Sergio, a bad fit?

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Hollinger has never actually SEEN a real basketball game.
 
Whether you agree with Hollinger or not, this quote from Sergio's own agent says it all:

"The money quote from his agent, Javier Ortiz, is (translated from Spanish), "What he can never be is a half-court point guard." "

If you can't run a half-court offense, you won't get ANYWHERE in the play-offs. In which case, Sergio isn't just a bad fit on the Blazers, he's a bad fit on any team that wants to get past the first round of the play-offs.

BNM
 
and yet orlando fans on other forums were drooling over him. says something about how bad their PGs are.
 
I think Sergio has a place on this team. With Oden, Joel & LA, we should be a fairly good rebounding team. That gives Sergio an outlet for pushing the ball. He may never be a starting PG, but he's good enough to be a solid back-up.
 
I don't think he is a bad fit. I think he can really help this team.
 
Remember pre-season? Yes, it was pre-season, but it was still Basketball. Remember how Blake didn't play AT ALL and Sergio was our PG. It seemed to work okay.

And here's a thought for you: has anyone else on this team thrown even ONE alley-oop to Rudy? Sergio's only playing single-digit minutes, but he manages about one a game. Are you prepared to give that up?
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Remember pre-season? Yes, it was pre-season, but it was still Basketball. Remember how Blake didn't play AT ALL and Sergio was our PG. It seemed to work okay.

And here's a thought for you: has anyone else on this team thrown even ONE alley-oop to Rudy? Sergio's only playing single-digit minutes, but he manages about one a game. Are you prepared to give that up?
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Shrug. The argument against Sergio has always started with something like "whatever he gets at one end, he gives up
at the other". His defense does seem a little better, but his shot has returned south from the pre-season.

I will definitely say this, though - he'd be a great fit for the Knicks.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Shrug. The argument against Sergio has always started with something like "whatever he gets at one end, he gives up
at the other". His defense does seem a little better, but his shot has returned south from the pre-season.
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Is he getting consistent minutes? I'm not sure how consistent a shooter you're going to be if you know you're going to get yanked in two seconds. I'm almost hoping Blake breaks his non-shooting hand or something just so we can see if he can produce when he's actually given minutes. He is so much more creative than Blake it's almost painful.

I will definitely say this, though - he'd be a great fit for the Knicks.
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Most people think he hasn't got the shot. But think about this: do you really want Rudy's best friend going to the Knicks and calling him every day telling him how much fun it is playing for D'Antoni?
 
The only thing Sergio seems to do well on this team is that occaisional lob to Rudy. That's about it. Boob-no-more's comment is pretty spot on. Sergio needs to be traded to the Knicks. That is about the only place where he will be able to play his game.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Is he getting consistent minutes? I'm not sure how consistent a shooter you're going to be if you know you're going to get yanked in two seconds. I'm almost hoping Blake breaks his non-shooting hand or something just so we can see if he can produce when he's actually given minutes. He is so much more creative than Blake it's almost painful.
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Sergio has not gotten consistent minutes because of his defense, whether you or I agree with that. I agree with more minutes
Sergio would do better. I wouldn't put down Blake though. The coaches want a PG who makes few mistakes, and Blake
has worked hard to become that type of player. Yes, it is the opposite to Sergio's game.


Rastapopoulos said:
Most people think he hasn't got the shot. But think about this: do you really want Rudy's best friend going to the Knicks and calling him every day telling him how much fun it is playing for D'Antoni?
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I've seen his shot this year, and many of them don't even have a chance of going in. As for what I'd like, I'm mulling
between 2 answers:
1) It depends on what we get back
2) I'd like Sergio to play at least average defense, become an at least average shooter, and lead the Blazers to a
championship!!! :ghoti:
 
Unfortunately for Sergio his shot is back in cellar dweller territory, and until he can hit at even a decent clip (~40ish percent) he's never going to get anything more than spot minutes on the floor. Right now, Nate is using him to push the tempo and change the dynamics of the game and he's doing a fine job of creating opportunities for others and mostly taking care of the ball (last night I thought he was particularly in control) but he still hasn't shown that he deserves to cut into Blake's minutes as the third guard -- Roy and Rudy own this backcourt, and they WILL be increasingly on the court together.

I actually hope Sergio can figure out his shot (a big part of his problem is shot selection) and driving and finishing at the rim like he did a couple of times last night is probably a good place to start, but I wouldn't bet on it.
 
The bad part about the Sergio situation is with Bayless emerging, I think he will be getting minutes over Sergio pretty soon (next year probably), so then even if Sergio can beat out Blake, he will still be the 4th guard...

IDK, I like Sergio, but sometimes I think it would be best for both parties... I mean we lose a great passer, but then Bayless gets those 10mpg and that would be nice.
 
Wizard Mentor said:
Sergio has not gotten consistent minutes because of his defense, whether you or I agree with that.
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It's not as if Blake's is that much better. I can't see much difference between them, to be honest, which is disappointing.

I agree with more minutes
Sergio would do better. I wouldn't put down Blake though. The coaches want a PG who makes few mistakes, and Blake
has worked hard to become that type of player. Yes, it is the opposite to Sergio's game.
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Depends what you mean by "few mistakes". It's easy to make few mistakes if you don't try anything. Blake is ONLY useful when he hits his open threes. He did yesterday, let's see if he can keep it up. But I never think "oh good, Steve Blake's checked into the game - we're going to go on a run now!" I do think that with Sergio. Maybe that means he's better with the second unit. Okay then, after we trade Blake we can make Bayless the nominal starter. That should pick up the defense a little...
2) I'd like Sergio to play at least average defense, become an at least average shooter, and lead the Blazers to a
championship!!!
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Sounds reasonable. After I've set Tonya Harding (she does still live in Oregon, right? In a trailer?) on Steve Blake Sergio will have his chance to try.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
Blake is ONLY useful when he hits his open threes. He did yesterday, let's see if he can keep it up.
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God knows that I am not a huge Blake fan - but I doubt there is much to see about him keeping up his open threes shooting - he is a 38.1% career 3P shooter. What's better is that he was a worse 3P shooter when he did not play for Portland - they did not use him to his strength - something Nate sure does. His 3P percent under Nate is 40.7%. If anything - I would expect his 3P percentage to go up.
 
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Actually, Blake is a terrific player, even starter, on a team of all-stars. He does not turn the ball
over, and he doesn't take bad shots - he's a role player. Do we have a team of all-stars?
When we get an in-shape Oden, he'll be a better fit. Until then, we will struggle without him
putting much pressure on the defense.
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Blake's a bad fit now, he'll be a better fit when Oden is healthy and in shape.
 
Why is Sergio a bad fit? He's a change of pace guy that can create shots for people on the 2nd unit that couldn't get shots on their own. I think he's a great fit for the team and wish he'd get his shot back that he had in preseason.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
It's not as if Blake's is that much better. I can't see much difference between them, to be honest, which is disappointing.



Depends what you mean by "few mistakes". It's easy to make few mistakes if you don't try anything. Blake is ONLY useful when he hits his open threes. He did yesterday, let's see if he can keep it up. But I never think "oh good, Steve Blake's checked into the game - we're going to go on a run now!" I do think that with Sergio. Maybe that means he's better with the second unit. Okay then, after we trade Blake we can make Bayless the nominal starter. That should pick up the defense a little...


Sounds reasonable. After I've set Tonya Harding (she does still live in Oregon, right? In a trailer?) on Steve Blake Sergio will have his chance to try.
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Look at Sergio's career plus-minus and you'll see a pattern emerge; he definitely can create offense, but he frequently creates just as much offense for the opposition, and it's not just about his defense, it's the kinds of turnovers he creates and the kinds of bad shots he takes that lead to defensive boards and teams getting out on the break.

I'm not saying Steve Blake is the be all end all point guard, but he's a reliable spot up shooter, doesn't turn the ball over and above all seems to have a settling effect on the team when he's in the game. To draw a football analogy, Steve Blake is a bit like Chad Pennington; low risk, relatively low reward player who throws a lot of short balls for a high percentage and doesn't so much win games for you as he doesn't lose them, Sergio reminds me a bit of Vince Young: A high risk, high reward player that has one really nice tool (running), but turns the ball over too much when he throws, isn't very accurate and is just as likely to make a mistake that costs you a game as he is to make a play that wins the game. Sergio has got to become a much more balanced player in order to have a chance to be a big minute player in the NBA

Let's put this in perspective, Sergio has taken zero foul shots, is shooting 33% from the field and has a true shooting % of 38 percent, which makes him 58th out of 66 amongst point guards this season and is only hitting 20% of this threes, in contrast Steve Blake is shooting 43 percent from the field, is shooting 93% from the charity stripe, has TS% of 58 (11th amongst all point guards) and is hitting 39% from the 3 point line. If you still can't see the difference between Sergio and Blake then I can't help you.
 
Did the Sergio supporters/Blake detractors not watch the 4th quarter of the game last night? Who iced the game by hitting 10-11 free throws? Who hit 2-3 3-Pointers? Who played 32:39 had 2 steals and not a single TO? Steve Blake, that's who. And that's exactly why you need a guy like Steve Blake on the roster. He's a smart player. He knows Orlando is going to foul to stop the clock and he steps up to the line and calmly sinks his FTs.

Sergio had 0 steals and 2 TOs in 16:07, hasn't even attempted a FT all season and shot worse from the line last season than Joel Przybilla. Not the kind of guy I want the other team fouling with the game on the line.

Honestly, with the game on the line in the 4th quarter, who would you rather have the ball in their hands, Steve Blake or Sergio Rodriguez?

BNM
 
So far, we have outscored our opponents when he's in the game, and they have outscored us when he's out.

I'll take that 7 days a week.
 
MARIS61 said:
So far, we have outscored our opponents when he's in the game, and they have outscored us when he's out.

I'll take that 7 days a week.
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If we could always play against the opposition's bench players - I would agree with you. Unfortunately, it does not work that way...
 
MARIS61 said:
So far, we have outscored our opponents when he's in the game, and they have outscored us when he's out.

I'll take that 7 days a week.
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All that says is we have a better bench, overall, than our opponoents. Yes, Sergio is part of that, but the real key is two of our best offensive players, Rudy and Outlaw, come off the bench.

BNM
 
I agree that Blake was the guy to finish the 4th. Just as Sergio was the guy to take it fom -1 to +12 early in the 4th. :-)

iWatas
 
Boob-No-More said:
Honestly, with the game on the line in the 4th quarter, who would you rather have the ball in their hands, Steve Blake or Sergio Rodriguez?
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First of all, the game wasn't strictly speaking "on the line". That would mean that we were within a basket of the other team. We were at least 2 or 3 possessions ahead. So, with that in mind, in answer to your question of whose hands you want the ball in in such situations: anyone who can hit free throws. How about Rudy?

Iwatas said:
I agree that Blake was the guy to finish the 4th. Just as Sergio was the guy to take it fom -1 to +12 early in the 4th.
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Exactly!

Somebody said that Blake's true value will be evident when we get Oden back, and there's something to that. But then again, Sergio can run the pick and roll better and throw the alley-oop better, so the only advantage Blake has is his three. So maybe when Martell comes back, Blake's value will decline again...
 
Rastapopoulos said:
First of all, the game wasn't strictly speaking "on the line". That would mean that we were within a basket of the other team. We were at least 2 or 3 possessions ahead.
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But, it would have been on the line if Blake would have missed those FTs. Orlando started foluing soon enough, and cut the lead to 5 at one point, that they could have been right back in the game if Blake hadn't stepped up and hit 8 of 8 FTs in the last 1:17. His clutch FT shooting iced the game and kept Orlando from ever getting it down from a 2 possession game to a 1 possession game.

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
But, it would have been on the line if Blake would have missed those FTs. Orlando started foluing soon enough, and cut the lead to 5 at one point, that they could have been right back in the game if Blake hadn't stepped up and hit 8 of 8 FTs in the last 1:17. His clutch FT shooting iced the game and kept Orlando from ever getting it down from a 2 possession game to a 1 possession game.

BNM
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Exactly
 
Boob-No-More said:
But, it would have been on the line if Blake would have missed those FTs. Orlando started foluing soon enough, and cut the lead to 5 at one point, that they could have been right back in the game if Blake hadn't stepped up and hit 8 of 8 FTs in the last 1:17. His clutch FT shooting iced the game and kept Orlando from ever getting it down from a 2 possession game to a 1 possession game.
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So, essentially, Blake is a better PG than Sergio because you know he can hit free throws? That's pretty weak. Blake did good, no question. But if this was a particular worry, we could have taken the PG out and put Rudy in (AS I SAID in the part of the post you neglected to quote) and I would have felt just as comfortable. At that point in the game they were just fouling every time. It just so happened that the Blazers got it into Blake's hands and he was the one they fouled. If this is a huge concern we can always waive Shavlik Randolph and sign that old guy who hit several thousands of FTs in a row.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
So, essentially, Blake is a better PG than Sergio because you know he can hit free throws? That's pretty weak. Blake did good, no question. But if this was a particular worry, we could have taken the PG out and put Rudy in (AS I SAID in the part of the post you neglected to quote) and I would have felt just as comfortable. At that point in the game they were just fouling every time. It just so happened that the Blazers got it into Blake's hands and he was the one they fouled. If this is a huge concern we can always waive Shavlik Randolph and sign that old guy who hit several thousands of FTs in a row.
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Here's the thing: Blake is a more complete point guard than Sergio; the sum of his skills is greater than the sum of Sergio's skills right now and that's why he's starting and getting more minutes. Sergio is looking more confident, and has cut down on the turnovers, but he's still not a complete enough player to cut substantially into the 96 minutes that are being divvied up between Roy, Rudy, Blake and himself.
 
Nikolokolus said:
Here's the thing: Blake is a more complete point guard than Sergio; the sum of his skills is greater than the sum of Sergio's skills right now and that's why he's starting and getting more minutes. Sergio is looking more confident, and has cut down on the turnovers, but he's still not a complete enough player to cut substantially into the 96 minutes that are being divvied up between Roy, Rudy, Blake and himself.
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True. And it proves last year's fallacy that Jack was the reason he did not get minutes. The fact of the matter is that Jack did not play much PG for us last year - it was Blake and Roy that stood in his way last year. Last year we heard how Jack is taking Sergio's minutes. This year, with Jack gone - we hear how it is Blake that is taking his minutes.

It's time to fact the fact that it's Sergio that takes away his own minutes.
 
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