I don't know how you can say that after one pre-season game. Don't get me wrong, I thought Rudy looked absolutely amazing out there with his Sabas-like passing ability, and he'll almost certainly deserve big minutes, but isn't it more likely that he'll eat into minutes at a position besides the 2? If anything I think we'll see the team go a little small at the 3, and play either Brandon or Rudy there, or we go gigantic and have Roy at the 1, Rudy at the 2 and then go with either Martell or Travis at small forward in the end of games. More important in my mind, is who is closing out the game.
I wouldn't make that statement. Roy is better right now because we have seen him play a lot, for all we know Rudy could be just as good. It's just too small of a sample size (1 game) for us to make a legitimate decision.
I'm just glad both players are such stellar passers and able to set other people up, it means either player should be able to pretty easily coexist with each other, and we (hopefully) won't have to have really counterproductive conversations about should Rudy start over Roy or vice versa.
I still like the idea of having Fernandez come off the bench 8 minutes into the game. Rudy on fresh legs against a tired group of starters, transitioning into the 2nd unit defense...the opponents are going to be hard pressed to stop him. Then again, if you make Bayless that 2nd unit go-to guy, he can score a lot of points too. So either way is fine with me. But I agree, Fernandez is too smart and too good to not be in at the end of games, which is what really matters I guess. Whatever happens, it's a nice problem to have.
It's not 1 game as a sample size. We've seen him play in the Olympics and seen what he's done in the Euroleague and ACB. He's clearly a stud. (And if you want to discount that stuff, one preseason game against Sacramento without Kevin Martin and Brad Miller isn't really a sample I'd read a lot into anyway.)
Playing in the Olympics and the NBA is completely different. Look at Jaskievicius. Look at Scola, he dominated the games 2 years ago or whatever and was a good but not great player in the NBA. The Euroleague and ACB isn't the NBA either. He had a great game last night, but lets see him do it over a season before we say Roy or Rudy are better.
Maybe because I'm not basing it on one single preseason game. Truth is that he didn't just pop out of thin air and start playing here. Maybe I've also seen tons of youtube highlights and every game he played in the Olympics (including the Gold medal game), and I've followed his success in European play. When you think about it, you could argue he's actually had more success as a basketball player than Roy has so far. Maybe not personal glory, but more team success. I'm keeping an open mind about Fernandez. He's shown me enough already to make me really question if Roy is destined to have the better career. I can't help but wonder how many Spurs fans thought Robinson was the better player initially after they drafted Duncan. Fans (and coaches and GM's) naturally tend to believe the veteran star is always better than the rookie star. It's often true, but not always. I've seen Ferandez do some things that really make me question whether he isn't the superior player to Roy. I'm not saying I'm convinced he is, but I am wondering.
I'd like to see Rudy get a shot with the first team at the 3 spot. I'd like to see how he fits with the big 3.
Wheels talked about the Blazers moving Roy to SF and Rudy to SG until Webs comes back. I wouldn't mind seeing how this worked. Tough to move your All Star to a different position but if anyone can do it, Roy can. I like what I've seen out of Batum so far. He's going to be a clone of Prince.
I just don't think Outlaw plays well starting and Batum isn't ready to start. I think with Webster out we try the 3 guard lineup. I think when Blake comes back we start Blake/Rudy/Roy/LMA and Oden with Outlaw/Sergio/Bayless/Joel off the Bench. Nate could use Frye as our 10 man only when Oden/Joel/LMA are in foul trouble. So, I would go with a 9 player rotation with adding Frye when needed.
Of course, he should start!! Rudy is court smart. He creates opportunties. He going to be rookie of the year!!!!
I think Nate is going to hold off on something like this until Bayless can crack the lineup and give the 2nd unit another scorer.
Moving Rudy into the starting line-up means messing with our best player. It may make Rudy and his fans happy, but it is a net loss for the team. Rudy is doing just fine in his current role. Why dick around with one of the things that is going right?
