The Most Inexperience I Saw Last Night Was From...

by RipCitySam on Apr 19, 2009 6:45 PM PDT

Nate McMillan. For this observation, please keep in mind I was at the game, not watching it on T.V., so I don't have any announcer influence, this is a raw observation.

I saw Houston jump out to a 7 point lead and never look back.

I saw Portland looking confused the whole first quarter.

After being down by 11 at the end of the first quarter I saw Brandon Roy and his 10 first quarter points on the bench. You are down 11, your all star can handle starting the 2nd quarter, its a playoff game for gods sake.

I saw Channing Frye get 20 flippin minutes. I'm not even one of the haters, but where the heck did this come from.

I saw Aaron Brooks run all over Steve and Sergio, but not even a thought to get Bayless in there for a spark, you are down, you know, 20 points, and the matchup would obviously be better.

I saw NO POINT GAURD IN THE GAME PERIOD for much of the third quarter. You guys are complaining about Brandon hogging the ball, well this is part the explanation, you need a point gaurd to run an offense over the period of a whole game.

I know you guys can make excuses and come up with arguments against this stuff, and some of it may be flawed, but the bottom line is Nate did not have these guys prepared, he seemed unemotional on the bench and not energized, he gave up with 7 minutes left and put the deep bench in, during a playoff game I think that might be tad soon. It seemed to me he treated it like a regular season game and he should get his head in the game, he looked lke a deer in headlights all night.

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Fair assesment

"Brian (Outlaw is Rejector) is now on the fan saying he put this on to see what would happen " - 123_G.O._RipCity

by Outlaw is Rejector on Apr 19, 2009 6:50 PM PDT reply actions

...

Agree with the Brandon Roy on the bench and Frye getting 20 minutes.

Roy was ready and no one else was, keep him in. Next game is Tuesday then they have a good break, he can handle that.

-brandonmitchell.org

by brandonmitchell on Apr 19, 2009 6:51 PM PDT reply actions

Nice

Good to have a raw reaction like this.

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 Apr 19, 2009 6:52 PM PDT reply actions

Except

That Nate has coached a team into the second round already in his career. To say that he is inexperienced isn’t really appropriate.

Out-coached? MAYbe. I think his players got caught in the headlights of an oncoming Rocket Train.

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 Apr 19, 2009 6:58 PM PDT up reply actions

I think it is fair that Nate shoulder some of the blame...

I think Nate has done a great job so far this year and also in the past 3 years but he might have chosen some poor strategies, prepared the players wrong and been out coached for this game.

I think it is a combo of things and coach is part of it. It is not all his fault but he could have had more of an impact during the game. They started the game poorly , let the half end on a bad note and the team did not seem to have adjusted well at the start of the 3rd quarter either.

If he can bring them back to have a solid game on Tuesday he will have done a masterful job because I think the Rockets have gained a lot of confidence and the Blazers a lot of doubt.

Obviously the players are the ones who have to play and who have to follow the coaches strategies and deal with

by QuebecBlzrFan on Apr 19, 2009 7:29 PM PDT up reply actions

... ooops meant to delete that last line.

Bottom line, the team got beaten badly and need to regroup.

by QuebecBlzrFan on Apr 19, 2009 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh, sure

You can point a legit finger at him for the loss. But in no way is he “inexperienced”

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 Apr 19, 2009 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions

agreed

i saw some of the things the OP was talking about..but to question if he cared or his work ethic is pretty horrible. i dont really question any one on our organizations work ethic. he just got outcoached by adelman…who is an awesome coach. if anyone knows that it should be blazer fans.

I got 6 years of playoff blue balls going on, and I'm ready to release. GO BLAZERS. ~Mortimer

by Philthyanimal on Apr 19, 2009 7:33 PM PDT up reply actions

i don't blame nate so much as give credit to rick adelman

he’s an experienced coach in the playoffs who should have won a couple of titles by now. when he took the blazers to the finals vs detroit portland was the underdog in every series.

and he was the coach of the sacramento team that tim donaghy has admitted was jobbed by the refs vs l.a.

he’s formidable.

ignacio

by ignacio on Apr 19, 2009 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions

and how many minutes did Ruffin get?

come on Nate, Ruffin doesn’t deserve those minutes!

same with Bayless and Sergio. What was Nate thinking in the 4th quarter? That’s when it’s time to win the game.

What the heck?

by tominrehab on Apr 19, 2009 6:58 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Yeah!

27 points in 12 minutes is NOTHIN! We had that game locked up!!!!

What a loser!

FIRE NATE!!!!!!!

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 Apr 19, 2009 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions

it's not like we were down 30 points!

(right?)

by tominrehab on Apr 19, 2009 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions

I know the game was probably lost

but how about practicing some fourth quarter play? how about acting like you at least care? its the playoffs man, not november, the Houston team got benched and we still lost by thirty? how is that acceptable?

Bottom line is when its this young a team the weight falls on the coach. I’m not trying to down Nate or say fire him, I’m just saying he is obviously not immune to some inexperience issues himself, even if that inexperience is in how to get a young team ready for such a big game.

- Sam

by RipCitySam on Apr 19, 2009 7:23 PM PDT up reply actions

You got a point.

A 10 win improvement each season is not enough. If we win less than 70 games next year, I’m gonna be hella pissed. Fire him!

He should have kept all the starters in until they broke themselves. We had a good chance, torpedoes be damned. I’m planning on getting struck by lightning tomorrow.

by Benjamanic on Apr 19, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions

...

We are a younger team and our players in the playoffs should be able to play long minutes, as I said before we don’t play until Tuesday then after that we don’t play until the weekend… that’s enough rest in between and not back to back.

-brandonmitchell.org

by brandonmitchell on Apr 19, 2009 7:46 PM PDT up reply actions

I didn't say

fire him, I’m just saying he seemed out of his element, I understand he is a great coach and all he has done, but criticism is important too. No coach has a great game every night, I understand that, but to act like everything was peachy and be ignorant to mistakes can lead down a bad path.

- Sam

by RipCitySam on Apr 19, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Nate said before the game he didn't want Travis playing PF against Scola and Landry

That’s where Frye’s minutes game from.

by Norsktroll on Apr 19, 2009 7:03 PM PDT reply actions

Looks like we need a new PF

If Travis can’t play PF in the playoffs what is gonna happen when Martell gets back?

"The Rockets broke the heart-shaped lock on our diary and read it. They know our shirt sizes AND our shoe sizes. They know our ballboy’s girlfriend’s nickname. They own us." - nightbluefruit

by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 19, 2009 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't think they have commited to using him as a PF only...

maybe they should… Shaun Marion isn’t much bigger than Trout but D’Antoni used him there full time, mind you he was a much better defender. I guess that’s the problem. I don’t see why he shouldn’t try it.

by QuebecBlzrFan on Apr 19, 2009 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions

... It's not as if Frye is going to slow Scola down.

by QuebecBlzrFan on Apr 19, 2009 7:38 PM PDT up reply actions

I think it's a better matchup than some people think

Outlaw is a freakish athelete, and you never really know what’s going to come next.

I would LOVE to see him on Pre-Scola. (did everyone get their cookies and milk?)

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 Apr 19, 2009 8:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Let's not throw the term "freakish athlete" around lightly, as it should be reserved for ...

likes of Josh Smith, Nate Robinson, et al. Undoubtedly, Travis Outlaw isn’t anywhere near that category.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 3:49 AM PDT up reply actions

Mhm

Josh Smith 2004 pre-draft camp: 32.5 inch no step vert, 39.5 max vert

Nate Robinson 2004: 35.5, 43.5

Brandon Roy 2006: 34.0, 40.5

Outlaw wasn’t measured out of high school, but from his dunks in comparison to Roy I suppose it’s likely he is able to get up around what Smith delivered. He is just more lanky than Smith who weighs around 30 pounds more enabling him to play PF better and maybe absorb more contact when going to the rim. But I like Travis combination of outside shooting and ability to get up high.

by Norsktroll on Apr 20, 2009 4:42 AM PDT up reply actions

It should no longer baffle me, but each time I'm reminded about Brandon Roy's ...

deceptive athleticism I’m in utter awe. It’s one of those things that you need to read it to believe it. Anyhow, it’d still shock me greatly if Travis Outlaw’s vertical numbers were all that close to those of Josh Smith and Nate Robinson.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 5:02 AM PDT up reply actions

no no

Face it. You got owned.

I refuse to “P” on you, too.

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 Apr 20, 2009 8:21 PM PDT up reply actions

If Outlaw is going to play at PF full time

He needs to get stronger and practice boxing out. Right now if Travis is matched up against a PF like Scola he tends to let them get way too many offensive rebounds and second chance points.

by trk on Apr 19, 2009 11:22 PM PDT up reply actions

According to Quick, that Experiment is Over

Travis will be back to playing PF in the next game.

by grigs on Apr 19, 2009 8:08 PM PDT up reply actions

THANK GODEN!!!

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 Apr 19, 2009 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Hopefully when he plays PF he drives it to the hoop more.

Crazy Travis jumpers in the playoffs will be the death of me.

"The Rockets broke the heart-shaped lock on our diary and read it. They know our shirt sizes AND our shoe sizes. They know our ballboy’s girlfriend’s nickname. They own us." - nightbluefruit

by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 19, 2009 9:00 PM PDT up reply actions

I know one guy who'd look awesome at the backup power forward spot for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Unlike Travis Outlaw, Jeff Foster would’ve brought some defense and rebounding — as well as out-&-out attractive ladies, too — to the table. I may no longer be a tried-and-true homer for a specific NBA team, but I definitely have my favorite players (e.g., Mike Miller, Kirk Hinrich, Rasho Nesterovic, Foster, et al.) across the league.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 3:46 AM PDT up reply actions

You want to be a GM in the worse way, don't you.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Apr 20, 2009 8:02 AM PDT up reply actions

Poor kid looks like Jeffery Dahmer

"She turned me into a newt!
A newt?
...I got better."

by Seijeff on Apr 21, 2009 1:25 AM PDT up reply actions

If I hear one more call for Bayless to play key minutes, I might lose it

Folks, Bayless was one of the worst players in the NBA this year who played at least 500 minutes. That’s not an exaggeration whatsoever.

Its conceivable he would play better D than Blake and Sergio— but far from guaranteed— and Bayless would kill any hope of us running a successful offense.

by jksnake99 on Apr 19, 2009 7:23 PM PDT reply actions

Bayless and Sergio maniacs

only see the idealized versions of the players. No matter what Bayless is a defensive powerhouse all time stopper and would score 20 points on 10 dunks. If Sergio played the whole game we would score 160 with 8 players in double figures against any defense. Sounds good, lets start them both!

by twggyy on Apr 19, 2009 7:29 PM PDT up reply actions

If he brings Bayless in during a close game...

I doubt it will be as PG. It will probably be to defend Brooks or to provide some points in the paint… I seriously doubt the second part because Houston is too smart and too well prepared not to deal with his uni dimensional game (at this point) and Nate knows that.

by QuebecBlzrFan on Apr 19, 2009 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions

I cant understand why people think Bayless is a good at defense.

All he does is foul people, and they are always stupid fouls, mainly on the perimiter. Just becasue someone looks like they try harder on defense dosent mean that they are good at it.

by ggassen85 on Apr 19, 2009 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions

thank you

by jksnake99 on Apr 19, 2009 7:42 PM PDT up reply actions

...

And he is the master of turning the ball over.

-brandonmitchell.org

by brandonmitchell on Apr 19, 2009 7:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I just made a post about this

And I agree with you about his defense, but that’s not the gist of my point.

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 Apr 19, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions

You are correct, sir.

Jerryd Bayless is overaggressive at one-on-one perimeter defense, sucks a lot at fighting through screens, and has a tiny wingspan that makes him incapable of creating turnovers by clogging the passing lanes. All things considered, Bayless is a horrible defensive player at the NBA level. That, along with his complete and utter ineptitude at playing the point guard position on offense, makes him nothing more than trade bait this off-season.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 4:01 AM PDT up reply actions

We should kill him

He sounds like a horrible person.

Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game

by iDea on Apr 20, 2009 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Unbeknownst to me, Jerryd Bayless might be one of the nicest dudes off of the court.

If I were to assume anything about Bayless, however, my guess is that he’s probably pretty reserved and stoic in nature — which is neither good nor bad with regards to somebody’s personality type — with his attention focused heavily on the given task at hand.

From my presumptive, uninformed look at things, the only guy who I can envision having a somewhat uptight personality is LaMarcus Aldridge. As it is, that assumption stems from stories about the tension between him and his dad, his overreaction toward Brandon Roy in the past, and his awkward meeting with Scott Skiles prior to the 2006 NBA Draft.

Of course, I don’t know any of those guys personally; ergo, I can only judge them for their on-court traits. Thus, even though it might appear as if my shots at them are an attack on their character, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Unbeknownst, ergo, presumptive

You really like seeing yourself type, don’t you?

Just make some fanposts already

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 Apr 20, 2009 8:23 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm too lazy to make an entire post, so for now it's just comments from me.

by AK1984 on Apr 20, 2009 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Right

Unbeknownst to me, Jerryd Bayless might be one of the nicest dudes off of the court. If I were to assume anything about Bayless, however, my guess is that he’s probably pretty reserved and stoic in nature — which is neither good nor bad with regards to somebody’s personality type — with his attention focused heavily on the given task at hand.

From my presumptive, uninformed look at things, the only guy who I can envision having a somewhat uptight personality is LaMarcus Aldridge. As it is, that assumption stems from stories about the tension between him and his dad, his overreaction toward Brandon Roy in the past, and his awkward meeting with Scott Skiles prior to the 2006 NBA Draft.

Of course, I don’t know any of those guys personally; ergo, I can only judge them for their on-court traits. Thus, even though it might appear as if my shots at them are an attack on their character, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is way more than 75 words. Lazy my left cheese. Scared.

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 Apr 20, 2009 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Nope, I'm not "scared" to make a post. Heck, here's my most recent one.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/2/4/749307/one-score-makes-all-the-di

It’s just that, well, I’d rather respond to comments with my point of view on a given subject rather than lay down an entire post on something that’s on my mind.

by AK1984 on Apr 21, 2009 12:18 AM PDT up reply actions

soooo

one post where you cut and pasted anything without any insight? Or controversey?

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 Apr 21, 2009 12:56 AM PDT up reply actions

They heard you according to Ben

The full brain trust is on hand at practice today: KP, Tom Penn, Mike Born, Chad Buchanan… talking with Nate as the guys shoot free throws. Focus of practice: pick and roll offense, low post defense

by Norsktroll on Apr 19, 2009 7:51 PM PDT reply actions

PICK AND ROLL!!!

YES!!!

NO MORE PICK AND POP!!!

(sorry for the caps, I’m excited. I would LOVE to see an actual pick and ROLL by the Blazers)

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 Apr 19, 2009 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Bottom line is

Nate sholud be coach of the year, but, IMO, nothing about the coaching last night reminded me of Nate. It’s that simple. No one is saying he should be fired, no one is saying he isn’t great, no one is saying he hasn’t done enough, and I’m certainley not taking any of his hard work and obvious dedication for granted. I just wish it had been present last night, and I hope it is present tuesday night, and I don’t have anydoubts that it will be. It is simply my diagnosis for the worst loss of the season that Nate had a bad game. I use the word inexperience(though apparently inaccurately) because that is the best way to describe what I saw, getting nervous early and experiementing with things we haven’t seen and making odd line up desicions, and then trying to be conservative and pulling everyone out super early.

- Sam

by RipCitySam on Apr 19, 2009 8:28 PM PDT reply actions

Thank you

Everyone has bad games, and Nate had a terrible one. We came out flat, didn’t adjust well to Yao, spent far too much effort building our offense around getting Yao’s second foul, had too many possessions iso-ing up LaMarcus on Scola in the post once it became clear that Scola came to play seriously, didn’t force the ball into Greg on the second unit when that was our one mismatch out there. All of those things, are, to a significant degree, are on Nate.

Doesn’t mean he’s a bad coach, but every one of his ideas failed tonight. Time to go back to the drawing board and come up with a different plan. I’m fully confident that he’ll have a much better game plan Tuesday and our guys will be ready to play, because I still think Nate is a solid coach overall, even if he had an awful game last night.

by Royster on Apr 19, 2009 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Nate got outcoached last night for sure

Then again, I don’t know if we have the answers to the Houston Rockets

Blazer Fan

by leeroyjenkins on Apr 19, 2009 8:30 PM PDT reply actions

A pretty intense post, but it seems right on the mark, for the most part.

Pontiff of the Pryz for Prez Posse...

by timbo on Apr 19, 2009 9:36 PM PDT reply actions

Yep.

The refs were bad, the Rockets outmuscled us, whatever – the main point is that Houston looked prepared and Portland did not. That much was apparent.

Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.

"I want to put points on your face."
-Rudy to Pau Gasol

PUT BATUM IN NOW

by rockingharder on Apr 19, 2009 11:18 PM PDT up reply actions

We have two legit centers

That’s 12 fouls a game. I don’t want to see Frye again unless we’ve used 8 of those in the first half. And seriously, if our centers are having to use 8 fouls in the first half to try and defend the pain, we’re done for anyway, since no one else has shown up to play defense.

by baduk on Apr 19, 2009 11:39 PM PDT reply actions

Nate is a good coach.

Last night he didn’t look like he was even paying attention to the game though, not unlike everyone not named Roy or Oden.

by Bskey on Apr 20, 2009 2:15 AM PDT reply actions

great topic

bottom line is this team has no identity period.a lot of you think this team is exciting,to me until the coach lays down a foundation.as in playing style,either you’re an offensive team.or a defensive team.until then you will get the results you get.

by fatty on Apr 20, 2009 6:50 AM PDT reply actions

I want to see the lineup of:

Roy, Batum, Outlaw, Aldridge, and PrzyOden

On defense:
on Brooks – Batum
on Ron Ron – Outlaw (although Roy and Outlaw could switch assignments)
on Battier – Roy
on Scola – LA
on Yao – Everyone

On offense have Roy run the point and bring the ball up. Call me crazy but if something is broke you have to at least try to fix it.

by Escrote on Apr 20, 2009 9:03 AM PDT reply actions

I would like to see Nate allow Greg to learn to play with the fouls.

"She turned me into a newt!
A newt?
...I got better."

by Seijeff on Apr 20, 2009 9:21 AM PDT reply actions

+1

Definitely.

Did you know that in exactly ZERO games this year did both Joel and Greg foul out of the same contest?

Why is that? I mean, Nate would rather sit them both for Crunch Time and put Frye in, than get a couple more minutes out of a guy who he wasn’t going to put back in anyway? hmmm. Must investigate more…

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 Apr 20, 2009 10:13 AM PDT up reply actions