Smith: "The Blazer's defensive and offensive woes are connected"

[Nikolokolus]

http://columbian.com/article/20091202/BLOGS05/912029990/-1/blazerbanter

This is probably the first Nate interview I've read in awhile that made it sound like he knew what he was talking about (Whenever he talks about offense I cringe; he's a pretty poor offensive coach and doesn't have a very solid grasp of how to utilize his players at that end of the court ... but I digress).

To McMillan, the equation is simple. Missed shots on the offensive end of the floor are carrying over and disrupting the team’s defensive mindset. And as a young Portland team attempts to toughen up, every mental lapse is a defensive liability.

"We have guys who feed off putting the ball in the basket. Which most of our guys do. That’s what they do. They’re scorers, they’re shooters," said McMillan, following a Wednesday morning workout at the team’s practice facility. "And when that ball is not going in the hole or they’re not getting a touch or a look, it can affect you on the defensive end of the floor."

"You can almost see some guys — when the shot goes in, they get excited. And defensively, they’re aggressive," McMillan said. "And if the shot doesn’t go in or if they don’t get a shot, you can see that body language, also."

"Can that be fixed with the guys we have? We don’t know," McMillan said. "But we’ve got to try to make that work. You just don’t all of a sudden become something that you weren’t."

Sounds like a pretty clear shot across the bow toward KP to actually give him some personnel that can understand defensive schemes and rotations and how to execute at that end. I also found it interesting and telling to see how much he misses Nic even if it was for only 18 or so minutes per game.

 

[barfo]

Re: Hedrickson: "The Blazer's defensive and offensive woes are connected"

Well, I guess Nate better figure out how to get them shots that go in, then.
Seems like the players should be a little more mature than Nate is making them out to be, though. I don't think they are, but they should be.

barfo

 

[Sheldon Shape]

Not buying this at all. The simple fact is that Nate has no plan on the offensive end and it doesn't seem like he has much better on the defensive end. When asked about adding a 3rd guy they needed to go to on offense in Greg Oden, he said that "they need to figure it out." On defense, he instructs his team to play zone against a team with a bunch of shooters in Miami. James Jones, Wade, Beasley, Q-Rich. They can all shoot. LMAO @ Nate and his defense for letting a guy who was traded like 6 times in the summer in Richardson. It's so comedic.

 

[STOMP]

at some time you have to take the training wheels off your kid's bike and let them ride. The inside outside balance in the Blazer attack has yet to be struck but thats largely up to the players to figure out. Few teams run more then a couple actual plays... it's a players league and it's up to them to execute what has worked in the league for decades. The Brandon Iso was only going to take the club so far so Portland had to diversify their attack. We're witnessing the early stages of this.

For all I know Nate is guiding the guys along just fine and this board is barking out their collective butts as per usual. We aren't being treated to beautiful ball thats for sure, but it's early and it seems that they are at least trying to play the right way and integrate their various weapons.

STOMP

 

[Eastoff]

"Can that be fixed with the guys we have? We don’t know," McMillan said that scares me.

 

[B-Roy]

"Can that be fixed with the guys we have? We don’t know," McMillan said that scares me.

Messing KP, hello? KP?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Not buying this at all. The simple fact is that Nate has no plan on the offensive end and it doesn't seem like he has much better on the defensive end. When asked about adding a 3rd guy they needed to go to on offense in Greg Oden, he said that "they need to figure it out." On defense, he instructs his team to play zone against a team with a bunch of shooters in Miami. James Jones, Wade, Beasley, Q-Rich. They can all shoot. LMAO @ Nate and his defense for letting a guy who was traded like 6 times in the summer in Richardson. It's so comedic.

I thought I was pretty clear that I think Nate mostly sucks as an offensive coach, and that seems like a completely unrelated subject with respect to the article.

However don't you think part of the reason he zoned up is because Miami really isn't that good from distance as a team (even Wade, Jones and Beasley are poorer shooters from distance than you give them credit for)? The issue appears to be that none of his guards or wings really play all that well defensively in a man-to-man situation, so he zones up to try and keep guys out of the lane and hopefully spare his bigs picking up fouls repeatedly. Nate's defensive schemes are the least of my concerns, it's the square pegs he's got on hand to fit into round holes that worries me.

 

[magnifier661]

http://columbian.com/article/20091202/BLOGS05/912029990/-1/blazerbanter
I also found it interesting and telling to see how much he misses Nic even if it was for only 18 or so minutes per game.

If Nic was playing this season, I suspect his minutes would be much higher than last season's.