Blazersedge Scrubdown Round 2, Matchup #6
by Dave on Sep 1, 2010 11:00 PM PDT
in News
27 comments
Here is the final matchup of the second round of the Blazersedge Scrubdown, determining Portland's favorite not-so-star-level Blazer player.
In a somewhat surprising result from yesterday's first-round run-off, Kermit Washington defeated Drazen Petrovic, meaning Kermit won his way into today's matchup.
To his regret, Kermit Washington will always be remembered for the punch that ended the career of Houston's Rudy Tomjanovic. The image of Kermit's arm extending and Rudy's face crumpling remains one of the more visceral and disturbing in sports, especially when consequences are considered. But the man who has become a constantly-cited reference whenever the NBA's draconian prohibitions against fighting are evoked spent three years in Portland's uniform leaving behind even more indelible memories in the minds of Blazer fans. Those who saw him on the court remember an incredible physical specimen, a tenacious rebounder, an accomplished if reserved paint scorer. The highlight of his Portland career came during the 1981 playoffs when he averaged 17.3 rebounds per game against the Kansas City Kings. The Blazers lost the series 2-1. Following an injury-plagued final season in Portland, Kermit was traded to the Golden State Warriors, playing but 6 games for them before calling it a career. After his retirement he started doing his real work in the city, speaking at high schools and appearing on the radio alongside Mychal Thompson. Sometimes one moment really does define a life, but sometimes a thousand little moments paint a truer picture. Kermit Washington was the master of those thousand touching moments and Portland fans will always have a soft spot for him.
And now the final surprise of this surprise-filled second round. The matchup on the other fork of this bracket was Antonio Harvey versus Michael Holton. Neither distinguished themselves entirely on the court for Portland but both have gone on to successful broadcast careers. I figured that would provide some media-on-media mojo for their contest. As it turned out, everybody reacted with a collective shrug of the shoulders. Combined these two got the fewest votes of any first-round matchup. What's worse, the voting cutoff found them tied. Originally I thought I'd stack them together, letting you have two for the price of one if you voted for them. But since we bent the bracket a little in the Pack-Jack debacle, I've changed my mind and decided to do it again. Sorry Antonio and Michael, for the limp lack of response you're both out. You can head to the local watering hole and have a cold one together, complaining about how ignorant the fans are, perhaps celebrating your unique status as the only people to get tossed from a Blazersedge bracket for winning. (I'm sure Drazen Petrovic is raising one with you upstairs...he's the only person to lose twice in the same bracket.) Instead I'm motioning again to the bench--highly appropriate in this particular contest--and putting in one of Kermit's old teammates...a guy who, like Chris Dudley, undoubtedly would have made the second round anyway.
Billy Ray Bates rode a career and life arc that was directly opposite to that of Kermit Washington. Emerging out of the fields of Mississippi he became a third round draft pick of the Houston Rockets in 1978 but never played for them. Instead he signed as a free agent with the Blazers in 1980. Immediately he began showing that he was not just in the basketball business, he was in the dunking business. Alley-oop inbounds dunk off of a backdoor cut to win a game? Check. Making Darryl Dawkins--the guy so infatuated with his own dunks that he named them--cry to his mama because you jammed over him? Check. Shooting 49% as a guard because you're so darn good at getting to the rim that dunks and layups account for, like, 40% of your shots? Check. Dude was sick before sick was a compliment. His high scoring average was 13.8 but during his two trips to the playoffs he averaged 25 and 28. We're talking Vince Carter numbers here. But with Billy Ray it was Half Man-Half Your Backboard's Gone. Unfortunately Bates became a victim of his own notoriety on and off the court. Once opponents started studying tape on him they realized that he only went a couple ways: right and forward. Defenders started sitting on his dominant hand and staying in front of him. His jumper wasn't that pretty...certainly not enough to threaten them away from their defensive scheme. That was the beginning of the end. He didn't have enough court savvy or defensive prowess to please cerebral coach Jack Ramsay or to justify his presence on the court when he couldn't score easily. That was the middle of the end. The end of the end was his battle with alcohol, a vice which would haunt him through short stays with two other NBA teams and internationally as well, though he did acquit himself well enough in the Philippines to earn the sobriquet "Black Superman". Come to think of it, that probably should have been his Blazer nickname too.
So there you have it: Kermit Washington versus Billy Ray Bates. Who claims the final spot in the semi-finals? Vote now in the comment section!
- Voting for all the second round matchups will close at 11:59 tonight. If you want to vote on one you missed, scroll back a little.
- The Trailblazers.com Podcast will be up later today. We're tackling a dozen or two of your most probing questions, so stay tuned.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
Rudy Fernandez Vs. Lithuania: Analysis And Video Breakdown
by Ben Golliver on Sep 1, 2010 10:26 AM PDT
in News
145 comments
To this point, our coverage of the FIBA 2010 World Championships can be broken down cleanly into two groups. It''s either been Nicolas Batum cheerleading (here, here and here) or Rudy Fernandez trade talk (too many to bother linking).
Today, let's try something a bit different by taking an extended look at how Fernandez played in yesterday's Spain vs. Lithuania game. Where is his game at right now? What, if anything, are NBA scouts and GMs able to glean from his performance this summer?
In case you missed the game, here's a one sentence summary: Spain built a double-digit first quarter lead and then was outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter to take a surprising 76-73 loss. Fernandez started, played 29 minutes and finished with 13 points (4-7 shooting), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 turnovers. It was a nice -- albeit incomplete -- effort and it's certainly worth a look.
Click through for analysis and some light videotape breakdown of Rudy Fernandez's game against Lithuania on Tuesday.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
145 comments | 4 recs |
The Lineup
by Dave on Sep 1, 2010 12:02 AM PDT
in News
469 comments
Off and on since an appearance on the MSP about a year ago, Antonio Harvey and I have been batting around the idea of the semi-unusual lineup of Nicolas Batum, Brandon Roy, and Rudy Fernandez. I've talked about it here before in mailbags and such and it came up on the radio again yesterday morning.
The offensive advantages of that trio are pretty clear: each can handle the ball a little, all three are unselfish, their various gifts complement each other (particularly Rudy's deep shooting), the combination of height and versatility would create matchup problems for their opponents, and the lineup requires zero trades or other assets to work.
The disadvantages of that lineup are also clear: not one of them is a proven point guard and the defensive hole at the non-Batum positions would be significant. Neither Brandon nor Rudy are suited to guard NBA point guards or small forwards full-time. By default one would have to.
What kind of promise and what kind of drawbacks do you see in this potential lineup? Could the Blazers' frontcourt provide enough defense to make up for the shortcomings among the smalls? Would the potential benefits outweigh the risks? Could it ever work?
Me? I'd be for trying it. How about you? Use your brilliant basketball minds to toss it around in the comments.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
Blazersedge Scrubdown: Round 1 Redux--Error Corrected
by Dave on Sep 1, 2010 12:02 AM PDT
in News
23 comments
Before we get to the final matchup of the second round of the Blazersedge Scrubdown, I have to fix a mistake I made in Round 1. After the first round matchup of Drazen Petrovic vs. Calvin Natt was announced I got a fair amount of mail stating that Natt didn't belong in this category of player. It was a statement I agreed with. The truth was, I wanted a decent opponent for Drazen in the first round to make sure the contest was exciting, and on my short list of six or so really good players who could have opposed him, Natt was probably the least remembered and popular. So I thought including him might work. Upon further consideration, it was the wrong move. I had spent tons of time keeping 20 ppg guys out of the contest and one sneaked in at the end. So we're rectifying today...
First, Calvin Natt has been promoted to a survey we'll run next summer covering guys in between the Scrubdown and the All-Time Franchise Icon level...guys you're sure to remember even more fondly than you do some of the Scrubdown players. So he's out of the Scrubdown for now, playing in a higher league next year.
Second, in the second of three surprises in as many days, the Drazen Petrovic matchup is being redone today. Drazen is back in. But he's not waltzing into the second round unopposed. Instead he'll be facing another popular player and media personality of yore, Kermit Washington. Both Drazen and Kermit were beloved but only one will continue on to tomorrow's final second round matchup.
This is the contest you should have had last week. Let us know who advances.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
Trail Post: Nicolas Batum Interview Translated
Well, Nicolas Batum did it again today during the World Championships, leading France to a 68-63 win over Canada and scoring a team-high 24 points (plus seven rebounds).
Batum also had another highlight reel dunk, this time on a baseline alleyoop finish.
After the game, Batum talked with Sports.fr about the result. Our friends over at Trail Post translated the interview to English in full. Enjoy.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
1 day ago
Ben Golliver
61 comments
3 recs
Rudy Fernandez Not Worried About Talk In Portland
HoopsHype comes through with this translation of a Rudy Fernandez interview in El Periodico. Fernandez responds to Rich Cho's statement last week that the Blazers will not release his rights.
------------------------------
The new Blazers GM Rich Cho has confirmed there's no chance for you to return to Europe. What do you think about it?
Rudy Fernandez: Well, if he has said that, then it's true. I'm still a Blazer. Right now I'm not worried about what they say there [Portland], I'm only worried about what is said about me at the Worlds.
------------------------------
Speaking of Cho, Gary Washburn reports on Twitter that the Oklahoma City Thunder have found his replacement by promoting assistant GM Troy Weaver to "VP/Assistant GM."
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Blazersedge Scrubdown Round 2, Matchup 5
by Dave on Aug 30, 2010 11:00 PM PDT
in News
57 comments
This next-to-last matchup of the second round of the Blazersedge Scrubdown, our survey to determine Portland's favorite not-quite-star Blazer of all time, contains the first of three surprises in the second round. A silly clerical error occurred in the first round. I read the bracket in a late-night stupor and somehow read the word "Jack" as "Pack". Therefore Jarrett Jack did not get his appointed at-bat against Kelvin Ransey. Instead Robert Pack got a second attempt. This was made more problematic by the fact that Pack had won his previous matchup. Sure enough, he won this one too. I don't think Blazer fans would be happy simply passing Jarrett Jack to the second round with the worthies who have passed their first test so sadly, fair or not, Jarrett rides off into the sunset un-voted-upon. Instead I am motioning to the bench (appropriate in this kind of survey) and bringing in an old favorite who wasn't part of the first-round voting.
But first, the guy you already voted to get here...
Audie Norris is an odd duck (not Oregon alum) on this list. He doesn't have a broad NBA career upon which to draw. He spent only three years in the league, all of them with the Blazers. A 6'9", 230+ pound power forward selected in the second round, Norris made bank rebounding and bruising. Nicknamed the "Atomic Dog" for his ferocity, he set up shop in the paint and tried to make sure nobody else felt comfortable there. He averaged under 14 minutes per game for his career. He scored 4.4 points and netted 3.1 rebounds in those minutes, neither astonishing totals. If he ever touched the ball on offense it was either a rebound or an accident. His offensive game during his rookie season was non-existent. He looked a little smoother as he gained confidence but any shot beyond three feet elicited surprise from crowd and coaches alike. His career would have been an obscure footnote in Blazer history were it not for the 1984-85 first round playoff series versus the Dallas Mavericks. With a brief respite in 1983, Portland fans had endured a playoff-advancement drought since the championship season. They sat through two nail-bitingly-intense games at the start of this series, a two-overtime loss and an overtime victory in Dallas. With the series tied 1-1 Portland had won the third game handily but the Blazers needed Game 4 at home to clinch, else they would return to Dallas for the deciding contest. As was typical of the series this game went down to the wire, tied at 113 with Portland in possession and the clock dwindling to nothing. Whatever play Coach Jack Ramsay called in his final timeout, Dallas covered it magnificently. The only shred of hope the Blazers could find was Norris on the baseline from 12 feet away, easily four times his effective range. Having no choice, the Blazers tossed him the ball. He caught it, shot it, and...Ka-SWISH. Portland pulls out the series and heads to the second round while fans go crazy and teammates shake their heads with incredulous smiles on their faces. The Blazers would fall to the L*kers in the next round and Norris would head to Europe to finish his professional career, but that impeccably-timed moment etched his name in franchise lore forever.
And now, stepping to the scorer's table to challenge Norris in the second round...
It's everybody's favorite gubernatorial candidate, Chris Dudley. Dudley spent six years in the league with Cleveland and New Jersey before joining the Blazers in 1993. He was a 6'11" defensive specialist, the kind of player you frequently ignore when he's on someone else's team but you love when he's on yours. His offense was, to put it charitably, putrid. This ineptitude was highlight by his "Even Shaq Would Laugh at That" free throw form and his sub-43% field goal percentage early in his career (keeping in mind we're talking about a center here). It got to the point that he'd literally only take shots that could not be missed. Showing his trademark stick-to-it nature, he found a way. But the Yale grad had a mind for the game (amazing how many Portland favorites can be described thus), played defense well, and had a knack for grabbing a ton of rebounds in short minutes. Having traded away Kevin Duckworth and acquired offensive-minded Harvey Grant and Rod Strickland, the Blazers figured that a defensive specialist fit the bill perfectly at center. They couldn't exactly afford the asking price for Dudley to join their already-stacked (and expensive) lineup so they dodged the cap by signing him to modest deal, only the first year of which was guaranteed. Having acquired his Bird Rights in the trade they were free to pay far more when he opted out after that first season. The NBA immediately closed the loophole but the Blazers had their man. After injuries destroyed his opening season with Portland Dudley settled down into a couple nice rebounding years. His fourth season wasn't so distinguished. With the Blazers tiring of playing 4-on-5 on offense no matter what the defensive benefits, they traded Dudley to the Knicks in 1997 for picks that later became Valparaiso's Bryce Drew (himself traded immediately in the deal that brought Damon Stoudamire to Portland) and Taurean Green. Dudley's unique defensive contributions and his integrity fighting diabetes and opposing drivers alike combined to make him an all-time Portland favorite.
So who advances to the semi-final round, Norris or Dudley? You decide below.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
traded him to New York in 1997
Dwyer: If Healthy, Greg Oden Is Maybe A Top Three Center In The NBA
In case you (like I) missed this on Friday, Kelly Dwyer from Yahoo! ranks Greg Oden the No. 11 center in the NBA but says...
-------------------------
"So, I'd like to rank Oden higher. I really would. And while some might want to see him paired with Yao Ming around the same spot, it needs to be shouted that Greg Oden is not Yao Ming. He hasn't had the same repeated injuries in the same spot. He's injury-prone, yes, but only in the most literal sense of the phrase. If Oden stays healthy and can limit his fouls? He's top five. Maybe top three."
-------------------------
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
