Time to Give Coach Nate Some Love
by JasonT on Jan 3, 2011 1:30 PM PST
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PrintRight now the Blazers stand at 18-16 and are firmly in the 8th seed. This is not the record nor the position that we envisioned at the beginning of this season. However, if I were to tell you that Roy would only be a shadow of his former self and miss a large chunk of the season, Oden would be lost for the season before he even stepped onto the court, and Joel would not yet play any meaningful minutes, most of you would assume that the Blazers were headed for the lottery. We could still end up in the lottery, but as of now, I am liking our chances of getting the 8th seed.
Nate has to be given credit for keeping this team together, playing hard, and winning games in face of serious adversity and depressing times. Even though the team is playing with no established star, one 2nd/3rd go to player, a bunch of role players and a very weak bench, they are still in position to make the playoffs. All things being equal, the Blazers should have the same record of a team like the 76ers or Bobcats. However, the coaching has not been equal. Nate has shown a superior ability when compared to his peers, to get the most of out his players and evolve the playing style to fit the personnel. From utilizing Camby's excellent high-low passing skills, to inserting Wesley Matthews into the starting lineup, Nate has made a lot of savvy moves that have paid off with wins for this team.
Coach Nate often gets a bad rap around here and sometimes deservedly so. However, I think it is time to recognize that even for his faults, Nate has been doing a heck of a job this season. The Blazers team and organization are lucky to have him.
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Nate is excellent at making something out of nothing,
I’m just not sure that something is a championship contender. He has done an excellent job over the past few seasons of keeping the blazers competitive over the last couple of seasons with their injuries, but we haven’t seen yet if he has what it takes to make the blazers elite once all the pieces come together again.
True. But that isn't his fault.
If getting players to excel from where they are at is Nate’s strength, I’m not sure how that wouldn’t translate with better talent on the floor.
"Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal." - C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1940
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November-December, 2009
Nate had all of his players except Nic. He chose to start Blake over Miller. The team started 2-3 and struggled until Miller joined Brandon and Steve in a 3-guard starting lineup. In fact, you could go back to just about every November during McMillian’s tenure and the team was cold coming out of camp and the preseason
April, 2009
Coming off a strong end to the regular season, the fully-stocked, healthy and rested Blazers had homecourt advantage against Houston. A questionable coaching decision led Przybilla to defend Ming one-on-one from behind. Yao responded with a perfect 24 point first half and the Rockets stole home court. Adelman’s defense also corralled Roy and LMA and Portland’s coaching staff and other players weren’t able to take advantage of this strategy. Almost no adjustments were made, unless you count starting Rudy in game 6, where he struggled along with Blake and Outlaw.
Nate is a good coach to have during a famine. When the roster has an embarrassment of riches, he’s indecisive re: rotations, minutes-distribution and roles and doesn’t have a plan B if the opposing coach takes away his first option. I applaud McMillian for making lemonade when injuries have handed him lemons. What we haven’t seen from him is the ability to handle prosperity, to prepare a team to play well right out of the gate in November, or to advance in the post season.
In short, don’t give Nate a free pass (due to injuries) again this year. Playoff results in late April should indicate if he returns to coach the Blazers following the lockout; we already know that he can win regular season games with a shorthanded roster
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Sample size of 6 non-randomly selected games...
And by the way, that 09 Rockets team took the champion lakers to 7 games, so they were pretty good in their own right, and probably better than your average 5-seed, wouldn’t you say?
It was a bad matchup and I called the series 4-2 Houston before game 1
but they way it fell out did not reflect well on McMillian (or Blake/Outlaw..) His team was not ready to play game 1, and game 6 was a laugher as well
are you content with Nate’s ability to take a team through fall camp, preseason and off to a decent start in Novermber? The Blazer seem to take 6 weeks to get rolling every fall, regardless of injuries
then fans fall in love with McMillian again in January, last year it took the Andre shouting match to kick-start the ballclub
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Without even looking, I'm willing to bet ...
That Nate’s teams have been as good or better in Nov-Dec on average than they have the rest of the year, measured in win percentage. I’d argue that winning later is better than winning earlier, but I think the salient point here is about confirmation bias. Everywhere some people look, Nate “seems” be bad at something, because that’s what you want to see. That’s why losing to Houston was getting “outcoached” rather than just being beat by a team that showed in other playoff matchups that is was just better and more experienced. People say the offense is “stagnant”, even when it is one of the most efficient in the league. Nate doesn’t have the team is ready in November, even if he usually does.
I see this kind of selective analyses all over the message boards, and the only way I know how to refute a confirmation bias-based conclusion is to point out how a more representative sampling choice leads to a different conclusion.
To be fair...
but we haven’t seen yet if he has what it takes to make the blazers elite once all the pieces come together again.
I’m not sure if he has ever been in this position. The Blazers were a young promising team with potential, but before they had a chance to mature, injuries derailed them. So, I don’t think Nate has had an opportunity with the right pieces at the right time to push it to an elite status.
precisely
nate can make a bad team mediocre. he hasn’t shown the ability to make a good team great. the few stretches of his tenure when we were fully healthy have shown as much.
PHILLY!
I do not believe Nate has ever had a roster with the potential to be immediately great.
It’s my opinion that Blazer fans have overvalued or overestimated the talent that coaching has had at it’s disposal.
Dunk
by Billy Ray Bates on Jan 4, 2011 9:20 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Only LaMarcus Aldridge has been more unfairly besmirched than Nate
They are arguably the cornerstones of the teams success. At the very least their conduct and performance has been praiseworthy in nearly every respect.
by oregonslee on Jan 3, 2011 2:19 PM PST reply actions 15 recs
I'd say Paul Allen, Larry Miller and the Blazer's training staff has been besmirched, as well
quite regularly in fact, fairly or not
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Aldridge
I would agree people were too harsh on Aldridge considering that even the “old Aldridge” was a highly productive player.
But the criticism that he had a lot more talent than he was showing on the court appears to have been spot on. The way he’s playing right now, it is obvious he DOES have a lot more talent than he was showing before.
Roy's absence is allowing him to take a larger role.
And he needed to change his mindset, first, for this to happen.
Big props to LA for his play this year.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we snuck up to 7th or possibly even 6th seed
Before the all-star break. Our schedule looks much more favorable than NO going into the break. And who knows what will happen with Melo before the trade deadline which could really help us move past Denver. Things are looking up.
Nicolas Batum is the future of the Blazers
I think the slow paced offense that Nate came into this season with
Would have been perfect for a team with a healthy Roy and a healthy Greg Oden. Neither of them are available right now and Nate is doing a great job adjusting his plan.
Maybe we should hire this Nate guy when the Blazers finally fire their coach.
"Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal." - C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1940
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by T Darkstar on Jan 3, 2011 2:53 PM PST reply actions 8 recs
Last night I saw Nate telling the team to keep running and pushing it
When most coaches would have been trying to burn the clock. What a complete turn around. Also though the guys aren’t completely proficient with the up tempo game at this point, they didn’t seem the least bit worried about being pulled after their first bad pass. This is a complete sea change.
I’ve been thinking that our personal ( that aren’t hurt) are geared for a motion offense, up tempo pace for years. Seems that Nate has decided to go that route. Be it out of necessity or being a good coach I don’t know but Nate is leaving me nothing to complain about as of late.
part of the reason guys aren't getting pulled
is there’s no one to replace them with ;)
Good point.
I do think Nate is better this year than last. Even with a limited roster last year, he made some bone-headed substitutions.
Or put in line-ups that were very questionable.
He said he had trouble sleeping. That he wasn’t sleeping during the playoffs.
I’m sure he had trouble sleeping during the regular season as well.
To me, this explains a LOT.
also…I think Nate was hamstringed with Brandon’s playing style.
He probably felt he had to play to Brandon’s strengths.
He may be very happy that his team is finally able to SHARE the ball.
And play defense as a team!!!
So I think Nate McMillan deserves credit. Not just for his coaching but for recognizing the need for sleep. And whatever he needs to ensure he gets it!
I think if he continues to take Ambien and sleeps at night; he could end up to be a freaking playoff coaching genius.
Funny and possibly true there wackybrak
part of the reason guys aren’t getting pulled is there’s no one to replace them with ;)
by billy quizboy on Jan 3, 2011 10:32 PM PST up reply actions
Saw Nate telling the team to run and push...
… after an opposing basket when the opposing team had 4 or 5 players back. I believe there were still 3 Blazers that hadn’t crossed half court. Sometimes I wonder if coaches think before they bark orders.
I am a Nate fan, but even I was a little embarrassed about that. I don’t know if players start to tune the coach out when that sort of thing happens. Probably a few eyes rolling at least.
Still despite that one incident, it is fun to see the team playing pickup-style basketball. Run n’ gun baby!
When life serves up lemons,
I’ll take take Coach McMillan.
by damonrayhymer on Jan 3, 2011 3:04 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
He doesn't just make lemonade.
He breaks out the lemon-dill chicken, with lemon-herbed mashed potatoes, lemon-infused collard greens, with lemon-meringue custard for dessert, and a lemon daiquiri for an after dinner drink.
"Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal." - C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1940
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by T Darkstar on Jan 3, 2011 3:22 PM PST up reply actions 5 recs
Man, if that doesn't give you a permanent pucker nothing will.
"he’s had like 6 of the 8 best dunks of his career this week. been impressive." - jksnake99 Post Game vs Bucks 12-20-2010
He's always done a good job getting the team to play hard when things (usually injuries) don't go their way
It’s just too bad we haven’t seen what Nate could do with a healthy hypothetical Blazer team, but I suppose that the great team of the future with Oden, Roy, and Aldridge as a nice third wheel, will never materialize, so there’s no point in talking about it.
However, I have to say Nate has never gotten as much out of his defensive players as he should. Even with Miller starting, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge, and Camby should be a potent defensive team. Much better than 15th in defensive efficiency or wherever we are ranked at the moment. A lot of defense is heart and effort, something you can bring to the court every night, and it’s clearly the area the Blazers need to improve on the most.
z-Garden Variety Internet Denizen-z
WORD UP.STAY.FRESCO
My other big qualm with him
Is that Nate rarely rides the hot hand, if a player is doing well he should improvise his substitution pattern.
z-Garden Variety Internet Denizen-z
WORD UP.STAY.FRESCO
I've noticed he's ridden the hot hand WAY more this season than in seasons past.
I think he’s also allowing the veterans some input. I think he listens to Miller.
Kudos to him for this.
this^
kudos also to Bayno and Buck for LMA’s improvement and new-found aggression
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
What if modern statistics showed "hot hand" to be mostly a myth?
Should coaches pretend that it works?
by sanjait on Jan 3, 2011 10:14 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Technically not-so-modern statistics and analysis have already proven it's a myth
But as we all know: sometimes statistics lie, everything regresses to the mean, and scientists/analysists don’t actually play basketball very often.
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 Jan 4, 2011 12:59 AM PST up reply actions
hot hand
I am curious what particular analysis has been done that refutes the “hot hand” concept?
“Hot hand” certainly does seem like something that people could glom onto due to its inherent appearance as something self-evident on an intuitive basis.
On the other hand, the view that “hot hand” is a myth is something I could see people glomming onto because it has an iconoclastic appeal as something that proves how people’s superficial observations fly in the face of the cold hard reality of science.
So I’m not prepared to dismiss it out of hand.
Here's a starting point for reading about the debate, courtesy of Henry Abbott
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/6241/hot-and-heavy-about-nba-shooting
(Follow the links for the gory details.)
Wiggada Wiggada Zers!
Yea the coin flip is what I meant by "not-so-modern" statistics
I believe I read once that in a 25 flip sample size, a streak of 5 or more of either heads or tails has a 2/3 chance of occurring.
But then again, I’m sure every one of us that actually plays basketball has had those days where your form just comes together and you basically can’t miss. And other nights your shot just feels awkward and nothing goes in. Of course NBA players have put up far more shots than any of us, and can have a far more mechanical shot for better consistency. But no reason to believe it would work differently.
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 Jan 5, 2011 5:08 AM PST up reply actions
You're probably right on both counts
But there actually is quite a bit of work done on this question. The big start to this was in a 1985 paper out of cornell. Here are 538 papers that reference it…
Which is why I said "mostly"
I’m of the belief that stats don’t really lie, because they are just numbers. What lies are the people who interpret them poorly or in a deliberately misleading way.
Anwyay, the body of work is pretty large, and you don’t need to be a be a basketball player to draw statistical inferences. What we see very clearly is that the scoring streaks of basketball players are about what you’d expect from a world without “hot hand”, which means one of three things:
1) the hot hand effect is totally imaginary
2) the hot hand effect is real, but is very rare or small, so it can’t be seen amidst the statistical noise.
3) the hot hand effect is real and not very small or rare, but is countervailed by an opposing effect (such as if players who believe they are “hot” take worse shots and actually end up more likely to miss), and the net effect of both can’t be seen amidst the statistical noise.
Because I don’t lie, I can’t say for sure which one of these is most true. My guess is that the truth is somewhere between #2 and #3. But using just stats and none of my many hours of pickup basketball experience, I can say for sure that one of the above is true.
Seems like a big reason for that has been his inability to get Roy to work off the ball.
I think that when Brandon comes back, that will change. IF (when please) Nate is able to incorporate Brandon and keep the points in the paint, transitional points, and fast break points where they are instead of isolating Roy for half the game, he will have himself a 2nd round playoff team. And that is with making little or no changes to the roster. I have no clue how to do that, but I have confidence that Coach does.
Even when I have felt Nate wasn’t getting the job done (losing to the Nets, Sixers, and WIzards) I had a hard time with the idea of letting him go when he is probably the future Team USA coach, and is so highly regarded across the league. Not to mention his record with the Blazers when dealing with injuries.
So here’s some love for you Nate. Atta boy.
"Nate has never gotten as much out of his defensive players as he should. "
I agree and counter to the common wisdom Nate holds it appears that the more aggressive and faster paced offense is leading to more agressive and faster of foot defense.
by billy quizboy on Jan 3, 2011 10:45 PM PST up reply actions
Great Post
Nate is again showing that he is one of the best coaches in the NBA
Nate has spent the last couple of years working on his Sports Team Reconfiguration Masters Degree.
His thesis is “How to rebuild a team that has been destroyed by injuries”.
"he’s had like 6 of the 8 best dunks of his career this week. been impressive." - jksnake99 Post Game vs Bucks 12-20-2010
My teacher once jokingly said that they remember a bad student's name first.
That is because they made the most noise.
Now, with the noise of “ha, McMillan is gonna get fired,” has quieted down, I haven’t noticed the silence of that talk until you mentioned it JasonT.
In the teacher’s word, they would not remember as fast, or notice, the name of the good kids. And right now, this is good stuff.
I was a "Fire Nate" guy, and probably still am long term.
I think his defensive plans, substiutuions, and in-game strategy / adjustments are poor.
HOWEVER, I give the guy a huge amount of credit for the offense we’re seeing without Roy. It is everything a lot of us wanted to see for a long time: multiple players moving at once, ball movement from one side to the other, cutters, and best of all, assisted points in the paint with a noticable lack of long-range jumpers.
Kinda makes you wonder – chicken or the egg? Was the slow-no-motion offense a product of McMillan’s strategy or Roy’s execution?
Regardless, kudos for Nate showing me a new attack when I didn’t think I’d ever see one with him at the helm.
by Free Bayless on Jan 3, 2011 7:17 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
It was playing to Roy's strength
I think the “no-motion” talk is a bit exaggerated, but a lot of the slow way the team played with Roy was there because it worked, not because Roy couldn’t execute differently. Maybe it wasn’t asthetically pleasing, but this team has been marvelously efficient the last couple years when healthy.
LA going to the rim is a huge factor
Between Joel’s lack of offense and LA’s floating outside there has not been an inside threat (except Oden) for most of Nate’s time in Portland.
by Jacksonville on Jan 3, 2011 11:43 PM PST up reply actions
I'll say it: Roy couldn't execute differently
He simply does not process information quickly on the basketball court. Never did, even when physically fit.
that's harsh
but it’s equally revealing that Nate would put the team’s fortunes into the hands of such a player
Brandon is a focused individual, and what I’ve observed is that he has shown tunnel vision on the rim when he starts his move. If his path to the basket is completely cut off, he would look to the near corner for his bail-out passes. Hence the 3-pt “do a Portland” opportunities for Blake, Outlaw, etc
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
aaaaaaaaand
then they play a game like Dallas tonight with no movement, same stagnant garbage as we’ve seen in the past. He couldn’t let me give him a compliment…
down the stretch against the Mavs
Dallas looked like they knew what they were doing, Terry got a good look on each possession
Blazers looked like a Chinese fire drill chasing a chicken with it’s head cut off. The only positive play was a banked-in prayer by Matthews as he was falling down (which reminded me of some of Outlaw’s miraculous shots in year’s past)
It used to be said that “Portland is a young team” but with Miller and Camby (not to mention LMA in his 5th year) this can no longer be used as an alibi
I’m not saying that Carlisle > McMillian—but neither would I have said Gentry > Nate last April —in big game situations (read: playoffs and against playoff-caliber teams during the regular season)) Portland appears to be outcoached
but it doesn’t matter what we think as long as Paul Allen is still happy with Mr. Sonic
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I'll Say It
I’ve been very hard on Nate on stray comments here and even worse in the privacy of my own home in heated discussions between me and my television set.
But once again, Nate is proving me wrong. He has adapted to his circumstances, keeps his players playing, and keeps manufacturing wins apparently out of the ether.
I don’t know if he’s capable of coaching a great team to elite status… but I will stand and applaud his efforts at getting the maximum out of the situations he’s been dealt. I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision about whether or not to keep him and can instead criticize safely from my armchair.
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
Nate is getting better
This may be a product of really starting to mesh with his players, his new assistant coaches or just normal progression. It’s probably a combination of all 3.
I hope he stays for the long haul. People are quick to hold history against him as if his career and coaching effectiveness are actually static. The truth is he is a very respected coach for good reason. The guy makes mistakes just like other coaches do but he knows how to motivate his players and get far more out of them than the sum of their talent.
I have little doubt that he could coach a contender and I know he’ll only get better over the years.
The ironic thing is Nate thrives on roster continuity
He likes to have a structured system, which can work very well, but not if the roster is changing every few days because someone else is getting hurt. Maybe some people are amazed that Nate has altered the attack to suit the players we have now, but that’s what he’s always done. He just doesn’t do it quickly, and it’s no accident that the plays changed when Roy was declared “out indefinitely”.
I would say though that even without Roy and Oden the Blazers have a little better roster than the 76ers or Bobcats. Or maybe I’m just a homer. I’d put it about with Houston’s. And interestingly, Rick Adelman is the coach a lot of the Nate critics cite as a “good” coach, but his team is doing worse.
Sign him, damnit.
Letting him get away is a big mistake.
chk yrslf bf u rec yrslf
by Hipster Olympic Team! on Jan 3, 2011 11:52 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Nate
I have been pretty critical of Nate despite all the wins in the last couple years because it has seemed to me that success has been largely due to impressive individual performances by particular players rather than good team play.
Well, now we are seeing some excellent team ball out of a Nate-coached team. In fact beating Jerry Sloan, the master of team ball, twice, by out-Sloaning Mr. Sloan.
So we now know that Nate has the ability to coach good team ball.
And if they stumble down the road I hopefully won’t forget that. With players I always feel, if a player has shown a certain talent at one point in their career then even if they are in a slump you know they have the innate ability to play at that level in the future if you can somehow create the conditions that bring out that talent.
It seems fair to look at coaching the same way. After several years of being a Blazer fan I now have some evidence to say, this guy has the ability to coach.
Ironically, even though Nate’s coaching right now is the best he’s shown over the last several years, his job is probably the shakiest it has been over the last several years.
It's been said manya times before...
the simple fact that Nate was chosen as a coach for the USA team should say something.
"I have contract with Portland.... I have contract with Portland... I have contract with Portland." - Rudy Fernandez
All I'm saying is that you don't replace Nate unless we're sure to
get an upgrade. Just firing him for the sake of change w/o having any clear direction would be a mistake. It would be similar to quitting a job that you don’t like w/o anything else lined up.
Treat people well because Karma can hit you at any second.
by Net Ranger on Jan 4, 2011 8:13 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
management
The reasonable approach to judging a coach is: How well does his team perform in relation to its talent.
Based on that Nate is probably one of the top 3 or 4 coaches in the NBA the way he is performing right now.
Unfortunately Vulcan mgt probably judges things differently. If your players are all banged up and you wind up with a rotation of D Leaguers, they will still feel it’s time for the Blazers to win a championship, with no excuses.
Paul Allen fired Adelman, who was more popular than Nate
and the owner (not “the Vulcans”) will replace McMillian whenever he thinks the team needs to go in a different direction
the X factor is Nate’s Seattle ties, there’s no way to know how much rope he will be given, beyond what coaches like Carlesimo, Dunleavy, Cheeks received (who had had similar regular season success and post season disappointments)
The other X factor is whether Nate will receive coaching offers from other NBA teams, following the playoffs, and where his mindset is at before/during the lockout (Does he want a new challenge? Stay with the roster he has now? Stay in the NW? etc)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Nate's struggles
have had a lot to do with his partnership with Brandon Roy. Apparently, the benching of Brandon has enabled him to get his players to listen to him. The reason I would say Nate is not a great coach, is that it took the benching to get him to do this. A great coach would have taken action when it became clear that a Brandon-centric offense was not going to cut the mustard.
That happened two seasons ago when we got wiped by Houston in the playoffs.
Two seasons to adapt to this reality is a bit long, if you ask me. But maybe this is a lesson he has now learned: Basketball is a team game, and no one player is more important than the cohesiveness and commitment of the team. If he has, then his biggest weakness could now be a strength.
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
I'm sorry, but I just don't buy...
…that it was “clear that a Brandon-centric offense was not going to cut the mustard” in the playoff series against Houston.
The collapse in the first half of Game 1 had far more to do with defense than offense, Brandon dominated Game 2, then the Blazers had the chance to win games 3 and 4, and just couldn’t get it done.
That series was not entirely one-sided, and the Blazers’ success in that season was largely because of their Brandon-centric offense, period.
Stop the revisionism, please.
by HeathBlizzard on Jan 4, 2011 9:41 AM PST up reply actions
Could have used a little more Brandon-centric defense in the last three years.
Unfortunately, this was not his strength.
The Dude abides.
That series was not entirely one-sided
This is true, the Blazers led by 10 early in the 4th quarter down in Houston and lost by 1. The series swung on that quarter, Portland would have been favored in game 7 at home
the 4th quarter collapse was caused by a failure to rebound and scrap (the Rockets outrebounded the Blazers 11-2 down the stretch) but also the Blazers failed to score consistently in their late game sets. This was mainly because Houston clamped down on Roy’s penetration (Brandon fouled out, IIRC) and the other players were unable to make the Rockets pay for this strategy (ugly forced 3 pt shots by Blake and Outlaw, who were woefully over their skis in that series)
Roy complained to his teammates that he was physically worn out while on the bench during game 6, so the “give it Brandon and let him win the game” strategy was not going to be sustainable through multiple playoff series in May/June. The front office’s stated goal during the summer of 2009 was to add veteran support using the team’s capspace, and the Hedo > Millsap > D. Lee > Miller pursuit is well known. Andre was meant to be Roy’s veteran help, but Brandon and Nate didn’t integrate Miller well into the startng lineup until multiple injuries forced them to
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You and I are on the same page.
At least on the interpretation of the Houston series.
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
I am not revising anything.
This was my impression then, and has remained my impression since. Getting knocked out of the first round of the playoffs does not constitute postseason success.
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
Nate is an excellent coach of the Titanic during the regular season...
As the founder of the Fire Nate Fast, I can agree with the above comments that give Nate kudos for (finally) adjusting his offense to fit his personnel this year. (You’ll notice I haven’t pulled out the FNF card lately, and have given him praise for some good moves so far this year.)
I do wonder if the propping up of Roy to superstardom did more to hamstring this offense than Nate’s coaching.
Because he certainly has shown an ability to instill more up-tempo, more motion offense, without his security blanket.
The jury is still out on Nate, however, and it all depends on how well we play this postseason. If he’s outcoached like he was last year against Alvin freakin Gentry, and we don’t make it out of the first round, he’s gone, as he should be.
mmhm
I do wonder if the propping up of Roy to superstardom did more to hamstring this offense than Nate’s coaching.
The evidence is mounting quickly in support of this idea.
Dunk
by Billy Ray Bates on Jan 4, 2011 9:29 AM PST up reply actions
Let's not get carried away
54 and 50 win seasons with a relatively healthy Roy tell a different story. Right now we are on pace to get 43-44 wins.
Coaches have to play to their team’s strengths. And going with a healthy Roy-centric offense generated more wins then this current offense is. I am just happy that the team has found a way to adjust to playing without Roy and get some wins. But let’s not carried away, the Blazers are much better team and much more difficult to defend with a healthy Roy than without him.
I am actually very optimistic about this Blazers team.
Hollinger’s playoff odds have the Blazers winning 45 games this year right now, which is going 27-21 the remainder of the year. But if you look at the Blazers without Roy, which is where we see this more free flowing, movement offense, they are 8-3, or 72.7% winning percentage. While most of those wins came against under .500 teams, they also had some quality division wins against Denver and Utah.
January is a very good month for the Blazers to “get healthy” in their overall record. They play just 4 +.500 teams, while playing 9 games against teams that are under .500. They also play 8 games at home, and only 5 road games, (most of those road games come on their current trip.) Which leads me to believe that they can keep up that winning percentage at least through the month of Jan, which would put them around 28-19 going into Feb, where they will begin to face stronger competition, with 7 games against +.500 teams and just 5 against sub .500. However just one of those +.500 teams is a road game, which should lead to some quality Blazer wins inside the Rose Garden.
Looking through the rest of the Blazers schedule tells me this team still has a legit shot at 50 wins, and a middle playoff seed, if they can continue to play the way they have been playing. Which is beating the teams they should beat, playing well at home, even against good competition, and the occasional suprise win or loss. To reach 50 wins, they would need to finish the season 32-16 from here on out, which is a 66.6% winning percentage. With their seemingly most difficult parts of the schedule behind them, I feel it is possible.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
the Blazers are much better team and much more difficult to defend with a healthy Roy than without him.
Better, yes. But more difficult to defend? Not for superior team defenses that had time to prepare for Roy and didn’t have tired legs
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Nate's good when he has limited players
he can maximize what he has. When he has a lot, he’s very average
#12
by collectiveshane on Jan 4, 2011 11:20 AM PST reply actions
Historic Nate Basher here
And my biggest beef has always been this slow down offense with a bunch of running/motion studs.
It has become rather apparent this was not so much nate’s doing as Brandon’s (the whole slow down stand around offense).
I like watching this team much more than when Brandon was on the floor any time over the last year and a half.
Here is to hoping that if Brandon ever makes it back that he will finally see how talented his team mates are and works to play to their strengths more than he has shown interest in in the past.
My second biggest beef is substitution patterns. Still have problems there quite a lot. (Benching Dre for 9 minutes during that comeback in Dallas for example when Dre made was driving the production of that comeback).
"Oh Yeah!" ~ Kool Aid Man
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