"McM tells Roy he is the Leader" This is news?!

by vcubed on Mar 12, 2008 1:10 PM PDT

Joe Freeman uses quite a bit of copy space in today's (March 12th) Oregonian that Coach McMillan told Roy that the Blazers "need a leader to start to emerge." Apparently this is "news" that bears reporting -- why?

Roy has been a leader all year long; what will be different with him designated as THE leader?

Will this mean that he (Roy) will be playing more point guard minutes and, in general, have the ball in his hands all game rather than just the 4th quarter? Who picks up the 2-guard minutes? How much does Roy control who is on the floor with him?

I hope that this new declaration means a diminished role for Jack rather than for Blake, but Coach Mc seems quite fond of Jack bulling his way to the basket when Roy is playing point.

While I like Roy's game, he is not (yet) a great point guard, and I think the rest of the team suffers with Jack/Roy share point guard duties. What does this new designation mean, if anything?

I was glad to see Roy play "only" 37 minutes on his sore ankle, but again somewhat disappointed that Sergio got only 7 minutes of point guard time while Jack got 20 minutes of guard time.

Maybe the whole "Roy is the leader" is just an end-of-the-season pep talk and means nothing?

Poll

Does designating Roy as THE team leader mean anything?

Yes, but roles will not change that much.

12 votes

No, just a coach getting the most out of his top player.

39 votes

Yes, B-Roy will the THE point guard and control the ball from the opening tap.

3 votes

Yes, B-Roy will play more point guard and have a greater say who's at the 2-guard position.

7 votes

61 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

We are in the twilight hour of the season

Our playoff chances are slim, the trade deadline has passed, we arent going to make any roster moves (damn you Quick, you tease us about a "resloution to our roster situation and then NOTHING.)

So news these days are slim pickins, stuff that we have already heard for the 10th time, how we are progressing etc. Once the final four is completed we should have some more to talk about, as that should be close to the end of the season as well.

Who do we draft? Who to we trade out or in? Will Jones opt in or out? Will we keep __? We should trade for ___.

Like I said these are the twilight hours of the season.

The NBA

Where Kyle Korver happens.

by SpyderRyder on Mar 12, 2008 1:32 PM PDT reply actions

Taken out of context

Due to space constraints in the newspaper Joe couldn't re-print the entire conversation between Nate and Brandon. As such the comment sticks out like a sore thumb. Here is the actual transcription:

Brandon! Thanks for coming in. Sit down! Now, I have a few things to tell you. The Middle East is in turmoil. Kittens are cute. War and Peace is a long book. George Bush is somewhat unpopular right now and New York governor Eliot Spitzer probably shouldn't have frequented call girls if he was going to run on a moral reform platform. Termites are a nuisance. Bubble gum is sticky. Pancakes are delicious but only up until the fourth one. Bridesmaid dresses are usually ugly. Watching TV is a popular American pastime. Rabbits taste just like chicken. Casey Holdahl is irresistable to women. The earth is round. The sun is hot. Oh, and you are the leader of this team.

Any questions? Good. I'm glad we had this chat. Now send in Sergio, will you?

--Dave

by Dave on Mar 12, 2008 2:08 PM PDT reply actions

I want to know what Nate told Sergio!

Trade Freeland!

by rockingharder on Mar 12, 2008 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions

In an attempt at spanglish

yo quiero tu jugar El Defenso! Por favor finish a layup-o!

(Yes I made it bad on purpose, please don't kill me for murdering the language alamart.)
~Nathan, who speaks a little spanish

Blazers fan since '84, Currently exiled in Tennessee and North Carolina

by HurraKane212 on Mar 12, 2008 4:56 PM PDT up reply actions

I have an agreement with you

since I arrived here: I can kill English language when I´m not at Oxford. So you may do the same with my language when you want, on purpose or by accident. I will never fall on you.

"You´ll never walk alone"

by amlmart1 on Mar 12, 2008 10:13 PM PDT up reply actions

ROFL! Masterful Sarcasm!

35:12 Min, 14-20 FG, 1-2 FT, +15 +/-, 1 Off, 6 Rebs, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 29 Pts - LMA vs. Bucks

by LaMarvelous on Mar 12, 2008 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions

It does mean something, most of it bad.

Whenever you appoint a leader it is fake and people can tell. Leaders are natural leaders. Humans are pack animals and naturally work out a hierarchy, and that natural hierarchy cannot be changed by a coach's decision.. Nate telling Roy to be a leader is actually counter-productive.

by EnglandDan on Mar 12, 2008 2:11 PM PDT reply actions

Nah.

Roy is a natural leader--just not the real vocal type. I think Nate is encouraging him to do more of what he's already doing. The purpose is just to accellerate the process, I'd say. Most second-year guys are hesitant to lead too forcefully.

"Ime caught the guy in mid-air with a fist and calmly continued his dispatching of oncoming people." -Gabe Muoneke

by hurryup09 on Mar 12, 2008 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I think it is very far from a big deal,

but Nate should just let Roy handle the leadership bit. I think he's actually better at it than Nate anyway. Who doesn't love Brandon?

It is comely not to oppose the law, nor a prince, nor one wiser than yourself. -Democrates

by EnglandDan on Mar 12, 2008 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions

You may be right.

But remember, Nate showed some leadership qualities as a player. He was dubbed "Mr. Sonic" despite never being a scorer on that team. Having said that, there's more than one way to lead, and Roy's style is probably different than Nate's. Nate may be looking for Roy to step out of character and be a rah-rah type, and that never works.

"Ime caught the guy in mid-air with a fist and calmly continued his dispatching of oncoming people." -Gabe Muoneke

by hurryup09 on Mar 12, 2008 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Like Lebron or Kobe

They both are not Point Guards but they work best with the ball in their hands when it matters.

by mxpx5678 on Mar 12, 2008 2:22 PM PDT reply actions

it might not be for the naive

the team may not concretely consider Roy their leader, or Roy may still be a little humble about it. Being a leader means cracking the whip once in a while. It means inspiring and organizing. It means things that we can't know becuase we can't see the team's interactions. There's a solid difference between feeling like you're the leader of a team and 'knowing it.'

I'm super duper awesome

by hobobob on Mar 12, 2008 3:19 PM PDT reply actions

Well I think it was more than that

I think it was more like "Dude, you're the only one I can trust with the ball in the 4th. Don't give the ball to other people."

by leeroyjenkins on Mar 12, 2008 5:07 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe he was lighting the fire

Brandon knows he is the team leader, but I think that Nate was reminding him that he is expected to show it a little more. I think Nate said, "Yes, you are playing hurt, but you have a job to do. You have to play hurt, you have to play when you are tired, you have to play 40 min. because you ARE the leader. You have to show all the positives every game because the other guys are depending on you. If you let down, everyone will let down. You are the leader, now get out there on the floor and act like one!"

"Aldridge is currently ranked as the 12th best power forward in the NBA.." - B.Hendrickson, March 7, citing sportsline.com

by jorga on Mar 12, 2008 5:28 PM PDT reply actions

If Roy is the Leader

Then it should be his fault Sergio isn't playing more.

That was so fetch!

by tominhawaii on Mar 13, 2008 7:20 AM PDT reply actions

I'm not.....

...taking this Nate talks to Brandon about "leadership" too seriously. Overall I think I agree with EnglandDan, you can't appoint leadership. How many talented players have we seen in the N.B.A. that play well, fill roles but just don't want to be "The Man"? A coach can plead with them to become a leader and it will never happen.

I don't think this is a big deal, because as far as natural hierarchy goes, Brandon IS a leader. My guess is we are taking the whole thing slighty out of context. I don't see it as McMillan telling Brandon he is the leader, as much as I see it as a coach, talking to a young player he see's emerging as a leader, about some of the subtlties of being a leader. In other words McMillan is just being a coach. It's a little late in this season, and as we have all commented, Brandon is the leader already.

"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"

by Krang on Mar 13, 2008 7:57 AM PDT reply actions