It's Brandon's fault we keep talking about starting the wrong PG
by Dunemonkey on Oct 19, 2009 11:40 PM PDT
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Ok, so I just heard that Quick was on the radio still predicting Steve-O in the starting spot, and although I'm sure it's been covered, I got to get this off my chest. Why do we hold up the Brandon and Dre fit query as the deciding factor in all this? If Dre is the better player (I believe), and almost certainly the better PG for our bigs and fast breakers, then why can't we imagine a world in which Dre and Brandon (ostensibly two high BBIQ well-rounded players) can figure out how to play together.
Frankly, if Brandon can't find a way to gel with Dre, that's kind of on him. I have a feeling Dre will work with Brandon on where, when and how he wants the ball. If Brandon can't figure out a way to give a bit back on that in order to have a FAR superior PG on the floor for the team (again, a premise I'm going to go off based on my opinion, stats, etc--argue that if you feel compelled), then it starts to feel a little selfish on Brandon's part. I mean, aren't we all always praising Brandon's BBIQ and well-rounded game? Couldn't a player of that caliber find a way to compromise with another high BBIQ, high quality PG? It just doesn't seem like I've heard that argument around the NBA for two other players who have both been billed as good, smart, talented, unselfish team players. Really? They really can't play together? They really can't adjust?
It seems like we keep getting stuck on which PG would be better for Brandon, and I get that. He's our max contract, franchise player. But for all the speeches by Nate and Bill Walton and others about unselfishness and sacrifice for team, why does Brandon get a complete pass on all that because he currently feels a little more comfortable with Blake, when Miller could do wonders for the other three players on the court? Not to mention the fact that my personal feeling is that if Brandon gave it more of a chance and really worked with him, Dre will be better for Roy in the long run as well.
Well, I suppose that should be enough to get me thoroughly brow beat. Have at you!
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ehh
it is Brandon’s team. A lot of what our team does regarding moves is to see how they compliment Brandon. Blake fits with Brandon…Rex was drafted bc on paper it seemed like he would be the longterm solution that would compliment Brandon.
Overall I think a lot of us are making a big deal out of nothing. It takes a long time to develop chemistry with people…so what if Andre and Brandon haven’t developed it yet. Both seem like type A personality guys….I’m sure there is going to be a slight conflict until everyone figures out their role. If they don’t end up working well together…it isn’t that big of a loss since Andre’s contract is extremely manageable.
Senior Asian ambassador of Blazers Edge
ehh, this probably came off a little more serious than was intended
While I stand by the relative truthiness of my comments, it was meant about half tongue in cheek. I actually think Miller will start sooner rather than later, even not if in the first game. I’m pretty confident it will work itself out in pretty short order. It does feel like Brandon is slightly more reticent and uncomfortable about playing with another good ball handler/initiator than I would have hoped at the outset, but I don’t think a change in tune is all that far in the future.
selfish
"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.
If Quick says Steve is starting
I bet on Miller.
by Falcao on Oct 20, 2009 5:24 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
B Roy is seflish, remember?
No, but really we gotta get over this mentality of Brandon needs to handle the ball all the time. So does Brandon himself.
Blazer Fan
Remember the early weeks w/ LMA?
I recall that Roy and LMA had trouble gelling in the beginning. I think I remember Quick reporting (how’s that for a source?) that both felt like high draft picks and relative stars on the team… it took Outlaw (for whatever else he does on the court, do not overlook his off-the-court contributions) to bring the two together and metaphorically lower the peacock feathers of both.
There might be some of this going on with Roy and Miller. It’s Roy’s team but Miller has the ball as the PG. Roy will often demand the ball of Blake… but probably Miller’s already halfway down the court when Roy asks for it of him.
There’s a very subtle difference in how fans are approaching this season with Roy. Ever since the contract was signed, all criticism of Roy (scant though it was) has dried up to the scarcity of moisture in the Sahara. In some ways, the bleating echoes of “selfish” are almost religious in that they supress any criticism of Roy. Almost as if we are wrong, then all future hope is all lost so best not to dwell on it.
Roy is phenomenal player. But I have always been troubled by his absurd slowness in getting the ball up the court.
I am troubled by his defense. People blame his energy but I see Kobe and Jordan and Garnett playing solid D.
I am trouble by his penchant for complaining to officials.
I am troubled by the fact that he doesn’t seem as capable contributing without the ball.
Roy is an astonishing talent. I want him on this team more than any other player in the league. But let us all remember that this doesn’t mean Roy doesn’t have any room to develop as a player. He does. He most certainly does. Roy as he exists today will not bring home a championship. A one-on-one championship? I’ll put my money on Roy right now and let the chips fall. But a team championship? Not yet.
Quite simply, he is going to have to learn to play with the team. And we as fans have to remember to approach assessment of his play with honesty and objectivity.
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
Roy...
Has been an allstar and he got his max contract…. now its time to do whatever it takes to help the team to get to the finals. Its not about personal stats anymore. At least…it shouldn’t be. If Roy can do this, he could quite possibly get his ring before Lebron. And Kobe couldn’t do it without Shaq until he had been in the league much longer.
Hows this for a resume… ;)
06-07 Rookie of the Year
07-08 All Star
08-09 All Star (NBA all second team)
09-10 NBA Champion
I have no doubt this will all work itself out in the first couple weeks of the season, and it will be interesting to see what moves the team makes. There is no way this team has the same lineup in April as in October.
Of course… its all really on the back of our bigs… Greg and Lamarcus could just be the best 4-5 punch since Duncan and the Admiral.
what about
09-10 allstar?
09-10 first team all NBA?
bayless leaves over my dead body
andre miller>hedo, blake
real.baller
R.A.M.B.O (do it nate, if you are smart)
"I could have killed 'em all, I could kill you. In town you're the law, out here it's me. Don't push it. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it (last years starting line-up) go. Let it go."
by thomasikehara on Oct 20, 2009 7:55 AM PDT up reply actions
Those are good...
I don’t see Brandon making first team SG over Kobe… He’s gotta become a better defender. As much as I like Roy, and as good as he is… Its like Drexler vs. Jordan. Plus… playing on a small market team doesn’t help.
Well honestly, Kobe 'doing it without Shaq' was just him doing it with Pau and Lamar, etc.
I’d rather have GO and LMA than Shaq and Odom.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
edit: Pau and Odom, my bad.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
Blake should start
For many of the same reasons by UDUB in The Ideal Blazer Rotation (even though UDUB suggested Miller should start).
Miller or Roy MUST be in the game at all times. You can’t assess Blake v. Miller in a vacuum. Blake is a pretty good offensive point guard next to Roy and a terrible offensive point guard next to Rudy. Roy dominates the ball, and Rudy is a pure spot up shooter.
Obviously as UDUB suggested, you COULD handle the rotations by taking Miller out first, then having him sub back in for Roy, or vice versa. But the reality is that Nate probably isn’t going to do that. If Blake comes off the bench, he WILL be playing alongside Rudy for a portion of every game. And they WILL be terrible together, and it will seem like they are both in a rut, but that may not be the issue.
The preferable alternative to that is to have Blake start, and then have Miller come off the bench and play the majority of the PG minutes. It sets the rotations up more naturally to succeed.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
I understand Miller wanting to start...
But just think how much fun for him it will be (and the fans) to see him flying down the court lobbing to Travis, and Rudy. Then, when he is playing with the first unit… he will burn his man, draw the double and pitch to a streaking LMA or GO for the backboard bustin’ jam. ;)
Well said - This is the same concept that srarted Nic last year
We had to have Travis’ points off the bench. He played more minutes than Nic.
Andre will get more minutes than Steve as well and at the end of the game Andre will be with Brandon and likely Rudy.
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Look at most elite 2s and the point guard they had.
K*be, Jordan, Wade NEVER have point guards that have the ball in their hands a lot (CP3, Nash, D Will, etc.) It just doesnt work out.
Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Rudy, Batum, Outlaw, Webster, Bayless, Blake, Miller, Joel... Holy crap!
Your example doesn’t work just because it’s hard to get two players of that quality. Not to say you’re wrong, but most teams with an all-star guard work to get a complementary good big. So there are others reasons for the lack of examples.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
I agree Roy should adapt
but I also think this is all overblown by a bored Portland sports media.
It’s tough with only one real team in town. I kind of want an MLB team in town so the writers have a little less pressure to turn mole-hills into mountains when facing a deadline. If PDX had a MLB team, a lot of the ink wasted on Miller’s supposedly bad attitude or Nate not giving the writer the lineup he wants HURRY UP RIGHT RIGHT NOW! would have instead been spent on talking about what steps need to be taken to put our baseball team into playoff contention next year.
You know, interesting sports stuff, not poorly disguised gossip.
And I don’t even like baseball.
Listening to Quick on the radio...
He seems to counter what he writes in the paper… He’ll write an article that makes it sound like there is friction, but then goes on the radio and says there isn’t. Canzano on the other hand…just reaches for material, though I will say I enjoyed his article on the refs yesterday.
Both Quick and Canzano can be toxic
It must sell advertising and gets them national exposure.
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Most of what I have seen, has been media driven.
I havent seen anything on court that would queue me in to a HUGE issue with the players other then the classic getting-to-know-how-each-other-plays, jitters.
It will all work out.
"OK, it's going to rain tomorrow. And there is going to be a Greenpeace meeting and hippies are going to be protesting" ~ The Buffet of Goodness on Portland
Before we get too quick into chastising the media, let it be known Brandon Roy has used that outlet ...
both in print and on radio to his advantage. That, however, is his prerogative, although we as can’t ignore it as unbiased observers. As much as I love the standout University of Washington alum, Roy, the label of selfish — which began as a tongue-in-cheek moniker — has some merit to it. Until Roy vastly improves his off-ball offense and defensive effort, he’ll never be a complete player like his idol, Kobe Bryant, who himself couldn’t win a ring without help in the interior through Shaquille O’Neal first and later Pau Gasol.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
K*be is Martell's "idol"
Brandon said he grew up watching MJ
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Absolutely right
Brandon is better than K@be because he will sacrifice his game at an earlier stage for the team. He also is less controversial.
Of course MJ never did that!
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
You're probably right on the money there.
I just went by how Brandon Roy has said in interviews he looks up to Kobe Bryant as a supremely successful contemporary, which is admittedly altogether different than outright idolizing someone.
Either way, though, Roy needs to work on off-ball offense and his lax effort on defense; otherwise, he’ll always be a second-tier superstar.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
It's gonna take time
It took time for Brandon and Steve to get to know each other’s tendencies, and you can’t expect Roy and Miller to match that same level of “backcourt synergy” after a few weeks/games
The interesting point that made Nate “go back” to Blake starting at PG was the complaint that the RAMBO lineup didn’t defend Phoenix well, last week. That’s a surprise, since no one really considers Steve to be a “better” defensive PG than Miller. Maybe Blake knows the team defensive strategies better, because he’s been in the “system” longer?
My main concern is this: Brandon and Andre will be the “finishing” backcourt when the games are close. It makes sense (to me) that they should be on the court together, earlier in the game, to gain “mutual familiarity” before facing late-game situations.
During the Denver game the other night, foul trouble to Roy meant that Miller had played less than 2 minutes with Roy before the 4th quarter. This is not acceptable. They are both very good and they are pros but you don’t want them “learning” each other’s tendencies on the job in the 4th quarter when the games are on the line. The only sure way to prevent this “disconnect” is to start them both, and let Roy keep “working on his comfort zone” with Miller on the court, during the early season games
It would still be possible to “stagger” the guard rotation to minimize the time that Blake and Rudy are on the floor, together. And I think Fernandez should “step up” and take some of the halfcourt offense “playmaking duties” off of Steve’s hands, during those short minutes. Let’s see if Rudy can run PnR with Martell, or Joel, before declaring the Blake-Fernandez backcourt doomed to failure
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Roy and Miller don't need to start together to log a lot of time together.
The best Roy-centric lineup, which will be the starting lineup needs shooting, so if you do start Miller, you need to start Webster as well, and then the team defense is out the window, because at that point the only serious defensive presence on the floor would be Oden (or Joel) and they will be in foul trouble quick. That is why, if we are going to have a good defense, we need Batum on the floor to take the other team’s playmaker, and that means we need another shooter to space the floor. Blake is that guy, despite the fact that Miller might be a better passer/driver. We already have dribble drives covered in that lineup with Roy. We could put Rudy in with Roy, but then Roy would have to play PG. Blake can play point, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, is a good passer, and a very good shooter. He fits a lineup that is good offensively and defensively. People need to get over the idea that you need all five guys on the floor to be offensive powerhouses. Winning is a team thing. We can’t forget about defense. And yes, Blake is a somewhat better defender than Miller. Blake is at least scrappy on D, but like the rest of the NBA, can stay in front of Tony Parker and players of that sort, so he gets a bad rap from myopic Portland fans. But, since Batum would likely be a part of a Blake/Roy line up, the D is significantly better, and with the weapons of Roy, LMA and an improved Oden, not to mention Blake’s threes, plus whatever Batum can add offensively, the unit can score. The key to that unit improving on last year, is really Oden being able to score, and actually be the inside presence they were totally lacking last year. It’s not like we won’t see Miller. He will probably play more minutes than Blake, but we need to start the year strong and let the rest come from “on the job training”, until all the guys know how to play with each other, and the team defense is understood by the whole team. If you start with a combination of guys who aren’t ready to play together, no matter how talented, it would be easy to start the season below .500, and in the West, staying above .500 is like staying above water. Your playoff life depends on it.
that was pretty much unreadable
my two points again were
Nate said the reason why he returned to the Blake-Roy starting backcourt was because the RAMBO lineup didn’t defend well in the Phoenix game. Not because of outside shooting from the PG postition
Your first sentence “Roy and Miller don’t need to start together to log a lot of time together” was disproven in Sunday’s game against Denver. Roy and Miller played less than 2 minutes together, before the 4th quarter
Blake is a notoriously slow starter. If Steve doesn’t play well in the starting lineup for the first part of the season, to the point where it costs the team wins, I expect Nate will make an adjustment to the starting backcourt.
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You're right, that was badly written.
Sorry, it was a steam of consciousness thing that I posted without reading through. The million different points I crammed into that blob I still stand by.
As far as your response; you are wrong, in asserting that one preseason game has now “disproven” the notion that Roy and Miller will log plenty of PT together, even if they don’t start together. We all agree, and several preseason games have shown that Miller will get more PG minutes than Blake. We also know Roy will play most of the game. The overlap is inevitable. How often do you think Roy will be in foul trouble (the reason he was off the court when Miller was in for this ONE game)? How often was Roy in foul trouble last year? And, if the scab refs are this bad all the time, at least we can count on players on the other team being in foul trouble too, so it should work out like communism with all getting screwed equally.
As far as Blake being a notoriously slow starter; I’ve heard that about Outlaw, but not about Blake. Out of the first 20 games last year, he scored double digits in 11 of them, and averaged about 12pts, 5 assists, and 1.3TOs. If you just look at the first 5 games, he averaged 10pts, 4 assists, and 1.4 TOs. Which notoriously slow start were you talking about?
As far as reasons for abandoning the lineup with Miller starting, I was giving my reasons why it is not our best combination of players, not Nate’s, though I figure he sees things closer to what I’m saying than what you are, because his actions are reflecting that, but I could be wrong, I can’t read his mind. This is a blogg after all, so we’re hear to voice our opinions on a subject we all enjoy.
Which notoriously slow start were you talking about?
Blake’s first year in Portland he was the #3 PG, he wasn’t named the starter until December
Then in ’07, Steve was beaten out by Jarrett Jack in training camp, but reclaimed the starting job early in the season, after Roy went to Nate and asked for the opportunity to handle the ball, more
Blake and Roy have had years to develop their backcourt cohesiveness, Brandon and Andre have played together for less than a month. By anyone’s observation or measurement, Miller has “beaten” Blake out for the starting PG job during camp and preseason. If Blake and Roy were Portland’s “best combination” at guard, then you’d expect them to always be on the court at the end of games, right?
I’ve already changed sides several times on this debate, and I understand all the arguments from both directions. I’ve also seen McMillian flip-flop on his starting lineup decisions at various times and for various reasons in the past, and I suspect Miller will ultimately be Roy’s running mate at the beginning of each half. Time will tell
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Blake was brought in to mentor Telfair, not be a starter.
I don’t know how you can say a guy had a slow start, when he didn’t even get to play until Telfair was injured. The year he was playing with Jack, he still didn’t have the starter job, because they were still looking for a slashing PG. He eventually proved to be the steadier hand than those other guys, but those seasons were a different situation than being the definitive starter. Last year is the year to look at, as far as how he starts, when he is the starter.
I agree Miller and Roy will develop fine, but because the West is so tight, we have to win games now, and often the best line up for winning games isn’t the most individually talented 5, but a balanced attack, and rotation.
Blake has become the defacto starting PG
because there wasn’t a better option, for the last 5+ years.
Steve and Brandon have built up a “comfort level” because of time and familiarity, and it will take time for Miller and Roy to do the same. Not just chronological time (as in weeks and months) but more importantly on-court time. I agree that winning games 1-82 is important, but at the end of the season the team’s success will be judged on playoff victories. We’ve seen the Blake-Roy backcourt in playoff action, and the results were underwhelming—and this was why Miller was acquired, to upgrade the PG position. Everyone seems to agree that Andre is the best PG option for Portland to finish ballgames. But establishing the tempo and outscoring the other team’s starters is important at the beginning of each half, as well.
Blake has started slowly again, this offseason. If he’s not knocking down his 3 point shot, he doesn’t bring much else to the lineup other than steady play. Meanwhile, every minute that Blake plays alongside Roy is one less opportunity for Brandon and Andre to learn how to “mesh” well and finish games well.
What about the 2nd unit? Blake and Rudy aren’t a good combo, that’s one of the main reasons I keep hearing for leaving Steve in the starting lineup. First of all, you don’t build your optimal bench unit first, then fill the starting lineup with the leftover players—that’s backwards. Second, how much time has Rudy had out on the court, this preseason? Not much, and one of the things that Nate was planning to do was to give Rudy the opportunity to handle the ball and “inititate” more in the offense. Do you think he’ll have more of a chance to do this if he’s playing next to Blake, or Miller?
Like I said earlier, I’ve already debated this from both sides, and right now it appears that folks are lining up behind Nate’s decision to keep the Blake-Roy starting backcourt intact. How many poor first and 3rd quarters (like last night) are you willing to absorb, before questioning this strategy? We saw quite a few slow starts, last year. Comebacks are exciting, but I’d prefer to see the team get off to a good start at the beginning of each half and not dig themselves a hole that may be too deep to climb out of (while expending more energy that will affect the key players, on back-to-back nights)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Blake has started slowly again, this offseason
*preseason
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The Denver game is not gage of any intended rotations - how many games did Roy get 5 fouls last year?
Roy and Andre will play lots of minutes together all season barring injury. I do think that they need time together and as Nic was never on the floor at game’s end neither will Steve be but Travis played ok with Roy at that time. Starting seems an ego thing. If Andre were as good as Pippen than he would start. He is going to fill some of the same functions that LMA had to last year by being on the floor when Roy rests. That will give Roy more time with LMA and bring more to his game at the end as well.
As for wingzeta’s post here is the takeaway:
Winning is a team thing.
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
IT'S THE OFFENSIVE SETS, STUPID
Okay, the “stupid” wasn’t directed at anyone in particular, just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on what I think I see with my obviously and admittedly untrained eye:
When Brandon has the ball in his hands as the quasi-point, the offensive “set” typically has the actual PG (last year, Steve Blake) float down to the corner, so that if Brandon draws a double, the ball can be swung to the open corner and Bang, Kapow! Three points!!!
Well, we know that no matter how good Andre Miller is, he is NOT going to take that shot with any consistency, let alone hit it at any great rate. The result: the same play that worked last year for a three pointer, now results in Andre getting the ball deep in the corner, briefly considering, then eschewing a shot, then re-setting the offense with very little time left on the shot clock, as it’s really tough to drive to the basket from the corner, with the baseline as an extra defender.
So, while I don’t disagree that Brandon and Andre should be able to “work it out,” it seems to me that the sets have to be adjusted so that it isn’t Andre, a non-shooter, playing in a set that’s designed for a shooter. I also think that’s another reason to have the most reliable three point shooter in the starting lineup with Andre and Brandon filling that Steve Blake “corner gunner” role. If that’s Martell, so be it. If it’s Nic (which I doubt), fine.
Thoughts from the group?
Kermit on the inbounds play, inbounds....
BATES at the horn, HE SCORES!! HE SCORES!!!!
And they are all over Billy Ray Bates! My, oh my!!!
Yes.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
by FiveOhThree-RipCity!! on Oct 20, 2009 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions
Yup.
Now everybody’s second guessing the coach and the best player. I don’t see how it’s selfish for the franchise player on a successful team to opine that he’s more comfortable running sets with one guy over another.
It doesn’t matter who the best player is; it’s about cohesion. A few years back the Lakers had several HOFers playing together. They got beat by a team full of good players and sometimes All-Stars who had great chemistry in the Detroit Pistons.
You got it, bruddah.
Roy and Blake are one inseparable pairing.
Miller and Oden are another. Add Juwon to that to make it a threesome and you’re cooking.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
Another good point
(or three).
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
This will all work itself out but...
Frankly, if Brandon can’t find a way to gel with Dre, that’s kind of on him.
Statements like that are where this entire discussion…that’s been had many time now… goes south!!!
This is Roy’s team not Andre’s. Andre is a smart, mature talented PG who I really believe will fit in fine with Roy in time. I also believe that his experience and position on this team make it mainly his responsibility to fit in… Not Brandon’s.
Why Oh Why can’t the season just start now so we can have real stuff to talk about instead of this “non-issue”.
The better player for the team in both the PG and C position will start and play the majority of the minutes. Why can’t we just let that sort itself out without blaming Roy or Nate or Blake or KP or each other…
I say just let it happen…and start the dang season!
GO BLAZERS!!!
Is the over 50% thing a joke?..
…Over 50% of total votes want to tell Brandon to get over himself?… If that’s real I’m in the wrong blog!!!…
Is this O-Live?!?!?!
EXCELLENT POLL.
I like Miller off the bench, even though he’s better than Blake.
I want Oden and Nic on the bench with him and I want complete, hockey-style line changes.
I want to see a team that runs.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
can we have the fights too?
GO and Joeltag team
"I play, Coach stays. He goes, I go." - Jimmy Chitwood
by DucRider on Oct 20, 2009 3:27 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Now you are on a slippery slope
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
I don't know Nate personally
But my guess is the final decision for the starting lineup is his.
oh wait, R11 already said this.
This thread has been open on my computer since 7am but I forgot about it, thought I had the 4th post, haha
Simple . . .
Steve Blake is and always will be underrated. He plays off BRoy
the same way John Paxson played off of Jordan. Andre Miller is here
for two maybe three years and needs the ball in his hands to create
his shot or a pass. He’s not a good enough outside shooter to spread
the floor for BRoy. In addition, BRoy is a ROY and two time All-Star who
is the heart and soul of the Blazers. All of the players (sans new guys)
believe it and know he will drive them when the chips are down.
This subject has been beat to death and many have very strong opinions
due to their dislike of Blake or need to start 5 potential All-Stars. Role players
who fit in the team concept and are only concerned with winning will always
help vault teams to greatness !
GO BLAZERS !! COINCAST SUCKS !!!
It's GO time !
by walkoff41 on Oct 20, 2009 5:35 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
It still boggles my mind!..
50% of people knowingly or unknowingly voted…
Are we going to have a worse overall starting unit because Brandon is being a spoiled, max contract brat?… Since no one will see my name attached to this answer, heck yeah! Get over yourself Brandon! Make this work for the children!
Is my sarcasm detector malfunctioning?.. Am I missing something?.. For the love of all things Blazer stop the insanity!!!…
Good debate between Wingzeta and two4larue
3 round knock out for Wingzeta. Get the smelling salts out for larue.
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