OregonSportsLive.com has posted some really nice interviews with some of the less-heralded names on the Blazers' coaching staff. First, some progress reports on a few Blazers from shooting coach John Townsend.
Townsend: I think Jerryd Bayless is shooting the ball a lot better. He was working with [former Phoenix Suns head coach] Frank Johnson. Frank got him to do some of the things I couldn't get him to do in regard to jumping, which transferred into a higher lift and a better, more consistent jump shot. So, he shot the ball really well in some of the scrimmages that we saw this fall.
I think Travis and Martell have both shot the ball really well. So, we'll see.
And here's a tidbit about pace from Assistant Coach Joe Prunty.
OSL: Do you think that running might be more of a focus due to the acquisition of Andre Miller?
Prunty: Well, that's what we're going to find out. Does he help our guys...throwing the ball ahead? And Steve does a very good job with that. Do our guys get out and run the wings better? We did a really good job at the end of last year running lanes, LaMarcus in particular on what we call a rim run, and running the floor hard. And so there's a lot of components to doing it, and you never want to put it on just one person. We think he can help, because he gets the ball up, and he does make other people better, but it requires the wings running, and it requires the bigs running and having good floor balance.
OSL also took the temperatures of Monty Williams and Maurice Lucas.
All must-reads.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)