This guy is better than I expected. He’s very smooth, very graceful, quite athletic. He has a nice game. I think we ARE better because of the trade. Am impressed by how easily he meshed with the team. For what it’s worth, Charles Barkley said on TNT that he has always liked Rodney Hood, and that this trade may be a sleeper.
Not that I base all my opinions off of radio talking head commentary, but this one I heard this morning made sense. Ever got a new job? You walk in day one full of energy, pep in your step, ready to take on the world? You kill it that first day, and think to yourself, "That's right, I got this all dialed in." Then, day 2 rolls around, and some of that new situation energy wears off, and then things begin to operate more like normal. We saw Stauskas kill it day 1 in Portland; eventually he fell out of the rotation altogether. Not saying that's going to happen to Hood, but we would be wise to assume that what we saw last night was closer to the top than the norm.
To be fair, Stauskas had several months to learn the team and become oriented with the system. That game was clearly an aberration to his season and career. Hood is being thrown into the fire. That’s not saying I expect him to perform as he did last night every night. Or be something huge for this team. I’m just saying I don’t expect what he saw to be “closer to the top”. Points-wise, he’s averaged 11-16 ppg and 3 boards over 25-30 minutes per game over his career. Seems like his stat-line last night of 14 and 3 in 25 minutes is pretty much in-line for his career. If last night was “closer to the top” of his expecatations, then color me disappointed with this deal (I’m not disappointed).
First day on the job? My own experience has been quite different. The first day is always kind of shaky. Where’s the copy machine? Where’s the bathroom? What’s that person’s name again? What’s her title? Where’s Conference Room A? Where do I sit at the big table? Who’s really running things around here? By the third or fourth day you’re hitting your stride, and within a week you finally feel like you belong.
I'm not disappointed either, but I did see some glimpses of "I got this"-ball last night that I also attributed to "it's my first night, and I have no idea how many minutes I'm going to get, so let me show what I can do". On one he got the rebound, went down, semi-posted in the midrange and fired up a turnaround without anyone else in a Portland jersey getting close to the ball. It's not crippling, (ET, for one, does it a bunch and I don't love it, but it's usually in "bench is killing us" mode), but I don't know if going IsoRoy is going to get him the integration with Dame/Cj/coach that he wants. Or, I'm reading too much into one play.
It's interesting actually, because if you look at his individual shifts, they were kind of a microcosm of what his career has tended to look like. Q1: 4 minutes, 2 shots, 2 points, mostly invisible. Q2: 6 minutes, 3 shots, 7 points, 2 boards, seemingly in the middle of everything Q3: 6 minutes, 0 shots, 1 rebound, was he even out there? Q4: 9 minutes, 2 shots, 5 points, 1 steal, good contributor. I think mostly what I was referring to as "closer to the top" was the 2nd quarter burst. But yes I would agree that the game as a whole may in fact be closer to the mean than I initially suggested.
Nice to see Hood get in the game and produce. I think he's going to be a nice addition and will give us even more depth. Looking forward to seeing him play after the all star break when he has had a better chance to get acclimated.
Two observations from last night concerning Hood: 1) It was one play but on defense he spun out of getting picked and recovered to his man in a pick and roll. I forget who the big was at the time but they had automatically switched and was giving the Spur the typical wide open mid range jump shot. When Hood fought through the pick it caught the defender off guard and he threw a bad pass for a turnover. Obviously Hood isn't aware that we don't do that here in Portland with Stotts as our coach, ha ha. It's a perfect example of why the Blazers need to throw different looks out there in our pick and roll coverage. 2) In the 4th quarter I turned to my buddy and mentioned that the lineup I saw out there was going to be really good. It was Dame, CJ, Hood, Layman, and Nurk. Sure enough they immediately went on a run to put the game away, at one point forcing turnovers on I think 4 possessions in a row. I'd love to see more of that lineup.
I agree with this. Part of it could also be the Spurs weren't ready for him. Teams will likely adjust. That said, Rodney can do things Nik could not. He is far better at creating a shot. He is stronger at at attacking the basket. He can bring the consistency Portland has lacked and make defenses pay. He is excited for a chance to win and get to the playoffs. Let's hope that energy continues.
I'm also counting games until Hood gets his first assist as a Blazer. Not sure what the over-under on that should be. All-star break, perhaps?
