Player-by-Player: Sergio Rodriguez

by Dave on May 7, 2007 1:47 AM PDT in News

Sergio Rodriguez is under consideration today and instead of a head-to-head debate we have more of a group discussion...

Spock: I fail to see the logic in the infatuation you humans display towards Sergio Rodriguez. A statistical analysis of the relevant data shows little correlation between his production and the popular response. His assist to turnover ratio of 2.8 was mildly impressive, placing him 15th in the league among point guards. His assists per 48 minutes would have placed him in 6th place overall had he played enough minutes to qualify for consideration. He did not. Logically there must be a reason for this. One possibility is that the coach is incompetent, insane, or has a motive to lose games. While the hypothesis cannot be discounted completely there is little evidence to support such a claim. The more likely reason is that the coach has recognized the flaws in Mr. Rodriguez's game. He exhibits poor decision-making skills. His defense is sub-par. Team offense is his strength yet the team scored less when he was on the floor than when he was off it. Admittedly his passes do have an certain aesthetic quality. This leads casual observers to overvalue his contributions. Gentlemen, we continue down this road at our peril.

Kirk: Granted, Mr. Spock, granted. But numbers and charts do not tell the entire story here. Basketball is a fluid game, a game of intensity and emotion. Illogical, perhaps, but deeply human. We human beings rely on more than cold calculation. We need inspiration as well. All of the great athletes have shown this quality. Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor of earth, Kryxnyl Rizon of Moon Colony 6, the Beelinger Drifters of Tau Ceti Prime...all of them set their teammates on fire with their play and made their teams more than efficient, they made them champions. If the games were played on paper we would never need to take the court. But sometimes, unexpectedly, a team will rise beyond itself, become more than the sum of its parts, for no discernable reason other than the flow of emotion that overtakes it. A team needs a leader who embodies those qualities and who passes that fervor on to the rest of the players. You can't always follow what's logical and predictable. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. Sergio Rodriguez is that kind of player. That is why we love him. He doesn't just make us celebrate basketball, he makes us celebrate being...human.

McCoy: What he's trying to say, Spock, is that your cold, emotionless, Vulcan heart can't even begin to understand what it takes to make a champion.

Spock: Doctor, the Vulcans were winning galactic championships over species twice their size when humans were still drawing water buffalo on cave walls with charcoal sticks.

McCoy: Nevertheless, Spock, you've got to admit that the boy has gumption. He has fire. He makes things happen out there!

Spock: What he makes happen, Doctor, are turnovers and stalled plays. Though his successful passes dazzle the easily-moved among us, on Vulcan, where the whole body of his work would be taken into consideration, they would merit no more than--to use an old earth expression--a golf clap.

McCoy: Yes, and a 360, tomahawk jam would merit no more than a raised eyebrow from you green-blooded, pointy-eared...

Spock: Dr. McCoy if you persist in these racial epithets I will be forced to report you to human resources.

McCoy: Poppycock! How can you go to human resources when you're not even human?

Spock: No doubt a display of unintentional chauvinistic irony on Star Fleet's part. But they will be most interested in hearing about the hostile work environment you are creating.

McCoy: If you want to talk about hostile work environments let's talk about what you did in the sickbay washroom the other day!

Spock: That was the day that the food replicators were malfunctioning and would only produce cantaloupe. I fail to see how I can be blamed for the results.

McCoy: Well if you didn't have a third kidney where your stomach is supposed to be you probably wouldn't have those problems.

Spock: Scientific studies have proven Vulcan anatomy far superior to...

Kirk: Gentlemen...GENTLEMEN! Let's get back to the subject at hand. Is Sergio Rodriguez prepared to take the helm of an NBA team? Spock, you mentioned stalled plays. Elaborate.

Spock: When Mr. Rodriguez is on the break his passing ability is, as you humans would say, inspired. However when the game slows down and the defense tightens he has a far more difficult time seeing and making appropriate plays. Often this results in him pounding the ball against the hardwood repeatedly while the 24-second clock drains slowly towards zero.

Scotty: She is takin' quite a poundin' Captain! I dinna think she kin take much more. She's gonna blow and there's nothin' I kin do ta stop her! You've got ta find a way to take the pressure off!

Kirk: Understood Mr. Scott. Just hold her together for a little while longer.

McCoy: Jim, there were rumors that a language barrier could have something to do with the difficulty in executing plays.

Kirk: Uhura? What are you getting on that?

Uhura: There's some communication going on in the halfcourt, Captain, but it's garbled. I can't quite make it out.

Kirk: Well put the Universal Translator on it and let me know when you have something.

Chekov: The Russian players never have a problem making themselves understood. We are wery, wery clear.

Kirk: Yes, but can someone give me a clear answer as to whether we should keep this guy or not?

Spock: Right now it comes down to a matter of style versus substance. We dare not sacrifice the team's quest for substance merely to enjoy his style. However he lacks experience and his play could improve as he matures. I suggest further study under controlled conditions with moderated expectations.

Kirk: That sounds reasonable. We'll continue to watch him as he...

Sulu: Captain! Sensors indicate an unidentified object crossing our trajectory! 60,000 kilometers and closing!

Kirk: Red alert! Shields up! Spock...any reading?

Spock: It appears to be a large piece of space detritus. Its scale is...enormous. It is drifting aimlessly with no discernable purpose.

Kirk: On screen.

Sulu: We can't, Captain. It's too large to fit.

Spock: Captain! Sensors show it is wearing a Portland Trailblazers jersey...the number is...23.

Kirk: Full reverse Mr. Sulu! Prepare photon torpedoes.

Uhura: Captain, we're getting a hail from another ship off our port bow. It's Joey Crawford and he wants to fight.

Kirk: (sigh) This just isn't our day...

Unfortunately that's all the time we have for this episode. Feel free to discuss the ongoing Sergio issue as we wait for the conclusion next week. What will he mean to this team? Is he even close to being ready to assume decent minutes, let alone start? How good will he be long-term? Star? Role-player? Flash-in-the-pan? His stats are here if it helps.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

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Comments

Man, I see people jumping on...

Sergio's "genius" the same way they jumped on Telfair's and Martell's.

Time will tell, and maybe he will be the next Steve Nash, but maybe he won't and it's a little too soon to jettison all our other point guards if you ask me. Of course no one did, more's the pity.

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on May 7, 2007 6:30 AM PDT reply actions

Sergio will be a star.

You know me Ken, I didn't say the same about Telfair, Outlaw, Webster or even Roy. But I'll say it about Sergio. He has speed, handles and vision. But mostly he has intelligence and dedication. The thing is that it is going to take some time for him to get there. He's not going to be great until he has worked on his weaknesses and that's going to take a couple of years.

by EnglandDan on May 7, 2007 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions

You may well be right...

I'll even go so far as to say I think you are right. But you are especially right about it taking a couple of years. It's too soon to get rid of JJ. And, in a couple of years, JJ might just have improved more than Sergio.

Meanwhile we have two decent PGs with two different looks, that ain't a bad thing.

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on May 7, 2007 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Dave, Dave ,Dave

This has been my FAVORITE one so far (I am also a Trekie nerd). You should write for Saturday Night Live or something. I look forward to reading your site every day. Thanks for keeping it fresh!

by OCBlazerfan on May 7, 2007 7:35 AM PDT reply actions

I'm not a trekkie

...but I still loved this one. Great job! And the Miles reference was hilarious....

by jamon51 on May 7, 2007 9:02 AM PDT up reply actions

still a ways to go

Sergio's not a very good NBA pg yet. Maybe 50% there. JJ is maybe 75-80% there. They'll both get there and be very good. Keep them both. Lots and lots of potential with those two.

by rburg on May 7, 2007 7:37 AM PDT reply actions

"coach is incompetent, insane"

or is a normal NBA coach who will only give rookies minutes for unavoidably good reasons (BRoy - a million times better than our vet 2s; LMA - only got significant burn after Joel went down; Sergio - when JJ has a concussion, and even then ran with the second string, coming off the bench for Dickau).

You didn't mention Sergio's handle, maybe the thing I was the most impressed by when I was watching him. A couple of times, I remember seeing loose balls bouncing around in the way that looks like you gotta hit the deck to get control, and Sergio just reached over and smoothly brought it into a live dribble. Maybe a dozen guys in the NBA have his handle. He may overdribble but just the fact that he can dribble through traffic against guys who want to pick the rookie without losing it is amazing. JJ got his to's because he couldn't handle the ball. Sergio got his to's because he was trying to make a play. Big big difference.

He's got the potential to develop into a truly special player, one of the best pure points in the league. He needs a couple of things for this to happen:

He needs to extend his range to 3 points. He's actually got very good long range accuracy but it usually takes international players a year or two to get used to the longer 3 point range in the NBA. His accuracy inside the line was outstanding though.
He needs to work out like crazy. He hit the wall without even having gotten a lot of playing time. He's so slight and going up against such big players in the NBA, he's going to struggle unless he puts on some muscle mass. Steve Nash is the same height and has 30 pounds on him, and Nash is hardly a bruiser. This is part of why his defense was unexceptional. He just gets moved too easily. I'll just point out though that however bad Sergio's defense was, I thought JJ's was just as bad.
He needs significant playing time with a stable and predictable unit. Guys with vision like his benefit by knowing his team and what their tendencies are. He looked confused and uncertain towards the end of the season I think partly because he was playing with just a random grab-bag of players.
He needs to be careful of whose tapes he studies. Nash is great, and should obviously be one role model, but he needs to be aware that Nash breaks a ton of rules (overdribbling, layups off the wrong foot, one handed passes, crazy spin passes through traffic) and he only gets away with them because he really is just a specimen. He should be made very aware that he shouldn't copy those parts of Nash's game.
Lots of English tutoring. Either that or Nate and the rest of the team needs to learn Spanish.

Sergio's upside is very high - multiple allstar high. JJ's upside is Kenny Smith -- not a bad player, almost marginal allstar but not quite. That's the optimistic vision of JJ by the way -- in my gut, I'm thinking his upside is more like Eric Snow. Point guards that can't shoot, create, or handle aren't nearly as good as people around here seem to think.

by howlingfantods on May 7, 2007 10:02 AM PDT reply actions

point 4 is right on.

I think Sergio really could be a Nash-like guard, one who breaks the 'rules' and succeeds wildly while doing so. The thing is though, if you have a guard who does that, you need a coach and teammates who adjust accordingly. sadly, i don't ever see Nate making those changes, even though i do think this new generation of blazers players would be capable of playing a less-structrued, pick and roll, cutting based half-court offense.

sadly, nate has portland playing a very rigid offense, where everyone has their 'place' on each play and the players aren't used to PGs creating plays off the dribble (not Jack's specialty). there were many, many, many times this seasons where sergio would penetrate, the defense would collapse with 3 players moving to sergio . . . and the rest of the team was just standing around. we've all seen that sergio can get the balls to cutting players and open jump shooters, but the offense (and Nate) need to be more flexible to let it happen. nash dribbles into what would seem to be certain turnovers in the lane, and due to his teammates movement, instead pulls off amazing pass after pass. sergio needs to be on a team where that type of movement without the ball is the goal, and encouraged.

i'm certain that someday sergio will thrive on an NBA team with this style of play. the question is, will it be in portland? based on last season, i'd say no, but based on how Pritchard really, really seems to love sergio, i'd say there is a chance here.

don't forget, sergio is still very young, just turned 20--next season will tell us a lot about his future, and the blazer's future.

by sergioFTW on May 7, 2007 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions

I think what you are overlooking...

is that Nate has to teach most of these guys how to play basketball first, then they can start learning how to make adjustments.

I think it's very premature to call Nate inflexible.

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on May 7, 2007 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions

very true.

that's a fair position to take, for sure. I mean, everything i know about nate is through reading what other say about him and his coaching moves during the season. the consensus seems to be that he is pretty rigid, but i'm totally willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. i'm just as excited as anyone to see how the team changes next year.

btw, i don't think that teaching 'these guys how to play basketball first' necessarily excludes pushing a looser game based on PG penetration, cutting, and filling open lanes to the basket without the ball. those are pretty fundamental to the game, but i think they have to be more encouraged.

by sergioFTW on May 7, 2007 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

This thread right here

starting with Howlingfan's points is some of the best discussion I've ever read anywhere.

I loved HF's original point about errors of commission versus omission. This is something I've always believed strongly separates players who make it in the league from those who don't. Although it did disturb me later in the season to see Sergio starting to hesitate, almost like he was retreating into his shell. Watching Martell do that was enough for one year. We don't need two guys going through that at the same time.

I am also fascinated by the talk about basketball fundamentals versus a looser style (although I agree the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive). This is something I think we forget in the rush past being young towards being good. A lot of these guys have so much to learn...even Brandon, let alone some of the less developed guys.

My wife is a big fan of Survivor and she watched the "Rob and Amber" reality show (two of the former contestants who got married and are milking their 16th and 17th minutes of fame). Rob wants to be a professional poker player and naturally he's getting lessons from Daniel Negraneau, which is kind of like you or me getting poetry lessons from Robert Frost. I sat down and watched an episode with her and young Rob got COMPLETELY reamed out by Negraneau because Daniel had taught him some smart basics and Rob had completely blown them off and tried to play like he saw on TV, losing a ton of money in the process. Daniel told him he'd get there, but until he had mastered the basics he'd never understand how, why, and when to do those other things. He also said if Rob ever pulled that crap again they were through. I really feel like that's where many of the Blazers are and Nate almost has to take that approach if they're going to grow. I don't think most of the young guys yet understand the difference between having a good game and being a winning team. I don't think they've mastered when to pass and when to shoot, what a good shot is, how and when to use a pick, when to switch on defense, how to help their teammates defend, when to sneak out on the break and when to stay back and rebound, and a ton of other things. The only way for Nate to teach them is to start with the best percentage approach and say, "You WILL do this!" After they've mastered that then he can start putting wrinkles in. But with young guys like Jack and Aldridge (let alone Sergio, Travis, and Martell) I don't think you can even consider wrinkling yet. I will be really, really happy the day I see a consistent, effective games executed top to bottom from this team for...say...an entire week. Even if we don't win those games, that would be a huge step forward. Right now we can barely manage a quarter or two most nights.

--Dave

by Dave on May 7, 2007 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions

It's funny you should mention...

Robert Frost in this context. I remember reading about a lecture that Frost was giving. One of the students read a poem he had written that was deep, dark and convoluted.

Frost presumably told him, "Son, you need to stick with rhymey dimey stuff for a while."

Also, Dave, once again you've said what I said, only 20 times better. I know sometimes I tend to "cut to the chase" and I think that sounds confrontational at times when it isn't meant to. I applaud sergioFTW for taking my comments in the light I intended rather than in the rather punctilious way I presented them.

Is this a cool forum, or what?

by ken @ Blazer's Edge on May 8, 2007 6:21 AM PDT up reply actions

let's not forget

that we were "in" most games this season. if we lost concentration for 2nd or 3rd quarters other teams did as well. 32 wins really wasnt that bad after 21 the year before.

golden state is the talk of the league after getting hot, winning 9 of 10 (mostly against teams mailing it in) to finish 42-40, then pulling an upset against dallas.

portland sans injuries, as is, with a few tweaks, might not be that far away from significant improvement next year. and if that means playing the dreaded half-court style then sobeit.

i dont mind running plays and slowing things down if it wins one tiny bit.

ignacio

by ignacio on May 7, 2007 5:55 PM PDT reply actions