What Rudy should work on.
by Benjamanic on Aug 16, 2010 4:25 PM PDT
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLA78Qb3fg
Rudy is an excellent ballhandler and passer, and he's very good in the open court. Obviously, he's a great 3 point shooter and finisher at the rim off a lob pass. I think his weakness is his half court game. Aside from spotting up for three and freeing himself up for the occasional alley oop, there isn't much to it. He doesn't have a good first step and is rarely able to get past his man off the dribble at the NBA level, though this could partially be the result of his injury. When he needs to go one-on-one at the end of the shot clock, he usually jacks up a contested three or takes some circus shot (ie the 15 foot turn-around fade-away off the dribble). Since Trevor Ariza undercut him, he's been shying away from contact more often. And that runner is garbage. Both of said shots are best reserved for a pickup game when the score is about 3 to 3. They're the kind of looks one should consider apologizing to his teammates for taking when they brick, which will happen more often than not. Why does he never seem to take a pull-up 15 footer or some other high percentage mid-range shot when he does get a little separation?
One of his strengths, and one that I think he should develop further, is his ability to move without the ball. Players like Rip Hamilton can hurt you from a lot of spots on the floor and tire out their defenders. While Rudy isn't as quick or well-conditioned as Hamilton was in his prime, he can certainly expend a comparable amount of energy in limited minutes.
One can argue that he isn't able to do this enough because of Nate's system or that is an issue of personnel, but I haven't seen evidence that Rudy has the kind of mid-range game that pays Rip Hamilton's bills in his repertoire. If he did, Rudy could make a legitimate case for being a starter on a decent NBA team when he is shipped out of Portland.
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rudy is not an excellent ball handler
he cant take too many people off the dribble at all.
"It's not the dress that makes you look fat, its the fat that makes you look fat!" ~Al Bundy
"Did they really expect me to bow down to Jesus?!?" ~Sophia
"At first glance, I saw a fairly unremarkable penis." ~Sophia on Greg Oden
It's not his ball handling.
He just doesn’t have a quick first step.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
If Rudy was a good ballhandler he could start next to B Roy
He has the passing skills, 3pt shot and probably would get abused as badly defending PG’s.
I don't understand that sentence (no sarcasm or negativity intended).
Not trying to be disrespectful, just asking for clarification. Do you mean “…but would probably get abused as badly defending PG’s.”? And if that’s what you meant, how would he be able to start next to Roy?
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
He meant, he would not be able to defend PGs
not that he would have trouble against pgs that have poor defense.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 17, 2010 2:14 AM PDT up reply actions
i don't agree
i think it’s both. he doesn’t have great quickness off the dribble but he also can be pressed quite effectively by a single defender and is prone to turnovers in that scenario.
On second thought, I think you're right.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
All due respect
He’s got no left hand … his first step is actually the one good thing about his dribble-drive game but if people sit on his right and force him left he’s toast.
True. He doesn't have a left, but I've yet to see any evidence that he has a good first step.
I went back and watched some youtube highlights. You see a lot of threes and spectacular finishes off lob passes, but the only instance of him beating an NBA player off the dribble is when he dunked on Dwight Howard, and getting past a 7 footer from the perimeter isn’t much of a feat for a guard.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Maybe I should have said "good".
But most players will get past their defenders a lot more often when they are 25 than at 35 even though their handles may be similar, and it is because they have lost their explosiveness.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Rudy needs to work on hooking up with a PG like Sergio again
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
It would help.
Andre Miller isn’t chopped liver though and Bayless isn’t always on the floor with Rudy.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
mostly tongue in cheek
Sergio had non-verbal communication with Rudy and the pair hooked up for a lot of back-door lobs. It’s going to be difficult for Fernandez to develop this same eye-contact synergy with any future NBA PG. I’d rather see Andre dropping entry passes in to Oden, given the choice
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
maybe they just talked a lot in spanish, so no one understood what they were saying to each other.
Just mumble like you are talking crap to a guy, but you are really saying, “Go for the alley-oop, I got you!”
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 17, 2010 2:16 AM PDT up reply actions
rudy and andre seemed to have better chemistry
than roy and andre…we didnt get to see rudy and andre much towards the end of the year however.
"It's not the dress that makes you look fat, its the fat that makes you look fat!" ~Al Bundy
"Did they really expect me to bow down to Jesus?!?" ~Sophia
"At first glance, I saw a fairly unremarkable penis." ~Sophia on Greg Oden
by Philthyanimal on Aug 17, 2010 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
I know you're being sarcastic but it's actually the truth.
Rudy needs to play with a passing point guard who’ll look for him on the drive and dish and pick him up cutting to the basket— two things that Sergio did a lot of but something that Bayless certainly doesn’t do.
The biggest difference between Rudy 08-09 and 09-10 is that he played a lot of minutes with Bayless and Miller instead of Sergio and Blake.
by howlingfantods on Aug 17, 2010 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't know how much Blake helped Rudy's game
but Sergio only had eyes for Fernandez, whenever he crossed midcourt
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
It was Rudy's misfortune to play with the lob-passing expert Miller
who wouldn’t throw him any lob passes.
Matty Walker: You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man. - Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Aug 18, 2010 1:42 AM PDT up reply actions
First of all ...
Attitude. I love Rudy but he’s got to stop worrying about playing time and just go out there and do it … to disprove Nate, the fans and just play like it matters. If he could play like he did at the home Chicago game, either of the Toronto games or the last Lakers games more consistently he wouldn’t have to worry because Nate would have to keep him out there. Then his confidence would go up and when he’s playing with confidence he is a killer out there.
But, he’s got to look at things differently and it seems from “Rudy’s most revealing interview” that it may be starting to happen. He’ll have a chance to talk to Nate this coming weekend so hopefully that will go well. It doesn’t seem like Nate’s shut the door for Rudy at all from a few interviews he’s given now … which is a pleasant surprise because I thought he’d be feeling very differently and rightly so. And he does play really well with Brandon, LA, Batum, Oden and Miller so to a certain degree I felt that Nate was being honest when he said Rudy is a good fit. If Rudy can come back with a different attitude it could be really amazing but we’ll have to see what happens.
Rudy
will eventually go back to Spain. His only value in the NBA is as a spot up three point shooter. He’s worn out his welcome here in Portland. The most interesting thing about him right now is what the Blazer’s will end up getting for him. Will he just be given away for a low draft pick or be part of a bigger trade package?
Trade value is the problem
Too good to exchange for just a low draft pick. Too cheap contract wise to trade for someone with comparable value to our team.
There is always a place in the NBA for off the ball shooters with passing ability like Rudy. If you look at our roster it would be fair to argue that sans Rudy we would need to add someone who can hit the open 3. We’re thin in this area if our primary outside shooters are only Nic and Wes.
The only thing stopping him it seems from playing a significant role in our team is his unreal expectation for more playing time. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that his struggles late season were more injury related than attitude related.
sans Rudy we would need to add someone who can hit the open 3. We’re thin in this area if our primary outside shooters are only Nic and Wes.
Bayless improved his 3pt% from 26 to 37%, after the all-star break
With a healthy set of legs, Roy’s 3pt% should increase, as well
Luke Babbitt can be inserted into games as a 3pt sniper this season (with a bigger role to follow, in future seasons)
It remains to be seen if Cunningham has developed his corner trey. I wouldn’t be surprised
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
It's kind of funny that we say he's got horrible value
But looking around SB nation, seems almost every team wants him. Of course they want him on the cheap, but most fans are very willing to give a pick or two, but don’t believe thats all it’d take.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 17, 2010 2:18 AM PDT up reply actions
Why do any of this?
With his current game he could be a perennial ACB All-Star, MVP candidate & easily one of the leagues faces.
Sell High On Aldridge
Rudy is a pretty bad ball handler, actually.
Good court vision, true, but no handles really.
Anyway he has to make himself valuable to get PT – basically the main thing he can improve is working off the ball more on offense and just putting in effort on D. Maybe he can put on some muscle too, but somehow I don’t see that happening, since he’s 25.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
Yeah, you're right about that. I don't know about bad, but I'm basically wrong.
And I was confusing court vision with ball-handling.
As for working off the ball, we’re in agreement—that was the gist of my argument as well. The link I posted was called something like: “NBA fundamentals: Moving without the ball”. (I think everybody who plays pick-up ball should watch that video. Cutters are fun to have on your team. They’re harder to defend, but at least you get some exercise chasing them around.) Rip Hamilton hosts, talks about Reggie Miller’s influence on his game, and shows some drills he practices.
Also agreed about the defense as well, especially his on-ball defense.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Rudy should work on packing his stuff and cleaning his place.
Too much water has fallen over that bridge.
Maybe so.
Either way, what is the best way for him to become a more effective player?
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
It's not all Rudy's fault that he's a square peg in a round hole in Portland
but I also think he’s trying to make the Blazers play his game instead of doing his best to fit into the way the Blazers play. It seems to me that he wants the Blazers to play a motion offense centered around him, but Nate wants him to hit the three when he’s open and be a threat that draws the defense when he’s not open. He and the team would be happier if he would accept what Nate is willing to give him, work on his defense and handle, and hit the weight room, then take the first bus outta Dodge when his contract is up.
He seems to have an inflated view of his game.
My main criticism with Nate, however, is the lack of motion in his offense. There is too much pick and pop and isolation basketball. I don’t take issue with Nate’s preference for veterans though; developing young players takes a back seat to winning ballgames on a playoff team.
Anyway, Nate’s system is his system and Rudy’s complaining is hurting the team. It isn’t his fault and I can see why he would be unhappy, but he’s not dealing with it professionally.
I hope he does get traded. The team worked too hard and played through too much adversity last year for him to pout and quit on them. I lost a lot of respect for him as a competitor. You just don’t do that in the playoffs and, as a fan, it’s hard to forgive a lack of effort. For all their flaws, Bayless and Martell gave their all as far as I could tell.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Rudy takes a ton of heat here and elsewhere for his negative remarks
but one of his positive remarks is that he realizes he needs to suck it up and do whatever he can to help the team win. I think if he finds himself still on the team in November that he’ll return to his rookie season form at least.
by MiledAnimal on Aug 18, 2010 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions
His attitude
#justsayin
Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. ~Aaron Levenstein
Part of attitude is understanding one's strengths and developing them further.
A good NBA role player understands what he can do effectively at the NBA level and build upon it. The chapter of “Art of a Beautiful Game” on Shane Battier is interesting: the sooner he learned that he would never be a scorer and that his strength was his defense, the more successful he became. Also, Ben Wallace was a good scorer in college. Not so much in the NBA. If these guys didn’t embrace their role and understand who they are, they wouldn’t have had such productive careers.
It’s about maturity, and it’s pretty much the same with any team sport. Rudy isn’t going to be a star in the NBA any more than Adam Morrison is. He can be a more effective offensive player, however, and work towards being a respectable on-ball defender.
The runner is garbage and working on it isn’t worth the effort any more than it would be for him to work on posting up. A catch-and-shoot fifteen foot jumper is a high percentage shot, and adding this to his game is a very attainable goal. Rudy’s already pretty good at moving without the ball.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Rudy should work on keeping his mouth shut. That is all.
"What people need to know is that those pictures were taken a year and a half ago, and I've grown since then." - Greg Oden
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