Lots of good ideas on here. I don't think the sky is fallingbut we do have a LOT of good players. Right now KP is like a miser hoarding the gold.,,,,,,,but if some players don't accept a diminished role, I'm starting to think there could be a problem.....Hope not. Maybe it's like that old song......"Love the One You're With" They are all good players, so find out who REALLY wants to be here and not on some other team someday and keep them. You can't keep everybody happy...............unless of course you drug the gatorade.
A lot of posters think we have a lot of depth. What is your definition? Is depth when your 2nd team is about equal to your 1st team, because they're both so experienced and talented? Or is depth when your 2nd team is about equal to your 1st team, because they're both so inexperienced and bad? There is good depth and bad depth. Just because Webster is almost as good as Batum doesn't mean we have good depth at SF. We oversestimate our subs and some of the starters. The subs are young and are all potential, nothing accomplished yet in their careers. Some of them should be combined into consolidation trades, but Pritchard either doesn't agree, or agrees, but doesn't have the trading talent to pull it off. I think it's the latter, since he has never traded for a established starter. He himself is overrated, as well as the depth.
Nate playing Frankenstein with the lineup in all seven games and some practices probably can explain a lot about the lack of chemistry.
As some of us have said, it appears Nate is not the right coach for this team to take the next step. 7 different line-ups in 7 games is stupid. Define some damn roles.
The most you should take away from preseason is a pop quiz... no midterm... nothing that will give you an idea of the final grade. Biggest thing I think we needed to do is figure out who will be on the team and the rotation... and in that respect I think preseason may have been a failure... I have no idea what Nate will do. I thought I heard somewhere that last nights game was supposed to be the same starting lineup as opening night... but with the injuries that may have changed. I wouldn't be suprised to see the same lineup as last year though.
Nate's so stubborn with his lineup! No wait! He changes it up too much! Nevermind that players have been going in and out with small injuries. Joel, then LMA, then Oden. Rudy and Batum needed rest. Oh no. Nevermind all that. You're sounding kinda goofy now.
Oden and Aldridge were out. Batum went out at the start of the game. That was the problem, not a lack of chemistry.
Not really. Nate should have had Oden, LA, Batum, Roy and Miller as the starers from the first preseason game. Oden has clearly showed he is better than Joel. Miller has shown he is clearly better than Blakey. Miller, Roy, Batum, and Oden would have started all but one game together, helping them build chemistry. Instead, Nate keeps changing around his line-ups trying to get Blakey in there. Blakey has started 5 games to Miller's 2. Only Aldridge would have been missing for more than one game.
Maybe, but he doesn't suck as bad as Outlaw. That is the only guy Howard has to beat out to get minutes. And he has handily done so. I don't think Howard is all that good. It's just that Outlaw really is that terrible.
I agree for the most part. The only lineup I'd use Juwan in is whenever Greg is in the game. They seem to play off each other well, more so than if you paired Travis with Greg. But seeing Juwan last night in the starting lineup, Boozer, Fesenko and Deron had a field day inside with no resistance. Juwan has been a pleasant surprise but at this point of his career, he shouldn't be getting more than 5-7 minutes per game.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that Juwan start. But honestly I'd much rather give Juwan 10mpg backing up LMA than give those minutes to Travis.
I don't know, I'm actually less worried now than I was a few games ago. I think it'll all work itself out and I do think KP will finally have to (and will) do a consolidation trade this year which will help. In the meantime, it may take a few weeks into the regular season for the team to find it's groove and its rotation, but it's a long season. New faces and key guys sitting out all while Nate continues to tinker on a half-by-half basis will do that. But two of the three first games, including the season opener at home, are against the Houston Rockets, so I have no worries that the team will be up for those. The other is against division rival Denver at home on national television. Not saying they'll be poetry in motion or even win these games but I think we'll see an effort that has been lacking in the preseason. The rest will follow. I think it could be somewhat of a blessing in disguise for this team to have a rough preseason as opposed to a great one. It's almost like they're expecting to be great this year and don't have the same us-against-the-world chip on their shoulder they did last year. By getting stomped on several occasions, hopefully they'll realize they're going to have to apply themselves when the games start to count. At the moment we're 0-0 and so is everyone else. Miller/Blake Roy/Rudy Batum/Webster Aldridge/Howard Oden/Joel Seems like there's a lot to be optimistic about. But I warn you, we will lose games this year, so for all you bi-polar folks out there, stock up on your meds and remain calm. This isn't an insult, it's just good advice.
If the PG position is going to be the leading shooter and not a passer, I'd rather see Bayless play over Miller.
To the people that keep saying this team is too deep, I call bullshit. The problem is there isn't a level of talent difference between the guys that have playing time, and the guys that do not. This team is not as talented. as any of the teams from 88 to 92 and none of the teams Pippen was on. This is a 3 horse team. If those 3 aren't playing, it gets FUGLY. The reason that the teams I mentioned above were happy and good with chemistry is that the rotation was short, and all the guys who played got good minutes. The other important factor being, the coach did not put players out on the floor who would jeapardize the win unless they were forced to by foul trouble. They pretty much ran 8 players. several of those players were versatile enough to play multiple positions and get their minutes that way. The reason being, you keep your best 5 out of on the floor to give you your best chance to win. You mix in and out a few other guys and keep their minutes up so they are used to playing with each other. You keep several starters in at all times to keep the team stable, and to keep the playing time at an non issue. The rest of the players just shut the fuck up and sit their time on the bench, and be ready to be called if fouls become an issue. You will also note, that Roys game has suffered when he doesn't have the ball. He has not been successful with off the ball play. Perhaps it is time to give in, and finally just make Roy the PG. That would allow Rudy to move into the starting lineup and get minutes to make him happy. Rudy could share duties of getting the ball up the court, which is really what takes a heavy toll on PG types. We know he can do it. It would make the Blazers really big to start the game, which would dictate a size mismatch on the opposition. Similar to when LA ran Ron Harper and Kobe in the back court. It worked pretty fucking good.
look at their numbers. look at their numbers at the power forward position. watch them play. all of those things show outlaw is a vastly better player than howard.
Although it does move along discussions on the board right? If nobody was talking, it'd be quite a boring place to browse....
that's true. i'm not sure why i even bothered with this argument. i guess i was too quick to forget people calling for guys like josh mcroberts or shavlik randolph to get minutes.
