Vlad's shooting woes continue

Shot 0-11 in our most recent pre-season game, a 91-82, including 0-6 from downtown, while Ridnour fouled out in 21 minutes with four points and two assists.

Damien Wilkins shook off some poor pre-season form to lead the team with 17 points, while AD had 16 and Ray had 14. Lewis, Murray and Swift all didn't play, while Kutluay logged donuts in five minutes on the court.

<font size="1">Boxscore courtesy of NBA.com.</font>

 

I think Nate and the rest of the coaching staff is putting Vlad in a posistion were he isn't comfortable, In the post! From the sound of it(listening to the radio) he played alot on the low block and was really uncomfortable there. That might of taken him out his rythm and may have had an effect on his poor performance tonight.

During the preseason we've seen Vlad attacking the basket rather then standing out on the perimeter jacking up three's. He's still doing it just not as much. He is just trying to do more than he is capable of. That seems to be affecting his shot greatly.

Vlad is rythm shooter and if he isn't in a rythm than he could have abismal shooting perfromances like the one tonight. Hopefully he can snap out of his slump and find his rythm before the regular season starts.

Vlad, don't try to be something your not, unless you can do that something well.

 

Radmanovic is not the answer at small forward. He is a complimentary player who is best served as a fourth option. He can not create his own offense and that is why he has shot a poor percentage during the preseason.

As far as being upset that he is being asked to mix it up inside, need I remind everyone that he is 6'10". He shot 0-6 from the outside so I'm guessing that he should try to generate some offense inside of the three point line. The fact that he didn't shoot any free throws also is not encouraging.

Ridnour fouled out in 21 minutes. His preseason performances continues to amaze the Sonics faithful. Our point guard problems are solved.

I don't mean to sound like a pessimist but all of these players that many Sonics fan have been lobbying to get big minutes and/or start haven't shown at any level that they are capable of being consistent performers. Vlad struggled in the Olympics and Ridnour struggled in the summer league. Everyone outside of Allen seems to be struggling in the preseason. Our young guys aren't that good right now and may never be that good. There is no way that Radmanovic should even be considered as a better option at small forward than Lewis. There is no way that Ridnour should be dubbed the future of our backcourt. Neither of them are ready for that responsibilty.

Be careful what you wish for Sonic fans, you might just get it. Our team goes how Allen, Lewis, and Murray play. McMillian needs to make sure that Murray and Allen are compatible in the backcourt (once Murray gets healthy) b/c that is the only way that we are going to be competitive in the Western Conference. Any other option will end up being a bad experiment.

 

So what's the point of even drafting kids? Why don't we just trade away all our picks for experienced players ready to play minutes?

No one has any clue how Ridnour will develop if you're judging him on 15 minutes here and 25 there in the pre-season. All I want is for him to be given a consistent flow of minutes, in the regular season, and persist with him for 7-10 games or so. Let him spend time out on the floor in proper game situations, and let him pick up NBA basketball at his own accord. He hasn't set the world on fire this pre-season granted, but he's been on and off the court, and if you can judge his future NBA career on this period now then you're a genius. He has never had consistent minutes at this level, and it's no wonder he's up and down.

 

I know what I'm asking for. I still think Luke has a chance to be an all-star and Radman has a chance to be better than Rashard. You're going to have to point to more than preseason performances to convince me otherwise. If they suck during the regular season and are given every opportunity to shine, I'll be the first to say they don't deserve a chance.

As far as I'm concerned, the entire team needs an attitude adjustment. There's no energy or sense of urgency when they play. It's not really anybody's fault except the GM who put together a team of locker room followers instead of realizing that talent and potential aren't everything. Nate can't do anything about it. The only people who I think could are Ray and Rashard by stepping up and actually leading the team instead of, respectively, talking to the media first and being too quiet. Unfortunately, we have a great group of (underrated) coaches who teach but can't get results because there's nobody to encourage these grown men to do their jobs the best they can. Intensity on the court is contagious. If you don't believe me, watch the Sonics play and then watch the Jazz play. Go down to a local court and watch the hard-working basketball players beat the flashy ballers. Until the Sonics have an identity on the court, they will be mediocre or just plain bad. Right now, it's a collection of individuals, most of whom can play, who are friends off the court but strangers on it.

 

I'm not saying that Rad shouldn't attack the basket or shouldn't play down low. It's just that he isn't comfortable doing those things. I'd like to see him trying to take it to the rack or trying to post people, but I just don't think he has those things in his arsenal yet. He'll improve on these eventually but by then it might be to late for him. I sure hope Shard is back by the start of the season because I definately don't want to see Vlad anywhere near the starting lineup right now.

As far as ridnour is concerned I think he is a talented player who has shown flashes of brilliance mixed in with bad performances. The pg is the hardest posistiojn to play in the NBA as far as I'm concerend, give him time. Rid will get his chance to show his stuff as will flip and daniels. We will see what rid is capable of once the season starts, as he will have the starting pg spot, wether he deserves it or not, but you can't judge a player on preseason or even summer league performances for that matter. He'll have his chance to succed or fall flat on his face. If he does the later than we have two other pg lined up that are capable of starting. I'm not at all worried about our pg position, I'm confident one of our three pg can step it up.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Supersonic:</div><div class="quote_post">So what's the point of even drafting kids? Why don't we just trade away all our picks for experienced players ready to play minutes?

No one has any clue how Ridnour will develop if you're judging him on 15 minutes here and 25 there in the pre-season. All I want is for him to be given a consistent flow of minutes, in the regular season, and persist with him for 7-10 games or so. Let him spend time out on the floor in proper game situations, and let him pick up NBA basketball at his own accord. He hasn't set the world on fire this pre-season granted, but he's been on and off the court, and if you can judge his future NBA career on this period now then you're a genius. He has never had consistent minutes at this level, and it's no wonder he's up and down.</div>

I'm not basing my assessments on what Luke Ridnour and Radmanovic have done to date as professionals. I'm basing my assessments on what I feel is necessary for players to be successful at the professional level.

Luke Ridnour doesn't look like he has any "dog" in him. He gets down on himself too easily and he doesn't seem to really believe that he belongs at this level. Compounded with the fact that he has to make up for his physical flaws (size and strength) he doesn't seem like a player who truly takes advantages of the opportunities he is given.

Radmanovic is a complainer. He has all the tools to be a very good professional but he would rather spend time talking about what opportunities he hasn't gotten as opposed to taking advantage of the ones he has received. He really hasn't improved much from his rookie season, he's just gotten more minutes each year. The fact that he seems to be against mixing it up for the good of the team shows me that he has some punk in his heart as well.

The NBA isn't just about talent. There are a ton of players who aren't in the league who are talented as hell. The NBA is really about character, and I don't think that the Sonics team in general has a lot of character. Ridnour is a good kid and a hard worker. He just isn't a confident basketball player. Radmanovic is what I like to call a "looker." Someone who looks like he is a player but when you get to the meat and potatoes he really doesn't have any substance.

There is a point to drafting players. The point is to get guys that will be instrumental in your team success, not failure.

These are my personal beliefs and I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me. I just think that there is much more to a player than what you see on the court (at any level) or what you hear about from the media.