McMillan liked what he saw last night

[Mediocre Man]

Although the Blazers suffered their third loss in five exhibition games, McMillan was pleased with the Blazers' energy and effort against the Jazz and said he was optimistic that this could be a turning point. After seemingly going through the motions in the exhibition season, particularly in defeats against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns, the Blazers played to the final buzzer, using a 32-point fourth quarter to nearly pull off a comeback win. ... McMillan said the Blazers gave their best effort of the preseason. "I like that scrappy play," he said. "We didn't win this game, but right now we're talking about effort and I thought the guys tonight came out and played, scrapped ... and they worked. And that's what we're looking for right now. I liked what the young guys and some of the free agents did."

LOL. Of course he defends his piss poor decision.

 

[BenDavis503]

I just hope Nate knows what he is doing and has us all fooled!

 

[RR7]

Well, if he liked what he saw in the 4th quarter, maybe we'll be starting Howard and Cunningham to begin the season?

 

[LittleAlex]

Bad teams talk about effort. Good teams don't need to.


It gives me no confidence this team is ready for the next level if the coach can take a loss as a positive.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Listening to the game it sounded like the only guys who were getting it done were Blake, Bayless, Nic (for a stretch), Howard, Greg, and Cunningham ... there's your new starting lineup folks.

 

[Tince]

LOL. Of course he defends his piss poor decision.

Since you're implying things didn't go well, what did you see last night that you didn't like?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Since you're implying things didn't go well, what did you see last night that you didn't like?

This

[video=youtube;Mq_7z_JjGYY]

 

[Tince]

This

lol

Nate is such a bad coach he couldn't even turn the lights on last night. We should fire him!

 

[Mediocre Man]

Since you're implying things didn't go well, what did you see last night that you didn't like?

I'm sorry if you thought I was implying that. I was really going for absolutely and unequivocally saying it.


Nate's bullshit line up failed miserably, and his line about energy and a turning point was also bullshit because the players that brought the energy are guys that will never see the floor. Players like Bayless, Cunningham, Ime and Howard will be 9-12 on the bench. The starters got outplayed, and once again, Travis did shit.

 

[andalusian]

Yeah, the situation is definitely bad if a line-up that did not include Roy or Rudy and played LMA only 6 minutes lost by 3 to a Jazz team that had Deron, Boozer and Millsap each playing 20 minutes or more.

No way we are getting the Stu Jackson cup (that's the pre-season championship, for those of you that are out of the loop).

 

[Nikolokolus]

Yeah, the situation is definitely bad if a line-up that did not include Roy or Rudy and played LMA only 6 minutes lost by 3 to a Jazz team that had Deron, Boozer and Millsap each playing 20 minutes or more.

No way we are getting the Stu Jackson cup (that's the pre-season championship, for those of you that are out of the loop).

I agree that preseason is pretty much meaningless, but the way you characterize the flow of the game is kind of off.

The only group that made it close was the deep deep bench when they were squared off against the Utah deep bench ... the Blazers regular rotation guys pretty much crapped the bed (whether Roy was in or not and whether LMA played much at all)

 

[Mediocre Man]

Yeah, the situation is definitely bad if a line-up that did not include Roy or Rudy and played LMA only 6 minutes lost by 3 to a Jazz team that had Deron, Boozer and Millsap each playing 20 minutes or more.

No way we are getting the Stu Jackson cup (that's the pre-season championship, for those of you that are out of the loop).

Facts are that our starting unit did nothing. They got down quick and I don't really think Roy would have been the difference.

It's not the line-up as a whole, it's the starters. Then for Nate to come out and say he was encouraged by the effort?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Facts are that our starting unit did nothing. They got down quick and I don't really think Roy would have been the difference.

It's not the line-up as a whole, it's the starters. Then for Nate to come out and say he was encouraged by the effort?

I will say this about Nate, when he was in Seattle he did play guys who played hard over established rotation guys at times ... I think it would spell certain losses, but I wouldn't put it past him to play guys like Cunningham, Ime, Bayless and Howard if they are playing with more energy and hustle than the regular rotation guys.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I will say this about Nate, when he was in Seattle he did play guys who played hard over established rotation guys at times ... I think it would spell certain losses, but I wouldn't put it past him to play guys like Cunningham, Ime, Bayless and Howard if they are playing with more energy and hustle than the regular rotation guys.

I can definately see Ime and Howard. Nate likes his veterans, but Cunningham will make too many rookie mistakes for Nate. Bayless will never play under Nate.


Maybe Oden will be moved to 3rd team to make room for Howard?

 

[andalusian]

Facts are that our starting unit did nothing. They got down quick and I don't really think Roy would have been the difference.

It's not the line-up as a whole, it's the starters. Then for Nate to come out and say he was encouraged by the effort?

Our starting unit was missing it's most important player and had the 2nd best player taken out after 6 minutes, all of this in a meaningless game where the Jazz played their normal starting unit.

With that said, why shouldn't Nate be encouraged by the effort. These guys were on cruise control since the start of the pre-season - and it is clear that they finally got it in their head that having lots of talent and great expectations will not be enough - so they started playing like men. When what is basically a bunch of role players with Miller and Greg (who are our 3rd and 4th best players) basically won the last 3 quarters - why should he not be encouraged?

Just because you guys seem to need a reason to run to the hills does not mean that what he said was not right...

Heck, I was listening to the game on the way to an evening with my vintage car club friends - and I was encouraged to hear they scrapping and making a comeback.

You guys want to tear your hair out? Feel free to. It was the same after the trade deadline last year when half the board was ready to jump from a bridge and was followed by the Blazers finishing the regular season as the hottest team in the league. KP threw the team under the bus, Phoenix was now going to take our lunch and eat it while we finished in 9th place in the west. Yeah, I heard it all before.

This team is going to kick some serious butt this year, everyone that actually pays attention can see it, and everyone that actually pays attention to the fact that pre-season does not count for a reason - can realize that it is used properly for experimentation.

 

[noknobs]

It's only preseason but several problems have persisted throughout the 5 games, and I don't think it's absurd to question if they're all going to magically disappear as soon as the games start to mean something. Free-throw shooting is horrible, but correctable. Transition defense is abysmal. Pick and roll defense is horrendous. We still have no fast-break game worth mentioning. Our turnovers have been atrocious, as has our assist/TO ratio for the most part. We still have core guys yet to find their rythm, and almost the entire team still has no clue what their roles are.

I personally was not that encouraged by last night, given the fact that our only saving grace was a late 4th quarter run in which the end of our bench made a run against the end of their bench. I'd much rather that run came from guys who are actually going to be playing meaningful minutes this year.

I'm not overly worried, but I'm not going to just stick my head in the sand and pretend none of this is relevant. It'll probably just take longer for the team to find it's groove than I would have liked, and a few guys will probably get bent, but I'm still confident they'll have a good year.

 

[SnakeOiler]

I just hope Nate knows what he is doing and has us all fooled!

He gets paid to do it and has a proven record of improvement. None of you do. I call that fooled.

 

[Mediocre Man]

He gets paid to do it and has a proven record of improvement. None of you do. I call that fooled.

A lot of people get paid to do things that they aren't good at.


Nate's proven record of improvement has way more to do with the players, than with him. There was no where to go but up when he took over. Now let's see what he does with talent and no excuses.

 

[MARIS61]

This team is going to kick some serious butt this year, everyone that actually pays attention can see it...

Talk about delusional.

Got yourself a private TV feed or something?

As fans we have only 2 or 3 reliable sources to judge performance in these games. There is the homer radio broadcast, the homer local print media, and the boxscore/stats sheet.

We all know which is fact and which is fiction.

 

[Wheels]

I'm sorry if you thought I was implying that. I was really going for absolutely and unequivocally saying it.


Nate's bullshit line up failed miserably, and his line about energy and a turning point was also bullshit because the players that brought the energy are guys that will never see the floor. Players like Bayless, Cunningham, Ime and Howard will be 9-12 on the bench. The starters got outplayed, and once again, Travis did shit.

You mean the lineup didnt play Brandon Roy, or Rudy Fernandez?

 

[Wheels]

Now let's see what he does with talent and no excuses.

I agree.. lets SEE what he does with no excuses.. Right now we havent seen what he has done with the no excuses, because they havent played any REAL games yet.. thats whats so annoying about all this God Damn bitching!

 

[PapaG]

I'm sorry if you thought I was implying that. I was really going for absolutely and unequivocally saying it.


Nate's bullshit line up failed miserably, and his line about energy and a turning point was also bullshit because the players that brought the energy are guys that will never see the floor. Players like Bayless, Cunningham, Ime and Howard will be 9-12 on the bench. The starters got outplayed, and once again, Travis did shit.

I know. I can't believe he's going to sit Roy all season!

 

[Blazer_Hippie]

Nate's proven record of improvement has way more to do with the players, than with him. There was no where to go but up when he took over. Now let's see what he does with talent and no excuses.

I like Nate. I think he's a good coach and so far he has consistently met every objective goal that has been laid out for this team each year. From showing improvement & rebuilding, reaching .500, making the playoffs... each year he has met the goal and I think that's pretty awesome, actually. This year's goal..to make it beyond the 1st round of the playoffs.

But, the road from 21-->41 is A LOT easier than the road from 41-->2nd round...there are going to be bumps and tough decisions. I may not agree with everything Nate does, but so far, he has been right. Until he fails to meet the goals of this team for a season, I don't think people should be calling for his head...

 

[oldmangrouch]

I agree.. lets SEE what he does with no excuses.. Right now we havent seen what he has done with the no excuses, because they havent played any REAL games yet.. thats whats so annoying about all this God Damn bitching!

No offense dude, but I think you are missing an obvious point.

Nate didn't just annoint Blake and Joel as starters.....he did so weeks before the season even starts. It doesn't take either Freud or Sherlock Holmes to figure out that there is an agenda at work here.....and that agenda has little or nothing to do with how our players are actually performing.

 

[LittleAlex]

No offense dude, but I think you are missing an obvious point.

Nate didn't just annoint Blake and Joel as starters.....he did so weeks before the season even starts. It doesn't take either Freud or Sherlock Holmes to figure out that there is an agenda at work here.....and that agenda has little or nothing to do with how our players are actually performing.

This.

Nate said well before training camp he was leaning towards using the same starters as last year.

Then he said some bullshit about the players deciding who would play.

Why bother? He wasn't going to change his mind no matter how well anyone played (see Oden, Greg).

Were I Greg, I would be fucking pissed. You outplay your competition to an absurd level and it is completely meaningless.

 

[julius]

This.

Nate said well before training camp he was leaning towards using the same starters as last year.

Then he said some bullshit about the players deciding who would play.

Why bother? He wasn't going to change his mind no matter how well anyone played (see Oden, Greg).

Were I Greg, I would be fucking pissed. You outplay your competition to an absurd level and it is completely meaningless.

If I were Greg, I'd be like "ok, if you're not going to start me, after I busted my ass all summer, was the #1 pick, have played significantly better than your potential starter, than trade me".

I realize it could come off as someone not willing to take one for the team, but do you honestly think that if the team told Roy they'd start Rudy ahead of him he'd be honky dory about it? Fuck no. He'd be pissed (and rightfully so).

I realize that Roy has "earned" it, and so has Joel. But I don't think that it's that much of a stretch to say the situations would be similar.

 

[Tince]

If I were Greg, I'd be like "ok, if you're not going to start me, after I busted my ass all summer, was the #1 pick, have played significantly better than your potential starter, than trade me".

I realize it could come off as someone not willing to take one for the team, but do you honestly think that if the team told Roy they'd start Rudy ahead of him he'd be honky dory about it? Fuck no. He'd be pissed (and rightfully so).

I realize that Roy has "earned" it, and so has Joel. But I don't think that it's that much of a stretch to say the situations would be similar.

I'm glad you're not Greg, and that Greg is a professional.

Greg has been paid $10M and done very little, so he really shouldn't be making demands, and I think he realizes that.

 

[PapaG]

I'm glad you're not Greg, and that Greg is a professional.

Greg has been paid $10M and done very little, so he really shouldn't be making demands, and he realizes that.

This. I still won't be surprised if he starts the first game, either.

 

[Erroneous Subterfuge]

Greg has been paid $10M and done very little, so he really shouldn't be making demands, and he realizes that.

I'd appreciate it if you'd quit saying stuff like that as if you can read Greg Oden's thoughts and know his inner feelings more than anyone else.

 

[Tince]

This. I still won't be surprised if he starts the first game, either.

I hope he does, I think he's earned it. However, I've only seen two pre-season games and haven't seen a practice.

I agree with you PapaG, I won't be surprised if he does either.