It wouldn't surprise me. I fully expect KP to make Blake and Outlaw Blazers for life just to make my life hell.
You mean #41 after the other 5 rookies come in and perform better. That doesn't even count the 10 or so SG who are better PG then him.
You said he made a career out of following around players (in two different posts). . . I read that as Blake is some calculated person who only succeeds because he follows players that will make him look good. And that just isn't true . . . but I must have read your post wrong. Many players have played with the likes of Dixon, Roy and Iverson and have not succeeded. I think there is more to Blake than your thought about him being no better than a towel boy.
Maybe they should change Blake's intro at the Rose Garden to: "Number 35 among point guards...... Number one in our hearts! Steeeeeeeeeve BLAKE!"
I absolutely think he has put himself in situations where he isn't expected to create with the ball. Do you think Blake could do what Miller does? Do you think he could lead the league in assists? He doesn't have good court vision. He isn't good at creating. Part of the reason why Blake is so bad at distributing is because he can't get by his man, thus he can't get into the paint and kick it out to shooters. Blake isn't stupid. I've never thought he was a dumb guy. It really wouldn't surprise me if he did choose to play by guys like Roy, Iverson, and Dixon. Dixon just didn't translate well to the NBA. He was too short to be effective at the two, and he wasn't as good as an Iverson.
I'm confused. I respond to your post because you said Blake follows good players and that is why he is successful. I disputed that (because it's not true ) and then you said you didn't say anything about Blake making decisions. I said OK (I must have read your post in a way you didn't mean) and then now you start comparing him to Miller and saying he does make decisions to ride coattails of good players??? I don't know Nate, we aren't that far apart. I don't put Miller on the pedestal you do and Balke as a towel boy . . . but in general I agree that Miller has better court vision, can create better and get more assists. No one mentions how god awful slow he is for a PG (which is why him and Roy should work together, they both operate in slow mo) . . . but I would like to see Miller start (only because could it be any worse than what is going on)
let me clarify The point of my OP was that Blake isn't good and that he has been riding the coattails of better players. Meaning, he has played next to guys like Dixon, Roy, and Iverson. These players cover for his lacking in the point guard department. If Blake was starting next to Martell Webster, he would look even worse then he does now. With that said, he hasn't really had much of a choice about who he has played with. He was drafted by Washington, so he played with Dixon on the Wizards. He followed Dixon here, probably because he was comfortable playing next to Juan. He was traded to Milwaukee, and then Denver, so he didn't get to choose to play next to Iverson. I think he did choose to play next to Roy though. In summation, I'm saying that Blake isn't good enough to play in the NBA unless he's next to a talented scoring, creating, ball dominating guard. Thus, the "riding the coattails" comment.
Right on. I would add that IMO Nate is enabling if not encouraging Brandon's attitude, and is even more culpable in this problem for these and other reasons (i.e. refusing to start Miller at PG with Roy at SG). That does not absolve Roy of his own culpability however. In light of all this, I'd be delighted if the Blazers could make a sweetheart Roy+Miller(or Blake or Bayless)+assets for CP3 deal. The Blazers would be unbelievable with CP/Aldridge/Oden/Batum.
Thanks . . . I get it. Maybe the little difference we have is I still think you need to be an NBA talent to do what Blake does (even according to what you think he does). There are a lot of gurds in the developmental league that wish it was that easy as well. My point is Blake must be doing something more than handing the ball off if he has survived in the league this long and making multi-millions each year. But I respect your take on Blake.
He's a somewhat decent three point shooter. That's about it. Would you call him a good defender? A good slasher/finisher? How about a good passer? He doesn't do anything else well. He's a role player. He's a guy who isn't going to fuck up your chemistry. He does what is asked of him. He's a glue guy. Teams need guys like that, but not as their starting point guard.
Unless you are a lock down defender on the wing, it just seems awfully hard to justify starting Steve Blake when he's posted a PER less than 10 ... yes I realize that PER is not perfect and it doesn't capture defense, but it does a pretty good job of capturing offense and right now that is below replacement level. Hell, all I want to see is Blake start to play efficiently and stop putting up these 0-fer nights. A Steve Blake not hitting open shots is not creating any space for Brandon and that's a problem.
I'm not here to make Blake out something that he isn't . . . so pointing out Blake's stregths is not something I really want to battle on. But read your own post. You said decent 3 point shooter and does nothing else well. Then in the same psot you say he is a glue guy and a role player, I agree and that is what he does well and taht is what has made him stick in the league. He is a good team player, with decent NBA skills . . . those players are needed. And if Roy plays better with Blake, than Blake should start. This is more our star player figuring out how to be effective with Miller on the court., If Roy can adjust, than this debate will be over, IMO.
The elephant in the room is why isn't Rudy or Bayless getting minutes at that position? Both of them are shooting way better, and both of them are better defenders on PG type players than Blake. That is what pisses me off. Nate says that play will determine who plays. Then a guy goes out, and stinks it up for weeks on end, and the guys waiting in the wings still can't get any run. Meanwhile, I see other teams out there playing rookies who are out performing Blake nightly, and guys who were drafted last year, who are out performing him nightly. Its like fucking groundhog day. Every day I wake up to the same fucking nightmare for the Blazer team. No matter what I do, the next day it is the same bullshit because the team refuses to learn from history.
With Bayless I tend to think Nate prefers not to use him for a couple of reasons. 1) he fouls a lot and still hasn't mastered the art of playing defense with his feet and 2) his style of basketball is to go one on one and attack the rim ... which is admirable, but for a team already struggling to find touches for Oden and Brandon struggling with reduced touches I'd be a little worried about his presence on the court being even more disruptive (and that's not a dig on Bayless, I just don't think he's very well suited to playing off the ball yet). Rudy on the other hand has been so hot or cold (kind of like Martell) that I don't think Nate fully trusts him out on the floor, and frankly his ball-handling makes it nearly impossible to play him at the point, plus his ability to defend 1s just isn't really there (and while he is generating steals it's not the same as playing good team defense).
1. His worst defense is better than Blakes. 2. His agressiveness is why he picks up fouls. Good player push the limit, find out what they can get away with, and then back off after they figure out what the refs are calling. Every ref crew is different. 3. The team needs more attacking the rim. We need more points in the paint. We need less outside shooting. 4. Bayless can finish on the break. Blake cannot. All of the same can be said about Rudy, Rudy has been in foul trouble too. But Rudy it goes even further. On top of all the other things listed above: 1. Rudy is a great shooter from the outside. 2. Rudy is great off the ball. 3. Rudy can also handle the ball on the break better than Blake (decision making). Both players are shooting way better than Blake. Bayless is at .487. If he got the number of minutes Blake got, he would average 16 pts and 4 assist per game.
I think you misunderstand. I like both players as individual talents (way more than I like Blake), I'm just not so sure they are great complimentary players for this current team as constructed -- that is to say it's been made abundantly clear that Brandon, LaMarcus and Greg are 'THE' core, do Rudy and Bayless compliment those guys and the way they like to play? I'm not so sure. But yeah, I'd probably at least give both of them a chance to see what they could do over Stevie Wonder.
You know, I hate it when people do that "here, I fixed that for 'ya" thing...so let's say I 'fixed' that for me.
If it's any consolation, you aren't alone. Five games into the season, I told my wife: "I know how this movie ends - the iceberg wins." Everytime the Blazers are on the cusp of success, they find a way to fall short.
