Rudy Fernandez

[JfizzleBlazer]

How good do you guys think he is going to be next season? Stat averages? Minutes?

I hope Nate plays him.

He looked pretty awesome against Team USA in the final when he posterized Dwight!

 

[Jurassic]

Nate doesn't tolerate any mess, so assuming that Rudy comes in ready to work and listen he should get some minutes. Its a young team so Nate shouldn't feel obligated to NOT play rookies out of respect for vets. He always seems to coach in a way that players earn their minutes through work ethic and not acting boneheaded.

Just ask Danny Fortson, lol.

 

[bodyman5001]

He better play him. Guy is good, we need a shooter who can shoot from anywhere with his feet out of position.

Not to mention the other parts of his game.

I just hope Nate doesn't make him ride pine for taking some bad shots here and there. This kind of guy can hit those shots, but he has to earn the right to take them I guess.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

I'm worried about Fernandez on defense. Nate doesn't seem to like to play guys who have trouble on defense. Do you think Rudy will have trouble because he is so skinny?

 

[bodyman5001]

Nope, skill should outweigh skinny.

I haven't have a chance to watch him much so I can't really speak of his defense, but I sure noticed his offense when I got to see him play.

You can't be a good offensive player and be useless on defense unless you are just lazy.

Notice how lazy has a z in it ZACH!

 

[Shapecity]

How's his English? Learning the terminology and being able to understand the coaches instructions are going to be the key for Rudy getting on the court. He demonstrated his ability to score at the Olympics, dropping 22 points against Team USA. Nate McMillan was able to scout him as an assistant coach for Team USA, and he had to bite his lip about how excited he was to have Rudy this season.

"McMillan said Fernandez, 23, is so talented that he will “definitely” play, and play a lot, for the Blazers.”

Oregonlive had a nice write up on Nate's expectations for Rudy and how he plans to use him. It's a month old, but some good stuff in there from Nate.

 

[Minstrel]

McMillan seemed very happy with Fernandez's play against Team USA, so I suspect he has quite a bit of respect for Fernandez as a player. I assume that Fernandez will get burn unless he comes in and puts in little effort.

I think he'll get around 25 MPG and put up numbers in the realm of 12 PPG / 3 APG / 2 RPG. But with an efficient TS%.

 

[maxiep]

My guess is that he plays roughly 20 minutes a game, averages around eight points, two rebounds and one and a half assists a game. He's going to hit the rookie wall and hit it hard.

As for the language and cultural barriers, I think Sergio is still a Blazer because Rudy is a rookie.

 

[MickZagger]

I think the other guards will be able to hide his deficiencies on defense. His knack for the ball and hustle more than makes up for his defense. He's that pesky player that you look at and wonder how the hell he's as good as he is. After watching him in the Olympics I'm thinking that he has a good chance at 6th man of the year in just his rookie season.

 

[Magnum]

I think Rudy will be wildly inconsistent, just as he showed in the olympics.

Coming off the bench likely he will absolutely take over some games, and put up 1 for 4 with 0 rbs other nights. Until proven otherwise, I hope nate gives him about 5 minutes of "heat check" every night and then dictates his minutes accordingly.

 

[tlongII]

Rudy and Jerryd will both get plenty of minutes for being rookies imo. As I've stated on the "other" board, I think we'll end up seeing Jerryd play a lot with Roy and Rudy will play a lot with Blake. Probably not at the start of the season, but eventually. I just like the way those combinations compliment each other.

 

[THE HCP]

He will be fine. It will take him a while to adjust, but he knows how to play ball! Flat out, he can play. The level of comp will be a shock at first, but but his game will adapt.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Nobody wants to say it because of the excitement of Rudy coming over, but he plays the same game and position as Roy.

The two can probably can co-exist with one playing out of position, but the are both SGs. It should be intersting to see how it plays out and where Nate will find minutes for Rudy. Then of course there is Bayless who is a SG in a PG's body.

Should be fun to watch this cake bake and see which ingredients will stay and which will be used to trade for a little coffee with the cake . . . OK I have no idea what I'm saying now . . .

 

[ebott]

I'm with GO time on this. I think how well Rudy does will be directly related to how creative Nate is with our lineups. I don't think it's gonna be that big of a problem though.

Nate is VERY fond of running three guard lineups in the 4th quarter. I expect most games we'll have Blake, Rudy, Roy and which ever two big men are having the best game most forth quarters. So if Rudy gets 12 minutes backing up Roy and then 12 minutes in the three guard lineup I figure he should be able to get numbers like Minstrel was talking about.

 

[mook]

Nobody wants to say it because of the excitement of Rudy coming over, but he plays the same game and position as Roy.

The two can probably can co-exist with one playing out of position, but the are both SGs. It should be intersting to see how it plays out and where Nate will find minutes for Rudy. Then of course there is Bayless who is a SG in a PG's body.

Should be fun to watch this cake bake and see which ingredients will stay and which will be used to trade for a little coffee with the cake . . . OK I have no idea what I'm saying now . . .

He plays the same position, technically, but he plays entirely differently. He really strikes me as more of an Allen Iverson type (only slower/taller, with a much better shot and shot selection). He runs everywhere, doesn't play great man defense but really creates havoc with steals and jumping passing lanes, and he takes big shots. You don't want a whole team playing that way (see the Denver Nuggets), but one guy playing that way can be really useful (see the Sixers finals team).

Roy is slow, methodical, has a great handle and uses that and his power to get by opponents.

Rudy is fast, frenetic, has a mediocre handle, and uses his great shooting ability to set up his penetration.

The only real similarities in their game is that they both are listed at shooting guard, they both are known for good court awareness and passing, and they both have no problem taking big shots. Those aren't the kind of overlaps that tend to conflict much.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

He plays the same position, technically, but he plays entirely differently. He really strikes me as more of an Allen Iverson type (only slower/taller, with a much better shot and shot selection). He runs everywhere, doesn't play great man defense but really creates havoc with steals and jumping passing lanes, and he takes big shots. You don't want a whole team playing that way (see the Denver Nuggets), but one guy playing that way can be really useful (see the Sixers finals team).

Roy is slow, methodical, has a great handle and uses that and his power to get by opponents.

Rudy is fast, frenetic, has a mediocre handle, and uses his great shooting ability to set up his penetration.

The only real similarities in their game is that they both are listed at shooting guard, they both are known for good court awareness and passing, and they both have no problem taking big shots. Those aren't the kind of overlaps that tend to conflict much.

Did I say I was glad you came to this site? I take it back. : )

You make good points. Where I see a similar game is they both like to have the ball in their hands in the half court set, to create their own shot or a dish to an open man for a shot. (I also see Bayless in the same way . . . most effective with the ball in his hands)


Also, the idea of moving one to SF or PG doesn't seem like a long term answer to me . . . I see a clash down the road (hope I'm wrong)

 

[Reep]

Did I say I was glad you came to this site? I take it back. : )

You make good points. Where I see a similar game is they both like to have the ball in their hands in the half court set, to create their own shot or a dish to an open man for a shot. (I also see Bayless in the same way . . . most effective with the ball in his hands)


Also, the idea of moving one to SF or PG doesn't seem like a long term answer to me . . . I see a clash down the road (hope I'm wrong)

You are both right. Rudy and Roy are both distribuing SGs with good outside shots, solid handles, great vision, and effective slashing. However, Rudy's pace is much faster. In Top Gun lingo, Rudy is Maverick, Roy is Ice Man. Rudy is more aggressive at finding interior players over the top. Roy looks to pass to the wings more. I think either could play well with Blake or Bayless, or each other. If Nate wants to reduce the rotation, I could easily see Roy and Rudy plus Bayless or Blake making a nice rotation.

I hope Nate plays with the rotations a bit early this year. I would really like to see Rudy get some burn with Oden and Roy get some PT with Bayless and a Roy/Rudy combo backcourt.

 

[Denny Crane]

Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and Viktor Kryhapa for Roy and LMA?

Where do we sign? !!!!

 

[gatorpops]

Did I say I was glad you came to this site? I take it back. : )

You make good points. Where I see a similar game is they both like to have the ball in their hands in the half court set, to create their own shot or a dish to an open man for a shot. (I also see Bayless in the same way . . . most effective with the ball in his hands)


Also, the idea of moving one to SF or PG doesn't seem like a long term answer to me . . . I see a clash down the road (hope I'm wrong)

I agree with Mook on everything he said about Rudy.

Rudy is very much able to play without the ball. In fact he will probably play better than Roy without the ball.

Two years ago when he and Sergio played together in reserve for the Spanish national team, they were fantastic. This year he directed his team most of the time in the ACB league with great sucess.

Another thing, when Nate was gushing about Rudy after the Olympics, he said something to the effect he thought he could play defense well. What we saw in the O was the style of frenetic defense that all the perimeter players played on the Spanish team. Their coaches style.

I believe that Rudy will get minuets early on ahead of Bayless because he is more experienced at a higher level than Bayless.

gf

 

[mook]

Did I say I was glad you came to this site? I take it back. : )

You make good points. Where I see a similar game is they both like to have the ball in their hands in the half court set, to create their own shot or a dish to an open man for a shot. (I also see Bayless in the same way . . . most effective with the ball in his hands)


Also, the idea of moving one to SF or PG doesn't seem like a long term answer to me . . . I see a clash down the road (hope I'm wrong)

Actually, I agree with you that one of them is likely to get traded. To take an extreme example--if we'd drafted both Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler, would we have been wise to keep both through their entire careers?

Or would we have been better served trading Drexler for David Robinson?

Jordan and Drexler would've been awesome, but there would've been some diminishing returns. Trading Drexler for Robinson would have made a ton of sense.

Obviously, Roy and Rudy aren't likely to be that good. But it's the same issue. We'll probably find at some point one of those guys is more valuable to us off the team than on it.

 

[MikeDC]

of course, the problem with those thoughts is it's easier said than done to get good value in trade.

When I first read the posts here, I was agreeing that ultimately, someone probably needs to be traded. On the other hand though, the Bulls didn't have any long-term problems with Ron Harper and MJ starting. Granted that Harper wasn't the caliber of player as Drexler at that point in his career, but it worked just fine.

What was necessary to make it work was Harper having an uncommon desire and perhaps ability to change his game to fit into the role the team needed. I have no clue if your guys can do that, but I don't see why not.

 

[Minstrel]

of course, the problem with those thoughts is it's easier said than done to get good value in trade.

When I first read the posts here, I was agreeing that ultimately, someone probably needs to be traded. On the other hand though, the Bulls didn't have any long-term problems with Ron Harper and MJ starting. Granted that Harper wasn't the caliber of player as Drexler at that point in his career, but it worked just fine.

What was necessary to make it work was Harper having an uncommon desire and perhaps ability to change his game to fit into the role the team needed. I have no clue if your guys can do that, but I don't see why not.

The problem I have with the Jordan/Harper comparison is that Harper completely re-invented himself as a defensive stopper (which was, frankly, one of the more amazing transformations I can think of). Some of it was necessity (he didn't really have the ability to be a high-flying scorer by his Bulls days) and some of it was desire to fit better (he surely could have scored more, had he tried).

I don't currently believe that Fernandez could re-invent himself as a defensive stopper and it would be a waste of his offensive talents to sublimate them like that. I think he'll either need to show that his game can complement Roy's (like, say, Jordan and Pippen did on offense, even though Roy and Fernandez aren't that level) or he may end up a trading chip.

 

[Denny Crane]

The problem I have with the Jordan/Harper comparison is that Harper completely re-invented himself as a defensive stopper (which was, frankly, one of the more amazing transformations I can think of). Some of it was necessity (he didn't really have the ability to be a high-flying scorer by his Bulls days) and some of it was desire to fit better (he surely could have scored more, had he tried).

I don't currently believe that Fernandez could re-invent himself as a defensive stopper and it would be a waste of his offensive talents to sublimate them like that. I think he'll either need to show that his game can complement Roy's (like, say, Jordan and Pippen did on offense, even though Roy and Fernandez aren't that level) or he may end up a trading chip.

Check out Harper's stats the year before he joined the Bulls. He was signed to replace Jordan's scoring, since Jordan was retired at the time.

 

[Minstrel]

Check out Harper's stats the year before he joined the Bulls. He was signed to replace Jordan's scoring, since Jordan was retired at the time.

Right, I wasn't talking about why he was signed. I was noting that the reason he was able to co-exist so well with Jordan was that he completely re-invented himself, and some of that was due to necessity...his skills had clearly diminished. His first season with the Bulls, he only scored at a 12.4 points per 36 minutes pace (using per-36 because his minutes dropped off significantly as a Bull).

His time with Jordan was spent with his main value coming as a great defensive player.

 

[Denny Crane]

Right, I wasn't talking about why he was signed. I was noting that the reason he was able to co-exist so well with Jordan was that he completely re-invented himself, and some of that was due to necessity...his skills had clearly diminished. His first season with the Bulls, he only scored at a 12.4 points per 36 minutes pace (using per-36 because his minutes dropped off significantly as a Bull).

His time with Jordan was spent with his main value coming as a great defensive player.

All that is true, but I disagree about his skills being diminished. In fact, it is because they didn't and he reinvented himself as you say, he was pretty awesome. It'd be like having a LeBron join your team and focus on rebounding and defense exclusively - he'd be the best imaginable at it.

 

[Minstrel]

All that is true, but I disagree about his skills being diminished. In fact, it is because they didn't and he reinvented himself as you say, he was pretty awesome. It'd be like having a LeBron join your team and focus on rebounding and defense exclusively - he'd be the best imaginable at it.

Hmm. You don't think he wanted to score much in the season and a half Jordan was gone? That would surprise me. Outside of Pippen, that team didn't have any real shot-creators, so it's not like Harper needed to sublimate his offense. To the contrary, I think it would have made the Bulls a better team if Harper were his previous 20 PPG self. I think his reduced minutes were an indication of diminished skills.

I don't think his transforming his game was entirely due to diminished scoring ability, but I think it played a role. He could have tried to be a late-career Jerry Stackhouse (before Stackhouse did it, heh) and act like a go-to scorer without the ability, but he instead found a new way to be a very valuable player.

 

[Denny Crane]

Hmm. You don't think he wanted to score much in the season and a half Jordan was gone? That would surprise me. Outside of Pippen, that team didn't have any real shot-creators, so it's not like Harper needed to sublimate his offense. To the contrary, I think it would have made the Bulls a better team if Harper were his previous 20 PPG self. I think his reduced minutes were an indication of diminished skills.

I don't think his transforming his game was entirely due to diminished scoring ability, but I think it played a role. He could have tried to be a late-career Jerry Stackhouse (before Stackhouse did it, heh) and act like a go-to scorer without the ability, but he instead found a new way to be a very valuable player.

If my memory serves me, he sustained a knee injury his last year with the Clippers and played through it his first year with the Bulls. By the end of that first season, he was seeing almost no minutes at all, and I remember he may not have played in the playoffs at all, or just sparingly. I also remember it was a pretty big story about how the knee would affect his game after he was signed by the Bulls.

I don't see how a guy coming off 3 straight 20+ PPG years would otherwise see his scoring ability diminish somehow. Even so, being a defensive stopper as he was does require a lot of physical ability, and he did go on to win 5 championships with two teams after that first season with the Bulls.

What's stunning is how his focus on being a complementary / defensive player deteriorated his offensive game. The guy seemed to have entirely lost his jump shot, which is something you won't lose with age (see Reggie Miller).

BTW, Pete Myers was heralded as the replacement for Jordan during the first year he retired. And it was a flop, even though we weren't expecting Myers to be anything but a solid defensive player with little O. Harper joined the team the following season when Jordan returned near the end of the season and for the playoffs.

 

[MikeDC]

I think you're right Minstrel... I maybe didn't emphasize enough just how unusual I thought Harper's transition was. But on the other hand I don't see how Fernandez necessarily has to become a stopper or completely reform his game.

Unlike the Bulls, the Blazers perimeter guys are (theoretically) going to have a big-time defensive center behind them. Even though I don't think any of them defend like MJ, Pip or Harp, they probably aren't gonna need to.