Game 3 Recap: Blazers 96, Suns 107
by Dave on Nov 1, 2008 10:31 PM PDT
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This wasn’t a bad game. This wasn’t a great game. There were plenty of signs of things to love plus a small flotilla of annoying fundamental and continuity problems to balance those out. Basically the Suns ended up having enough horses and enough experience playing winning basketball to pull it out. Not a surprise and nothing to get too down about.
The Blazers’ performance went back and forth all night. At first we were showing a lot of energy on offense…on the offensive glass particularly. We did do a fair amount of running and cutting in the halfcourt sets and that kept the Suns out of position enough to allow our rebounding energy to tell. Lamarcus Aldridge came out focused and firing early and all but took over the game. Brandon Roy also had his fair share of telling blows. On the other hand we didn’t cope that well with the basic
The second unit dominated as the middle quarters wore on. The guys at the morning show on The Game are going to have to abandon their “Spanish Fly Offense” nickname in favor of the European Union, as Nic Batum worked the floor along with Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez. If you want to know what makes that style work besides Rudy’s ability to hit from anywhere and Sergio’s passing (well, and the fact that they’re employing it mostly against reserves) watch how they move without the ball. That’s a lost art in American basketball and it’s great to see NBA players employing it more than once a game on an alley-oop.
Nevertheless, as soon as the game got back to the first units the Suns cut right back into
The biggest issue we had was letting the Suns shoot 55%. All of their top six players shot over 50%. Yes they’re a smart and talented offensive team but clearly we don’t have the ability or cohesiveness to watch five players at a time yet. This is one of the areas that’s still a work in progress for
Individual Notes
--I loved how Lamarcus Aldridge came out in this game. He took shots from inside and out and established himself as a legitimate threat without being out of control or forcing too many shots. He faded later in the game as we went away from him. There’s no telling whether that was the chicken or the egg though. I did like how he stood up to Stoudemire and even threw a couple shoulders but he’s still got a ways to go before he can go toe-to-toe with the veterans in this league. He showed he’s getting closer though.
--
--Rudy Fernandez also scored 20 on his best offensive game so far. Love his shot. Love his movement. Love how he makes every Blazer a little more dangerous by making himself available as an option. He did fairly well defensively too. A couple times he got shifted onto Steve Nash and he didn’t do worse than anybody else guarding him.
--Joel Przybilla gave about what you’d expect: 9 rebounds in 28 minutes plus the obligatory fracas with Shaq. Joel is like that annoying cousin who won’t stop needling you at the family picnic you even after you’ve made it big time in life…the one that almost makes you not come to the party.
--Travis Outlaw actually played a pretty cohesive game and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists to his 11 points. He got switched over to power forward for parts of the game, which explains some of it. He really does look more natural when he’s able to defend farther in instead of out on the perimeter. His relative quickness counts for more too. He actually got in the lane a couple times tonight. Eventually the Blazers are going to have to decide exactly what Travis is and make some decisions accordingly.
--Steve Blake did a great job hitting the outside jumper when he received the ball and was open. He was adequate setting the offense though frankly some of that responsibility was taken away from him by
--Nicolas Batum had a nice dunk and did a good job of roaming the passing lanes to the tune of 3 steals. It could be exciting to watch him once Aldridge and Oden form a contiguous back line for the Blazer defense and the wing guys can gamble with impunity. Giving him the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans.
--Sergio Rodriguez had 4 assists and hit both of his shots in 14 minutes. I believe he can find an immediate niche with that second unit now that he has guys who know how to take advantage of his passing ability. (Trout didn’t really qualify last year.) This was a strong showing for him.
--Channing Frye had 6 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. He also had 3 fouls and a little trouble defensively.
--Jerryd Bayless got 6 minutes. He didn’t do too much. He looks tentative out there, like he’s looking purposely to do other things besides scoring. A word to the wise: you do have to do other things besides scoring but you can’t abandon your game either. My guess is he’s just not confident knowing the difference between a good opportunity and a poor one yet (i.e. he was almost surprised this fall to find out that any of his opportunities were anything besides good). Hopefully that’ll come. For my tastes he can go ahead and loosen up and look to score. He might get benched for it but he’ll get benched for not doing it for sure. Take your shots and learn from them. Sergio went through similar things the last couple of years and his brightest games were when he took risks, even when they didn’t turn out. His worst games came when he looked paralyzed by indecision. He got in trouble in about 1 in 2 of the former games. He got in trouble in every one of the latter.
One-Sentence Game Summary
It’s a loss, but better than opening night.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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I think his role is perfect right now.
Gotta realize a couple things:
1. It’s still somewhat of a juggling routine trying to get Rudy and Roy on the floor at the same time right now. We’re three games into a season where we’re incorporating major new player minutes into that small-position rotation. We need time to see how it will settle out.
2. If it comes down to one or the other, Roy wins that battle and it’s no contest. Rudy has given a couple nice games. Roy has given two amazing years as the heart of this team, Rookie of the Year, and an All-Star. He’s the priority and then we figure out how to get Rudy in.
3. Rudy benefits from being out there with other players who gather attention. Rudy is an amazing offensive player but look at how he’s scoring, not just that he’s scoring. His best shots usually come off of feeds when he has some space. Examples are the three pointers he hits and the swooping dunks or layups down the baseline. Both come off of passes when defenders are otherwise occupied. How many times have we cheered for one of those shots versus cheering for something that Rudy created himself off the dribble? The latter isn’t his best game. The former is. Rudy is a wizard at finding those seams and converting when he gets them…that’s to his extreme credit and it’s a gift that is not celebrated nearly enough in modern basketball. I love this guy for that alone. But if you put Rudy in Roy’s position right now, giving him the ball at the top of the arc and saying, “Go create something 25 times a game for you or your teammates,” you wouldn’t see him performing as well.
Eventually you’re going to see a plenty big role for Rudy. But give the team some time to settle in first and let him fill the complementary role he’s best at in the meantime.
—Dave
Rudy does definitely benefit from others
…and yes he certainly does not have quite the one-on-one creation ability of Roy. He does however have the ability to catch and shoot ala Rip Hamilton and I would say is a bit more athletic and able to create a litlle more as well. And as you stated with the majority of the attention going to Roy, Rudy gets more opportunities to capitalize.
I guess I just think it looks like Nate has the reigns on him perhaps a bit too much. He has the IQ and skills that I would not be very worried about him making a ton of bad plays.
Rooo-D!
I don't fully agree
You wrote<How many times have we cheered for one of those shots versus cheering for something that Rudy created himself off the dribble? The latter isn’t his best game. The former is. >
In Spain Rudy’s role was exctly the same than Roy in Blazers. He excels both taking advantge from others or creating his own shot. I saw his first game as a blazers against Spurs. I didn’t recognize his game. He wasn’t the clearest leader. When playing in Spain everything was around him as it is Roy. Against Spurs even Outlaw was in charge when sharing minutes with Rudy. I think this is a normal role when you come into a new team and league. First you have to gain everyone else respect within the team and after yo can play the Roy’s role for a while.
As you say this is going to happen in the future no doubt of that. When this happens your opinion will change and you will love also his ability to take his own shot or eventually assisting his team mates even more than taking advantage from others.
by cbp on Nov 2, 2008 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions
Perhaps
But even on Spain’s Olympic team he was that “slip through the cracks” guy more than the main man. I suspect that will be most of his early career arc.
—Dave
Yes but Rudy's role in spanish national team was not the same than DKV (his former team)
He is a team player so he can adapt whatever situation. With Spain national team he was not the only leader (GAsol, Calderon, NAvarro) but with DKV Joventud he was the only leader and he played as a leader. This is why I didn’t recognize his play against Spurs.
What I’m trying to say is that if Roy gets injured, Rudy may play hs role because he is used to do so with DKV.
by cbp on Nov 3, 2008 1:32 PM PST up reply actions
Is it me or is Rudy not getting enough minutes??
I keep thinking that Rudy needs more minutes in order to keep us in the game.
I wonder if he thinks that playing here was such a good idea after all. I wish that the coaching staff would voice a vote of confidence and get the guy in the game. We might have gotten out with a win if he had been in more from the get go! Any thoughts on this?
by Lu on Nov 1, 2008 10:39 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I heard in the postgame a comment from Nate about him needing a breather
I personally find it a bit hard to believe that he would need one, but….I wasn’t down on the sideline so I have no idea what really happened
Rooo-D!
I think 30 minutes is enough for him to excel
He has a very energy game. He consumes a lot so he needs to go bench frequently t be effective. I think he should stay no longer than 6-7 minutes to do his best. He needs to rest more often as he is a very active player.
by cbp on Nov 2, 2008 8:32 AM PDT up reply actions
not a bummer at all
Road game agains the Suns — a revitalized Suns team.
Losing the way we did (with honor and good play) is not a bad thing at all. Matter of fact I shall celebrate this game by drinking a glass of ginger ale.
We cannot put up with this flagrant lack of accountability anymore.
Maybe I hold Brandon to a much higher standard than I should
But I thought he was somewhat tentative today and didn’t make good decisions and was quite lazy on some of his passes. Not that he doesn’t have enough goodwill from me to totally overlook it, but it was something that I don’t think I saw last year. Maybe I just forgot.
"From Bill Walton to Brandon Roy, we wanna know it all
From Clyde Drexler to Greg Oden, from the basket to the ball
Every move they make is covered, somebody make the call
The shot clock's always running at Blazers Edge"
LA and Brandon just have to be more effecient
They are needing too many shots to get their points so far.
Rudy should play more like 30 minutes.
Our D has got to improve.
Not a bad effort, but I expect a little more from this team. Still, if we can get 1 of the next 2 and then beat Minnesota, we’ll be right on track… just gotta stick around .500 in this brutal portion of the schedule.
Boomshakalaka
If we're within 3 or 4 games of .500
After this horrid stretch is over, if we can somehow be AROUND .500 (let alone right at it), we should be applauded.
The schedule is ROUGH. Can’t be underestimated.
Hasn’t Rudy been playing 30 mins? 29 or so? Oh wait, I just checked the boxscore… only 23 mins. Yeah, he should be up around 29 or 30, and he probably will be. If it is true he needed a breather because of a back to back, I guess that’s fine— though I’m surprised if it is true. Rudy might hit a wall in game 60, but not game 3…
Rudy fits in with every lineup for the most part, because of his great ability to just FIT IN. Even if it costs us a bit to put Rudy in for Blake, I’d rather Roy and Rudy and LMA to get plenty of time together just to get that chemistry brewin’.
LMA has to go up stronger on the block. He’s down there, which is great because he got the moves and the length, but he goes up soft too much. He remembers to go up stronger after being soft for a bit, but he needs to start strong and stay strong.
This wasn’t that bad of a game, so I’m surprised if people are put off by it. It’s PHX, in PHX, less than 24 hours after beating the Spurs. Not a real shock to lose this one.
Mortimer
Check this schedule out...
Next week the Lakers have ONE game. At home on Wednesday against the Clippers! That’s IT.
Date you might want to circle on your calendar: Nov. 12, 2008 — Lakers play a road back-to-back in New Orleans, seemingly the only game they will lose in the month of November.
Not sure why the schedulemaker is giving them the easiest start n the NBA and the Blazers the hardest… There should be an investigation…
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
New signature.
I love your metaphors.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
Dang it Cablinasian
now I have to go change mine back. I had added that to my sig as soon as I read it.
Usually Dave’s metaphors try a little too hard but the imagery on that one was great.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave @ BE
Gambling on defense and fast breaks
I thought Rudy, Batum, and Sergio brought energy and excitement. All of them gamble on defense, get some steals, run fastbreaks, and move on offense.
Yes, they all get burned on occasion, but it is a more exciting game with those elements.
Let’s have fun and play basketball.
We haven't shown that we can stop the other team even if we don't gamble
If the other team is going to get easy buckets either way, we might as well gamble to try and force turnovers/fast break opportunities.
As bad as Travis's D was
And as bad as my short term memory is,wasent he playing the 4 with the Euro Posse in that 2nd first half fun?
by southern oregon on Nov 1, 2008 10:57 PM PDT reply actions
Yes.
Travis was the one starter to stay on and play with the second unit.
He played almost the entire first half.
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions
I hate seeing all the corner threes from the Suns.
I guess It will help when Oden comes back and they don’t have to double as much.
If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them.-Charles Barkley
Oden comes back, plus several months to get his sea legs
It won’t be instant success defending teams like the Suns… but certainly Greg will help, and next year will be money.
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:15 PM PDT up reply actions
...
Sergio, looked great. Took great care of the ball, chose his shots & nailed them.
Rudy looked more in tune with the offense when Sergio was running with him.
"I just know that I can't get big, I can't eat whatever I want to. I have to eat healthy, I have to stay right, I have to stay involved and ... I have to be here at practice because you know what? I can play pretty quick."
I believe they do have some synergy
and I think Rudy makes Sergio look better by moving well without the ball. Batum also. Sergio can go to town when people move and play off of his moves. However something to remember about the reason the tandem looks good is that when you see them in there together they’re playing against the opposing bench. Rudy also gets minutes against the opposing starters and it’s not random chance that he doesn’t look quite as fluid and effective then.
—Dave
Rudy looked pretty good at the end of the game when Sergio was out
Rudy was subbed in with 2:24 left in the game. The Blazers scored 9 points after that. All 9 of those points were scored by Rudy.
Rudy with Roy & LMA
I wouldn’t conclude that Rudy is less fluid or effective against the opposing starters just because of the caliber of their defense. In those cases he has usually been playing with Roy and LMA and he gets far fewer touches when they are all in the game together. Roy hasn’t penetrated and kicked back to Rudy as often as he does to Outlaw (or did to Marty last year), even when Rudy is open. Tonight LMA made a difficult spin move to get a long fall away jump shot when he could have easily passed to Rudy standing absolutely alone behind the 3-point line. I think they have simply not practiced much together as a unit. When Rudy does get a touch he has often deferred to Roy/LMA rather than trying to develop something on his own. As they get to play more together, the trust will increase, and then we will get a better measure of how Rudy can perform against the other team’s starters.
Rudy has been more aggressive when playing with other teammates. You finally saw him tonight make a one-on-one cross-over move and drive to the hole for a reverse layup. He also penetrated below the 3 point line twice to create a mid-range jumper for himself. Within a few weeks I think we will see Rudy become more aggressive in developing his own shots against all defenders. He is also being quite conservative in his passing (less than 1 TO per game) so far. Rudy appears to be a very savvy player, and I think he wants to make the right impression with Nate and his teammates before he let’s himself loosen up a bit more. It looked like he let his instincts take over at the end of the game tonight and he went on a scoring streak.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Nov 2, 2008 1:24 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
+111111111111111111111111111111111
I couldn`t agree more
by cbp on Nov 2, 2008 8:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Good Post.
The kid needs more minutes…23 minutes is not enough for the level of play that he has demonstrated.
"Rudy also gets minutes against the opposing starters and it’s not random chance that he doesn’t look quite as fluid and effective then"
This has more to do with who Rudy is playing with (starting unit) against the opposing starters. And not the opposing starters themselves. I think Rudy has already proven he can play well against the best players in the world and looked very fluid doing so.
"Thanks for coming to the game." - Kevin Pritchard
well... if he left the second unit in when TP put NashAmareShaq back in the game
it would have gotten real ugly.
Our bench is better than Phoenix’s bench for sure, but their starting unit would dominate our bench.
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions
is it just me,
or does morale seem a little funny right now?
Yeah.
We need to cheer up. Think of the teams we’ve had in the last eight years. Now look at this roster. And smile.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
actually
i was referring more to the players. :)
Yeah, seems up and down.
There is so much pressure… I can’t wait for the team to get on a streak and remember basketball is fun.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
thinking of the players?
dang, how can you even do that when the fan base is so tender emotionally.
I can’t even get past my own mood swings to think of the players.
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Not to be overly negative.
But I don’t know how many people expected a win in this game. We had a “meh” effort on the second game of a back-to-back on the road.
I don’t know how much we can take from this game. Phoenix plays us very, very tough. Add in the tired legs and, though annoying, it wasn’t a heartbreaker to lose.
Let’s take the positive from this game.
1. Batum and Rudy will be solid contributors this season.
2. We have a new lineup to experiment with that includes Rudy, Sergio, and Batum, as Dave mentioned.
3. Roy had an off night and scored 20 points.
4. We played without Greg Oden, forced to use Channing Frye at center at times. Channing Frye should never play center in the NBA. Despite this, we still stayed close until the Suns pulled away in the fourth.
5. Our second unit is terrific. They will be an even bigger advantage with ’billa back on the white unit in a few weeks.
In the end, what killed us was defense. I wasn’t in love with our pick and roll defense… granted, it’s Steve Nash, but we need to improve.
Not to mention we are loaded with young talent, have cap space coming, and Kevin Pritchard will continue to steal international players for cash for the next fifteen years. Part of rooting for a young team is taking everything with a helping of salt.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
by Cablinasian on Nov 1, 2008 11:08 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
+1000000
Channing Frye should never play center in the NBA.
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
eh
I don’t know how pretty that would look either…
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:22 PM PDT up reply actions
At least he would stay low and bang bottoms with Amare...
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
other than sounding a little homoerotic
good point.
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 1, 2008 11:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd wager
That Amare would go right around and through the slow skinny Hill, and Hill wouldn’t add any offense while Frye gives us at least that.
Frye at center certainly ain’t pretty, and Hill can block shots, but he’d still get tore up by anyone who tears Frye up and not make a difference on the other side as well.
Hill could find a place in the NBA, but he isn’t as mobile or quick as Joel Przybilla, which will always hurt him against a really athletic, quick dude like Amare.
Mortimer
yeah, Frye really ain't too terribly bad... he's 6-11 for goodness sakes
by Bust a Bucket on Nov 2, 2008 1:40 PM PST up reply actions
But he plays the game of a guy that's 6'5" in really thick shoes...
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
hey now
I live a city and don’t consider myself a redneck, but I’d go bonkers over 6 boxes of ammo and quarter mile of Bud cans.
Decent game, pretty much as anticipated...
………………….. Batum looks terrific, we know Rudy can play.
Suns starters murdered Blazers starters at the low post, but that was axiomatic going into this game. I am more down on the coaches for LETTING the purported 4 & 5s float high than I am at LMA and Frye themselves for jacking up long jumpers. I suspect Nate is going to see a burning bush though — he’s a point guard that just doesn’t seem to comprehend the low post game — sort of like the way some of the early run & shoot/west coast coaches in football deemphasized the FB and TE positions to the point they were getting murdered for their overreaction.
It’s annoying, but last year was annoying, too. More of the same. I like some things about Nate, but I wouldn’t cry too much if he wound up coaching the new Seattle team in a couple years…
t
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
Read: "...I suspect Nate is going to NEED to see a burning bush though (to change)..." -- i.e. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
I think we need him now.
Ken Bone said something during training camp that stuck with me. To paraphrase, he said that the training camp McMillan was running had to focus on more fundamentals than he ever would have thought needed to be taught to an NBA roster. This team is so young… in a few years, maybe we make a change.
I think he should hire an assistant proficient in motion offense to make up for his coaching deficiencies.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
He's good in the stability/development department...
………………………………… his substitution decisions are highly suspect and I don’t really think he’s the best floor general either.
He seems really married to the perimeter game and at some point a team as young and athletic as the Blazers that is as bad as they are on the break and in the paint has to be something for which he is directly accountable.
I totally agree that he needs a hotshot offensive assistant. I hope the idea catches on.
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
We will not win with the perimeter game on a consistent basis.
I would just love to see players like Roy, Rudy, Batum, Aldridge, etc. in a motion offense. It could really be a think of beauty. There has to be someone out there who Paul Allen can pay big assistant bucks to change this team.
It is especially frustrating watching Aldridge jack up so many perimeter shots. Meh.
Giving [Batum] the freedom to go for steals is going to be like giving a redneck six boxes of ammo and a quarter mile of empty Bud cans. - Dave
but is that by design or is it that LMA doesn't like the physical game?
for instance, he really doesn’t get very many rebounds.
ignacio
IMHO and after watching Spurs game I agree
He was the key factor to win against Spurs but I didn’t like his whol game. Hi hates to go inside.
by cbp on Nov 2, 2008 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Someone else thinks we need some help with coaching offense...
I’m glad I’m not the only one. The idea of going out and spending some $$ on a hotshot offensive assistant seems like it might have some merit. I think Nate McMillan is quite a good coach generally speaking, and that’s why he was part of the Olympic coaching staff. On the other hand, it is often downright painful to watch the Blazers offense resort to a stagnant one-on-one perimeter game against good defensive teams. It would also be nice to see the Blazers be able to consistently finish the fast break.
As I watched the last couple of games, it seemed like the European imports bring a lot of desirable offensive traits in these departments. I think 19 year old Batum finished the fast break better than any Blazer I can remember during the last year, and both he and Rudy do a good job of moving without the ball. In fact the more I think of it, some of the best offensive sets I’ve seen run were by D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns, and he pretty much learned to coach over in Europe, I think. What the heck, maybe we could pick up some offensive-oriented European coach cheap. Either that, or poach an assistant off of Jerry Sloan. I’d suggest that we could do the same thing off of Phil Jackson, but even typing that made me want to hurl.
by CTBlazerJunkie on Nov 2, 2008 3:20 PM PST up reply actions
Is it his offense?
Or is it execution? Either way I know the coach needs to get his players to execute but I think it is coming. If he is working on the fundamentals with his players, when they start getting that down, they will begin to execute his offense.
He was on “One-on One” the other day on Comcast and was pretty open about what he was trying to get his players to understand about scoring in the mid-range and in the paint instead of just from the perimeter. He seems to have a long range plan of focusing on different aspects of offense and defense that will pay off dividends when the players can execute his sets.
Whether they do or not will determine his fate with the Blazers. If he does go elsewhere, he will be a successful coach for a long time.
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
Tim
I keep forgetting to check your boxscore. Can you e-mail me a link right after the Jazz game so I can get it up to see how people like it?
—Dave
It's the same info as the nba.com threads you link up (which includes opposition).
FREE SERGIO -- Trade Him or Cut Him NOW!!!
I thought it was a good showing...
The 2nd unit looked good, Batum looked awesome(how long until he gets a start). The only thing I found strange was Nate’s decision to play Bayless with 8+ minutes in the game and only down 10. I can understand why he would want Bayless in there(defense and scoring) but in place of Rudy??? If you want Bayless in the game, I would have put him in for Blake. When Rudy is playing well, leaving him on the bench late in a game is a mistake if you ask me. Oh well, it likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome anyway. I just thought it was a strange decision….
RUDY > MJ
A nice comment from Bright Side of the Sun
Let’s end at the end. When the Blazers started committing intentional fouls at the end of the game, I thought is was really good sportsmanship for them to wait until Steve Nash got the ball so he could shoot the free throws for the Suns.
My thoughts exactly. Though it mostly likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of this game, not fouling the opposing team’s best free throw shooter after three other guys already had the ball and many seconds have passed seems like a good idea to talk about in training in the session on “How to close out games and how to come back in close ones”.
Thoughts.
In a practical sense, we can see the team as it will be, and its a little frustrating to see how we have to adjust without Oden and Webster. With them, we have continuity. Frye, Outlaw and Pryz could play their natural roles on the #2 team – which would perform even better than we saw tonight. Oden is simply more of a defensive force – and whereas he’ll have to learn to control his fouls – there’s little doubt that Shaq and Stoudamire would have more problems trying to bull inside with Oden, than they did with Pryz. Aldridge, in turn, would have played Stoudamire better – because Stoudamire would have to alter his game.
My bet is that with Webster and Oden on the floor, and everyone then able to play their natural positions – we would have likely won this game. We knew our depth would be a factor, as our #2 unit is stronger than other teams – and we saw that tonight. And, it would’ve been even stronger. As such, if the first team had simply been able to reduce the Suns 1st unit by 3-4 rebounds and 5-6 points – the second would’ve won it.
Those that say Frye should not play center are right. But he’s a better player against the second and third team centers of the other teams – than the first team. Further, Frye is caught between the fact that he was finally being positioned to play PF – but now he’s being shoved back into the Center spot.
And, let’s not forget. Shaq is not your average NBA center.
LMA
is not playing smart.
Amare is terrible defensively and LMA kept taking those horrible top of the key jump shots and even one 3 pointer.
The guy has a world of talent, offensively, but he needs to learn what are good and bad shots.
It looks like that he needs to take the bad shots to compensate for the work he has with the good shots.
Rebounds is still a problem, but I’m not a specialist, so I don’t know where he needs to change.
Lineup
I love the lineup of LMA, Rudy, Batum, Roy,aand Pryz….just think they looked amazing together at times, is a long lean defensive lineup with plenty of firepower to boot!
I'd be hesitant to define Rudy's game now
First, it’s too early to fully see how his game will evolve once he get’s used to the NBA. Second, Rudy displayed an ability to get off his own shot during the Olympics several times. Let’s not forget that dunk over Howard. He started off “at the top of the arc,” juked Kobe and took off for the dunk. If that isn’t creating your own shot, I don’t know what is.
A couple of times last night I was hoping the Rudy would have taken the shot rather than pass off. He actually seemed to pause a bit deciding in his own mind whether pass/shoot. There is still a learning curve for him to understand when he should be more aggressive with certain other players on the floor, or look for the pass first to set up others.
by ColoradoBlazerFan on Nov 2, 2008 11:09 AM PST reply actions
Blake's defense of the pick and roll/pop
is painful to watch sometimes. If Blake is the future at PG for the Blazers, we better be prepared to deal with some defensive holes and learn to adjust for that. At this point, Blake is what he is, for better and worse.
by ColoradoBlazerFan on Nov 2, 2008 11:15 AM PST reply actions
the benefits of a deep bench
I think later on in the season we’re going to see more of the benefits of having a deep bench. Blazers second unit ran circles around the Suns’ second unit there in the second q uarter, forcing TP to put the first unit back in maybe before he wanted to. This is the third game of the season, so Shaq’s legs are pretty fresh and he can be asked to play a lot of minutes. Same thing, to a lesser extent, for Nash, and really, all the starters. But what happens in the 53rd game of the season?
Nate’s a good coach. I’m guessing that as the season wears on, we’ll see more situations where he forces the opposing coach to put his starters back in earlier than they want to. A guy like Shaq WILL get into foul trouble if playing tired. And in close and late situations, this can have a huge impact.
Thoughts
i thought we played ok, the suns are a better team than us and we played them tough for most of the game.
Sometimes Lamarcus’ penchant for shooting really takes us out of our rhythm. 7-18 for your starting power forward isn’t pretty. I’m not sure why he doesn’t play a little closer to the basket and try and draw some fouls and take easier shots. I know he’s a finesse player, but anyone can ist and take long jumpers as a big man. That’s exactly what Frye does when eh comes into the game too. He absolutely needs to stay as close to the basket as he can. I agree with a previous poster that there were times when Aldridge seemed to be forcing shots when he had other people open or just a little more patience would have served him well. I liked that little baby hook he showed on the first shot of the game, I just don’t see why he doesn’t do stuff liek that more often instead of drifting out and shooting jumpers.
Roy played a solid game, he was missing open jumpers early, but eh, that’s ok. I don’t think he attacked the basket nearly enough and definitely not when we desperately needed to stem their momentum and get some despeartely needed points. I know he an get into the paint at will and create contact and muddy up the game, that’s exactly what we need more often from him. I remember that’s exactly what Kobe did against us in the 1st game. When we made that little run in the beginning of the 3rd, he went on a personal 9 pt run and killed the game for us. He simply attacked the basket and good things happened. The ball absolutely needs to be in the hands of Roy when the other team starts making runs. No one else can really get into the paint, and nothing stops a run like drawing a foul and hitting free throws. Also, Roy absolutely needs to be more assertive from the get go. I don’t like feeding Aldridge every time to start off games, it does us no good and makes us painfully predictable. Roy needs to look for his offense from the beginning, he’s our best option.
Rudy was absolutely stellar. He throws up some ill advised 3s, but I love him. That alleyoop layup from sergio was insane. This guy needs to be on the floor as much as possible. We need to have him play as much as he can with LMA and Roy and see how he fits. His ability to be a playmaker nad hit that midrange jumper and finish makes him valuable. He seems to be able to guard some PGs, and if he can do that, then he def needs to stay in the game. He’s a threat from the 3 as well. I love Rudy.
Batum needs to play more. Putting him in the starting lineup couldn’t hurt. I would love to see how he does. I haven’t seen him make too many mistakes, and he’s just a hustle player who is always in the right place at the right time. He needs time, and is definitely an asset. Man, I didn’t think this guy would give us anything this year, but I love Batum. He’s also passionate, I can’t get over Nicolas. Another find.
Sergio was phenomenal today, I hope he keeps it up.
Overall, we played a competitive game against a far superior team. Games like this make me realize how much we need Oden to develop into Oden. We need a low post threat badly, and even his rudimentary game gives us that. We need big men to throw it down. We need a big man to draw fouls. Oden give us all that. Oh God let him be healthy.
BEARS REPEATING
The second unit dominated as the middle quarters wore on. The guys at the morning show on The Game are going to have to abandon their "Spanish Fly Offense" nickname in favor of the European Union, as Nic Batum worked the floor along with Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez. If you want to know what makes that style work besides Rudy’s ability to hit from anywhere and Sergio’s passing (well, and the fact that they’re employing it mostly against reserves) watch how they move without the ball. That’s a lost art in American basketball and it’s great to see NBA players employing it more than once a game on an alley-oop.
Certainly was fun to watch!
I can't believe Blake is our PG.
He’s got to be the worst starter in the league. His offense is below average and his defense stinks. The only reason he’s our starter is because he can setup the offense better than Sergio and Bayless.
"—Steve Blake did a great job hitting the outside jumper when he received the ball and was open. He was adequate setting the offense though frankly some of that responsibility was taken away from him by Roy tonight. He didn’t do that great of a job staying with Nash, but I guess who does? In general I haven’t been that impressed with Steve’s defense so far this year. "
When you keep saying how “Blake didn’t do a great job on staying with Nash, but who does?” Blake was already burned by Parker and now Nash. Don’t forget there are plenty of our PGs that belong in that class. We still got CP4, AI, Deron, Rose, Udrih, Mario, Nelson, Brooks, Kidd, Rondo, Jose……………………………………………………and all the rest.
Basically, can you name one starting PG that you’re confident Blake can guard? I don’t think so. I think its time for Bayless to get thrown in at the deep end. Start Jerryd now, at least he’s quick enough and Roy can set up the offense while Bayless plays off of him. Blake will NEVER be win us a playoff game so why wait? Start Bayless now while we already have a tough schedule. I really expected more from Blake after all we heard about his summer. They said that he’d gotten Quicker, but he’s not.
Nash and Farmar torched Bayless too
watch the tapes, my friend. Bayless’ defense isn’t some kind of miracle solution.
Free Sergio! http://www.freesergio.com
I was happy with this game
MUCH better than LA. If it were coming after the LA game, I’d be ticked, but we responded to that horrendous loss and won against the spurs, so I’m happy.
I predict a win at the Jazz as I’ll be there and the blazers don’t lose when I watch the game live.
We haven't done anything yet... but don't blink.
Nate should have...
played Rudy more minutes in the 4th quarter. Rudy was money on offense. Bayless shouldn’t have been in there.
It doesn't matter who they vote for. As long as I get to pick who's running.
J.D. Rockefeller
I don't write checks, straight cash homey...
Randy Moss
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