Minutes for Rudy

by BlazerFanSince1970 on Oct 5, 2008 2:25 PM PDT

I'll start with the assumption that Rudy is the Real Deal. Nate has said so, KP has said so, and the Olympics provided strong evidence. If I had a few lingering questions about whether Rudy could shoot from the NBA 3-point line, or pass effectively (which I didn’t think he entirely proved in the Olympics), or play man-to-man defense, seeing him play in person answered those questions. So where does Rudy get the minutes to develop into an NBA star and help this team get to the playoffs and eventually a championship?

I would suggest Rudy needs a minimum 28 minutes a game this year to allow him to develop rapidly (which we want) and keep him happy (which translates to productive on the court). If he becomes a star and helps propel us into the playoffs this year we will want him to have more minutes next year, but if that happens it will become obvious where to get them. So I’ll focus on where he gets 28 minutes this year.

Rudy obviously gets 10 minutes a game at shooting guard while Roy is resting on the bench. To get Rudy another 18 minutes either he or Roy will have to spend 18 minutes at point guard or small forward.

Option A: Roy at Point Guard, Rudy at Shooting Guard – This seems good on offense because Brandon often plays this role with Steve Blake now. But who brings the ball up the floor and defends a small point guard? I suspect that Roy can get the ball up the court against pressure, but I don’t want Brandon to tire out chasing a point guard around the floor on defense for 18 minutes a game. It looks like Rudy has the energy, but does he have the quickness to defend a small point guard?

If Option A is used that leaves only 30 minutes for other guards (96-38-28=30), which is coincidentally the same number of minutes Blake averaged last year. You can be sure that the veteran Blake will be the starting point guard this year, so that would leave Bayless with very few minutes to develop. If you believe Bayless could eventually become the point guard for a Blazer championship team I don’t see how it happens with Option A.

Option B: Roy at Shooting Guard, Rudy at Small Forward – Rudy is the obvious choice to play small forward on offense for 18 minutes (rather than Roy). His 3-pt shooting may replace the long range scoring we got from Jones last year plus he can do much more than Jones. His passing from the small forward position could eventually become Pippen-esque, and his 3-pt shooting will pull small forwards out to guard him, where he can use his quickness to go around larger, slower defenders. In addition, they will have to chase him around the court because he moves well without the ball. But can he guard small forwards? (Don’t fixate on him guarding LeBron, no small forward can guard him straight up.) He would need the help of good team defense, possibly some zones, double teams, and perhaps Roy guarding some small forwards.

If Option B is used it leaves only 30 minutes remaining at small forward (48-18=30). Either Martell or Travis would end up on the bench until they were traded (neither is going to accept essentially a non-playing role).

Is there some combination of Option A and Option B that spreads the minutes around and keeps the roster as is? I don’t think so. First, both Option A and Option B create defensive issues and trying to deal with a larger combination of those issues is only going to make them more difficult to solve. Second, there simply aren’t enough minutes for 6 players. There’s a total of 144 minutes at the 3 positions, and if Roy and Rudy get 66 (38+28) of those minutes, that leaves just 78 minutes for Blake, Bayless, Webster and Outlaw. One player will have to sit (and eventually go), which still leaves only 26 minutes per player (not quite the average that Webster and Outlaw played last year).

I don’t think Nate can afford to experiment too much before making a choice between Option A or Option B and still win enough games to make the playoffs this year. I’d highly favor trying to make Option B work. That would give Bayless minutes to see if he can develop into a top-notch point guard (I think we may need his defense at the point to be a championship team) and he could gradually earn additional minutes from Blake. We could play Webster and Outlaw at the starting small forward position and let the better performer win the spot.

To summarize:

Option A: Guard - Roy 38/Rudy 28/Blake 30

Small Forward – Webster 24/ Outlaw 24

Notes: Rudy can earn more minutes from Blake

Bayless gets only injury time

Option B: Guard – Roy 38/Blake 30/ Rudy 10/Bayless 18

Small Forward – Webster or Outlaw 30 / Rudy 18

Notes: Rudy can earn more minutes from the surviving small forward

Bayless can earn more minutes from Blake

Both options produce a 9-man rotation with 4 Bigs (GO, Pryz, LMA, and Frye).

So, if Rudy is the Real Deal which do you prefer, Option A or Option B? Is there an Option C?

1 recs | Comment 83 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I think we want to have Roy under 35 min/game

He shouldn’t have to do 38 with Rudy and Bayless coming off the bench. He’ll probably play more early in the season as Rudy and Bayless adjust to the NBA and then his minutes will go down as both of those guys develop.

Devil's Advocate or just argumentative?

by Magnum on Oct 5, 2008 3:06 PM PDT 0 recs

One more possibility

> Either Martell or Travis would end up on the bench

Or, Travis would in turn steal minutes from Channing Frye at power forward.

As you foresee, it seems like there is a lot of room for somebody to be traded from this group: Rudy, Bayless, Outlaw, Webster, Frye, Pryzbilla.

by jtanzer on Oct 5, 2008 3:13 PM PDT 0 recs

I agree

I agree that Option C would be Travis getting additional minutes at power forward, at least until midseason so Nate can see how players mesh and which combinations work out best. Also, I see Brandon averaging closer to 35 min/game to try to keep him healthy and fresh over the season.

But yes, barring injuries and if everyone plays to form, it will be tough to keep everyone satisfied minutes-wise and a midseason trade may be the only solution.

by socalblazer on Oct 5, 2008 3:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

If Frye is healthy

I would rather give playing time at PF to him than to Outlaw. Frye is a much better rebounder and a more efficient shooter than Outlaw, and he has a much better basketball IQ.

by trk on Oct 5, 2008 7:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

Agreed

by CaptainSexyJacob on Oct 5, 2008 9:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

thrilla

isn’t going anywhere. you can etch that in stone.

by blazersunited on Oct 5, 2008 7:47 PM PDT up 0 recs

I dunno...

Looking back over the last three seasons, I remember a lot of people wondering about Joel’s minutes. And that was when he was a starter and there was no legitimate center behind him.

Now we suddenly think his minutes will increase?

I like this post and I lik jtanzer’s response: someone’s minutes are going down. I believe it’s going to be Joel’s. I think we’re going to see a power forward (Diogu, Frye, LMA) over at center (sorry Channing!) with Outlaw coming in at power forward. It seems the team is committed to getting minutes to both Outlaw and Rudy and this, I think, will come at the expense of Joel.

I just hope that this Outlaw/Frye unit has learned to defensively rebound a bit better.

Buck Williams for the hall of fame

by Phizbin on Oct 5, 2008 8:29 PM PDT up 0 recs

I would take Diogu out of that mix

Just guessing, but he is only 6’8", and looked it at the FanFest. It would be just jiggy if he is the next coming of Sir Charles, but I kind of doubt it at this point of his career, and this era of twin towers, etc.

Otherwise, your scenario is at least thought out. I vote your scenario “Plausible”, in the parlance of Myth Busters.

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 8:50 PM PDT up 0 recs

This post reminds me of the whole reason KP signed Blake

He was to make sure we had reliable PG play while the young guys developed. We didn’t want all the big guys growth being stunted because we were developing a PG. Blae’s tenure as a Blazers wioll depend on how well Bayless and Rudy perform. Those guys will make Blake expendable. Whatever the outcome, the Blazer’s should end up with the best 5 players of Roy, Rudy, Bayless, Trout, Webster, Blake and Sergio. We might keep a sixth player if that player agrees to being a reserve (an in case of injury player). Blake is the only player who I could forsee willing to make that sacrifice. Until KP makes a personel change, I’m pretty confident the most deserving players will be getting the minutes fomr Nate (where Roy won’t get more than 32-35mpg).

by NWfan on Oct 6, 2008 2:00 PM PDT up 0 recs

both options

you have rudy totally 28 minutes/game. I just dont see him getting this much floor time until the end of the season at the earliest.
And in option A: Bayless just getting injury time? you really think he is valued that much below rudy? I would call the 2 pretty much on par at this point, and think j-bay has the potential to recieve more minutes than rudy because of his position (no all-star infront of him). I dont see rudy being able to play the 3 spot until he packs on some muscle either.

"Great Oden's raven!" - Ron Burgandy

by danevan on Oct 5, 2008 3:35 PM PDT 0 recs

Rudy will get minutes at the 1 this season

word

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 3:46 PM PDT 0 recs

The musical chairs at the point thing

Will take a while to get organized but will start clicking in the later part of the season.

by southern oregon on Oct 5, 2008 4:06 PM PDT up 0 recs

Option C.

Bayless get’s traded for droping too many f bombs during practice and upseting moral.
Sergio becomes the defact-o pg off the bench and thrills us with 11 assists in 14 min per game!!!

not that I don’t like bayless’s heart and what not, but man, he seems kinda grouchy, from what I’ve seen.

"the Knicks are an ongoing experiment in sporting altruism, with the motto "We suck, so you don't have to." This is the designing principle. Stop overcomplicating things."
-jawaan oldham

by faith on Oct 5, 2008 4:08 PM PDT 0 recs

I respect B-Rex's schtick

but I believe he could tone it down just a tad, and it would not diminish his standing.

I laughed out loud when Brandon pushed Bayless in the chest at the fan fest.

Although this personality “feature” Bayless has is somewhat compelling, this is 1) Roy’s and 1-a) LMA’s team. Bayless will tow the line they are pulling, or else he will be gone.

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 7:03 PM PDT up 0 recs

Didn't they exchange words too?

B-Roy looked pissed off. Does anybody have the full story? I don’t know what happened, I didn’t even see the push

by CaptainSexyJacob on Oct 5, 2008 9:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

Sitting too far away to hear what was said.

…I generally get kind of irritated when I read somebody (no offense Ben) that’s going like, “and his body language” blah blah blah…

However, in Bayless’s case I kind of get it now that I’ve seen it though. Dude wound tight as a tick.

Like I said, maybe tone it down just a tad. I like his overall aggressiveness, drive, desire, etc.

I beleive even Magic got pushed into a locker by Kareem after his first NBA game because of his locker room antics. The way I remember the story it was that Magic was just a little too excited after a close win. Kareem essentially told him to chill and there were 81 more games to go…

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 9:33 PM PDT up 0 recs

chuckle

sergio is not an nba point guard. get over it.

by blazersunited on Oct 5, 2008 8:37 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well...

I believe his paycheck continues to indicate otherwise. At least at the moment :-p.

As always: disclaimer; past past performance does not guarantee future results.

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 10:03 PM PDT up 0 recs

I can guarantee

That Nate will lead all Blazers in naughty words, not Bayless.

Man, we ARE soft if a ROOKIE is able to push people around too much with dirty words and scrappy play.

Mort—!

by Mortimer on Oct 7, 2008 3:19 AM PDT up 0 recs

Here is the breakdown

G: 96 mins

Roy: 34mins-Roy was getting ground down last year as it is and with our depth we can run him less. The only reason we played him so much was that he was the best player on teh team last year and we needed him out there to win any games.

Bayless: 20mins
Rudy: 20mins
Blake: 15mins
Sergio: 7mins

This is a straight breakdown with no extra time for injuries which are bound to occur.

Then we can run either Rudy or Roy a few mins in place of the SF also leaving

SF: 48mins
Webster 20mins
TO: 24mins
Rudy/Roy: 4mins

Those should be the baseline averages for the season and once April comes the rotations will start to cut down a little in preperation for the playoffs, in which case the players will have made their case for more PT during the season with their play.

Roy will not average 38mins during the regular season, that is a one way ticket to the IR.

The season cannot get here soon enough.

by SpyderRyder on Oct 5, 2008 4:09 PM PDT 0 recs

bayless will average more minutes than rudy at least until the all star break- book it
rudy should be getting 15-20 (11sg 4-9sf) a game jerryd should get about 24 (22pg 2sg)
i could really see rudy ending up with around 12 minutes a game, hes behind an all-star, and bayless is fearless in getting to the hoop and meshes better with roy as a combo guard

by blackandwite323 on Oct 5, 2008 4:25 PM PDT 0 recs

Did you go to the fan fest?

Rudy is not your father’s rookie. He will get more than 12 mpg IMO.

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 4:32 PM PDT up 0 recs

Rudy is better and more experienced than Bayless,

but Rudy plays behind Roy, period.

That leaves Nate a quandry as:

1. Nate HATES having an unexperienced PG on the floor especially with the 1st unit and will let Roy and Blake run the point for the times they are in. That will leave Bayless with less PT.

2. Rudy is older, better and more experienced, but is behind Roy, which will limit his PT.

As above, they will both have sililar minutes because Bayless does not know how to run the point as well as Blake, Roy, Sergio or even Rudy. That will hurt him even more before the AS break as Rudy is a more complete player at his position, while Bayless has to learn how to run a team. At best that will take him until the AS break and at worse it may take a few years to learn how to run a team at an NBA level.

The season cannot get here soon enough.

by SpyderRyder on Oct 5, 2008 5:01 PM PDT up 1 recs

agreed

Rudy will have more mins than bayless… Bayless will not average 20+ MPG.

by Philthyanimal on Oct 5, 2008 5:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

I would like to know your arguments though..

I don’t buy it. Rudy is not a regular rookie, Bayless is, Nate told media he will give minutes to Rudy as much as he can, he didn’t mention that referring to Bayless (at least I didn’t read it), Nate was sleepless after Olympics, he didn’t after summer league (at least I didn’t read it).

i think your arguments are confused by your wishes.

by cbp on Oct 6, 2008 9:25 AM PDT up 0 recs

I agree. If Nate does nail-down an eight-man rotation

this season, the guard positions will be occupied primarily by Roy, Rudy, and Blake.

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Oct 6, 2008 11:24 AM PDT up 0 recs

Great post.

All I can say is we need to get this guy minutes. He’s way too good to sit.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Oct 5, 2008 4:38 PM PDT 0 recs

Yes

Too good to sit AND possibly the team’s best 3-point shooter.

by Kaboomm on Oct 5, 2008 4:58 PM PDT up 0 recs

talk of trading

when people say someone has to be traded to make room, what do we think we are going to get? someone of lesser value? not KP. draft picks? maybe, but can we use more young players? if we get a player of equal value we have the same problem—where do they get minutes? the fact is, some players who have been integral will have to sit and be quiet about it. a real test of chemistry.

by bink919 on Oct 5, 2008 5:19 PM PDT 0 recs

Think consolidation

You’d have to go up in talent and down in numbers.

Maybe two good but redundant players (example: Bayless + Frye) for one very good point guard. Throw in RLEC to make up the salary difference if needed. That would be my guess.

by Kaboomm on Oct 5, 2008 5:30 PM PDT up 0 recs

How would that help the minutes squeeze at guard?

by raoulduke on Oct 5, 2008 7:56 PM PDT up 0 recs

Kind of like tetris

Travis slides to the 4 sometimes as Chan’s gone (though I’d hate to see him go). This frees up some minutes at the 3 for Rudy or Roy (with them alternating at the 2). And blake slides to back-up PG behind new awesome PG obtained in the Chan/RLEC/Jerryd “I can’t turn it off” Bayless trade.

by Montavilla Steve on Oct 5, 2008 11:50 PM PDT up 0 recs

Watch out for Level 10!

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Oct 6, 2008 1:18 PM PDT up 0 recs

maybe...

this guy!?!

"the Knicks are an ongoing experiment in sporting altruism, with the motto "We suck, so you don't have to." This is the designing principle. Stop overcomplicating things."
-jawaan oldham

by faith on Oct 5, 2008 5:33 PM PDT up 0 recs

As serviceable as Rudy and Channing are

I don’t think ~~Seattle~~ OKC will bite on this one.

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 5:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

fine..

we’ll give up the farm.

"the Knicks are an ongoing experiment in sporting altruism, with the motto "We suck, so you don't have to." This is the designing principle. Stop overcomplicating things."
-jawaan oldham

by faith on Oct 5, 2008 6:10 PM PDT up 0 recs

LOL!

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 6:15 PM PDT up 0 recs

I'm not very high on Durant

I wouldn’t want to trade Rudy and Channing for him.

by trk on Oct 5, 2008 7:16 PM PDT up 0 recs

I vomited in my mouth

why?? Rudy is smooth, Durants just a bitch IMO

by kevinfrombcu on Oct 5, 2008 7:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

Uh-oh

Did you read the Rules For Posting? Family site and all that…

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 8:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

Ugh, must stop reading BE during lunch...

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Oct 6, 2008 1:20 PM PDT up 0 recs

Or even more outrageous:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=98417092779656196634161994275027544542015&teams=5522522333333&te=&cash

by Sluglord88 on Oct 6, 2008 8:12 PM PDT up 0 recs

I could live with that

Make it so Sluglord88

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 6, 2008 8:24 PM PDT up 0 recs

Agree,

Rotating 10 is not enough quality minutes….Rotating 8 = too many players on the bench (probably unhappy)…Most players need at least 18 minutes a game to have a good feel for the game ( there is usually a lot of added pressure for a player that only gets spot minutes to show his stuff and contribute)…
We don’t have a second true point guard and we don’t have a complete player at the 3.
trading 2 or 3 for 1(high quality & youth may make a lot of sense on this team, but they will probably play some of the season to get a better feel…( the chemistry can change in a hurry, if a player’s butt interacts with the bench for too long) …..It simply may be in the( future) cards

by 67 on Oct 5, 2008 6:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

We have two point guards in Blake & Sergio

by 67 on Oct 10, 2008 12:41 AM PDT up 0 recs

How about

This

Actually, we might be giving up too much value in this trade. Houston should probably add some future first round picks or something.

by trk on Oct 5, 2008 7:34 PM PDT up 0 recs

If we're dreaming...

Try this.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2750302527951724378&teams=899228&te=&cash=

Detroit seems to take risks.

Jackson is a dynamic player, but I feel that he’s worn out his welcome in Oakland.

Webster could back up newly acquired Maggette and Surgio would be in an offense more suited to his style of play.
Diogu has played in the G. St. system and is a throw-in.

Note that I haven’t gotten serious about trades. I want to see how this current roster works for a while. This is just something that has been in my noodle for a while. This trade may not be viable now, with luck may be later in the season.

by parkinglotj on Oct 6, 2008 12:21 AM PDT up 0 recs

Sorry here is the trade

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2750302527951724378&teams=999228&te=&cash=

by parkinglotj on Oct 6, 2008 12:23 AM PDT up 0 recs

I think that this slightly altered trade is better for G. St.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/trademachine?teams=2289&players=2795275019941724378&sendto=999228&from=22222289&te=nanananana

by parkinglotj on Oct 6, 2008 12:29 AM PDT up 0 recs

Scratch all this...

I just remembered that Jackson was part of the brawl in Detroit. NO WAY Detroit make a trade for him.

by parkinglotj on Oct 6, 2008 12:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

If I never see another trade suggestion for Shane Battier

it will be too soon.

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Oct 6, 2008 1:21 PM PDT up 0 recs

There are many more options

that even though it is broke down nicely, by you, it will probably play out a lot different….If they had a real strong and legit point guard other than Blake, then you could make a better case for how the minutes will play out…..They are still unsure of what type of player they will have to make the 3 spot solid, as well….Game situations, match-ups,injuries, etc…will always factor in, so dividing the minutes will be “based” and often difficult for Nate…..
I do agree that you need to get Rudy more minutes and I would think that Roy moving to one or three would be a better option than Rudy at the three. A key will be Bayless’s play…….if he steps in and asserts himself, you have got to give him playing time….Especially if he plays “D”
The guys that may loose playing time, if given to Rudy and Bayless will likely be in this order
1.Sergio (Not giving up on him yet though)
2.Webster (Stacked at the 2)
3 Outlaw (I think Fry will get most of the backup minutes at 4)
4. Blake ( the guy is a trooper and good BBIQ)

They have a lot of versatility and depth on this team…It’s a long season and they may need minutes from every player on this team to get to the playoffs and beyond….They may use more players (in the rotation or different combos) on back to back games… also injuries could allow for other players to take advantage…..You have to like the possibilities………A lot will depend on whether the Blazers think the description of the respective positions (1-2-3-4-5) are etched in stone (looks like they will have to experiment)….opposing teams will take advantage if they can….or we could take advantage of what we have

by 67 on Oct 5, 2008 5:45 PM PDT 0 recs

Rudy is not a typical 20 year old rookie

with 1 year of college experience. Rudy has been playing in the ACB since he was 17. He’s 23 now. He was the leading scorer (20.9 ppg) in the ACB last year and shot 49.2% from the field, 91.4% from the line. He has big game experience, poise, and success winning a string of MVP’s awards in big tournaments, playing in 2 Olympics and on the 2006 World Championship team. As I said, I’m assuming Rudy is the Real Deal and with adequate playing time will rapidly become a very high-quality NBA player, and perhaps a star. But it wasn’t my original intent to try and prove that as I think Nate, KP, the Olympics have already made that case – as Dwyane Wade did when he said,

“The new guy from Spain that went to Portland — Rudy Fernandez — he’s an unbelievable talent,” Wade said. “The way he shoots the ball and how athletic he is, I’m sure Nate McMillan didn’t want him to play like that against us, but I’m sure he was smiling on the inside.”

I’m also pretty certain that Paul Allen didn’t go to Spain to personally talk Rudy into giving up millions of dollars each year for 4 years so he could just back up Brandon for 10 minutes or so a game with only a few other spot minutes. Rudy may succeed or he may fail in the NBA, but I believe he is going to get the necessary minutes for the Blazers to find out this year. If he has the ability, the question becomes how can he fit on this team that already has an All-Star shooting guard? I’ve seen one great European shooting guard traded away because he was unhappy playing only 13 minutes a game behind another All-Star Blazer shooting guard – so I know it can happen. Drazen Petrovic went on to average 21/22 ppg in 37/38 minutes the next two seasons for the Nets. Nate and KP weren’t here to see that happen, but Paul Allen was and I’m betting he won’t let that happen again without making every effort to find a fit for Rudy if he performs as hoped.

Nate has his work cut out for him. He may need 50 wins this year to make the playoffs, and I think he will converge very quickly on a 9-player rotation (hence my Option A and Option B), and not try to distribute minutes amongst 10 guys with a couple getting 8-12 minutes except possibly in blow outs. I would expect a 9-player rotation to change a few times prior to the trading deadline with Outlaw, Webster, Bayless, or Frye the odd man out. Injuries of course provide opportunities for the odd man out to win back a position in the rotation.

by BlazerFanSince1970 on Oct 5, 2008 6:34 PM PDT 0 recs

BlazerFanSince1970

1) Me too.

2) +1 for this post

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 6:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

Agree 100%

I agree that Rudy will get every opportunity with minutes to succeed this year; and I believe he will not disappoint. Likely the odd man out from a 9 man rotation will be either Bayless, Webster, Outlaw or Frye.

by socalblazer on Oct 5, 2008 7:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

Couldn't agree more

Rudy will get the minutes and he is not probable at being the odd man/men out (even if they are stacked at the 2 like they are)
They may have to adjust their offense and also defense to fill in for size match-ups, etc, but I’m sure this will be in their game plans,,,Its all about team play and Rudy is the kind of player that can fill a lot of roles… His energy alone gets him minutes(He’s always part of every play, like Nate says)….I actually think they may even have a better player (than they thought in the beginning) and, are now, even more willing to get him minutes
This has to end up (at some point) to a 2 or 3 for 1 trade …

by 67 on Oct 6, 2008 12:54 PM PDT up 0 recs

Roy will not be getting 38 min a game!!!

The only reason why ROY played a ton last season was because anytime he came off the floor the team fell apart. This season, that wont happen. We have five players on the bench, who at other NBA teams could easily be starters: Bayless, Rudy, TO, FRY and Priz. I would like to see ROY averaging about 32-34 min a game. Keep him fresh and ready for a kick toward playoff time. Also, I could see Blake’s mins falling a bit to the 28min range. That right there gives the Spaniard 6 more min or so.

I would like to see Bayless around the 15 min amount. I definately see Martell getting some bench time… I was the least impressive, missing many wide open 3’s, at FanFest. Rudy is too good and looked like a man among boys out there at times..

It only takes one injury to throw any rotation off the map, with our depth we should be able to bounce back with no prob, barring one of the big 3 doesnt go down… *knocks on wood

by kevinfrombcu on Oct 5, 2008 7:30 PM PDT 0 recs

I have a bad history of replying to a post . . .

. . . and then, AFTER I’ve replied, seen an earlier reply that was exactly what I said,
and I was just too blind to see it and second the motion.

I’m getting better, though.
Roy will not be getting 38 minutes a game!!!

"Mister Oden is a very, very big human being." - Jerryd Bayless

by QualityPie on Oct 5, 2008 7:54 PM PDT up 0 recs

Depends on the opponent

I’ll say it again…if the opponent’s lineup has a big point guard you could see Roy and Rudy playing together in the backcourt. But if the other team has a smaller SF that Brandon can handle, you’ll see a 3-guard lineup with Rudy at the 2. I know some of you crave predictable substitution patterns from Nate, but I wouldn’t be looking for the same rotation on a nightly basis.

Gazing into the future…it would be nice to be able to convert Outlaw + Webster into a veteran SF who can do it all. Keeping the 2 of them together = not enough minutes to go around and not nearly enough lock-down ‘D’ at the 3 spot

by two4larue on Oct 5, 2008 7:36 PM PDT 0 recs

I'm totally with you

As long as it’s a “young” veteran. Battier’s really good, but feels too old. Someone in their mid-20’s, but already showing us what we need (not what we hope he’ll become). Every now and again, I say a little prayer for us to land Tayshaun Prince.

by Montavilla Steve on Oct 6, 2008 12:00 AM PDT up 0 recs

LeBron will be a Blazer.

Don’t shoot me down, I’m having fun with it.

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Oct 6, 2008 11:30 AM PDT up 0 recs

Enter The Batman

and not nearly enough lock-down ‘D’ at the 3 spot

He looked like he belonged on the floor at the FanFest. Not like his Summer League performances at all. Not saying he is going to get huge minutes, or not go to the D-League at times this year, but he can defend the wings now.

Dang. Nate has hella options…be driving us all bonkers trying to figure it out for him. Guess that;‘s why Nate get’s paid the big bucks to lose sleep over the rotation…

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 7:51 PM PDT 0 recs