C´MON, ANOTHER SPANISH FLY AROUND

You are more willing to let Sergio go then I am(an American). I truly think his bond between Rudy & him is special. I do agree we need a full time PG, but if we don’t trade for a top one like Arenas or Parker… I am more then willing to give Sergio an opportunity to have starters minutes, at least temporarily to see how it goes. I am not saying now, but maybe at the start of next season.

I agree regarding the backup PF position needing help. I think it would be smartest to grab a “6th man post”, a player who can play near starter minutes & plays both backup post position WELL.

I disagree with you regarding LaMarcus. I think he has allstar skills & with him being so young I think he deserves slack when it comes to his inconsistency at times. He appears to have bounced back in a big way these last few games, it is nothing to worry about. The main issues on the team is finding a full time PG, SF & backup PF.

All in all, I think you make good points, and I tend to agree with you throughout.

Sergio is nice, but I don’t think he has the offensive game necessary to be anything other than a change-of-pace passer. Maybe he develops that offensive game, though… he certainly wouldn’t be the first point guard to start relatively slow in that regard.

Blake doesn’t need to be much of a playmaker; Roy does that, and for Roy to be as effective as he is, he needs the ball in his hands. If Blake was relied upon to be that guy, I think it would result in catastrophe, as he can’t shake his defender and can’t get to the rim at will. However, Blake shoots great from 3, hits free throws when he gets them, and takes care of the ball. With those traits he fits really nicely with that starting unit, as his skills are accentuated. No complaints from me there… just STAY HEALTHY!!!

I agree with your initial assessment of Roy… very impressive, indeed. You lose me after that though. Part of being the leader of the team, the true superstar, THE clutch player, is making that decision when it really matters. Roy has passed to wide open teammates for the winning shot (Rudy in Utah, LaMarcus against somebody) and Roy has taken them himself. You can only make so many shots, though, and even the best miss. I can’t find any fault in Roy for having the courage to take the final shot and essentially accepting the blame for the loss if he misses. But he sure converts a LOT of those opportunities into wins… and he’s only a 3rd year player now. The dude is just straight special, and there are only a handful of players in the league I’d also want to have the ball with 5 seconds left and the game on the line (Koby, LeBron, Pierce, Wade, maybe a couple more…)… that’s good company. Again, STAY HEALTHY!!!

Rudy is fantastic… though I’m still not really sure what his game will ultimately end up being in the NBA world. He’s obviously an amazing shooter from deep, and on pace to be one of the best from the free throw line. He sometimes only makes a few notable plays per game, but his timing is impeccable. The momentum that his plays bring can visibly cripple the opponents emotional state. However, he hasn’t shown any ability to beat defenders off the dribble, and therefore doesn’t get to the line enough (I don’t think anyone gets to the line enough. In my world, this would be a much used method of getting easy points.), especially for someone who’s so good at making them. He’s also shown a tendency to play TOO fast sometimes, hoisting shots early in the clock and making ill-advised passes in and out of traffic. He’s a rookie in this league, no doubt still finding his role on this team and in this country, so I anticipate it will take some time. I love him, but the jury is out for me.

The crunch at the 3 and 4 (weird to be saying that this year as last year it was the exact opposite) seems an overblown to me. There are only so many minutes to play and so many shots to take… and the players you listed are all considered to be role players. I don’t see the point in overly worrying about what minutes the role players end up getting. Some games one guy is hot, other games it’s someone else. Being deep is a luxury, I’m in no hurry at this point to ship anyone out… though I don’t think it’s feasibe to keep everyone forever. Our depth in these positions makes the injury concern less here. My take… Batum will continue to start until Marty is 100% and in rhythym, which could take a couple games or a couple weeks… Batum will then assume the backup 3, and Outlaw will move to the backup 4. Unless the injury bug resurfaces, I think Mr. Frye will start seeing limited action, only being used for foul trouble, blowouts, and the occasional terrible game by everyone else.

LMA is probably an underrated defender at this point. He bangs pretty well down low and makes it tough on opposing 4’s to get easy buckets. He’s also a good weak side shot blocker. He gets a little lost when he’s guarding a perimeter playing 4, and he doesn’t box out well enough (watch him, he goes in for rebounds and watches the ball, instead of finding an opponent and stepping in front of him… I’m confident he can still improve this as he goes for the rebound, he just needs to stop watching the ball). On offense, his outside and fadeaway game are there but he’s still developing his arsenal. I think we’ve seen a LOT more of him moving toward the basket this year… a massive departure from his strict outside and fadeaway game. It still needs work, though, and he too needs to get to the line more. Playing with Greg will only make his developing easier… opponents can’t leave anyone open!

We’re so solid at the center position it’s not even funny. Both guys first and foremost MUST stay healthy. Przybilla would probably get my vote right now for team Co-MVP this season. I know, I know… BRoy, BRoy, BRoy. I expect that from BRoy, he’s the best player and he’s the leader. Where would we be right now without the Przybillinator, though? IMO, Greg is coming along nicely. I’d hoped for more offense, but I see it there and know that it will come. I’m surprised at how often I hear others talk about Greg as this slow, lumbering, behind the action figure, though. I regularly see him up the court WAY in front of his defender, and he is most definitely agile. David Thorpe of ESPN nailed it in his most recent review… once Greg gains a little more confidence in his moves and footwork, the game will slow down for him and he’ll be able to start really putting people away on offense. I think the same will happen with his shotblocking. STAY HEALTHY!!!

All in all, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This team plays as a team, and we seem to have different impact players from game to game. I’m not ready to break up what we have yet, and tend to think that some more time will allow guys to click. It’s only December, though… a LOT can happen. STAY HEALTHY!!!

I like what you said about Aldridge. I think we can blame KP and Nate for his game. You could say there is competition at every roster spot. Rudy may not challenge Roy for the starting SG spot, but he does challenge him for minutes.

All Frye wants to do is shoot jumpers and all Ike wants to do is play video games. Aldridge doesn’t really have anyone to challenge him. Maybe Nate should tell Aldridge that soon his minutes are going to be taken by Oden, because Joel is playing so well. That might light a fire under his fanny and make him play more inside. If that doesn’t work, they should trade for Chris Bosh to compete with Aldridge.

More Spaniards the better in my opinion ;)

LMA is fine, don’t worry about him. Very few PF’s can run the floor and spread it like he can and he compliments Oden nicely. He has been inconsistent this year, but he is still very young and it’s still early in the year.

As for the PG spot, I agree eventually we’ll want to upgrade there, but for the time being I wouldn’t touch a thing; Steve and Sergio are both playing fantastic thus far and both bring completely different skill-sets to the table.

Overall, I don’t think we need to make any moves this year unless we get offered something that is just too good to pass up.

Will Rudy be OK with coming off the bench for years to come? Or will he eventually want to play somewhere he could start, and be the main scoring option?