How to Best Utilize Blazers' Depth
by goblazer1 on Oct 1, 2009 11:08 AM PDT
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Obviously, the Blazers have multiple players who are good at several positions. They also have a few key/older players who are essential to success at playoff time. Furthermore, some of the players who will be buried on the bench can contribute more if they get more minutes (Martel, Rudy and Outlaw come to mind.) What I propose the Blazers do is this: give guys nights off routinely.
I realize this is not usually done in the NBA. However, the NBA schedule has too many games. Most other leagues play half as many. So there is no shortage of opportunity for guys to stay in shape and keep their game sharp. Coming down the stretch and into the playoffs, having a fresh Brandon Roy, for example, will be critical. And allowing some of those lesser players have more opportunities to play during the season should give them more confidence and sharpness should they be called upon during the post-season.
So, what say all of you. Should the Blazers give guys like Brandon and possibly others regular days off, say 2 or 3 games a month against lesser competition? I think they should.
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It's an intriguing idea.
That being said, It could seriously hurt our win-loss record during the regular season if we’re giving our best players nights off. One or two wins could make the difference between us having home-court. It’s probably best to keep it how it is. You do bring up an interesting strategy though.
I don't think giving players a game off entirely is a good idea
But I do think Nate should play to the match ups and who’s hot more this year instead of having a rock solid substitution pattern.
"Goals are good. Plans are better." -Ben.
i thought this was gonna be about trapping
like what bill simmons proposed were a unit of bench guys comes in and traps the whole time they are on the court, usually at the end of halves and some quaters. I think the blazers are one of the few teams who have enough athletes to do it but it will never happen
that's a good point.
What’s our trapping lineup? Blake, Batum Rudy ? and ?. I realize LMA would be perfect, but we have 0 depth at that position. And do we trap with a real center, or what?
by goblazer1 on Oct 1, 2009 1:04 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
no real center
i would go with batum, trout, lma, rudy and rex(i know he doesn’t have long arms but if this was all he was doing in the game think how all out he would go) or even martell in for rudy if ya want to go even longer. and if lma is too tired put in joel to just hold the fort down in case someone leaks
Six things
1. Run the ball up court on EVERY possession, even after made shots. Everybody across center court within four seconds. If nothing develops, run your offense, starting the offense by six seconds on the clock. Make the defense hustle back, and make them play defense for the whole shot clock, no resting while you get into your offense.
2. LOTS of off-the-ball motion, cutters, screens, etc. That is both physically and mentally fatiguing for the defense. Make every defender be actively defending the whole time. No standing in the corner — have your corner 3 guys cutting across from corner to corner, going around screens, etc.
3. Use a trapping unit, as phillyduck23 suggested. Maybe only a few minutes a game. Bayless, Batum, Martell, Travis, and Greg. If Greg really has his quickness back, this could work. On offense, if you have to set it up, just work it in to Greg in the low post, you can’t really double off of anyone in that lineup. This pushes the pace on defense. (This also gives Bayless a role, even if only a minor one, which isn’t a bad thing.)
4. At least 80% of the time, run a tight man defense rather than a zone. This makes the offense work harder to move the ball, etc. But throw some varying zones out there, too, because mental fatigue can be as important as physical fatigue. Make them work to recognize what you are doing.
5. Substitute freely. Everyone is going to get tired with this approach. We can afford fatigued starters better than anyone else. Rest ours, and let our bench play. If the other team plays their bench, our bench will have an advantage 8 out of 10 games (our bench is the best in the league, perhaps, but on occasion the other bench will play better). If the other team doesn’t play their bench, their starters will be sucking air come the fourth quarter. Our bench especially needs to push the pace if up against starters — oxygen deprivation FTW.
6. Mix and match lineups. Again, this is about mental fatigue. The more different looks we can throw at a team, the better. Platoon at 10 minutes for six minutes, bring the starters back for six minutes, then run a trapping unit for two minutes. Then, in the second half, run a variety of combinations. Make them adjust, adjust, adjust.
If no one plays over 35 minutes, most nights our best players will be a lot more rested in the fourth than their best players. That’s always a good idea. Well, except when you are up by 30, then it doesn’t matter.
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
by jscot on Oct 1, 2009 1:18 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
Dang those are good suggestions
I hope the coaches consider using these ideas.
by goblazer1 on Oct 1, 2009 1:23 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
ditto this
even more excellent than most of your posts, Jscot.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
first point has already been implemented
mcmillan’s 20 second rule…get across half court before the shotclock hits 20
"There are a few teams you have to watch out for in the fourth quarter."
"Yeah, but Portland definitely is not one of them."
-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters at the end of the third quarter with the Hornets leading 74-59. Portland later ends up winning 97-89.
"They don't mind him shooting that shot at all. Rudy Fernandez is not that great of a 3pt shooter."
-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters right after a Rudy Fernandez missed 3pter. Rudy Fernandez finished the game with three 3pters on six attempts.
by Tofu Anonymous on Oct 1, 2009 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions
From the first two suggestions, it sounds like you want Rick Adelman back at the helm.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
I'd settle for Jack Ramsay
But seriously, if you have depth, don’t all of those make sense?
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
I've been cloned! (Or, GMTA!)
Seriously, jscot, I’ve seen you respond in like kind to some of my posts suggesting that running is the way to go, but I didn’t realize our desired strategy for the Blazers was so in sync.
We have young, athletic depth! How best to exploit it? Run. All over the court. Pressing D. Substitute frequently. Keep up the pressure. Run some more. Sub. Full court zone press. Switch to a matchup zone. Fast break some more. Sub. Full court 2 man trap. Run. Box and 1. Sub. Repeat until other team succumbs. Repeat for 4-7 games. Repeat for 4 series.
Repeat for a decade.
I LOVE the idea of the guys in the corner NOT standing still waiting for a pass, but instead, both cutting to the loop, look for the lob, if not there, pick the opposing player trying to guard the other wing cutting across the lane.
As the Brits say…. Brilliant!
Blazers: RUN away with the title!
KP: Please don't trade the next decade's Scottie Pippen (Batum), Spanish Larry Bird (Rudy), Bill Russell (GO) or Captain BRoy - at least until they 3-peat..
Nice quote, small correction
As theBrits sayScots are…. Brilliant!
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
jscot for head coach
from there it’s a small step to world domination.
if Nate and the team can pull off something like this, we will be hard to beat. the real pressure this year is on him and his staff to utilize our wealth of talent.
We're getting there
I posted that Blake might still be our PG starter before Nate said so. Obviously, he got my memo.
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
Nah, he read my comments on July 24.
From Ben’s Andre Miller is Almost a Blazer on July 24
Our back court combinations:
1. Blake and Roy
2. Miller and Rudy
3. Miller, Rudy, and Roy
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jul 24, 2009 12:19 PM PDT actions 0 recs
That’s why Miller plays with Rudy.
Miller is a good creator. Rudy’s the 3 pt man.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jul 24, 2009 12:28 PM PDT up actions 0 recs
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Oct 3, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Ahhhh Geeeee jscot...
Why ya gotta be so dangdable smart..
Good points. Tofu is right the half court in 4 secs thing is already in place. The difference is that at least last year that meant rolling the ball down court so the shot clock didn’t start. Not exactly the same impact.
I’d be a little concerned that “mix and match” line ups and “substitute freely” may have the potential to back fire. Is it possible that the inconsistency of rotations and the lack of consistent PT with each other could have a negative effect? We’d have to adjust everytime they did.
I know I shouldn’t question the future Leader of the World but I was just curious…Thanks for your ideas jscot!
My thought on mix and match and substitute freely
By substitute freely, I mean that you make sure your bench plays a lot. I would definitely use platooning with this team. No question in my mind.
Bring five guys off the bench at once with two minutes left in the quarter, have them go hard for 6-8 minutes, bring back the starters for a quick burst after 4-6 minutes of the second, then bring on your trapping unit for the last couple minutes of the half. That means you have consistent rotations through the first half, and it is three distinct looks to which they must respond. Yet, you’ve rested your starters quite a bit compared to the opponent, in all probability.
Then, in the second half, use situational substitutions, mixing up the lineups some. If you work on running a three guard line-up (PG, Roy, Rudy, LMA, C), that’s another look. If you run out a shooting line-up for a couple minutes (Blake, Rudy, Martell, Travis, LMA), which is a lineup you might want to try if down by 10 at the start of the fourth, that’s another.
You don’t just mix lineups just to mix lineups. You do it with groupings that you might want to use in certain situations. So you are developing that familiarity.
Yes, we’d have to adjust every time they did. There are two important factors there. The first is that the second time we run a line-up, our adjustment might be less than the other team’s, the third even less, etc. The second factor is that we have more talent than almost anyone in the league, so their best way to combat that is being organized offensively and defensively. The more we can disrupt organization, even if it impacts our organization marginally, the greater weight our talent advantage will bear.
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
That Makes Sense...
…and I agree that we have more talent then just about everybody else. I also think that the real need for the consistency of the same guys playing the same minutes together is lessening as the team grows and gains confidence.
It’s going to be very interesting to see the flexability and versatility this team has this year. We have so many guys that can contribute in so many ways. I’d hate to be an opposing coach getting ready to play us…
GO BLAZERS!!!
No you don't give starters nights off agaist lesser teams.
You just blow them out, jump on them early. Then you can rest your top players plenty.
"BEER IS LIVING PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US"
- Benjamin Franklin-
I just feel like giving a guy a night of starter minutes, complete with starting and finishing the game, will be a great way to help him develop confidence in his game. And giving a starter the night off, both mentally a physically, will allow them to be much fresher. We have the personnel, we have the players, why not do it? The Spurs are doing it with Duncan. Phoenix did it with Shaq.
It makes sense if you have a guy
whose body can’t stand up to the back to backs any more.
It also makes sense if you have a guy coming back from injury. No need to rush players back. And we should be ready to rest a guy who has a niggling injury so it can get well.
But I think it breaks team rhythm if you rest guys who are fully healthy and could play, and probably annoys them — they want to play, and if you lose a game that they didn’t play, they won’t like it.
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
I think it would help with Brandon, Rudy and Nic
Just have one or two games where they know they aren’t going to play. You can plan around it, and I think with Rudy and Nic being in Eurobasket this summer it would help them to have some rest. This would also give a player like Bayless, Martell, or Trout more minutes in a game, which I think those players would be happy about.
Combining substitution patterns from other sports.
The bench should be renamed the bullpen. Say Miller is starting and slacking just a little. He glances over and sees Blakey getting loosened up in the pen. A little extra motivation to avoid the humiliation of Nate jogging out to center court and taking the ball away from him.
Plus we need to sub guys during the play, hockey style. Constantly keep fresh legs out there. If we take this to the extreme, we will actually run an offensive and defensive team, swapping for each change of posession on the field…er…court.
To top it all off, we need the water bottle folks on the sidelines from the bicycle races and marathons. Grab a cup, dump it on your head and toss the cup down.
Since we have replacement ref’s this year, I’m pretty sure we could get away with most of this.
The cowards never started
The weak died along the way
Only the strong survived
They were the Trailblazers
by lukeyhere on Oct 1, 2009 1:44 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
If the replacement refs actually happen
we should run the six man play all game, and when the refs object, say, “Look, you’re in the NBA now, man. This is the way we do it here in Portland. The other team could play six if they wanted, too. We wouldn’t object.”
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
by jscot on Oct 1, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Not gonna happen. I bet players like Brandon, LMA, and even Greg, yes Greg who are trying to make the all-star game would throw fits.
Less games is less opportunity to make your case as to why you should be at all-star weekend.
I have LMA, Roy and Batum in a fantasy league
So I’d say NO, but maybe I’m just being selfish :)
"Sometimes I catch myself watching him and he's shooting floaters all-net. And just to watch how he's talking trash. I loved it. I loved every minute of it. Rudy's a competitor." - Brandon Roy
Well, I'd like to see an example
of one championship team where this kind of wild coaching has been successful. Personally, I don’t think players would ever buy into it because it’s too unpredictable.
Championship teams have stars and role players. Each does what they’ve been conditioned to do. The role players accept their roles in part because they know when they’ll be coming in, roughly how many minutes they’ll play and generally what they will be asked to do. It’s something they can prepare themselves for, get comfortable with and buy into.
To disregard this and just play ‘helter-skelter’ , ‘live in the moment’, ‘game time decision’ basketball is setting the table for mutiny in my opinion. Unless this approach is winning a ton of games, expect a lot of ‘players only’ meetings and coach firings.
Imagine if each day you went to work, your job would be drastically different. One day you come in and are told you’ll work 12 hours as a welder in the cold. The next day you are told to put an apron on ‘cause you’re serving burgers from 10 to 3, then you’ll be making collection calls at the finance company from 5 to 8. The next day you’re told to put together financial projections for ABC Plumbing. The day after that you’re told to work 6 to midnight at the local ER and take the following day off.
Actually, a better comparison
would be that you go in to work every day, and one day out of every two weeks you’re told you don’t have to work, you can watch a basketball game.
But I still don’t buy into it, because they want to play the game.
As author of Da BOM (Blazer Optimist Manifesto), I hereby certify that we will win 62 games in the regular season. Disagree at your peril.
dont rest players for games in the regular season
just dominate games thoroughly enough that we can rest them in the 4th qtr of games.
I'm sure somebody else mentioned this...
…they did the last time it was suggested. The fans are probably the main reason you can’t give big names the night off. If I could only afford to go to one game a year and it was, “Brandons Night Off” I’d be steamed!
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