Hornets @ Blazers 1/25/2010 Game Thread

Well I would have if he let one of Rudy/Bayless stay in the 4th, but instead, he put Blake in when he really hadn't done anything the whole game. That was very frustrating to see and not needed. Rudy was awesome at rebounding and made some big shots and Bayless, with his ability to drive and put pressure on the Hornets defense as well as pick up fouls is better than what Blake brought tonight. I cannot hold what he has to play with against him, but I can hold him bringing in Blake when he should have not done at all.

 

I don't think anyone can question Bayless' heart. But did anyone noticed that his most pronounced limp came after he missed the shot?

I think it is just human nature as he was probably hurting before he even played . . . but just found it interesting (and worrysome) . . . he is not 100% right now.

 

Lets try this again because I obviously wasn't clear....

What play (singular) would you have drawn up with 30 seconds to go?

I understand you didn't like the play that was called. I understand that you didn't like the clean 17ft jumper Bayless got in under 4 seconds, I get all that. All I want to know is what would have been your bread and butter play with that unit on the last full possession.

 

Where is the picture of him shooting the ball? I don't recall a hand even being in his face.

Still looking forward to your play...

 

Just watched it again. He got seperation from Collison, but the help defender did a nice job of coming over and contesting the shot more than I thought, not as clean as I remembered it. Still a shot I'm comfortable with considering the time and score.

 

I can reluctantly accept that Bayless shot. But I'm having trouble understanding the rationale behind Miller taking a fadeaway jumper, foul line extended, with so much time on the clock on the possession prior.

 

I thought Rudy played a lot in the 4th if I remember right. Blake played less than Rudy and porobably would have played less than Bayless had Bayless been 100%. There is a reason Bayless got 13 minutes . . . and I don't think it was because of his play.

As it is, Blake played 22 minutes, went 4-8 with a couple of assists and no TOs. But yes, many on this board get mad when Nate plays Blake (calling Nate all kinds of names) . . . so I understand what you are saying.

 

I don't get it . . . are you blaming Nate or Bayless?

 

It sounds like you're referring to a similar play the Pacers used to run for Reggie Miller and the Pistons run for Rip Hamilton. It's a play I certainly am a fan of as it often results in a corner 3 or a curled 15ft jumper. My guess is that we score 50% of the time off of that play, which is better than our normal field goal percentage. I'd still argue the shot Miller go in the post late the game is a shot he makes 2/3 of the time, so I'll take the higher percentage shot in this case.

I appreciate the play in all seriousness, it helps me understand what type of set you prefer in late game situations. You rarely see a play like that ran down the stretch at the NBA level, but I'm not opposed to it.

 

Bayless was playing solid D too. Bayless made shots. I think the only thing against Bayless were his careless turnovers, but he made some fine passes himself. I don't know, as good as Blake may have played in some eyes, I thought Bayless played better, but I am biased towards Bayless as he is my favorite player and maybe he didn't play as well as I thought.

 

Just got back from the game. Nate has to go. His idiotic play calling cost us another game we had won (just like the Memphis game three weeks ago). We had an 8-point lead with 3:26 left in the game, but were outscored 10-1 over the rest of the game (just like when we had an 8-point lead with 3:45 left in the Memphis game and were outscored 13-1 to lose by 4).

Just like in the Memphis game, we had the lead, the momentum and the crowd behind the team. New Orleans looked defeated. Thankfully for them, we have an idiot for a coach who can't call anything but isolation plays over the last 3 minutes of a game. Just like the Memphis game, the Blazers were scoring with ease due to good ball movement and good player movement. The team was getting lots of easy looks, everyone was involved in the flow of the offense and we had the game won - until McMoron pulls out his momentum killing patented all ISO all the time offense.

The results were painfully predictable. We've seen it all before. We start running ISOs on every play - which results in one of three things: the player with the ball forcing up a bad shot with the shot clock winding down, him passing off to a surprised teammate with less than 2 seconds left on the shot clock who has to force up a bad shot, or a shot clock violation. You will notice all three options have one thing in common - they don't result in the Blazers actually scoring any points.

Tonight's pet play was running an ISO for Miller against Collison on the left side 20 feet from the basket. Not only did this kill all ball movement, all player movement and the momentum we had, it also played right to Collison's strength. Collison is a very small, thin QUICK player. Andre Miller is NOT QUICK ENOUGH TO BEAT HIM OFF THE DRIBBLE 20 FEET FROM THE BASKET. Jesus, it doesn't take a rocket scientist, or even a 4th grade youth basketball coach, to see that. Not surprisingly the play failed, failed and failed again. Good bye momentum. Good bye ballgame.

If Nate wanted to actually exploit Collison's weakness, and not play to his strength, the smart thing would have been for Miller to post him up on the low block and have Bayless or Blake feed him the ball. Then Miller can use his size and strength advantage to simply turn and shoot over Collison. But, that would have involved more than one player. So, it's not in McMillian's late game playbook. As it was, starting 20 feet from the basket, Miller couldn't get past Collison to get close enough to the basket to get off an easy shot.

God that was painful to watch. So, predictable. So disappointing. So avoidable.

BNM

 

But don't you see, some poster will always be mad when Nate plays Blake . . . as evidenced in this thread.

You draw the line at Blake starting, other draw the line at Blake getting 30 plus minutes, others draw the line when Blake plays at all.

I get where your angst comes, but posters angst about Nate playing Blake comes at many different levels. I know you are convinced you have it right when Blake PT is justified and when it's not . . . from my perspective, someone will complain about Nate every game if the Blazers lose and Nate played Blake.

Not calling you out egame . . . it someone every game.

 

I'm done pointing out the obvious. I've been saying that Nate needs to go for over a year now, and yet some people still think he's a great coach. I've pretty much lost all hope, and I figure the only way he's actually going to lose his job is if we fail next season. The injuries are his "get out of jail free" card.

 

EXACTLY! Stopping the ISO is a LOT easier when you know it's coming (again, again and again). Nothing like killing your own offensive momentum AND letting the defense rest for the first 20 seconds of every late game possession.

BNM