Full Court Press
by Ben Golliver on Jan 5, 2009 12:34 PM PST
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PrintSorry for the late start this morning. I was at the barber getting racing stripes cut into my hair. I am so cool. You should probably join this group on Facebook.
Speaking of, old pal Ryan White now is on Twitter and Facebook. I will be joining/ subscribing/ twitreading/ whatever. You should too. All the cool kids are doing it.
New year; new ESPN.com design. Thoughts?
Yahoo!'s Johnny Ludden has a story about Greg Oden.
But that's the thing with young big men these days: Nine times out of 10 you're paying for potential. The best prescription for Oden is the same as it was for Bynum in his first season: patience.
"It's tough," Oden said. "You want to come in and dominate right away."
Oden isn't close to dominating. He still looks mechanical and he's slow to the ball. But he's also a little more than two weeks shy of his 21st birthday and his NBA career has spanned all of 28 games. He spent one year in college then sat out all of his first season with the Blazers after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee.
How ominous does this sound? From Jason Quick.
But behind all the glitz, glamour and publicity, there is a harsh reality that McMillan says he knew all along: The Blazers are still too young. Still too inexperienced. And still not ready to be considered a playoff team.
"A lot of things will have to go right," McMillan said, referring to his team's playoff chances this season.
Right now, not much is going right for the Blazers.
Just Tuesday night, Nate was talking about how the team was playing "playoff basketball." Back to back losses changes everything I guess.
Ru - bi- o! Ru - bi - o! Sing it with me.
(Sidenote: JQ, if you're reading this, gotta repeat myself... click the above link, then close your eyes for about 5 seconds, then open them... what's the first thing you see? Your headshot!!!! It's GIGANTIC. No more living in denial. You know it's true.)
Quick also does some soul-touching in this piece about the gifts Nate gave to his players.
Joe Freeman, sans HUMONGOUS head shot, delivers a story about Steve Blake driving in the snow.
"It's really hilly in our neighborhood and we spun out," Blake said, laughing, as he recalled the moment. "We didn't hit anything, but it was kind of funny ... the car was going back and forth no matter what you did, chains or not.
That story reminds me of this.
Dwight Jaynes has a nice take on the coach/management dynamic and whether the higher-ups influence coaching decisions.
Here's what you need to understand: Unless a coach has complete job security, he's usually going to resist having to develop too many young players on his watch. Why? Because it's normally going to cost him games. And if it costs him too many games, it's going to cost him his job. Yet, for the good of the franchise, it's often beneficial to give playing time to young players - either to develop them or to find out their talent level in order to assess the possibility of trades or just letting them go.
Bustabucket witnessed a fight in the Rose Garden. Great story.
After the drunken Blazer fan stood up in the rows below, he raised his hands in victory to show everyone he was okay. As he did this, a woman in the row right behind him, throws her drink directly in his face from point blank range. Apparently she thought he had gone down there on purpose. After throwing the drink, she starts swinging at him with closed fists. It is also very obvious to me that she too had too much to drink. I'm watching in complete awe, nearly forgetting there is a basketball game going on. As the woman is swinging, he retaliates and lunges at her. Bad move, her husband and his friend start whaling on the guy, with 2 other guys joining in. So now five people are full on punching the drunk guy while his buddy, who is a big dude, starts to go down to help his friend. security was en route so I grabbed his friend and chilled him out.
For you Justin tvers, an interesting article from the NY Times about online piracy and the response from the major leagues.
"We never felt that the jewel in our crown, the live games, would be vulnerable," said Ayala Deutsch, senior vice president and chief intellectual property counsel at the National Basketball Association.
Wow, that quote sounds naive. This link came from the comments section of Dwight Jaynes's blog.
Also from the comments section of DJ's blog, comes a link to this blog. Possible. Serial. Killer. Site rated PG-13 for language and psychosis. I'm only kidding (if you promise not to kill me).
Wendell Maxey talked briefly with Travis Outlaw about life on the trading block.
"I definitely hear it," Outlaw told HOOPSWORLD when asked about having his name involved in trade speculation.
"I even have people coming up to me like, 'what do you think? I like you and all but maybe that is a good trade'," the Blazers 6-9 small forward said with a smile.
"The only thing I can do is let God handle it. I can't control none of that."
Speaking of Trout, Joe Freeman's game story had a nice quote from him...
"We needed the second unit to show up, me included, and we didn't," Outlaw said.
Couldn't agree with you more.
Wendell Maxey has a look at the David Lee rumors.
Sean at Oregonlive pulled together all the various takes on David Lee.
People keep "asking for comment" about the Lee rumors. I guess that means Blazer Nation is stoked about the prospect of getting him. So, yeah my comment is...
That would be cool!!!!!! OMG awesome!!!! But it probably won't happen!!!! :( Plus the money needed to sign him at the end of the year. :(
Or, perhaps you don't want to resign him and only want to rent him? In that case we can't give up anything meaningful.... which means we probably can't get him....
I feel like we've talked this through 100 times already. Get back at me when it's a done deal. And when that deal doesn't involve Bayless. Because he leaves over my dead body.
Matt Moore at Hardwood Paroxysm talks chaos in a great read.
Hooray! The Basketball Jones is back from vacation.
Loaded Orygun keeps plugging away with the Blazer game recaps. Lots of good stuff in there!
Power Rankings
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
PS I try to stay away from these things but if you made it this far you deserve a treat. Basically, I couldn't help myself.... Blaze Of Love linked to another website (rhymes with "Ron Davez") which found some scandalous pictures of a former Blazer dancer that she posted online. Why am I telling you this story? Because you are already on google trying to find the pictures. Also, because of the funniest part.... the current Blazers cheerleaders rallied around their former pal by de-friending Blaze Of Love on Myspace. Is this really happening? Getting e-blacklisted by the Blazers Dancers? Ouch. Hilarious.
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Pirated Video Feeds
If the NBA wants to stop it:
1.) Offer the video feed service themselves (FINALLY did that this year)
2.) DONT black out the games if they’re on some other channel because there’s a REASON people are using the online format. Copy the TNT channel or ESPN or NBC or whatever. I didn’t buy the online league pass this year because just about every game I wanted to watch during the trial was blocked.
3.) Make the link and navigation easy and “ergonomic” to use. The NBA site isn’t too bad to navigate but couldn’t definitely get better. Functionality is important and people seem to forget that and go for “shiny” instead. I’ve seen free tv sites and free movie sites that are AMAZINGLY better than the paid services in terms of layout. Easy to use and free definitely affect what people do.
People watch online for a reason. Companies that post online should find out and consider what those reasons are. Travel, no TV because the computer does everything, TV is in use by others, want on cell phone…
So far most companies have done a pretty poor job adopting themselves to the internet. The article itself shows how clueless the people are if they think they’re only missing out on a little bit of change.
Greg Oden, where posters happen.
by ratbastird on Jan 5, 2009 12:53 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
Funny thing is, I have emailed with that lady last year myself. She was pretty clueless back then, and apparently still is ;-)
For those interested in this topic: The editor of Wolves blog Canis Hoopus is on a personal quest against League Pass/League Pass Broadband, being unable to legally watch a (bad on-court) product he is willing to pay for less than a mile away from the house of the owner of the club. I don’t think he is doing it perfectly right in order to get what he wants, but the result is funny stuff.
http://www.canishoopus.com/2008/12/13/683369/chat-with-league-pass
http://www.canishoopus.com/2008/12/16/692988/chat-with-league-pass-pt-i
I wonder... If I use my sister in-law's address in D.C. to sign up for league pass broadband,
Will I be able to see the blazers? ;)
I think so, yes
A friend of mine told me about a similar trick so he could get his Detroit Fox Sports channel for free while living here in LA.
You set your main address (different than your billing address) as an address where you ain’t, but is where you can get the channel ya want for free, and make your billing address the correct address.
Bada bingo bango bongo, ya got free FS-Detroit.
This works for DirecTV.
Once DirecTV offers the Blazers Comcast channel for local Oregon people for free, I imagine it’ll work for me. I’ll still get League pass though.
Morty, working the Man over.
I don't know what any of those words mean
GEEZ I hate the man!
Last season my family could use my League Pass broadband to watch normally blacked out Blazer games on their computer, so maybe the Man isn’t as advanced as they could be?
M—
The Man has outsourced his operations to TNT this season, and TNT is using more sophisticated spy technology than believing the zip code you entered. E.g. I couldn’t sign up for the US version of LPB, although I could provide a US address and credit card and have software that e.g. allows to circumvent the basic protection of services like NBC’s Hulu that also is only intended for viewing in the US. See the chats from Mr. Stop-N-Pop from Hoopus above.
Maybe only at signup time.
I found an anonymous proxy on the internet, ran through that when signing up a new LPBB account. The proxy turned out to be in Denver, which resulted in Nuggets games showing as blacked out. This was the case even when I reverted to my real IP.
It appears that they may be checking the IP when you first register and tagging the account with a team market area. This would allow them to blackout games (or not) even when you’re traveling.
EXACTLY
I would have bought LP online if Blazer games weren’t blacked out. NBA are you listening?
"...we have so many experts who think that you have to play defense, you have to rebound, you have to be a possession coach, you have to execute. I just laugh. Explosive offense is not as intimidating as dominant defense. But it is scary when you don't know how to stop someone." - George Karl, Nuggets coach
Exactly. I bought NBA League Pass Broadband without having the opportunity to try it out so
I didn’t realize so many games would be blacked out. Still, if and when I have a good connection it’s worth it to me and, as you said, it’s the only way I have to watch a Blazers game.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Bayless leaves over your dead body?
Are you freakin’ kidding me!?! Any trade (well almost any trade) that ships out Bayless for Lee would be a Godsend!
Just out of curiosity
What does Lee do, that we need?
David Lee is great, but rebounding and 2nd chance points is what we’re already great at. Weak defense on the interior and especially on the perimeter is what we are bad at, and Lee helps neither.
Of course getting Lee would be great, but not for someone who has the potential and work ethic Bayless has. The current Lee is better than the current Bayless, but Bayless could really fit what we need and even if we didn’t have LMA David Lee doesn’t help us all that much in the long run (and he’s going to be spendy).
Mortimer
Yeah, off of rebounds and putbacks
LMA shoots efficiently on those too, if that was all his offense is.
I’m not trying to say Lee is bad, because obviously he isn’t, but he’s a bad defender and his strengths are already our strengths. His weaknesses make our weaknesses even worse.
If we had him for free, that’s great. If we gotta give up something we like (which of course we’d have to, Lee is valuable), I don’t think it’s worth it. ESPECIALLY since someone will wanna pay Lee 9-10 million bucks this offseason. SOMEONE will, and it’s what Lee wants.
Lee is a guy who is awesome awesome awesome as a 6th man on a good team or a starter on a bad team, but once you start him and require wins, his defense will hurt you. He’d be exposed more in the West, certainly.
Maybe someday soon Oden’s defense will enable us to have a Z-Bo level defensive player at PF, but that ain’t now.
Again, Lee is great at what he does well, but just like people are harping on LMA’s weaknesses because we know and love him and see him every game, Lee’s (in my opinion) worser weaknesses would be readily apparent to us all as well. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that…
Morty
I would rather have a guy...
… who can’t shoot and KNOWS he can’t shoot than a guy who has a pretty jumper that makes him (and everyone else) THINK he can shoot but who actually has an efg% of .418 on jumpers like LMA. I’ve yet to see any evidence that Lee i s a worse defender than Aldridge— I think this may be a case of you being suckered by LMA LOOKING like a better defender than he is.
I’ll say it: David Lee is a better player than LaMarcus Aldridge. I’d rather have a bad jump shooter who doesn’t try to shoot jumpers than a mediocre shooter for whom jumpers make up 67% of his shots.
Boomshakalaka
And I'd say
You’re wrong.
And have just watched LMA too much to pick him apart, and not done the same for Lee.
I’ll say it: Lee is overrated. Good at what he does, but not much else. LMA is already a more diverse player and has a lot more potential. I agree I don’t want LMA shooting outside so much, but he’s been playing with a lot more “power” lately and his inside game has gotten better and better.
Lee will always be a hustle/board guy who gets garbage buckets, and anyone who tries to make him more than that is pulling a Zach Randolph.
See? Familiarity breeds contempt towards LMA for you, plus your knack for being a contrarian because you’re worried about being a homer makes ya wanna pick apart LMA.
Either way, it’s all good.
Mortimer
he's been playing with more power lately?
Where is the evidence? Jumpers make up 67% of his shots!
Again, I’d rather have a limited player who knows his limits than a diverse, high potential player that thinks he can do all kinds of things but doesn’t do any of them particularly well.
Boomshakalaka
More strength inside, finishing stronger
Rebounding with more strength, less softness, etc.
I swear I get angry every time he pops instead of rolls after a pick and I wish he’d just decide to never shoot outside, but it’s fixable and he’s better, as-is, than David Lee.
He’s going to end up with a really good inside game, and he is ahead on both ends of the court where Sheed was at the same point in their careers. I know Sheed is a good interior defender, but he was the same as LMA when he first became a Blazer— a young big man who can look good at times but ultimately inconsistent. Good, strong interior defense takes time and experience and trickery. As long as the effort is there and LMA keeps getting stronger, he’ll be a good interior defender.
He’ll never, ever, ever, be an elite rebounder, but neither was Sheed. (I should point out I just see LMA as Sheed without the crazy and with more consistent effort and better work ethic, not as KG or something dumb). 7 to 8 rebounds for the rest of his career and less reliance on his outside game will fit us to a T next to Oden.
Everything LMA does wrong (aside from dominant rebounding) will be fixed over time. Lee is what he is, and he is good and even great in the right situation. A situation that either ignores his flaws (D’Antoni ball) or doesn’t care about them (a losing Knicks team) makes him look good… but if you rely on him for more, he won’t respond how LMA has responded.
I will die a happy man if LMA never shoots 3’s and keeps a foot in the paint, and everything else will get better with age.
Sheed-plus-consistency-plus-better shot selection-plus-work ethic-equals-LMA.
Mortimer
How do you like his outlet passing?
I can’t remember many scenes this year when LMA received the ball down low, posted up, saw he was well covered, and then passed it out to an open shooter. Even Greg is already better at that. I really like him, but that aspect of his game makes me a bit itchy, already knowing he will never give up the ball again and take the bad shot turnaround shot.
His passing has gotten better
He was never a BAD passer, especially for a big man. And the bar is set pretty low for most big men, who are usually very bad passers— both at the actual act of passing, and reading when and where to pass.
It’s an element of most big man’s games that comes later, probably due to the lack of in-game work it had ever received until they get into the NBA. Guards and wing players work on when and where to pass since they pick up a ball, big men work don’t. High school and even college double teams just aren’t the same as NBA double teams, obviously, and young big men almost always start their careers with a deficit of passing knowledge.
Oden is actually a LOT better than he should be, and already better than Bynum and Howard right this very second. Even as raw and indecisive as he is, he’s a pretty good big man passer, and will continue to improve to become maybe a GREAT big man passer as his reads and instincts improve.
LMA is a WILLING passer, which gets him some decent assist games and helps our 3 point shooters, but he doesn’t always read what the defense is giving him correctly— and he’s not as naturally gifted a passer as Oden is. Being a willing passer is a huge part of the battle for a lot of big men; since they don’t get to dribble the ball around so many young big man act as if they need to “make it count” when they finally DO get to touch the ball.
LMA’s reads have gotten better, and everyone’s willingness to swing the ball around to the open man makes our 3 point shooting look probably better than it should, since someone is always open if a big man is doubled. He still needs to get faster at recognizing when and where to pass it though.
ALSO, he’s not reading when Oden has a nice advantage on the weakside because of the attention LMA is getting, but the whole team seems to be still learning that. LMA and Oden both seem like they are focusing too much on trying to stay out of each other’s way, when I think eventually they’ll be able to do a nice two-man game once they realize how to do it.
Gasol is a great interior passer, and he’d do well with Oden in that regard. LMA is willing to pass it, and just needs to keep gaining experience and learn how to make his reads better.
Part of the problem could be LMA being told to “stay aggressive” and feels the need to get points, and it makes him overthink when he should pass and when he should shoot.
It’s all about time and experience. He wants to pass it when he should, he needs more experience to learn when that is and to know the difference between shoot-time and pass-time.
Being not as good as Greg isn’t, to me, that much of an insult though. For how raw Oden is, his passing is dandy.
Mortimer
its possible
I’ve compared LMA to Sheed without the crazy myself, as recently as this offseason. That was before I become even more of a stat-head though, and it was also before LMA failed to make any sort of improvement in his game this season… even in the 3rd year that is the “jump” year for so many players.
Its still very possible that LMA’s career will follow the path you outlined, and if it does he clearly has higher upside than Lee… not even close. I have a lot more confidence in my ability to analyze how much players help their teams now than I am in my ability to project career paths. I’m a stat-head, not a scout, in other words.
Right now, though, Aldridge is an average NBA PF, nothing more. There’s no part of his game that he does efficiently… not score, not rebound, not defend. Give me a specialist who does his thing really well over a guy like LMA any day of the week.
Boomshakalaka
snake....
did you just say YESTERDAY you were going to stop doing this and just link to your Derek Jeter post?
by LicketyBrindle on Jan 5, 2009 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
I did indeed
I’ve never had this particular discussion with Mortimer, however. I respect Mortimer’s thoughts and so I felt the discussion was worth having.
Sorry about that.
Boomshakalaka
also
there is nothing wrong with turning a strength into a super-strength. Obviously you’d like to address your weaknesses, but if you can get a guy like Lee without giving up too much, you do it. If the team ships Bayless out, it will mean they’ve decided he isn’t the right long term backcourt partner for Roy. I don’t think Bayless is on his way out, however.
Bayless’ play has me a little worried. Obviously its WAY to soon to draw conclusions on him, but he sure looks like Jarrett Jack v. 1.1 when we were hoping for v 2.0 at least.
Boomshakalaka
Yeah, if you can do it
Ya do it, but he isn’t worth trading real guys for… not right now.
And with Bayless, what you say is just it right there— way too early to draw conclusions. He’s 20, extremely athletic, naturally buff and still filling out his body, smart, works hard, has barely played and is thrust into the rotation because of an injury. He’ll have some good moments over this stretch where Roy is out, but it shouldn’t be a surprise with how he is playing.
He just looks like a rook out there.
If they trade him they trade him, but I just hope they get good value. I’d be extremely surprised if they already made their mind up about the kid. Who can be sure about any player at age 20?
With Lee, what he is good at would obviously make our already-strongness there even better, but it wouldn’t be strong enough to offset the still-badness of our defense. Again, we get him for guys that aren’t in our future plans, it’s an amazing deal. But for a guy like Batum or Bayless or whatever, I dunno…
Well, there is plenty of time to address everything we got wrong with us right now, and getting our hands on Lee (if it really is our goal) could be a snag of a bagged deal.
Morty
It amazes me how people can look at Roy, knowing that he had four years of college
and two previous years in the pros, and is still getting better and they know he’s getting better, but everyone else on the roster they know all about after 20 games.
I’d like to know what folks here thought Roy’s ceiling was after his freshman year at Washington.
by raoulduke on Jan 5, 2009 3:29 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Who was probably the better player after one year of college - Roy or Bayless?
Who has better physical tools? Who has the necessary emotional toughness?
I’d like to see tape of Roy in his first year of college ball.
by raoulduke on Jan 5, 2009 3:30 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
No point
If you watch a video of Roy in his first year all you would see is Nate Robinson shooting 50 shots.
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
So, Roy wasn't even the first option on his college team during his freshman year.
Was he the second or third?
No, he only became the premier player his senior year.
Will Conroy was the point guard in Brandon’s junior year… they had a really good team that almost beat UConn.
So Roy would be exhibit A that guards get better when they get more
high level experience and that a guard with natural tools and a good work ethic could improve for a long time, like every year for six or seven years.
But we know, already that Bayless is a shoot first 2 guard in a point guard’s body and that’shis cieling.
Got it.
Ha
the funny thing is that Roy was super unpolished… kind of regarded as an athletic player who lacked polish. It’s eerie seeing Bayless… he is Brandon 2.0.
Brandon was a sixth man until his senior year… Bayless is still in his sophomore year.
My thoughts exactly
Players and PEOPLE change so dramatically from 18, 20, to 25 years old, it’s crazy to think they are finished products at age 20, in the first 1/3rd of their rookie year in the NBA.
It is, literally, insane in the membrain.
The good stuff gets better and depending on the person the bad stuff gets worked on. If a 20 year old is a bad worker, they don’t usually magically become a good one. But if a 20 year old already has a great work ethic and natural athletic gifts, he will work on what he needs to work on to become a good player.
Take a guy, like, say, Gerald Green. EXTREMELY athletic, naturally very gifted. Reportedly has no work ethic and no desire to learn how to play within an offense or a defense. He won’t work what he needs to work on physically or mentally. He won’t get much better.
If a guy like that has all of the physical tools (like a Bayless or LMA or an Oden), plus the work ethic and drive to get the most out of their natural physical gifts, they WILL become good players.
I tend to give the young high-potential guys more time to find their way than most, but with Bayless it seems like a no-brainer to me. In no way, shape or form, is this the final Bayless the NBA will get. He is too athletic, too smart, to driven to be a hesitant, indecisive, nervous rookie forever.
Monta with a brain, is what Bayless will be (obviously, in my opinion). Whether that fits us or not we’ll see, but one way or another Bayless will be a player.
Mortimer
nobody is saying Bayless is a finished product
but, in today’s NBA, when guys like Rose and Mayo are looking GOOD at the same age as Bayless, and its easy to see why Bayless’ horrible play so far makes people concerned.
I’m not too concerned about it, just a little bit. I thought he’d show more by now.
Boomshakalaka
I’m fairly sure if OKC had drafted Bayless instead of Westbrook, he would look much better with all that playing time and be featured now in All-Star Dunk Contest spots instead of him. Rose is a special talent, so is Mayo. But Bayless is not as far behind as it currently looks. They were compared for good reasons. They played together in junior international competition, and the difference was minimal. During the Nike Hoop Summit game in 2007 (which was the breakout for Nic Batum btw), B-Rex was even slightly better than Rose. 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 5-10 FG’s, 4-7 FT’s, 1-3 3-PT. Rose had more assists, but half the points. Mayo was the man in that game.
I agree with everything you said here
Sometimes it just doesn’t work out though. Jarrett Jack played Chris Paul and Ray Felton very well in college… some guys just don’t have it translate to the pros.
I don’t think Bayless will be one of those guys, but he’s early play is still a mild concern for me.
Boomshakalaka
I agree
Bayless would be doing just as well as Westbrook, if not better, and have a ton of highlights by now if he was playing 30 minutes a game.
And yeah, I realize Westbrook is doing well, but consistent minutes and the freedom it brings is a lot different than trying to come in and be a role player and really, really try to do the “right” thing instead of just being set free like Westbrook and Mayo are.
Bayless seems to be playing extremely tight and worried, which shouldn’t be surprising, considering the situation he’s in. We’re trying to win, he has to fill a new role, it’s tough.
Mortimer
I actually don't think Westbrook's doing that well
Sure, he’s had some highlight real plays and does some great things, but he turns it over a lot, and is (you guessed it) an inefficient shooter (even worse than LMA ;).
Compared to Bayless, though… yes, he’s doing awesome. I agree that Bayless would be doing just as well if not better with 30 mpg though.
Boomshakalaka
Yeah, Westbrook is doing decent by fantasy standards
He’s filling up a stat sheet most nights, but it’s totally in the “horrible team someone has to fill the stat sheet and they’re force feeding Westbrook a ton of minutes” variety.
For a guy like Westbrook or Bayless though, I don’t necessarily agree it’s the best course of action. Neither are natural PGs, and need to work in a more refined role while not losing their wildness that made them effective in college.
What the Thunder did for Durant his first year did him a disservice, and I think it’s the same for Westbrook. Make him play the right way so he can learn how a PG should play, but with enough rope to enable him to breathe still. But just letting him loose at a position where some control and pacing is NECESSARY if ya wanna win… that’s just asking for trouble down the road.
Gifting Durant the ability to shoot whatever bad shot he wanted without any veteran or coach repurcussions hurt Durant, I believe, and the same could happen for Westbrook— with worse results, because he IS supposed to be a PG.
How we’re bringing along Bayless looks bad for his career stats, but I think it’ll pay off in the long run.
I hope so, anyways.
Mortimer
A thousand recs.
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
JQ does have a huge headshot.
Ru-bi-o! Ru-bi-o!
Does that chant remind anyone else of that movie Hook? Ru-fi-o! Ru-fi-o!
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jan 5, 2009 1:35 PM PST reply actions
I LOVE that movie
:)
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
I HATE Rufio
Least. Favorite. Character. From. A. Peter. Pan. Adaptation. Ever.
M.o.r.t.i.m.e.r.
by Mortimer on Jan 5, 2009 2:07 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
how long did it take for you to type that?
l.o.l
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
When I was a little kid
I always loved every movie we got to see in theaters (we were poor and didn’t go to movies much, except for the buck-fifty tickets at the Valley theatre). HOOK was the first movie that I didn’t like and made me angry, and I was just a dumb kid who shoulda’ loved it.
Someday I’m going to make a remake of Hook where Rufio gets shot in the head every 30 seconds in slow motion. Instead of HOOK I’ll call it “AWESOMEST MOVIE EVER MADE IN A RAD WAY”
Morty
OH MY GOODNESS
that is very dramatic. What did Rufio EVER do to you Mortimer, huh? He held the fort down when Peter Pan LEFT to GROW UP which breaks ALL the rules, because Peter Pan grew up for a GIRL.! Rufio didnt like Peter comin’ back trying to just TAKE his place back as leader. I feel sorry for Rufio , AND Rufio DIES , that is SAD! MY GAWDDDD M. have you no HEART?!
:(
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Best. Part. Of. The. Movie. Hook. Ever
I bought the DVD of HOOK and loaded it onto my computer and edited out every other part of the movie where Rufio DOESN’T die, made 10000 copies onto DVDs, printed out nice labels that look just like the real thing, and secretly planted the re-edited DVD into every electronics store within a 50 mile radius of Santa Monica that carries the HOOK dvd.
Now every child that experiences this family classic can watch nothing but the best part over and over!
Rufio was even annoying on Hanging with Mr. Cooper.
You might think Rufio never did anything to me personally, but… Rufio raped my childhood hope of HOOK not being a bad movie :-( Plus, I guess I hate Filipinos. That’s why I hate 1/4 of Rob Schneider.
Mortimer, selectively racist.
"selectively racist"
I’m dying , from laughter. Something tells me Dave is going to push his big Red DELETE button on our convo for going OT on ben’s post. But i’ll tell you this has been worth it to learn to are “selectively racist”… that is priceless.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Oh crap
I seriously thought I was in the Junk Drawer. Not even kidding.
Ben and Dave hate me now :-(
Mortimorose :-(
Ben and Dave actually <3 us
else we would have both been deleted from this blog a LOOOOOOONGGGGGGG time ago.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Rufio was a lame and deserved everything he got
Staying on topic, is this really the first time so many people have seen somebody with a part etched into their hair? I got a different one every week when I was in grade school.
Salaam.
Rufio was everything I wanted to be as a kid
1. The leader of a gang
2. Hot with cool hair
3. Asian
4. Hate old people
5. Sword wielder
6. Dead at a young age
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
by Sabonis4Ever on Jan 5, 2009 8:28 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Sorry, it was an insensitive comment
Those are actually all things I wanted. Except I might have #2. And a small portion of #3.
But EVERYBODY I knew hated Rufio. Even Selden, the kid in my kindergarten class with the Hook backpack.
Salaam.
I convinced a obese short kid to get into a ball so we could roll him around the soccer field
It was all fun and games until he threw up.
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
by Sabonis4Ever on Jan 5, 2009 8:39 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I really did spit out some water just now
Thank Bob the laptop’s ok. I shouldn’t drink and browse
Salaam.
You know what I wish?
I wish I had a dad… like you…
"West just flipped Roy's switch to 'Hide the women and children'"
- tmundal, Nov 29, 2008 9:11 PM PST
by GustyJ on Jan 5, 2009 10:50 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
hey!
I’m Filipino!
So is Enrique Iglesias ( I didn’t know he was Filipino till a few months ago. His mom was a Filipina with Spanish ancestry.)
same here.
Is that davez like dave’s? Or davez like chavez?
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jan 5, 2009 1:58 PM PST up reply actions
option 2. you’re halfway there.
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
not hard to find
on google, and really not worth the effort as they are not that scandalous. Good job by BoL to take it down after he realized his mistake.
Well I didn't get to see em...
and I feel hosed. :(
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out burns out farms and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
another example of an
elitist that abuses the system for personal gain.
typical power-hungry tyrant.
Why does fat chance = slim chance?
"elitist east coast media"
ben = guilty
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
MySpace/Blazer Dancer thing!
Ben! It’s true, they did band together to de-friend me…I felt de-flowered but soon talked to enough of them to hopefully smooth some of it over. Was unfortunate…I guess the big lesson here is, Photobucket + mirrors = MySpace death.
Women/men that post naked/seminude or lewd pics of themselves ON THE WORLDWIDE NET
can only blame themselves for the pics getting around.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Fixed.
"Women/men that post naked/seminude or lewd pics of themselves ON THE WORLDWIDE NET are AWESOME
Besides…blazerdancers are lame. I am pro blazer stunt team girls though. Oh yes…..oh….yes.
I agree, actually
but I have to make things fare before I start a “sexism” debate on Ben’s post. That would be 2 ot convo’s and an email from Dave most likely :)
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Let me clarify I was agreeing w/ you about the blazerstrippers being LAME
but actually like the stunt team, but most likely we like different aspects :)
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
Orlando has dunking dancers
Portland needs to look into it…what’s better than hot women in scandelous attire dunking? Maybe M&Ms?
We may like some of the same aspects.
They are just as (or more) attractive, much more athletic, and not nearly as ‘fake’ it seems. Plus..some of the stuff they do is CRAZY.
My daughter being a gymnast I know how much work goes into perfecting some of the things they do.
Well we totally agree
my cousins and aunt are/were all gymnasts and they would fly and flip like the stunt girls so I know it’s truly a sport and very difficult and worthy of more attention.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
that would beat blaze's dunk stunts
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
You knew it was downhill for Mr. Blaze
when they removed the flip dunk from his repertoire. Now he’s struggling to make tomahawks.
Im in LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
by BlazerFan1 on Jan 5, 2009 2:11 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
My favorite part
Was the delay of game call because of Batum’s stare-down-bounce-the-ball-high moment and his surprise that they called something for it.
That was an awesome facial. He extended his Go-Go-Gadget arms to finish strong!
M—
Especially b/c his "stare down" is like a basset hound giving you a dirty look, its still SUPER CUTE
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
He said
“Excuse my French.”
"...we have so many experts who think that you have to play defense, you have to rebound, you have to be a possession coach, you have to execute. I just laugh. Explosive offense is not as intimidating as dominant defense. But it is scary when you don't know how to stop someone." - George Karl, Nuggets coach
Hee hee
It’d be funny if he was actually apologizing for the facial, and his “I’M ANGRY AND TOUGH” face was just a coincidence.
Joel Freeland will probably apologize after every dunk and block. “Ever so sorry, guv’nor!”
Mortimer
hhahha that's awesome
when Gasol did that I thought to myself, “You know, they really ought to call delay of game on that.”
Somehow I missed them actually calling delay of game, and I was miffed about it the rest of the night.
Why does fat chance = slim chance?
I'm hoping whenever the next Euro championships are on
NBA TV televises the France/Spian game. Spain will probably win (them being the 2nd best team in the world and all) but France has some ballers (although for some reason I think a lot of them don’t play internationally anymore)
Bayless has been testing the fences for weaknesses
by blazeraddict on Jan 5, 2009 11:03 PM PST up reply actions
France still needs to qualify next year in a brutal last-second tournament, although their chances are good
P.S.: Nic Batum has not been a member of the French national team so far.
Are you in love with the 20 point loss?
Just sayin
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jan 6, 2009 6:57 AM PST up reply actions
I was wondering that too
Not necessarily Sophia but it seems like if Batum has a monster dunk, then fans can care less about a loss.
Lee is not the missing piece
His defense is weak and at PF is it horrendous.
His rebounding is redundant with what they have at center and there is not much room for team rebounding to get better.
His return compared to expected future salary would probably be a very unwise purchase.
That's my basic take as well
Some of us hate LMA’s interior defense already, Lee is a lot worse there. AND he can’t guard the perimeter like LMA can.
Lee would be a great piece if we already had him, but the cost to GET him plus the subsequent big contract he’s gonna want or he won’t stay here, it’s a bit much for something we aren’t missing.
Morty
Lee makes the most sense as a replacement for LMA...
… if LMA is part of a deal to get an SF or PG. Not saying this will happen, just that it would make more sense than getting him to be a backup.
Boomshakalaka
true but can you really see KP upgrading significantly (only thing that warrants moving LMA)
the SF or PG position to the detriment of the PF position? Especially b/c we really dont have anyone to back LMA up?
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
I don't see Lee as a significant downgrade from Aldridge
if indeed he’s a downgrade at all. I won’t rehash all the reasons I think this, but feel free to see one of my LMA-bashing posts.
Boomshakalaka
I've read all of them
lol and I partly agree with you as far as LMA’s flaws, but the singular thing that separates the two is the age. Lee is older and that makes the trade off not really worth it.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
I think you're being too hard on LMA...
and I’m putting that nicely.
He makes me yell at the TV once and again, but even Mr. Untouchable BRoy makes me yell at the TV once in awhile.
LMA isn’t close to as bad as you make him out to be.
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jan 5, 2009 3:27 PM PST up reply actions
Can you pick on Outlaw or something?
;^)~
My guy has a pointy nose and a butt chin.
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jan 5, 2009 3:38 PM PST up reply actions
LMA guards the perimeter??
Huh..
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jan 6, 2009 6:56 AM PST up reply actions
During the past three seasons, David Lee was substantially better at defending power forwards.
http://www.82games.com/0708/07NYK11C.HTM
http://www.82games.com/0607/06NYK10C.HTM
http://www.82games.com/0506/05NYK12C.HTM
I blame Mike D’Antoni’s lax coaching on defense to be the reason why Lee has regressed this season.
What about
How David Lee is playing more minutes, and against starters now?
That’d be the clearer reason for his defensive regression to me, stat wise.
Mortimer
Take 2
Yeah I saw your comment and agree with it Mortimer…
but I should also revisit his defense and say that it is horrendous at PF in D’Antoni’s uptempo system. It wasn’t as bad in the past and might not be that bad in a slow tempo system like Portland’s. But the trend is steadily weaker. Often happens with PF of his type as they age. The extra zip and spring of early youth fades a bit and makes a difference.
They need another PF who is a strong defender or strong outside shooter and Lee is not either.
Just curious
What makes everyone think David Lee is such a bad defender? He’s known as a “hustle” guy—they usually make good defenders.
"...we have so many experts who think that you have to play defense, you have to rebound, you have to be a possession coach, you have to execute. I just laugh. Explosive offense is not as intimidating as dominant defense. But it is scary when you don't know how to stop someone." - George Karl, Nuggets coach
I'm wondering the same thing
I’ve yet to see a cogent argument. I know one thing— his help D can’t be any worse than LMA’s in this video: http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/12/17/696346/this-is-quite-interesting
I will say that he gets the same amount of steals and far fewer blocks than LMA despite getting similar playing time for a team that plays many more possessions than Portland, but as we know, blocks and steals don’t tell the whole story about defense.
As a whole, New York’ defense is a little worse than Portland’s (believe it or not) but that could be due to going as small as they do (with Al Harrington at PF and Lee at C), not to mention that Duhon/QRich isn’t exactly a stellar defensive backcourt.
To me, LMA and Lee seem roughly equivalent on D— both mediocre, probobly a little below average.
Boomshakalaka
Lee was called by D'Antoni as a poor defensive player
and Lee admitted it. He’s LMA but without the perimeter D.
Here is the article about Lee blowing the defensive play. D’Antoni called timeout and chastised Lee…
I think there was another instance in D’Antoni vs. Lee… I could be wrong.
Here's a quote from the Knick SBNation site
“While Z-Bo and D-Lee excel in different aspects of rebounding and offense, both seriously need some defensive help.”
the Suns D was always over-criticized
They were always around the league average (it just looked bad because of the fast pace)… D’Antoni’s Suns always played better D than Nate’s Blazers.
Boomshakalaka
I agree with ya
But part of me wonders how much of that is ‘good defense’ and how much is other teams not being good at playing the Suns style, which is what the Suns style does to opposing teams— forces them to play their pace.
Either way, it is effective, and their alleged defensive deficiencies were probably overblown, but in the playoffs their weak interior defense (especially after trading Kurt Thomas for nothing) hurt them.
Morty
From the Blogfather
"...we have so many experts who think that you have to play defense, you have to rebound, you have to be a possession coach, you have to execute. I just laugh. Explosive offense is not as intimidating as dominant defense. But it is scary when you don't know how to stop someone." - George Karl, Nuggets coach
I don't know of any good stats to point to
And you prolly noticed by now I ain’t much of a stat guy when it comes to stuff like this, so I always just say to key in on him. He’s like Amare… just lets people go by him without much effort.
Maybe Amare is a bad example, because Amare is athletic and big enough to not be such a bad defender. Maybe Ike Diogu is a good example? A bit undersized, slow to react, just doesn’t use his body (which, admittedly, is undersized for both Diogu and Lee) and both loses his guy and doesn’t use much effort to slow his guy down.
I dunno about hustle guys being good defenders, really. All too often they are like Nocioni or Ruben Patterson, always gambling and leaving their assignment to go mess something up. When it works it works, but when it doesn’t it’s an easy bucket. Lee doesn’t really gamble, he just isn’t a factor.
Mortimer
I'm wondering
How do you become a defensive factor? It seems that a lot of the guys on the 2007-2008 All-NBA Defensive teams are guys that go for steals and blocks a lot:
1st team
F K. Garnett (blocks)
G K. Bryant (steals)
C M. Camby (blocks)
FG B. Bowen (dirty play)
F Tim Duncan (solid post D + blocks)
2nd team
F S. Battier (solid perimeter D)
G C. Paul (steals, gambling a lot)
C D. Howard (blocks)
F T. Prince (decent D)
G R. Bell (solid perimeter D)
Those are probably the players most likely to be a “factor” on the defensive end of the floor and almost all of them have a certain amount of aggressiveness (certainly more well managed than Ruben Patterson, of course).
This is an interesting discussion. To my mind, defensive attributes (based on the above) would be, in order of importance:
1. Effort
2. Defensive IQ (reading offensive players’ moves, timing)
3. Length/height for primary position
4. Athleticism (lateral movement, strength, and/or vertical leap/reach)
5. Quick hands (a la Chris Paul)
David Lee seems to possess #1 and potentially #4 (I seem to remember him being known as a leaper), and is lacking in #3. #2 and #5 are the unknown to me.
"...we have so many experts who think that you have to play defense, you have to rebound, you have to be a possession coach, you have to execute. I just laugh. Explosive offense is not as intimidating as dominant defense. But it is scary when you don't know how to stop someone." - George Karl, Nuggets coach
Defensive factor
I agree that people who get a lot of blocks and steals get rated as good defenders when it isn’t necessarily the case, but if that was all guys like KG or Duncan did they wouldn’t be considered such good defenders.
Even though it sounds strange, some guys just don’t use their body or athleticism at ALL. Z-Bo or Lee might as well not even be there some possessions; they got wide bodies but they don’t use them— mostly because they aren’t trying.
Lee hustles, but he doesn’t work hard on defense… that’s the big difference in his case.
Blocks and steals are great, so we shouldn’t dismiss their value for in the game and psychologically. The extra possessions they create, the stress they put on the shooter/ballhandler; it all helps. So, they aren’t bad things but sometimes when someone is good at one or the other they become considered good defenders… like, say, Marcus Camby. One on one, he doesn’t put a lot of effort in anymore. He doesn’t like to move too far from the basket either. But on paper, his blocks and rebounds are awesome.
It’s one of the reasons why it can be so tough to tell WHO is a great defender except in the most obvious cases, because numbers can be so deceiving on that end. I have not seen any stat, ever, that can accurately reflect who is a good defender. In my opinion, the only thing that 100% works is to watch the player in question.
If they give consistent effort, know where to be, know who are they guarding (i.e., force Lamar Odom right and other basic scouting notes), keep them in front of them as much as reasonably possible (if Lebron goes right around or through you, you aren’t necessarily a bad defender. He is Lebron), and have the athleticism to both cover a lot of ground (that’s one of the things KG does so well— his mobility enables him to double quickly and recover, and pick up any perimeter players who come into the paint and still be able to get back on his own man) and stick to your man, you’re likely a good defender.
Most don’t have all of the elements you and I describe, so it takes a total package. The least you can ask for your players is that they TRY.
To me, you start with effort. You can be as athletic as anyone in the league (like Amare is) but if you don’t try, you’re worthless defensively. If the effort and athleticism are there, I think that player will (for the most part) become a good defender but age and experience and defensive naivete may hold them back at first. Defense CAN be, and almost always is, learned.
I’ll try to end the rambling, because I’d say we agree: To be a factor defensively, you simply have to stick to your man when he doesn’t have the ball, stay in front of him when he has the ball, force him where he doesn’t wanna go, do your best to obstruct his shot, and known when/where/why to help your teammates when guarding off the ball. Some of those are things people are born with, some have to be learned, and not everyone is built for defense.
All of the people you mention on your list are athletic guys who are able to stay in front of most anyone, and some of them have roles that allow them to exert their energy almost entirely on defense. It can often be as simple as that, but the truly great defenders combine that athleticism and effort with a knowledge of who they are guarding and how to stop them.
Lee doesn’t give a lot of effort defensively, nor the focus and athleticism required. He is a hustler, but he hustles for rebounds, not defensive plays.
I think I wrote the most words without saying anything, ever, just now.
Mortimer
What do you think of Brandon's defense?
I think his on the ball D is very very underrated.
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
I know you are talking to Mortimer
but I agree that his on the ball D, particularly in crunch time, is excellent. His team D has some glaring deficiencies though (he’s almost as bad as Trout in terms of forgetting about shooters).
Boomshakalaka
Seems like an issue of focus
he’s expending so much energy on the offensive end, he relaxes a bit on defense.
Hopefully as the rest of the team develops, he’ll become a better team defender. He is great in late game situations on the ball though. The Joe Johnson play from last year was fantastic.
I agree
I think Roy CAN be a great defender, but doesn’t always do it.
If ya just key in on him when it REALLY matters and someone is going one on one against him, he seems to always come up big. He just doesn’t do it for 48 minutes, and I can’t really blame him.
If he wasn’t our everything-player and was just like a Bowen guy and just had to focus on defense, I think he’d be a stopper.
Though I think no matter what role ya gave Roy, he’d be our best guy at it.
For now, since we need him so much on offense and he plays such big minutes, I think he tries to take defense off sometimes and gets caught napping and a shooter is open. But his man defense is great most of the time.
Mortimer
I blame Roy for the bad team defense
He’s the leader and leads by example. A poor example of how to focus on defense instead of offense.
lol is he a worse defender than any of the scrubs we've got?
Doubt it.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jan 6, 2009 6:56 AM PST up reply actions
i couldnt find the BD pics
but i stumbled across a link that said “the kings dancers sure know how to party” i wish they were our dancers.
Honor Terry Porter
I found em
Lame. She needs to get rid of the flash on her camera.
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
She sticks her hand down her pants
who knows….maybe she has an itch.
"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5
she probably has a case
of lebrons crab dribbles.
Honor Terry Porter
by Philthyanimal on Jan 5, 2009 8:33 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Oh! Hhahhhahahahahaha!
"Aneurysm".
When Outlaw wins a game on a last-second shot, it’s called an "annthefaneurysm". QualityPie
Uggh
You are Philthy…funny, but still Philthy
Bayless has been testing the fences for weaknesses
by blazeraddict on Jan 5, 2009 11:06 PM PST up reply actions
Why do people post stuff like that
on Facebook/Myspace, unless they actually want this type of attention (highly likely in most cases)? Good grief, this is exactly why I don’t do the whole social networking thing, all the people I need to talk to are in my phone/I’m in theirs. And I’m not a bitter old guy either (25), I just think this whole phenomenon is stupid, that and I don’t want to have to explain to my kids why when you Google daddy’s name, soft core porn comes up. Cripes…
Bayless has been testing the fences for weaknesses
Edit
I meant to say when I have kids, I can barely handle a dog at this point
Bayless has been testing the fences for weaknesses
by blazeraddict on Jan 5, 2009 11:08 PM PST up reply actions
no pun intended but you would be screwed regardless if you had names like...
Richard McFeely, Harry Palm, Harry Johnson, Johnnie Missionary…and someone I actually work with: Michael C*nt…I could do worse but this is a family friendly site…
So just tell your kids to never google their own name. My niece typed in her first name (mckayla dot com) and it went to an adult site. she and her parents were mortified.
Or google any of the BEdge user names…i.e. Philthyanimal, Sexual Tryrannasaurus, Bonis4ever, jksnake, ratbastird, etc…hahahah
"Step up to my mic!!!" Joel's right and left fist
I think you meant to type Mike Hunt, for that's the foundation of that joke.
Besides, it’s highly doubtful that someone has the surname “C*nt” anywhere.
I was a registration assistant in school once. There was a girl surnamed P*nis. So a guy with C*nt as surname isn’t so farfetched.
Mike Litoris
theres one of those motivational pictures featureing an apperence by this guy on the nightly news
December 18, 2008.
"Roy is Roy, and if I were to bet my life on a game of 5-on-5, I’d bet on whichever team Roy was playing on." by HurraKane212
you only spell correctly when it's really important huh?
"Step up to my mic!!!" Joel's right and left fist
lol
any correct spelling is purely coincidental, but i kant help but feal kie i spelled a few words wrong, the bigger ones. those are the ones that i really struggle with
December 18, 2008.
"Roy is Roy, and if I were to bet my life on a game of 5-on-5, I’d bet on whichever team Roy was playing on." by HurraKane212
my classmates surname was Mocock...
that’s pretty typical
"Step up to my mic!!!" Joel's right and left fist
jscot
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct/
If you can't convince them, confuse them -- Harry Truman, U.S. President
No Excitement Here About David Lee
He doesn’t seem like anything better than what we would have to trade for him. His points and rebounds look promising, but not too promising…especially if we have to give up two players to get him. Don’t we have enough depth at forward? Especially Sergio who could bloom into a superstar within a couple years. He and Rudy have passing skills surpassing any of the others on the team. His assists per minute are way up there,as are his steals. It is unthinkable to me that we would want to trade him. Travis brings an intangible that doesn’t translate to stats such as turning around momentum, making the clutch shot under pressure in the fourth quarter. I like his stats too. And, who can forget Mike Rice gleefully pointing out that he bets Channing Frye didn’t make the scouting report during that game Channing got sooo many points last year (Denver 12-16-07 20 points???). I beg of you all, not to be so short-sighted and impatient that we not stand behind and support our players.
David Lee’s season stats aren’t as good as his last six games stats (pts per game 14.8 vs 6.8, total rebounds per game 11.0 vs 12.3, Assists per game 1.9 vs 2.5) That said, check out his per minute stats over the last 6 games:
Points per minute .426
Total Rebounds per minute .312
Blocked Shots per minute .013
Steals per minute .046
Assists per minute .063
Compare that to current Blazers (season stats):
Outlaw Frye Sergio
Points per minute .405 .352 .278
Total Rebounds per minute .140 .179 .091
Blocked Shots per minute .024 .016 .000
Steals per minute .023 .022 .050
Assists per minute .044 .046 .242
Please note these are based on my calculations which are subject to error. But I hope to get the perspective close anyway.
ok,
how did the Blazer dancers help launch Blaze of love? and im not sure of the describtion being acurate about him losing his myspace girls, althow theres room for it in his description. lame that he unlinked the pictures.
next, i LOVE Chris in Newburg, that guy is freaking awsome. brand new favorite
December 18, 2008.
"Roy is Roy, and if I were to bet my life on a game of 5-on-5, I’d bet on whichever team Roy was playing on." by HurraKane212
lol I love when dumb girls take sexy pics and lose track of them
and get pissed when they inevitably show up on the internet.
Sorry, I don’t have any sympathy for these women.
Blazer Fan
+1
It doesn’t make whoever posted it any less scuzzy if it was a situation where these were photos for friends/a BF/portfolio/whoever and they posted them without consent, but if you let your picture get taken doing something stupid on a digital camera, that’s on you as well as the slimeball who posts it. Idiots + slimeballs are a dangerous combination (e.g. the Jail Blazer era)
Bayless has been testing the fences for weaknesses
by blazeraddict on Jan 6, 2009 10:19 AM PST up reply actions
Lee was indeed worse defending power forwards in 07-8. Not by a lot but he was. It is true he was better defending power forwards in 05-06 and 06-07. It is complicated, dependent on teammates and where 82games assigned him based largely on height rather than knowing true matchups . Hard to say for sure what he’d do on D if he went to another new environment.
Hypothetically playing with Aldridge might work out best from him. Not sure who would guard the center. Aldridge is dynamite on offense at center but the PF would probably guard him and give Lee to the Center. But Lee is better on offense at Center too so somebody should get scored on.
Defense
The Blazers would get scored on pretty easy too but by the stats would have a good chance of outscoring the opponent.
But chasing trade rumors is usually for naught.
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- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
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