Quick/Patterson Chat Review: December 7th

A:  Zach has knee tendonitis in his right knee.  It's not related to his surgery.  Nate will be monitoring his minutes and practices.  Half the time Zach doesn't practice anyway to make sure he lasts the season.  He complained about the knee again last night.  Nate says it's just at the monitoring stage.  This is nothing new or different from other NBA players who play large minutes.  It's an indication of wear and tear.  They're sensitive but confident that it has nothing to do with the microfracture surgery.

A:  No, Nate uses that as a pattern to rest Zach for the stretch run each game.

A:  Nate was irritated and disappointed last night.  The Blazers should have won.  They squandered a great start.  It was an upbeat practice today though.  Nate gave them a light workout.  He's trying to accentuate the positive as much as he can.  He couldn't believe that Zach's last shot against Milwaukee didn't go in.  He was impressed by Zach's passing out of double teams early and the team's defense early on in that game.  It didn't last though.  Nate was upset with Zach's defense and Joel getting mouthy with an official later on.  It would have been an uplifting win and they should have been 2-0.

A:  Juan came out during 4th quarter of last night's game and said, "Man I am struggling."  He's upset.  He'll keep shooting though because that's what you have to do.  And Nate has to keep going to him because there are no other options.  He's a streak shooter so he could hit a bunch of shots in a row.  The Blazers haven't had a bona fide shooter since Steve Smith.  Martell is starting to show signs of being that guy and he really needs to develop.  Brandon Roy is not the sharpshooter Martell is.   Before every game I have a discussion with Nate for 15-20 minutes.  Every conversation I find out more about Nate and the team.  Before the Detroit game Nate was quite introspective and thought long and hard about the team and Martell.  He said he's come to the conclusion that Martell has to be the guy and Martell has got to figure that out.  He can't keep switching starters.  I asked him if Raef was going to play he said no because he needed to get minutes for Lamarcus Aldridge.

A:  The game against Detroit was the most balanced, and probably the best, game of the year.  They're a quality, veteran playoff team.  We didn't turn the ball over.  We shot well and kept our composure.  Last night against Milwaukee we lost focus and looked fatigued.  We lost a game we should have won but 1-1 is not bad.

A:  He's doing well.  He's started elliptical, bike, and pool exercises, plus a little shooting. He'll be looked at again tomorrow and if everything checks out he may increase his activity.  He could be back maybe on the 15th vs. the Clippers.  He's feeling a lot less pain and is anxious to get back.

A:  None of the doctors were voting for that.  Immobilization was the best approach.  Surgery didn't make sense with this kind of injury.

A:  We aren't nervous.  You always want to be cognizant of any pain but lots of guys in sports play with tendonitis.  We hope it doesn't get worse.  He's playing like an all-star.  It's a long season and pain happens.

A:  Working in this league is a 24/7 job no matter what position you're in.  I spend more time at practice facility and on the phone with other GMs than I might have otherwise.  We have daily challenges but we're getting good response from the changes we've made.

A:  We've made roster and culture changes.  Player attitudes have improved.  We've changed from paying older guys on the downside to going with younger guys.  We have to get that message out to the community.  It's a new day.  All of these are ongoing efforts.

A:  Every ball club organizes differently.  Kevin will spend more time on the road evaluating draft talent, I'll spend more time at home dealing with other league GMs.  We both spend time working with coaching staff, players, and agents.  We've been a good team and have had a lot of success.  Other clubs are interested in our talent.  We're moving in the right direction.

A:  Traveling with the NFL is different than the NBA.  There's one game a week and it's generally on a Sunday.  With 82 games across the U.S. the NBA is a much tougher travel schedule.  Paul runs a lot of other businesses too.  We communicate daily by telephone or e-mail.  He watches all the games.  He's as interested and dedicated as he's ever been.  He wants to put a winning franchise out there.

A:  I generally watch it alone and from a business perspective.  I watch for distribution of minutes, how our young talents are faring, matchups, schemes, and how well we're grasping and executing team concepts.  I don't watch it lightly.  It's focused.

A:  Last night was the first time in 10 years a guard has gone 30-10 for the Blazers.  Kenny Anderson did it back in '96.  We thought Jarrett would develop.  He should be in the rookie-sophomore game at All-Star weekend this year.  We had to give up talent to get talent.  We're ecstatic with Brandon but it cost Telfair to get him.  We liked Blake as a good, solid backup PG but we wanted another big man.  We feel comfortable with Jarrett, with Dickau as a solid guy on and off the court, and with Sergio who is leading the league in assists per 48 minutes and is among the top rookies in assists.