Sergio, a bad fit?

If we could always play against the opposition's bench players - I would agree with you. Unfortunately, it does not work that way...

 

All that says is we have a better bench, overall, than our opponoents. Yes, Sergio is part of that, but the real key is two of our best offensive players, Rudy and Outlaw, come off the bench.

BNM

 

I agree that Blake was the guy to finish the 4th. Just as Sergio was the guy to take it fom -1 to +12 early in the 4th.

iWatas

 

First of all, the game wasn't strictly speaking "on the line". That would mean that we were within a basket of the other team. We were at least 2 or 3 possessions ahead. So, with that in mind, in answer to your question of whose hands you want the ball in in such situations: anyone who can hit free throws. How about Rudy?

Exactly!

Somebody said that Blake's true value will be evident when we get Oden back, and there's something to that. But then again, Sergio can run the pick and roll better and throw the alley-oop better, so the only advantage Blake has is his three. So maybe when Martell comes back, Blake's value will decline again...

 

Here's our best 5 man lineups:
http://www.82games.com/0809/0809POR2.HTM

Rodriguez hasn't been bad in the second unit, but look at the Blake-Roy-Fernandez-Frye-Aldridge lineup; not exactly chopped liver.

 

But, it would have been on the line if Blake would have missed those FTs. Orlando started foluing soon enough, and cut the lead to 5 at one point, that they could have been right back in the game if Blake hadn't stepped up and hit 8 of 8 FTs in the last 1:17. His clutch FT shooting iced the game and kept Orlando from ever getting it down from a 2 possession game to a 1 possession game.

BNM

 

Exactly

 

So, essentially, Blake is a better PG than Sergio because you know he can hit free throws? That's pretty weak. Blake did good, no question. But if this was a particular worry, we could have taken the PG out and put Rudy in (AS I SAID in the part of the post you neglected to quote) and I would have felt just as comfortable. At that point in the game they were just fouling every time. It just so happened that the Blazers got it into Blake's hands and he was the one they fouled. If this is a huge concern we can always waive Shavlik Randolph and sign that old guy who hit several thousands of FTs in a row.

 

Here's the thing: Blake is a more complete point guard than Sergio; the sum of his skills is greater than the sum of Sergio's skills right now and that's why he's starting and getting more minutes. Sergio is looking more confident, and has cut down on the turnovers, but he's still not a complete enough player to cut substantially into the 96 minutes that are being divvied up between Roy, Rudy, Blake and himself.

 

True. And it proves last year's fallacy that Jack was the reason he did not get minutes. The fact of the matter is that Jack did not play much PG for us last year - it was Blake and Roy that stood in his way last year. Last year we heard how Jack is taking Sergio's minutes. This year, with Jack gone - we hear how it is Blake that is taking his minutes.

It's time to fact the fact that it's Sergio that takes away his own minutes.

 

Did I say that? No I didn't and it's a huge leap for you to make such a generalization. Being a better FT shooter - and actually getting to the line - is one thing Blake does better than Sergio and is one reason he gets more PT. How many FTs has Sergio shot through 7 games this season? Exactly ZERO. Teams don't even bother to foul him becuase he's such a poor shooter they're better off just letting him shoot uncontested.

Blake is also a much better 3-point shooter (0.406 last season - better than Ray Allen). It doesn't show in the stats, but a good 3-point shooter spreads the defense and makes it easier for his teammates to score. James Jones, due to his fantastic 3-point shooting, gets a ton of credit for last year's magical December. No doubt, Jones had a hot shooting month, but what most people don't realize is that Steve Blake shot even better from downtwon last December than Jones - and made nearly as many 3-pointers. Jones was 31-56, 0.521 3FG%. Blake was 28-52, 0.538 3FG%. Sergio will never spread the defense with his great 3-point shooting.

Again not THE reason Blake is better than Sergio, just one more thing his does sginificantly better that gets him more PT than Sergio.

The Sergio supporters claim he has cut down on his turnovers. Yes, it's true. Sergio is averaging a career best 3.84 TO/48. Down from last season's 4.05 TO/48. However, it's Blake that has shown even more improvement in this area - and he was already much better at protecting the ball than Sergio. This season, Blake is averaging a career best 1.56 TO/48, down from last year's 2.24 TO/48. Sergio is more than twice as likely to turn the ball over as Blake, and the gap is getting wider, not narrower. Another way to look at it is Blake has just one more TO in 215 minutes than Sergio has in 75 minutes.

These are just some MORE of the reasons Blake is a better player and gets more PT, deservedly so, than Sergio. Sergio was told that if he wanted to earn more PT he'd need to improve his shooting (it's actually worse than ever), his defense (still awful) and cut down on his turnovers (he has, barely and it's still unnacceptable). People always like to blame the coach and the other players for Sergio's lack of PT. Truth is, it's his faullt and his fault alone. Until he improves the areas of his game he's been told to improve, he (or his agent) have absolutely no right to complain publically about his lack of PT.

BNM

 

I like Hollinger, but he's wrong about Sergio. He can and is fitting in just fine. He's one of the reasons why the second unit is one of the best in the league. He's not a defensive specialist by any stretch of the imagination and his shot isn't respectable. What he can do is create opportunities for high-percentage shots for his teammates like no one else on this team. That in itself is valuable. I love watching him on the fast break and even in the half-court. He makes things happen. He's extremely useful.

Sergio is young. I'm excited to see him showcasing the same abilities we all were in awe of his rookie year. What's cool is he very well isn't done improving his game.

 

By your logic, Frye is a better ballhandler than Blake. Anyone who does nothing on the court will have less TO's than someone who creates 3 times as many assists in the same amount of time. Assist to turnover ratio is the accepted measure, and Sergio has always kept the very best of company there while Blake hangs with a more common crowd in that respect. Sergio is also racking up more rebounds and steal per minute, and the team consistently outscoresw their opponents when he is on the floor.

Bottom line though is that it's Nate who doles out the minutes, and it's his fault if we're wasting talent on the bench, which we are.

 

For some reason you've made up your mind that the only measure of what makes an effective point guard is their ability to create assists -- and yes that is an important part of the job description.

The thing is, I don't see anyone saying Sergio can't pass the ball or create for others, his biggest problem is that he (still) can't hit a shot to save his life, which disappoints me to no end because I thought he might have finally taken steps to remedy that part of his game and I was really starting to think he might be ready to take the next step of challenging Blake for starter's minutes, instead we've got a guy who has only marginally improved his defense, is hitting shots at an even lower rate than he did in last season's disastrous campaign, and is arguably posting such nice +/- stats because of the fact that he shares the court with Rudy.

Sergio is far from a hopeless case, but unless he can become more than a one tool player he's got a better chance to be a Harlem Globetrotter than an NBA point guard.

 

You have no idea what you're talking about. You just make this stuff up as you go. You might want to actually check your facts sometime before making these kind of statements.

Sergio always among the best in the league at AST/TO ratio??? You sure about that? Blake a more pedestrian AST/TO ratio? You sure about that?

Sorry to burst your alternate reality bubble and use your own argument against you, but the facts don't lie.

This year, in limited minutes, Sergio's AST/TO is currently slightly better than Blake's.

Through 7 games:

Sergio AST/TO = 4.0
Blake AST/TO = 3.71

Last year, over a much bigger sample size:

Sergio AST/TO = 2.32 (42nd in the league)
Blake AST/TO = 3.66 (7th in the league)

Now, tell me again who is among the best in the league in AST/TO and who is an also ran.

2006-07 Season

Sergio AST/TO = 2.83 (15th in the league)
Blake AST/TO = 3.16 (7th in the league)

2005-06 Season

Sergio AST/TO = NA
Blake AST/TO = 3.69 (3rd in the league)

So, over the last complete three seasons, Steve Blake (as a starter playing against the other teams' best players) has been 7th, 7th and 3rd in the league in AST/TO. That certianly puts Blake NOT Sergio amoung the best in the league at AST/TO.

Sergio's best year was as a rookie, when he was 15th in limited minutes. He seriously regressed last season (yeah, I know - it was Nate's fault). He's currently slightly ahead of Blake - for the first time in his career. Let's see if he can sustain that for more than 7 games - he hasn't been able to in his two previous seasons in the league.

Bottom line - you make stuff up that has nothing to do with reality and expect people to just accept it without challenge. I prefer to deal in facts and the fact is, by your own measure, AST/TO, Steve Blake over the past 2+ seasons has been a much better PG than Sergio Rodriguez. I think there's more to being a good PG than AST/TO, but Blake's better in those areas, too.

BNM

 

Blake does what he is asked to do.... you need to be able to hit open shots when you play with Roy.