Yo Nate

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 12:50 PM PDT

Rudy Fernandez --- has ice water in his veins. He gets better, in big games. Umm, Olympics final... Playoffs so far... Why give him 22 min, and Outlaw 30 last game? If the first game of the series was on the players dealing with the big stage for the first time. This last game was on you --- Not being willing to deviate from your game plan, and not recognizing certain players were rolling. Why pull a player the moment he brings you back in a game you shouldn't have come back from in the first place. Listen, its the end of the season. You've got it all on the line. Rudy is money, he's as fearless as Roy, and he is clutch under pressure. When the dude gets going, leave him in!!!

Please!!!

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TRUTH!

Totally spot on about two things:

A) Rudy has ice in his veins and improves under pressure.

B) Nate needs to read the game flow better and not be robotic in his substitutions/adjustments.

"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it; water cannot drown it.

The Bhagavad Gita

Rudy is amazing to have survived not only the Ariza flagrant but also several attempts by snipers to end his life (look for it at second 30 and again later. Credit to Norkstroll for this incredible documetary footage!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siKWh0DkCz8

by Idog1976 on Apr 26, 2009 1:00 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

He does.

The last game was weird to me. Why didn’t he have any time-outs left for the end of the game? Not very Nate like.

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Couldn't agree more

Rudy > Outlaw

knew he had scored when his skid washed ashore, and a monkey served him a frozen ... daiquiri

by Coconut Pete on Apr 26, 2009 1:13 PM PDT reply actions

+1

Sergio plays well when Rudy plays well. Give Sergio a chance.

"Sasha? That's a sissy name." -Mike Rice

"Let's go to win the playoffs!!!" -Rudy Fernandez

by koyote on Apr 26, 2009 1:30 PM PDT reply actions

He changes our look.

If he isn’t on, then pull him. I think Blake D and Sergio D is almost a push. Blake O is just better; but if one of the two involves Rudy more….

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

rudy>travis

bayless leaves over my dead body

by thomasikehara on Apr 26, 2009 1:44 PM PDT reply actions

FALSE!!!

RUDY > MJ

by myemic23 on Apr 26, 2009 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions

unless travis>MJ; rudy>is true along with your statement

bayless leaves over my dead body

by thomasikehara on Apr 26, 2009 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions

arent there 3 fanposts that already say this?

Welcome to BEdge, but 3 posts in 10 days is a lot, try to come up with something more substantial for a post….

by trailblazersfan on Apr 26, 2009 3:18 PM PDT reply actions

Sorry but you might look again.

I’ve been a member of BE long before it changed to this format. Three posts since April 2008 is hardly excessive. I guess you wont be reccing this post and thats ok, you 100% entitled to your opinion.

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Sorry about that

It’s not that I disagree, but that this has been said already

by trailblazersfan on Apr 26, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions

It has, but I have been following the discussion

and I didnt think that enough was pointed specifically at Nate for our loss.

Part of being a coach in the playoffs is recognizing what is happening with your own players and thinking outside the normal substitutions that the other team has already planned for. By now, the Rockets know exactly what we are going to do and have planned for it. How many times have we seen the same substitutions we saw the other day? My main point is Nate, not necessarily Travis or Blake is the scapegoat for the last game and here’s hoping he helps rather than hinders us from winning tonight.

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 4:18 PM PDT up reply actions

and this point has already been made in a fanpost

Hey Nate why in the hell did you take out Rudy???

by trailblazersfan on Apr 26, 2009 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions

who cares....

that’s two days old. And this post is the first one of “3?” that i’ve even seen on this topic. So add something usefull to the post or dont comment. It’s pretty easy to not click on something if you don’t want to read it.

knew he had scored when his skid washed ashore, and a monkey served him a frozen ... daiquiri

by Coconut Pete on Apr 26, 2009 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions

so now we have to read every word of every thread before we post?

FUN!

by RIPCITYISBACKANDBEYOND on Apr 26, 2009 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions

i guess so

what’s with all the complainers lately? seems like every post has at least one guy that has to point out that how dumb the topic is.

knew he had scored when his skid washed ashore, and a monkey served him a frozen ... daiquiri

by Coconut Pete on Apr 26, 2009 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions

LD has been here for awhile

well before fanshots and fanposts even existed.

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

by Philthyanimal on Apr 27, 2009 12:04 AM PDT up reply actions

Again, should have gone to Rudy.

How many threes will he need to hit before Nate goes to him FIRST?

smile, your on a poster

by Trail Blazer on Apr 26, 2009 9:07 PM PDT reply actions

This became that much more relevant after tonight

Rudy is not being trusted, although he always comes up big when needed, even his teammates dont look for him nearly as much as they should.

He has more experience in BIG GAMES than anybody on the roster. From playoff games in the ACB to the Olympic AND World Championship finals.

Its tough to point fingers after a loss, but if Rudy had gotten mroe touches and minutes, I think we could have won this.

by Xavier Garcia on Apr 26, 2009 9:08 PM PDT reply actions

My sentiments exactly.

by lethaldose on Apr 26, 2009 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Totally Agree

Knew this well before tonight… Again, another reason why Coach McMuffin is the wrong coach for this team

Let RudyMania Reign!!
http://twitter.com/downtwnchinatwn

by DowntownChinatown on Apr 26, 2009 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions

totallly agree

by elconquistador on Apr 26, 2009 9:33 PM PDT reply actions

Hi there I'm an armchair coach

I second-guess substitutions after the fact despite the fact I would have been jumping up and down on the couch if he’d made the shot, how are you all doing tonight

"I take the little gummy bear Flintstones vitamins…I try not to eat the lady. I try not to eat the man. Just give me the car. I try to find the car. Yea, worst case scenario, I eat the lady." - Ron Artest, 2009

by rivetz on Apr 26, 2009 10:40 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah.

It’s not like Travis has ever done anything good in the fourth quarter before.

When I came here (in 2004), guys like Nick (Van Exel) and Damon, they were a breath of fresh air for me,'' Przybilla

by Nick Van Excellent on Apr 27, 2009 8:12 AM PDT up reply actions

the only reason

i see having Trout in the game is for defense. I can’t imagine Rudy could gaurd Artest for the whole fourth. you could move Rudy to Battier, but then Roy is getting beat up on the block by Artest. In my opinion if Roy is going to run the point Rudy should be in for Blake. not only is he a better three point shooter(not by much), but he’ll out jump any point to get a rebound. And in my non-expert opinion, giving up offensive rebounds in the fourth was why we lost Game 4.
we lost two close games in Houston, it sucks. If we don’t lay down for game 5, we can still win this series. It’ll be tough, only like 8 teams in history have done it, but it’s possible

by remmer7quack on Apr 27, 2009 4:23 AM PDT reply actions

If the only argument going for Travis is his defense ...

then it’s time to move on, Super Trout. Travis is not good at playing defense, I’m sorry.

by kickbrass on Apr 27, 2009 8:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Def that's an adjustment that needs to be made

Rudy’s into this series and has a decent bbiq. Travis really isn’t and doesn’t. Playoff bb is clearly not Travis’s thing.

In fact I think the biggest answer that’s been revealed throughout this post-season is that it’s time to move Travis if possible. The guy has peaked and the peak is not that tall. You keep wondering if he’ll ever get it but the writing is on the wall. His lack of brainpower in late game situations is a killer.

Blazer Fan

by leeroyjenkins on Apr 27, 2009 7:09 AM PDT reply actions

Travis is a very good basketball player

But not everyone can be a starter in the NBA.

A trade could be a good thing, but he’s a great player to have off the bench. He’s proved that more than once. He creates mismatches and is really hard to defend. But the coach has to be smart enough to know when to play him.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

by DaniBCN on Apr 27, 2009 8:02 AM PDT up reply actions

He's not a very good basketball player, sorry. He's got one skill

Shooting fadeaway jumpers. He doesn’t rebound. He can’t pass. He can’t handle the ball. He can’t play defense. He’s dumb as a rock.

I’m sorry but Travis is a one-trick pony and not a very good one at that. He needed a breakout playoff series I think to keep himself safe. Now…I think he’s become expendable. It’s obvious we need upgrades at the SF spot.

Blazer Fan

by leeroyjenkins on Apr 27, 2009 9:33 AM PDT up reply actions

Nate had no choice

I feel that nate realized that if portland is to have any chance to win this playoff series, he needs to get travis outlaw on track. Therefore he gave him more minutes, and let him play through some emotions and mistakes, and I believe it will be beneficial for the rest of the series as travis finally seems functional on the court.

by HEY BLAZER FANS, I'M GEORGE FOREMAN on Apr 27, 2009 9:30 AM PDT reply actions