Anyone else wonder what Rice is talking about "rudy and Patty having a good time in the locker room" ?? ;]
We really needed this win after all that happened last week. And this game had a striking resemblance to our games ten years ago, with contribution from everyone on the roster.
Well, whatever. Camby also played in the 4th, but you don't seem big on facts. If you need to hate on a productive player after a blow-out win, so be it. I can't say I'm surprised, given the nature of this board.
Dante is fine. He's a solid role player, he doesn't usually kill you to have him out there, but he probably can't tilt a game in your favor.
Prior to this game, Cunningham had an Ortg of 123 and a Drtg of 107, and was shooting 48% FGand 90% from the line while grabbing 4 rebounds in 19 minutes. All of those numbers will increase after this game except for the rebounding, since he had his normal 4 boards, but in 20 minutes. Some people's opinions are so far from reality, it really does amaze me. Is it that hard to just enjoy a win?
I don't have a problem with Dante, but I think he needs to develop another facet of his game other than the mid-range jumper. I love the mid-range j, a lot, but he's too one-dimensional right now, which makes him easier to defend.
Dante had a great game. He does the dirty work and has a reliable jumper; what's not to like? On another note, see the fast break points roll in with Brandon 'Walkin' Roy on the bench. . .
Woooo! Love me some Rudy and Aldridge! We've got one shooting guard who wants less minutes, and one who wants more... I don't see the problem As long as Roy is ready to rock in the post-season, and as long as we make the post-season, then we've got a great chance to advance.
He has a money 17-20' jumper. That alone is enough to keep him in the league. His Ortg tells me that he isn't easy to defend, as does his shooting percentage. He's basically the 11th man on the roster if Przy and Oden are healthy. I think he's a fantastic bargain at his contract, given his decent production.
Neither do I. You just gave me a moment of clarity. Rudy playing well is a good thing, and Roy seems like he'll be content playing less at this time. Brandon did a fantastic job on Rip Hamilton tonight, and was also very efficient in this scoring. Repped!
Yeah, but he's also not a well-known commodity. I have yet to see him really display any other offensive moves other than the mid-range J, and when teams start to really figure that out, what's he going to fall back on?
Exactly! That's why I keep getting memories of that 99-00 team, when 8 players averaged over 18 mpg, and our highest was Sheed with 35. Roy can be so much more effective if limited to 30mpg. And Rudy can be so much better while playing 25 mpg.
I've also noticed the contribution from everyone (9 players with 6 points or more, according to the box-score) and I think that is the result of good TEAM defense, which leads to - in tonight's case - beautiful team offense. I think everyone played well. I've only watched several minutes of Brandon Roy (started watching early in the 2nd half) and he didn't do TOO much but I was very happy with the way he performed (actualy, the fact that he didn't try to do too much is what made me happy) and I actualy thought it was a mistake to bench him for Rudy, although after a few sloppy minutes, Rudy took control and the team haven't lost a step. We actualy had some easy opportunities late that we didn't convert and could have had a bigger lead. Armon made some mistakes but he is just a fun player to watch and I'm thinking also to play with. Dante played tremendously when I was watching, making the right decisions, cutting to the basket, making himself open for that money half-distance shot and of course playing solid defense.
How do you defend a mid-range jumper from a role player? Careers are made on that shot. Hell, if defenses start having to adjust to Cunningham shooting from 20', the Blazers are either a lottery team, or are so good that there is no way to defend them. Plus, Dante had a fast break dunk tonight and another lay-up. I guess I don't see the problem with having a role player who can rebound a bit and knock down open shots. Seems odd to criticize that, IMO.
How am I criticizing him? I'm merely making the point that I would like to see Dante expand on his offensive game because I think teams will learn that all he does is shoot midrange jumpers. I think it's great that he can make that shot consistently because so few players in the league do, but right now he's shooting virtually unguarded jumpers, and that's going to stop at some point. If it doesn't, hey, that's fucking awesome for us.
