The New Red & Black

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.... Silky smooth and a way better defender than I ever expected YAY!!!

Oden just needs to play, he's rusty, not yet used to NBA speed and has a lot to learn... I mean the guy hasn't played in a year and a half, and hasn't been healthy since high school... I mean I expect him to be good, perhaps great, down the road, but for the time being I like him coming off the bench getting in shape and getting used to his team mates. Plus Joel looks great this year.

One thing I think is readily apparent is the team needs Martell to spread out defenses with that opening unit not to mention use his superior athleticism to take the best backcourt scorer on defense. Batum has done great filling in the do everything role, I really see him developing in the mold of Tayshaun Prince down the road.

Disappointments:
Outlaw, he just looks lost, confused and just doesn't seem to fit. I wouldn't be surprised if we use him in a trade sometime later in the season, he and the expiring contract of Raef Lafrentz could be VERY valuable...
Nate: his sub patterns are suspect, Blake plays WAY too much, while Bayless/Sergio get no run at all... I like Blake in his role, but playing 36 minutes??

Yeah... Sergio needs more minutes, I think. Either that or package him with Outlaw and Raef's contract and get a legit PG. Of course... who's out there that I'd really want? Keep dreaming with Paul and Williams... everyone else seems kind of second-tier. Harris? Maybe. Kidd and Miller are old. Bibby... eh. Davis just signed a big contract. Billups maybe, but he just got traded. Might be able to swing a deal with Toronto for Calderon if we include Sergio in a deal. I know Pritchard really likes him.

Anyway, honestly, just watching them this year... I am really beginning to wonder if Nate is the right coach for the team. I love Nate and respect the heck out of him, but with as many young guys as we have and as deep as we are... why the heck aren't we running more? I mean... last in fastbreak points the last two years and bottom five again this year? You can't blame in on the PG... we've got a classic fastbreak pointguard in Sergio.

I mean... if we had Mike D'Anotoni, how much more advantage would we be taking of our youth and athletcism? It seems like at this stage in the Blazers development, it's the time to run. Maybe later they can develop into the Spurs style half court offense.

I don't know... I still trust in Nate, and I guess you can't question him when they're getting wins, but really... I think this team could be a lot more if it would just get out and run a bit more.

Absolutely, and honestly the only guys on the roster who aren't really adept at running are Joel, Raef and until he gets up to speed greg... it baffles me they don't get more transition baskets. Then again once greg gets settled in defensively it will allow for perimeter players to gamble on steals and whatnot, which would lead to more transition buckets...

I think Nate has a problem of sticking to a schedule with minutes, if a player is hot, leave him in, feed him the ball... when he's not, try and get someone out there to chance it up. I feel like he forces this a lot with the likes of Outlaw and others... When you have guys like Martell and Rudy that are absolutely scorching when they get warmed up, why pull them?? that has always bothered me about Nate. Honestly I don't see him as the long term coach, he is good at getting something out of players who typically don't show the grit it takes, but I don't necessarily see him as the coach that puts them in that championship contending echelon... And I grew up idolizing Nate when I was little too...

Stonehouse wrote:Yeah... Sergio needs more minutes, I think. Either that or package him with Outlaw and Raef's contract and get a legit PG. Of course... who's out there that I'd really want? Keep dreaming with Paul and Williams... everyone else seems kind of second-tier. Harris? Maybe. Kidd and Miller are old. Bibby... eh. Davis just signed a big contract. Billups maybe, but he just got traded. Might be able to swing a deal with Toronto for Calderon if we include Sergio in a deal. I know Pritchard really likes him.

Anyway, honestly, just watching them this year... I am really beginning to wonder if Nate is the right coach for the team. I love Nate and respect the heck out of him, but with as many young guys as we have and as deep as we are... why the heck aren't we running more? I mean... last in fastbreak points the last two years and bottom five again this year? You can't blame in on the PG... we've got a classic fastbreak pointguard in Sergio.

I mean... if we had Mike D'Anotoni, how much more advantage would we be taking of our youth and athletcism? It seems like at this stage in the Blazers development, it's the time to run. Maybe later they can develop into the Spurs style half court offense.

I don't know... I still trust in Nate, and I guess you can't question him when they're getting wins, but really... I think this team could be a lot more if it would just get out and run a bit more.

I heard on the pregame show that Pritchard really likes Nate. I have a feeling Nate won't be going away for long time.

-SciFi

Do you really think they would say anything otherwise on the official pre-game show??

Good point, except in this case I think it's true. To be honest, I like Nate as well, and I hope he doesn't go anywhere; but, I do think Kevin Pritchard is happy with Nate.

-SciFi

Yeah... no doubt, Nate is a good coach. I really believe that - he's prepared, he's smart, he is good with motivation, he runs a tight ship but seems to have the respect of his players, etc.

However, is he the right coach for this collection of young talent? I'm not so sure.

I know I already brought up D'Antoni, but seriously... what would the Blazers look like if they had a constant rotation of their 10 guys constantly pressing and running? We'll have athletic big men who can run in Aldridge, Frye, and (once in game shape) Oden, wingmen who can shoot in Fernandez, Outlaw, and (when back) Webster, a genius do-it-all player in Roy, and a PG in Sergio that knows how to run a fastbreak to a T.

I don't know... I mean, I see where Nate is going in developing this team into a grind-it-out, tough-defense team, but - at this point in their careers - doesn't that waste the advantage of our athleticism and being the youngest team in the league?

Perhaps Pritchard and Nate are not building for a Championship this year? Perhaps they want to win one next year or the year after? Seems to me that Nate wants to instill tough, hard-nosed defense first in his core players this year, then worry about offense maybe next year. Nate's (and possibly Pritchard's) philosophy seems to be that tough, hard nosed-defense creates fast-break opportunities. It's a philosophy that I happen to agree with.

-SciFi

True, true. I know they believe in the core of Roy, Aldridge, Oden and (now) Fernandez. I guess if they invest the time in them now to mold them into the players they want them to be a few years from now... yeah, I can see that.

I mean... it's true. A starting line-up of Roy, Fernandez, Webster, Aldridge, Oden could be in place for ten years. Wow... mmm... I can see the banners now...

It will be real interesting to see how Martell fits into the picture once he comes back as well.

-SciFi

SciFi wrote:Perhaps Pritchard and Nate are not building for a Championship this year? Perhaps they want to win one next year or the year after? Seems to me that Nate wants to instill tough, hard-nosed defense first in his core players this year, then worry about offense maybe next year. Nate's (and possibly Pritchard's) philosophy seems to be that tough, hard nosed-defense creates fast-break opportunities. It's a philosophy that I happen to agree with.

-SciFi

Yeah and how is that working for you? Not only do we have a very low defensive efficiency, but this is not a new thing that Nate has been trying to do. And how are our fast break points looking?

I think that the players most likely to go are Raef, Travis, Blake/Sergio. And with as well as Sergio has played when on the court with Rudy, sorry Steve but you have to go.

I do like Nate as a coach, but he seems to fall in love with players/sets. (See Jarrett Jack) (Also See last night in the 4th quarter when Brandon was running the point with both Sergio and Rudy standing in the corners and there being ZERO movement, all after having a seriously quality 4th quarter)

For any stat heads in the bunch... here is a great website and page to keep an eye on... tracks a lot of efficiency numbers in floor rotations.

http://www.82games.com/0809/0809POR2.HTM

Call me out of touch,but, what happened to Bayless? As a casual observer of the Trailblazers I am not very impressed with Blake. The rest of the lineup is excellent though. If Oden develops offensively and stays injury free,watch out NBA.

Hmmm honestly I see Bayless as more likely to go than Blake. I don't think Blake is being used correctly, he is a solid backup in the 20-25 minute range, not the 32-35 he plays and bang for your buck is a good fit compared to what else is out there.

As for Sergio in the 4th quarter... I mean its great to see him get deserved PT but he's most effective when he has the ball in his hands, I don't see the point in having him out there if he isn't going to be the playmaker... I would like to see Martell more in that role, a player who can spot up and knock down open shots created by Roy (like Blake did last night in the last minute). Sergio isn't necessarily that guy, nor is Travis to be perfectly honest, both require the ball to be effective, and Roy already fills that role in the 4th.

Perhaps this team is best suited not having the traditional distribution point guard requiring the ball in his hands... Rudy can distribute and create, and obviously so can Roy, I think they would be better served to add another shooting type PG to the roster. One who doesn't necessarily need the ball in his hands at all times, but when open can knock down open js and play solid D...

And I'm just going to say I don't think Nate is here for the long term. And I say that partially because of info I've gotten from "sources close to the team"...

Whoops took to long to post, to address Mesa..... Yeah we've all been wondering the same thing, i think part of it is the emergence of Batum and there just not being enough minutes to go around. (and now Sergio's complaining about PT probably doesn't help Bayless' sitch either...) Blake can be good when he doesn't try too much, but I think between Roy and Oden's injuries he's been asked to create a bit more than he would. Also I think Rudy is another player better than expected, and his synergy with Sergio has kind of led Nate to favor the spaniard backcourt over our latest 1st rounder...

It's late.... (I'm just still awake and stoked from the UW throw down!!) But I gotta give Greg props for his first career double double!! I love that they decided trying to run the offense through him was a bad idea for the time being. Just let him get used to the game speed, get in shape, get comfortable with his team mates, and just focus on grabbing boards and blocking shots. I mean doing that he's already an upgrade over Pryzbilla because Oden can go right back up with rebounds and emphatically flush them down the nylon. When he gets more comfortable, extend his minutes and then gradually get him more involved in the offense.

Agreed. Bring Oden along at a measured pace. His rebounds and blocks and his size, (taking up space), should be the focus now. And I lke him coming off the bench. He's going to be so important to us for so many years to come, there simply is no big rush to have him dominating both ends of the court right now.

Just gotta throw this out there... an article on The Beacon got linked up on the Oregonian Blazers Blog!

As a former Beacon writer myself, I had to represent!

http://media.www.upbeacon.net/media/storage/paper1193/news/2008/11/13/Sports/Why-You.Should.Become.A.Blazers.Fan-3542668.shtml

And the blog page:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2008/11/monday_afternoon_linkage.html

The headlines tomorrow should read "Blazers Get Jobbed at Golden State"; but, they won't. As far as I'm concerned those refs should be fined and suspended for that blatantly biased performance.

-SciFi

Hmmm the spread was 2 points.... And that refereeing seemed determined to keep it outside that window.... Just saying...

Anyone else notice that the line moved 3.5 points yesterday?

Stat lines from last night:

Nicolas Batum 18min 3-6 FG 2-2 3pt 1-2Ft 6reb 1ast 2stl 0blk 1to 2 fl 9pts

Travis Outlaw 25min 3-7FG 1-3 3pt 2-2 ft 4reb 1ast 3st 0blk 1to 4 fl 9pts

Who would you rather have coming off the bench getting minutes, esp with Martell coming back?? I say trade Outlaw, the kid has allstar, starting aspirations, and i just don't see it with this team... Guys like Martell and Batum don't need the ball in their hands to be effective and can fill up the stat line in other ways (and are both athletically comparable to outlaw). Outlaw has the penchant for the incredible play, but dilutes that with tons of ill advised jumpers and VERY suspect passing. That said I think he is a VERY interesting trade commodity along with Sergio, Bayless and Raef's expiring contract...

Thoughts??

Yeah... Outlaw does seem to be a bit of an odd man out. And they did just re-sign Martell with a very reasonable contract.

The thing for me, though, is that we need to get something of value back for him. Not that many guys in the league average 13+ points of the bench like he does. And he can get a shot off of anyone with his size and elevation, which has really helped the Blazers in crunch time over the past season or two.

I think the problem with him is that he kind of is a tweener when it comes to position... doesn't really have the handles/BBIQ to play the wing and doesn't have the size to play the power forward.

Plus, with this team... he just doesn't really fit as well due to his need to take so many shots. So I can definitely see him being a valuable trade asset.

If Portland can package him with Raef's contract and get a really good PG in return, awesome. Or even a high-energy, banger-type post guy (in the mold of Paul Millsap, Jason Maxiell, or David Lee). Something tells me D'Antoni would want Outlaw, and I think Lee would be an awesome fit with the Blazers. And you know the Knicks are looking for cap space... they would love Raef's contract. Maybe we could swing a deal for Lee and Nate Robinson? Now wouldn't that be something.

YES!! a Purple and Gold back court!! (Or at least one I can actually stand)... So Raef, Sergio and THE contract for Robinson and Lee?? Interesting, plus I love me at least one crap talking guard to counter the stoic nature of Brandon Roy... Aka the Hersey Hawkins or Nate Macmillen to a Gary Payton... (sigh)...