Blazers Starting Lineup 09-10 & Season Predictions
I think that too much is being made of who is going to start and who's going to come off the bench for the Trail Blazers. Other then the chemistry issues that it may cause, I don't think it will effect the play on the court or the win total. The Blazers will be good no matter who starts and who comes off the bench.
As far as the point guard position I don't think it really matters. If the Trail Blazers start Andre Miller then it will present some early chemistry issues. But it will also be the same if Andre is coming off the bench. Though I think Miller is an upgrade at point guard, I'm not sure how well he would work with Brandon Roy. I think Miller will be good for Greg Oden and I think coach McMillan has to consider that when he's setting his starting lineup.
Now Steve Blake is a solid point guard but I think he's more of a backup point guard. Like what I mentioned earlier with the Oden and Pryzbilla, I think Miller will make you a contender and Blake will just help you make the playoffs. If Blake comes off the bench he can provide great shooting with that second unit along with Webster, Outlaw, and Fernandez.
As far as the small forward position, I think you have to start Nicolas Batum. He's going to be a very good player in this league for a long time. There have been comparisons to Scottie Pippen. Now I don't think he'll end up being Scottie Pippen, but I think he'll be more of a Shawn Marion type player. I don't think Martell will give you more then you already have. Webster gives you a very good outside shooter and a decent defender. He gives you more size then Nicolas gives you but I just think Batum is a much better defender and he'll be a very good outside shooter.
Though I don't think it matters who starts, it just matters how the minutes are managed and who finishes games. The only position I see it being a huge deal is at center. You have to start Greg Oden. But for the season I think the Blazers will win anywhere from 56 to 60 games and finish no lower then the 3rd seed in the west. They'll end up in the Western Conference Finals and they'll lose to either the Lakers or the Spurs in 7 games depending on the seeding and who gets the 1 and the 2 and the 3 seed.
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If Brandon can learn to play off the ball (ie take off to the hoop when Miller collapses the D)
They should work out fine. Look at Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Tony is pretty solidly in the mold of Miller (layups, passes, not a lot of 3s, not a hgh % from deep) and they play M&P together all the time.
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Oct 25, 2009 9:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah I agree. If Brandon can learn to play off the ball him and Andre will be great together. I think Andre will be good for everyone else in that starting lineup especially for Greg Oden. But it will be rough for the first 15 or 20 games or so. After that they should have a good idea as to how to play with each other.
by Aaron Sass on Oct 26, 2009 12:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs



























