Nice post. Wasn’t Charles Barkley like 6’4" and played power forward? Proof that skill can override potential physical limitations. Why not Rudy?

By golly Zaron5551, I think you have presented a cogent analysis. I concur with your hypothesis. An 8-man rotation it will be. And I suspect that you have accurately identified the 8. Excellent discussion. The obvious point of contention is Martell. Many people would dispute your scenario and place Martell among the 8 instead of Outlaw. I guess we’ll have to wait and see which camp is right on that score.

And I pain for Frye who seems will be left out in the cold. He’s a valuable big, though, and I suspect he is going to have a breakout year if he finds enough minutes. Heck, I could see Frye playing some at SF in a ridiculously large lineup: Roy Rudy Frye Aldridge Oden.

I wanted to compare Rudy to some other small forwards, and see how I think he matched up with them individually. Here is some:

Denver’s Carmelo Anthony: …yeah, Rudy couldn’t guard this guy too well. But then, few can. He would score in bunches on Rudy just like he does on everybody else, but that’s ok, he doesn’t do much else. Offensively Melo doesn’t have a chance of guarding Rudy. I mean, he just doesn’t want to work that hard! Can you imagine Melo running after Rudy through baseline cut, after baseline cut? I say he quits chasing after the second pick.

Minnesota:….Man they got nobody, look at that roster. Corey Brewer? Kirk Snyder? These guys don’t really scare me, Rudy will do just fine on both ends of the floor on these guys.

Utah’s AK47: He has the build and ability to bang Rudy around if he wanted to. Luckily, Utah doesn’t like to go to him on offense that much. I really only saw him brick jump shots last season, Rudy could handle guarding that just fine. Kerilenko is a MUCH better defender that Melo, and could give Rudy some problems there, but Rudy is persistent and crafty and will even find ways to score against the best of them.

In OKC Jeff Green: He’s athletic and strong and I think he could do some damage on Rudy. I think some match up like this, and with guys like Carmelo and Lebron, your team is just in the position of trying to limit how much of an effect these guys have on the game by using double teams and good help defense to make these guys get rid of it. I think if Rudy focuses on denying the ball to these guys in a man D situation, that energy that he plays with could really be pesky to the superstars of the league. Not that Jeff Green is one of them, just sayin’.

Ok our division only because it’s too long already.

But I DO think Rudy could wind up being our starting three. It seems like Nate REALLY wants to find ways to play him as much as possible. 3 is one of the spots we’re still waiting to see on. If Nate really wants to have a legit point in there that can guard the other point, and bring the ball up, then I see a line-up with Roy, Blake, and Rudy as a REAL possibility.

but I’ve been on board with this idea since we drafted bayless. it kind of irks me when people throw blake in there over jerryd but I understand his strenghts and the rookies presumed weakness so I get it. Still, with that 3 guard lineup I don’t really care who is guarding who, the opposing teams will be more concerned with how they will match up with us. I think Dave wrote something a ways back about how good teams force their opponents to bend and play their style and tempo. and with this lineup I don’t think there are many teams that can put a squad on the court that can match up with us. There may be chemistry and strategy issues that will have to play out, but rudy brandon bayless lamarcus and oden represent the best players we will have at each position. As for defense, Brandon may have to switch with Rudy at times or Nate may have to call a zone, but no ones going to back rudy all the way down to the hoop with the twin towers watching his back…

But that’s more to shore him up for getting hammered by NBA players in general even on the SG position, not to bulk him up for SF.

I agree that he can play there for some minutes (and that’s what I voted for). But starting him there and/or expecting him to play major time on SF would be like a boxer starting in a much higher weight class. Not pretty.

Mike Born, Blazers director of NBA scouting:

I think continuing to get stronger is one. He’s got a thin build and I don’t think he’s ever going to be a player that’s going to overpower anybody, but that’s also part of what makes him successful is that he’s a slasher. He’s a guy that wants to quick curl to the basket. He’s a runner in transition where he can kind of knife in between lanes that maybe a bigger player couldn’t get into. I think just continuing to mature and get stronger. He doesn’t need to come in and add 15 pounds for next year. He needs to come in and get on our weight program and continue to grow stronger.

was measured years ago and that he is closer to 6’6" or 6’7". I’m not sure we need the bulky SF type. Tayshawn Prince is not exactly Mr. Universe. But the guy can defend!

I think Rudy has more of a chance being a regular co-PG (along with Roy as the other co-PG) then he does being a regular SF. He is much, much, much too small.

It’s not all about height and wingspan. Rudy has an extremely slight frame. Like others have said, we should use his strengths and his natural skills to his advantage, not beef him up and weigh him down till the Rudy we fell in love with is no longer there (which is what he’d have to do if he became even a part-time SF).

I am looking forward to seeing a 3-guard lineup, with Bayless, Roy, and Rudy all being the playmakers and either Roy takes the SF or we zone it… but you can’t do that all the time, and I think we’ll end up having the best EVERY GAME lineup to start and end games, even if we got the roster and the weapons that would allow for a mix-n-matchy starting and ending lineup. It’s better, most of the time, to stay consistent so players know their roles and what is expected.

There are exceptions of course, and riding a hot hand is one of them or putting in the player who is outplaying the other, but in most cases you go with who got ya there.

So, I don’t expect us to start Rudy one game alongside Roy because the matchup is favorable, and not the next when the matchup would suck. I dunno though, could be interesting… but I can’t remember another team doing this, really fluctuating the rotation on a nightly basis; however, I could be wrong.

Where was I? It’s early… hmmm…

Rudy is supposedly more on the 6’4" side of 6’5", and is way skinny and light. Better to use him as a dynamic playmaking guard (just like Brandon Roy), and hope he and Roy develop nice chemistry. AT LEAST for the first few seasons.

Maybe the SF position will change, or Rudy will show he can handle it, but he just seems way too small to defend ’em and it would be giving the opponent a nightly mismatch in their favor if they got even a decent SF— and most teams got really, really good SFs. We lose our Rudy advantage making him the weak link in the armor.

If they all remain Blazers, someone out of Rudy/Roy/Bayless is coming off the bench. It ain’t Roy, and Bayless is gonna try to be a PG (if he is smart and he is), so my guess would be Rudy unless he somehow CAN become the co-PG with Roy or something defensively can be worked out at SF (which I dunno if possible for long stretches). Rudy would still play with both of the others at times, and play 30+ minutes off the bench, but I’d be surprised if we start with it.

I’m always on the side of making the other team adjust to us, putting them on their heels, and right now I think Rudy does that offensively and could be a great ballhawk defensively— but as a pure SF, would make us have to adjust and compensate for the other team’s attack.

Ya bring Rudy off the bench and let him attack and create, you keep the Blazers in control.

Like I said before, things could change though— both Rudy and Bayless are young and have never played a game. Maybe Rudy COULD become the SF of our dreams for 30 minutes a night, but his frame ain’t doing him any favors. If he was some combo of really tall but skinny (like Teyshaun Prince or Kevin Durant) or really buff and short (like, uh… no one at the SF spot I can think of) I’d feel better about it, but Rudy would be both the shortest SF in the league and the skinniest. Not a good combo.

He’s a playmaking SG— which is good, if ya ask me. Means we still got lots of room for him.

Mortimer

But there really is a collection of talent here that could begin to redefine the game.

We think in terms of SF, SG and PF, but look at what PF has become since guys like Nowitske and Rasheed have been playing. it’s barely recognizable as the same position that Barkley played.

If ate is visionary enough to put the right five guys on the floor and build an offense that takes advatange of their strengths, this team has enough talent that we won’t be having discussion about how our guys match up to their guys. It will be tho the other teams worrying about how their guys match up to our guys.

Phil Jacksons genius wasn’t that he had Micheal Jordan, it was that he allowed and made it possible for Micheal Jordan to redefine the game. The Blazers may have the same opportunity.

After seeing Rudy’s photo from the rookie meetings in NY I was confident that he would be #5 and just ordered a custom, authentic alternate-red #5 Fernandez jersey at the CBS On-line Sports Store. Sweet. And I think, depending on the match-up, it is very likely we will see Rudy at the three spot this season. In a run-and-gun game against a team like Denver? With JR Smith at the 3? Rudy will absolutley play there, and it would be a shoot-out. I can’t wait..