Big Three Necessity??
by Dr. Deal on Jul 3, 2008 3:31 PM PDT
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PrintWith more post-draft converstaion developing both on BEdge and over the ariwaves, it seems as though the Blazer's fanbase agrees... it's time to stop and see how well this roster works. My question though, is how necessary is it to center a team around two or three players? I understand it's purpose and general rule of thumb, but it seems like Mr. Pritchard is not fully following suit.
The cast we currently have (assuming they still play nice together next year) does not seem to be based on the superior play of any one character. Rather, the ability to allow majority of players to contribute, and do so somewhat equally. Even when one player had an off night, another would step up to fill the void. I seem to remember multiple games last season in which we had five or six players in double digits, and points spread out accross the bench.
I'm not talking about just building up a good supporting cast for our likely candidates for a "Big Three." I would almost consider (jokingly) labeling our roster the "Big Cohesiveness." This team has become a unit- a single driving force to now battle. We have what very few, if any teams have in the NBA, and that is the lack of a Big Three.
In your opinions:
- Is it necessary to build a team around two or three players (i.e.Celtics, L*akers, Suns, etc.)?
- Do we actually have a Big Three that I am happily overlooking?
- What other current NBA rosters have the cohesive playing spirit that we have?
- Is this a hippie-dippie, groovey, one-love, silly way to look at building a team? (no I don't own a tye-dyed shirt)
- Will this bring us an NBA Championship, or just a pat on the back?
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pat on the back for sure
but before I really got into bball thats how I thought it was supposed to be. and part of me thinks thats really true but that the market, very genericaly needs icons to be involved. ie one or 2 players that each person can connect with with out having to become too involved. also if all the love is givin to just a few, doesnt it make it harder for others to want to stepp up, knowing that there efforts wont be as appriciated?
"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all"
Mom
We have a Big 3
Make no mistake about it. KP has been talking about that for quite a while. Oden, Aldridge, and Roy will be the greatest contributors to this team.
I think it is necessary. Historically speaking, you either need two or three superstars, or a 2004 Pistons “Big Cohesiveness” style team (though I would argue that their Hamilton, Billups, and Wallace was a little Big 3).
I don’t think many teams have the cohesive playing spirit you’re referring to, maybe Atlanta to some degree and the Bulls of ‘06-07… I think that can also be referred to as chemistry. Our guys have unbelievable chemistry. I for one am a huge believer in team chemistry, especially considering our history with our team of the late ‘90’s.
There are plenty who have the opinion that it’s a profession, and professionals show up to play… but if there was ever a team built to win it was our ‘99-00 team and the L@kers ‘03-04 team (with Payton, Malone, Shaq, and KoldBeef)... neither team had great chemistry, neither team won.
If we stay healthy, we will have multiple opportunities to win championships.
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jul 3, 2008 4:13 PM PDT reply actions
If Salim is there he will kill some cohesiveness
I remember the good old days. The Rasta Monsta days.
by GreatOden'sRaven on Jul 3, 2008 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions
not a bad post
I think to a certain extent, you have to have two or three players whom you can go to in the clutch. Its great having other people who can make shots, but when Oden hits the court next year, we have three potential impact players (with Outlaw, Webster and Bayless also being potential important pieces to future championships)
-I believe have built our team around three VERY good young players in Roy, Aldridge and Oden…the reason it seems we don’t have a “big three” is because Oden hasn’t been able to play yet, and Aldridge is still emerging as a high post player. Roy is an all-star who’ll run our offense.
At this point, I’d say there really aren’t any other teams that play as a true team that we have. The Suns, Pistons and Spurs players all play as teams very well, but I’d say our chemistry is maybe a little better.
- I personally love how KP has put our team together. He hasn’t made a bad move yet, and if we can keep our big three together, along with a handful of other guys that fit defined roles, we should be VERY GOOD for a long time!
- If all goes well and we’re able to keep Oden, Roy and Aldridge together (along with maybe Bayless, Outlaw or Webster, and possibly Przybilla) I see no reason we can’t win at least a couple of titles in the next 10 years!
i agree with you.
The star potential of Rudy Fernandez is incredibly underrated, and Jerryd Bayless also has a very high ceiling. Consider the guard rotation that we would have if Rudy and JB reach their potential. Roy/Rudy/JB manning the 1/2, means approximately 32 minutes each (96 total for each player). That kind of a guard rotation could become the best in the league, comparable to GS or even San Antonio. Then you have the “twin towers” in Oden and Aldridge, and their perceived skill sets could make them excellent complements to each other. However, I can’t honestly call Aldridge’s ceiling in terms of superstardom higher compared to Rudy or JB, partly because of the emphasis placed on guards in this league. In sum, I would agree with the assessment that this team potentially has 5-6 players that could be parts of “big 3’s” on other teams, but they all won’t reach that level of stardom on this team. I think the distribution of talent is going to make this team more like Detroit (not in character), but with a much deeper bench.
Chemistry
can mean so many things. Players might get along really well, but not perform/play well together. Or like the Lakers last year, the team played well together, but Kbe always took helm and out-scored the rest of his team.
Could call on the Detroit comparison.
Another Q: If/when we win a Championship with this mantra, could we end up with a lack-luster approval like San-Antonio’s boring dynasty? Maybe it’s because the media frenzy has not slurpped up Oden yet, but we don’t really have the “major icons” yet.
"It's amazing what a group of guys can accomplish when no one cares who gets credit."
President Harry S. Truman
I think it really depends on having a dominant personality
I get the suspicion Oden will be the Joker to get us on the national spotlight. It wont be brandon or LMA or travis.. as they rarely speak to the media other than the prescripted stuff..
Thats the problem with San An. They are all so well trained by Pop to say the right thing, none of them can use a sense of humor or be a good quote. Thats the key. Being a good quote. If Oden does that for us, believe me we will be all over the front pages.
I remember the good old days. The Rasta Monsta days.
by GreatOden'sRaven on Jul 3, 2008 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
You Know What's Funny?
When people can’t bring themselves to type the word “Kobe” or “Lakers” so they resort to spelling them with an asterisk and then their whole comment about the Lakers becomes bold!! Ahahahhaaha!
Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers Kobe Lakers
Deal with it.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
The thing about SA
is that they have picked up the moniker of being a boring team. Part of the problem was that they achieved the most success in the same time as Phoenix SSOL franchise was peaking, and the fact that the spurs beat the high flying suns so many times might have been what really upset people. Tim Duncan is the best power forward to ever play the game, but he is nothing like a Dirk Nowitzki or Amare Stoudemire in terms of exciting play. Greg Oden is projected to be the center version of TD (in a very general sense), and is not projected to dominate the game offensively a la Shaq/Kareem/Wilt. Rudy and Jerryd might be interesting in terms of how they complement the steady, relatively unflashy play from Roy.
not sure whay that section is in bold.
"It's amazing what a group of guys can accomplish when no one cares who gets credit."
President Harry S. Truman
cuz you used a star to spell the L word
and another to refer to Therapist #8 by name..
asterisks make things bold
I remember the good old days. The Rasta Monsta days.
by GreatOden'sRaven on Jul 3, 2008 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Theory vs. Practice
Theoretically you could build a championship team multiple ways so long as the squad can rebound, defend and score. Regardless of if the team is big or small, slow or fast, so long as those 3 things are taken care of, a team of point guards could (in theory at least) win a championship.
In practice however, the possible solutions to the problems are severely restricted (for example assume that a lineup of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Nash, Jose Calderon and Tony Parker would win an NBA championship. How do you get them on the same team?). NBA champs for the past 20+ years have more or less followed the 2-3 star approach, so we know it is an approach that works (in my view the biggest deviations are interestingly enough, all of the Piston teams). So in practice, it would seem that it is almost certainly necessary to build your team in such a fashion.
Our first championship
was won with a team built on cohesiveness. You could say Walton, Lucas, and Hollins were our Big Three, but that wasn’t really true. Hollins wasn’t an all-star, or even close, in 76-77. Lloyd Neal was an outstanding player who could score and rebound at a very high level, and could have been an all-star. Bobby Gross could beat you on any given night and just did everything well. If he’d stayed healthy, he would have been an all-star, too.
We had a team that could come at you from so many directions. In 77-78, before the injuries hit, we often had 8 guys in double figures.
I think that is what KP is trying to build. Rudy is likely to be a guy that will just go off on teams occasionally and pretty much win a game single-handedly. In Martell and Travis, we’ve got two guys at the 3 who can do that, and Bayless is that kind of talent as well.
If we just wanted a big three, we’ve got them in Roy, LMA, and Oden. So why are we going out and buying draft picks and trading up for other players who can legitimately be considered potential all-stars? I think we should recognize that KP wants a cohesive team with a lot of potential stars that can beat you on any given night.
This is not the standard Big Three with a bunch of role players. This is the Big Four or Big Five in the making. He’s trying to build a team that will break the record for wins in a season and establish a dynasty to rival the old Celtics, a team that is so deep that even if one of our stars is injured or doesn’t pan out, we’ll still be so loaded with weapons that we should be able to beat anyone. And he hopes to have such cohesiveness in the team and such a culture around the team that the stars and potential stars are happy to be part of the culture, and the championships.
Will it work? I don’t know. But when you already have a Big Three and you go out and buy the draft rights to the top player in Europe, and trade up to get one of the top 5 players in the draft, you are obviously looking for more than just basic role players. KP is breaking the mold here.
Other people don't have as much practice at being wrong as I do -- HT, timbo
by jscot on Jul 4, 2008 8:07 AM PDT reply actions 5 recs
Who's awesome?
Me, KP, or both? :-)
Other people don't have as much practice at being wrong as I do -- HT, timbo
both
"As long as Yao is in the league, Greg Oden will probably never start in an all-star game, because he doesn’t have 1 Billion people voting for him."
silkybrown
"Just so we're totally clear(, y)ou’re saying you want me to kill Yao, right?"
nightbluefruit
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