Quicks Road Wrap: Stats for the Road Trip

[PapaG]

Anyone that thinks Blake is helping our team currently has lost their minds. His shooting is WAY DOWN, defense? Questionable, playmaking? non factor. Is Blake a shit player? Absolutely not... He is hurting this ball club because his man is letting him shoot while he's doubling Roy.

I think Blake is helping the team. I guess that means I've lost my mind. At the very least he spreads the floor, which enables LMA and Oden more room to operate. I'd rather see Webster playing Blake's role, but then again, last night Blake had 11 assists and only 2 TOs, and Webster can't do that in a game.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Sorry, I forgot that the scapegoating of Blake wasn't in this thread. My apologies.

So would you call what he's doing on the court acceptable basketball? 34% from the field is pretty awful for a shooting guard, and you can't even make the argument that he's a wing stopper or a defensive specialist.

I don't see the problem with calling a spade a spade.

 

[PapaG]

So if I have a VCR or even a DVD player at home that works, should I not go out and purchase a Blue Ray player if I have the resources to?

Portland has the resources to try a better player at that possition.

I agree, but I don't like Roy playing SF, so I'd try Webster again and see what happens.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think Blake is helping the team. I guess that means I've lost my mind. At the very least he spreads the floor, which enables LMA and Oden more room to operate. I'd rather see Webster playing Blake's role, but then again, last night Blake had 11 assists and only 2 TOs, and Webster can't do that in a game.

You only spread the floor if you are hitting your shots ... so by that definition Blake is not getting the job done. But I agree Webster has sucked too. Most I think would rather see Rudy on the floor.

 

[PapaG]

So would you call what he's doing on the court acceptable basketball? 34% from the field is pretty awful for a shooting guard, and you can't even make the argument that he's a wing stopper or a defensive specialist.

I don't see the problem with calling a spade a spade.

His career numbers show that his shooting will improve. I'm sure he's in an adjustment period as well. Miller is pretty bad as well right now, other than at firing up shots that would be better served coming from Roy's, LMA's, or even Oden's right hand. If the idea is to change the starting line-up every 5-7 games, even with the team winning 6 out of the last 7, then I'm against that. Is Blake playing acceptable basketball right now? No, but playing him at SG has led to wins, regardless of his stats.

 

[magnifier661]

I think Blake is helping the team. I guess that means I've lost my mind. At the very least he spreads the floor, which enables LMA and Oden more room to operate. I'd rather see Webster playing Blake's role, but then again, last night Blake had 11 assists and only 2 TOs, and Webster can't do that in a game.

You are absolutely correct. There is no way Webs will be able to dish out 11 dimes in a game. But don't you think Fernandez could spread the floor like Blake? Wouldn't it be much better having a shooter, that can and will penetrate be in with Roy during crunch time? I've seen Blake have like 1, maybe 2 games as a Blazer when I saw him on fire for the quarter. I've seen a ton of games with Fernandez scoring 10 or more in a quarter.

 

[magnifier661]

You only spread the floor if you are hitting your shots ... so by that definition Blake is not getting the job done. But I agree Webster has sucked too. Most I think would rather see Rudy on the floor.

Yep, that's what I would rather see as well. If our second unit's offense suffers, then manage the starter's minutes to have at least 2 of them on the floor the entire game. We don't have to have 2 units playing the game.

 

[PapaG]

You only spread the floor if you are hitting your shots ... so by that definition Blake is not getting the job done. But I agree Webster has sucked too. Most I think would rather see Rudy on the floor.

Blake is still spreading the floor, though. If he shoots 35% from 3 pt for the next few games, he'll continue to spread the floor. If he gets back near the 40% range, which is his career number, he'll continue to spread the floor. If he shoots 35% for the entire season, he won't spread the floor. He's in a shooting slump right now. I'm not saying that Blake should be starting, but rather that he is starting, and for whatever reason, the team is winning games with him starting.

 

[PapaG]

You are absolutely correct. There is no way Webs will be able to dish out 11 dimes in a game. But don't you think Fernandez could spread the floor like Blake? Wouldn't it be much better having a shooter, that can and will penetrate be in with Roy during crunch time? I've seen Blake have like 1, maybe 2 games as a Blazer when I saw him on fire for the quarter. I've seen a ton of games with Fernandez scoring 10 or more in a quarter.

Rudy is most productive getting touches. With Miller, Roy, LMA, and even Oden having the ball more often, Rudy goes from the primary scorer off of the bench to arguably the 5th option starting.

I think it would be wasting what Rudy does best, which is be able to handle the ball and not just be a spot-up shooter. Sure, he'd be starting, but do you really want him to be a spot-up shooter? Or does the team yet again revamp the roles of the starting unit? Because in that case, Nate may as well move Roy back to his natural position, since he does what Rudy does, only much better than Rudy.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Rudy is most productive getting touches. With Miller, Roy, LMA, and even Oden having the ball more often, Rudy goes from the primary scorer off of the bench to arguably the 5th option starting.

I think it would be wasting what Rudy does best, which is be able to handle the ball and not just be a spot-up shooter. Sure, he'd be starting, but do you really want him to be a spot-up shooter? Or does the team yet again revamp the roles of the starting unit? Because in that case, Nate may as well move Roy back to his natural position, since he does what Rudy does, only much better than Rudy.

I'd put Rudy in a 30 minute "Manu" role. Make him the first guy off the bench. It's not about rigid starting roles vs. bench roles because we no longer have two complete units anyway. At any given time I believe you should always have one or two of Greg, LMA or Brandon on the floor.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I agree, but I don't like Roy playing SF, so I'd try Webster again and see what happens.

As long as Nate is going away from the motion offense that we used for two games, Webster would be better. If he decides he actually wants more easy baskets like in the SA and first Minny game, then Rudy makes more sense.

 

[magnifier661]

Rudy is most productive getting touches. With Miller, Roy, LMA, and even Oden having the ball more often, Rudy goes from the primary scorer off of the bench to arguably the 5th option starting.

I think it would be wasting what Rudy does best, which is be able to handle the ball and not just be a spot-up shooter. Sure, he'd be starting, but do you really want him to be a spot-up shooter? Or does the team yet again revamp the roles of the starting unit? Because in that case, Nate may as well move Roy back to his natural position, since he does what Rudy does, only much better than Rudy.

During different times in the ball game, there will be different roles. There should be times he will be on the floor without Oden, Aldridge or Roy. At some point, he maybe the #2 option. I think giving a little more minutes to the starters, and have some over-lap with the bench. Even possibly have Fernandez and Bayless together. Tinker with it like that. But having the best players have the majority of the minutes is best for the team. Do you know Blake is getting 30 minutes a game in the last 6 games?

 

[PapaG]

I'd put Rudy in a 30 minute "Manu" role. Make him the first guy off the bench. It's not about rigid starting roles vs. bench roles because we no longer have two complete units anyway. At any given time I believe you should always have one or two of Greg, LMA or Brandon on the floor.

We're in agreement, then. I know what you're saying about having two of the "Big Three" on the court, but I still think Rudy's minutes would be wasted as a starter, and his impact on the game dulled, simply due to playing with the "Big Three" as well as Miller, who has the ball more than anyone else.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I agree, but I don't like Roy playing SF, so I'd try Webster again and see what happens.

That's a good point. Even if Rudy provides more offense, it still leaves Roy getting worn down defending bigger, stronger players.

 

[alex42083]

I'd put Rudy in a 30 minute "Manu" role. Make him the first guy off the bench. It's not about rigid starting roles vs. bench roles because we no longer have two complete units anyway. At any given time I believe you should always have one or two of Greg, LMA or Brandon on the floor.

That's what I've envisioned for Rudy to have the most success in the NBA. I'm not sure with his body type that he can withstand the pounding at the SG spot as a starter and be counted on for 82 games, playing 37-40 mins a game.

But if he can be a super sub, get 25-30 mins a game like Manu.. I think that'd be a perfect role for him.

 

[andalusian]

I agree, but I don't like Roy playing SF, so I'd try Webster again and see what happens.

I don't think Roy's problem is the position (SF vs SG) - it's how much (not enough) he handles the ball.

I would love to see what a Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA/Greg unit will do. Last year, the Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA/Joel unit was fantastic. Roy handled the ball, we had rebounding and we had two good 3 point shooters on the wing. This year, if Roy handles the ball - we have only one good 3pt shooter you need to cover on the wings, and if Miller handles the ball - we reduce Roy to a jump-shooter role.

Since I think Greg is a better offensive player than Joel and just as good on defense - that unit could be the bee's knees, the dog's bollocks, the cat's pj's - you get the idea.

 

[andalusian]

If the coach changes the gameplan, he is admitting he made a mistake. If he sticks to the gameplan and loses, he can blame the players for lousy execution.

Of course, if he changes the gameplan all the time - he is a flip-flopper and no one knows their role...

There is a fine line there between too much and too little. Nate made 1 change after 5 games. We have since had 7 more games with a record of 6-1 - I do not think it was very unwise to be patient with it. Were it my team, I will continue to monitor it and try to think about reducing some of Blake's minutes for Rudy - and if Rudy continues to get in the groove - I will also reduce some of Miller's minutes for Rudy.

 

[PapaG]

I don't think Roy's problem is the position (SF vs SG) - it's how much (not enough) he handles the ball.

I would love to see what a Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA/Greg unit will do. Last year, the Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA/Joel unit was fantastic. Roy handled the ball, we had rebounding and we had two good 3 point shooters on the wing. This year, if Roy handles the ball - we have only one good 3pt shooter you need to cover on the wings, and if Miller handles the ball - we reduce Roy to a jump-shooter role.

Since I think Greg is a better offensive player than Joel and just as good on defense - that unit could be the bee's knees, the dog's bollocks, the cat's pj's - you get the idea.

That would be interesting. Keeping Blake in the line-up instead of Miller would help Rudy get more touches, and as a selfish entertainment bonus, some posters' heads would figuratively explode.

 

[andalusian]

That would be interesting. Keeping Blake in the line-up instead of Miller would help Rudy get more touches, and as a selfish entertainment bonus, some posters' heads would figuratively explode.

Honestly, we have 2 issues with Miller - he seems to increase Greg's value and he seems to decrease Roy's value.

I honestly think that Miller and Roy and the coaching staff will figure out a way to play them both together more efficiently as time goes on - but until this happens, I would not mind seeing them try some of these things. Also - I think that a Miller/JB 2nd unit will be a much better running the break than a Miller/Rudy unit seems to be. I would also not mind seeing some of Greg's minutes with the 2nd unit with Miller/JB - with Miller and Greg being the focus of the offense - we could help Greg's growth as an offensive player when we are not minimizing his touches because we want LMA and Roy to shoot a lot.

Greg does not have to spend all his time in the game with Roy/LMA - just some of it, and if it means that we might have to run a Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA/Joel a little more - I am OK with it as well - it worked very well last year...

 

[LittleAlex]

The Blazers are holding opponents to 41% shooting, tops in the league. So actually, the defense literally can't get any better in terms of making the opponents miss shots, and it can only get worse in terms of stack rankings.



Who said that Blake is a better player than Rudy? My take is that if Blake is to be replaced, do it with Webster.



Rudy had a very good trip. He seems to be settling into a productive role off of the bench.

Man, as bad as Blake has been, Martell has been much much worse.

He is literally bringing nothing to the table right now.

I hate to say it but replacing Blake with Martell would be a horrible move.

 

[magnifier661]

Man, as bad as Blake has been, Martell has been much much worse.

He is literally bringing nothing to the table right now.

I hate to say it but replacing Blake with Martell would be a horrible move.

I don't think it's Webster outperforming Blake, but more to do with Roy being able to play his natural position at SF. I think Blake should score more coming off the bench as well, since he's not competing with players like Roy, Aldridge, Oden and Miller.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Of course, if he changes the gameplan all the time - he is a flip-flopper and no one knows their role...

There is a fine line there between too much and too little. Nate made 1 change after 5 games. We have since had 7 more games with a record of 6-1 - I do not think it was very unwise to be patient with it. Were it my team, I will continue to monitor it and try to think about reducing some of Blake's minutes for Rudy - and if Rudy continues to get in the groove - I will also reduce some of Miller's minutes for Rudy.

I don't really disagree with what you are saying. I was speaking more to the issue of in game adjustments. Nate has a weird habit of sticking with people who are cold, and going away from guys who are on a roll. He sometimes seems oblivious to the ebb and flow of the game.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Believe me, I wished it did happen 12 games ago.

!!??? You do realize that over that 12 games we have one of the best records IN THE NBA, and perhaps THE best defense? What do you want? Are you sure you wouldn't be happier watching the Warriors? Is it just magic that we have such a good defense while Blake gets so many minutes (and has one of the best +/- ratings on the team)? Perhaps you think that if only we'd played Bayless we'd be 12-0?

 

[Nikolokolus]

!!??? You do realize that over that 12 games we have one of the best records IN THE NBA, and perhaps THE best defense? What do you want? Are you sure you wouldn't be happier watching the Warriors? Is it just magic that we have such a good defense while Blake gets so many minutes (and has one of the best +/- ratings on the team)? Perhaps you think that if only we'd played Bayless we'd be 12-0?

Blake was here last year and we weren't a lockdown defense, so I think it's maybe a little weird to start thinking that he's "the straw that stirs the drink" on that end of the court. I think there's a serious case of autocorrelation going on with Steve's defense, in that he's benefitting from having two erasers like Oden and Joel behind him, and for whatever reason Andre (while not a great individual defender) seems to help our team defense too.

But whatever, Nate's a loyal guy and he's probably going to ride Steve for a quarter of the season before he'll reduce his role. C'est la vie.

 

[BenDavis503]

Blake 29.5 percent FG shooting (13 of 44)

Ya, I was going to point this out. Yikes.

 

[andalusian]

Blake was here last year and we weren't a lockdown defense, so I think it's maybe a little weird to start thinking that he's "the straw that stirs the drink" on that end of the court.

There is something to be said about that. But, there is also something to be said about the fact that Blake was playing hurt for a large portion of last year's campaign and, to my eyes at least, he seems like he does a much better job of staying in front of his man and trying to funnel him away from the post.

Great defender? Not even close - but noticeably better defense than last year, imho.

I think there's a serious case of autocorrelation going on with Steve's defense, in that he's benefitting from having two erasers like Oden and Joel behind him, and for whatever reason Andre (while not a great individual defender) seems to help our team defense too.

The place where Andre seems to help us is by understanding where and when to switch - something Webster was not very good, at the start of the year as a starter. He is clearly slower than Blake is on defense, but he seems to be doing a nice job on most small-guards.

But whatever, Nate's a loyal guy and he's probably going to ride Steve for a quarter of the season before he'll reduce his role. C'est la vie.

If we continue to win at the pace we had so far - not a big deal - but I really think we will start to see more Rudy and a little less Blake (not talking huge reduction) - now that Rudy seems to be back in basketball mode.

 

[magnifier661]

If we continue to win at the pace we had so far - not a big deal - but I really think we will start to see more Rudy and a little less Blake (not talking huge reduction) - now that Rudy seems to be back in basketball mode.

You know the more I think about it, it may not be Nate having a "man-crush" with Blake, but a possibility of Nate trying to Ween last year's starters to this season's starters. Maybe taking a more gradual approach so all the players aren't put in an awkward position.

Yeah it would be nice to see Blake slowly have his playing time slowly reducing, while we see Fernandez increase. Also, could it be that Fernandez was very tired and possibly injured? Maybe the Blazers didn't want to injure him seriously and bring him back slowly.

None of these don't sound so far fetched IMO.