Why the Blazers Will Do Well Part 3: The Point Isn't the Point

In general, I agree.

The reason PG gets so much attention is because (given health) we’re absolutely set at the other four positions, in some cases we’re set two men deep. PG is the obvious place where we can upgrade.

But yes, we can win with a player like Blake at the point, so we should be able to win more with Andre and Jerryd.

Petteri has developed well in Europe and maybe Blazers could bring him in if they sell Bayless or Miller.

He reckons the blazers won’t be contenders next season and their goal should be to get to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Whatever!!! The Blazers are contenders. They’re better than every team in the west and in a 7 game series vs the Lakers we can take them… especially if we get billups from denver when melo leaves in the next month or so.

Go Blazers!!! 2011 NBA champs!

I 100% agree with you.

Great post.

Getting to the second round this season isn’t enough. We need to build a contending team as soon as possible. Because even if we’re contenders, that’s no guarantee during any given year and it could take several years of trying until it happens. So, if we’re a move or two away, isn’t point guard the important move?

For those who agree that we’re one or two moves away from being a contender, my question is this: What position(s) are we thinking about? We have quality at the center, both forward positions, and shooting guard. The “move or two away” must be at point guard. The point guard is a very important position in the recent NBA with its new rules. So it can’t be that we adopt the approach that we’ll automatically do well. We do need to worry about the point.

In point of fact, the urgency some have to address the PG issue now, as opposed to later, is not controlled by the Blazers, but by the teams who have point guards the Blazers might want to trade for. And, in point of fact, there are only a handful that are better than Miller, and most of those are untouchable – as everyone finally figured out about Paul. The rest are not an upgrade over what we now have. As was pointed out in another thread, Bayless, for example, averaged 17 minutes per game last year, but only 7 of those minutes were played at the PG position whereas the rest were played at the SG slot. This was due to both the fact that Miller is an iron man and Blake was kept until we traded for Camby, leaving Bayless with little playing time at the PG slot, whereas the injuries to Fernandez and Roy created a need at their position. This will be the first year when Bayless actually comes into camp as the second team PG – which means that he’ll finally have some consistent minutes to play the position that the Blazers claim they drafted him to play. The problem with the Point is that you don’t get better solely by practicing – you have to play, and 7 minutes per game isn’t going to get you there. So, given that there are only a handful of PG’s that are better than Miller – and that we don’t yet know how good Bayless will or won’t be, this will be the year that we find out.

As far as Blake type serviceable PG’s, 1/2 a dozen switched teams this year, to include players such as Heinrich, Felton, Blake, etc. We can always pick one of those up.

You can’t, in the end, trade for what isn’t there. And PG’s that are better than what we have are rarely traded. And, I might point out – they are also very expensive. If we are strong at the other 4 slots, then an above average but not necessarily All-star type PG will work quite well.

Good post Dave. Fans put way too much importance on the point guard position – a position that is relatively new to basketball. Rule changes have helped to make penetration easier and increased the value of that position, but clearly all you need is an adequate point guard to win a championship if the other pieces are in place and often times it seems that having a truly great point guard hinders a team’s ability to go all the way.

Do the fans have the patience to develop their PG of the future these days. Bayless is younger than Armon, and neither will ever be a starter unless they get the playing time to develop. And, given that the SG slot is locked up with Roy, Matthews who started for Utah last year at the same spot, and Williams, both Bayless and Armon are left playing behind an ironman like Miller, and dividing up 12 or 13 minutes a game. This is the year that will decide Bayless’s fate, because I can’t see him staying around in some 5th or 6th guard role. He’ll want to go where he can play, and if he doesn’t get a real shot at PG in Portland, then it won’t be here.

“What’s this Dave guy on about? He reckons the blazers won’t be contenders next season and their goal should be to get to the 2nd round of the playoffs.”

Valid criticism.

It seems to me the Blazers have the talent to be a championship contender, but it will take a lot of smarts to figure out how to translate that talent into actually playing like a championship contender.

Once again they have awesome depth, but having the 13th and 14th guy on your roster being rotation-caliber players doesn’t do you any good. (except provide insurance in case of a 100-year flood)

Hey folks, we’ve been one of the best offensive teams in the past couple of years and a very mediocre defensive team, mostly because of poor pnr defense by our bigs and very weak help rotations on the interior. How about focusing on that instead of daydreaming about every PG in the league?

Dre might not be perfect but he’s a top 10 to top 15 PG in the league. Let’s give this angsting a break.

The largest obstacle between the Blazers and the finals is the Lakers, who seem to be the most vulnerable against teams with great point guards.

Now that we have Armon “Hammer” Johnson set to take over by the mid point of the season we can all rest easy.

What’s that? No you say? Hasn’t played in an NBA game? Can’t shoot a jumper outside of fifteen feet? I dismiss your concerns because I have belief, and won’t let something as petty or small as “facts” get in the way of that.

;-)

so it’s time to trade for one. We’ll never have better trade chips than this very moment so lets go get a balanced young player. I’d be interested to know what qualities bedgers want in a point guard; brilliant passer, defense first, 3 pt bomber, just what are we looking for? I like an all-around player like Devin Harris. But a great passer like Calderon is also nice, especially when we have so many quality starters.

If Portland had Avery Johnson in his prime, there would be no reason not to win a championship … we know how well Damon Stoudamire’s prediction turned out. The PG has to help win in the playoffs but doesn’t have to be an all star.

It’s not that Miller is a negative or a problem or … It’s more about fit, benefit, and the long-term. Portland hasn’t found a starting PG that fits and is a benefit and they’ve had auditions for YEARS. Miller is a quality stopgap. No, he and Bayless won’t prevent a championship, but if I was a betting man I’d bet against them ENHANCING the chance of going deeper into the playoffs.

The issue is that APEC, JPEC and good youth exist now. Consolidation can be done now. When assets for upgrading the PG are fewer, that’s bad. The abundance of relative riches for trades—without touching the four pillars—won’t last. This is where I disagree with Dave. It is an issue now and waiting can only go on so long.

To this point, the L*kers won multiple times with Derek Fisher. Miller >> Fisher.

Now it seems that the general feeling about Miller is that he can’t shoot from 3. However miller is a great post player. He is on the block more then any other point guard. His post up moves are so good that he draws double teams. I can’t be the only one who remembers those few games when miller and Greg were clicking and we saw what they could do together. Miller dropping it off to Greg for the slam were some of the best highlights of the year. I think Andre is a great point guard and when the team is healthy and Miller has someone to pass to. We are going to see why drawing double teams on the block is much better then standing on the perimeter waiting for Brandon to need a bailout.

if the Blazers let him go they will have grave regrets