MIXUM
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Some random thoughts generated by Sunday night's game, which wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated:
-- Some nights, it's just not there. You almost have to walk away from such games and not think about them anymore. Stuff happens.
-- That said, there are some things to worry about, too. The Blazers couldn't hit an outside shot and had a terrible time on the boards. A one-night fluke? Maybe, but consider this: The Blazers added yet another player to their rotation who can't make outside shots. Gerald Wallace is not a long-range shooter, not even a medium-range shooter. He's a slasher and a finisher. Also, Portland also traded two bigs, Dante Cunningham and Joel Przybilla, for a small, in Wallace. And the Blazers weren't all that big to begin with.
-- Once again, Portland is stuck with a nasty roster imbalance. Coach Nate McMillan has way too many players out on the wing. We're talking about Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews, Nic Batum and Rudy Fernandez -- all of them are pretty much interchangeable, although at least another guy, Gerald Wallace (who I still see as a lot more of a small forward than a power forward) is a rebounder. Roy is the only consistent outside shooter of the bunch.
-- If the Blazers don't learn quickly how to make best use of Wallace that trade is not going to look very good. Man, posting him up and isolating him 18 feet from the basket are not the right things. He needs to be off the ball and slashing. You've got to move the ball and let him move and then get him the ball at the rim. It would also help if you ran a fast break once in a while. Man, four fast-break points is ridiculous.
-- Speaking of that, we learned earlier this season that using Brandon Roy as a point guard doesn't work very well. And the Portland second unit, which is probably most effective on the run, isn't going to run with Roy at the point. It seemed McMillan seemed to agree with that in the second half when he threw Patty Mills on the floor. Problem is, without using Roy at the point, it's going to be hard to get everyone their minutes.
-- I'm afraid, eventually, one of those wing players -- most likely Fernandez -- is going to have to be left out of the rotation. I just don't see how you can get them all adequate minutes and as painful as it is, one of them probably is going to have to sit.
-- Roy isn't going to be happy with 15 minutes a game much longer. He's been a starter all his life and it's not easy for him to jump-start his game in limited minutes. They might be better off just to play him 30 minutes for as many games as he can do it and then just put him on the shelf when his knees act up.
-- Camby simply has to play better than he did Sunday night. He's got to rebound and block shots -- and not take bad shots. He's the only legit center on the roster and he's got to play like one for Portland to have a chance. I'm also wondering about the undercurrent with him and his teammates and coaching staff because of his resistance to coming back from his knee injury before the trading deadline. Word, too, is that the team was hopeful he would return for Friday's game vs. Denver but he said he couldn't go but promised he'd play Sunday. He couldn't play Friday but started the game Sunday? There were people in that locker room a little befuddled by that.
-- Obviously, this team's got to get another big man in here fast. And there's hope the guy is actually capable of lending a hand. If not, this is a pretty small team. Yes, LaMarcus Aldridge is their backup center. Well, then who is the backup power forward? Not Gerald Wallace, really. He's a small forward, just like Batum. Again, roster imbalance is not a good thing.
-- Some nights, it's just not there. You almost have to walk away from such games and not think about them anymore. Stuff happens.
-- That said, there are some things to worry about, too. The Blazers couldn't hit an outside shot and had a terrible time on the boards. A one-night fluke? Maybe, but consider this: The Blazers added yet another player to their rotation who can't make outside shots. Gerald Wallace is not a long-range shooter, not even a medium-range shooter. He's a slasher and a finisher. Also, Portland also traded two bigs, Dante Cunningham and Joel Przybilla, for a small, in Wallace. And the Blazers weren't all that big to begin with.
-- Once again, Portland is stuck with a nasty roster imbalance. Coach Nate McMillan has way too many players out on the wing. We're talking about Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews, Nic Batum and Rudy Fernandez -- all of them are pretty much interchangeable, although at least another guy, Gerald Wallace (who I still see as a lot more of a small forward than a power forward) is a rebounder. Roy is the only consistent outside shooter of the bunch.
-- If the Blazers don't learn quickly how to make best use of Wallace that trade is not going to look very good. Man, posting him up and isolating him 18 feet from the basket are not the right things. He needs to be off the ball and slashing. You've got to move the ball and let him move and then get him the ball at the rim. It would also help if you ran a fast break once in a while. Man, four fast-break points is ridiculous.
-- Speaking of that, we learned earlier this season that using Brandon Roy as a point guard doesn't work very well. And the Portland second unit, which is probably most effective on the run, isn't going to run with Roy at the point. It seemed McMillan seemed to agree with that in the second half when he threw Patty Mills on the floor. Problem is, without using Roy at the point, it's going to be hard to get everyone their minutes.
-- I'm afraid, eventually, one of those wing players -- most likely Fernandez -- is going to have to be left out of the rotation. I just don't see how you can get them all adequate minutes and as painful as it is, one of them probably is going to have to sit.
-- Roy isn't going to be happy with 15 minutes a game much longer. He's been a starter all his life and it's not easy for him to jump-start his game in limited minutes. They might be better off just to play him 30 minutes for as many games as he can do it and then just put him on the shelf when his knees act up.
-- Camby simply has to play better than he did Sunday night. He's got to rebound and block shots -- and not take bad shots. He's the only legit center on the roster and he's got to play like one for Portland to have a chance. I'm also wondering about the undercurrent with him and his teammates and coaching staff because of his resistance to coming back from his knee injury before the trading deadline. Word, too, is that the team was hopeful he would return for Friday's game vs. Denver but he said he couldn't go but promised he'd play Sunday. He couldn't play Friday but started the game Sunday? There were people in that locker room a little befuddled by that.
-- Obviously, this team's got to get another big man in here fast. And there's hope the guy is actually capable of lending a hand. If not, this is a pretty small team. Yes, LaMarcus Aldridge is their backup center. Well, then who is the backup power forward? Not Gerald Wallace, really. He's a small forward, just like Batum. Again, roster imbalance is not a good thing.
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