Dave at Blazersedge "Yeah There's Something Wrong Here"

Agree with this. I was at the MC game against Utah and Matthews is a gem, a huge pick up for the team. He needs to settle down a bit but his energy especially on defense is infectious. He has Jerome Kersey like motor and can hit the three and take it inside. Some huge percentage of the best plays in that game were Matthews related. I especially liked the line up of Batum SF, Roy SG/PG, Matthews SG/PG. Gave us great ball handling, incredible defense and two shooters for Roy to target. Once Roy gets up to speed that lineup could devastate some teams letting Roy cheat on defense and fill up the passing lanes while Batum and Matthews lock guys down.

Matthews is a huge pick up and is going to be a spark off the bench. LMA and Batum also looked good. Rudy looked like Rudy circa 2008/09 version. Not sure what the deal is with Rudy. I suspect that Cho told him that if he wants off the team he better start upping his trade value and quit sandbagging. Whatever happened he looks great.

 

LMA is hungry for the ball in the post. The team has been slow as hell to get him the ball. He needs it quick before he gets pushed off the block (I know, I know). I believe LMA can be highly effective at drawing fouls and double teams if he gets that ball soon and often. We need to speed up the ball movement and have some vision. Too often guys are in good position or open but the ball arrives a second late.

 

Which "LA" are you talking about? The Lakers? The team with Gasol, one of the top 3 post players in the league?

 

Your opinion has as much merit as Dave's from BE. That's a compliment to you.

 

How did it get "shot down"? I happen to agree, if not completely at this point, at least in principle . To me, there is no fucking way that Brandon Roy should have to take a backseat to Andre Miller and adjust his game to Miller's. Miller, at most, has 2 years left in Portland, and if he keeps playing like he has been in the preseason, he may have 1/2 of a season left in Portland before he is packaged with Przy at the trade deadline.

"Shot down."

Fer fuck's sake...

 

A) Grant Hill may have been the Suns best defender, but he is hardly an elite defender. Miller not being able to hit the broadside of a barn meant that Hill could sag off of 'Dre.

B) Hill didn't "slow" down Miller. He shut his ass down and made him a liability.

 

To me, B-Roy needs to adjust to playing with any true point guard, not just Miller. If there is anybody on the team that I'm not worried about having to make adjustments its are all-star, B-Roy. He needs to adjust to an offense with more Ball and Player movement, Period.

 

If you have managed to watch any of the games this preseason then you have one up on Dave from BlazersEdge. He lives in Idaho and has only listened to the preseason games on the radio or read the box score.

Really, he has almost no basis at all for what he is saying here.

 

I actually think this analysis is pretty lame.

How is this not true of every team? How many teams have three main players don't need the ball to be effective? It is pretty difficult to be a "main player" and be effective without the ball. Pretty lame.

Well duh. If you want somebody to operate in the post, it takes time to develop. This is stupid.

What a surprise. If you take an option away from a good, not great player, their effectiveness is reduced. Great analysis!

I don't disagree that the Blazers' offense struggles and needs some change, but the reasoning in this article is silly.

 

Great story. And none of this has anything to do with the Suns series that Brandon didn't play in.

 

While there is some truth to it - it might also be time for this time to adjust to the idea that Brandon Roy is the PGOFTF on offense and Batum/Mathews/Bayless are the PGOFTF on defense.

While it is always good to expect and prod Brandon to expand his game - it still needs to do it with the thought that it really revolves around Brandon on offense - and taking the ball away from him is something that should be done in moderation since he is so effing good with it.

 

Ok, you say shut, I say slow. Did Miller not score a point the rest of the series? Sounds like you are exaggerating.

Regardless... To use the Suns series as proof that Miller is an ineffective PG is beyond ridiculous. He caused the other team to drastically change their team defensive scheme.

 

It's not the player or the chemistry....... OUR TEAM DOES NOT RUN AN OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!! We have no understanding of picks, screens, moving with and without the ball and NATE HAS NOT CHANGED THAT PHILOSOPHY!!!! Why are we getting smoked by the Jazz? They have a freakin coach!! Further they execute plays!!! How hard is this?????

Christmas! We have a defensive minded coach that other teams ran layup clinics on us last year like it was free, further he can't coach offense. Our pure athletic talent is carrying this team. Against good to great teams, we are simply outclassed! Fire the freaking coach or it's one and done again this year if we are lucky!

No one can argue that we have an offensive scheme! In five years Nate has not put one in.... what does that say with the same chore players of Roy, LA ,Pryz and Batum?

 

Huh?

YOU brought up the PHX series in this thread.

 

I think his point is that Aldridge has been in the league 4 full seasons now, and still doesn't have a low post game. This should have been done already. I don't think he is expecting him to have one overnight.

 

At the same time, there is more than enough room for more than 1 scorer on this team. Half the problem has been the last few years that Brandon really doesn't have a #2 scorer backing him up. Lamarcus would make a fine #3 scorer. #2, not so much.

 

I brought up the suns series, and you then started using that as an example of how Roy should not need to defer to Miller. They didn't play together in that series. Did you watch the series?

 

Yep. It also seems many people have forgotten that a lot of raw, young players play in pre season games, and they usually stink it up and their pre season play has no bearing on regular season. Lots of raw players = rat ball for 2 quarters of most pre season games.

 

Ah, ok. I re-read. You're probably right.

 

Matthews is playing like Roy used to play. He's leading the team in shots, he's getting to the line, and he is distributing the ball. Instead of being blasted for being a ballhog, he is being praised, as he should be.

Meanwhile, Roy is still unsuccessfully trying to morph into a stockier version of Rip Hamilton, but his PG is nowhere near the player that Chauncey Billups was in Detroit.