Blazers vs. Grizzlies Gamethread

BTW, I'm now sold on Mike Conley. His game has improved so much with more freedom from Hollins.

 

I missed the end of the game

I had to leave just as we were making a run at the end of the third. Oh well.... WE WON!

 

Yup, he's like a different player ever since they really committed to him and moved Lowry.

Confidence is a tricky thing for a young player ... makes me wonder about our young point guards and the logjam they are trying to play through?

 

That pic of Roy shows just how empty that arena was - couldn't have been 5000 in there.

 

As often as I like to think about how we could get a good young point guard like Mike Conley, I keep having to remind myself that we have Jerryd Bayless on the team. I know that he may not be the most traditional point guard, but I'd like to see us make a commitment to him if indeed the team feels like he's legit.

However, it's going to be a tough process to begin now that we'll be contending for a playoff spot every year. At what point can we insert him into a solid rotation and not have it screw us over if he makes mistakes?

 

I agree.

 

This is the tricky part about a team transitioning from young 'bad' team -- where you can throw whomever out on the court and let them play through their mistakes -- and young 'playoff' team where the margin for error is much smaller and mistakes are magnified to a much greater degree.

My guess is that Bayless is really going to have to show the team something in the off-season and in pre-season for them to trust him with anything other than spot minutes or backup minutes next year. I get the feeling that the position is going to be very much in flux between June and August; I wouldn't be shocked to see Blake, Sergio or Jerryd gone in a trade and a completely different set of players handling the position. Least likely to most likely to be a Blazer next season might go something like this Sergio --> Jerryd --> Blake.

 

Now that's an EXCITING finish!

Wow.

The upstart Clippers played their hearts out til the end. They pushed the Wolves in the 4th quarter, giving them a scare by outscoring them 15 - 14.

But, in the end, Minnesota was too savvy with its two top-notch PGs (Ollie and Telfair) running the show. As expected, Minnesota's strength was Los Angeles' weakness. The Clippers just don't have a reliable PG like Minnesota does. In fact, this game is proof that Davis would be the third PG on the Wolves.

Telfair/Ollie - 10 - 20 fg. 21 pts 7 ast 1 TO
Baron Davis - 5 - 16 fg. 12 pts 4 ast 4 TOs 5 fouls

Oh by the way... Mike Miller took the second fewest shots on the team (FIVE), despite playing 10+ more minutes than everybody else. (41 minutes).

So, there you have it. An exciting night of NBA basketball at its finest. If you excuse me... I will now go gouge out my eyeballs with a fork, or salad tongs.

 

Conley is another perfect example of how we, the average fan, know so little about young rookies. The kid looked promising in Summer league and in preseason last year, but because he he was a rookie, and had inconsistent playing time he struggled. How many people last year said the guy sucked? Lots. Young rookies tend to get better over their first few years. The dude is a player.

 

I think he does it just to make Sergio's job that much harder.

Seriously though, Channing can be a valuable player off the bench for this team, but NOT as a center.

At PF, he can score on just about anybody.

 

I hear watching that shit will give you eyeball cancer.

 

Question: How do I change the wording underneath my Avatar pic? I can't remember.

 

Never at PG, that should be quite clear to everyone by now.

He could be very solid at SG in a few years, maybe even next year with a lot of work over the summer.

I doubt he'll ever be better than either Brandon or Rudy though.

As for Conley, I'm still not impressed.

 

Thanks sir.

 

proof they should have never left Vancouver!

 

Do you think Conley will ever be as good as Sergio Rodriguez?

 

It was just a clear that Travis would never be able to hit the broad side of a barn and wouldn't have the mental toughness to hit a high pressure shot.

...oh wait, players can develop skills over time.

 

So much for "I'm smarter than you" eh?

 

Clearly Conley should miss more open jumpers, then I'm sure he'd have your full attention.