Blazers are still too young. Still too inexperienced. And still not ready to be considered a playoff team. "A lot of things will have to go right," McMillan said, referring to his team's playoff chances this season. IF thats true then how come before the season started, nate was saying how this was a playoff year? Expectations were to make the playoffs. Now excuses are already coming out. same thing with pritchard...all i heard last year is next year( being this year) we will take the next step. even in interviews i heard this november with KP the goal wa splayoffs. Now it sounds like we just arent ready. THATS FRIGGIN BULLSHIT. Im so tired of hearing fucking next year. It will be funny to see this team win less then 41 games and then try to get a positive spin from our greta GM and coach. So looks like we will be adding another lotto pick with "potential" and let ethe cake bake 5 more years as we wait till next year. Complete bullshit. This franchise is just fine missing the playoffs every year. No improvement, just high lotto picks.
Can the press help him understand how to defend the pick-and-roll? Because I'd much rather he spend his time using them for that instead of motivation. -Pop
You have to make your own luck in the Western Conference. This "faith based" approach to the playoffs is going to land us a 1-way ticket to the lottery again. Last year's excuse was wait for Oden. Oden is here and he's not the savior they were expecting. What's the excuse now? Wait for Martell? That's a very tough sell. We need players that can score on a consistent basis aside from Roy and LMA.
I specifically remember KP saying that anything short of making the playoffs this year would be considered a disappointing season . . .
Teams battling for the lower playoff seeds are in no way perfect. Obviously there is always room for improvement but just because you have flaws doesnt mean you wont make the playoffs
well then if thats what good ole KP said...he better make some moves pretty quick. We need a 3rd scorer badly! season is on the brink imo. Roys injury seems to be much wors ethen they are saying and i have a feeling we will be lucky to see him by late january if you can read between the lines. To say we are in trouble is like saying the us has a small economy problem. This team has regressed. Outlaw is playing worse every game. Sergio is just not a good fit with our team. Rudy is just not that good. Bayless needs the dleague badly. I wont mention frye cause hes as bad as you can get.
The other thing is...KP knew roy wa sinjury prone. Thats what all teh scouts said pre draft. Roys body will not hold up. KP knew this and now is getting burned. We needed a thrid scorer but he has done nothing so sorry if that pisses me off. IM SO SICK OF THIS CAKE CULTURE CRAP. START WINNING
What is your definition of winning? Last time I checked, we were still in the top 8....by a full game.
Yep I am sure you were privy to all the scouts reporting on Roy....and I am sure they ALL said the same thing..... I think that if KP has any problem, it is generally, not considered to be picking the best player out of the draft that year. Why don't you go ask your scouts that you supposedly know so well who they would pick out of that draft if they had to do it over. Do you think they would answer Randy Foye? Andre Bargiani? Lamarcus Aldridge? They definitly wouldn't take that wuss, Brandon Roy.
Right back at ya Nate..... I think it's important not only for our team to learn how to win but for our coach to learn how to put the best team on the floor at the right time to win! When Nate pulls out Batum when he's stealing the ball, playing great defense, and dunking the ball at the other end for Outlaw just because TO needs minutes I question his coaching! When he leaves Blake in going 4-14 shooting, I question his coaching. When Nate puts in Sergio and Bayless at the same time, I've got to think what is a defensive minded coach making this substitution for? However my biggest concern may be why Nate has not designed more plays for his once in a century center who sees the ball less than scrubs for most teams. Oden is not being fed, getting into any type of rythem, and thus is almost useless for us offensively. That is coaching! Before he calls out his team, he might want to look at his coaching and ask this question..... Could it be me? On a side note, our whole team is rookies Nate, the not playing them because their young makes very little sense!
She isn't really this depressed. She just does that on purpose to get a rise out of us. Which I think is almost more pathetic then actually being that sad. Women...
The problem in the pick-and-roll defense flaw is that it isn't attributed to youth or inexperience. It's a fundamental part of the way McMillan coaches. He firmly believes in switching all pick and rolls, which is going to be a problem when you face the teams from the Western Conference that are predominantly pick-and-roll offensive teams (San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah, Dallas ... hell, pretty much everyone). In my opinion, the only times you should switch pick and rolls are: (a) when switching won't create a huge matchup problem; and (b) late in the shot clock when you the other team will be forced to take a hurried shot and you don't want to give them an inch of space. When we switch pick and rolls, many times it's early in the shot clock, and it instantly gives the offense an advantage because we have Aldridge guarding a point guard and Blake guarding a power forward or center in the post. When you are in that predicament, and an offense has 10 seconds or more to either exploit the matchup on the perimeter or exploit the matchup inside, it's easy pickings. There are so many ways to defend the pick and roll. Switching is the laziest and least effective method. I can't for the life of me understand why we don't try something different. -Pop
The thing is that there are two extremes: -- a shoo-in for the playoffs (Lakers) -- no prayer for the playoffs (Thunder) Portland, as a team, is in between those two extremes. Some fans were thinking we were in the former camp, I think, and the Nate comment seems to be cutting down expectations. I don't think he's saying we're in the latter camp, though. Ed O.
I don't necessarily agree with that. He's got a few flaws that I would hope he would figure out. Last year he NEVER recognized 2-for-1 or fouls-to-give opportunities at the end of quarters, but this year he seems to have figured that out. So I have faith that he can adapt. But, if we continue our deficiencies in defending the pick and roll, getting fast break baskets, and scoring in the paint, then I would say we need a new direction. Problem is I don't see that Nate's seat is anywhere close to warm, let alone hot. He's got amazing job security. KP and PA love him, his players love him, and the fans here love him. I think he's here to stay, even if we miss the playoffs this year (I can already hear the injuries excuse). -Pop
