Revisiting my Mythbusters Poll

by halo_on on Mar 19, 2011 1:16 PM PDT

I thought it would be interesting to go back and review the results from my Mythbusters poll, post-trade deadline. How do these questions look now as we near the playoffs? Good basketball discussion!

Original poll posted on 8/3/2010. Total votes tallied: 92

http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/7/30/1597639/mythbusters-portland-trail-blazers

1.
Nate is not the "championship coach" this team needs right now.

27% Agreed, 49% Disagreed, 24% Undecided

The Blazers just signed him to a new 2 year contract extension. Boring halfcourt offense and all that? Unoriginal? If he isn't a championship coach, at the very least Nate is in the upper echelon of his peers and Rich Cho knows it. Hell, even Adrian Wojnarowski chimed in late last year, mentioning Pat Riley should consider McMillan for Miami's inevitable head coaching vacancy this summer. I think he's a terrific leader myself. How many coaches pride themselves on defense? Who could have adapted the roster better than he has given injuries? Nate will likely assistant coach team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics, making it his third trip. Cream of the crop.

2. Based on last season's performance, Aldridge isn't worth his new contract.

25% Agreed, 68% Disagreed, 7% Undecided

Well, if he wasn't, he sure as hell is this season right? Great investment. Easy question now.

3. Paul Allen "jumped the shark" as an owner for firing KP the way he did.

22% Agreed, 55% Disagreed, 23% Undecided

Don't let success go to your head. That's the moral of the story right? How many times have we heard "team effort" from Rich Cho and his staff these days? Another easy question to answer with enough time to reflect. Allen did the right thing. Though the process was poor, the team haven't missed a beat and that's all we care about right? Gerald Wallace will help the Blazers finally push through the first round. If not this season, next for sure.

4. Roy can play with any PG in the league, even if it were an All Star.

77% Agreed, 12% Disagreed, 11% Undecided

I have to think Devin Harris was Rich Cho's first choice this offseason. Roy's recent knee troubles are slowly moving him down the "option" list for Portland. I mean really, is Brandon even a #2 right now? 3, 4, 5? He just needs more time. Let him adapt his game right? Here's a fantastic NEW question for Blazer fans. Will Roy or Wallace (provided there is no substantial lockout period) be more important to the team next season? Run with that one.

5. Oden's body won't allow him to dominate the way we hoped he could.

23% Agreed, 42% Disagreed, 35% Undecided

The verdict is still out. All of us hope this isn't true, myself included. But 82 games in 4 seasons? I tend to think that even "good" big men are rare in the NBA these days. Oden could certainly come back and be good, but I just can't allow myself to think he will ever be great. I could accept good. Come back, give us even 15-8 and block a couple of shots. Clog the middle. Create some havoc with your size. Those are my projections for Greg if he does return.

6A. The Blazers should keep looking for a solution at starting PG.

79% Agreed, 18% Disagreed, 3% Undecided

I think if we ran this poll question again, the number of disagreeds would go up quite a bit. Andre Miller is very capable right now. Adding Wallace to the mix, given the assets traded for him, certainly increases Miller's value. Can he keep it up? Andre turns 35 this month. The oldest guards in the NBA are 37 right now. Verdict is still out, but Miller's reputation of taking care of his body helped him stay here for now. I like him, but I still thought if the Blazers could have snagged Devin Harris, they should have.

6B. Bayless is not a starting PG in this league. Not now. Not ever.

44% Agreed, 41% Disagreed, 15% Undecided

Jerryd averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 assists playing limited minutes behind Chris Paul in New Orleans. His numbers have risen since a further trade to the Raptors. He's up to 7.6 and 3.5 as I write this, but Bayless is still a backup to Jose Calderon, a 3rd tier starting PG in this league. My take on him is the same as it has been. Jerryd can "give you a few things" here and there, but he's not a starter. Unless his team sustains injuries to their backcourt, I really think he will ride the 18-25 MPG wave for most of his career.

7. Fans are too high on Batum and the Blazers front office may be too.

31% Agreed, 53% Disagreed, 16% Undecided

Gerald Wallace will end up starting at the 3 for this team sooner or later. Prediction time! As the season closes, Nate McMillan will realize his "big" lineup needs to be Miller, Matthews (..or Roy), Wallace, Aldridge, Camby. If you play the Lakers, those guys start. That said, I think Rich Cho's position that Batum is basically untouchable is right on target. Apples and oranges, but I see Nic playing a similar role in the future as Terry does for the Mavericks. Meaning, even though the two play completely different positions, they are both incredibly important to their team in terms of MPG and the contributions they make with that time. Batum doesn't need to start in the same way Terry doesn't need to either.

8. The Blazers need a superstar to win a title. Roy is not a superstar. He's a #2.

16% Agreed, 78% Disagreed, 6% Undecided

What do you guys think? It's crystal clear to me that the team belongs to LaMarcus Aldridge now. It's not on loan to him from Brandon either. I actually think it would be toxic for the Blazers if Roy tried to assert himself as the #1 option this season at all. And if I'm being honest, I don't think you could ever call him a superstar again either. A star yes. But on the same level as Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, etc? Not so much. Not unless he can manage 36-38 MPG again and do it without missing too many games/year. Very curious to hear what all of yout think.

9. We've seen the last of Przybilla on the floor [active] in a Blazers jersey.

41% Agreed, 33% Disagreed, 26% Undecided

Well, we were all wrong and right now. He did come back, but Joel was an asset which was just too valuable in the end not to trade. Makes me sad. Przybilla's best years in red & black were exactly what Portland loves from it's players; hard work and guts. Like some fans I agree that, if his knees hold up, he may end up back in Portland as he closes out his career at some point. That would be really terrific.

10. The new CBA will hurt the Blazers chances at landing top tier talent.

23% Agreed, 16% Disagreed, 61% Undecided

Verdict is still out. I have no idea either and don't think we'll know much until this summer.

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Comments

"How many coaches pride themselves on defense?"

Not Nate McMillan, as the switch heavy SOS pressure defense he runs is absolute trash. It’s gimmicky bullcrap that gets exposed over and over again by teams who can work their way into favorable mismatches on that end of the court.

Now, with that said, coaches who actually pride themselves on defense include men such as Tom Thibodeau, Scott Skiles, SVG, and Doug Collins, as well as unemployed coaching masterminds like JVG and Mike Fratello.

Doc Rivers’ lead assistant, Lawrence Frank, is another guy who’s legimitately a defensive-minded coach. Erik Spoelstra, Gregg Popovich, and former Blazer assistant Monty Williams are other sharp defensive minds, too.

"They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

by AK1984 on Mar 19, 2011 2:43 PM PDT reply actions

It may not be that good, but it hasn't necessarily been that bad.

They’re right in the middle of the League in Points Per 100 Possessions, tied for 15th. Now to compete for a championship, it’s going to have to be higher than that. To be considered good, it would have to be higher than that. But I would think that it would have to be lower to be considered bad.

"The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason." - G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1909

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by T Darkstar on Mar 19, 2011 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions

FG% allowed is pretty bad

but they are fourth in FG’s allowed (tied)….it’s a strange dynamic

Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

by blacknoiseNW on Mar 20, 2011 1:29 AM PDT up reply actions

Uh, the team's field-goal attempts allowed are low due to both a slow pace and forced turnovers.

So yeah, it’s not strange at all; rather, it is what it is. The only thing this team is good at defensively is forcing turnovers.

Ugh, I just want a coach here who comprehends man-to-man defense is the proper scheme. Is that too much to ask? Maybe so, but who knows? Not I, as that’s for sure.

"They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

by AK1984 on Mar 20, 2011 5:02 AM PDT up reply actions

we all know why the Blazers allow few FGM

but the Blazers are also unique in allowing so few FG while allowing such a high FG% – so yeah, it is a strange dynamic.

Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

by blacknoiseNW on Mar 20, 2011 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions

A healthy Oden will bring the OFG% down

Camby and Wallace can defend the paint to some degree, but neither are the intimidator that Greg is. IIRC, the team was doing pretty well in this area back in Nov-Dec 2009 until Greg and Joel left the lineup. McMillian had to reinvent the defense to emphasize creating turnovers, the addition of Matthews and Wallace has helped in this regard. It’s not ideal, but physical, shot-blocking centers aren’t exactly easy to come by

Ramsay’s Blazers went through a similar period during the ’80s after Walton was hurt and Mychal Thompson took over at center. The lack of a shot-blocking presence in the paint was one of the reasons why they targeted Ewing, Olajuwon and Bowie in the 1984 draft. (Portland was actually fined for tampering with Patrick, when they tried to convince him to declare for the draft a year early)

The NBA has changed over the years, but the need for a big man remains—especially as a recipe for post-season success. Defensive stops and change of possession is where it’s at (this goes all the way back to Auerbach and Russell) anything the Blazers get from Oden on the offensive end will be gravy

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

by two4larue on Mar 20, 2011 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions

In the 2008-2009 season, the Portland Trail Blazers were 17th in FG% allowed at 46%.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2009.html

That, of course, was with a mostly healthy Greg Oden and a fully healthy Joel Przybilla.

So yeah, the constant piss-poor defensive efficiency goes much deeper than not having a defensive-minded pivotman who can anchor the middle. Nope, this is on Nate McMillan’s shoulders for coaching a garbage defensive scheme.

"They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

by AK1984 on Mar 21, 2011 4:10 AM PDT up reply actions

maybe.

but what i remember about that team was that they had good interior guys but very poor perimeter defense. that led to guys getting beat and racking up fouls on the bigs.

it seems like the perimeter defensive talent has improved tremendously with the acquisitions of matthews and wallace as well as the development of batum. putting greg behind these guys should look a lot better than 08-09.

we’ll see, hopefully.

by SaveOden on Mar 22, 2011 2:57 AM PDT up reply actions

It has to do with pace and being able to force turnovers; that's all there is to it.

Slowing it down for less possessions and forcing turnovers to stop a field-goal attempt from happening bring down the amount of potential shots that can be made by the opposition. So, even though the amount of attempts and makes by the opposition seem ostensibly low, the opposition’s offensive efficiency is still high due to the looks they do get being nice in light of the sievelike defense being played in the halfcourt.

"They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

by AK1984 on Mar 21, 2011 4:20 AM PDT up reply actions

Nope, he's bad; that's all there is to it.

I won’t budge on this, because I know good defense.

Most people don’t get it, but that’s fine; that’s their problem.

Forget it, really. At this point, I don’t care anymore. I quit trying to explain it.

"They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory."

by AK1984 on Mar 20, 2011 5:05 AM PDT up reply actions

I love posts like this

Rec, for sure. Here are a few thoughts:

I thought at the time Roy would still be our #1 option superstar this year. With the emergence of Aldridge it’s no longer necessary for Roy to be a superstar and we can use him more as a closer. So I think we got the best of both worlds there.

Batum has lost a little favor among Blazer fans this season. A little, not a lot. Not sure why, but likely just a “the honeymoon is over” situation.

The Wallace trade was exceptional, and even though I’d still like to have KP, it helps justify Cho’s close-lipped nature.

Rumor has it that Dos Equis first approached Aldridge, but Aldridge turned thrm down because the real 'most interesting man in the world' would not have to prove it in a commercial. - Canis Hoopus 1/7/11

by jamon51 on Mar 20, 2011 12:35 AM PDT reply actions

Batum has lost a little favor among Blazer fans this season. A little, not a lot. Not sure why, but likely just a "the honeymoon is over" situation.

Which is ironic because Nic’s playing a better all-around floor game than ever, he just not having those random nights (where he shoots and scores a lot) that make the fringe fans take notice

There’s plenty of room on the Frenchy bandwagon, down the road it will be overflowing

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

by two4larue on Mar 20, 2011 9:52 AM PDT up reply actions

love Frenchie.

could go on and on with reasons.
And also love Cho….who knows what he is doing. If he says Batum is untouchable, it is with good reason.
Had written Cho 2 emails…around the time of the trade deadline. Asked him to let me know if he’d received my email. He did.
Met him after a meet and greet about 2 weeks ago.
Told him I’d emailed him and that I was surprised when he replied to my email. He then said “Mary Jo? Natsthecat?”….how many emails does this guy get?
And with this amt of info he remembered my name and my email “handle”?
Was kind of astounded. So yeah, the guy is smart.

by Natsthecat on Mar 20, 2011 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions

Part of the perception gap with Nic, this season

is when he has a nice game (like tonight, in L*A) the team has lost the game, so Batum isn’t associated by the casual fan as ever “leading” the Blazers to victories. That doesn’t mean he isn’t contributing to Portland’s wins in ways other than scoring, but it does feed into the prevailing “inconsistent” and “non-assertive” rap

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

by two4larue on Mar 20, 2011 9:22 PM PDT up reply actions