I think a major flaw in Nate's coaching design is accountability. Some coaches will bench players for playing like shit. Popovich for example. But with Nate he'll just throw out the same starting five every night, and make sure Crawford takes the last shot on an ISO every game. His lack of adjustment is, in my opinion, easy to coach against and a primary reason for many of our defeats. I think Nate is a good coach. But he allows himself to do the same things with this roster over and over again. He had some success early on because the league hadn't adjusted properly to us. Now everyone is aware of the game plan: clog the lane, keep LA off the ball, and watch our guards toss up bricks.
I think it's 50/50 whether we make the playoffs, but does it really matter since we very, very likely have another one and done team? I say lets play/trade/plan for next yr and try to make moves/trades if available to do that now and not worry about this season.
This team probably will make the playoffs (back end of them) but it would be better off if they didn't.....
Sort of... Roy, yes. He was definitely NBA ready from Day 1. Aldridge started a few games in November of his rookie season, but only out of necessity when both Joel and former all-star Jamaal Magloire were injured. Then Nate forgot about Aldridge for the next three months as the team was "showcasing" Magloire in an effort to sucker someone into a trade. It was completely obvious that Aldridge was the better player, and he went on a huge tear when he was finally inserted back into the starting line-up on March 1. He had a GREAT March, until the last game of the month when he had to have the heart procedure for the first time. In total, Aldridge started 22 games and averaged 22 MPG his rookie season. He became a full time starter in his second season after Zach was traded to the Knicks on draft day. Batum did start as a rookie, but he was a sort of token starter that only averaged 18 MPG as a rookie. He continues to be under utilized by Nate. He is now in his fourth year on the team and has shown considerable improvement, but other than that one buzzer-beatring alley-oop against San Antonio, it seems like the team never runs any set plays for Nic. You think after four years, Nate would know Nic's strengths and weaknesses well enough that he could come up with a couple set plays per game to take advantage of Nic's talent. But, I just dont' see it. Why not? I've bitched for years about the Blazers passing on Paul Millsap and DeJuan Blair in the draft. In hindsight, I wonder if it would have even mattered. Would Nate have played them enough to matter, and had as much faith in them as Sloan and Popovich? Hard to say. He's in the habit of playing Aldridge such huge minutes that I don't know if a Millsap or Blair would ever get off the bench. We have our own poor man's Millsap/Blair in Craig Smith, and in spite of Smith's very solid play, Nate has again buried him on the bench. Of course, this is unrelated to playing rookies, but why not use Aldridge a few more minutes per game at the 5, alongside Smith at the 4? The center spot is weak in the NBA. There are very few starting centers Aldridge would not dominate (in fact, many teams already put their starting center on Aldridge on defense). Why not expoit that and get Smith a few minutes a game at the back-up 4? Nate's definition of "shortening the rotation" seems to mean more minutes for the guys who aren't getting the job done. He's always been too rigid in his subsitution patterns and NEVER seems to adjust his rotation during the game to take advantage of a hot hand, or an obvious mismatch. It just gets frustrating watching this game after game, season after season. I was a Nate supporter in the past. Now, I just want him gone. This team is playing below their talent level, and I blame that squarely on the head coach. BNM
I thought Raymond would eventually break out of his shooting slump, but am no longer so sure. I think it all depends on him and that is not making me optimistic about our playoff chances.
And he seems a little testy too. At least from the articles I've read. It's like he doesn't want to hear how badly he sucks.
The best way to silence the critics is to not suck. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be an option. I'm sure he's also pissed that he is sucking big time in his contract year. His shitty play is costing him millions, but it's also probably saving some poor GM's job that would have given him a big contract and then watched him suck for the next five years. BNM
what sort of set plays do you think they should run for Nic? As I see it, he doesn't have a good enough handle to regularly try to go one on one, and I haven't observed an off the dribble money jumper either. I don't like him in a two man pick and roll game. They do occasionally run him off screens to get him open jumpers or a lane to slash to the hoop, but his best offensive skill still seems to be the set shot. He's hitting 41% on his 3 ball and a lot of those are coming from the corner. That sort of deep threat keeps the D from collapsing on LA in the middle of the court. Especially considering how bad some of their other outside threats have been this season, I actually like the way he's being utilized. anyways, the quote I responded to was an unequivocal "Nate doesn't develop young talent." I listed three players who he not only got onto the court regularly as rookies but started early on. All three became valuable players for the franchise... which seems the very definition of developing young talent. LA & Nic rank 1 & 2 for Portland this season as far as PER I'm looking forward to seeing more Elliott Williams, and if Felton keeps stinking I will probably get my wish sooner then later. He's about the only young player I can think of during Nate's tenure who maybe should have been getting move time to develop and I don't even feel that strongly about that. I'll ask again, what worthy young talent has Nate allowed to waste away on the bench? STOMP
