Checking Up

by Dave on Feb 17, 2008 11:31 PM PST in News

Before we exit the break I thought it might be interesting to look back at a post from the start of the season entitled What Really Matters. We took a look at things that would be important as the season progresses. Such as...

First and foremost this season is about establishing Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy as bona fide scorers and fledgling stars. Obviously those two get a lot of credit in our circle but we have to remember that every NBA team has promising, young players. Right now in the national consciousness Lamarcus and Brandon are more or less two more in the crowd. This year needs to be about getting them the ball in positions where they can make things happen. They need to start getting the respect of the referees. They need to learn how to deal with defensive pressure and double teams. I'm not as concerned about stellar point totals but if we reach the end of the year and either or both have horrible shooting percentages, huge numbers of turnovers, or maybe worst of all low free throw attempts then we've not gotten the best and brightest out of them or our season. These are the only two guys who will play this year who are guaranteed to be with us long-term (barring a LeBron trade or something crazy). They matter the most.

Grade So Far: B+

I would give this an overwhelming "A" had I mentioned just Brandon alone. He has asserted himself in the eyes of every soul who bothered to watch. Pick almost any game this year (with the exception of about a 10-day mini-slump) and you will find Brandon as the focal point...sometimes obviously, sometimes more subtly, but always there. You could not ask for a smoother, quicker progression into stardom. Admittedly Lamarcus suffers far more in comparison than in absolute terms. It's nearly inconceivable that Brandon could have done this much, this quickly. To expect that of two players on the same team would entail Jabba-the-Hutt-level gluttony. However even considered in isolation Lamarcus has drifted a little more this season that I would have liked to have seen. His back-to-the-basket game has been inconsistent. His scoring, while fairly constant, has seldom been decisive. His rebounding has been spotty. His impact has been good (no complaints!) but not great yet. All of this will come, to be sure, but one wonders if he'll struggle once again to find his place next season when Greg Oden will be assimilated into the offense. (I imagine Oden's arrival will do nothing but help Lamarcus defensively.)

This season is also about developing offensive and defensive continuity as a team. We have a radically different lineup than we did last year. Our entire style of play is changing. We also have an extremely young team. The first few months of the year we are likely to look disjointed. That doesn't matter. What we look like in March and April matters. We will transform again when Oden returns next year but the groundwork for that return is laid now.

Grade So Far: A

We are WAY farther along in this area than I thought we'd be. Even when we were losing early on in the season we were still looking more coordinated on offense than we had in years. The play during December and most of January was flat-out inspired. And who can argue with a defense that's holding opponents to such a low percentage, especially when you figure not many guys on our team are natural defenders? Our defense works to the extent it does because we work as a team. The results are not as good yet as they will be but the foundation is definitely there. The words "Blazer Basketball" are starting to take meaning again.

This will be one of our last years to really get good looks at guys without having more than pride on the line. One of the major themes of the year will be sorting out the point guard jumble, the small forward position, and the future of Channing Frye. Outlaw, Webster, and Jack all look poised to deliver. We just don't know what (or how consistently) they will deliver yet. Heck, we're not even sure of their positions. We absolutely need to know more by the end of this year because we're going to have to make decisions soon...not only about whether to spend money keeping them but about our weaknesses as a team and how to fill them. This is put up or shut up time for Travis and a solid chance for Martell and Jarrett to impress.

Grade So Far: C-

The shining star here so far has been Travis who, if not exactly producing consistently, has at least shown enough to make all of the drooling we've done over him seem worthwhile. His developing jump shot and fourth-quarter heroics have earned him more leeway and more years to show what he's got.

After that, though, it gets really spotty. I'm not sure we know who Martell Webster is yet and the picture is not getting any clearer as time goes by. Jarrett Jack is producing in some areas, struggling in others. Sergio Rodriguez remains a non-factor and there's no telling when, if, or how that will end. Channing Frye has had some great moments and also displayed some serious weaknesses. I think we have a decent idea what he can give. We just have to decide if we're going to play the kind of game where his contributions are imperative.

Since even Travis is having ups and downs and the rest are head-scratchers I don't think you can give the team credit for great progress in this area.

More philosophically this team needs to gain some confidence that it can win. We've been through horrible years of losing and picked up a lot of bad habits. We aren't likely to end up with a winning record overall but we desperately need a taste of victory for reinforcement. Along with that taste for winning will come a distaste for losing, which is equally important. Perhaps the worst habit we've picked up is shrugging our shoulders and giving up when things go south. There were people on this team who just...didn't...care. We need more fight than that. How we respond to going down 10 or 15 may be as important as our number of victories. We need to see the team continue to stick with the game plan of unselfishness, moving feet, and hustling no matter what the situation.

Grade So Far: A

I know the last couple of weeks we've had efforts that people have characterized as poor or dispirited, but I don't think it's fair to impugn the entire season for a few fatigue-induced outings. We have shown our mettle over and over again, absorbing that winning experience and distaste for losing. We've not given up. We've seldom shrugged shoulders. We've been consistently unselfish and most often in motion. We could use a couple more hustle players but you can't have everything.

For fans: I think it's important that we enjoy this season. Even being a passionate fan I'll admit it's been hard to really let loose and enjoy the team without reservation for a long while now. There was always another shoe to drop. The shoes are all on the floor now. There's no reason not to have a ball this year. We shouldn't be getting too caught up in high expectations or rewards at this point. It would be a shame if we anticipated too much, too soon and let the team possibly falling short dim our perception of them or the year. This is going to be an absolute blast. Even more so if you take, say, a five-year view of the situation. Do not miss the fact that this is the first year we can realistically claim starting the season that we are on an upswing as a franchise. The little things that go right this year are going to blossom into big things eventually. Although there will always be things to analyze and criticize--and we will do both--I see no reason to get down on (or about) a team this young with this many promising players who are also trying to do things the right way. As long as they keep working at getting better this season is a complete freebie for this team and for its fans. Enjoy every minute of it before the expectations start getting more serious and we all start scooting way farther towards the edges of our seats.

Grade So Far: B

I just asserted in someone's diary that it was somewhat disingenuous to judge an entire fanbase based on a small, though often vocal, percentage of it. So we won't. I think most Blazer fans are enjoying this season, accepting it for what it is, and getting very excited about the prospect of an incredibly bright future. The next 30 games are important for the same reason the last 52 were, as stepping stones to eventual greatness. Signs of that greatness come early to flower are a welcome bonus, but the deeper signs of evolution remain the primary focus of the year. If there are occasional impatient choruses of "trade this" or "fire that" or "what the heck is wrong with the other" they are, if not infrequent, at least probably confined to a relatively limited segment of the population. This season is a blast and should be enjoyed and marveled at, even as we continue to edge farther and farther off of those seats.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

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Comments

Aren't there 30 games left?

28-24= 52 played

by Section323 on Feb 17, 2008 11:40 PM PST reply actions

Yeah, I reversed the twos

by Dave on Feb 18, 2008 12:53 AM PST up reply actions

Priorities

What are our priorities in the off season? Build thru the draft and trade up? Stash players overseas? Trade to improve the team? Trade for expiring contracts?

by Philthyanimal on Feb 18, 2008 2:21 AM PST reply actions

Good analysis

I agree with your grades, generally. The only one I don't agree with is your C- on sorting out who can contribute what. I think we've learned a lot about different roles.

For instance, we know that Channing is not going to be a backup 5 on a championship team.

We know that Martell really does have the potential to be something special (lots of people were starting to doubt that before this year), and that he's got a long way to go still to achieve that with any consistency at all.

We've learned more about the role Jarrett is likely to fill in the future as well, and the things he needs to work on.

We've learned that a healthy James Jones can be very valuable, both in his shooting and his defense, and can definitely play a key role on a championship team if he gets healthy.

We've learned that Steve Blake is a nice complement to Brandon and enough of a deep threat to help keep defenses honest, but that if we don't have an inside threat on the floor, he isn't really going to help us break down the defense.

Not all of the things we've learned are necessarily what we'd hoped to see, but at least we've learned them. Guys know what they need to work on, and we know more about what kind of players we need to acquire through trade or draft.

I'd rate this a B-. Specific positives:

Joel has pretty much answered any questions about backup center.
Between Travis and JJ3, we have decent quality at SF, even if Martell doesn't go on to be a player for us.
Channing has showed he can be an adequate backup at PF, but is unlikely to be good enough to demand big bucks that could tempt him to go elsewhere.
Steve has demonstrated the ability to be one of our rotation players at PG.

The biggest questions unanswered:

Starting PG.
Backup PG.
Backup SG. This was never really going to be answered until Rudy came over, anyway.
Whether Martell will be a starter, a rotation player, a scrub, or elsewhere.

by jscot on Feb 18, 2008 7:27 AM PST reply actions

Dave always would be right but there´s JSCOT.

I like Brandon Roy, whatever planet he comes from. (Bill Walton?)

by amlmart1 on Feb 18, 2008 8:11 AM PST up reply actions

If I could figure out

how to add a signature, it would be: "I'm frequently right, and always certain."

by jscot on Feb 18, 2008 8:56 AM PST up reply actions

LOL

Far be it from me to stand in the way of greatness.

In your upper right sidebar you should see a link called "jscot's page". Click on that. There will be tabs on the top of the page that comes up. The rightmost is "profile". Click on that. On that page will be an entry field for your signature. You might have to click a "save" button or something at the bottom once you've done it.

--Dave

by Dave on Feb 18, 2008 9:41 AM PST up reply actions

Not for me

I just have three tabs, Info, Comments, and Email/Password. No Profile tab for me. I try to keep a low profile, but this is ridiculous.

Tominhawaii and Amlmart1 tried to help me with this before. I figured if the big guns like that couldn't solve it, I was in trouble.

I also figured that if I didn't get it sorted soon, that the format might change before long and then whatever is wrong might be sorted out. So I haven't worried too much.

by jscot on Feb 18, 2008 10:51 AM PST up reply actions

Conspiracy

The denial of your signature is the real conspiracy. Or maybe not ... That Scotland where you are, what solar system it belongs to, bro?.

I like Brandon Roy, whatever planet he comes from. (Bill Walton?)

by amlmart1 on Feb 18, 2008 5:00 PM PST up reply actions

I think

You may have miss-remembered where the signature feature is on Blazers Edge.

"Darkness warshed over the Dude - darker'n a black steer's tookus on a moonless prairie night. There was no bottom." The Stranger from The Big Lebowski (1999)

by tominhawaii on Feb 18, 2008 5:45 PM PST up reply actions

Mine would be...

"Frequently wrong but never in doubt."

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on Feb 19, 2008 9:56 AM PST up reply actions

That would be wrong, wouldn't it?

by jscot on Feb 19, 2008 10:07 AM PST up reply actions

I don't...

doubt it.

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on Feb 19, 2008 4:05 PM PST up reply actions

Martell

It seems obvious to me that Martell is just going through the same kind of growing pains and learning curve that Travis went through. I think next year, when the twin towers of Oden and Aldridge take over more of the focus offensively, Martell will be able to find a nice consistent niche.

by Jumbo on Feb 18, 2008 2:21 PM PST up reply actions

I'll answer question #1

Starting PG will be Brandon Roy
Steve Blake

To me a question is who will be the starting SG? That remains to be seen.

by jon @ Blazer's Edge on Feb 18, 2008 4:20 PM PST up reply actions

I don't like it.

I still see him as a two that takes control in the half-court. In order to take advantage of the speed and athleticism of Oden and Aldridge, the Blazers need a PG that can push the ball up the court quicker than the pace Roy likes to play at.

Blake is the type of player that fits well with Brandon but I don't know if he is the guy. I think he will be the guy until they find the one they are looking for.

by tssbro on Feb 19, 2008 12:30 AM PST up reply actions

I had the same thought

We have some answers, maybe not the ones that we wanted.
1. Jack may still have value for the team but it won't be as the starting point guard of the future.
2. Blake overcame a slow start to show he can be a servicable starter beside Roy and a solid back-up if KP decides to try to upgrade the PG position.
3. Martell has earned another year to grow.
4. I think Travis has shown he is valuable as a change of pace PF but not so much as an everyday SF.
5. James Jones has proven his value to the team. The question mark with him will be his knee problems.

I would say B to B- because they are getting answers.

by tssbro on Feb 19, 2008 12:12 AM PST up reply actions

remember this??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thTIYCXcx90

sends chills through my spine everytime i watch it

Fernandez,Roy,Outlaw,Aldridge,Oden---wait for it! My Video about BROY7

by soulja2boy on Feb 18, 2008 9:11 AM PST reply actions

Wow.

That totally worked. I got actual tinglies in the back of neck.

by Jumbo on Feb 18, 2008 2:15 PM PST up reply actions

Offensive/Defensive Continuity

I think you are grading that a bit high. We started the season out struggling. Infact at one point I was for dropping the Zone Defense all together. Then we had our Month of December and it all came together. Unfortunately we are struggling again. So putting the slump at the start, the slump now with the winning streak, I'd probably average it out lower.

Coming out of the All-Star break I think this is a huge thing to keep an eye on.

When we were winning we had developed and were gaining a team reputation. Scrappy, never say die, mature focused exectution at the ends of games. Lately we have taken some steps backwards. You've got Brian Wheeler bemoaning the seeming lack of hustle.

What team shows up for the majority of the second half of the season will be a huge factor as to the total grade for the season. Right now we had a difficult start to the season, followed by an unimaginable winning streak, followed now by a mini-slump. Thus I give Offensive/Defensive Continuity and what I call team identity, about a C+, maybe a B-.

It's my goal to not worry too much about Wins and Losses, even though if we climb back into playoff contention I know I will, what I really want to see is that hustling, confident young team that was playing with a maturity beyond it's years....win or lose.

"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"

by Krang on Feb 18, 2008 10:36 AM PST reply actions

Another grade

This one from the national media. Not nearly as comprehensive, but it's nice to know we're thought of this highly nationally.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7797808/Handing-out-NBA's-midterm-grades?MSNHPHCP&GT1=10937

by einman77 on Feb 19, 2008 5:06 AM PST reply actions

The record is fantastic

Compared to what most of us expected.

I still submit that as of today Brandon and probably LaMarcus are the only two players who have earned a starting spot without a doubt. And LMA despite his reasonably decent numbers, has been somewhat of a disappointment. Scoring a quick 14 pts and then disappearing for 2 and a half quarters is pretty common for him and if LMA is ever going to become a true impact player he's going to have to change up his game quite a bit. Nobody fears a 6'11" skinny dude who won't venture into the paint. I guarantee you that most teams are thrilled to see the other team's PF/C outside shooting 20-footers, even if he's a decent shooter like LMA. That's one less person to rebound.

When you think of a championship team, I'm not sure either Travis Outlaw or Martell fit the bill. As of now neither possess the focus or mental toughness I want to see in my starting five. Maybe they will magically get smarter and start making better decisions with time. Maybe they'll learn to move without the ball. Maybe they'll suddenly be able to focus for four quarters. Or maybe not.

A team with Brandon Roy leading will always contend, but I do think we'll see some personnel changes before it's all said and done. Despite the streak, we've just seen a stretch of really awful basketball, and I'm not sure KP is as comfortable with things as he was after consecutive win #13.

by leeroyjenkins on Feb 19, 2008 2:25 PM PST reply actions