inside...and that is hurting this team's chances to win, you cannot expect Roy to be the only player to put pressure on HOU defensively....

2) Travis Outlaw has been horrible this series....and quite honestly Nate does deserve criticism for why he insists on playing Outlaw more minutes than Rudy.....32 minutes tonight to for Outlaw and 24 (31 to 24 on Friday night) for Rudy...and Travis gets\takes the last 3pt shot over Roy or Rudy...that is unforgiveable IMO.....Travis at least showed up tonight, but his play in the 1st 3 games came nowhere NEAR to justifying the near 30min per he saw in those 3 games....Even tonight Travis yet again made some really poor decisions down the stretch.....I don't think Outlaw is the answer at SF nor do I see this team having playoff success with him being counted on to be a "key" scorer off the bench.....His play has been way to inconistent, and that is being generous...

3) Blake is showing that he is not a starting caliber PG for a team that aspires to be an NBA champion....I give Blake credit for his moxie, but in both of these games in HOU he made some BIG mistakes down the stretch....getting the ball stipped from behind tonight, that 3pt shot with 10 seconds to go on Friday...We have to play him b\c Sergio and Bayless (at least not yet) are not better options, but if POR wants to push farther in the playoffs in years to come then Blake needs to be the guy coming off the bench not starting\finishing the game....

4) No one else can consistently be counted on to score besides Roy....this is a real problem...LA is supposed to be that 2nd guy, but he has struggled with consistency, in part IMO b\c he has settled for too many jumpshots and allowed himself at times to be flustered (and passified) by HOU defenders...We need another few players to step up if POR wants to be a successful playoff team...Rudy could be that guy but he is not getting enough shot attempts (just 5 shot attempts tonight), nor is he getting enough minutes....Oden could be that guy down the road, but again his shot attempts are really limited....quite frankly now is not the time to try and feed the ball into Oden and let him learn on the job anyway,...that should have been done in the season but for whatever reason wasn't...and it is costing us a little now....

5) A veteran would have been very helpful right about now....How would having Vince Carter have helped this team right about now? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have dealt Rudy or Batum for a vet, but the failure of Prithcard to land a vet for LaFrentz's contract is costing us in this series....this team needs a veteran presence and another scorer to relieve some of the immense pressure on Roy right now and down the road....If this series has revealed anything it is that the "let it bake" mentality is not the answer...all the right pieces are NOT on this team yet.....

6) This team needs some inside toughness...a low post rebound\banger b\u PF could have really helped this series....

7) Yao and the Rockets are getting away with thier physical play and POR bigs (Oden & Pryzbilla) are getting called for fouls on Yao for breathing on him....at least 2 of Oden's fouls were literally Yao banging into ODen and Oden getting called for the foul...very ticky tack fouls and ridiculous given the physicality of the playoffs and this series in general...and any HOU fan who says they weren't is a serious homer....I do think HOU is getting away with thier physical play and when POR tries to play physical back they are getting hit with fouls...part of this though, IMO is that this is the way HOU plays throughout the year, whereas POR has been a much more finesse team throughout the year...HOU more physical nature is allowing them to get away with some calls and POR seems out of character when they try and imitiate that sort of physical style of play...Well that and the "Don't touch Yao" memo that the refs this series apparently have been given......sarcasm aside, Yao is being called VERY inconsistently.....and Artest (and Battier) have gotten away with over physical play on Roy...but this is the time of year where a player's reputation has an effect....
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Well said. Repped.

But this is the one silver lining about facing such a stifling defense as our draw for the first playoff series in six years; there's no hiding from your weaknesses. Houston has consistently exploited our deficiencies by taking part of Brandon's game away, making him just a scorer and not a distributor (he's still got a PER of 28, so he must be doing something right?).

Without this baptism by fire there's a good chance we get past a lesser team like Utah or New Orleans and some of these holes never get properly exposed and maybe KP is more tempted to 'let it ride' going into next year.
 
southnc said:
Didn't M Williams sign for like 50M+ with Milw (after Heat tried to get him during FA). He sucked and then was traded to Cleveland.

He can play offense, buy no defense at all. He scored like a mad dog on Sergio (with Blake out), but was completely shut-down against Blake.

Mo would not be an upgrade on this team.
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Wow my IQ just dropped from merely reading this.
 
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