When is it time for CHANGE?

by VinnyB on Nov 2, 2009 4:03 AM PST Comment 18 comments

Its clear to me that something needs to change. It could be anything from tactical (minor) to a trade/firing(major).

After 4 games, its come to light that the best we could hope for is a minor change, perhaps starting Miller for example. But that still won't help us enough on the defensive end. As soon as we lost Batum to injury, Nate lost his reason to start Blake. Webster provides us with the 3pt shooting that we need and since Steve contributes nothing else I see no reason for him playing more than 18 minutes a night. Blake is a career backup and Miller is a career starter but I guess we do things a little backwords. That is probably why Miller is struggling as much as he is. Why the hell did we sign him if Nate was never going to allow him to play his way? Putting restrictions on an uptempo PG is stupider than hell. Bringing off the bench is restricting him as much as playing a slow tempo. But he probably wouldn't help all that much defending the Brooks' and the Westbrooks' of this league.

If KP were to read this(chuckle) I would tell him to trade Blake without asking Nate. We could package him with a player that teams actually believe has talent like Outlaw or even Rudy ( if we could get an established PG). Why in God's name did we not go for Moe Williams when he was still a Buck?

Does KP have the balls to make a trade that will put us over the edge? I know that he's great at drafting and whatnot but he has yet to trade away young talent( without star quality i.e Outlaw) He even failed to trade away our most tradeable player ever, Reaf! How did we end up with a backup PG from RLFEC? That was failure!

What about Nate? He spent the entire Preseason working on the teams defense and its still piss poor for a Playoff team. Spending all that time on the defense has led to our offense to stink just as bad. You can make all aathe excuses you want but the other Playoff teams have similar ones but they are started really well. For example look at Orlando, they lost Lewis for the forseeable future and Carter as well and they still managed to get a 125 -116 win against Toronto with 4 players scoring at least 20 pts. They put up 82 shots and 41 free throws and they managed to shot below 44% and have less than 10 TOs. We will never do that with Nate as head coach. Nate has to be the most stubborn guy ever. For a former PG, he doesn't a thing about what makes a good PG. I'd rather him prove me wrong but I seriously doubt it. I remember in his days coaching the Sonics, he decided to start Ridnour over Watson and he still hasen't learnt.

So when is it time to put the pressure on Nate and the team? Do we stick by him as he guides us to at best another first round exit? It would take an MVP type of performce from Roy to get this team to the Playoffs with home court advantage. Trust me, the PG is that important and we don't have one that is good enough. We might have to give our little T-Rex a chance to save someone's J.O.B!

0 recs | Comment 18 comments | Add comment

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Last year we only won one of our first four

I don’t know when it is time for CHANGE, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t at the beginning of November after 4 games, when you have won two of them.

L.A. lost a home game. Dallas lost a home game. N.O. lost two games on the road.

I think I’ll defer my panic for a while.

I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.

by jscot on Nov 2, 2009 4:11 AM PST reply actions 2 recs

lol

Yeah, probably not.

Although benching Miller is proving to be a disaster. A guy who’s been starting for the past ten years doesn’t look comfortable coming off the bench. Who would have thunk it? Remember all that crazy talk about how Miller is such a good fit with the “second unit”? Yikes. Might as well have just kept Sergio. It would have saved Paul Allen some money.

by Nick Van Excellent on Nov 2, 2009 5:46 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The Miller second unit

looked very good in the second quarter of the opening game, but hasn’t been so great since.

They’ll work it out, one way or another.

I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.

by jscot on Nov 2, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

I agree Nate is stubborn

We are totally wasting Miller’s talents, and along with that, any chance we have to transform the team beyond what it was last year. We can hope and pray that either a) Nate sees the light on his own but I unless we have a total collapse I doubt that will happen, or b) we get an opportunity for a trade a midseason that KP just cannot pass up. I don’t know who it would be for but hopefully it would involve moving Blake.

Ultimately, I do not believe McMillan is the guy to take this team very far, and if we do not get past the 1st round, or worse yet we miss the playoffs altogether, I would be in favor of making a change at head coach in the offseason.

by socalblazer on Nov 2, 2009 7:34 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Bread and butter play

There are a few things this team needs to do, and starting Miller is one. But we need to work out a few bread and butter plays other than iso. for Roy. Whether it’s LMA in the post or a pick n’ roll with Andre, we need to find a few plays that the offense can be comfortable with, know where to go on and we can ram down the throat of opposing teams.

by boppitywop on Nov 2, 2009 7:52 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

we aren't even a full week into a 6 month season...

and though it hasn’t been a brilliant 4 games, it’s not as if all hope is lost.

If the team hasn’t hit a stride by mid December, I’ll start worrying.

An offensive rebound in paragraph form. -Mr. Golliver

by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Nov 2, 2009 8:22 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

It could be time for a change in attitude

I see a team that is grateful to beat OKC on the road rather than a team who realizes it SHOULD beat OKC on the road. I see a team that doesn’t believe in itself yet, which is odd considering the events of last season.

I also see game after game of dudes so intent on ‘running the sets’ that they fail to look to attack the basket. What’s up with that. Screw sets. Get baskets.

Blazer Fan

by leeroyjenkins on Nov 2, 2009 9:31 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Preach on brother!

I love my Comcast!

by Comcast Lover on Nov 2, 2009 12:16 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks to McMillan

Who insists on “barking” plays every time down the court. I suppose if I were Miller, playing off the bench, getting barked at every play would annoy me.

Nate is a momentum killer. He doesnt force the hot hand. Greg has success in O, he decides to shelve it(even though that is the main ticket to success in playoffs unless we want to jump-shoot our way to a championship). Everyone has success fronting Yao, he refuses in playoffs until we had pretty much lost the series.

Nate seems to get things after everyone else.

Also, we had a ton of success running past halfcourt within 4 seconds of inbound. Nate waited 60+ games to run with a young, athletic team last year. He finally does, has a ton of success and moves away from it in playoffs. Where is it this year?

Land Rondo.

by loyal_blazer on Nov 2, 2009 12:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

How about breaking Nate's in game comments and instructions ...

… down into a chart like Ben just did with Durant’s possessions last night?

Maybe then we can know if this is an accurate observation or simple prattling. How does one even know what Nate is yelling, unless one is sitting behind the bench, within earshot?

Finally any player, in any sport, that can’t handle getting barked at by his coach, shouldn’t be playing.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Nov 2, 2009 3:42 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Plateau...

I will wait for the Blazers performance and results to at least reach a plateau before it will be time for change in my mind.

Nate, like any coach, has a strong will and tends to think he’s right. So far we have improved at a very high rate during his tenure. The teams numbers and records over the last few years are well documented and I would stack them against any turn around in the NBA.

I’m not sure when the proper time to make a change is… But I am reasonably sure nothing in the first 4 games dictates a change is needed now.

GO BLAZERS!!!

by Ilikeemall on Nov 2, 2009 1:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

In no way has Miller proved he deserves to start. Neither has Blake really.

We all know we dont have the “greatest” PGS. Everyone knows Nate is stubborn. EVeryone knows noone is perfect. We are 2 – 2. No biggie. There aint enough preseason games to ready your team. Most teams play wierd lineups in preseason anyways. Consider these first couple weeks the real preseason. Like Jscot said – we were 1 – 4 at this time last year and we went on to win 54. Have faith, our team isnt a buncha scrubs. And our coach isnt a scrub neither. I dont agree with his every decision, but hes a good coach and I personally stand by him.

The Dude: Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here!

by cavejunctionblazer on Nov 2, 2009 1:35 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Yes

I wouldn’t be surprised if some of your feelings are bubbling beneath the surface with management. If the average fan sees it and obsesses over it, management does so tenfold. Technically it’s too early in the season, but my patience with Nate is seriously thinning.

by Stryder9 on Nov 2, 2009 2:09 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

There can't be much patience to start with ...

… if it is already starting to thin after 4 games.

I believe the technical term for that is – wildly impatient.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Nov 2, 2009 3:45 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

An excellent example ....

…. of how little most fans really understand the game.

1) Who makes changes 4 games into the season? Unless you are returning the exact same rotation, every team understands that it may take a few games to integrate new guys. The Blazers are basically adding a new PG and new SF and a new Center.

2) Steve Blake contributes a wee bit more than 3 pt shooting. He knows the offense and just as importantly, McMillan has faith in his running it. He does not make a lot of mistakes with the ball – one of the reasons Nate trusts him. He understands Roy’s game and tendencies, which might be important if you think Brandon is our best player. He’s actually a decent defender, particularly against bigger guards. He, like just about anyone else in the league, has problems with really quick guys. I don’t know this for a fact, but that appears to be as much a function of the no hand checking rule as anything else.

3) Why do you believe McMillan is placing restrictions on Miller? Where is the evidence. From what I’ve read, Nate is usually on the sidelines exhorting his guys to push the tempo. I also have not seen any reports or evidence that Nate has been quick to pull Andre when he makes a turnover. If anything, Andre might be getting yanked for poor shot selection. I’m pretty sure it’s not Nate yelling at him to take jumpers.

3) I’m not going to get into the trade suggestions. I’ve beaten that drum enough times. I’ll only remind folks that it isn’t like trading playing cards.

4) I’ll still trust Nate’s abilities and experience as a coach over anyone here. I’m still waiting for even one of his critics to tell me how many NBA games they’ve coached (they don’t even have to be wins). Maybe I’m as stubborn as McMillan, but I can’t shake the believe that there is a lot more needed than watching games on tv or in person to be a good coach.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Nov 2, 2009 3:34 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

To answer your question...

Not yet…

As another poster said, I, too, have heard Nate ask the guys to push the ball, so I’m not yet convinced that Nate will not “let Miller be Miller” and lead the fast break… eventually…

Re-post in a month…

by Visionary2 on Nov 2, 2009 4:40 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

You've got to be kidding..

It cracks me up, how so many people around here think they know more about coaching than an excellent coach (Nate), let alone any other NBA coach for that matter.
Get A Clue… Check your facts before shooting off your mouth, like a Shaq free throw… It makes you look lamer than an Andrea Miller 3-point shot attempt.
It has been 4 games people… Nate would love to run more, but its kind of hard when the team is not quite ready for that yet.. Look at how many turn-overs these guys are committing as it is. Once they come closer to mastering their defensive rotations (hard to fast break after made baskets), and taking better care of the ball, they will be able to run a little more.. And much more effectively. Give it some time. It will come.

timg56 statements (above) are very well stated, and right on the mark.

by Rick_D on Nov 2, 2009 6:12 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Bull!

Of course you CAN run after a made basket. Against Denver all I saw was Blake and Miller walk the ball up the court. That’s 4 seconds that we just lost which leads us to taking a bad shot late in the shot clock.By the way its obvious that I am embarassed with the teams performance but I was just asking, when do we get nervous? I want this team to finish in the top 3 in the West and right now, it doesn’t look likely. Phoenix is already way ahead and you know that they will be better this year.

by VinnyB on Nov 3, 2009 4:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs