Sporting News Blazers Preview

[GrandpaBlaze]

1. Are the Blazers a playoff team? They have the talent to be, no doubt about that. But they still have to make a jump from the 41 wins they finished with last season to near 50. That’s not a given. ESPN analyst and former Coach of the Year Hubie Brown wonders how they quickly the Blazers will come together with Greg Oden in the lineup, how the bench will perform and how quickly Jerryd Bayless progress.

2. How good will Oden be? If Oden leads the Blazers to the second round, averages 18 and 12 and wins Rookie the Year, most will say that he had a good season. Realistically, however, a good year would be remaining healthy enough to play 75 games....While he should not get nearly the number of ticky-tack fouls called on him that were at Ohio State, he still has to learn to avoid fouls

3. Who’s got the point? One Western Conference exec says the Blazers won’t become an elite team until they get a top point guard. As good as Bayless may be, he’s a 20-year-old rookie better-suited for shooting guard. Steve Blake is a solid veteran who will be the starter, but he is just not good enough to be a 35-minute player on a championship-level team.

Fearless forecast

The Blazers will get their top quality point guard by trading for Mike Conley of the Grizzlies.

Hmmm, I don't necessarily consider Conley a top quality PG.

The complete article can be found here

Gramps...

 

[Piltzer]

I can really see only three or four teams in contention in the West with a top point guard. The Suns with Nash, the Spurs with Parker, the Jazz with Williams, and the Hornets with Paul. Makes me feel a little more secure about the Blazers situation.

Sure a few other teams have good point guards, the Clips with Davis are very strong in that position. But those teams feel incomplete in other places.

Also teams with players like Kobe, Tracy, and Roy don't require there Point Guards to be all-world so to speak because they dominate the ball so much and are fairly good distributors themselves.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I really like Conley, just not as much as I do Bayless.

If Conley is a "top-flight PG" he sure hasn't shown it. He does have a lot of potential though.

Also, maybe Bayless could play the Vinnie Johnson role on this team when we're making our runs while Conley runs the show. Possibilities possibilities......

 

[Nikolokolus]

In all fairness I don't think "top level" point guard implies all-world, and it remains to be seen if our long term solution to that position is currently on the roster or not. In any case, I'm not sure Conley is the solution and I'm not sure why Memphis would even be looking to move him ... unless of course we have players that they covet (Frye, Martell, Travis)?

Whatever others might think about our long term situation, in order for this team to succeed this year, Steve Blake needs to considerably elevate his game above the "adequate" level (being able to get dribble drive penetration, or finishing at the rack are skills in particular that he must improve on) if this team is going to be successful.

 

[gatorpops]

I can really see only three or four teams in contention in the West with a top point guard. The Suns with Nash, the Spurs with Parker, the Jazz with Williams, and the Hornets with Paul. Makes me feel a little more secure about the Blazers situation.

Sure a few other teams have good point guards, the Clips with Davis are very strong in that position. But those teams feel incomplete in other places.

Also teams with players like Kobe, Tracy, and Roy don't require there Point Guards to be all-world so to speak because they dominate the ball so much and are fairly good distributors themselves.

I agree with this completly. Bayless is going to be very good at D as a PG, and if you have a Big like Oden in the C spot you need to have a PG that can distribute well. Blake and Sergio can do that. Sepecially Blake. And we have Roy who is better than most Pgs in the league. Boston did not have a steller PG and won it all. Generalizations by these writers iritate me a lot.

g

 

[BrianFromWA]

I agree with you on Blake, Nik, but I also think that even if all he does is stay "adequate" he has a spot on the team for a while...until/if Sergio takes the backup PG job away from him (if Bayless ends up starting).

As far as Conley goes, I'm already a homer of his, though I understand to many that's not the case. However, Memphis has 3 PGs they think are pretty good, and just like I advocate sending Travis (and to a lesser extent, Bayless) away to get a valuable piece in a position of need by using those who may not get as many minutes, I think Memphis would like to relieve their swollen PG situation by picking up pieces in other places.


That last sentence seems convoluted now. Sorry.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

I seem to remember a PG by the name of Avery Johnson leading his team to the finals and helping them win

What about BJ Armstrong? Kenny Smith? Derek Fisher?

Steve blake is just fine

 

[alex42083]

The article made it out like Bayless was our end all for making the playoffs, like we're hinging on the guy a great deal. Right now, Bayless is our 11th man. Does the guy not think much about Roy, Aldridge, Oden and Rudy?

 

[STOMP]

[/B]


I agree with this completly. Bayless is going to be very good at D as a PG, and if you have a Big like Oden in the C spot you need to have a PG that can distribute well. Blake and Sergio can do that. Sepecially Blake. And we have Roy who is better than most Pgs in the league. Boston did not have a steller PG and won it all.

neither did the other team in the finals

I always take these preseason mag predictions with a grain of salt knowing that they drive overall sales by hyping the biggest markets which Portland is anything but. Put Portland's roster in NY and every other rag would be predicting a finals appearance.

...and Hubie Brown

STOMP