2009-10 Season Review: Marcus Camby
by Dave on May 17, 2010 11:30 PM PDT
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PrintWe have to preface the analysis of Marcus Camby's contributions to the Blazers with the same caveat we used for Greg Oden: a couple dozen games does not a season make. For any number of reasons a guy can look like the best thing since sliced bread for part of a season and then turn into a total limp noodle the next. With that in mind, we can unabashedly say that Camby made amazing contributions to Portland's cause this year.
With younger players you look for improvement each year, measuring in the relative rather than the absolute sense until they reach their maturity. With veterans like Camby it's all about absolutes. And in his strong areas Camby was absolutely phenomenal. In a little over 31 minutes per game Marcus gave the Blazers 11.1 rebounds, 3.6 of them offensive. A lot of guys project out to 11 or 12 rebounds in their per-36-minute stats. There's a big difference between that and actually doing it. Camby actually does it.
Marcus' overall rebounding percentage was 22%, meaning he got more than 1 in 5 of the rebounds available to both teams when he was on the floor. His defensive rebounding percentage registered at nearly 30%. If the Blazers have that kind of reliable rebounding every game (and consider that they're banking on Oden's contributions as well) they can start thinking about the running game everyone has been craving.
Camby also gave the Blazers 2 blocks per game and 50% shooting...a great percentage considering his face-up, distance offensive tendencies. His offensive style opens up the possibility of high post sets, a huge potential boon to the (theoretically) drive-heavy Portland guard corps. Marcus owns a nice 113 points-per-100-possessions rating, eclipsed handily by his 99 points-per-100-possessions defensive rating, a number approached only by Greg Oden among the regular players.
And speaking of nice numbers, Camby's team-connected stats are out of this world. He carried a +6.8 plus-minus rating during his Blazer tenure, blowing away everyone else on the team. The Blazers scored 6.0 more points per 100 possessions when he played and allowed 4.5 fewer to their opponents for a sick +10.5 net gain in the category. Opponents' Effective Field Goal percentage went down when he was in. Portland's blocked shots percentage nearly doubled. Offensive rebounding went up substantially, though defensive rebounding actually slipped. In general, though, most everything ran better when Marcus was on the scene than when he was on the pines.
In addition to a different look and the statistical edge Camby gave the Blazers a much-needed dose of confidence. They had been managing without centers for the second half of the season but you could see them breathe a sigh of relief once their new acquisition got rolling. Teammates raved about his knowledge of the game and his ability to put it into practice. For the 22 games he played at the end of the regular season he was just what the team needed.
Camby's playoff performance was considerably more muted, particularly following his quite acceptable opening game. He did show ability to defend the perimeter as well as the lane but injuries caught up with him and his attention was stretched too thin by multiple defensive leaks for him to have a sustained impact. His production fell across the board just as his team did.
The wobbly finish doesn't obscure the fine beginning and middle to Camby's Blazer debut, however. He should be a powerful piece on Portland's chess board next season, swinging in for Oden and Aldridge under the best of circumstances, plugging the gap at center again under the worst. Camby is one of those guys you don't regret having no matter what he circumstances. Having a veteran who fits that description is a boon to the team.
Season Performance: A
Trend: Static/Matured
Biggest Question Marks: Age, the usual fitting in jitters
Future with the Team: Solid, at least for the coming season.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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My frustration with Nate
Grew all season. Camby even displayed some confusion and frustration about his minutes in the Suns series. Yes, his production fell, but he was also off the floor in key stretches when Nate gave way to Gentry’s pace, and the Blazers got whipped.
Anyway, I just want to underscore my displeasure with Nate because it came to mind again when you brought up his playoff performance. Camby had some rough games against the Suns, but Nate was also playing Juwan when Camby or Dante should have been on the floor. Captain Nate was sinking that ship.
statistically
camby was our most productive player of the playoffs
Michael Jordan is the Nicolas Batum of America
team>players
by thomasikehara on May 18, 2010 3:13 AM PDT up reply actions
hmm
How about some credit for the winning team instead of excuses for the losing team? Constantly firing off shots at Nate ignores the reality that we were not as good a team as the Suns. Coaching and super-human efforts from our PF were never going to overcome that fact. Injuries sunk our ship, nobody was gonna fix that.
by ItsMrHarris2u on May 18, 2010 8:48 AM PDT up reply actions
the fact that the Suns were the better team this year,
or that we had a lot of inuuries, does not erase questionable coaching decisions.
"You be realistic," Oden said. "I’m going to stay happy. All right?"
Yep
I think that a healthier Camby would have seen more minutes against the Suns.
"It's Our Time":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O99POVJfglY
Mar-cus Cam-by, Mar-cus Cam-by, Mar-cus Cam-by!
Ok, now that I have that out of the way….
I’m slightly worried about him being on his last contract. I don’t think his age is a problem, per se, because it’s clear he depends on BBIQ and length, not athleticism, but he’s bound to slip a bit. Hopefully, he’s just the perfect backup to both our bigs and a mentor to the team.
I think Aldridge could learn a lot about how to defend with length from Camby. I hope he’s watching.
"In fact you might say that Ugly is the Blazers' secret weapon this year."
-Dave
As for the Blazers...They are officially the NBA equivalent of a movie serial killer
-basketbawful
You forgot the Clap clap clapclapclap!
Porter, Drexler, Kersey, Williams, Duckworth. The greatest starting 5 ever.
by Bib Fortuna on May 18, 2010 12:44 AM PDT up reply actions
My bigger question mark with him would be his many little injuries, causing him to routinely miss 20+ games a season
Last year he was almost unusually healthy. Unless that is subsumed under “age”. But I would agree that he was great and will be a good backup/potential starter for both big man positions for the next two years. My MVP of the second half of the season.
Hopefully his minutes won't be that high
which can help protect against injuries.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#10 #52 -- #5 #7 & #88 are back!
How do his blazer numbers compare with his overall numbers this season?
I think it may be a bit silly to just hop on the comparisons to greg given that camby has played the full season essentially. Yes, you have to temper his clippers numbers with the fact that it isn’t the same system, but wouldn’t it be a valuable consideration in addition to his very limited blazer numbers?
"We Believe" - Rudy Fernandez
His numbers actually went down slightly as a blazer
but not much
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on May 18, 2010 7:00 AM PDT up reply actions
Camby saved the season.
That’s pretty strong but I think it is true. Seemed like the Blazers were headed toward a crash and burn with no stopper or rebounder in the middle. Picking up Camby was a stroke of genius and resigning him was all karmatic, lovey (thanks, chant guys), and,>>>, by being a re-signing, was much more than they could pay any free agent. Let Blazers essentially break the cap and get higher paid talent. New KP trick – bundling free agent contracts to capture re-signing rights. Nice.
Also VERY smart, as, did I mention it, Camby is a perfect fit. Some guy was writing about it above here recently…
no Camby + no Andre probably = no playoffs
It would have hurt our teams psyche being loosers.
We can still trade for a nice draft pick ??
"You be realistic," Oden said. "I’m going to stay happy. All right?"
Thinking and talking
If the Blazers have that kind of reliable rebounding every game (and consider that they’re banking on Oden’s contributions as well) they can start thinking about the running game everyone has been craving.
Of course, the Blazers have talked about running in the past. Nice that we can now start thinking about it. It’s always nice when your talking is accompanied by thinking.
Of course, doing is probably a bridge too far, but we take what we can get.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#10 #52 -- #5 #7 & #88 are back!
things to practice in training camp
How to fast break off a defensive rebound
How to beat double teams
How to deal with P&R defense when the big man does a hard show
How to defend the P&R
"In fact you might say that Ugly is the Blazers' secret weapon this year."
-Dave
As for the Blazers...They are officially the NBA equivalent of a movie serial killer
-basketbawful
Camby is a must.
With Greg and Joel being questionable health wise for longevity, Camby gives us another reliable rebounder and defender, plus he can help develop Jeff.
If Greg can stay healthy with less minutes then that doubles the need of Camby’s presence
hg
If we could have any 2 of our centers operational,
we would be dangerous. Of course, rather more dangerous if one was Oden.
Well, maybe even dangerous with just Oden….
"You be realistic," Oden said. "I’m going to stay happy. All right?"
Injury Vampire Strikes Again
He did show ability to defend the perimeter as well as the lane but injuries caught up with him and his attention was stretched too thin by multiple defensive leaks for him to have a sustained impact. His production fell across the board just as his team did.
The 76'ers were an unusually healthy team.
Dalemebert is one of the NBA’s leading ironmen and Iggy has been insanely healthy.
A better conspiracy theory would be that NATE is the injury vampire and Miller is simply immune because he doesn’t play Nate’s brand of “Blazer basketball”. (Which apparently means you sacrifice your knees for the good of the team) Or maybe he’s like Blade and can’t get infected because he’s a day-walker, or something like that.
Seriously though, I blame Nate for not letting the players wear headbands, which probably leads to sweat in their eyes, which undoubtedly hurts their balance.
by Nick Van Excellent on May 18, 2010 9:06 AM PDT up reply actions
We are kind of going off topic here, but there is proof that the current Blazers starting point guard is an injury vampire
Here is my first go round on the injury vampire. He has a thirst for big men. The number is the games they played in.
Injury Vampire
1999-00 Cleveland Cavaliers
Brevin Knight 65 games
Danny Ferry 63 games
Zydrunas Ilgasuskas 0
2000-01 Cleveland Cavaliers
Matt Harpring 56
Chris Mihm 59
Jim Jackson 39
Zydrunas Ilgasuskas 24
2001-02 Cleveland Cavaliers
Lamond Murray 71
Zydrunas Ilgasuskas 62 – Played 81 games after Miller left
Tyrone Hill 26
2002-03 Los Angeles Clippers
Elton Brand 62
Corey Maggette 64
Lamar Odom 49
Michael Olowokandi 36
2003-04 Denver Nuggets
2004-05 Denver Nuggets
Marcus Camby 66
Nene Hilario 55
Kenyon Martin 70
2005-06 Denver Nuggets
Kenyon Martin 56
Marcus Camby 56
Nene Hilario 1
2006-07 Denver Nuggets & Philadelphia 76ers
Carmelo Anthony 65
J.R. Smith 63
Marcus Camby 70 – notice the increase after AM left
Nene Hilario 64
Joe Smith 65
2007-08 Philadelphia 76ers
Shavlik Randolph 9
2008-09 Philadelphia 76ers
Elton Brand 29
Donyell Marchal 25
Theo Ratlif 46
2009-10 Portland Trail Blazers
Brandon Roy 65
Rudy Fernandez 62
Nicolas Batum 37
Greg Oden 21
Joel Pryzbill 30
Travis Outlaw 11
Jeff Pendergraph 39
Patrick Mills 10
by tominhawaii on May 18, 2010 10:11 AM PDT up reply actions
Big men get injured. This list isn't bad at all. He ain't got nothing on McMillan.
In 2007 he only cost the 76’ers 9 games? NINE GAMES? That’s incredible.
by Nick Van Excellent on May 18, 2010 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Camby was tremendous!
I think that this trade will eventually go down as the best trade KP made outside of draft day. I hope we take advantage of Camby Oden and Aldridge, Dante, and Pendy next year- so many opportunities. Is it me or do we when healthy have the best front court in the NBA?
Don't forget Pryz
Have to say that IF we keep Joel, IF he comes back healthy, he’ll make as much difference as a frontcourt role player as Marcus does in general, and more so than anyone not named Greg.
The unspoke truth about Camby
There is no way the Clippers would have traded Camby to us if Oden was healthy – and frankly, that phone call probably never gets placed if Oden was healthy.
So thanks to Oden, we now have Camby, which should only make the Blazers better when both guys play.
Situation defense
5 seconds to go. Blazers up by 3 or less. Opponent inbounding.
Lineup:
Greg
LaMarcus
Marcus
Nic
Martell
Greg plays the paint semi-legally—everyone else switches on all screens.
slow day in year-in-review-ville
Props to Marcus for meeting or beating expectations. Also for being the smartest interviewee (tied with Martell).
Marcus might have been KP's biggest non-draft-day coup
He strikes me as a player that can be productive into his 40’s much like Mutumbo. Used as a reserve PF and Center he can avoid heavy minutes and provide intense defense when needed.
I do not think Marcus makes Joel expendable. At least not next year as the depth he brings with Marcus forces teams to rethink the opportunity for points in the paint. With 18 fouls to give at the center position we are no longer hostage to this danger and can be more aggressive. Naturally I still want Greg to play 36 but on nights when he does not Marcus and Joel can each step in and cover. Sure at the trade deadline, especially if Jeff is ready to play minutes, Joel as an expiring contract might be a valuable trade opportunity, much like Ray Allen was for Boston this year (not actually comparing Ray to Joel). Seems like they made the right decision on keeping him. Joel’s loyalty to Portland at least deserves the reciprocal consideration if he wants to be here.
For the constant ragging in this thread about Nate I have no answer but I am sure none of us has the complete facts and perhaps never will. With or without Marcus we lost to a better team. I think the arm chair coaches (especially the radio and newspaper “experts” who never even played the game) might give some thought to leaving their day job and trying to get a job as an assistant on one of the teams . . .say in the Philippines . . . to work their way up to the NBA level. Nate has paid his dues and has garnered the respect and appreciation of those in the know.
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