Rudy essentially said that he was surprised about Sergio’s lack of minutes, that he had played very well in the preseason, and that he’s most comfortable on the court with Sergio as the point guard — but that other than that, he wasn’t gonna touch the discussion (the “no entro ni salgo” part). Sounds to me like Rudy is expressing a very diplomatic preference to play with Sergio more. I fault Rudy not at all in the interview. But Sergio….

I’m sick of Sergio’s whining. Mortimer said it in the gameday thread — when we’re not knocking down jumpers, Sergio’s game becomes a lot less useful. He doesn’t get into the paint and finish and he’s not a particularly good outside shooter, and two nights ago, those were the qualities we needed our second-string PG to be bringing. He needs to shut his mouth, keep improving those aspects of his game, and not pop off in the Spanish media after one game where he was unhappy about his playing time. If he remains only situationally useful, he’ll play situationally. SImple as that.

Batum was supposed to start and barely played at all. I trust in Sergio’s game WAY more that Bayless right now, purely for the momentum he has with the second unit (the unit that actually includes Outlaw). My favorite combo of players to watch right now is Rudy and Sergio together because they have more chemistry than most guys on the court. Now keep in mind, I don’t feel that Sergio should be starting over Blake, but really they are both point guards that will pass before they shoot. Bayless on the other hand (as mentioned in the end of the post) will shoot way before he passes. And he is a rookie, and will learn this soon, but no one on our team is selfish. Sometimes we pass the ball way too much and run the shotclock down, which always sucks. I just think that Bayless has a lot to learn before he can run the second unit as strongly as Sergio has. Plus, Sergio has been practicing A LOT this summer and deserves it until he shows that he doesn’t. Just like Martell deserves the starting SF position over Outlaw (darn injury).

and I don’t know if he was or not, but because a lot can be lost in translation from languages and verbal to text.

Still, i agree that sergio should have been playing. Watching both players, Sergio is clearly better. Yeah, our defense stunk, but bayless wasn’t changing that. Give the offense a chance to get rolling with sergio. One intercepted alleyoop and sergio was out of there.

Who cares. The guy is completely overmatched in the NBA, both on offense and on defense. Who cares. Waive him.

Yes, he flails around a lot and shows grit and bumps guys, which gives the impression that he plays tight defense—which apparently a lot of people around here like. But in effect there isn’t much difference, guys beat him off the dribble just like they do Sergio and Blake, and he still struggles on the pick-and-roll (like just about every other guard in the NBA). Farmar went right by him, too, whenever he wanted, and wreaked havoc because of it. Watch the game again if you don’t agree.

As far as Sergio getting benched after 5 minutes, I’m trying to see it as Nate giving up on the game in the second half and wanting to get Bayless some minutes in garbage time.

At the same time I think Nate is very short-sighted in chipping away at Sergio’s confidence, that Sergio has been slowly building up after Nate wholesaley destroyed it last year. Having confidence in yourself and from your coach is such a huge part of this game, and Nate seems totally unconcerned with it— to me, that shows that his heart lies with Bayless.

“I was kind of surprised to see Sergio playing pretty much the same way he had last year in his five minutes of playing time.”

And furthermore it appears as though Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have gotten fifty times worse than they were last year. The entire team looked terrible. I’m sick of the negativity around here.

Most local portland fans would never even know that sergio is complaining as he is always doing it infront of spanish media and never local media. he does have a reason to complain…nate screwed this one up and honestly sergio probably questions his loyalty and integrity. he has said numerous times that sergio is the 2nd pg…actions speak louder than words.

On the Rudy for an open 3.

…………………………… At some point, KP has got to get this “profit maximization” theory of player personnel out of his brain and ship that guy. Somewhere, anywhere — for something or nothing. It was a big mistake not getting this done BEFORE Rudy arrived. Now it’s going to be a messy situation.

Rex is the guard of the future. Sergio is not. Play the kid and take the lumps that will come because he is a kid. He’ll learn FAST, the coaching staff will have Rex’s undivided attention… There needs to be a offensive rack crasher on this team; you can’t risk Brandon in that role.

Don’t say he’s too small. Watch the Lakers. Rex = Jordan Farmar. And watch the Spurs — the goal is the game of Tony Parker.

Sergio is a sliver that’s gonna be a big festering, puss-ey mess unless it is removed expeditiously…

t

this is professional, and tactful…..

not what I’d be doing, but I’m thankful that sergio chose this rout, rather than mine.

And not one of you can present a rational case as to why Sergio should start or be first off the bench. I challenge any of you to do so.

heres proof incase you forgot.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/10/part_ii_who_has_won_the_backup.html

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/10/blazers_sergio_rodriguez_frees.html

i would say those articles show what he has done to warrant his position as the backup.

Would he have come back in had the game gone differently? Perhaps.

If he really did win the backup PG spot in camp, he should keep that job until Bayless beats him out. However, I’m sick of him complaining about his PT. It was one game and nobody is happy with how it went. Suck it up and get ready for SA instead of whining.

on the phone didn’t hinder his preparations for the next game.

I read the Batum thread too, The Sergio complaint seems to have come from Rudy replying to a question,whats he supposed to say,Sergio is happy?Nic was also trying to respond honestly to a reporter in a foreign language and whats he supposed to say,both teams played hard?and yeah Nate blew it.

in over 18 months? Sergio played poorly in his short stint in the first half. Was he really going to make a difference in the second half? We couldn’t hit jumpers… so Nate sent in Bayless to drive to the hoop and get some trash time. Bayless was nothing special in the game either. It just shouldn’t be a big deal. I encourage the most ardent Sergio fans to worry more about the team instead of just how your one favorite player fares.

Thinking of the team first (honestly, I don’t think I’m biased) it is my hope that Bayless develops and plays instead of Sergio. Bayless is quicker, stronger, bouncier & much more focused/mentally tough. In my minds eye I cannot see Sergio playing with Deron, CP3, Baron Davis, Nash, Billups, Fisher, Parker & etc. I still have hope that Bayless can possibly hold his own.

I’ll put it this way. If Bayless was named the first back-up and then only played 5 minutes… he would be ticked and would come back with more work, more desire and more bayless face intensity. As we’ve seen before Sergio is likely to go into a funk and whine to the spanish press.