Nate: "It's not like we'll play the young guys."

[illmatic99]

ugh.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...sider_changing_of_the_guards_still_a_wor.html

Coach Nate McMillan has flirted with playing rookie Nolan Smith, giving him spot duty in Houston on Saturday and alluding to playing him in Monday's game in New Orleans. He didn't. And even after his veteran backcourt took everybody on a rollercoaster ride of turnovers (Felton had 8, Crawford 4) and missed shots (the trio went 7-for-26 from the field), McMillan did nothing more than shrug his shoulders.

"Those are our guards," he said flatly. "It's not like we are going to go to our young guys."

Why the hell not?

I'm sure Chad Buchanan loves this vote of confidence about the players he acquired.

 

[Nikolokolus]

That's an unfortunate but somewhat understandable quote. 1) Nate has Felton and potentially Crawford in a contract years cutting into their minutes just to give the younglings burn could really destabilize whatever hold he has on the team. 2) Nate's in a contract year. Turning to the young guys like Nolan and Elliot probably isn't the best way to get wins, and wins = job security ... assuming of course that Nate still wants to be here.

 

[MARIS61]

We don't have any young guys who are ready to carry their position.

Blame Larry Miller for that.

 

[PapaG]

The other way to read this is that Felton and Crawford have been mostly shitty, but the team is still 8-5, so why panic? With the compacted season, it's almost impossible to practice enough to have any confidence in the Eliot Williamses or the Nolan Smiths of the team. One quick 8-0 run can mean a lot in the NBA.

I expect both Felton and Crawford to both get better as they become more familiar with their teammates.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Kinda funny that Batum is only a year (or less) older than our "prospects" on the roster.

 

[magnifier661]

Kinda funny that Batum is only a year (or less) older than our "prospects" on the roster.

I think that's a little relative. I think this has more to do with "Experience" than age. Kobe at 24; had way more experience than a rookie at the age of 21. I believe experience is the key word here. As much as Felton and Crawford have made me want to pull out my hair; they have been in the league longer. And I just don't trust a Rookie to run our offense. I think the PG is the hardest position and needs some of the most experience.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I know that Nate has thought about it; he has said a couple times he thought Crawford might get his shot back if he didn't have to worry about being a PG. According to the Hornet announcers he actually said Crawford would not play as PG tonight, not sure why he changed his mind at the last moment. Seems like going against NO would have been a good spot to try it out again.
I have pointed out in an earlier post that last year in Altanta there was a huge dropoff in win score when Crawford played point versus when he played SG. Another poster pointed out that the difference was very small in previous years; but last year is the most recent and was based on a lot of minutes at each position, so I think it means something.
I believe there are valid reasons they don't trust either Smith or Johnson; but they drafted Smith at 15, he had four years in college; I would give him a little bit longer run than they have already.
In summary, I don't think Crawford can effectively play PG and it seems to be negatively affecting his whole game. Either throw one of the youngsters out there or try to get a veteran.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

AND; I would at least try to make a point forward out of Batum (although he moves without the ball better than anyone else). I would hire Scottie Pippen to work with him. I realize that the Blazers have essentially stopped practicing but Batum is used to Euro teams where they practice 6 hours everyday; I think he could handle an hour every other day, along with some of the scrubs. If it doesn't work, fine. If it does, it solves two problems; getting Crawford away from playing point and getting Batum more minutes.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

And I have no idea why Quick had to throw Matthews in with Felton and Crawford as having shooting problems, he is shooting .459 and he also absolutely works harder on defense than anyone else on the team; never takes a minute off.

 

[WillG]

Well of course McMillan won't play the young guys.
He never does, therefore they get no experience and don't improve, so he then doesn't want to play them.

What a moronic statement from a guy that's trapped by his own self-imposed 'catch 22' situation. . .

 

[B-Roy]

Well of course McMillan won't play the young guys.
He never does, therefore they get no experience and don't improve, so he then doesn't want to play them.

This statement is just wrong. Nate plays rookies when they're good enough to earn minutes.

 

[Mediocre Man]

This statement is just wrong. Nate plays rookies when they're good enough to earn minutes.

Does he?


I think Nate plays rookies when he is forced to, like with Brandon and LA. There was discussion at the time regarding Oden or Przybilla with Nate.


As for Nate not playing Smith or Williams in favor of Crawford, I think it's stupid. At worst he should send Crawford a message after he jacks up some stupid ass shot and sit his ass on the bench in favor of one of the rookies.

 

[PapaG]

Does he?


I think Nate plays rookies when he is forced to, like with Brandon and LA. There was discussion at the time regarding Oden or Przybilla with Nate.


As for Nate not playing Smith or Williams in favor of Crawford, I think it's stupid. At worst he should send Crawford a message after he jacks up some stupid ass shot and sit his ass on the bench in favor of one of the rookies.

I'm shocked that you think that Nate's coaching is stupid. SHOCKED!! :MARIS61:

 

[illmatic99]

As has been pointed plenty of times, Nate didn't play Aldridge much even after he returned from his injury his rookie year. It's frustrating as hell because Crawful and Felton are out there making rookie mistakes.

 

[B-Roy]

Does he?


I think Nate plays rookies when he is forced to, like with Brandon and LA. There was discussion at the time regarding Oden or Przybilla with Nate.


As for Nate not playing Smith or Williams in favor of Crawford, I think it's stupid. At worst he should send Crawford a message after he jacks up some stupid ass shot and sit his ass on the bench in favor of one of the rookies.

Jack, Roy, LA, Batum, Rudy, Oden.....

 

[Mediocre Man]

Jack, Roy, LA, Batum, Rudy, Oden.....

All guys on the roster with no better or equal options in front of them

 

[PapaG]

All guys on the roster with no better or equal options in front of them

Nolan Smith and Eliot Williams are equal to or better than Felton and Crawford? Based on what, exactly?

You're not making any sense, other than your usual beating of Nate over the head.

You were just given a list of players who got extensive minutes as rookies, and Jack, Batum, and Rudy were mid-to-low round first round picks, so it's not like they had to play.

May as well add Martell to the list, too. On a side note, Martell was cleared to practice yesterday. He's still only 25 years-old, which seems impossible.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Nolan Smith and Eliot Williams are equal to or better than Felton and Crawford? Based on what, exactly?

You're not making any sense, other than your usual beating of Nate over the head.

You were just given a list of players who got extensive minutes as rookies, and Jack, Batum, and Rudy were mid-to-low round first round picks, so it's not like they had to play.

May as well add Martell to the list, too. On a side note, Martell was cleared to practice yesterday. He's still only 25 years-old, which seems impossible.

I never said either one was better than either of those guys.

I also have beat Nate over the head in this thread.

All I said was that the players listed were all given minutes because they didn't have anyone equal or better than them on the roster, and somehow that got turned into me bashing Nate over the head.

I think it's stupid for him not to play the rookies if Crawford or Felton are sucking. That's all I said. It's amazing the way shit gets turned around in here

 

[3RA1N1AC]

haha so wait a minute

nate only played those other players because "they were the best options", and.....he isnt playing the rookies now because "they arent the best options"

what a moron nate is!!!1!

 

[Mediocre Man]

haha so wait a minute

nate only played those other players because "they were the best options", and.....he isnt playing the rookies now because "they arent the best options"

what a moron nate is!!!1!

This is awesome. I never said that Nate was a moron for any of this. It's cool to be this polarizing in the forum though. All I said was that he is stupid for not playing either of them in place of a struggling player to send a message to said struggling player.

 

[PapaG]

This is awesome. I never said that Nate was a moron for any of this. It's cool to be this polarizing in the forum though. All I said was that he is stupid for not playing either of them in place of a struggling player to send a message to said struggling player.

No, but you said that him not playing Williams and Smith over Crawford is "stupid".

I'm guessing that view is in an extreme minority, even on this board.

 

[Mediocre Man]

No, but you said that him not playing Williams and Smith over Crawford is "stupid".

I'm guessing that view is in an extreme minority, even on this board.

If you read the remainder of that, I said that he should send him a message after he jacks up stupid shots. Crawford is a selfish basketball player, and Nate saying his guards are set in stone is pretty stupid because it means players like Crawford don't have to have any accountability.

 

[PapaG]

If you read the remainder of that, I said that he should send him a message after he jacks up stupid shots. Crawford is a selfish basketball player, and Nate saying his guards are set in stone is pretty stupid because it means players like Crawford don't have to have any accountability.

Crawford is second on the team with a 23.6 assist%. He's also second on the team in assist/36.

If you want to talk about a "selfish" player, check out Wesley Matthews' assist numbers. Dude is a black hole.

If you're going to try and be smarter than the coach, at least try to have some statistics to back your criticisms.

I know what your agenda is, though, so just keep on doing what you do. It's amusing, and adds to the entertainment here.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Why does Nate hate the next Larry Bird?

Mike Rice says Babbitt is going to be really good.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I find this a little ridiculous. I would love to see Elliott Williams, but who's minutes do you want to see cut? Batum? Crawford only got 23 minutes yesterday.

As for Nolan Smith, how did he go from "the guy is not ready" to "he needs more minutes"? Felton had 12 assisits and 3 steals last night. He had wayyyy too many turn overs, but if you think Smith will have less while playing at a fast tempo you are nuts. However I am sure he will get his chance. The season is very young.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Nate plays rookies when they're good enough to earn minutes.

Does he?


I think Nate plays rookies when he is forced to, like with Brandon and LA. There was discussion at the time regarding Oden or Przybilla with Nate.

Can you help clarify for me the difference between Nate being "forced to play rookies" (because there is no one equal or better on the roster) and Nate playing rookies "when they're good enough to earn minutes"?

Aren't those basically synonymous?

 

[B-Roy]

All guys on the roster with no better or equal options in front of them

Really? Rudy? Come on, you have to try better than that.

 

[blue32]

I would love to see the rookies play when our vet guards play like shit. that's all i'd want.

 

[WillG]

Sure there are exceptions, such as B Roy, but, bottom line is Nate has a pattern of under-utilising his younger players when a game/blowout gives him the opportunity to do so.
Practice can only teach these young guys so much.

Case in point was a few games ago, Cleveland game IIRC, we had the game in the bag and McMillan kept the starters in until 2mins to go.
Even though we had a 16 point lead or so.

That's just either lack of vision and foresight or plain lunacy to show such inflexibility in a season when the schedule is as compacted as it is. Just begging for worn down players and injuries.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Sure there are exceptions, such as B Roy, but, bottom line is Nate has a pattern of under-utilising his younger players when a game/blowout gives him the opportunity to do so.
Practice can only teach these young guys so much.

Case in point was a few games ago, Cleveland game IIRC, we had the game in the bag and McMillan kept the starters in until 2mins to go.
Even though we had a 16 point lead or so.

That's just either lack of vision and foresight or plain lunacy to show such inflexibility in a season when the schedule is as compacted as it is. Just begging for worn down players and injuries.

Or maybe he just still remembers the Philly game where they hit 5 of 6 3's late and almost ripped it from us despite having a 14-point lead with 4 minutes left.