Who would be the "better Blake"?

[Rastapopoulos]

If indeed the reason we don't pursue Sessions is that he doesn't "fit" next to Brandon Roy, does that mean it's Blake as starter or nothing? Or is there a player who has all the (supposed) benefits Blake brings as a backcourt mate to Roy, but who is better? Is Hinrich that guy? If we're really going to go whole hog on the "Brandon Roy is our primary ballhandler", then why not target Rip Hamilton, who is a spare part in Detroit now, and last year had a career high assist game of 16? After all, Brandon Roy is sometimes compared with Chauncey Billups, right? (Boy, if Rudy was upset with the idea of Hedo...)

Whoever it is, I hope he's better at penetrating and feeding the post...

 

[Minstrel]

Hinrich is definitely the "better Blake." He can also shoot the three, passes the ball slightly better and defends much better.

Rip Hamilton wouldn't be able to defend point guards, IMO.

 

[LOTBfan]

I am warming up to the concept of moving Rudy to the PG position for a bit and seeing how that goes.. great at shooting the 3, can get to the net, and he gets his share of stops on D. If he can draw some fouls, his FT% would be great in those close games as well. This would effectively move Bayless to the second team as a 2, which could work out if the right second unit 3 and 4 are located/developed.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Yes to Hinrich, big fat no to Rip, who I see as an older version of Rudy almost (a pure shooting guard who makes his living off of moving off the ball)

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Yes to Hinrich, big fat no to Rip, who I see as an older version of Rudy almost (a pure shooting guard who makes his living off of moving off the ball)

Agree with this. ^

And to LOTBfan, I do not think Rudy has shown he can "get to the net" at all.. except maybe during timeouts.

 

[LOTBfan]

he speeds through traffic well and dunks like a mofo, he just ahsnt been in the position to start with the ball in his hands, getting most of his net from passes around the rim... that should translate into the necessary speed to do it on his own... the hops and quickness are there.

 

[Idog1976]

he speeds through traffic well and dunks like a mofo, he just ahsnt been in the position to start with the ball in his hands, getting most of his net from passes around the rim... that should translate into the necessary speed to do it on his own... the hops and quickness are there.

Rudy's dribbling skills are what concerns me. If he can dribble in NBA traffic then Rudy as pg doesn't sound bad at all. I'm not convinced he has those kind of dribbling skills. I also think it takes years to gain an Nba pg level handle.

 

[LOTBfan]

True, if he hopes to eventually start, the boy better be doing dribbling drills 18 hours a day. I remember video of Blake doing just that all summer last year, hopefully it rubbed off.

I need to watch some video though, can't remember how much of a hand watcher Rudy is.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

At this point I'm convinced that if we can't upgrade Blake with Hinrich we roll with Blake, Roy, and Fern at the 1.

 

[ebott]

Rudy's dribbling skills are what concerns me. If he can dribble in NBA traffic then Rudy as pg doesn't sound bad at all. I'm not convinced he has those kind of dribbling skills. I also think it takes years to gain an Nba pg level handle.

+1

If Rudy can bring the ball up the court against pressure I love the idea of a Roy/Rudy back court. Then Roy and Rudy could effectively share point guard responsibilities. If we had a small forward that could also do that (like Turkey-Glue) then I wouldn't worry so much about Rudy since the responsibilities could be split three ways. But we don't have that and I don't think Rudy has the necessary ball handling skills to run a two shooting guard lineup. So we're gonna need a real point guard.

I love the idea of Hinrich. I'd happily trade the Bulls Blake and Bayless for him.

 

[Masbee]

Rudy's dribbling skills are what concerns me. If he can dribble in NBA traffic then Rudy as pg doesn't sound bad at all. I'm not convinced he has those kind of dribbling skills. I also think it takes years to gain an Nba pg level handle.

Good dribblers have invested thousands of hours of practice. Many of them sleep with their ball. No, really. You want a snack - dribble the ball to the fridge. You gotta go - dribble the ball to the john. Dribble the ball to school. Dribble the ball to work. Watch Pistol Pete training videos. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Rudy is such a great shooter, I have to think he has spent those many thousands of hours of practice mostly on shooting. If he isn't a good dribbler now, it won't come quickly.