Mediocre Man (And Many Others) Will Absolutely LOVE This Piece...

[ABM]

Laid out rather well, I might add...


From: SLAM Online

Over the weekend, John Canzano wrote a column that was speaking exactly of what I’ve been thinking all along about the Portland Trail Blazers management, coaching, and players situation. It was fair, it was straight-forward and I agreed with it wholeheartedly (except for the whole “Andre Miller was a bad fit” thing). Then I watched the Cleveland Cavaliers go to the Rose Garden on Sunday and the teams played an exciting game. The best game I’ve watched in the year, actually, but it did nothing to change my mind about how the Trail Blazers have followed through on certain decisions regarding the issues concerning Andre Miller, Nate McMillan, Brandon Roy, Steve Blake and the general manager Kevin Pritchard.

I’ve been mentioning it throughout the past several months in my Timeouts and 21 Questions columns, but now, I’ve been inspired by the subtle chicanery and less-than-obvious nonsense that has come forth from the organization in about the same amount of time, so here I go................

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Laid out rather well, I might add...


From: SLAM Online

Well, the writer's neither an NBA coach nor GM, so clearly, he has no idea what he's talking about.

 

[BrianFromWA]

when you show me that clown getting an NBA paycheck, then maybe I'll respect his clueless opinions on coaching, on NBA players and their roles, and on offensive philosophy. Until then...

/s

 

[BrianFromWA]

beat me to it.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Good article.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

when you show me that clown getting an NBA paycheck, then maybe I'll respect his clueless opinions on coaching, on NBA players and their roles, and on offensive philosophy. Until then...

Glad to see that you see it my way.

 

[Boob-No-More]

when you show me that clown getting an NBA paycheck, then maybe I'll respect his clueless opinions on coaching, on NBA players and their roles, and on offensive philosophy. Until then...

/s

Yeah, and until Roger Ebert directs an Academy Award winning picture he has no business critiquing movies. Oh, wait....

Come on guys, he's not applying for Nate's job. He didn't even suggest Nate be fired. He simply stated what many people find obvious - Nate's offense is too reliant on a single player. Basketball is a team sport, yet Nate's glacially paced offense relies way to much on ISO plays. It's not like the Blazers don't have other offensively gifted players. Hell, they are stacked. There is no reason for the offense to be so one dimensional while the talents of other players are under utilized.

Prior to injury, Oden was under utilized on offense. After leading the team in scoring in the preseason, Nate told him not to worry about scoring, to just focus on defense and rebounding? Why? Why, even with Oden healthy, were the Blazers last in the league in points in the paint?

Andre Miller, a proven NBA player has been totally misused by Nate and is only beginning to show what he can do now that half the team is injured and Nate has no other choice.

Bayless is also under utilized, as is Rudy. We have a ton of great offensive talent on this team (especially when they are all healthy), but we don't have a system that takes advantage of that talent. Why not? Why can't our coach dream up an offensive scheme designed around more than one player?

I've particpated in a lot of "heated exchanges" lately about the misuse of Andre Miller, but what is even more disturbing to me long term is the misuse of Oden on offense (prior to his injury) and to a lesser extent, Bayless. The successful development of Oden and his integration into the team's offense are vital to any championship hopes - we need an integrated inside/outside game, not just all ISOs all the time. Nate simply hasn't shown any evidence that he is the right coach for developing such an offense.

Nate was a great coach for turning around this team. He is a great motivator that gets his guys to play hard. He also does a good job teaching the young guys fundamentals and limiting their mistakes. I'm afraid he's not the right coach for taking those young players, and this very talented roster, to the next level. And, I only hope Kevin Pritchard and Paul Allen reach that same conclusion before they squander a golden opportunity.

BNM

 

[ABM]

....Nate was a great coach for turning around this team. He is a great motivator that gets his guys to play hard. He also does a good job teaching the young guys fundamentals and limiting their mistakes. I'm afraid he's not the right coach for taking those young players, and this very talented roster, to the next level.....

What if he were willing to learn/grow, though? I mean, after all, he's no dummy.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

What if he were willing to learn/grow, though? I mean, after all, he's no dummy.

I don't know about BNM . . . but I think some fans have taken Nate's comments so personally (probably not the best comments by Nate) that fault will be found in Nate no matter what he does.

 

[Boob-No-More]

What if he were willing to learn/grow, though? I mean, after all, he's no dummy.

He has had plenty of opportunites to show growth in this area, but so far has wiffed on every one. Other than Brandon Roy (an perhaps Steve Blake - last year's model), name one player on this roster whose offensive talents are fully exploited. Oden - hell no. Miller, yeah, right. Bayless, not close. Aldridge, needs a faster pace to maximize his usefulness. Rudy, he can be so much more than a spot up 3-point specialist.

How long does he get to keep misusing the talent he's been given before Pritchard and Allen are willing to let him go? At the absolute very least, they need to bring in an assistant coach who can design a offense that will better utilize the talent on this roster - and I don't see than happening with Nate here. He's too much of a control freak to allow someone else that much responsibility.

BNM

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Yeah, and until Roger Ebert directs an Academy Award winning picture he has no business critiquing movies. Oh, wait....

Come on guys, he's not applying for Nate's job. He didn't even suggest Nate be fired. He simply stated what many people find obvious - Nate's offense is too reliant on a single player. Basketball is a team sport, yet Nate's glacially paced offense relies way to much on ISO plays. It's not like the Blazers don't have other offensively gifted players. Hell, they are stacked. There is no reason for the offense to be so one dimensional while the talents of other players are under utilized.

Prior to injury, Oden was under utilized on offense. After leading the team in scoring in the preseason, Nate told him not to worry about scoring, to just focus on defense and rebounding? Why? Why, even with Oden healthy, were the Blazers last in the league in points in the paint?

Andre Miller, a proven NBA player has been totally misused by Nate and is only beginning to show what he can do now that half the team is injured and Nate has no other choice.

Bayless is also under utilized, as is Rudy. We have a ton of great offensive talent on this team (especially when they are all healthy), but we don't have a system that takes advantage of that talent. Why not? Why can't our coach dream up an offensive scheme designed around more than one player?

I've particpated in a lot of "heated exchanges" lately about the misuse of Andre Miller, but what is even more disturbing to me long term is the misuse of Oden on offense (prior to his injury) and to a lesser extent, Bayless. The successful development of Oden and his integration into the team's offense are vital to any championship hopes - we need an integrated inside/outside game, not just all ISOs all the time. Nate simply hasn't shown any evidence that he is the right coach for developing such an offense.

Nate was a great coach for turning around this team. He is a great motivator that gets his guys to play hard. He also does a good job teaching the young guys fundamentals and limiting their mistakes. I'm afraid he's not the right coach for taking those young players, and this very talented roster, to the next level. And, I only hope Kevin Pritchard and Paul Allen reach that same conclusion before they squander a golden opportunity.

BNM

Perhaps you didn't catch the /s in BFW's post, or the green text in mine. Both of us were subtly mocking those who use that argument against posters who have the audacity to critique KP and/or Nate. I actually agree with you.

 

[BrianFromWA]

the green type and /s denote sarcasm. There literally is nothing in your post that I disagree with.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't know about BNM . . . but I think some fans have taken Nate's comments so personally (probably not the best comments by Nate) that fault will be found in Nate no matter what he does.

I used to be a big Nate backer. His performance this season has changed my opinion. I want him gone - no later than the July 1.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

the green type and /s denote sarcasm. There literally is nothing in your post that I disagree with.

Sorry, I missed that memo.

BNM

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I used to be a big Nate backer. His performance this season has changed my opinion. I want him gone - no later than the July 1.

BNM

Hope I never work for you.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Hope I never work for you.

Makes two of us...


J/K

BNM

 

[PtldPlatypus]

the green type and /s denote sarcasm. There literally is nothing in your post that I disagree with.

Heh heh--beat you to it again.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Yeah, and until Roger Ebert directs an Academy Award winning picture he has no business critiquing movies. Oh, wait....

Well he did write the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

 

[Boob-No-More]

Well he did write the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

'Nuff said.

BNM

 

[yakbladder]

He has had plenty of opportunites to show growth in this area, but so far has wiffed on every one. Other than Brandon Roy (an perhaps Steve Blake - last year's model), name one player on this roster whose offensive talents are fully exploited. Oden - hell no. Miller, yeah, right. Bayless, not close. Aldridge, needs a faster pace to maximize his usefulness. Rudy, he can be so much more than a spot up 3-point specialist.

How long does he get to keep misusing the talent he's been given before Pritchard and Allen are willing to let him go? At the absolute very least, they need to bring in an assistant coach who can design a offense that will better utilize the talent on this roster - and I don't see than happening with Nate here. He's too much of a control freak to allow someone else that much responsibility.

BNM

Dude, considering he was integrating new players and lack of players into the offense at the start of the year..I mean, geezum crimeny, cut the guy some slack. So Oden didn't get the ball every time down the court. Do we really need to re-hash this again? I think some people have very narrowly focused opinions about how any player should be used and if anybody deviates from that opinion then they must be a f'n horrible coach / judge of talent /etc.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Dude, considering he was integrating new players and lack of players into the offense at the start of the year..I mean, geezum crimeny, cut the guy some slack. So Oden didn't get the ball every time down the court. Do we really need to re-hash this again? I think some people have very narrowly focused opinions about how any player should be used and if anybody deviates from that opinion then they must be a f'n horrible coach / judge of talent /etc.

Oden was not a new player. He played 61 games the previous season - and Nate also had the whole 2007-08 season to dream up one or two set plays to get the ball into him on the block. After Oden led the team in scoring in the preseason, Nate's response was not to figure out how to better integrate him into the offense, it was to tell Oden not to worry about scoring. Prior to his injury, Oden had the highest PER and highest FG% (by far) on the team, yet was only averaging 7.2 FGA/G. That's a big fat waste of a dominant inside presence.

But what was even more disturbing were Roy's comments about how Oden's "increased" role was interfering with his play. Nate needs to design an offense where his best players work together, not compete against each other for shots. Why is that so hard for him to do? And if he hasn't figured out a way to do it by the start of next season, he's no longer the right coach for this team.

BNM

 

[Nikolokolus]

Dude, considering he was integrating new players and lack of players into the offense at the start of the year..I mean, geezum crimeny, cut the guy some slack. So Oden didn't get the ball every time down the court. Do we really need to re-hash this again? I think some people have very narrowly focused opinions about how any player should be used and if anybody deviates from that opinion then they must be a f'n horrible coach / judge of talent /etc.

I've had five years to watch Nate and I've gone from a pretty strong supporter (especially for a rebuilding team that was low on professionalism) to lukewarm, to tepid, to cool. He's not the worst coach in the world, he's not a bad guy (probably a great guy in fact) but I've seen enough to know that he's probably always going to struggle blending a lot of talent together.

Not all of the blame falls on Nate, because KP created some of the logjams that lead to breakdowns in chemistry early in the season, but it goes beyond that, Nate has shown himself to be a very slow at making in-game adjustments, very poor at creating a system that generates high percentage points (points in the paint, fastbreak points, etc.) and has instead built a system that relies on lots of jump shots, trips to the free throw line and lots of second chance points which are all likely to dry up in the playoffs because, jumpers don't always fall (especially against a committed defense) playoff opponents usually don't allow a lot of offensive rebounds if they are worth a damn and refs swallow their whistles and let people play -- the bottom line is that the team still has one of the most predictable offenses in the league and thus remains highly vulnerable in a seven game series when it's all about adjustments and exploiting mismatches.

I'm sure Nate will get at least one more year to prove or disprove that he should be the head coach of this team, but if this team comes back healthy and starts off another season struggling the way it did this November then I'd expect his seat to get a little hot.