Shorten the Rotation

[mook]

Pendergraph and Cunningham aren't really comparable, IMO. Jeff is pretty much the only guy left on the team who delivers a hard foul, which is nice to have. But the stats (and my own eyes) show Cunningham is the vastly superior player at this stage. For a tough guy/banger, Jeff isn't even that great of a rebounder.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Sure, I'd like to see Pendergraph though just to do some banging though. Dude is swole.

 

[hasoos]

Cunningham, to me, is more of a PF than a SF "hustle player". He has that short jumper from about 12 feet and a few put-backs.

I would put that jumper range at about 18 feet, from what I have seen from him as a pro and in college.

 

[STOMP]

Pendergraph and Cunningham aren't really comparable, IMO. Jeff is pretty much the only guy left on the team who delivers a hard foul, which is nice to have. But the stats (and my own eyes) show Cunningham is the vastly superior player at this stage. For a tough guy/banger, Jeff isn't even that great of a rebounder.

per minute JP's rebounding rate trails only Oden Joel and Camby

STOMP

 

[STOMP]

I would put that jumper range at about 18 feet, from what I have seen from him as a pro and in college.

no doubt, its more fabricated pre-conceived notions based on nothing really... like the Chris Paul strawman. DC has demonstrated all season that his comfort zone stretches to a step inside the 3 point line

STOMP

 

[mook]

per minute JP's rebounding rate trails only Oden Joel and Camby

STOMP

Well who else on our team rebounds?

Seriously, though, it's pretty clear to me that Cunningham has carved out a niche as a midrange jumpshooter/hustle guy on this team.

Considering where he was drafted, I suppose Pendergraph isn't a bad rebounder. (I was going mostly off what I see on the court without looking at stats.)

But if he's trying to define that as his niche, he seems to have a lot farther to go than Dante does in defining his niche.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Pendergraph is just a guy you send in there to hurt people! (not injure though)

 

[andalusian]

Pendie should really be a bruising PF, unfortunately, on this team, because of the Center shortage - he got most of his minutes as a Center where he is sub-par. A LMA/Pendie combination will not give you a rebounding advantage, but a LMA/Cuningham combination will give you a speed/quickness advantage - so Nate chooses to go small a lot - and the Blazers do fine with it.

I agree however that Dante was the steal of the 2nd round when you consider his overall game (offense + defense) - he is a cheaper, not as dominant on the post version of Landry - if he can improve his post game - he will be starter material, as is, he is a nice guy to have for 15-20 minutes of the bench.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

still rather would have DeJuan Blair, who was the real steal of round 2,,,,also Marcus Thornton...

 

[Nikolokolus]

Not that I disagree with you here--I've made the same argument myself--but I've always been troubled trying to determine in these situations which is the chicken and which is the egg. Was he shooting better because he was getting more shots, or was he given more shots because he was shooting well? Did he play better because he got more minutes, or did his playing time increase because he was playing well?

Taking it further, isn't this the crux of the "player showcasing" argument? If a team has a player they want to deal, can they increase his value by increasing his minutes and role, thereby facilitating improved play? Making this Blazer-centric, if Rudy really does need to be traded, would this be our best tactic for him (and Webster?), making him more valuable to potential off-season suitors?

Somebody really needs to do a thesis on this issue. I'd read it.

Ben from Blazersedge did a pretty thourough analysis a month or so ago of Martell's production classed by minutes and it was pretty clear that he got better as time increased. The only conclusion I'm willing to draw is that he's a rhythm shooter and needs lots of plays called for him to get him into that rhythm ... which isn't likely to happen in Portland with the current roster where's a 4th option at best.

 

[mook]

Occurs to me that the perfect fit for Webster is Europe. He's got that perimeter game that translates well there. He strikes me as a guy who is smart and mature enough to handle the culture shock. He could play on practically any Euro team for 35 mpg and get the groove he needs. Playing against inferior competition, the psychological issues may subside.

My guess is that when he finishes out his contract in the NBA he goes the Childress route.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Maybe he should just give up basketball and become a buddisht monk.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

How can you say Webster isn't taking minutes away from Rudy? You say Rudy is a SG, but so is Brandon. Brandon plays 38 minutes a game. Does that mean Rudy should play 10? The more Webster plays, the less time Rudy plays at the same time as Brandon. How is that not taking minutes away from Rudy?


Did you realize that last game, Rudy played 31 minutes while Martell played 8? It's pretty clear that Rudy got more minutes at the expense of Martell (and Batum).

It comes down to whether Webster will be more effective in his 10-12 minutes than Rudy or Batum would be with 10-12 extra minutes. Martell has always been one of my favorites, but I can't say I think he would be more effective.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

How can you say Webster isn't taking minutes away from Rudy? You say Rudy is a SG, but so is Brandon. Brandon plays 38 minutes a game. Does that mean Rudy should play 10? The more Webster plays, the less time Rudy plays at the same time as Brandon. How is that not taking minutes away from Rudy?


Did you realize that last game, Rudy played 31 minutes while Martell played 8? It's pretty clear that Rudy got more minutes at the expense of Martell (and Batum).

It comes down to whether Webster will be more effective in his 10-12 minutes than Rudy or Batum would be with 10-12 extra minutes. Martell has always been one of my favorites, but I can't say I think he would be more effective.

Rudy is taking Blake's minutes. Blake played more SG than Martell ever did.

 

[BGrantFan]

On the same topic, why did Cunningham play more than Batum tonight? I like the kid, but he's not as good as Batum!

I'm not a huge fan of +/- for a single game, but when Batum is -14 while everybody else who played is in positive numbers, I can't fault Nate for adjusting his rotation.

 

[WillG]

I was imploring the Blazers to draft Chris Paul during that draft.
Then they traded and selected Martell, and I was WTF?? The brass has caved in to Websters shooting show from the workout. Bad move.

After the shock I thought 'well atleast we have a Dale Ellis type shooter from long range.

This hasn't been the case. Webster is a putrid shooter and an awful draft selection for any position in the first round. As a second round pick he would be OK.

We should move this guy pronto and give the minutes to ANYONE (on the team now or in the future) who will actually develop from those minutes and be worth a shit in the NBA.

 

[hasoos]

I was imploring the Blazers to draft Chris Paul during that draft.
Then they traded and selected Martell, and I was WTF?? The brass has caved in to Websters shooting show from the workout. Bad move.

After the shock I thought 'well atleast we have a Dale Ellis type shooter from long range.

This hasn't been the case. Webster is a putrid shooter and an awful draft selection for any position in the first round. As a second round pick he would be OK.

We should move this guy pronto and give the minutes to ANYONE (on the team now or in the future) who will actually develop from those minutes and be worth a shit in the NBA.

Yea who wasn't imploring them to draft Chris Paul.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Rudy is taking Blake's minutes. Blake played more SG than Martell ever did.

... You are not understanding what I'm saying. When Rudy and Roy are in the game together, one of them is technically playing small forward. So for Rudy to play more minutes, minutes are given to him that would otherwise be given to Webster or Batum.

 

[WillG]

... You are not understanding what I'm saying. When Rudy and Roy are in the game together, one of them is technically playing small forward. So for Rudy to play more minutes, minutes are given to him that would otherwise be given to Webster or Batum.

That's where Rudy - Roy, on court together, should play a combo-guard duo sharing both guard position responsibilities.

Batum and ???(not Webster) can take care of the SF position.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

That's where Rudy - Roy, on court together, should play a combo-guard duo sharing both guard position responsibilities.

Batum and ???(not Webster) can take care of the SF position.

We've seen that a tiny bit in the last few games.. I can't remember how well it worked but I agree that it should be tried out some more.

 

[WillG]

We've seen that a tiny bit in the last few games.. I can't remember how well it worked but I agree that it should be tried out some more.

Yeah, extended minutes in that configuration will allow them to gel. A shame we probably won't see it till McMillan works it out though. . .

So maybe at the end of the season?
Possibly??

 

[BrianFromWA]

Yea who wasn't imploring them to draft Chris Paul.

All of the anti-JailBlazer fans who didn't want to get a guy who'd just been suspended from the ACC Tournament for punching another guy in the nuts, for one.

Those who liked Telfair, for two.