It's clear what we're missing

[Denny Crane]

A lot of folks say the Blazers are deep. I say they are actually the opposite. For the last few weeks I have been saying Portland is a 3 horse team. They might actually be a 2 horse team. Besides that, they have a bunch of guys where the 4th guy has problems separating himself in talent from the 12th guy.

I am assuming at this point if things don't start to turn around, Nate will start turning to guys not in the rotation now to see if they want it more than the guys that are in there. I know Dante Cunningham can defend. I know Bayless can defend. You know Bayless motor is always going to be running, he won't lack for effort.

I would agree with the first paragraph especially.

The problem with Miller as starting PG for this team is his weak 3pt shooting. Every team in the NBA these days needs 2-3 guys capable of stretching the defense by hitting that shot. The game is somewhat boring to me because just about every team runs some form of the same offense: drive where possible, when the defense collapses kick it out to a 3pt shooter. Often the offenses look to me like guys passing to one another while standing behind the 3pt line.

Blake isn't out there to be a PG on offense, he's out there to stand behind the 3pt line and shoot when open. If you put Miller out there, you lose that open 3pt shooter.

It makes a lot of sense to bring Miller off the bench along with a couple of guys who can hit the 3pt shot.

It also makes sense to start Miller and run as much as possible; that's his strength, you get easy baskets, and you don't need to shoot so many 3's if you're not letting the defense get set in their zones or otherwise clog the lane.

 

[oldmangrouch]

A lot of folks say the Blazers are deep. I say they are actually the opposite. For the last few weeks I have been saying Portland is a 3 horse team. They might actually be a 2 horse team. Besides that, they have a bunch of guys where the 4th guy has problems separating himself in talent from the 12th guy.

I am assuming at this point if things don't start to turn around, Nate will start turning to guys not in the rotation now to see if they want it more than the guys that are in there. I know Dante Cunningham can defend. I know Bayless can defend. You know Bayless motor is always going to be running, he won't lack for effort.

The Blazers are "deep"...they are just deep in players that would be the 6th-9th best guys on a contender. The problem is, we only have 2 legit starters. 3 of our should be bench players are forced to start.

(OK slight exageration....Joel and/or Greg could probably start for some other teams)

 

[hasoos]

The Blazers are "deep"...they are just deep in players that would be the 6th-9th best guys on a contender. The problem is, we only have 2 legit starters. 3 of our should be bench players are forced to start.

(OK slight exageration....Joel and/or Greg could probably start for some other teams)

So you basically just repeated what I just said.

 

[STOMP]

STOMP

 

[RudyFor3]

I think Rudy can be that guy but I agree with what the other poster mentioned that Rudy is stuck behind Roy. I honestly don't see Rudy around with this team in the future because he will never average 30 minutes a game because him and Roy play the same position unless Roy and Rudy can become a backcourt tandem.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Ok, here is an off the wall idea:

Kevin Martin

The Kings are going to horrid this season and is in rebuild mode. The guy is an elite scorer and is, IMO, easier to obtain than any of the other ideas.

Of course, you take a risk on his health. He is injury prone but the guy is a 25 PPG scorer in this League. It'll be harder for teams to double Greg/LaMarcus with Martin in the corner. A legit 3rd option.

PG: Miller
SG: Roy
SF: Martin
PF: Aldridge
C: Oden

 

[Nikolokolus]

Ok, here is an off the wall idea:

Kevin Martin

The Kings are going to horrid this season and is in rebuild mode. The guy is an elite scorer and is, IMO, easier to obtain than any of the other ideas.

Of course, you take a risk on his health. He is injury prone but the guy is a 25 PPG scorer in this League. It'll be harder for teams to double Greg/LaMarcus with Martin in the corner. A legit 3rd option.

PG: Miller
SG: Roy
SF: Martin
PF: Aldridge
C: Oden

out of all starting wings and guards in the league Martin might possibly be the worst defender out of the bunch ... OK Calderon might have him beat. If we're going to get a third option I'd much prefer Gerald Wallace who can play a little bit of 4 as well as 3 and he's capable of generating points off of nothing but pure hustle, the 3 point shot is a little dicey, but his ability to get to the line more than makes up for this in my opinion.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Wallace would improve our defense, which we need, but I think we need a legit scoring option after Roy/Aldridge to take that next step. I don't see Wallace being that player. He's a very good garbage player. When healthy, which is a risk on our part, Martin is among the elite in the League on offense.

Here is a nice write up on Kevin's offensive ability from a Sacramento Blogger

They are in full blown rebuild mode but they'd want pieces that fit. They are set at a few positions:

PG: Tyreke Evans
SG:
SF:
PF: Jason Thomson
C: Spencer Hawes

Jerryd Bayless could co-exist with Evans in the backcourt. Evans is being groomed as their PG and we all know Jerryd's true position is SG. This works under the cap:

To Sacramento:
Jerryd Bayless
Travis Outlaw
Martell Webster
1st round pick

To Portland
Kevin Martin

 

[jlprk]

A lot of folks say the Blazers are deep. I say they are actually the opposite. For the last few weeks I have been saying Portland is a 3 horse team. They might actually be a 2 horse team. Besides that, they have a bunch of guys where the 4th guy has problems separating himself in talent from the 12th guy.

The Blazers are "deep"...they are just deep in players that would be the 6th-9th best guys on a contender. The problem is, we only have 2 legit starters. 3 of our should-be bench players are forced to start. (OK slight exageration....Joel and/or Greg could probably start for some other teams)

See my new signature. I've been posting as much for at least a year on the other board, in response to enthusiasts who keep claiming that we have such a deep bench. Except for Joel and Andre, all I see on the bench are scrubs who have never proven anything and never will. Every team has plenty of them.

 

[MIXUM]

hahaha its funny how it takes so long for people to catch on. I said this last year in December. I begged to trade for Carter, Jefferson, or Wallace.

The homers said " NO WE CANT TRADE SERGIO and OUTLAW" or "NO BATUM IS THE NEXT PRINCE"

LAMO.... hows that looking now? Would you rather have Wallace or Batum/Outlaw?

 

[BBert]

The team is in a funk. I think it's clear what they are missing.

Bring back Rebecca Harlow!!

 

[B-Roy]

The team is in a funk. I think it's clear what they are missing.

Bring back Rebecca Harlow!!

She's been there the whole time.......

Besides, that only helps LMA.

 

[gatorpops]

She's been there the whole time.......

Besides, that only helps LMA.

Yeah, she probably likes him a lot more with that $65,000,000,000,000,000 check.

She may be more of a distraction, really.

 

[BBert]

 

[magnifier661]

And that is a legit third option on offense.

Greg isn't that guy and probably wont be for a while.

Travis Outlaw shouldn't be that guy. He's just a spark off the bench. His lack of basketball IQ prevents him from even being that option.

Rudy has the skills but he's stuck behind Roy and often has to play out of position. The guy is not a PG or SF.

But, I've said it all summer, KP is too buddy-buddy with this roster to do anything major.

I'm telling you. Start Fernandez, Blake and Roy and you got that third option. The best part is both blake and Fernandez are great outside shooters, well maybe their "Scouting Report" claims it.

Then Webster subs for SG/SF duties, Outlaw SF/PF duties, and Miller becomes the #2 option on the second unit.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I agree that Rudy and Fernandez are great outside shooters.

 

[maxiep]

What we're missing is time to jell. We'll just have to do it on the fly.

 

[magnifier661]

I agree that Rudy and Fernandez are great outside shooters.

LMAO! I just caught that. I meant Blake and Fernandez.

 

[Mediocre Man]

What we're missing is time to jell. We'll just have to do it on the fly.

I don't buy this one bit Maxie. Portland had a month of training camp, and several weeks before that to figure this out.

 

[maxiep]

I don't buy this one bit Maxie. Portland had a month of training camp, and several weeks before that to figure this out.

I don't think this team learns particularly quickly nor do the coaches teach particularly quickly. And like it or not, there has been a lot of change foistered on the team this year. Getting used to a ball-dominating PG on the fly, getting used to feeding the post on the fly, getting used to Webs instead of Batum on the fly, etc. isn't something that can happen in practice. It takes time and will likely take through December.

My concern is how we're playing at the end of the year, not how we're playing now.

We'll agree to disagree.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

The problem is Miller is not as good as everyone was expecting. He can't just come in, take over PG duties and the team not lose a beat.

Not dogging Miller. After watching him play, I came out and said he will help the team. But it would be a mistake to just stick him in the starting line up when he hasn't shown the ability to adapt to Blazer basketball (the one that won them 54 games last year).

I suppose Nate could throw him in there and let the team play an up and down fast pace game. That would allow Miller to come in right away and start (as he would be more effective in that style offense than Blake).

But I like what Nate is doing. Miller hasn't shown much and contracts be damned, he is going to play who he thinks will help this team win. Miller has time to get PT and adjust to the Blazers before being forced to go out there and wing it till you get it. The Blazers are not in a position to be forced to have Miller learn on the fly because Blake looks capable of starting until Miller gets it.

 

[Minstrel]

I don't buy this one bit Maxie. Portland had a month of training camp, and several weeks before that to figure this out.

Training camp isn't proper games against intense NBA competition. Exhibition season is closer, but McMillan used most of those games to play around with lineups and experiment. In addition, Batum was part of that mix and now he's not. There hasn't been any real opportunity to jell against proper competition until the season began.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Training camp isn't proper games against intense NBA competition. Exhibition season is closer, but McMillan used most of those games to play around with lineups and experiment. In addition, Batum was part of that mix and now he's not. There hasn't been any real opportunity to jell against proper competition until the season began.

So what are the other 29 teams using as an excuse? All I hear out of Orlando is about their dominance. They have new players, but their coach chose to use training camp to allow his team to gel. What about Houston? That team belongs in a 6'9" and under league, and has several new starters,but they handled us.

 

[magnifier661]

So what are the other 29 teams using as an excuse? All I hear out of Orlando is about their dominance. They have new players, but their coach chose to use training camp to allow his team to gel. What about Houston? That team belongs in a 6'9" and under league, and has several new starters,but they handled us.

very good point. I don't believe for a minute that we need to make any excuses. We aren't a lottery team anymore. The less we try and make excuses and except the good and bad will be the day we start winning championships. I have never seen a "whining or excuses" team ever go far in the playoffs. It's the tough ones that win.

 

[andalusian]

So what are the other 29 teams using as an excuse? All I hear out of Orlando is about their dominance. They have new players, but their coach chose to use training camp to allow his team to gel. What about Houston? That team belongs in a 6'9" and under league, and has several new starters,but they handled us.

Orlando plays the same way they did last year. Pound the ball to D12 and shoot long-range shots. Not too much new there. Sure, they have a new guy to run the pick and roll instead of the old one - but it's the same system - and the primary ball handler is the same one (Nelson) and the focus is the same (D12).

On the other hand, the Cavs are 2-2 after the big adjustment to a new system incorporating Shaq, Dallas were pounded at home by the Wizards, Chicago does not find a system without Ben Gordon as easy as it was, NOH are 1-2 after swapping Chandler for Emeka...

Do I need to go on?

 

[barfo]

Orlando plays the same way they did last year. Pound the ball to D12 and shoot long-range shots. Not too much new there. Sure, they have a new guy to run the pick and roll instead of the old one - but it's the same system - and the primary ball handler is the same one (Nelson) and the focus is the same (D12).

On the other hand, the Cavs are 2-2 after the big adjustment to a new system incorporating Shaq, Dallas were pounded at home by the Wizards, Chicago does not find a system without Ben Gordon as easy as it was, NOH are 1-2 after swapping Chandler for Emeka...

Do I need to go on?

Don't we play the same way we did last year?

barfo

 

[B-Roy]

Don't we play the same way we did last year?

barfo

I think what he means is that the players Orlando got all fit in with the way they play. Miller? Not so much.

 

[andalusian]

Don't we play the same way we did last year?

Not exactly. We have a new PG that is supposed to push and we are trying to integrate Greg as a bigger part of the offense.

Add the fact that the team's focus seems to have shifted from offense to defense - and I suspect that we have a bigger adjustment than the Magic had.

 

[barfo]

Not exactly. We have a new PG that is supposed to push and we are trying to integrate Greg as a bigger part of the offense.

Add the fact that the team's focus seems to have shifted from offense to defense - and I suspect that we have a bigger adjustment than the Magic had.

I dunno. I'm not sure Vince and Hedo are really completely interchangeable parts, and replacing Sergio as backup point guard with Miller doesn't seem like an team-shattering change. If anything Miller is closer to being Blake than Sergio was. Having Oden play more minutes and Joel less doesn't seem like a big change either.

I'm not sure the focus has changed from O to D. Yes, Nate is whining about D, but he was whining about D last year too.

barfo

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

chadfordinsider Rudy Gay made right move by turning down the Grizz's $50 mil offer. Why settle for less from a team you'd like to bolt?

Rudy Gay will be traded by the deadline.