How Good is the White Unit?

by blazersunited on Oct 5, 2008 8:51 PM PDT Comment 38 comments

seriously. i was thinking about this at the fan fest. with a second unit of bayless, rudy, travis, frye and przybilla, i think that team could make the playoffs in the east. boston, cleveland, detroit, orlando and philly are probably better, but i'd put that team alongside atlanta or toronto or new jersey.

considering our depth, i really think that we should just run at people in waves and wear them down. young and deep we are.. so lots of full court pressing, lots of pressure defense, especially against weaker teams. just run them off of the floor.

what do you guys think?

Poll

Would the Blazers White Unit (second team) make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference?

yes.

137 votes

no.

129 votes

266 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 38 comments

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Comments

Have to vote no...

…until I know who is on their bench.

this has been a message from: "The People's Alliance to Keep Comment Boards Sucka Free"

by bforsythe on Oct 5, 2008 9:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, good point . . .

. . . but for my answer, I assumed the same bench as the team I’d measure them against:
Is [white unit + Atlanta’s bench] better than the total Hawks roster? And so on.

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

by QualityPie on Oct 5, 2008 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hockey-style line changes every 2-3 minutes

i really think that we should just run at people in waves and wear them down

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 9:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

HA

we can add in on the fly changes as well too:

Oden grabs a rebound, pivots and passes to Sergio who has just come off the bench along with Rudy, TO and Frye with no stoppage of play. Greg quickly throws the ball ahead and heads for the bench while Joel runs in trailing the play.

The season cannot get here soon enough.

by SpyderRyder on Oct 5, 2008 9:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We can only dream...

would solve the rotation issues tho

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 5, 2008 9:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

…it’s not like they’d be up against the second unit of any of the E. Conference teams…

by Griff on Oct 5, 2008 9:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Griff

now you have landed on earth to me. I have to disagree with that. I think there are about three teams in the east that they could beat. Especially if MW gets his groove going.

by VTBlazer on Oct 6, 2008 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are we

assuming that MW is a second-unit man? I haven’t heard any official word on that yet (although I’ve just started my blazers peruse for the day)…

Sure, there may be a few teams in the E. Conference they could beat – but playoff bound? I’m not so sure. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the E. Conference should be better than last year.

The good news, however, is that we can even have this argument in the first place. In years past, our argument might have been “who looks better in their orange prison coveralls?”

I like our problems. :-)

by Griff on Oct 6, 2008 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK, that does

make sense Griff and so correct that it is nice to have this arguement. Do you think MW is below the second five, certainly not a starter??

by VTBlazer on Oct 6, 2008 12:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm confident

that Nate will make the right choice b/w Martell and Travis – I like both guys, so it’s tough. I don’t think talent is the question, rather, who fits best with what unit.

by Griff on Oct 6, 2008 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It looks like the East is going to be stronger this year

The White Unit is probably better than the starters of some weak teams like OKC, but I don’t think they are good enough to make the playoffs in East with how strong it is projected to be this year. A lot of people aren’t even expecting Miami to reach the playoffs despite having a healthy D-Wade, in addition to Marion and Beasley.

by trk on Oct 5, 2008 9:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd settle for any unit making the playoffs this season in the West.

by Timmay! on Oct 5, 2008 9:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

true dat Timmay!

by VTBlazer on Oct 6, 2008 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

white unit

are they still planning on doing a whole 2nd unit this year? or are we subbing in playrs as we see fit? towards the end of the year it seemed like nate abandoned the idea…but i guess that was due to injuries. the white unit was definitely one of the highlights of last year.

by Philthyanimal on Oct 5, 2008 10:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

haha blazer homers

our white unit would have no chance

Woof

by Charles Barkley McLovin on Oct 5, 2008 10:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

not so fast..

i don’t agree with that at all, and it isn’t because i am a homer. rudy is world class and would probably score in the 20’s on a team designed around him, travis is going to be a monster and would score in the mid 20’s if he were the go-to guy, channing is very solid, bayless is already better than a majority of the pg’s in the east and joel is way better than a majority of the centers in the east. it’s a legitimate question.

by blazersunited on Oct 5, 2008 11:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The white unit would definitely not be the worst starting five in the league, but what about who is backing them up? Rudy is definitely talented, but I’d definitely hold off on calling him world class. He did very well in the Olympics, and had a very solid game in our fan fest (which was very guard oriented, similar to an all-star game and a lot of international basketball), but perhaps we should wait to annoint him the next great foreign player in the NBA.
Travis is a guy who can light up the scoreboard (as evidenced last year), but he was doing that largely against PF’s, where he had a significant speed and athleticism advantage. He won’t be able to get away with only using his right hand while dribbling against NBA small forwards. What about his defensive deficiencies? Yes, he will get an occasional blocked shot from the weakside and steal a ball here and there, but his on-ball defense needs a lot of work.
Bayless was the Summer League MVP, and definitely tore it up. He may be better than most second unit point guards (and possibly a few starters) in the East, but let’s hold our horses here and take a look. Is he better than…
Arenas? nope; Chauncey Billups? nope; Jose Calderon? nope; Rajon Rondo? nope; Devin Harris? nope; TJ Ford? nope; Andre Miller? nope; Mo Williams? nope. If he continues to work hard (which I believe he will), there’s no reason he can’t be a great PG in the league…he’s just not there right now.

I sometimes think we can get too enamored with our own players, especially ones we haven’t seen in a real NBA game yet. Lets hold off on saying White Unit is capable of making the Eastern Conference playoffs until we see what Rudy and Bayless can do night-in, and night-out in the NBA regular season

by lefty6283 on Oct 6, 2008 1:11 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Word...

Look, I love the Blazers like they and I are conjoined twins sharing the same liver, but your last paragraph is also spot on and must be recognized.

It’s dope to be all buck-wild and to KNOW deep inside that these fools are the baddest of all superreal athletes ever in the history of basketball.

But they’re probably not, yet. Give em time.

PS I voted no, because I look at that lineup, and I see very little veteran presence, and very little appreciation by the referees of the games these BAMFs play, and I think the ability to stop the other team’s best player could be compromised if that player is a 2,3, or 4.

by FlyingOutlaw on Oct 6, 2008 2:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hold yer horses

It’s way to early to say whether Bayless is better than any Eastern or Western Conference PG. Would I like to know that as a fact? Who wouldn’t? But the guy has played in one Summer League, a handful of practices, and an intra-squad scrimmage. Man, the season better start soon – we’re all gonna go batcrap crazy!

by Griff on Oct 6, 2008 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

good points all

but all i said was that it was worth asking the question and interesting to think about. and given that the poll results are pretty much an even split, i’d say that was an accurate conclusion.

by blazersunited on Oct 6, 2008 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

world class = yes...nba superstar = not quite sure yet

hes a major contributor on an international team capable of being world champions…i’d say thats world class. being a world class player doesnt necessarily mean that he’ll translate into a top tier nba player tho…much like winning the heisman doesnt guarantee nfl success.

by Philthyanimal on Oct 6, 2008 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I voted no

and the results at the time of my vote were 49 yes, 50 no… so my vote made the difference!!!

On a more serious note, imagine last year’s 4th quarter lineup (Przy, LMA, Trout, Roy, Jack), except sub Frye for LMA (loss), Rudy for Roy (loss), and Bayless for Jack (probably also a loss for this year, a tie at best). Rudy makes up a lot (particularly play making) and Trout can still score, but the best of that lineup is still gutted. If Rudy turns out to be a go-to caliber player in the NBA, they might squeeze in, otherwise not a chance.

by Gargen on Oct 5, 2008 11:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

white unit's white unit

sergio, luke jackson, batum, diogu, hill—?

by bink919 on Oct 5, 2008 11:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Strong unit, but no

E.g. I doubt they could beat the Hawks (Bibby, Johnson, Williams, Smith, Horford) or Raptors (Calderon, Parker, Moon, Bosh, O’Neal) who both went into the playoffs last year and might do so again.
But they could leave the Knicks behind :)

I think they would stack up highly favorable against most teams’ second unit, but beating a lot of starting fives seems premature praise.

Odenied: If you're given lemmings—make lemming-ade (Bow4Meow)

by Norsktroll on Oct 6, 2008 1:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The "White" unit will

dominate 2nd units, and that’s all we need
to know. What great depth !! 55 – 27 and building
at the end of the season for a deep run !

It's GO time !

by walkoff41 on Oct 6, 2008 2:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

definitely not

and it’s not even close

by Falcao on Oct 6, 2008 6:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I voted 'yes' because there wasn't a 'push' option

A starting unit of Bayless, Rudy, Travis, Frye and Przybilla could probably be competitive with Atlanta and Toronto. Not sure about N.J – depends on how much V.C. has left in the tank.

Compared to second units, I’d say the white unit is the best second unit in the NBA period.

by DonkeyShins on Oct 6, 2008 10:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

ball movement

I have concerns about ball movement with the line-up of Bayless, Rudy, Travis, Frye and Przybilla. Rudy would have to be the distributor. We’ll have to see how well he can do that. Or get Sergio involved.

by cantdunk on Oct 6, 2008 12:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I am looking forward to evaluating this

Rudy would have to be the distributor. We’ll have to see how well he can do that.

What a boon if he is at least serviceable in this regard. Ver-sa-til-i-ty bay-beeeee!

the Spanish contributors on this board are hellah cool

by G_dubs on Oct 6, 2008 6:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sorry

our bench is good, but saying its as good as the starters for Toronto and Atlanta is ludicrous IMO. Toronto has Bosh and Jermaine, not to mention Calderon. Atlanta has Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams.

Its really not particularly close.

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Oct 6, 2008 1:19 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

agreed

Woof

by Charles Barkley McLovin on Oct 6, 2008 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think Jermaine is as good as you think (any more)

He’s pretty broken-down. I’ll give you Atlanta, but Bibby has been injury prone as of late (although he still put up pretty good numbers last year). Here’s how I weighed – not sure if my starters are correct:

C: O’Neal > Przybilla (at least offensively, but again Jermaine is very injury prone)
PF: Bosh > Frye (but I can see Frye putting up similar numbers if he were starting)
SF: Moon < Outlaw
SG: Parker < Rudy
PG: Calderon > Bayless

by DonkeyShins on Oct 6, 2008 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Chris Bosh ...

would annihilate, decimate, and obliterate Channing Frye.

by AK1984 on Oct 6, 2008 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hence my comment of...

Bosh > Frye

I still think Frye could put up double-doubles against Toronto, though if he were playing starters’ minutes.

by DonkeyShins on Oct 7, 2008 10:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's highly doubtful that ...

Channing Frye will ever average 10 rebounds per game in any season.

Throught Frye’s three-year career, he’s averaged just 8.4 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Therefore, it seems that Frye is statistically incapable of reaching your lofty expectations.

by AK1984 on Oct 7, 2008 3:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess that makes me

A pie-eyed optimist.

by DonkeyShins on Oct 7, 2008 4:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

well i would safely say our 2nd unit is better than those teams 2nd units, but no where near better, or even equal for that matter.

Quantifying that statement is impossible because the PTB haven’t actually started the season, however I think it’s safe to say the BPT white squad has a ways to go in the PF and PG departments to say the least to even be on the same playing field.

Sophia

"Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcreaft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians. [speech at GOP Presidential Convention 1992] Rev. Pat Robertson

by BlazerFan1 on Oct 6, 2008 2:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Dislexic: sorry: BPT= PTB

"Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcreaft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians. [speech at GOP Presidential Convention 1992] Rev. Pat Robertson

by BlazerFan1 on Oct 6, 2008 2:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs