The Change in the Teams Talent Cannot go Overlooked
by MJCBMP on Oct 21, 2008 8:21 PM PDT
38 comments
There is a lot of talk about how the Blazers will be in the playoffs. I am a huge fan and think this way myself, and what I am seeing is pointing to that direction. Last year I can say that our biggest problem was scoring inside the paint and getting rebounds. We now have Greg Oden, but the misconception that some have is that he is sort of a second year. Sure he has seen the NBA for a year, but I could watch the NBA all my life and I would still suck at basketball. He is a brute and will be one of the best centers in the league, but this will not come overnight. I may be wrong because so far in the preseason, I have not seen him match up with a powerhouse center like Dwight or KG.
The second best addition is Rudy. He is a phenomena because he has a lot of experience without being in the NBA. I see a possible rookie of the year in the making. The thing that Rudy brings to the table is excitement. Have you ever been to a blazer game and not held your breath when James Jones shoots a three, or when Travis goes 1 on 1 for the end of the game bucket? Rudy will take on this position with his own threes and flashy lobs to a high flying Sergio or Travis. Last year if you remember, Travis and Brandon brought fire to the team, but now that Brandon and Travis have so many expectations, Brandon being an all star, the fans expect the best. The dynamic duo will be Sergio and Rudy this year. Whenever anyone has an off day they will bring that intensity.
In the end we cant win them all, and one problem I see are free throws. Last year we got rid of our best free throw shooters on the team, the 2 JJ's. At 86 and 87 percent the next best is Lamarcus at 76 percent. Hopefully over the summer Nate focused more on free throws, but it is still a big weakness.
I hope to see you guys (ladies too) at the games and see our blazers, the youngest team in the NBA if you are counting players who get minutes (Raef boosts us to a tenth of a year off of GS), can get to the post-season.
-Mike C.
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Yikers, good point about the free throws.
We need Blake and Roy to step up, and luckily Rudy is already a pretty fair free throw shooter.
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
by prezofdeath on Oct 21, 2008 8:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
The JJ's were great Free Throw shooters...
when they got to the line. But neither did nearly enough. What good is being a great free throw shooter if you don’t slash and get to the line?
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Oct 22, 2008 8:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jarret shot freethrows
He averaged 3 a game, compared to TO he was only short .6 shots per game. Brandon was the only with a larger margin, he had 5 a game. James Jones was also key becuase any loose ball foul at the end of a game where free throws could win or lose the game, James was reliable.
by MJCBMP on Oct 22, 2008 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rudy is a great FT shooter, Oden is a great FT shooter.
I think we will be fine
by everett on Oct 22, 2008 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
JJack shot more than nearly everybody on the team...
but one major glaring weakness last year was that the Blazers were a jump shooting team that didn’t get to the charity stripe often enough (see ranking of 26th out of 30 in Free Throw Attempts). So while what you’re saying in regards to Jack is true, he simply didn’t make it a big enough part of his game, and he could’ve.
I liked how JJones kept defenses honest from deep, but he was so immobile that he had an extemely hard time getting to the line. Loose ball foul situations don’t allow for the fouled team to choose who gets to shoot the free throws which is why he didn’t shoot so many more. Ultimately he played at the end of games because of his propensity to hit threes forcing teams to keep a defender out there on him.
I guess my point is this; last year, the Blazers as a team were 5th worst at Free Throws Attempted. Yes, we lost two guys who shot a high % on Free Throws, but neither made it there often enough to impact the team. I’d go so far as to say that they actually had a negative impact on the team because they got to the line so infrequently. This year we will shoot WAY more Free Throws (I’m guessing 4-7 more attempts per game, here’s why… Roy will get more respect from the refs now that he’s an All-Star, Aldridge will be an offensive focal point, Oden will get hacked a ton in worthless attempts to stop him, Rudy is a slasher and will get guys in the air from deep, everyone else stays the same). Even if the percentage dips a little, shooting 4-7 more Free Throw Attempts per game ends up being 2-5 more points. I don’t know the number of games the Blazers lost last year by 5 points or fewer, but I’m sure they win at least a few more games.
It’s the reason they will win more games this year. It’s the reason Oden will score 17.2 points per game. It’s a reason we will make it to the playoffs.
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Oct 22, 2008 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Moe' Likes Your Style
Like you said, Greg Oden is one big bad beastial behemoth of a brute first and last. The likes of which we here in Portland have never seen before. Rudy is starting to remind a bit of B’Roy in the way he sees and reacts to the flow of the game on the court. He may just become the 4th track on this potential tank of a team.
Your post is exactly the kind of conversation I could imagine having over a pint at halftime.
Cheers!
The Oden Era, Day 480
by Heymoe on Oct 21, 2008 8:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Talking in the third person is something you're supposed to avoid
at least, according to ben
Reporter: "Will you have to make any adjustments to your game as you transition to the NBA?
Really. REALLY. He’s going to ask that. Doesn’t he know Jerryd would have come straight from high school if Jerryd wasn’t forced to go to college? Doesn’t he know how sick Jerryd is?
“I just try to play like Jerryd.”
Oops. Third person. Crap. That one slipped out. It’s OK, Jerryd, Jerryd still did a great job today. Remember to thank the reporters as Jerryd walks out of their lives.
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
by prezofdeath on Oct 22, 2008 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Don't worry about the free throws.
Rudy is over a 90% free throw shooter. And he’ll be in the game to end games.
by as11osu on Oct 21, 2008 8:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I always thought can not was 2 words
Just messing MJC
good post
It definitely will be interesting to see Greg going head to head with the premier centers in the league. We can’t judge too much based on this his rookie year but how he matches up with Dwight, Tim, and KG will tell us whether we have the next Olajuwon or the next Olowokandi.
"It was like some sort of crazy torture in the movies. How do people do that so long without taking a breath? I think my ears are still ringing."
-Adrian Peterson, describing Autzen
by dougall5505 on Oct 21, 2008 9:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
U can say it either way look at this website if u want to understand cannot vs can not http://www.alexfiles.com/cannot.shtml
by MJCBMP on Oct 21, 2008 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm supposed to believe some random website?
"It was like some sort of crazy torture in the movies. How do people do that so long without taking a breath? I think my ears are still ringing."
-Adrian Peterson, describing Autzen
by dougall5505 on Oct 21, 2008 9:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would love to see Rudy lob it to Sergio for the dunk.
Can I buy you a fish sandwich?
by silkybrown on Oct 21, 2008 9:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Dude, it happens all the time!
Sergio has like a 60" vertical when he wears his anti-gravity shoes.
"...and that loud noise you hear coming is the Portland Trailblazers." - Charles Barkley
by RebelRogue on Oct 21, 2008 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I want to see Rudy lob it to ODEN for the dunk
by trk on Oct 21, 2008 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I want to see anyone
lob to Oden for the dunk. That was a part of his offense I thought we would have seen by now, but nothing as far as i can remember from the 1 tv game, and small highlight footage we have been able to view so far in the preseason. I would like to think he is more than capable to being the Tyson Chandler to Roy’s, CP3.
by usmcr3049 on Oct 21, 2008 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would love to see
Oden lob it to Sergio for a dunk. Is that going too far?
by pualo on Oct 21, 2008 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Love that to
If Oden can polish his already decent passing skills to alley-oop levels, he’d be unstoppable.
by DonkeyShins on Oct 22, 2008 8:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
In NBA Hangtime you can do like a double=oop,
where you lob it to a guy who jumps 40 feet in the air and just before he dunks it he flips it back over his head to the next guy who jumps 40 feet in the air (likely doing dozens of flips or spins or both) before slamming it down.
Can we do this, Sergio to Rudy to Oden? I mean, is that really too much to ask?
Word.
by joelor on Oct 22, 2008 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dammit!
I can’t believe I spelled ‘too’ incorrectly.
(hangs head and wanders back to 4th grade)
by DonkeyShins on Oct 22, 2008 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pick n' Roll
The most conspicuous thing missing from our offense so far in preseason has been the Pick n’ Roll with Oden. Even Nate has said it’s one of the toughest plays to defend and Oden should be fantastic pickin’ and rollin’. Remember his dunk off that play with Sergio in Summer League 2007? (It’s on YouTube somewhere if you have forgotten it.) But so far we have seen only a few half hearted attempts to run the p n’ r with Oden. Perhaps it’s because Oden didn’t have good mobility in the first few preseason games, or perhaps it’s because Blake was out (he apparently worked on it a lot with Oden prior to training camp). But I would expect Roy to also run the play with Oden. So far during the preseason the Blazers are getting a lot of open 3-pt looks off feeds from Oden when he is double teamed. But I suspect the old pick n’ roll will become a key part of our game as the year progresses.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Oct 21, 2008 11:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Pick's
Seems like we arent running the pick n roll or the pick n pop as much as we were last year. last year it was so predictable yet so effective, yet this year its sort of absent from our game. maybe its cuz people are allowing our guards to drive to the lane?
by Philthyanimal on Oct 21, 2008 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe because
they don’t want the L@kers and Sp*rs scouting it?
The most amazing thing about my amazing ego is I have amazingly little about which to be egotistical.
The pick and roll this year will emphasize "roll" followed by "dunk", followed by the wailings and lamentations of your women.
by jscot on Oct 22, 2008 2:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No because thus far there has been a frenzy of assists
The majority of the inside game has been assists. Roy still drives to the basket thats nothing new but the passes from Sergio and Rudy make up a lot of the small jumpers and points in the paint.
by MJCBMP on Oct 22, 2008 7:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Joel being bumped to the second unit
Has reduced the number of pick & roll or pick & pop plays – he was the Zen Master of the pick last year.
by DonkeyShins on Oct 22, 2008 8:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
good point
i guess maybe coach wants to see less jump shots and more easy baskets. which is definitely the case this year. i dont ever remember seeing so many dunks and layups last year.
by Philthyanimal on Oct 22, 2008 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The pick and roll with Greg
works like a charm in NBA 2k9.
Word.
by joelor on Oct 22, 2008 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
same in live 09
I am dominating everyone with the pick n roll. That and the fact that every player on the team save Joel and Raef move like a point guard. Our guys are so smooth and flexible, it’s scary.
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
by prezofdeath on Oct 22, 2008 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hopefully Roy
can improve on his 3 pt & FT %‘s, with
some of the attention on GO. FT’s were
occasionally a problem last year.
It's GO time !
by walkoff41 on Oct 22, 2008 1:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I hope Travis keeps hitting that corner 3 like he was late last season
by OOKEY on Oct 22, 2008 10:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Rudy.
I think ultimately he’ll play more minutes than GO and his flashy style will endear him to the media. Rudy for ROY.
by erastus25 on Oct 22, 2008 11:33 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I want to pre-order my iRudy now
or Rudy Leatherman or whatever they decide to do
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
by prezofdeath on Oct 22, 2008 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
haha. Rudy Leatherman
That would be the best promotion in Blazers history. I want one now!
by erastus25 on Oct 22, 2008 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
There's no excuse for this
I can’t PhotoShop to save my life…but…
Here’s your 2008 Rudy LeatherMan:
by DonkeyShins on Oct 22, 2008 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
I need some of that bad ass chest hair myself
But you should consider taking a class on photoshop ;)
"It was like some sort of crazy torture in the movies. How do people do that so long without taking a breath? I think my ears are still ringing."
-Adrian Peterson, describing Autzen
by dougall5505 on Oct 22, 2008 3:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Look at the beggining of the Clippers game.
0-4 in FT’s and 23 reb.
by MJCBMP on Oct 22, 2008 8:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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