OK, that's actually not the title of his article, but it might as well be. Blazers notebook: Crazy pace of opening month running players ragged http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/blazers_notebook_crazy_pace_of.html Way to give 'em an out Freeman Uh? Sure. Well at least Nate's not just saying "they have to figure it out for themselves." Who knows, maybe the team's problems really do boil down to tired legs, but I'm having a tough time swallowing this as a means of explaining away what has looked like a truly disjointed and uninspired team 19 games in. What do you think, am I being overly critical here?
I agree. They are making excuses for a poor effort. After getting their asses chewed out at halftime during the Memphis game, the team did come out and played defense hard. Trouble was....their offensive execution and play selection still sucked and they had dug such a big hole that they couldn't work themselves out of it. If they had played as hard in Utah as they did in the second half the night before the results would have been different. Everyone including me has bitched about the offense....and with good reason. But the effort on defense HAS been spotty at best. If we aspire to be a championship caliber team that kind of half assed commitment to defense isn't going to cut it.
I think this might be a legitimate excuse. They probably are dead tired, playing 19 games in 33 days. That's an insane rate, more than 1 game every 2 days. We'll see how valid this is, when we play the Heat with 2 days off and then we better beat the Rockets with 3 days off after the Heat game.
I don't think they are tired. Only Roy and Aldridge are playing 30+ minutes per game and even their minutes are down from last year. The lack of practices, however, is a legitimate argument.
There was a stat during one of the last home games (New Jersey I believe) where they said Roy was number one in the nba in minutes played.
it's insane for professional athletes to play hoops for 30 minutes every other day or so? Geez color me unimpressed. In my 20's I played hoops on pavement for hours most every day year round. I'm 42 now and still ride my bike or run pick up hoops for an hour plus at least that often. Am I insane? STOMP
You're really going to compare your playground days to competing against athletes in the NBA? Quick question. How many injuries kept you out of your rigorous playground games, or rec league games, over the years? Second question. Really?
I'm not claiming running pickup hoops is as rigorous per minute as running NBA games. I don't jump as high, run as fast, ect... no one does. Does that really have to be pointed out... isn't it kind of obvious? I also said I played on pavement (as opposed to wood) and for hours (as opposed to 30 minutes)... I know my shoes were sometimes beat to hell too. I didn't directly compare the pickup games to the NBA crazy, but the bumps and bruises are the same sort. I've a buddy that wins 100 mile races... at altitude. Dude runs round the clock taking breaks every few hours. Can you guess what his training is like? Again, color me unimpressed with the rigors of the Blazer's early season schedule. Until my early 30's I suffered mostly pulled hammies, back spasms & shin splints all related to having flat feet/bad arches... the Superfeet shoe inserts really helped me mitigate that. Plenty of black and blue ankle sprains too but (knock on wood) never any trouble with my knees. The most time I ever missed to playing regularly (besides a year in Europe) to injury was maybe a month. A couple car accidents around 2000 compromised my lower back sidelining me for about 2 1/2 years. Multiple summers hiking the High Sierras for Cal Dept of Fish and Game working on a Biology project helped me regain my health and then some. Since the car accidents, I've cut back and unfortunately the IR time has increased... but I'm still pretty regular overall. I sought out the best runs around me. I've seen guys blow out their knees, hamstrings snap & lots of different bones break. It's a rough game on anyone. STOMP
It's a legitimate reason. A week ago they destroyed Chicago, and Roy Aldridge and Oden had us thinking championship. They just need to get their legs back, refocused, and a few more practisces. In in perfect world, these pro-athlete machines would lay it all on the court and shed blood sweat and tears for 48 minutes all 82 games. But that's not reality, they're human. Now if they come out with no effort and they lay eggs against Miami and Houston then it's time to be concerned.
I tend to agree with that. I hate the excuses, and if I hear about being the youngest starting rotation in the NBA or playing 19 games in a month (as opposed to the 16-18 the other team have played) my head is going to explode in frustration! If you want to use those excuses, shouldn't they be mitigated by the fact that they are tied for the second easiest S.O.S. so far?
Yeah, Freeman seems to have a case of don't stir the potitis. Who could possibly be tired? It's eraly in the season, no one but Roy and Aldridge play more than 30 minutes a night either.
I doubt that there's anything much easier to show statistically in the NBA than the fact that the more rested teams usually win over the teams that are playing more frequently and not having practice time. The only thing that I can think about those of you who aren't admitting this obvious fact is that you simply don't want to give credence to anything that comes between you and your "Nate is an assclown" blather. Like I said in a post yesterday, the time to judge Nate and the Blazers is after this week. If they're still lost after a week with only two games, then the problems go beyond simple fatigue and lack of practice.
Yeah....it fucking kills me when I have to work 19 out of 33 days. Cry me a river. If these guys are in shape it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
Yeah, because that's exactly how the NBA works: do nothing but sit around playing xbox until game time, then get your 12, 20 or 30+ minutes of PT in, hit the showers then back on the xbox until the next tip-off, right? As a guy working to earn every dollar I make, trust me, I don't want to make any excuses for guys making multiple millions playing a sport - but there's a lot more to playing pro basketball than just running around between two hoops. Don't disregard all the travel and prep that has to go into playing 19 games in 33 days - and if they can't keep their regular practice schedule, that can only hurt them, not help. Hell, I take an occasional business trip mid-way across the country and don't want to do anything but either sleep or grab a drink after I land because I'm beat from the trip there . . . and I don't have to look forward to defending Dwight Howard later in the night either! Yeah, yeah I know - I don't get to travel in chartered planes & buses and have the other amenities that NBA players do but you get my point. Put it this way, try going to 19 client meetings (sales presentations, conferences or whatever you so do for work) both at home and away throughout the US in 33 days and tell me how well you hold up???
Cry me a fucking river. I'm sick of excuses for half assed effort. Sell the stories somewhere else. For the amount of jack these guys are getting paid there should be one hundred percent effort every day. Period. No excuses, no bullshit. Its a damn shame its not like the NFL where a player can be cut without having to fork over tens of millions of dollars on the back end of a contract to a guy who doesn't deserve it anymore. An end to guaranteed contracts would put an end to this contract year bullshit.
You're certainly paying attention to the last 2 games and ignoring the 12 wins, some of which we've looked absolutely amazing, no matter who we were playing.
