En Garde -- Questions about RAMBO II

by jiminut on Nov 7, 2009 5:26 PM PST

The new "preferred" Trailblazer lineup has me jumping in excitement and scratching my head at the same time. On a side note, I'm also chewing gum, whistling, and rubbing my belly. While I'm thrilled to see Coach trying something outside of the box, I'm not sure this one makes the most sense, even (or especially) if a three guard lineup is the way you want to go. I've not made up my own mind, but I've got new questions and no answers. And now that I've got my I-Phone I do appreciate the Jump.

1. If you wanted three guards to start, would they be Miller-Blake-Roy? Clearly, one of the difficulties posed by signing Dre is that you've got two guys who excel when they run the offense. Dre and Brandon both are good passers (Dre first) and jump shooters (Brandon first), and actually they complement each other in those areas. But for both, their primary threat is the drive. That's where they break down the defense. Therefore, you do need to open up the floor, and Blake clearly has that ability. But for that matter, so does Rudy, and if you feel like being traditional so does Webster. RAMBO 2 might work against some teams but you have to admit it's an awfully small back court.

2. Do you want two units who are more or less parallel in terms of playing style? This is important in explaining why Blake would be in the first unit, because if Andre's your starting PG, switching in Blake would completely disrupt any sort of rhythm. Jarryd, despite his inexperience and lack of consistency, has many of Dre's strengths and weaknesses. He's faster, longer, a good defender and a streaky shooter. Of course they are different players but they are much more similar than Jarryd and Steve or Dre and Steve. Thinking this way actually makes the Miller signing much more logical in the long run... maybe this is how Bayless develops into his potential. And it's my response to anyone who suggests the lineup should be Miller-Bayless-Roy (RAMBO 3).

This question also would explain why Rudy is coming in after Blake, because as far as we can tell, Coach pretty much sees Rudy as a 3-point specialist, although Rudy and I would like to see more options there.

3. Do you want two units who are more or less parallel in skill level? This is part of the argument that Miller should be on the second team, because the assumption is his talent balances the absence of Roy when he takes his breather. But it doesn't explain why Webster and Travis are both on the bench. If you want a balanced offense then let's get Webster back in to start and Travis backing him up (until Nic is 100%). Yes they have to prove themselves defensively, but it goes without saying that Miller-Roy-Webster (or Outlaw) is a better defensive unit than Miller-Blake-Roy.

Summary/Conclusion: Being entirely candid, I started this post just asking the questions. And while I'm eager and open for other opinions, I've reached my tentative conclusion. I'm pretty sure Miller was finally inserted into the starting lineup because he's better than Blake. He needs time to develop with the team, and particularly with Roy who is after all our centerpiece, but the improvement is obvious. But making Blake your second man at point completely changes the game. It stops any momentum you may have developed and turns you into a half-court team. That's why having Roy and Miller on two units makes sense -- if you're loyal to Blake. On the bench, you could call Dre your poor substitute for Roy, and Rudy your taller, swarthy Spanish substitute for Blake. The positions are different in name but the makeup is the same.

But that's a very minor improvement over last year.... a slightly better second unit doesn't get you to Round 3. But once you admit that Miller is better than Blake to start, Blake becomes expendable... either he's trade bait, or he's the 3 point shooter you bring in (with Travis and Rudy) when you're desperate in the fourth quarter, or else, I suppose, he's your outside-the-box excuse of a shooting guard.

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Comments

I'm waiting for the ROTFL line up.

Roy, Oden, Travis, Fernandez, & LaMarcus= AWESOME!!

;^)

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Nov 7, 2009 5:46 PM PST reply actions

BTW I agree with you.

& Nice post. Miller > Blake.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Nov 7, 2009 5:47 PM PST up reply actions

Thanks indeed

But I guess the new question is Blake vs. Fernandez?

by jiminut on Nov 7, 2009 6:11 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

Miller

should be on the second unit and Blake should continue to start. Miller and Roy should also play together for SOME stretches but not as starters together. It completely takes Roys impact off the game. This season is just starting out as a big mess. Should have never signed Miller in the first place.

by BBG on Nov 7, 2009 6:31 PM PST reply actions

I've been to the games and Miller is a MUCH better

point guard than Blake. He actually runs the plays, unlike Blake. Blake is great as a backup point guard. Roy will get more easy baskets when Miller is on the floor.

by Natsthecat on Nov 8, 2009 12:57 PM PST up reply actions

RE: Pt #2

In my opinion, the only common trait I see between Jerryd and Andre is the ability to take the ball to the hole. Jerryd doesn’t have the court vision, passing ability, and ball handling skills of Andre Miller and it’s not even close. Jerryd played OK in his limited minutes last night, however using him as a primary ball handler (ie back up PG) would be a mistake in my opinion. Blake is a true point guard like it or not….

by j dubya on Nov 7, 2009 6:51 PM PST reply actions

But Jerryd is only equal to a Junior in collage, do you want to compare him to Miller's sophmore year in court vision

and ball handling? Get real! He has great potential, and if he would get more playing time will play with any of the point guards in this year’s draft, in fact wondering where he would of ranked among them.

by prof.mike on Nov 7, 2009 8:27 PM PST up reply actions

Yes I would

In my opinion court vision is not something that is learned at this age…you either have it or you don’t…unfortunately for his development as a PG he doesn’t. Andre Miller likely had developed those qualities by the time he was a sophomore in High School.

by j dubya on Nov 7, 2009 8:48 PM PST up reply actions

OH Like Bayless wasn't one of the very best player in high school!

by prof.mike on Nov 8, 2009 3:35 PM PST up reply actions

Andre and Greg need to play together

For Oden to be effective, he needs Miller feeding him the ball. Greg is now the starting center, so Andre needed to be in the starting lineup as well

If you accept this premise, then the only question remains "who is the 5th starter alongside Miller, Roy, LMA and Oden? If you’re a conventional NBA thinker (like me) you look at those 4 players and slot a SF (like Webster) in there as the 5th starter. RAWMO is a better balanced defensive lineup, and the offense shouldn’t suffer much, either

But there are other factors that require Blake to be in the starting 5, at least temporarily. First of all, the Blazer coaching philosophy doesn’t necessarily view their wing players in traditional SG = 2, SF = 3 roles. They’re more fluid, and interchangeable. To Nate’s way of thinking, Roy can guard some threes, so a “3 guard lineup” is acceptable. Blake and Miller can guard some SGs, so they aren’t necessarily “just” PGs, and so on. This makes for a lot of head-scratching among the fanbase, but if you understand that Nate will mix and match players outside of their “traditional” positions, his lineups might start to make more sense, even if you don’t agree with them, all of the time.

A second factor that can’t be understated is Roy’s comfort level with Blake, he doesn’t have the same confidence in Rudy, or Martell. (Brandon would probably feel even more “comfortable” playing in-between Blake and Batum, but Nic is out) To take Steve away would be like releasing Brandon from his moorings, so to speak. Blake provides a “touchstone” for Roy and LMA, Steve is their “glue” guy. They know where he’ll be in the offense, and he knows their tendencies, as well. That kind of non-verbal “tribal knowledge” doesn’t come overnight, it takes dozens of games (and pressure situations faced and obstacles overcome) to develop this synergy. Miller and Roy will get there, and Nate is probably hoping that they’ll get there sooner (and smoother) if Andre is starting and Blake is also available to ease the transition.

I expect the small lineup to be temporary. NBA scouts will dissect it’s weaknesses, and head coaches will quickly exploit it. But the point isn’t how long Miller, Blake and Roy start games together, it’s how much better Andre makes Greg. Brandon has to know this is the goal, and that Oden’s consistent contribution on offense is necessary for Portland to make the next step towards winning a playoff series. It simply wasn’t going to happen if Oden was starting and Miller was coming in off the bench…there just aren’t enough minutes in an NBA game to get Greg and Andre together, otherwise—and it’s even harder to match these two players up when Oden picks up fouls and is out of the game when it’s time to “sub” Miller in

So enjoy it, as much as you can. If you think Blake should be trade bait and Rudy/Martell should be playing more, I can understand your angst. I think Outlaw should be trade bait and DeJuan Blair should’ve been drafted…but we don’t always get what we want, do we?

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Nov 7, 2009 8:06 PM PST reply actions

Excellent!! I totally agree and hope Brandon Roy does know how important Miller is to Oden

by Natsthecat on Nov 8, 2009 1:01 PM PST up reply actions

how does andre

make greg better? gregs problems are all his own. His points have come from backing people down and then not having the ball stripped or fumbling it away like he normally did/does.

by BBG on Nov 8, 2009 1:14 PM PST reply actions

it's hard to strip a lob pass

Miller needs to be on the floor when Oden is, so they can “hook up” on some alley-oops. The more Greg dunks, the more confidence he’ll have in his post-up moves

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Nov 8, 2009 3:51 PM PST up reply actions

disagree

Sure, many of Greg’s problems are his own, but if he doesn’t get the ball in scoring position, he’ll never learn. I think we’ve seen improvement in his game already this season, but most blazers not named Miller don’t look to feed Greg enough, either because they don’t trust him, or they don’t like the passing lane they have. Watch Dre, particularly vs Spurs when he was calling the plays. He always sought out Greg when he was deep in the post, either by passing directly to him, or to the wing player who was on Gregs side with instructions to feed Greg. I’m pretty confident Miller will make Oden better.

by Dunemonkey on Nov 8, 2009 1:40 PM PST reply actions