WTF were you thinking, McMuffin?

Right now when I watch this team, it seems to me that Nate is trying to make it like the Supersonic team he was on, where they had the personnel to switch everything, and they played small ball for the most part. The thing is, that team had the personnel for it. All of their guards were physical and good defenders, and interchangeable on the perimeter. Their big guys could all shoot from anywhere. Derek Mckey and Detlef Schrempf were interchangeable at forward, and had complete offensive games. Sam Perkins was more of a Channing Frye type than an Oden/Pryzbilla type.

Yet when I watch the team, its like he is trying to run that exact same system, even though the personnel isn't built for that. Very few of the players on the Blazers now is versatile enough to play more than one position effectively. Most of our forwards are not interchangeable on defense. We end up on offense a lot with our center getting the ball at the top of the key, where they are useless except for making another pass to try and get it out of there. Our bigs end up switched on guards on the perimeter, and the guards end up on bigs in the paint. Stop the madness. This isn't the Sonics of the early nineties.

 

The problem with your scenario is what if the mysterious "player x" is a center or power forward. That would negate any results of the "small ball" experiment.

A more likely scenario is they are showcasing Travis for a trade. Let him rack up as many points as possible (big scoring numbers tend to inflate a players trade value) and hope he hits a game winner that gets shown in an endless loop on Sports Center.

 

So, you believe in allowing the other team to get easy scoring chances at the FT line early in the game?

Interesting. A lot of "experts" in this thread, yet not a single one has actually even set foot on an NBA floor as a player or a coach.

 

The same posters whining about running more are now complaining that the coach tried to run more. Experiment failed. Now stop whining about pace.

 

This one has extra venom in it. The first post is a disgrace for a Blazer "fan" to post, IMO, and it goes downhill from there. Everything is "McMuffin's" (gee, haven't heard that one before) fault, yet he tries to run more last night, and gets clobbered for it.

 

Nice strawman. I have read every post in this thread and not one of them had any whining about pace.

Small ball does not == running. The showtime Lakers featured an old and slow Kareem. A good fast break starts with a rebound and an outlet pass. You can't break if you can't rebound.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Blazers run more, but it has to start with rebounding and defense. Hard to do when your two best rebounders/defenders are on the bench.

BNM

 

OK. I'm down with that. Although I question why NO would want Joel when they just traded for Okafor.

Does the name Chris Wallace ring a bell?

 

I don't believe in allowing the other team to get easy scoring chances at the FT line at any time of the game. I'm not sure whether you're trying to say that playing Oden would allow those chances, or letting him foul out would.

If it's the first, I disagree. He fouls a lot for a big man, but the majority of his time is spent not fouling and playing excellent defense.

If it is the second, allowing him to play to six fouls would maximize his minutes. Nursing his foul situation through the game so that he finishes the game with 4-5 fouls is costing him minutes he could have played. It means he effectively "fouls out" at 4-5 fouls, instead of 6.

 

The "majority" of his time is spent on the bench, saddled with foul trouble. I disagree in letting him just foul out. He's too important late in games. I find it an odd criticism, and one that not a single NBA coach has done with such a foul-proned player. Hell, Shaq and Duncan even come out early with 2 fouls.

 

I meant the majority of his time on the floor, silly!

You are misunderstanding me slightly. I don't mean that he should be played from the first minute continuously until he fouls out. Managing his fouls in the first half, and even a bit in the third quarter, is fine. In the fourth quarter, though, just let him play as normal until he fouls out. Don't lift him at the 6 minute mark in the fourth quarter because he picked up his fifth foul. As I said, every game in which he finishes with 4-5 fouls, minutes he could have played were left on the table.

I want Oden to play as many minutes as possible, since I consider him a net positive on the floor even with the fouls committed. Allowing him to foul out means he plays every minute possible. I'm less concerned with exactly when in the game those minutes come. I'd rather he squeezed out 28-30 minutes and fouled out with 7 minutes left in the game than that his fouls were managed so that he doesn't foul out, is on the floor at the end of the game and he ends up with 22 minutes.

 

Actually Oden has shown the ability to play with foul trouble pretty well in the times he has been given an opportunity to keep playing. The problem is he isnt given a chance to keep playing.

 

After these first five games I've been thinking it's more like KP went to Nate before the season and said: "I have my eye on a franchise PG in next year's draft. What can you do to tank the season?"

 

Just let it all out. Don't hold back. We're here for you.