I'm talking about the Blazers get a rebound and you can hear McMillan yelling to push it. Pushing it doesn't exactly mean jack up a shot in 4 seconds. It's just to get down there and see if you can get an easy bucket, and if you can't, pull it back out. Blake would get stopped around the 3pt line a lot which really blows the while thing up. Lawson, being as quick as he is, can simply fly past people, probably hitting Aldridge for an easy bucket.
And don't forget Batum. I don't think Roy and Oden will be breaking as much, but you could easily see Lawson running the break with LMA on one side and Batum on the other. Ooooh, not quite Kersey and Drexler, but I still get all tingly thinking about it.
Just to clarify, would you rather have the team shoot early in the shot clock (GSW, Phoenix, etc.) on almost every posession, or do you just want them to break opportunistically? Right now they don't do either because they have nobody to push it. I think Nate wants them to push it early, but then slow down if its not there. This would keep with his slow pace model, but allow much more fast break opportunities. Boston in the Bird era was great at this. If you want them shooting early in the clock on most posessions, then we will just have to disagree. But, Nate clearly wants the team to have a chance to score before the defense gets set. That wouldn't change the overall pace, but would allow a lot more fast breaks.
When his point guards were Kevin Olie, Ridnour, Blake, Jack, Bassy and the like... - these are not good point guards period and the only ones of them that were not complete garbage can not play very efficiently in a fast system (See Blake, Steve and Jack, Jarret).
Yet another thread ruined by the same tired Nate arguement.. Anyway........................KP may want to move up to 17 but no one has a clue who he is targeting except the select few. Fans and media can guess all they want but we still have no clue.
Exactly. I have been going off all year long about how Portland hasn't had a decent PG in almost a decade, if not more. Good PG determine if you are going to run. Not the coach. No PG looks over to the sideline, looks at the coach and says "Can I run?" and then waits for the coach to answer and pushes the ball.
You can't run if you don't have the horses. When has Nate had a squad where running made sense? I think the answer is not until now -- 8 of those 9 years are crappy evidence and not worth much consideration. Arguably, with all the rooks on last year's team, it might not have made sense to let them run wild. Instill some structure and then let 'em run is not a bad way to go. The better question is can he get 'em running? I think the answer is yes, but I'm admittedly an optimist.
I do not wish to get into the argument on if Nate really wants the team to run. I will say that when they are playing a team that is on a back to back or three games in four days, his game plan is to run them. It is always mentioned in pre/post game interviews. They also do have the four second rule to get the ball over mid court. I will agree with MM that it is nothing that is sustained. I do not know why the players are always trying to slow it down, but you do hear Nate imploring them to run. But the history is there that Nates teams do not run.
Well, it does not matter how much you try to work the udders on your pet turtle - there is very little chance you can combine the output with cacao and call the results chocolate milk...
I don't think anyone has a problem with this. No one's saying be reckless, they're saying don't cut off your fastbreaking nose to spite your "I don't want turnovers" face.
Lawson would be great. It does not matter what pace the new PG plays at because, unless it's Rubio, he will be a 3rd-stringer. Who cares if our 3rd-string PG likes to play fast? That's why I'm a Blair fan - I think he could came straight into the 2nd unit.
The folks repeating the claim that Lawson can't function in the half court might want to read this. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/luke_winn/06/24/nba.draftnumbers/index.html
Nate has been saying for years now he wants veteran help. What is to stop him from just not playing a rookie Portland trades up for just to spite KP? It's not like whoever they draft is going to be jaw droppingly awesome. I don't think it would be beyond the realm of possibility for Nate to try whatever it takes to get KP to acquire a vet, even if it means deep-sixing a rookies career.
I think there is a disconnect between words and actions. The mouth may say "Push, Push, Push", but that also implies a little more risk and possibly some turnovers and since guys get pulled for turnovers, the actions say "Slow, Slow, Slow". Actions speak louder than words. I just don't see Nate pushing the tempo. Gramps...
Nate started a rookie at the SF position all year . . . started Batum over Outlaw. I don't know where posters get the idea Nate doesn't play rookies.
