The Book on Sergio
We haven’t even played pre-season game one yet and already the Sergio rumblings are starting. I said it a couple weeks ago and it’s true: never has there been this much fuss about a 10th-11th man on a team. I assume for most of us the early chatter brings up the specter of last seasons all-out firefights surrounding Mr. Rodriguez. I, for one, am not eager to see those repeated. While I’ll not be banning Sergio conversation or anything like that, I’m going to attempt the next best thing. I am going to give you the truth--complete and unadulterated--about this guy, his possibilities, and the fan-storm that surrounds him. If you’re tempted to start a Sergio conversation, read this first, ‘kay?
There are plenty of legitimate things to like about Sergio. His passing is prescient. He’s the kind of guy everyone loves to play with on offense: unselfish with the ball, nonchalant about getting his own shot. He loves assists more than points. He’s also quick as a hiccup and twice as annoying to defenders that try to contain his dribble. That combination of vision, unselfishness, and speed made him an NBA first-round pick even when he was as raw as a month-old cow. It wasn’t an accident that the Blazers drafted him. The potential they saw in him definitely is there.
Furthermore, Sergio is doing nothing to harm this team. He doesn’t cost much. He isn’t taking a roster spot that somebody else could fill better. He’s not keeping more deserving players on the bench. There’s no reason to dislike having him on the roster. There’s simply no downside to it. Blazer fans don’t even have the incredibly weak “But we could have had…” draft pick argument with Rodriguez. He was picked 27th in 2006, a draft pick purchased outright from the Phoenix Suns. The only players of note that came after him are Paul Millsap and Daniel Gibson. However
Perhaps people were expecting more from the guy, given his flashes of skill. Personally when the Blazers pick a guy at #27 and when that pick was flat-out sold to
This brings up the other side of the coin. Sergio does need to work on his game. There are plenty of holes in it. Multitudes of players have one or two skills that rise to the NBA level…that would even let them succeed at the NBA level if those were the only criteria. Those guys are long on stories and short on tickets to the Show. The Sergio we last saw was not ready to be a big-minute NBA player yet. He may not have been as ready for small minutes as the guys in front of him who actually got most of them. His defense, his shot, his recognition when he didn’t have the ball in his hands…when you’re playing a team game you have a hard time absorbing those flaws and still keeping integrity. If those flaws are still there, if they continue to be repeated, there is no particular reason to award him more minutes this year either. This is not a developmental team. It wasn’t really last year and it’s certainly not this. The team is not there to make sure Sergio gets better as much as Sergio is there to make the team better.
I say this clearly to illuminate an important point: there is no conspiracy against Sergio. Believe me, that would be an interesting story and blogs thrive on interesting stories. If this guy really were the Next Big Thing being kept down by The Man and The Evil Media we’d love to write that post. It’d get Truehooped. It’d get tens of thousands of unique visitors if we did it well enough. The problem is, it would be bogus. If there’s a conspiracy against Sergio, everyone is in on it. Nate McMillan doesn’t play him. Kevin Pritchard doesn’t pressure him into it. Sergio’s countrymen conspired to keep him off of the Olympic team. He should have been starting when he did play for them. 29 other teams in this league employ managers and scouts who thrive off of reading players’ abilities. Right now if he was a star in the making and not being valued or used he could probably be had for a steal of a trade, either in isolation or as a throw-in with one of the Blazers’ other young players. Apparently nobody has made that phone call yet.
Some
And that’s it. Those are the ins and outs of the Sergio situation. Here’s the point. We haven’t seen a single thing that would suggest this situation is changing and we’re not going to for quite a while. Pre-season doesn’t prove much conclusively. Training camp counts even less. When Sergio is averaging at least 12 minutes a game and is making a consistently measurable impact while doing so, then we’ll have a basis to re-evaluate. Until then there’s not much else to say. For those who want to make the Sergio story more negative than that, I don’t see how his impact can be that negative unless, you know, he actually plays. For those who insist that he’s a budding superstar being held down…sorry. He’s had two years to show it and it hasn’t come out yet. That doesn’t mean he can’t be, it means we have to see it first on the court before that claim can be believed or given credence.
Until that point, when he has either garnered enough playing time to merit further evaluation or been traded or fades from the league, I believe the response to Sergio is simple. You give him credit for the things he does well, basically shading towards giving him the benefit of the doubt, much like you’d give anybody learning their trade. You don’t get that worked up about his mistakes…in fact at this point they’re just assumed until proven different. This is not Lamarcus Aldridge or Brandon Roy. The team is not going to rise and fall with his play. He doesn’t have to shoulder that kind of burden or endure that kind of scrutiny. He gets a polite clap for the things he does well, a rousing cheer for those wonderful passes, and nothing else is a big deal until he becomes a key guy. No slamming…no conspiracies and great injustices…no “Sergio sucks!”…no “I can’t believe Nate didn’t put him in!” He’s not a disappointment. He’s not a Jermaine O’Neal-like wunderkind. He’s just the 10th-11th man on this team struggling to make it like everyone else in his position.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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comments
Comments
YES
Right on Dave! This was on the tip of my tongue but I just hadn’t realized it yet. Or, I HAD realized it but not formulated my thoughts into coherent content. Yea, the second.
by Ditez on Oct 7, 2008 12:06 AM PDT 0 recs
so...
are you trying to say we shouldn’t trade Brandon Roy to open up more time for him?
by TFan on Oct 7, 2008 12:39 AM PDT 0 recs
Keep on working hard Sergio
I love how much heart Sergio has. He makes unreal plays, and couple him with R-U-D-Y on a fastbreak… I really hope we can keep Sergio!
G-O Blazers ’08
by j-rog on Oct 7, 2008 12:52 AM PDT 0 recs
Some Sergio Truths
No one on the team turns the ball over more.
No one on the team gets more assists.
No one on the team facilitates more easy shots for his teammates.
No guard on the team shoots as poorly from everywhere on the court.
No player on the team is better suited to be a point guard on a fast break basketball team.
No player on the team is more useless in half court sets.
No guard on the team is as ill-equipped to be a lockdown defender.
No one on the team gets more steals.
There is a reason Sergio is either loved or hated by almost all fans. He’s an extreme. He has some of the biggest assets and detriments of all the players on this team. The way I see the breakdown, has a lot more to do with what kind of team we’re going to be. If we’re going to be in half court sets all the time with our second unit, Sergio absolutely will not fit. If we’re going to be trying to implement a fast break style, there isn’t a better option to lead the attack than Sergio. Nate in the past has preferred to be more of a half court team, and that has served most of our players well. In my opinion, with the overall talent we have on that second unit, I’d prefer to get as many possessions out of them as possible.
I liken the strategy to football. Everyone knew last year, if you wanted to beat the New England Patriots (the best team), your job had to be to slow the game down and reduce the amount of possessions each team got. The more plays in the game, the chances of the lesser team winning decrease. I think in the next couple years we’ll find ourselves being the better basketball team, and eventually the best basketball team in the NBA. The more possessions per game, the better chance we’ll have of winning. For those of you that want to point out the Suns in this scenario, and their inability to beat the Spurs, I’d counter by saying that the better team in those games year in and year out DID win. If you’ll remember with me, its not like the Spurs were winning games 80 something to 70. They simply scored more points per possession, and the games ended up going into the 100’s almost every night. That is not a counter to the increased possessions argument, it actually defends it (if you believe the Spurs were the better team which I do).
by as11osu on Oct 7, 2008 1:11 AM PDT 1 recs
The extremes of Sergio
Is a good way to describe him.
I was always turned off by the extreme love and attention he got, and the hate Jack and Nate got, especially when I feel that ultimately Sergio playing 5 more minutes or not would nearly never decide whether we win or lose.
When he’s on, it’s fun, but when he ain’t he hasn’t been much use. Once he learns how to play without being the focus (and while he is praised for his unselfishness, ironically he really has to dominate the ball to be any sort of useful), plus stuff no one cares about like defense, Sergio could earn more time.
Like Dave says, you gotta trust that the coaches and the franchise have nothing to gain by holding a great player back. If Sergio deserves more playing time, he will get more playing time.
My vote is for whoever helps us win, and while I care about the rest of the players it isn’t fair to care so much about ‘the rest’ to the detriment of those the coaches feel help us win. Obviously it’s normal and fine to have your favorites, but some seemed to have a fixation on Sergio that far exceeded his current (or at least, last year’s) talent level.
I’ve always wondered if Sergio would get the same attention if instead of Spanish Chocolate from the mythical (perhaps made up) land of “Spain”, he was Jarell Washington from Syracuse University, super flashy with no defense, few fundamentals, and no shot. I daresay we’d say “nice pass, but just another flashy street baller with no substance, I do daresay” when he got on the court.
I’ve never been upset with Sergio, just annoyed by the level of importance it seems like he gets elevated to.
Ya know?
Mortimer
by Mortimer on
Oct 7, 2008 1:32 AM PDT
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If he was Jarell Washington from Syracuse University, we would say "he could have benefitted from a year or two more at college"
Sergio came over a little too early, and now he is stuck in between the extremes.
Odenied: If you're given lemmings—make lemming-ade (Bow4Meow)
by Norsktroll on
Oct 7, 2008 1:59 AM PDT
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morty merrrr!
our back up pg isn’t important enough to be deemed important?
"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 7, 2008 7:16 AM PDT
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Of course they important
But not STOP THE PRESSES LET’S ALL GET ANGRY OVER A 3RD STRING PG important.
Basically, I object to raising the Sergio’s of the NBA to the level of importance as the Brandon Roy’s or LMA’s, and Sergio got as much attention as they did (and I don’t think I am exaggerating). Nate gets asked about his minutes every game, endless debates on the fan sites occur, and I’m not sure any of that happens if Sergio is NOT an Exotic Euro.
We all have our favorites, and our own pet peeves, and we’ll naturally focus on those more even if, in the grand scheme of things, they ain’t that “important”. So if Sergio is someone’s favorite, I don’t mind that.
But as a fanbase, it seemed like we gave the situation much more attention than ANY 3rd string, not-real-good PG deserves, in a league packed to the gills with not-that-good 3rd string PGs. Last season especially, I think it became more about some people attaching their own ego and self worth to Sergio, not being able to admit he was playing pretty awfully and THAT was the reason he didn’t play more… not the rest of the world (or Nate) being blind to his brilliance. I think some WANTED Sergio to be good and to have their high hopes validated, more than the actual play warranted.
I mean, I know we don’t really know how many minutes Rudy will get, but I see no reason to worry that Nate won’t play him— and MANY people felt it was a good chance Nate wouldn’t play Rudy, using Sergio as a basis for this theory. So because Nate wouldn’t play a not-that-good player much, he wouldn’t play a really good player because they are from the same country? That’s just illogical silliness to me, and tells me people think there is much more to the lack of Sergio minutes than his actual play, extending to some wierd biase that Nate has for whatever reason against Sergio.
The “conspiracy” Dave mentions above, for example.
If anyone thinks there was a concerted effort by Nate to not play Sergio in games we were trying to win, I think they need to step back and look past Sergio and realize the rest of the team is a lot more important… since, of course, we’re trying to win these days, and not develop one at the expense of 11 others.
Right now, we’re only developing those who will help us win along the way— Oden, Rudy, Bayless, etc. If Sergio has become that, then it is great! I love love love more good players, and I do love Sergio when he is on.
When he is off though, and not affecting the game in any other way, I want him off the floor. At this stage in our Return to Rip City, NO ONE should be spoon fed minutes they didn’t earn, and we as fans shouldn’t expect any less.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on
Oct 7, 2008 10:17 AM PDT
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lol...
+1. bravo
"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 7, 2008 12:04 PM PDT
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I'm takin' a "step back and look past Sergio"
and loftin’ a shot from beyound the Three Point Line, forThe PTB!
"You're really making me feel good about myself, little man," says Oden as he starts dancing after scoring a goal. "You better come harder than that."
by BlueBooYay on
Oct 7, 2008 2:58 PM PDT
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It's an interesting monster
And self fed too. I think in the same way some people attach their ego to the team entire, and take umbrage to anyone attacking any player on said team. I think the bloodline can be traced back to the assist per minute performance.
Since then (and compounded by the fact that Serge came in during the amazing franchise saving draft that brought us Roy and LMA) expectations have been sky high. A fan favorite WITHIN a fanbase was created. These people looked at what seemed to be a disparity between the treatment of Sergio the savior and Jack the incumbent who had some great play but some infuriating turnovers and started to blame the coach (looking back at once heartening stories of a young Jack putting in extra hours after the game with Nate with a conspiratorial eye) and crying favoritism.
The a splinter of the fanbase attacked one of their own, and another responded in kind. Such is the manner in which civil wars begin.
by zaruga on
Oct 7, 2008 4:57 PM PDT
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No player on the team is more useless in half court sets
I was going to say “you mean, besides Joel Przybilla?”
Then I remembered that JP sets a mean screen and will go after O rebounds
by two4larue on
Oct 7, 2008 1:06 PM PDT
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This article is biased and just proves BE is part of the conspiracy.
62,198 seconds until first preseason game!
"Thanks for coming to the game." - Kevin Pritchard
by DarthBlazer on Oct 7, 2008 2:14 AM PDT 0 recs
This is the most well-written article that I've ever read from a blogger.
by AK1984 on Oct 7, 2008 2:27 AM PDT 0 recs
You haven't been reading BE very long
This was up to Dave’s usual standard.
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 7, 2008 7:08 AM PDT
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Good article
1 minor quibble:
Pre-season doesn’t prove much conclusively. Training camp counts even less.
Remember, Martell earned a starting spot (coming from 3rd on the depth chart at his position) in pre-season/training camp…it certainly can affect their fortunes in a big way.
Maybe if you meant that it doesn’t prove much to the fans that would be a little more accurate.
But…as I said…good article. My thoughts (almost) exactly.
by jamon51 on Oct 7, 2008 2:31 AM PDT 0 recs
Good quibble
Another one:
Just because Sergio was drafted #27 doesn’t mean nobody should have high hopes or expectations for him. KP bought the pick and used it to get a European player at a time when not all GMs seemed to be fully aware of the kind of talent you can pick up overseas. If Sergio had been playing at a major US university, his skill set might very well have made him a lottery pick.
Regardless, it will be very interesting to see what Serge makes of his present opportunity. I am hoping that he does show enough improvement in his defense, shooting, and finishing to earn minutes in the regular season. Va Sergio!
[This space temporarily left blank.]
by CatMan2 on
Oct 7, 2008 7:42 AM PDT
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It can affect them
but that has to be confirmed by many regular season games before we know. The regular season trumps the pre-season 100% and there’s no recourse. Your accuracy correction is…well…correct. It’s not that pre-season is useless and should be scrapped, it’s that pre-season is only of marginal use for making definitive predictions. It shows a player could excel, but not that he would.
—Dave
by Dave on
Oct 7, 2008 8:08 AM PDT
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Right
There’s just something really special about playing well when it counts, versus just when you know there won’t really be any consequences like summer league and preseason. But there are some serious decisions to be made based on a player’s body of work which does include the preseason and training camp performances. It’s a matter of degrees rather than “Good Training Camp = Starting Spot” … no hard equations here. Just a lot more weight on regular season performances.
However, someone who played decently last year and then who comes in out of shape and has a HORRIBLE preseason, bricking everying and generally playing terrible D…they could definitely shoot themselves in the foot for the first part of the season. So maybe there’s not much to gain but a lot to lose.
Sergio has a knack for making passes that lead to layups and dunks, for both teams. - Ben G.
by jamon51 on
Oct 9, 2008 2:21 AM PDT
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Very good analysis and post. Hopefully it will have a preventive effect.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
by amlmart1 on Oct 7, 2008 3:09 AM PDT 0 recs
right ...
Until we see him This Season and what he does with the minutes he gets while Blake is down, there is no need to praise or bash the dude.
And if little happens in those minutes, no need to talk about getting rid of him.
A good analysis, Dave.
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on Oct 7, 2008 6:08 AM PDT 0 recs
Go Chacho!!!
Ser-G-OOOOOOOO!
I’m sorry dave, that was a great write up, I’ll discount the part after “the other side of the coin”
thanks dave!!
"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 7, 2008 6:28 AM PDT 0 recs
I blame Hollinger
Mr. PER salivates over Sergio’s advanced statistics and never misses an opportunity to suggest that he would break-out with increased minutes.
I want to (he claps his hands twice) but I gotta (he makes a serious face)
by jnstarbird on Oct 7, 2008 6:51 AM PDT 0 recs
he also said
aldridge wouldn’t amount to anything.
Ford: Bill, you're claiming victory already? Have you had a "Mission Accomplished" banner printed yet?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?page=DraftDebate-080624
by ratbastird on
Oct 7, 2008 7:26 AM PDT
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The reason I watch basketball
is the same reason I really dislike reading hollinger and his take on basketball. (It’s also the same reason I didn’t build a computer algorithm to figure out if I should ask a girl (who would later become my wife) out on a date.)
The unexpected can happen. Someone can break out. People band together and do better than they should be expected to. Hollinger says the blazer should have had a losing season. We didn’t. Basketball 1. Hollinger 0.
by Montavilla Steve on
Oct 7, 2008 9:23 AM PDT
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Good Comments.
Very good post. Arguing over Sergio would be the same thing as arguing over Ike Diogu. Save Ike was drafted a lot higher, yet invites far fewer general comments. Many players have some skills, but not enough. Or, are just young and need time to develop. Or, like Ike, was a down low physical player who will always perform better in a 1/2 court offense, than in the typical Nelson run and gun, and had some injury problems as well. All of these things make a difference.
Most of us don’t like of dislike Sergio, hope he can gear his game up a notch, and all would like to see him succeed. I’d personally like Ike to succeed, but I don’t have a clue if having Frye and Aldridge in front of him will ever enable him to get the minutes he needs to have that success.
If Mac ultimately believes that Blake, Roy, Fernandez and Bayless are a better fit than Sergio, I’m certainly not going to get upset. After all, 4th and 5th guards are just that. Anymore than I’d get upset if Aldridge and Frye get the nod over Ike.
Ironically, I’m more fascinated by who ends up being the 4th guard, than the 5th. Competition this year has really gone up a notch from last. And that’s a good thing. It was great seeing Blake work out so hard, watching Rudy in the Olympics and hearing Nate’s comments, and also watching Bayless and his fierceness in the summer league. I’m also much more interested in how the battle for the SF position plays out.
Mac’s been diagramming plays like mad – count on it. Figuring out who plays where, with who, and in which sets, and how the guards and SF’s fit together, will be the entire issue.
Sergio and Ike, and at some future date Batum, will be secondary.
by Eben Calder on Oct 7, 2008 6:59 AM PDT 0 recs
The Sergio Wars
To me—an admitted Surge Idolator—the debates rage because we had two different players in two different seasons.
I still maintain we had a very genuine PG controversey when JJ was starting and Surge was leading the league in assists per minute and other meaningful categories. He was scoring as well. He was awesome!! It was normal for people to get excited and I still believe he deserved more playing time.
Then last year: he was a miserable failure. No arguments from me on that.
What I DON’T believe is that last year’s failure vindicated all the people who—like above—claim that Surge is a low draft pick, has holes in his game, is a 10th man, etc. He was undeniably the sixth or seventh man one season, then in the next took a step backwards and became the 12th man or something close to it. He was as an exciting and full-of-potential rookie as there was in the league once and then fell hard in his sophomore year.
I think now, we have people who want to be right. The pro-Surge crowd want to see him do well and the anti-Surge crowd want to see him continue last year’s trajectory.
This is good and natural: sports is about predictions and analzying data and wanting to be right. It’s rather like a political debate or picking stocks… someone’s right. It’s ok that you want it to be you.
For my part, I’m looking forward to this season as the “tie-breaker” season between the last two. Will Surge proceed? I don’t know. But I am looking for real data—not conspiracies—but data to break open this argument between the pro- and anti- crowds.
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
by Phizbin on Oct 7, 2008 7:54 AM PDT 0 recs
Thanks, Dave, for injecting some rationality into the topic
Sergio is like the little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. When he’s good he’s very, very good and when he’s bad he’s horrid. Because his game is currently shildlike I think he brings out the child in many of us fans and we all know children are ruled by their emotions and not by their rational mind.
Great post on your part.
Free Joel Freeland! (with the purchase of 1 Wafer)
by LaughingJon on Oct 7, 2008 8:08 AM PDT 0 recs
there is no conspiracy against Sergio.
the first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club.
:)
honor terry porter
by Ben. on Oct 7, 2008 8:49 AM PDT 0 recs
Death match
So … Sergio and Bayless in the “caged ring of death” … not fair to Sergio. T-rex would eat him alive.
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 8:54 AM PDT
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Horatio Nelson´s right arm could tell you something about
fighting against people from the Canary Islands.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 9:04 AM PDT
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Spanish-French fleet sunk at Trafalgar could say you something about Horatio Nelson too ;-)
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 9:15 AM PDT
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I've been holding off on teh Nelson's Blood recently for health reasons ...
… but there a bottle of Pusser’s awaiting for me soon.
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 10:51 AM PDT
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So we acquire Ben Gordon next year because he is English?
Odenied: If you're given lemmings—make lemming-ade (Bow4Meow)
by Norsktroll on
Oct 7, 2008 10:53 AM PDT
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Loul Deng
is also a British citizen, despite his Sudanese root, I think.
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 10:59 AM PDT
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Yeah, we might be in trouble against the Bulls.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
Batum 8+8=16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 11:05 AM PDT
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can we exhume Lord Nelson?
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 11:06 AM PDT
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B.Roy>Admiral Nelson
(G.Oden>Godzilla)
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 11:07 AM PDT
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I was thinking about a nickname
For a Sergio-Rudy backcourt…how does “The Spanish Armada” sound?
(Or does it take 3 Spaniards in the same lineup to make an “armada”?)
BTW, What’s Fernando Martin doing these days?
(I saw him play live in a summer league game, back in the day)
by two4larue on
Oct 7, 2008 2:19 PM PDT
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That'd be cool except
The Spanish Armada is mostly famous for failing. The fleet was composed of around 130 ships, 8,000 sailors and 18,000 soldiers. It went up against a much smaller English navy but the more manuverable British ships suffered very little damage. In the end the scoreboard for the Spanish reads 67 ships and around 10,000 men surviving and the planned invasion of Britain didn’t happen – though a lot of that was from shipwrecks and ignorant navigation than in battle.
Spanish Armada does sound cool though.
Free Joel Freeland! (with the purchase of 1 Wafer)
by LaughingJon on
Oct 7, 2008 4:22 PM PDT
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The defeat came due o the weather conditions which was not expected by the spanish army. In fact there were not battle against the britts but against sea storm.
by cbp on
Oct 7, 2008 4:29 PM PDT
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That is correct
The Spanish ships were less sea worthy and the Brits rode out the storm and got credit for the famous victory
by southern oregon on
Oct 7, 2008 6:02 PM PDT
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He died 1987 (I think). He died because of a car crash in Madrid.
Yes, the Spanish Armada is the trademark of spanish tennis lead by Nadal but you can use it by adding another spanish in the team. I don’t think Blazers may draft Ricky but the other spanish guy who will be draft in the next future is Victor Claver (he is playing power forward but he will play small forward). This season is very important for him. If he does what everyone expects here in Spain KP should be in alert.
by cbp on
Oct 7, 2008 4:26 PM PDT
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He made a pre-draft work-our for the Blazers this year and then decided to retire of the draft.
I think he is not prepared to defend at NBA level.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
Batum 8+8=16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 4:35 PM PDT
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I didn't know that....
Yes I think he is not prepared yet but this season can be he start to be prepared to.
I really like Victor although it seems he’s got not the energy or mind to step up his level.
by cbp on
Oct 7, 2008 4:39 PM PDT
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Agree.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
Batum 8+8=16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 4:45 PM PDT
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work-out
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
Batum 8+8=16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 4:45 PM PDT
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Wrong! There is a conspiracy!
Stay with me here. Jerry Colangelo is the master of USA basketball. Team USA’s primary rival? Spain. Where are the Spanish players in the league?
Sergio Rodriguez – Portland
Rudy Fernandez – Portland
Jose Calderon – Toronto
Jorge Garbajosa (last year) – Toronto
Juan Carlos Navarro (last year) – Memphis
Pau Gasol (until the give-away) – Memphis
Notice the USA basketball connection of those three teams? Coach Nate McMillain, GM Bryan Colangelo, Coach Iavaroni (former assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns).
Moreover, who traded both Spanish players to Portland? The Phoenix Suns, where Colangelo used to be the owner , of course.
It’s right there in front of your face—Colangelo has been leading an elaborate scheme to stifle the development of the Spanish national team by sending his proxies out to bench star Spanish players. But he couldn’t just draft MJ-caliber Spanish players and bench them in Phoenix—those guys have been contenders. Everyone would have noticed. So D’Antoni shipped those guys off to Portland where they could sit under Team USA assistant Nate McMillain.
Of course, when David Stern found out about this, he apparently had first Amare Stoudemire and then Greg Oden whacked in the knee. Hopefully this will have been enough of a deterrent to get these Spanish wonders into the game. Clearly, it was so frightening to the Grizzlies that they unloaded Gasol at the first possible opportunity. This conspiracy may be breaking up, but if you see the D’Antoni-led Knicks draft Ricky Rubio next year, you’ll know that it continues.
by Harry Manback on Oct 7, 2008 9:03 AM PDT 8 recs
Grand Illuminatus Pope Jerry Cagliostro
"They are all human. There's nobody I'm really scared of, or worried about playing against." -- Bayless
http://www.myspace.com/y5k
by Y5k on
Oct 7, 2008 11:01 AM PDT
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so I'm assuming it's bad form to give a rec and not announce it?
has that been established as an un offical rule of this site?
(+1 for the above comment)
is that the right way to do it?
"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 7, 2008 12:52 PM PDT
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Harry Knows
The Green G of Conspiracy Theory ![]()
"You're really making me feel good about myself, little man," says Oden as he starts dancing after scoring a goal. "You better come harder than that."
by BlueBooYay on
Oct 7, 2008 3:13 PM PDT
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Good Ole' Sergio
Sergio is what he is. In regards to our second or third tier players, it is actually Batum who concerns me more than Sergio. Batum’s TiH is far too high this season at 88. Sergio (11), Bayless (4), and Blake (2) all have TiH’s that are well within the acceptable range. If we are truly concerned about the impact of the lower tier players, and the Blazers are going to make a serious playoff push, then KP might want to consider moving him.
Blazers Edge has an alarmist vision
by tominhawaii on Oct 7, 2008 9:04 AM PDT 0 recs
Batum 8+8=16
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
by amlmart1 on
Oct 7, 2008 9:19 AM PDT
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At least he got the math right
Instead of the “new” math (15 = 16 motto)
by two4larue on
Oct 7, 2008 2:56 PM PDT
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Dave this post is Long
and I just dont have the attention span to read it thoroughly. Thankfully, you know what a topic sentence is and how to use it effectively . :)
In regards to Sergio, the season has not even started. We have little bursts of info from Ben and his limited view from the PF. (OMG, like, Ben is on his way to the PF w/ his BFF Dave RIGHT NOW! ) How much can we really expect from Sergio? I think we save this one for a couple months down the line when he & Martell suck , still, together THHEEENNN we argue about the value or valuelessness of Sergio.
Thanks though Dave, your a G.
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 7, 2008 9:45 AM PDT 0 recs
Martell
will not suck. I’m not sure I’d ever say Martell has sucked. He’s just been, like he admits, inconsistent.
by DrivetheLane on
Oct 7, 2008 9:52 AM PDT
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She's just jealous
because Martell has been making Batum look silly. (Read Ben/s post on Monday’s practice)
by NWfan on
Oct 7, 2008 11:15 AM PDT
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Pretty much yeah....
am I that transparent? 0:-)
"Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcreaft, destroy capitalis


