Tom Penn's Black Eye Will Haunt You

by Ben Golliver on Nov 4, 2008 1:58 PM PST

This post is an epic fail because I didn't snap a picture of Mr. Penn's black eye but needless to say if television cameras pan to him during the Jazz or Rockets games, you will have exactly zero trouble seeing what I'm talking about.

With respect to Mr. Penn's privacy, I will only say that he lost a brawl with a kitchen appliance. Thankfully, he will regain full function of his left eye, however he is sporting a shiner that was scarier than 3/4 of the Halloween costumes I saw at the Rose Garden.

How to describe it? It's difficult. How about this... if you wanted to replicate his black eye, you would simply follow these steps.

Take a saucer used for tea and place it over your left eye.
Use magic marker to draw a circle around the saucer. The circle should extend to your nose and across most of the left side of your face.
Remove the saucer and take a can of black spray paint. Spray the entirety of the inside of the circle with the spray paint.
Optional: if you have a purple marker, feel free to spice up the circle by dabbing some purple in there.

Mr. Penn was all smiles about it but clearly it had been a harrowing experience. He was back to watch practice for the first time in awhile. KP was there too (he was there yesterday as well) as was GO (who was watching practice, wearing sandles... NO BOOT).

The rest of Tuesday's practice was not nearly as exciting as Mr. Penn's travails. But here's the latest for you.

Batum

It's official (as you might have already heard), Nic will start tomorrow! Nate said this again after practice. Nate is looking for Nic to provide "defensive intensity," "focus" and "some of that dirty work." He wants Batum to continue to guard his man and provide solid weakside help, which Nate believes Nic has been successful doing. On offense, Nate is simply looking for, "If [Nic's] open, shoot the ball."

Blake

Near the end of practice, Blake airballed a pull up jumper, swore loudly while Bayless raced the other way, couldn't get back in time to stop a Bayless dunk, and then punched the ball perhaps 30 feet in the air in frustration. Fun times.

Travis

Nate said that Travis will be at 3 but may slide to play a little 4.

Brandon

Nate and JQ got in an extended talk about Brandon handling the double teams. I'm sure JQ will have a nice write up about that shortly. One focal point that Coach mentioned was that Brandon needs to "draw the double teams away from the paint" and that the entire team needs to look for Joel because they can't play 4 on 5.

Nate on Utah

He was locked in on making sure the team was ready for the physical play and ready to "play in the paint." He said the team needed to come out extremely aggressive to "make the officials call it both ways." If that takes "grabbing and holding" on defense early in the game, so be it. Also, Nate focused on limiting "second and third opportunities."

Bayless

Rexy updates...

Within 30 seconds of entering the gym, Bayless had bowled over Blake on one play and then Shavlik on the next. Both guys hit the floor pretty hard. No fouls were called (it was a drill)... After practice Bayless was working on some one on one moves with an assistant. He missed a jumper and let out an expletive.

Monty

Did you read Freeman's nice piece on Monty in the paper? After practice, Monty sought out JF to say thanks and to offer a handshake. That's Monty for you.

Nate on the Point Guards

I talked with Coach briefly about how things are progressing at the 1. One thing I have noticed about Nate is that he is always very careful to back his point guards. This was most obvious with Jack last year but noticeable already this year as well. Generally Nate backs all of his players, but I sense that he is even more careful to do so with point guards.

I asked simply, "How would you assess the point guard play after 3 games?" and Nate gave me a look like he was kind of surprised I was asking that. He said, all things considered, it was pretty solid. Nate had talked earlier about how Brandon faced very tough matchups in the first 3 games and I asked whether he thought Blake had it even tougher than Brandon. Nate agreed that Blake probably had it as bad or worse than Brandon, facing Fischer, Parker and Nash -- and, importantly, 3 well-oiled offensive systems.

Areas for the point guards to work on are "controlling the ball" and "working on establishing the role of the point guard in the offense." It's a little bit unclear to me what he means by the second point. Does he want a more proactive point guard that doesn't just turn things over to Brandon? Does he simply want better ball movement, something that a point guard can help develop? Something else? It wasn't clear.

Nate said that it's still "very early" and, with new faces on the roster, they still need "to learn about each other." Roster turnover is arguably trickiest for the point guard to deal with. He needs to catalogue his teammates' tendencies, where they like the ball, when they like the ball, where they will float to, how they will run through picks. In my opinion, Blake has not looked good, at all, but perhaps roster turnover provides an explanation.

I asked Nate about how the backup spot is evolving. He backed Sergio. I asked him how fans should read Sergio's variable playing time. Nate went back to the idea that it's early and he's taking a look at different groups of players. I asked him about what the ideal role for a backup point guard will be this season, when we face off against playoff teams down the stretch and Martell is back healthy. Nate said pretty flatly "10 minutes" and that his priorities are continuity/consistency in the starting lineup, plenty of minutes for Rudy, and plenty of minutes for Travis. Bad news for Bayless. Not great news for Sergio.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

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Comments

Bayless is the real deal

It’s only a matter of time before he is the MAN

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

by prezofdeath on Nov 4, 2008 2:07 PM PST reply actions

I agree

Bayless is a 19 year old wannaby point guard. What was Steve Nash doing at that age? Hacking it in the WCC, probably not even All-Conference at that point. What was Steve Blake doing? Again, probably not even All-Conference in the ACC.

I’m not worried about Bayless. He has too much physical potential, too much mental potential (the guys is clearly more scholarly than many bball players), and too much ambition to be great. He will figure it out. It may take time, but he will do it.

by Bust a Bucket on Nov 4, 2008 2:15 PM PST up reply actions

amen, bruh

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

by prezofdeath on Nov 4, 2008 5:58 PM PST up reply actions

Oh Snap

Is Coach McMillan saying that Blake, Roy, and Rudy will get most of the PG minutes?

This space for rent, text me for information.

by tominhawaii on Nov 4, 2008 2:07 PM PST reply actions

backup PG minutes

I agree with Tom – Blake will play 25-30, Sergio will play 10 min or less, and Rudy/Roy together will do 8-12 minutes as co-servers. – Elgin.

www.tresgone.com
www.myspace.com/transcendentalbrassband
www.boltupright.net

by 22baylor on Nov 4, 2008 2:12 PM PST up reply actions

Yea! No boot!

by Storyteller on Nov 4, 2008 2:11 PM PST reply actions

yeah, good to hear about Bootless GO (Jackson)

by Bust a Bucket on Nov 4, 2008 2:23 PM PST up reply actions

Roys says Batum has a high basketball IQ

That’s what he is quoted as saying in the Freeman piece that just went up about Batum starting.

My question: Is “basketball IQ” something that people are born with or is it something that you develop?

If it’s something that you develop, and Roy is praising the BBIQ of a 19 year old rookie, and I’ve never heard him say that about Outlaw (one of his best friends on the team)… then what does that say about Mr. Outlaw? How many years has he been in the league? Ouch. It’s like he just doesn’t get it/know how to play the game. Can anybody say trading chip?

by Bust a Bucket on Nov 4, 2008 2:12 PM PST reply actions

no offense to travis but i have never heard anyone say that he has a high basketball IQ.

on the contrary, you hear the exact opposite about him a lot.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Nov 4, 2008 2:18 PM PST up reply actions

It's a mix of things you're born with (sort of) and things you develop at an early age

through drills, good youth coaching, and simply learning good team basketball fundamentals. Kevin Love’s BB IQ gets talked up all the time because his family drilled him early on in fundamentals of the game. Once you’ve been doing the right thing for 10 years, it becomes instinct.

Since by the time a guy like Travis gets down to really learning the game and not just getting by off his length and athleticism, he has to focus on so many individual aspects of his game like ball handling and passing/shooting and there’s a lot more conscious thinking about where to move rather than subconsciously just “doing it”. I don’t mean that as a knock on Travis, just the reality that guys who come into the league purely on athleticism are usually too far behind the curve to pick up the instincts other NBA players have. There are exceptions to this rule, Hakeem Olajuwon jumps out, but the league is littered with athletes and leapers who fit this same mold. The Stro Swifts of the league as opposed to the Tim Duncans.

Still, some guys just have an innate ability to see things better, like Nash or Jason Kidd back in the day. It’s hard to say that you’d be able to teach that kind of court vision, which is a pretty large aspect of the “IQ”.

by Royster on Nov 4, 2008 11:34 PM PST up reply actions

makes sense

lack of discipline as far as learning fundamentals leads to lack of bbiq.

by Bust a Bucket on Nov 4, 2008 11:44 PM PST up reply actions

Wow.

So we have two point guards too many? If they can consolidate some of the teams talent in a trade I’m sure Petteri Koponen and Joel Freeland can fill the cracks in the roster spots.

If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them.-Charles Barkley

by Winchester on Nov 4, 2008 2:28 PM PST reply actions

agreed

why not just get rid of our 2 other pgs (sarcasm). we have roy and rudy who can share the load with blake…why not just get rid of either sergio/bayless. i dont get the point of slowing their learning curve. use their roster slots to get some bigs to serve as practice toys for oden.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:13 AM PST up reply actions

Once again, great reporting.

While the coaching staff is using this month for experimentation – I’d love to see them throw Rudy in at the point for an entire quarter of a game and see what he brings to the position.

when i get sad, i stop being sad & become awesome again. true story.

by Net Ranger on Nov 4, 2008 2:29 PM PST reply actions

perhaps they're waiting for

his English to improve 1st before they try giving him any significant time at the 1

when i get sad, i stop being sad & become awesome again. true story.

by Net Ranger on Nov 4, 2008 2:31 PM PST up reply actions

hmm

i wonder what it would look like if rudy and roy took over point for an entire quarter. i know our depth is well praised but you always see stars for other teams playing massive amounts of minutes with no negative recourse, but ours sit on the bench for long stretches at a time. nate’s got a tough job. ideally i would like to see blakes minutes dwindle down a bit from 29 down to 22-24 range. still enough minutes to generate a rhythm, but not enough to rob experience from bayless/sergio and possibly just a few extra for rudy depending on who is hot. i’m liking the amount of minutes for rudy so far right below 30.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:00 AM PST up reply actions

One down, one to go

One down = Batum moving into the starting lineup.

One to go = moving Fernandez into the starting lineup.

Until Oden and Webster come back, our starting lineup = Roy at 1 (offensively and defensively), Fernandez at 2, Batum at 3, Aldridge at 4, and Pryzbilla at 5.

The main backups = Blake at 1&2, Outlaw at the 3&4, and Frye at the 4&5.

When Oden and Webster come back, the starting lineup = Roy at 1, Fernandez at 2, Webster at 3, Aldridge at 4, and Oden at 5.

The main backups = Blake at 1&2, Batum at 3, Outlaw at 4, and Przybilla&Frye at 5.

If you want to make room for Rodriquez or Bayless (1-defensively, 2-offensively), Blake becomes expendable. Bayless is not now nor will he in the foreseeable future be ia 1 on offense.

If you want play Outlaw at 4, Frye is expendable. Otherwise, Outlaw is expendable.

by Turnout on Nov 4, 2008 2:32 PM PST reply actions

Go ahead, keep pushing Rudy as a starter

But neither Nate or Brandon has made any positive noises re: Roy starting at PG. On the contrary, when asked they explain why it’s a “bad” idea. Rudy/Roy will continue to play together for short stretches of games. What I’d like to see is a veteran starting PG who will push Blake to the bench (or to another team) and establish a 3-guard rotation with new vet PG/Roy/Rudy that can defend, run the break and provide lineup stability in 2009 and beyond.

Frye and/or Outlaw expendable? What this team needs is a burly backup PF like…Paul Milsap

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-7/Paul-Millsap-Takes-Over.html

“making sure the team was ready for the physical play and ready to "play in the paint.” He said the team needed to come out extremely aggressive to “make the officials call it both ways.” If that takes “grabbing and holding” on defense early in the game, so be it. Also, Nate focused on limiting “second and third opportunities.”

Coaching toughness only goes so far. If either Frye and Trout are playing the 4, they’re not going to be able to handle Utah or Houston’s front line

by two4larue on Nov 4, 2008 2:56 PM PST up reply actions

Style of play only goes so far.

Diogu is a burly-type PF, but he’s not very good. Brandon Bass IMO is overrated simply because he is a burly-type PF. Sure, Millsap himself is quite a good backup. However, there aren’t that many bruisers as good as Millsap (Maxiell is one, is there another?).

by poster on Nov 4, 2008 3:05 PM PST up reply actions

Don't need the offense of Millsap

Just a banger who can defend and compliment LMA’s finesse game.

This “need” will get greater when/if Portland makes it to the playoffs

I like the idea of Maxiell, but I’ll leave the “choice” up to KP

by two4larue on Nov 4, 2008 3:49 PM PST up reply actions

agreed...banger is more important than starting PG at this point.

it’d cost the team less to get a banger i’d suppose than a starting point.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:14 AM PST up reply actions

Shavlik scored 10pts in the 1st half against Utah in the preseason

against their statrters without LMA or Oden on the floor…why would we have travis at the 4 when he has no D no rebounding and can’t seem to stay in the flow of team offense? so he can hoist up contested fadeaways?

by LetsBlaze on Nov 4, 2008 4:06 PM PST up reply actions

egos

while Rudy should be a starter IMO, he hasn’t been vocal about being one. he is simply fine with coming off the bench. you hear time and time again that quality role players with character are a lot harder to find than guys who want to be the focal point. i would believe that Rudy feels like he needs to “earn” a spot on the starting lineup rather than given one. thats what impresses me a lot about rudy and channing…they are both willing to sacrifice their personal stat lines for the team.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:03 AM PST up reply actions

Things are a little different in Euro ball

Where its a common tactic to bring your best guy off the bench,see USA vs Espana,Rudy dosent feel dissed because he’s not starting and Nic grew up in the same more team oriented culture than the I was a star in the NCAA as a freshman thus I would be dissed if I dont start tude that Beasly et all have.

by southern oregon on Nov 4, 2008 6:31 PM PST up reply actions

still time on the clock

It seems a little early to say Batum is starting…could we see another flip-flop before tomorrow?

It’s almost better to just stay silent..then to profess something and then not back it up.

Either way..I am down with it! Either step up in the starting role…or step up …coming off the bench! We just need to step it up.

by blazersrock on Nov 4, 2008 2:40 PM PST reply actions

i won't who is starting until tipoff

by LetsBlaze on Nov 4, 2008 4:07 PM PST up reply actions

won't believe it's sposed to say

by LetsBlaze on Nov 4, 2008 4:07 PM PST up reply actions

little off the mark

Nate backs ALL his point guards?? That’s a joke, right? Last year he basically told Rodriguez he was out of the rotation BEFORE training camp even started and then in the first week of the season basically blamed him for a loss in Philly where the guy played all of 5 minutes. What a way to give your guy confidence….

Any time anyone around here got excited about the kid, Nate was always there telling everyone what a bad defender he is and how he can’t make shots. Nothing wrong with that of course if you’re being consistent but I never heard him once call out Jack for blowing a fast break or stepping on the end line.

I agree that Sergio probably needs to find a new home, but just don’t say that he’s had a fair shake with McMillan.

by pitar on Nov 4, 2008 2:45 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

i understand sergio’s lack of playing time creates an impression that nate is unfair to him.

in terms of speaking about sergio, however, from my experience…

last year nate rarely addressed sergio. from december on (while i was covering home games) i cannot remember an instance of serious, direct criticism of sergio. on the contrary, he was complimentary when sergio would come in and have a nice burst. otherwise he was neutral. there were times i thought he had feelings (perhaps negative) about sergio that he wasn’t sharing but he never let them out. at the end of the season we heard about a long post-season meeting with sergio. nate spun that positively (in my opinion).

this year nate has backed sergio consistently and pretty convincingly when asked. i gave him a chance to assess sergio today and he said nothing negative and stated that he won the backup spot and still holds it.

if i was sergio, my beef would be with playing time not any perceived slights in the media from the coach.

just my two cents…

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Nov 4, 2008 3:40 PM PST up reply actions

actions speak louder than words

especially with nate.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:06 AM PST up reply actions

totally agree

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:04 AM PST up reply actions

Bayless

Ben,

In reading various accounts of Blazer practices, it sounds like Bayless is playing dirty. Is he imploding? Playing hard is one thing, trying to hurt someone is another. Am I off the mark?

by Turnout on Nov 4, 2008 2:46 PM PST reply actions

I obviously don't know, but from what it sounds like to me, I think you're missing it.

I think Bayless is super competitive, and he’s pushing himself to get noticed. From what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t have expected anything less from this guy than completely selling out his body and doing everything he can to get into the rotation. I doubt he’s playing dirty or trying to hurt people because of some kind of personal implosion. That’s the benefit of having competition and depth. People have to work hard, even in practice, if they want to get on the floor.

by ***Jason*** on Nov 4, 2008 3:02 PM PST up reply actions

jason’s got it right.

bayless plays every play hard. really hard.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Nov 4, 2008 3:21 PM PST up reply actions

I like that

and its something you just cant teach

by southern oregon on Nov 4, 2008 6:34 PM PST up reply actions

"this ain't intramurals brotha"

Playing hard is not playing dirty.

Playing hard is not trying to hurt people.

Remember the San Antonio practice last December that was a prelude to The Streak? Frankly, I find it refreshing that we have people on the team that are pushing the intensity envelope in practice. If it was any sort of problem, the coaches would step in—that’s part of their job. If the coaches like that intensity, they will allow it to continue. And I don’t need Dan Hawkins to come explain this to me.

by Bust a Bucket on Nov 4, 2008 3:36 PM PST up reply actions

Agreed - "this ain't intramurals brotha"

Playing dirty is not playing hard, either. There is a difference between playing dirty and trying to hurt someone, and playing hard. Bowling over teammates or hitting them in the back is playing dirty, not hard. There is little doubt that Bayless is extremely frustrated. By the tone of the articles, he seems to be letting his frustration get the better of him and needlessly putting his teammates at risk.

I find it ironic that Bayless wants to play point guard, but spends a ton of time shooting jump shots. He needs to spend more time learning court vision and passing angles. Shooting jump shots does not help with those things. A true point guard sees the floor horizontally; his focus can’t be on the rim.

by Turnout on Nov 4, 2008 4:25 PM PST up reply actions

Turnout - we have a 80,000,000 dollar payroll invested in this years basketball team.

Don’t worry about Bayless playing dirty in practice. They wouldn’t let it happen. I think this guy is doing exactly what he needs to do. I don’t know what more we can ask of him. 110% all the time, just like the energizer bunny. That’s the determination that got him here. Bayless is a stud.

by ***Jason*** on Nov 4, 2008 4:40 PM PST up reply actions

Bowling over teammates is not dirty

A guy sets a pick, you don’t know he’s there, you run into him. If you’re going hard on D, focused on keeping with your man, you bowl the guy who set the pick over. It’s a foul, but it isn’t dirty. Or you try to fight through the pick, but mistime your step, and run into him or the guy you are trying to defend. You commit a foul because you were so focused on defense, but it isn’t dirty.

You go hard to the hoop, someone gets there before you, you run into him. If he’s set, it’s a charge, if he’s not, it’s a blocking foul — but you knocked him on his rear because you were going hard, not because you were playing dirty.

There’s a loose ball on the court, and you go after it hard. So does the other guy, and you collide. Maybe you bounce off of each other, or maybe the angle is right and your all-out effort for the ball means you knock the other guy down. Maybe it’s a foul, maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s a foul on the other guy. But it isn’t dirty.

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 Nov 5, 2008 12:17 AM PST up reply actions

Granted it's early but...

How long will Blake keep geting 25-30 minutes a game while sergio (who is doing EVERYTHING better or at least as well as him so far) only gets 10 mins a game or so?

Just keep playing well Serg….hopefully someone will notice you are actually the best pg option the blazers have at this juncture

Rooo-D!

by truls on Nov 4, 2008 3:54 PM PST reply actions

Sarge + Serg = :(

Sergio will never see more than 10 min avg – and probably more like 7-9 – no matter what the official word – there is something up between the two. Not much trust and quick to yank – seems to be the common theme already this year and very familar to most of us.

by BigDaddy72 on Nov 4, 2008 4:07 PM PST up reply actions

...

His minutes have steadily increased & we are only 3 weeks in…

"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."

by TheGreatDane17 on Nov 4, 2008 11:36 PM PST up reply actions

not much has changed since last year for sergio

his skillset has gone up a lot, his minutes havent however.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:18 AM PST up reply actions

remember last year?

how Nate didn’t even notice how well sergio was doing in practice, and at the advice of the assistant coaches, he played sergio after a few DNPs, and sergio exploded? all the kid needs is confidence from his coach.

Honor Terry Porter

by Philthyanimal on Nov 5, 2008 11:17 AM PST up reply actions

here is the monty article

link

I missed it this weekend, glad someone mentioned it

Woof

by Charles Barkley McLovin on Nov 4, 2008 4:14 PM PST reply actions

Thanks for the link

I missed it as well….

"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"

by blazermaniac32 on Nov 4, 2008 4:21 PM PST up reply actions