Absence of clearly defined roles for much of the team

Thank you. This is something I’ve wanted to address for a while. I’ll probably do so during the All-Star break.

—Dave

Batum seems to have carved himself out a much larger role on offense. He is doing damn good playing the 2 spot. Once again my stance on Batum or Wallace flip flopped, this time for good. Batum is a franchise corner stone for us & unless he can land you an Andre Drummond or Anthony Davis in the draft I don’t see the sense in letting him go- Resign him !

This is something I’ve also been looking at for a while. Some teams seem to emphasize Roles more than others. San Antonio and Oklahoma City seem to be two examples with very clearly defined scorers (91/124 points went to Durant/Westbrook the other day) and then the entire team’s gameplan revolves around getting those guys the ball to score. Then clearly defined roles on what to do once the ball is in the air (who rebounds? Who gets back on D, etc). I think this has been a problem with Portland a little the last year or two just because we have a lot of similar good-but-not-great players. After Aldridge, you have a lot of guys who are capable, but it’s sometimes difficult to pin down what exactly it is that makes them good in terms of skills.

Also, I was considering making an entire Fanpost regarding Batum’s early game fire and his late game disappearance acts. But this is a better place for it I think (although use more line spaces! You’ll get more recs because people will actually read this!). Also, I generally use 1000 words for what can be said in 100, so sorry…. =(

My theory is that Batum has gotten almost irrational and childish in his dislike of playing with Crawford. Remember early in the season when we’d see Batum wide open and none of the ballhandling guards would pass to him? Everyone could see the frustration on his face and his body language. Well he’s finally proven himself to his new guards and they’re getting him the ball. Well sort of. Crawford just isn’t a passer. There are some guys who love (and know how to) pass and some guys who love to (and know how to) shoot. I used to think of the Shooters as ball hogs, but watching Portland’s late games without Brandon Roy, the opposing teams usually just make sure Aldridge can’t get the ball in a good spot and then dares anyone else on the team to shoot. Our Team Players suddenly are a little too unselfish, not taking open shots (someone else had an interesting take on that a little bit ago, calling it pretty selfish even to not take an open shot if that’s Your Shot).

Gosh. Where was I. This is why I never write my own fanposts. All ramble and no conciseness or organization. Sorry.

Oh right! Anyway, well now whenever I see Batum in with Crawford, he’s still doing that thing with his hands looking for the ball… but his man is right next to him. And Batum’s not moving or making any effort to get open or do anything. I mean, I know how it can be frustrating to work your butt off to get positioning or to get open and just have the ball handler kind of fake a pass and then shrug as if to say “not quite open enough” or “I should have passed sooner, but now it’s too late, my bad”. But Batum has quit on Crawford. I’m reading his body language as “Screw it, I hate playing with this guy. Let me try to show everyone how he won’t pass me the ball.” And it’s working. I think McMillan has finally come to the same conclusion. We didn’t see Crawford play very much at all last game.

So yeah. Batum’s inconsistent, but I think there’s some reason why. I don’t think Crawford is a villain here. We have needed someone to shoot the ball in late game situations. But I think Batum and Crawford are such a clash of styles that Batum can’t get over it. And when Crawford’s on the floor, Batum will never be close to reaching his potential. And for most of this season, Crawford’s been on the floor in late game situations. And therefore for most of the season, Batum disappears.

I do think there’s more to it than that. I think players who really love playing within a team system and keeping everyone involved and all that stuff (Batum) do tend to struggle more in late game situations than the Scorers who tend to see the world in terms of who is the best scorer and who isn’t, and generally keeping the ball in the Scorers hands (Crawford, and it’s a more effective strategy than a lot of us care to admit).

Anyway. When Crawford is in the game, the ball movement does tend to pretty much stop. I don’t know if it’s on Crawford for not passing or on his teammates for not moving around. But just watching Batum’s body language the last couple of games when he’s playing with Crawford, I think they could use some basketball couples counseling.

when the players are so inconsistent. I realize it’s kind of a chicken/egg thing, but it’s true. For example, let’s take Wesley Matthews. What’s his role? Is he a defensive stopper at the 2? Is he a spot-up three point shooter? Is he a slasher/finisher at the rim? Who knows? Some nights he’s good at those things, some nights not. String together a couple weeks of “not”, and the coach needs to find someone else to fill those duties.