Freeman: Nolan Smith cracks rotation, Jamal back to SG
Joe Freeman reports that Nate McMillan is happy with Nolan Smith's progress, and plans to increase his minutes while moving Jamal Crawford back to his natural SG position.
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"I thought he played well enough (Wednesday) night to earn minutes," McMillan said.
"I think he can help us get a rhythm offensively," McMillan said. "He can extend defensively and pick the ball up and pressure. That is something that we need ... we tell our guys: ‘If you get that opportunity, whether it’s a minute or two, try to make something good of it and we’ll see if we can get you some more time.’"
4 months ago
Timmay!
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Good. I hope it sticks.
Except, the last time Nolan got some run, JCross still brought it up the floor and in lieu of a pass, still cranked up a low %, contested shot.
I don't always root for an NBA franchise, but when I do, I prefer the Portland Trail Blazers.
by Oh. Em. Gee. on Jan 20, 2012 12:48 PM PST via mobile reply actions
JCross: That's what he does.
If he ever stops doing what he does, then he might as well retire. He doesn’t do anything else.
LET THE LAMONSTER ERA BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they actually alternated.
Which can be a good thing because having 2 people that can handle the ball is better than 1.
This is fine, as long as it means fewer minutes for Felton / Crawford / Matthews.....
…..not reduced playing time for Batum.
That was my immediate worry.
Is it wrong of me almost to be hoping for an injury to Crawford or Matthews just so Batum can get the minutes he deserves?
Yes that is wrong of you
and Batum plays the 3, I don’t think changing your guard rotation effects that.
Batum can play 2-4 depending on who he's matching up against.
The smarter you are, the more likely you are to be tripping balls at any given moment.
/keep Batum/ /trade for Bogut/
I know he CAN play those positions
but he is a 3.
Yes
Yes it is.
I know less than half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
by haildablazer on Jan 21, 2012 7:32 AM PST up reply actions
Go Nolan, he cant do any worse than the " vets "
Nate will play a rookie pg with the right skill set. Play that rookie out of him.
Go Blazers !!!!
just win baby !
Like who? Sergio Rodriguez?
Chachi had the lob-to-Rudy skillset and little else
Nate plays rookies out of desperation, but rarely by design (Batum was an exception)
at least Smith played 4 years in college, but he’ll struggle like they all do when the NBA scouts write the book on him. (Remember, Nate was high on AJ early last year, too)
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
AJ has never played in the NBA
without a TO, so Nolan is already better.
My point was
Nate has been complimentary re: his young PGs in the past, then quickly replaced them with slightly-more-experienced players (Blake, MIlls, etc)
Nolan has Armon beat out, no one’s disputing that (Elliott Williams has more upside than the two of them out together) If Portland had just an average veteran backup PG, the roster would be better off
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Elliot DOES have upside...
but he is a flat out 2 all the way. He cannot create for teammates and is looking to score at ALL times. He does have great potential on D due to his his crazy athleticism and can play extended minutes alongside a guy like Crawford, who can run the point.
Nolan has a better jump shot and is better at setting up his teammates and will likely see more PT than E-Mail.
by Rip City Reign on Jan 23, 2012 1:54 PM PST up reply actions
depends on Crawford's role, and Felton
If Jamal keeps thinking pass-first like last night, the need for Nolan at backup PG might lessen
Wesley Matthews had better watch his back, as well. Email could be after his job in a year or two
With each passing game it appears that Raymond is not going to be the future Blazer’s starting PG, “whoever that will eventually be” could also factor in Email’s role going forward
Elliott is going to need to force his way into the lineup, like Bayless did. He missed a year of development with the knee surgeries and this season isn’t the best opportunity for Nate to experiment with his rotatons, still I’ve been very impressed with how well EW has looked during his brief opportunities.
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I feel like Nolan Smith got the short end of the stick
With the tempo switch. Curious wither the Blazer’s knew they were going up tempo when they drafted him. Because of that, anything we get from this year will be gravy to me.
Joel Freeland=Stud
I have to wonder sometimes with Nate and rookie PGs
how he expects them to ever play. 14 games into the season and the first time that Nolan plays more than 4 meaningful minutes in a non-blowout, he “[plays] well enough to earn minutes”. Did we really need to spend 20% of the season puttering around with Crawford and Felton eating all of the PG minutes before giving Smith a shot? Obviously guys will never earn minutes if they’re never on the court.
They earn minutes
based on practices, once they are performing in practice they get the opportunity to perform in real game situations.
what practice?
do you mean the practice games against the other teams?
Because that’s what it looks like much of the time this year..and not just with the Blazers. The quality of NBA basketball this year….big drop…all to make sure there are more games..
Ya this year it sucks to be a rookie
that isn’t on a team that sucks, because your probably not going to play.
I know
Just look at Norris Cole, Kawhi Leonard, Nik Vucevic, Reggie Jackson, and Iman Shumpert. They’re pretty lucky they ended up on terrible teams so they could have a change to play.
Shumpert is on a bad team
Cole plays because he is Miami’s only option, but yes Reggie Nik and Kawhi have gotten a good role on good teams. The spurs and OKC have become known for drafting well so no surprise there however.
Practice ? were talking about practice man.
Nate knows more about pgs than fans, and the owner ever will.
Go Nolan !! Thank you king Paul for finally get Nate 2 pgs we can keep a while !!
just win baby !
by FrenchieFan on Jan 20, 2012 6:16 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Just because he play point, doesn't mean he knows how to coach one...
Exhibit A – Andre Miller
by OmoriumVerum on Jan 20, 2012 8:47 PM PST up reply actions
or develop them
the only PG who really improved while being coached by Nate was Steve Blake, and Roy had more to do with that than McMillian
Here’s hoping Nolan can survive the gauntlet
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Rec for AI quote
lol that makes me laugh every time
He played 8 minutes tonight and was clearly the backup
So there is definitely a sign his minutes are increasing.
For a lower first round rookie combo guard
I feel like 8 minutes is pretty good at this point. To bad Nate doesn’t seem to think he is ready for more.
Joel Freeland=Stud
I'm not sure his conditioning is ready for a lot of play time
He didn’t looked fatigued tonight, but he hasn’t been playing. I wouldn’t be surprised if his conditioning is some what of a factor in that.
I just wish the old guards around Smith
we like a Steve Nash or even a Kirk Hinrich, as opposed to Felt or Crawf.
"We gotta get this $#!^ together guys!" - Phil
Nate should take a page out of Pops coaching book
Pops playing rookies and his comments were along the lines if you don’t play them and let them make mistakes their never going to learn. Kawhi Leonard is avg 24:11 for the Spurs. Even when Manu gets back he’ll still get run.
BRoy #7
ANNND
Nolan got 4 minutes vs. the Raptors.. lol
"Tommy: Did you hear I finally graduated?
Richard Hayden: Yeah, and just a shade under a decade too. All right. "
As noted above, ESPN says he got 8 minutes. Not sure where 4 minutes comes from.
He got 5 minutes tonight though. I don’t think Nate’s ready to play him in close games.
Also
both games were two of the best games of Felton’s year. Felont’s rhythm > Nolan’s rhythm.
But, like the posts above were getting at, Batum needs more minutes...
and Nate has done stuff in the past like playing 3 guards and taking Batum out. Go figger.
Batum got more minutes against Detroit
and didn’t do much with them.
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