Really Bad bench+too much Roy=Bad results for Blazers

by Planet29 on Dec 2, 2010 12:18 PM PST

It happens game after game the starters manage to build up a lead and the bench comes in and throws it all away. In fact in the last 9 games the blazer bench has combined to shoot 29%(49-168) and committed 35 turnovers on those 49 made baskets. These numbers are really bad but it gets worse, despite this incredibly bad play they have a mid first round draft pick sitting on the bench getting no playing time at all. With a bench THIS bad and getting no playing time you must be bad, really bad. Maybe they should think about throwing some 1st round picks and Babbit together and pick up someone who can give them a few POSITIVE minutes off the bench.
With Roy coming back you would think this would be a very good thing for the team, but as we have seen in the 4 games since his return it has not. The 4 opponents have combined to shoot over 52% (48% from the 3pt line) well above their average while the blazers have only shoot 41% well below their average. Obviously this is not all Roys fault but he does contribute to it big time on the defensive end where the team often ends up playing 4 on 5 trying to cover for Roy. It would nice to see what he could do playing 20-25 minutes playing hard in all phases of the game vs the 35+ minutes he is playing now where it looks like he is pacing himself. Maybe giving away Bayless to NO was not such a good idea after all.

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Center has been our bench's worst problem,

we have a solution for that.

If Oden does not give up on the Blazers, we should not give up on him.

by Berkeley on Dec 2, 2010 1:39 PM PST reply actions

They went on a 15-0 run with Roy playing PF so maybe they should just make him the backup 1.2.3 & 4

Then I might go along with Roy as a 6th man.

by Kaanyr Vhok on Dec 2, 2010 4:17 PM PST reply actions

There is but one person to blame for the lack of quality off the bench, Rich Cho!

Rich Cho is to blame.
I always that that the best way to judge a GM is by their last trade or draft. Well its clear right now anyways that Cho messed up big with the Bayless trade. He is blowing up in Toronto by the way. And the draft pick we are likely going to get from NO is going to be a late first round pick. Just what kind of player do you think that we are going to draft that late? Another bench player that won’t be any good at the end of the day, thats what we’ll get which isn’t better than Jerryd would have been.
Rich Cho is to blame.
Paul Allen is to blame, he hired a numbers guy to be the GM and let go of a Basketball guy in KP. Both are important but its the bball guy that should have the final say on all draft picks and trades. So far Cho has not shown any real knowledge of the bball side of his job. We used to be a team that had a talented bench but now we have the worst bench in the NBA.
Rich Cho is to blame.

by VinnyB on Dec 2, 2010 9:31 PM PST reply actions

Good think KP made sure the media/public got involved in Roy's contract negotiations.

It would surely be upsetting to me if Roy wasn’t here for 5 years on a max contract….
Oh and also…am very happy about KP’s choice in Euro players..who are still IN EUROPE.
Oh and good thing KP picked Oden over Durant. A numbers guy would not know enough to do this…
And Elliot Williams…were knees KP’s specialty?
I am happy with LMA and Batum..sometimes Rudy. But really…KP IMO made PLENTY of mistakes in his tenure…basketball guy or not.

by Natsthecat on Dec 2, 2010 10:01 PM PST up reply actions

the irony is, KP was more of a number's guy than Rich

just ask the folks at the Sloan conference

I was against the Bayless trade from the moment I heard the announcement, mostly because it left the roster with a lack of experience at backup PG, and the bench without a proven scorer (it was assumed that Rudy and Wesley would pick up the slack—they didn’t—although Matthews is now flourishing as a starter) I was also concerned about the SG position if Roy became injured, as he was last year. Rex was quite useful whenever Brandon was hobbled, in the past

But Cho isn’t completely to blame re: Jerryd’s departure. Nate’s handling of Bayless was lousy from the start. Jerryd received little PT for a lottery choice. McMillian asked Rex to play as a risk-averse PG, but also to attack the basket. The young man from AZ was jerked around, and never received a steady role or playing time until last February—then he played well and showed improvement into the playoffs, but it was never “good enough” for Sarge. Well, good for Bayless that he wound up in Toronto, he’s now playing in a system that better suits his talents

And then there’s Patty, what a story Mills has been. Drafted #55. Broke his foot in his first summer league practice. Made the roster against all odds in October 2009 when Nate had all but handed the job to Ime. Mills rehabbed and stayed glued on the roster despite the team being decimated by injuries. He played all of 38 minutes last year, and was not offered guaranteed money during the offseason. Came to Vegas to showcase his skills, presumably for another NBA team. Was outplayed by Armon in summer league. Still invited to fall camp even though he didn’t have a roster spot. Hung around Portland until the final weekend before cut-down day and BANG! Bayless is traded and the roster spot suddenly opened up to embrace the Aussie

What a country!

It was a not-so-well-kept secret that Paul Allen was behind the decision to keep Mills in 10/09 (KP intimated that PA likes small/quick PGs, during last season) So, how is it so difficult to extrapolate that the owner was also behind the decision to part with Bayless and keep Patty Cakes—especially if the salary dump inched the payroll closer to the luxury tax threshold in the process?

I suppose we can blame Cho for not standing up to the head coach re: the decision to keep AJ and suffer the resulting lack of experience at backup PG. And there may be some fans who would criticize Rich for not telling the man who hired him where to get off re: his fetish for Mills (but those same fans probably would shrink from questioning their own supervisor’ judgment, while at work)

I’m going to let Cho off with a reprimand re: the Bayless dump; Rich couldn’t have much of a stake in Jerryd, Rex was “KP’s project” after all. It was a convenient way for the new GM to put his own stamp on the roster, and to earn brownie points with the boss and the coach. It also took care of the potential minute’s crunch between Rudy and Rex, since Cho had no success finding decent trade value for Fernandez, all summer. Flipping Jerryd was the wrong play, but it wasn’t a transaction that Rich made in a vacuum—there were several competing agendas involved, which I have now explained in detail—all in my own opinion, of course

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

by two4larue on Dec 2, 2010 10:31 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Great post.

Only one thing I’d like to add…no doubt AJ’s potential had Nate/Cho at least a bit more confident about letting Bayless go. The odd thing there is that as a former player and guard himself, Nate should have known that a mid-major rookie PG was not going to be ready yet. Like QB’s in the NFL, PGs usually take more time to season because it’s the most cerebral position on the court and has far more to do with being a coach on the floor than any other one single factor. AJ is handling the physical aspects of the adjustment just fine since he’s a very good if not great athlete. But you can see the speed of the game is challenging him mentally at the moment. Nate should have recognized this and realized the team would struggle with AJ as the backup this year. But somehow he missed this…or was willfully ignorant of it since he couldn’t make Rex what he wanted him to be, so chose to go along with cutting him loose to make PA happy by keeping the mascot (Patty) around.

by mjswoosh on Dec 2, 2010 11:56 PM PST up reply actions

as a former player and guard himself, Nate should have known that a mid-major rookie PG was not going to be ready

This is a head-scratcher for me as well. Nate was been so predictable about not playing rookies, unless he was forced to by circumstances. The expectations heading into the season were as high as ever (depending on the return of the centers) and yet McMillian went with the rookie PG and agreed to trade away his safety net. And now, instead of letting the rookie play through the growing pains, the coach yanks him and plays Mills, who barely has any NBA regular season experience

The picture of a drowning man grasping at straws could not be more vivid

The only question I have is: how much losing can Paul Allen stomach before he replaces Mr. Sonic? (Based on the owner’s track record, not much.) But I thought I could safely predict Nate’s behavior re: playing rookies 40 days ago, so who knows? It’s a whole new Blazer world, and not necessarily a better one

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

by two4larue on Dec 3, 2010 8:27 AM PST up reply actions